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 COMMEMORATIVE 
 
 I) 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 OF THE COUNTIES OF 
 
 Brown, Kewaunee and Door, 
 
 WISCONSIN, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE 
 CITIZENS, AND OF MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES. 
 
 -ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 C|iICAGO: 
 
 J. H. DEERS & CO. 
 1895, 
 
rmoH THI FMMR OT WtUON, HUMFtUUri « CO.. 
 rOVBTH n-., LOOAKSrOKT, tKD, 
 
Prekacb. 
 
 THE importance of placing in book form biographical history of representative 
 citizens — both for its immediate worth and for its value to coming generations 
 — is admitted by all thinking people; and within the past decade there has 
 been a growing interest in this commendable means of perpetuating biography 
 and family genealogy. 
 
 That the public is entitled to the privileges afforded by a work of this nature 
 needs no assertion at our hands; for one of our greatest Americans has said that the 
 history of any country resolves itself into the biographies of its stout, earnest and 
 representative citizens. This medium, then, serves more than a single purpose: 
 while it perpetuates biography and family genealogy, it records history, much of 
 which would be preserved in no other way. 
 
 In presenting the Commemorative Biographical Record to its patrons, the 
 publishers have to acknowledge, with gratitude, the encouragement and support their 
 enterprise has received, and the willing assistance rendered in enabling them to sur- 
 mount the many unforeseen obstacles to be met with in the production of a work of 
 this character. In nearly every instance the material composing the sketches was 
 gathered from those immediately interested, and then submitted in type-written form 
 for correction and revision. The volume, which is one of generous amplitude, is 
 placed in the hands of the public with the belief that it will be found a valuable addi- 
 tion to the library, as well as an invaluable contribution to the historical literature of 
 Northeastern Wisconsin. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 ARTIN, HON. MOR- 
 GAN LEWIS, *was 
 "one of the most 
 conspicuous and dis- 
 tinguished among the 
 aand of pioneer settlers 
 who early gave a nation- 
 al reputation to Wiscon- 
 sin. " He was mainly 
 instrumental — chiefly by 
 his influence in both Sen- 
 ate and Congress — in se- 
 curing the Fox River Val- 
 ley improvement, and his name 
 ^^ is indissolubly linked with the 
 early history of a great portion of north- 
 ern Wisconsin. 
 
 Judge Martin, for by that title he is 
 more generall)- referred to, came of good 
 lineage, the family being of eminence and 
 antiquity in Hertfordshire, England, and 
 Tours, France. The name of his imme- 
 diate ancestor, Thomas Martin, is borne 
 on the list of colonists who emigrated to 
 America in 1693, and he became one of 
 the proprietors of the Ockoocangansett 
 plantation in Marlborough, Mass., land 
 
 * For much of the personal sketch of Judge Martin we 
 are indebted to "Reminiscences of Morg.in L. Martin. 1827- 
 1887." edited and annotated, with biographical sketch, by 
 Reuben G Thwaites. Secretary State Historical Society of 
 Wisconsin. — Ed. 
 
 having been granted him there. Aaron 
 Martin, his grandson (son of Adam, who 
 died April 25, 17 16), born January 21, 
 171 2, was in Salem, Mass., where the 
 colonists first settled, the Martins a few 
 years later moving to Sturbridge, in that 
 State, where the original homestead was 
 built, and which is still in a fair state of 
 preservation. This Aaron Martin, who 
 was the great-grandfather of Morgan 
 Lewis Martin, was one of the first manu- 
 facturers in New England, holding large 
 domains of land on the various river 
 courses; and, while yet in middle life, was 
 drowned in one of his own mill streams, 
 the Quenebang river, when crossing over 
 to the mill on a cold March morning. 
 
 Adam Martin, his son, who was born 
 August 5, 1 7 16, owned, in 1763, a valua- 
 ble estate, with water power and sawmills. 
 He was an officer in the Provincial army 
 during the French and Indian wars, sub- 
 sequently captain in a Massachusetts regi- 
 ment during the Revolution, his commis- 
 sions dating April 24, 1770, and August 
 17. '797. respectively. Like his father, 
 from whom he inherited extensive landed 
 property, he was largely interested in 
 lumber, woolen and grain mills in Lewis 
 county, N. Y. , whither he had emigrated 
 at an early day, while the country was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 yet a wilderness. He purchased a town- 
 ship in Lewis county (which was named 
 after Governor Morgan Lewis, of New 
 York), naming the chief town "Martins- 
 burg," after himself. 
 
 His only son, Walter, father of Hon. 
 Morgan L. Martin, while yet a young 
 man, came into the inheritance, and was 
 considered the patron of northern New 
 York. While yet a lad he served under 
 his father in 17S8, and at the close of the 
 war of 181 2 Col. Martin was commis- 
 sioned by Gov. George Clinton, of New 
 York, quartermaster No. i of militia 
 in which his father had been commis- 
 sioned lieutenant-colonel. These com- 
 missions are still intact, the heading of 
 Col. Walter Martin's reading as fol- 
 lows: "The People of the State of New 
 York, by the grace of God free and inde- 
 pendent, to Walter Martin, gentleman, 
 greeting." 
 
 Morgan Lewis Martin, son of Gen. 
 Walter Slartin, was born in Martinsburgh, 
 Lewis Co., N. Y., March 31, 1805. In 
 1824 he graduated from Hamilton Col- 
 lege, at Clinton, N. Y., and for two years 
 he studied law with Collins & Parish in 
 Lowville, N. Y. In 1826 he went to 
 Detroit (then the chief city of the North- 
 west), where he entered the law office of 
 Henry S. Cole, and was soon afterward 
 admitted to the bar. But he did not 
 long remain in Detroit, for in May, 1827, 
 acting under the advice of his cousin, 
 James Duane Doty — who was then seek- 
 ing to have the Territory of Huron erected 
 by Congress, with Green Bay as the seat 
 of government — he took up his home in 
 Green Bay, and here resided until his 
 death which occurred December 10, 1887 
 — a most interesting period of si.\ty 
 years. 
 
 Judge Martin landed in Green Bay 
 May 20, 1827, the voyage from Detroit 
 having been made on the "La Grange," 
 a chance sailer, loaded with provisions 
 for the garrison at Fort Howard, and 
 having on board several army officers, 
 among whom were Brig-Gen. Hugh 
 
 Brady and Paymaster Maj. Benjamin F. 
 Larned. Of the civilians, who were also 
 passengers un the "La Grange," was 
 Father Fauvel, the first of his Church, it 
 is said, to land in Green Bay after the 
 close of the early missions. At Shanty 
 Town, in those da\s the commercial em- 
 porium of the Bay Settlement, our sub- 
 ject established his law office, which con- 
 sisted of a room in a story-and-a-half 
 frame building occupied by a branch of 
 the Ducharme family. At that time there 
 were not more than one hundred ci\ ilians 
 at the Bay Settlement, in the main con- 
 sisting of French and mixed-blood • ' voy- 
 ageurs," and Indians of various tribes — 
 Pottawattamies, Ottawas, &c. — were 
 numerous. There were a few clearings 
 and cultivated fields surrounding the set- 
 tlement, Lawe, Porlier and Grignon be- 
 ing the leading agriculturists, the latter 
 having, probably, the most pretentious 
 farm, which same was located at the 
 Kaukauna rapids, on the north side, be- 
 low the present city of Kaukauna. 
 
 In 182S Judge Martin took a canoe 
 voyage from Green Bay to Prairie du 
 Chien, up the Fox river and down the 
 Wisconsin, and enjoyed a very interesting 
 experience. The year before had occur- 
 red the Winnebago outbreak at Prairie 
 du Chien, and the murderer Red Bird 
 and his friends were now to be tried at a 
 special term of court. Judge Doty had 
 appointed our suliject United States dis- 
 trict attorney, /;•<' hm, hence the latter's 
 presence with the judicial party. On his 
 arrival at Prairie du Chien he met Lucius 
 Lyon (whom he had previously known in 
 Detroit), at that time a United States sur- 
 veyor, who had just completed his survey 
 of the private French land claims there, 
 and our subject finding that, after all, 
 his services in the Red Bird case would 
 not be needed, he and L\on planned to 
 make a tour through the lead mines. 
 "There were no maps of this country 
 then," writes Judge Martin, "but Lyon 
 had a small pocket compass with him, 
 and took the courses and distances of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 Fox-Wisconsin route, and made the iirst 
 approximately correct map of that water 
 highway; later, on my return from Galena 
 to Prairie du Chien, I did the same for 
 the Mississippi; we then put our notes to- 
 gether and gave the result to a prominent 
 eastern map-maker who adopted it as part 
 of the geography of the country. It was 
 published in 1829 or 1830, and was the 
 first real map of the country between 
 Green Bay and Galeua. I was much 
 gratified, afterward, to see that later 
 official surveys of the Mississippi corres- 
 ponded exactly with mine. Lyon and I 
 started down the Mississippi from Prairie 
 du Chien on a very primitive sort of 
 steamer; there were two vessels like 
 Mackinaw boats, with a platform between 
 and a shed built on that — it was, in fact, 
 a steam catamaran. During the entire 
 time court was in session at the Prairie, 
 we staid at Galena, and then Judge Doty 
 and Rowland came down and joined us 
 there. After a few days, Lyon and I went 
 on what was then a decidedly novel trip, 
 an expedition through the mining region 
 north of Galena," which they found over- 
 flowing with prospectors, miners, and a 
 certain nondescript class that might be 
 catalogued as "camp followers," in all 
 fully two thousand men. After their in- 
 spection of the mining country, the party 
 returned home from Galena the way they 
 had gone, meeting with no special ad- 
 venture. 
 
 In the spring of 1829, in company 
 with Wistweaw, a Menomonee Indian, 
 and Alexander Grignon, a young half- 
 blood Menomonee, as assistants. Judge 
 Martin and Judge Doty, starting from 
 Green Bay on horseback, traversed the, 
 up to that time little known, region south 
 of the Fox and Wisconsix rivers, and are 
 believed to have been the first party to 
 make the trip by land between the ex- 
 treme outposts of this section — Green 
 Bay and Prairie du Chien. At the latter 
 place Judge Doty held a term of court, 
 and Judge Martin officiated as United 
 States district attorney, pro teni. Their 
 
 return trip was also by overland, but with 
 some change of trail, and on both jour- 
 neys they were greatly struck with the 
 beauty of the lake country and its adapta- 
 bility for becoming the abode of civilized 
 life. They passed along the north bank 
 of Fourth lake, where eight years after- 
 ward, in 1836, Judge Martin laid out the 
 " City of the Four Lakes," and the coun- 
 try they traversed on this novel journey 
 was (in the words of Judge Martin him- 
 self), "after reaching a distance of thirty 
 miles from Green Bay, more charming 
 than any we had ever beheld, with its ex- 
 tensive oak openings and almost unlimited 
 prairies. There was not, however, a 
 trace of occupancy or any indication that 
 it had ever before been traversed by white 
 men." 
 
 In October, 1829, the first public 
 meeting in the history of Green Bay was 
 held there, Louis Grignon being chair- 
 man, and Judge Martin, secretary. Con- 
 gress was petitioned to build a road from 
 Green Bay to Chicago, and also to im- 
 prove the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. In 
 1833 the Judge paid his first visit to Mil- 
 waukee, while on a horse-back tour of 
 exploration, on which occasion he was 
 accompanied by Daniel Le Roy and P. 
 B. Grignon, and as far as Fond du Lac 
 their course lay on the same trail our sub- 
 ject and Judge Doty had made in 1829. 
 After that they struck southeast to the 
 shore of Lake Michigan, following it 
 closely until the Milwaukee river was 
 reached. At their destination they met 
 Solomon Juneau, the trader, whose home 
 was the " old trading house," and he and 
 Judge Martin became fast friends, their 
 business relations continuing many years 
 — in fact they were joint owners of the 
 original plat of Milwaukee; and such con- 
 fidence had they in each other, that no 
 written memorandum of the terms of 
 their partnership was ever made between 
 them; yet at the end of three years ac- 
 counts between them were adjusted, and 
 " property valued at hundreds of thous- 
 ands divided with as little difficulty as 
 
lO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL liECOHD. 
 
 you would settle a trifling store bill," the 
 Judge's own words. Such in brief is an 
 outline of the life of Judge Martin as a 
 pioneer of northern Wisconsin; and the 
 earl}- history of the city of Green Bay, as 
 well as of the entire Fox Kiver Valley, is 
 so intervolved with the active period of 
 his life, that a record of the one is essen- 
 tially a record of the other. 
 
 From the "Reminiscences" we ex- 
 cerpt the following, illustrative of the 
 earlv efforts toward the improvement of 
 the Fox-Wisconsin river highway, an im- 
 portant feature in the development of 
 this portion of the State. The statement 
 is substantially in the Judge's own words: 
 •'The first movement by the general gov- 
 ernment toward the improvement of the 
 Fox-Wisconsin river highway — with a 
 view to making a continuous line of navi- 
 gation from Lake ^fichigan to the Missis- 
 sippi river — was made in 1839, while I 
 was in the Territorial council. Capt. 
 Thomas J. Cram, of the topographical 
 engineers, made, under the direction of 
 the War Department, a preliminary sur- 
 vey of the rivers and an estimate of the 
 cost of their improvement. In 1846, 
 while a delegate in Congress, I secured, 
 by dint of very hard work, the passage of 
 an Act (approved August 8) making a 
 grant of land to the State, upon its ad- 
 mission into the Union, for the improve- 
 ment of the Fox river alone, and the build- 
 ing of a canal across the portage between 
 the two rivers. The grant covered every 
 odd- numbered section within three miles 
 of the canal, the river and the lake, en 
 route from the portage to the mouth. 
 When the second Constitutional Conven- 
 tion was held, this proposition on the 
 part of Congress was endorsed, and, at 
 the first session of the State Legislature, 
 the latter body passed an Act, approved 
 August 8, 1848, appointing a board of 
 public works consisting of five persons 
 and providing for the improvement of the 
 river. * * * On January i, 1851, the 
 board reported to the Legislature that 
 the work would have to stop unless some 
 
 device for a more rapid sale of land could 
 be originated, ^^'hile the affair was in 
 this condition, I made a proposition to 
 the Legislature, through Gov. Dewey, to 
 do the work from Green Bay to Lake 
 Winnebago, except what the board of 
 public works had finished or was already 
 under contract for. The board had dug 
 the canal at Portage, before there was 
 any steam navigation possible on the 
 Lower Fox. * * * The Legislature of 
 1 85 1 accepted my proposition, and I 
 went to work with about five hundred 
 men, commencing at Kaukauna. Oper- 
 ations were carried on throughout that 
 season, along the entire distance from 
 Green Bay to Lake Winnebago." The 
 Improvement Company went on with the 
 work until 1856, in which year the first 
 boat, the "Aquilla," passed through the 
 works — from Pittsburg to Green Bay. 
 
 From 1 83 1 to 1835 Judge Martin was 
 a member of the legislative council of 
 Michigan Territory, and from 1838 to 
 1 844 he was one of the Territorial council 
 of Wisconsin. In 1845-47 he represented 
 his Territory in Congress with marked 
 abilit}'; was president of the State Con- 
 stitutional Convention of 1847-48, and 
 both in the chair and on the floor was 
 one of the guiding spirits of the body 
 which framed the charter under which 
 the Commonwealth of Wisconsin still 
 operates. In 1855 he was elected a 
 member of the State Assembly, and three 
 years later was sent up to the Senate. 
 Throughout the entire period of the Civil 
 war he served as an army pa\'master. In 
 1866 he was appointed Indian agent, 
 holding the position until 1869, when the 
 War Department took charge of Indian 
 affairs. In 1866 he was the candidate 
 (under the Johnson movement) for Con- 
 gress, from the Fifth District, in which 
 campaign he was defeated by Philetus 
 Sawyer. In 1870 he resumed the prac- 
 tice of law which he had temporarily laid 
 aside, and in 1873 he was again elected 
 to the Assembly. From 1875 ""''• his 
 decease he served as county judge of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 II 
 
 Brown county, and from its organization 
 was one of the most active of the vice- 
 presidents of the State Historical Society 
 of Wisconsin. 
 
 On July 25, 1837, Judge Alartin was 
 united in marriage, at Green Bay, with 
 Miss Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Col. 
 Melancthon Smith, U. S. A. , and grand- 
 daughter of Judge Melancthon Smith, 
 who was a delegate from New York, in 
 Congress, in 1782-84, prior to the period 
 of the Constitution. To this marriage 
 were born six children, namely: Leonard 
 Martin; Annie, who died in 1861; Me- 
 lancthon, deceased in infancy; Sarah, 
 Morgan L. , Jr., and Debbie. Judge 
 Martin was a man of generous impulses, 
 kindly manner, keen wit, fine literary 
 tastes, and greatly enjoyed the comforts 
 of his beautiful home in Green Bay, 
 " Hazelwood," where he was surrounded 
 by a loving and accomplished family. He 
 died December 10, 1887. 
 
 JOHN L. JORGENSEN, proprietor 
 of the largest dry-goods and carpet 
 establishment in northern Wiscon- 
 sin, the same being located in the 
 thriving and wide-awake city of Green 
 Bay, Brown county, is a native of Den- 
 mark, born of German ancestry May 27, 
 1849, in the city of Nakskov, Laaland. 
 
 Grandfather Jorgensen (who spelled 
 his name "Juergens"), a highly educated 
 man, resided in Schleswig, where he was 
 a minister of the Lutheran Church. He 
 was possessed of great force of character, 
 interesting himself deeply in the politics 
 of his country, and, being both pro- 
 gressive and aggressive, he took an active 
 part in the revolutionary risings of 1848, 
 shortly after which he was removed to 
 Denmark, the language of which country 
 he spoke fluently. 
 
 J. A. Jorgensen, father of our subject, 
 who was one of a family of si.x children, 
 received his education at the public 
 schools of Denmark, which was supple- 
 mented with a course of study at a 
 
 college, his intention at first being to 
 enter some profession. Preferring, how- 
 ever, a mercantile career, he prepared 
 himself for such in some business house 
 of Nakskov, Denmark, where he re- 
 mained, and he has been prominently 
 and successfully engaged in mercantile 
 pursuits for the past fifty years or more, 
 being now one of the oldest and 
 wealthiest merchants in that city, where 
 he is highly esteemed for his integrity, 
 and recognized as a man of influence and 
 ability, and as a leading churchman. He 
 married Miss Sophia Mortensen, a native 
 of Denmark, who died in middle life, the 
 mother of one son, John L. , the subject 
 of this sketch. 
 
 John L. Jorgensen received his educa- 
 tion in his native town, and was reared 
 to mercantile pursuits. At the age of 
 sixteen years (in 1865), having decided to 
 try his fortune in the New World, he set 
 sail from his native land, and after an 
 uneventful transatlantic voyage landed at 
 Boston, whence he at once proceeded 
 westward, arriving at Chicago, a stranger 
 in a strange land. After a short sojourn 
 in the metropolis of the West, he set 
 out for Wisconsin, Neenah, Winnebago 
 county, being his objective point, and 
 here attended school for a short time in 
 order to become conversant with the 
 English language. Securing now a 
 position in Mr. Pettibone's dry-goods 
 store in Neenah, he remained there a year 
 and a half, after which he was sent by 
 Mr. Pettibone to Green Bay, where he 
 clerked for him a long time in his store 
 in that city; also was in the employ of 
 D. Butler & Son for a brief period. 
 Having by this time saved some money, 
 he commenced the dry-goods business 
 May 27, 1876, at Fort Howard, in part- 
 nership with A. Gray, of that place, in 
 which they continued two and one-half 
 years, when they divided the stock, and 
 Mr. Jorgensen opened out a similar busi- 
 ness for his own account in Fort Howard, 
 commencing on a small scale, with but 
 two clerks; but he soon found he had to 
 
12 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 enlarge his store by adding to it from 
 time to time. The business at last had 
 grown to such proportions in 1887 that 
 he was compelled to open a branch store 
 in Green Bay, and form a joint-stock 
 company composed of himself and his 
 two brothers-in-law, G. A. and F. T. 
 Blesch, under the firm name of Jorgen- 
 sen, Blesch & Co. Soon the branch 
 store became the chief one, and Mr. 
 Jorgensen found himself under the neces- 
 sity of building a new store on the same 
 street, opposite the old one, which he 
 fitted with all modern improvements, and 
 to-day it is without exception the largest 
 dry-goods and carpet store in northern 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1877 John L. Jorgensen was mar- 
 ried at Fort Howard, Wis., to Miss 
 Sophia Blesch, daughter of Francis and 
 Antoinette (Schneider) Blesch, natives, 
 the father of Bingen-on-the-Rhine, Ger- 
 many, the mother of Brussels, Belgium. 
 Mrs. Jorgensen was born and educated at 
 Fort Howard, is a lady of refined tastes, 
 a great reader, a lover of home, flowers 
 and home influences, and, withal, special- 
 ly excelling as a musician. Our subject 
 in his political preferences is a Republi- 
 can, and in social affiliations is a member 
 of the I. O. O. F., A. O. U. W. and 
 Royal Arcanum; in the I. O. O. F. he is 
 grand master for the State of W'isconsin, 
 and he was instrumental in having the I. 
 O. O. F. Home established in Green Bay, 
 where at present some thirty members 
 find a home and shelter, and he has been 
 general manager and superintendent of 
 this institution since its establishment. 
 
 WILLIAM LUEKE, the able and 
 efficient county treasurer of 
 Brown county, stands promi- 
 nent among the German-Ameri- 
 can citizens of northern Wisconsin, by 
 reason of his popularity, his administra- 
 tive abilities and his long-established 
 reputation for honesty and loyalty. 
 
 He was born December 24, 1850, in 
 
 Fahlenverder, Province of Brandenburg, 
 Prussia, (iermany, of which province, in 
 the city of Nauen, Potsdam, his ancestors, 
 who were for the most part millers by oc- 
 cupation, as far back as can be traced, 
 had "a local habitation and a name." 
 Here his father, Charles F. Lueke, was 
 born December 4, 1822, and here he was 
 reared and taught the trade of miller in 
 the ancestral mills. After serving his ap- 
 prenticeship he became a journeyman in 
 the business, traveling from place to place 
 (as is the custom in the Fatherland), 
 finally settling in Fahlenverder, where he 
 married Miss Amelia Hordlemann, young- 
 est dauehter of one of the prosperous 
 farmers of that locality. Here to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lueke were born two children, 
 William (our subject) and Louisa, the lat- 
 ter of whom died in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 shortly after the family's arrival in the 
 Western World, in the fall of 1854, the 
 then village of Green Bay being their ob- 
 jective point. Here the father first found 
 employment with G. T. Kyber, in the 
 construction of the old military plank 
 road running from Green Bay to Fond du 
 Lac, next spring moving to De Pere, 
 where he found employment as a miller, 
 his legitimate vocation, and so continued 
 until i860, in which year he bought a 
 mill on Cedar creek, near Green Bay. In 
 the following year, however, he abandoned 
 this and, returning to De Pere, made his 
 home there till the spring of 1867, at 
 which time he moved to Wrightstown, 
 where he built a gristmill, on the East 
 river, more frequently called ' ' Devil 
 river," which mill he successfully operated 
 till July 4, 1880, when it was destroyed 
 by fire; he also owned a fine farm of 160 
 acres of land. Selling out this property 
 in the fall of 1880, he removed to Mani- 
 towoc, and here remained till the spring 
 of 1 883, the year of his taking up his resi- 
 dence in Greenleaf, Brown county, where, 
 in association with his son William, he es- 
 tablished a grain and general mercantile 
 business, which they successfully con- 
 ducted till April 7, 1890, when they dis- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGEAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 13 
 
 solved partnership, the father taking the 
 store, the son retaining sole control of the 
 grain branch of the concern. Charles F. 
 Lueke continued the store up to his death, 
 which occurred March 23, 1891, when he 
 was sixty-seven years old, the county los- 
 ing one of its best-known and most highly- 
 respected citizens, esteemed by all for his 
 sterling honesty and manly qualities of 
 head and heart. He was an active and 
 consistent member of the Lutheran 
 Church, and in his political affiliations 
 was a lifelong Democrat, although no 
 partisan. In Wisconsin were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lueke children as follows: 
 Mary, now Mrs. Gehrke; Albert; Emma, 
 now Mrs. Alten; Charles, Minnie and 
 Fred — eight children in all. The mother 
 is still living in Greenleaf, Brown county. 
 
 William Lueke, the subject proper of 
 this memoir, secured a liberal education, 
 in part at the schools of De Pere, in part 
 at the North Western University of 
 Watertown, Wis. Learning the trade of 
 miller under his father's instruction, he 
 followed same till the summer of 1874, 
 when he embarked in the hotel business 
 in Greenleaf, erecting the "Greenleaf 
 Hotel," now operated by Albert Lueke, 
 who purchased it in 1887. Our subject 
 then devoted his entire attention to the 
 mercantile and grain businesses in the same 
 village, retiring from the former in 1890, 
 as already recorded, and from the latter 
 at the time of his moving to Green Bay, 
 May 14, 1 89 1, renting his warehouses to 
 other parties. 
 
 In the fall of 1890 he received the 
 Democratic nomination for county treas- 
 urer, and was elected by a majority of 
 1,200, his unquestioned popularity being 
 proven by his re-election in the fall of 
 1892, and he is yet filling the incumbency 
 with characteristic ability and fidelity. 
 
 On July 12, 1 87 1, Mr. Lueke was 
 married to Miss Augusta Wuerger, a na- 
 tive of Germany, and their union has been 
 blessed with a family of seven children, 
 named respectively: Charles, Flora, Clara, 
 William, Anna, Nora and Lillie. Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Lueke are members of the Lutheran 
 Church, and are in the enjoyment of the 
 well-merited esteem and regard of the 
 community at large. 
 
 JOHN BETH, senior member of the 
 widely-known wholesale and retail 
 grocery firm of John Beth & Sons, 
 is one of those successful merchants 
 who in early life acquired a knowledge of 
 the value of time and money, and who had 
 been early trained to possess patience, 
 qualified with perseverance; to remember 
 that time is money, and that there are 
 just sixty minutes in one hour; and to 
 never forget that whatever is worth doing 
 at all is worth doing well. 
 
 Mr. Beth is a native of Bruttig, Ger- 
 many, born on the river Moselle, Rhein 
 Province, January 25, 1840, a son of 
 Theodore and Catherine (Goebel) Beth; 
 also of German nativity, who in 1852, 
 with their little family of children, emi- 
 grated to the United States, making their 
 first New-World home in Milwaukee. 
 Here the father, who was a shoemaker, 
 followed his trade until 1855, when he 
 came to Green Bay, where he continued 
 his trade up to about the time of his death, 
 which occurred May 3, 1857; his wife had 
 died October 24, 1S52. They were the 
 parents of six children, viz. : Jacob, 
 Joseph, John and Frank, who all reside 
 in Green Bay; Maggie, who is the wife 
 of Thomas Hubert, of Menominee, Mich. ; 
 and Katie, who died November i, 1S52, 
 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 
 As will be seen, the subject of this 
 sketch was twelve j'ears old when the 
 family came to the United States, so his 
 education had already been secured in 
 Germany, he having attended school 
 there between the ages of seven and 
 twelve. At thirteen he commenced work- 
 ing from home, in Wisconsin, engaging 
 in various occupations for the next few 
 years, or until 1861, when, the Civil war 
 having burst over the land, his ardor to 
 fight for his adopted country prompted 
 
14 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 him to enlist for service in the Union 
 army. Accordingly, on June 14, that 
 year, he set out on foot for Appleton, 
 Wis., and the followinj^ day entered the 
 Appleton Light Infantry, being the third 
 recruit in it from Green Bay. The quota 
 of this company, however, was not filled 
 at that time, and our subject, not to be 
 thwarted in his intentions, proceeded by 
 rail to Alton, 111., where he enlisted in 
 Company K, Twenty-fourth Illinois In- 
 fantry, three-years' service. This regi- 
 ment was attached to the Army of the 
 Cumberland June 30, 1861, and partici- 
 pated in the battles of Perryville (Ky.j, 
 Stone River and Chickamauga, at which 
 latter engagement he received a gunshot 
 wound in the left elbow, which confined 
 him to hospital for some time. On July 
 30, 1864, Mr. Beth received an honorable 
 discharge, and returned home to Green 
 Bay. He then commenced clerking in a 
 grocery store, and so continued until 
 March i, 1870, when he embarked in the 
 wholesale and retail crockery and glass- 
 ware trade, which for eight years he con- 
 ducted with encouraging success. In 
 April, 1878, he combined general gro- 
 ceries, also wholesale and retail, and 
 carried on these departments until 1891, 
 when he closed out the crockery and 
 glassware, substituting flour and feed. In 
 1886 he put up his present substantial 
 brick building, two stories and basement, 
 53 X 100 feet, on Washington street. 
 
 On January 10, 1865, Mr. Beth was 
 married in Green Bay to Miss Elizabeth 
 Knapp, a native of St. Louis, Mo. Her 
 parents resided in Monroe, Wis., for sev- 
 eral years, but are both now deceased, the 
 father having died in St. Louis, Mo. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beth were born eleven 
 children, nine of whom are yet living, a 
 brief record of them being as follows: 
 Leonard was married September 24, 1890, 
 to Miss Mary Mahn, who was born in 
 Green Ba}', daughter of Theodore Mahn, 
 an early pioneer of the city, and they have 
 two children, Laura E. and Aaron (he is 
 a member of the Modern Woodmen); 
 
 John \'alentine was married October 10, 
 1 893, to Mary Dennis, who was born in 
 Belgium, daughter of David Dennis, of 
 Green Bay; Maggie was married in 1889 
 to Benjamin Smith, of Green Bay, and 
 they have two children, Clarence and 
 Chester; Elizabeth is married to Joseph 
 Dennis, and has two children, Louie and 
 Raymond; and Anna, Fred, Emma 
 Charley, and Louie. 
 
 Mr. Beth is a representative self-made 
 man, having by his own industry and 
 sound judgment, commencing on a bor- 
 rowed capital of thirty dollars, risen to 
 his present commercial standing, doing a 
 business to the amount of one hundred 
 and twenty thousand dollars per annum. 
 Outside of members of his own family, he 
 gives employment to eight hands, and 
 three of his sons are now associated with 
 him in business. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican, and has served as supervisor. 
 Socially, he is a member of T. O. Howe 
 Post No. 124, G. A. R. , of which he was 
 commander two years; president of the 
 Peninsular Veteran Association, and a 
 member of the Catholic Knights of 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 M 
 
 RS. ROSAMOND (BROWN) 
 FOLLETT, deceased. This 
 lady, who for so many years 
 was editor and proprietor of 
 the Gazittc, Green Bay, was a native of 
 New York State, born at Dansville, Jan- 
 uary I, 1847. Her early life was happy 
 and abounded in good influences, while 
 the privileges of excellent schools were 
 enjoyed by her, which by degrees brought 
 her into a beautiful womanhood, thor- 
 oughly equipped in purpose and prepara- 
 tion for a useful career. Her education 
 for the most part was received at the 
 public schools and seminary of the place 
 of her birth, also at Auburn, N. Y. , and 
 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 
 On May 29, 1873, she was united in 
 marriage, at Bath, N. Y., with Dwight I. 
 Follett, one of the founders and proprie- 
 
69 
 
 yio (/i-<^^/^y^-(y!'^oCy 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 •17 
 
 tors of the Green Bay (Wis.) Gazette, 
 which had been estabHshed by him and 
 Col. George C. Ginty early in 1866. In 
 September of the same year, however, 
 Mr. Follett sold his interest to Col. Ginty, 
 but reconnected himself in May, 1868, 
 with the paper by purchase of the 
 Colonel's interest (who in the meantime 
 had associated himself with William B. 
 Tapley, of Racine), the firm name be- 
 coming Tapley & Follett. This arrange- 
 ment continued about eighteen months, 
 or until January i, 1870, when Mr. Tap- 
 ley sold out to George E. Hoskinson, and 
 the new firm of Hoskinson & Follett then 
 changed the name of the paper to The 
 State Gazette, commencing a daily issue 
 in November, 1871, and in 1882 Mr. Fol- 
 lett assumed sole ownership and control. 
 The Gazette has always stood in the front 
 rank of the Republican political journals 
 of the State of Wisconsin. 
 
 The home which Mr. and Mrs. Fol- 
 lett created by their marriage was ideal 
 in its happiness, till the young wife saw, 
 with unspeakable sorrow, that an incura- 
 ble malady would soon take her husband 
 from her. After much painful suffering 
 he was called from earth June 24, 1888, 
 deeply mourned by a wide circle of 
 friends. He was a man of perfect recti- 
 tude, just and honorable, and possessed 
 of a good mind and a true heart — a lover 
 of things beautiful in nature, literature 
 and art. After his death the responsi- 
 bility of the extensive business, which he 
 had wisely planned, but which, owing to 
 ill-health, he had never been able to 
 bring to its best possibilities, were laid 
 upon his sorrowing widow. She rose to 
 her new duties, however, with a strength 
 and capacity which astonished even those 
 who knew her best. The necessities of 
 the situation, and, doubtless, the des- 
 peration of her grief, stimulated her every 
 energy into activity. Discouragements 
 that seemed almost paralyzing yielded to 
 her unconquerable determination, and she 
 persevered till success was complete. 
 But the shadow of death was upon her. 
 
 and the bright, useful and beautiful life 
 was doomed to total eclipse. Early in 
 the spring of 1894 Mrs. Follett began to 
 realize that her health, which she had 
 thought to be almost faultless, was rap- 
 idly failing, and in searching for a cause 
 it was found that she was suffering from 
 an internal cancer, from which it was 
 early seen there was no possible cure. 
 How this knowledge moved her brave, 
 resolute soul can never be known, for she 
 made no sign of either fear or regret, 
 though her sufferings were intense. She 
 bore all with uncomplaining fortitude, 
 responding to the faithful and tender 
 ministrations of friends with loving grati- 
 tude, while her thoughts were of others 
 rather than of herself, even to the last 
 hour of consciousness. 
 
 The end came at last, death releasing 
 her from her sufferings August 27, 1894, 
 and three days later all that was mortal 
 of the departed was laid beside the re- 
 mains of her husband amid the peace and 
 silence of Woodlawn cemetery, Green 
 Bay. A great concourse of the people of 
 the city where for twenty years she had 
 lived and wrought — old and young, rich 
 and poor — citizens from other places, 
 officials, representatives of the Press 
 Association, and many friends from even 
 greater distance, followed the remains to 
 their last resting-place. The funeral took 
 place from the Presbyterian Church, of 
 which she was a member. Rev. J. L. 
 Hewitt officiating, assisted by Revs. F. R. 
 Haff and H. W. Thompson. Among 
 those assembled to pay their last respects 
 to their loving friend were members of 
 the Press Association, as just mentioned, 
 with which organization early in her 
 newspaper life she had identified herself, 
 becoming after the death of her husband 
 a constant attendant at its sessions. 
 Eulogies in the Press were numerous, and 
 from the Green Bay Gazette we glean 
 the following: * * * " Simple and touch- 
 ing were the ceremonies at the funeral; 
 grief and sorrow were the emotions of al. 
 who had come to bid her a last farewelll 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 There were those who had known her 
 long and intimately, and who will miss 
 her greatly, and there were those who 
 thought they had stood farther from her, 
 yet had often felt the touch of her 
 friendly hand, had frequently heard from 
 her words of sympathy and of cheer, and 
 who had come to see in her a sister, 
 friend and mother." The Green Bay 
 AtivooUc also paid a beautiful tribute to 
 the memor)' of her whose life had left the 
 world the better for her having lived, and 
 we quote the following : "It is with 
 deep sadness that we realize that the 
 vital spark has fled from the suffering 
 body of our long kind friend, highly 
 respected citizen and co-laborer in 
 the newspaper field, Mrs. Rosamond 
 Follett. We grieve at the severance 
 of those early ties of friendship and 
 almost kindred feeling that long years 
 of harmonious work in a common cause, 
 without a jar or discord, had cemented. 
 We grieve that we shall nevermore see 
 the kindl)' face, animated by its cheerful, 
 benevolent spirit. At the same time we 
 feel thankful that the inevitable parting 
 is over, and the free spirit has risen from 
 the tortured clay, unhampered with cares 
 and griefs of earthly life, to unending 
 peace and blessed rest in the mansions 
 that the Master went before to prepare. 
 
 * * * Her work was well done from the 
 cradle to the grave. In the years that we 
 have known her, from the time that she 
 came here as a bride until she finally laid 
 down the pen and entered the chamber of 
 suffering, we have found nothing in her to 
 criticise, and everything to commend. 
 We recall her sturdy step, as with strong 
 frame she supported the failing energies 
 and wasting frame of her late husband, 
 Dwight I. Follett, shouldering the weight 
 of the cares of his business as he entered 
 the dark valley, and assuming the busi- 
 ness altogether when he passed away. 
 
 * * * A perfectly healthy and whole- 
 some childhood and youth laid the foun- 
 dation of those powers of endurance so 
 valuable to her. She was a ready writer. 
 
 with a faculty 
 courteous, and 
 whom she had 
 There was no false 
 
 of pleasing; was always 
 
 made friends of all with 
 
 dealings or acquaintance. 
 
 pride about her, and 
 
 she was careful never to assume a dig- 
 nity that would drive away the humble. 
 She was sympathetic for the woes of oth- 
 ers, and always ready to relieve the dis- 
 tressed." Mrs. Follett left one son, John 
 C. Follett, to mourn the loss of a loving 
 mother. — [In compiling the above sketch, 
 the writer is indebted for many sugges- 
 tions to a beautiful article from the pen 
 of Edwin D. Coe, which appears in the 
 "National Printer-Journalist," of Octo- 
 ber, 1894. — Ed. 
 
 AUSTIN F. OLMSTED, M. D., 
 for over twenty years a highly 
 respected citizen of Green Bay, 
 enjoying an unchallenged reputa- 
 tion as a successful physician and surgeon, 
 is a native of Middlebury, Vt., born July 
 20, 1843. 
 
 Erastus Olmsted, grandfather of our 
 subject, was of Welsh descent, and was 
 born in Middlebury, Vt., of which locality 
 his ancestry, in this country, were pioneers. 
 By trade Erastus was a chair-maker, 
 which he carried on at his home in the 
 country, near Middlebury, becoming pros- 
 perous. He had a numerous family of 
 children, of whom Juba Olmsted, father 
 of our subject, was born August 15, 1807, 
 in Middlebury, Vt. He learned his 
 father's trade, and followed it for a time, 
 but eventually took up farming, which he 
 made his life work for the rest of his days, 
 in 1850 moving with his family from Ver- 
 mont to Wisconsin, and settling on a 
 farm in Fond du Lac county, four miles 
 south of the city of that name. Here, by 
 industry and judicious thrift, he accumu- 
 lated a comfortable competence, and by his 
 e.xemplary life, sincerity of heart, genuine 
 charit}- and elevation of character, won 
 the highest esteem and respect in the com- 
 munity in which he lived. He died in 
 1854, at the early age of forty-seven 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, deeply regretted by all who knew 
 him. In religious faith he was a member 
 of the M. E. Church, in politics a stanch 
 Whig. In 1829, he was married to Miss 
 Sarah K. Huston, daughter of Robert 
 Huston, an honored pioneer of Middle- 
 bury, Vt., and three children, all sons, 
 were born to this union, viz. : Wallace 
 Juba, a minister in the M. E. Church, at 
 present stationed at West Bend, Wis. ; 
 Charles Cook, a practicing physician at 
 Kansas City (he studied medicine under 
 Dr. Patchen, of Fond du Lac, and gradu- 
 ated at Cleveland, Ohio); and Austin P., 
 the subject of this sketch. The mother 
 of these was married, the second time, to 
 Hiram Edgerton, and is now living at 
 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 
 
 Austin F. Olmsted received his liter- 
 ary education at the Fond du Lac high 
 school and Lawrence University, Apple- 
 ton, which latter institution he left at the 
 end of two years, for a time thereafter 
 clerking in a store. Deciding on making 
 the noble profession of medicine his life- 
 work, he during these years, as circum- 
 stances permitted, studied the science, and 
 in 1 87 1 entered Cleveland (Ohio) Home- 
 opathic Hospital College, where he grad- 
 uated in the spring of 1874, immediately 
 thereafter settling in Green Bay, where 
 he has since remained in the active prac- 
 tice of his profession. He now ranks 
 second to none in the county among the 
 followers of ^sculapius and Galen, his 
 specialty, perhaps, being obstetrics, in 
 which he has had a wide and uniformly 
 successful experience, which can be also 
 truly said of his general practice; and this, 
 coupled with his well-known professional 
 zeal, as well as attentiveness to his 
 patients, has established for him an en- 
 viable reputation throughout the length 
 and breadth of the Fox River Valley. He 
 is associated with the American Institute 
 of Homeopathy, and is an active member 
 of the State Homeopathic Medical Society 
 of Wisconsin. 
 
 On October 21, 1863, Dr. Olmsted 
 was married to Miss Harriet Sylvester, 
 
 daughter of Seth and Rachel (Young) Syl- 
 vester, and three children have been born 
 to them, named respectively: Minnie 
 Edna, Clara K. and Austin O. Dr. and 
 Mrs. Olmsted are active workers in the 
 Presbyterian Church at Green Bay (form- 
 erly connected with the Congregational 
 Society), of which she is a member. So- 
 cially, he is affiliated with the Knights of 
 Pythias, Independent Order of Foresters 
 and Royal Arcanum, and in his political 
 preferences casts his vote in the interests 
 of the Republican party. Public-spirited, 
 and in all things progressive, he has iden- 
 tified himself with every civic movement 
 tending to the advancement and prosperity 
 of the city and county of his adoption, 
 where, as a useful, loyal and intelligent 
 citizen, he is held in the highest regard. 
 
 PH. MARTIN. This gentleman, 
 who has been prosecuting attor- 
 ney for Brown county since 1888, 
 is a native of the county, born in 
 Rockland township April 21, 1862. Ed- 
 ward and Bridget (Farrell) Martin, 
 natives of Ireland, parents of subject, 
 came to the United States when young, 
 settling in Rockland township, where 
 they engaged in farming, and are still 
 living. 
 
 P. H. Martin, whose name opens this 
 brief sketch, received his education at the 
 schools of Rockland and in the city of 
 De Pere. He was reared on the farm, 
 but at the age of eighteen he commenced 
 teaching school in Brown county, a voca- 
 tion he followed some five years. In 
 1885 he came to the city of Green Bay, 
 and for some time was in the United 
 States railway mail service as postal 
 clerk on the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul railroad, running between 
 Green Bay and Milwaukee. In 1883 
 he commenced reading law in the 
 office of Hudd & Wigman, attorneys- 
 at-law, Green Bay, and in 1887 he 
 was admitted to the bar. In 1889 he 
 entered into partnership with Mr. Wig- 
 
20 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 man, under the firm name of W'ignian & 
 Martin, and has since been engaged in 
 regular practice. In the fall of 1888 he 
 was elected to his present incumbency, 
 that of prosecuting attorney for Brown 
 county, which he fills with eminent 
 ability, and to the complete satisfaction 
 of the people. 
 
 In 1 886 P. H. Martin and Miss Mary 
 Wigman were united in marriage. She 
 is a daughter of J. H. M. Wigman, senior 
 member of the firm, and an early pioneer 
 of Brown county. To this marriage four 
 children have been born, viz. : Marie, 
 Agnes, John Edward and Patrick Jerome. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Martin are members of St. 
 John's Catholic Church. In politics he 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 ADAM SPUHLER, of the firm of A. 
 Spuhler & Co. (limited), whole- 
 sale and retail dealers in dry 
 goods, clothing, carpets, hats, 
 caps, notions, etc., in Green Bay, has 
 been a prominent resident of that city 
 since 1879, <i"'' ^n enterprising merchant 
 of several \ears standing. 
 
 Mr. Spuhler is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born in Washington county, in 1846, of 
 German parents. Henry Spuhler, his 
 father, was born in Bavaria, where he 
 married Miss Sarah Zepp, of the same 
 country, the young couple soon afterward 
 emigrating to the United States, making 
 their first home in Washington county. 
 Wis., where they took up a farm. In 
 I S67 they moved to Dodge county, same 
 State, settling at Beaver Dam, where they 
 passed the rest of their busy lives, the 
 father dying in 1870, the mother in 1880. 
 Their family numbered seven children, 
 five of whom are yet living, namely: Mol- 
 lie, wife of Benjamin Fifield, a farmer of 
 Lake county, Ind. ; Mary, wife of Charles 
 Schuette, of Beaver Dam, Wis. ; Lizzie, 
 wife of Andrew Schluckebier, also of 
 Beaver Dam; Adam, of whom we write; 
 and John, a cigar manufacturer, in Wi- 
 nona, Minnesota. 
 
 The subject of this notice was reared 
 on his father's farm in Washington county. 
 Wis., receiving his education at the win- 
 ter schools of the neighborhood of his 
 home. In 1861, then fifteen years old, 
 he entered the dry-goods store of Newton 
 & Willard, in Beaver Dam, remaining 
 with them till they sold out in 1865 to 
 Hebgen & Lehrkund. With the latter 
 firm he clerked till 1867, in which year he 
 commenced business in the same town, 
 in partnership with a Mr. Schluckebier, 
 carrying on a prosperous dry-goods trade 
 till 1873, when the firm dissolved and our 
 subject moved to Wrightstown, in Brown 
 county. Here he was associated with a 
 Mr. Mueller in the same line of trade from 
 1873 to 1879, the style of the firm being 
 Mueller & Spuhler, and in that year they 
 transferred their business to the more 
 thriving town of Green Bay, here remain- 
 ing in partnership till 1 886, the year of 
 Mr. Mueller's death. After that event 
 Mr. Spuhler continued the retail business 
 alone till 1 889, when, having established 
 a wide connection and an enviable repu- 
 tation for fair and square dealing he e.\- 
 panded his business by combining the 
 wholesale trade with the retail, changing 
 the style of the house to the A. Spuhler & 
 Co. (limited). 
 
 In 1867, in Dodge county, Wis., Mr. 
 Spuhler was married to Miss Jennie Far- 
 dell, a native of England, but reared to 
 womanhood in Dodge county. Wis., and 
 daughter of Matthew and Sarah (Bishop) 
 Fardell, highly respectable English 
 people who immigrated to the United 
 States several years ago, settling in 
 Dodge county. Wis., where Mr. Fardell 
 died in 1887, and his widow is yet living. 
 To our subject and wife have been born 
 seven children, to wit: Sarah, Nellie 
 (wife of D. Lucas, a boiler manufacturer 
 in Ft. Howard, Wis.); Fred (assisting in 
 his father's store), Alice, Mabel, Jennie 
 and Louise. In his political predilections 
 Mr. Spuhler is a Democrat; in 1881-82 
 he served his city as alderman of the 
 First ward, and is now a member of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 21 
 
 town council and of the county board, 
 and was chairman of the Finance commit- 
 tee of that board some years. Socially 
 he is affiliated with the F. & A. M., at 
 Green Bay, Washington Lodge No. 2 1 , 
 Warren Chapter No. 8, Council No. 13, 
 and Palestine Commandery No. 20, K. 
 T. ; is a member of the I. O. O. F. , 
 A. O. U. W., and of Pochequette Lodge, 
 K. of P., Uniformed Rank. In religious 
 faith he and his wife are members of the 
 M. E. Church. Mr. Spuhler is one of 
 those men of business to whom success is 
 bound to come, a success that is the re- 
 sult of his own individual e.xertions, and 
 not of that "luck" which the world 
 (little understanding what the word im- 
 ports) so often ascribes to those who rise 
 unaided to distinction. No man knows 
 better how to time his efforts, and while 
 he has never wasted his force on worth- 
 less and unattainable objects, he well 
 knows how to take advantage of opportu- 
 nities promising advantages to his busi- 
 ness. 
 
 HON. JAMES HENRY ELMORE, 
 the efficient, progressive and pop- 
 ular mayor of the city of Green 
 Bay, is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born in Mukwonago, Waukesha count}', 
 January 6, 1843. The first of the Elmore 
 family in the United States, of whom our 
 subject is a worthy representative, were 
 three brothers who came from England, 
 one settling in New York State, one in 
 Connecticut, and the third in South Caro- 
 lina, the first of the three being the im- 
 mediate progenitor of Mayor Elmore. 
 
 Our subject received his elementary 
 education at the common schools of his 
 native town, whi;h was supplemented 
 with a course of stud}' at the East Troy 
 school taught by Mr. Markham, who after- 
 ward became principal of the " Markham 
 Academy," Milwaukee. At the age of 
 fifteen he entered Racine College, which 
 he attended two years, and we then find 
 him connected with his father's mercan- 
 
 tile business in Mukwonago, later in the 
 capacity of reporter for various news- 
 papers, being stationed, during the winter 
 of 1862-63. at Madison, Wis. In the 
 spring of 1863 he came to Green Bay, 
 and engaged in the grain elevator and for- 
 warding business, in which he remained 
 until 1877, removing then to Milwaukee, 
 where, for a year, he was interested in 
 the commission trade, after which he 
 spent several years in traveling and 
 employing his time at various occupa- 
 tions. Two summers he spent in New 
 York; was in the Black Hills and in 
 Arizona; at Crystal Falls, Mich., where, 
 for one year (1882), he was superintend- 
 ent of the Crystal Falls Iron Company. 
 Returning to Green Bay, he received the 
 appointment. May, 1884, of receiver for 
 Strong's bank, the mixed-up affairs of' 
 which institution he succeeded in unravel- 
 ing and clearing up in such a highly credit- 
 able and satisfactory manner as to receive 
 from all concerned, including the judge of 
 the court, the highest encomiums, the 
 upshot being his appointment at different 
 times as assignee to various estates. Mr. 
 Elmore's next occupation was in the 
 manufacture of and dealing in cedar poles, 
 ties, piling posts, shingles, etc., in which 
 line he has since done a remarkably large 
 business, and at the present time he is in 
 partnership with James Delaney, of Fort 
 Howard. 
 
 Mr. Elmore has at various times had 
 abundant proof of his popularity by elec- 
 tion to various positions of honor and 
 trust, including, more than once, the 
 highest civic office in the gift of the 
 people. In 1873 he was elected, without 
 opposition, the first mayor of Fort How- 
 ard; also served as alderman of the same 
 borough, and after coming to Green Bay, 
 in 1883, he was elected mayor of that city 
 in 1890, which incumbency he has since 
 filled continuously, having been elected 
 twice without opposition, and once (1892) 
 over an opponent who succeeded in cap- 
 turing only about one-fourth of the votes. 
 Mr. Elmore was again elected in 1895. 
 
22 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Although known to be a stanch Demo- 
 crat, still he has always had the support 
 of all parties, regardless of political l)ias, 
 the general feeling being that the chief 
 magistrate of a city should be a man />ro 
 bono publico, and not a politician. 
 
 Since assuming the reins of civic gov- 
 ernment in Green Bay, Mayor Elmore 
 has had the pleasure of seeing vast im- 
 provements in the fast rising city, among 
 which may be mentioned a couple of miles 
 of cedar block paving; several miles of 
 sewers; two old bridges rebuilt, and a new 
 one erected; the reorganization of the 
 Fire Department, which is now in all re- 
 spects a model one, equipped with the 
 Gamewell fire-alarm telegraph s\stem, 
 besides many other improvements, all 
 tending to place Green Bay among the 
 model cities of the State. The latest 
 project, in the way of public progressive- 
 ness, is the new high school, which, it is 
 intended, is to be built of Lake Superior 
 red sandstone, and which will be an orna- 
 ment to the city. To his efforts, also. 
 Green Bay is indebted for the best system 
 of street railroads in the United States, 
 everything pertaining to it being of the 
 most modern design. 
 
 On January 19, 1S76, Mayor Elmore 
 was married to Miss Anna Leola Chap- 
 man, daughter of Col. William Chapman, 
 U. S. A., and one child has been born to 
 them, named William Chapman. Mrs. 
 Elmore is a prominent member of the 
 Daughters of the Revolution, of which 
 she was appointed regent for the State of 
 Wisconsin. Mayor Elmore is a member 
 of the F. & A. M., and is a Knight Temp- 
 lar; he is also affiliated with the Order of 
 Elks. 
 
 GUSTAV KUSTERMANN. This 
 well-known, popular and promi- 
 nent citizen of Green Bay, of 
 which flourishing city he has 
 been postmaster since 1892, is a native 
 of Detmold, Germany, born May 24, 
 1850. 
 
 Carl Ludwig Kustermann, grandfather 
 of our subject, was a farmer and mechanic 
 (as was his father before him) in Schoet- 
 mar (Lippe-Detmold), and died there in 
 advanced life, the parent of a large 
 family of children, one of whom, Carl 
 (father of our subject), was born in 1820, 
 also in Schoetmar. He (Carl) was reared 
 to the trade of gunsmith, and was em- 
 ployed as such in the German army for 
 nearly thirty years, also serving in the 
 Schleswig-Holstein campaign and the 
 Prussian-Austrian war of 1866. In 1846 
 he married Julia Wolleben, daughter of 
 Gustav Wolleben, by which union four 
 children were born — all sons — to-wit: 
 Carl, Gustav, Robert and Otto, the last 
 named dying at the age of fourteen years; 
 Robert was in partnership with his 
 brother Gustav in the book and music 
 business at Green Bay until 1894; Carl 
 and Gustav will be more fully spoken of 
 farther on. The mother of this family 
 died in 1886, the father in 1894. 
 
 Gustav Kustermann, whose name in- 
 troduces this sketch, received his educa- 
 tion at the gymnasium or high school in 
 Detmold, graduating therefrom, and when 
 fourteen years old went to the city of 
 Hamburg, where he served a three-years' 
 apprenticeship to the wholesale dry-goods 
 business. At the age of eighteen, in 
 1868, he emigrated to America, from the 
 port of debarkation coming direct to 
 Wisconsin and Green Bay, whither, not 
 long before, two of his old schoolmates 
 had come and settled. Here he clerked 
 in the hardware store of St. Louis 
 Case & Co., but at the end of about six 
 months secured the position of book- 
 keeper in the office of the Green Bay 
 Advocate, at that time owned by Robin- 
 son & Bro. , and filled the incumbency 
 with the utmost satisfaction for three 
 years, or until 1872. On March 15 of 
 that year, in company with Louis Neese 
 and Erastus Root, he established in 
 Green Bay a stationery and job-printing 
 business, the style of the firm being 
 "Neese, Kustermann & Root " ; but De- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 23 
 
 cember 15, 1873, the firm experienced a 
 change, Mr. Root and a Mr. Kimball tak- 
 ing the job-printing branch, our subject 
 and Mr. Neese retaining the stationery de- 
 partment, adding thereto music and 
 musical instruments, the name of the 
 firm being Neese & Kustermann until 
 May I, 1876, when Mr. Kustermann 
 bought out Mr. Neese's share, and from 
 that time until 1S80 carried on the con- 
 cern alone. In that year his brother 
 Robert became associated with him in 
 the business, the partnership existing till 
 1894, when the latter retired from the 
 firm (as already stated), since when our 
 subject has continued the business alone. 
 He carries a well-assorted line of sta- 
 tionery and all its adjuncts, as well as 
 a complete assortment of musical instru- 
 ments, his trade in these particular lines 
 not being surpassed by any similar enter- 
 prise in northern Wisconsin. In all his 
 business obligations he is prompt and 
 reliable, and his innate courtesy and 
 obliging disposition have brought him 
 hosts of friends and customers. 
 
 Mr. Kustermann is a ready writer, as 
 well as a clear, forcible speaker, in either 
 English, German or French, and his 
 trenchant pen has contributed not a few 
 interesting articles to one or other of the 
 standard European journals, among which 
 may be mentioned £>u- Gartailaube, pub- 
 lished in Leipzig, besides political articles 
 during election campaigns, to home jour- 
 nals, especially the leading newspapers of 
 Milwaukee. Recently he compiled a high- 
 ly-interesting work on the ' ' World's Fair " 
 or " Columbian Exposition," being a col- 
 lection of articles written by him for a 
 newspaper published in his native town. 
 In oratory he has secured a wide reputa- 
 tion as a good, reliable all-round political 
 speaker, whether on the "stump" or on 
 the platform, and he has always been 
 affiliated with the Republican party, 
 wherein he has never failed to exert a 
 substantial influence. Nor have his 
 efforts for the cause remained altogether 
 unrewarded. Twice was he nominated 
 
 for Congress, although through no fault 
 of his own on each occasion he had the 
 minority; but, by his pure, yet forcible 
 language, clear and concise reasoning, he 
 left upon the minds of his auditors a last- 
 ing impression that there was a man 
 among them worthy not only of the metal 
 of any political foe, but also of the respect 
 and esteem of the community at large — a 
 citizen, in truth, of whom the State might 
 well feel proud. During the last political 
 campaign he was urged by some of the 
 leading spirits of his party to become a 
 candidate for the highest State office in 
 the gift of the people; but he resolutely 
 declined to "listen to the song of the 
 Siren." Indeed, it has been said, and in 
 no spirit of mere flattery, that, without 
 doubt, Mr. Kustermann, in point of edu- 
 cation and natural ability, is one of the 
 most representative German-American 
 citizens in the State of Wisconsin. In 
 February, 1892, he was appointed post- 
 master at Green Bay by President Harri- 
 son, and is still holding the office, his 
 term expiring in 1896. In civic affairs he 
 has served in the city council of Green 
 Bay, also as city treasurer, and has been 
 a member of the county board. 
 
 On June 12, 1875, our subject was 
 united in marriage with Miss Emma Schel- 
 lenbeck, of Green Bay, and four children, 
 all daughters, named respectively: Tillie, 
 Alma, Olga and Emma, have come to 
 bless their home. 
 
 Carl Kustermann, eldest son of Carl 
 and Julia (Wolleben) Kustermann has 
 been assistant postmaster at Green Bay 
 since 1 892. He was born in Detmold, Ger- 
 many, October 29, 1847, and in 1868 
 came to Green Bay, where he first found 
 employment as clerk in the dry-goods 
 store of D. Butler. At the end of a year 
 he entered the office of the register of 
 deeds, where he clerked some twelve 
 months, his next employment being as 
 bookkeeper for a lumber company at Lit- 
 tle Sturgeon Bay, an incumbency he filled 
 three years. In 1873 he paid a six- 
 months' visit to Europe, and on his return 
 
24 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Green Bay engaged for his own ac- 
 count in a white-goods and shirt-factory 
 business; but finding the same unprofit- 
 able, he accepted a position as manager 
 of the shoe and clothing store of B. Fol- 
 lett, holding the same for two years, at 
 the end of which time he entered the 
 Green Bay Savings Bank as assistant 
 cashier. In 1878 the bank aiTairs were 
 wound up. and Mr. Kustermann removed 
 to Helenville, Jefferson Co., ^^'is., where 
 for si.x years he conducted a general store; 
 then returned to Green Bay to fill the 
 position of bookkeeper for Anson Eldred 
 & Son, lumber merchants, but, in 1892, 
 he left this to accept his present position 
 in the postoffice. 
 
 In 1873 Carl Kustermann was married 
 to Miss Margaret Grimm, who was born 
 in Jefferson, Wis., daughter of Adam 
 Grimm, the celebrated apiarist, who died 
 in 1876. To Mr. and Mrs. Kustermann 
 were born two children, Julia and Agnes, 
 who lost their mother in 1882, and in 
 18S4 their father was married to Miss 
 Anna Haubert, of White Water, Wis., 
 daughter of Joseph and Marie (Rust) 
 Haubert, natives of Bavaria, Germany. 
 By this marriage there are three children: 
 Otto, Erna and Herbert. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Kustermann are members of St. Paul's 
 German Lutheran Church, and in his 
 political preferences he is a Republican 
 in national affairs, but independent in 
 local issues. 
 
 ALONZO KIMBALL. The family 
 in America, of which the subject 
 of this sketch is a worthy mem- 
 ber, dates back to one Richard 
 Kimball, who in 1634 came from Ipswich, 
 county of Suffolk, England, to America. 
 It is presumed that he settled in Ipswich, 
 Esse.x Co., Mass., for his son Henry is 
 known to have been a resident of that 
 town in 1640, while another son, Thomas, 
 was in Charlestown, Suffolk county, 
 in 1653. 
 
 Boyce Kimball, a lineal descendant of 
 the immigrant Richard, was born June 
 26, 1 73 1, in Ipswich, Mass., where he 
 married, and the children born to him 
 were as follows: Boyce, Rebecca, Jona- 
 than, Ebenezer, Mary, Susanna, Pris- 
 cilla, Timothy, Richard, Amasa and Ruel. 
 Of these, Ruel Kimball was married Jan- 
 uary I, 1799, to Hannah Mather, and 
 settled in Marlboro, Vt. , where he was a 
 Presbyterian minister. The children born 
 to this union were Ruel, Amanda, Cotton, 
 Hulda, Alonzo, David M., Lucy (who 
 married Rev. Henry Bannister, of Evans- 
 ton, 111.), Mary, Harriet and Martin L., 
 Alonzo, our subject, being the only sur- 
 vivor; Amanda, the second in the family, 
 married Alanson Merwin, and they cele- 
 brated their golden wedding in 1875. 
 Ruel Kimball was for the most part self- 
 educated, and was a man of strong con- 
 victions, one who represented the true 
 type of orthodo.x Presbyterianism. He 
 was a very useful man, was beloved for 
 his many good qualities of head and 
 heart, and was possessed of sound com- 
 mon sense and judgment. He could 
 draw a deed or contract of any kind, and 
 was an adviser and friend to all. He died 
 at East Hampton, Mass., October i, 
 1847. Mrs. Hannah (Mather) Kimball, 
 mother of our subject, was a daughter of 
 Timothy Mather, who was a descendant 
 of Increase Mather, the father of Cotton 
 Mather. She was a woman of great 
 force of character, and may be said to 
 have inherited much of the spirit of her 
 noble ancestors. She died in Leyden, 
 N. Y. , at the age of seventy-eight years, 
 eight months and eight days. 
 
 Alonzo Kimball, the subject proper of 
 these lines, was born November 20, 1 808, 
 in the town of Le Ra\', Jefferson county, 
 N. Y., and received his primary educa- 
 tion at various schools, which was sup- 
 plemented with a course at Union 
 College, Schenectady, N. Y. , where he 
 graduated in 1836, while Dr. Nott was 
 president. After this he taught school 
 about ten years, and then engaged in 
 
.^■m: 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 business, conducting a general store in 
 Green Bay several years, whither he 
 came May 22, 1849; in 1854 he com- 
 menced the hardware business. From 
 the time of his first entering the arena of 
 commercial trade success followed his 
 efforts, and his reputation for honesty 
 and veracity became as a household word 
 in the Fox River Valley. On October i, 
 1S40, Mr. Kimball married Miss Sarah 
 Weston, daughter of Rev. Isaiah Weston, 
 who, during the war of 1 8 1 2, was revenue 
 collector at New Bedford, Mass., and 
 later lived in Dalton, same State, where 
 he was engaged in business, and preached 
 the Gospel of love to the people. He 
 died there of paralysis February 17, 1821, 
 aged forty-eight years and sixteen days, 
 deeply lamented. Six children blessed 
 the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kimball, viz. : 
 Mary C, A. Weston, Charles T. , Mather 
 D., Sarah and William Dwight; of whom 
 A. Weston is general agent of Illinois for 
 the Northwestern Life Insurance Com- 
 pany 'of Milwaukee, and has made an 
 enviable record; Mather D. is in the em- 
 ploy of the same company; Charles T. 
 conducts his father's business; Mary C. 
 is the wife of M. H. Walker, and Sarah 
 married L. B. Sale, who was drowned 
 in the Fox river with his two sons, 
 Richard and Robert; William Dwight 
 died at the age of two years. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kimball lived a happy life together 
 of over haJf a century, having celebrated 
 their golden wedding October i, 1890. 
 She died in Green Ba}' June 27, 1891, 
 aged nearly ninet}' years, an active mem- 
 ber of the Presb3'terian Church. Charity 
 was her twin sister. Rich and poor 
 alike, she called them all her friends, and 
 her name and deeds of benevolence will 
 long be held in blessed remembrance by 
 Ihe people. Mr. Kimball is a member 
 of the Presbyterian Church at Green Bay, 
 and was appointed an elder in 1858. His 
 venerable appearance on the streets, 
 bearing on his snowy head the winter of 
 over eighty-six years, reminds the passers- 
 by of the patriarchs of old, and the 
 
 respect shown is evidence sufficient of 
 the high esteem in which he is held 
 by all. 
 
 WALTER THOMAS HAGEN, M. 
 D., who is fast making his way 
 to the front rank of his profes- 
 sion, not only as a physician in 
 general practice, but also as an oculist and 
 aurist, as a specialist, is yet a young man, 
 with the promise of a brilliant future before 
 him. 
 
 He is a native of Green Bay, Wis., 
 born October 19, 1868, a son of Frank 
 and Nellie (Magher) Hagen, the former 
 of whom was born in Frankfort, Germany, 
 and when a seven-year-old lad came to 
 the United States with his parents. For 
 a time they made their home in Fond du 
 Lac, Wis., finally removing to Winona, 
 Minn. , where Frank grew to manhood, 
 after which he returned to Wisconsin and 
 was engaged in business in Oshkosh till 
 1865, the year of his coming to Green 
 Bay. Here he established a liverj'-stable 
 business, which he carried on successfully 
 some twenty-seven years, eventually 
 becoming actively interested in a stone 
 quarry and in a steamboat line; he also 
 takes government contracts for the build- 
 ing of piers, breakwaters, etc. His wife 
 is a native of Ireland, and, coming to this 
 country when young, was reared to woman- 
 hood in Cleveland, Ohio ; she is the 
 mother of four children, viz. : Frank, 
 Walter T. , William and Mary. 
 
 The subject proper of this sketch 
 received his elementary education at the 
 common and high schools of Green Bay, 
 and learned the trade of printer in Eras- 
 tus Root's office. When seventeen years 
 old he entered a drug store in Green Bay, 
 subsequently clerking in one at Stephen- 
 son, Mich., prior to which, July i, 1885, 
 he had commenced the study of medicine 
 under the preceptorship of Dr. J. R. 
 Brandt, formerly a well-known physician, 
 of Brown county, Wis., now of Chicago. 
 Being now fully prepared for college, our 
 
28 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 subject entered the University of Michi- 
 gan, at Ann Arbor, October i, 1885; but 
 ill health prevented him from completinj;; 
 his course, and at the end of two years he 
 had to return home. In October, i88g, 
 he entered Jefferson Medical College, 
 Philadelphia, where, after two years' 
 attendance, he graduated April 15, 1891, 
 during which time he made a special study 
 of the eye and ear. Along with some 
 friends he took the State (Pennsylvania) 
 examination, which he passed satisfactor- 
 ily, and he is also registered in the State 
 of Illinois. In July, 1891, he returned to 
 Green Bay, where he opened an office, 
 and after about one month's general 
 practice became assistant to Dr. E. W. 
 Bartlett, the eminent eye and ear special- 
 ist, of Milwaukee. At the end of si.\ 
 months he returned to Philadelphia, and 
 took a private course in general medicine 
 and literature, at the same time holding 
 the position of assistant in the Eye and 
 Ear Department of Jefferson Medical 
 College Hospital. 
 
 On December 10, 1892, he again 
 returned to Green Bay, and at once com- 
 menced the practice of his chosen pro- 
 fession, in which he has met with emi- 
 nent success, particularly in his specialty — 
 eye, ear and throat treatment — in which, 
 as an ardent student, thoroughly read-up 
 in all the details, he has no superior and 
 but few peers in the State. Socially the 
 Doctor is a member of the I. O. O. F. , 
 and in politics he is an active Republican. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOSEPH G. LAWTON. 
 But few men have come more 
 directly in contact with the mone- 
 tary institutions, and the business 
 men of the country, and none have com- 
 manded more completely their respect 
 and confidence than this gentleman. His 
 ancestors in this country were not only 
 early English colonists of the educated 
 and wealthy class, but were active in the 
 affairs of the colony of New York, Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut — men of high 
 
 standing in professional, commercial, poli- 
 tical and also military affairs of those 
 early days in New England. 
 
 The name Lawton was original spelled 
 and pronounced Layton, by some simple 
 metamorphosis becoming, during the life- 
 time of the eldest born in this country, 
 what it now is. Capt. Lawton traces his 
 ancestry to one John Layton, who was 
 born in 1630, and who, in 1652, at the 
 age of twenty-two years, in company with 
 others, mostly from Connecticut and other 
 portions of New England colonies, settled 
 in Newtown, Long Island, N. Y. Twenty- 
 eight members of this colony, John Lay- 
 ton being of their number, purchased 
 farms direct from the Indian owners, 
 although also purchasing titles from the 
 government of New Netherlands, of which 
 Peter Stuyvesant was then governor; and 
 it is worthy of record that this purchase 
 from the Indians was the only one of 
 that kind made, excepting a similiar 
 transaction effected by William Penn, in 
 Pennsylvania. During John Layton'* resi- 
 dence in New Netherlands, that colony 
 fell into the hands of the Duke of York, 
 and on account of the active and promin- 
 ent part he took against Governor Stuy- 
 vesant, Laj'ton made many enemies among 
 the Dutch colonists. Consequently he 
 moved with his family to Suffield, Conn., 
 where he died September 17, 1690, and 
 was buried in the Presbyterian graveyard 
 by the side of his wife, Benedicta. Their 
 gravestones are still (1894) e.xtant, and 
 the name inscribed thereon is plainly 
 "Lawton," so that the change of the 
 spelling of the name presumably must 
 have taken place some time in the latter 
 part of the seventeenth century. John 
 Layton was married twice; the first time 
 September 2 1, 1659, to Johanna Williams, 
 by whom he had one daughter, Mary. 
 His second marriage occurred at Ports- 
 mouth, R. I., in 1665, the lady of his 
 choice being Benedicta, and to this union 
 were born three children (perhaps more) 
 as follows: Benedicta, born October 13, 
 1666, married in 1683; William, born 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 29 
 
 April 15, 1669, died May 8, 1677; and 
 James, born April 5, 1673, married 
 November 9, 1693, to Abigail Lamb, who 
 bore him two children, both dying young; 
 the mother passed away November 14, 
 1696. For his second wife James married 
 Faith Newell, who bore him five children, 
 their names and dates of birth being as 
 follows: Christopher Jacob, July 20, 1701; 
 Charity, November 8, 1703; Mercy, 
 November 23, 1705; John, April 26, 1708, 
 and died August 22, 17 14. 
 
 Christopher Jacob Lawton, the eldest 
 of this family, was the great-great-grand- 
 father of Capt. Joseph G. Lawton. He 
 was married in 1731 to Abigail Kellogg, 
 who was born in Leicester, Mass., in 
 1702, and died in 1734. He was a law- 
 yer of considerable note, spoken of in 
 Washburn's History as an honor and or- 
 nament to his profession. In 1735 he 
 moved to Leicester, Mass., where he 
 served as a member of the general court 
 of Massachusetts during the years 1736, 
 1739. 1740 and 1 74 1, and as moderator 
 of the court in 1739. He had one child, 
 Pliny, born in 1732, in Suffield, Conn., 
 and married, in 1750, to Lucretia Sar- 
 gent, a great-granddaughter of William 
 Sargent who came from England in 1638. 
 By this marriage there was but one child 
 who did not die young — William, born 
 April 9, 1759. Pliny Lawton was a phy- 
 sician, becoming prominent in his pro- 
 fession at Leicester, Mass. ; he died from 
 small-pox, and was buried in one of his 
 own fields. William Lawton, his son, 
 who also became a physician and sur- 
 geon, served during the war of the Rev- 
 olution, in the Fifth Regiment Alassachu- 
 setts infantry, and in 1794 was appointed 
 by President George Washington as sur- 
 geon at West Point. In 1784 he was 
 married in the Presbyterian Church at 
 Flushing, L. I., by Rev. Matthias Bur- 
 net, to Abigail Farrington, who died 
 about the year 1800, and was buried at 
 Flushing. To this marriage were born 
 four children, viz. : Charles (father of the 
 subject proper of this sketch, and of 
 
 whom further mention will presently be 
 made); Mary, born October 23, 17S9, 
 married John Ogilvie Roorbach (had six 
 children: William, Benjamin, Charles L. , 
 Mary, John Ogilvie, Jr., and Sarah); 
 Amelia, born in 1792; and William, born 
 at West Point, N. Y. , in 1795, married 
 January 17, 18 17, to Maria R. Guion 
 (had six children: Frederick, Franklin, 
 Julia, Cornelia, Maria and J. Warrenj. 
 
 Charles Lawton, eldest son of Dr. 
 William and Abigail (Farrington) Lawton 
 was born at Leicester, Mass., in 1787. 
 On January 17, 1809, he was married in 
 New York City to Miss Sophia Dobson 
 Willson. In the war of 1812-14 he was 
 commissioned a captain, and served as 
 such to the close of the struggle, after 
 which he returned to New York where he 
 became actively engaged in business for 
 some years. In 1826 he and his brother 
 William, and others, organized what is 
 known as the "Board of Brokers, " the 
 nucleus of the present New York Stock Ex- 
 change. At one time he served as treasurer 
 of the City of New York. In 1827 he 
 moved to Ogdensburg, N. Y. , and was 
 there engaged in the lumber business until 
 1830 when he decided to move to Potts- 
 ville, Penn., where there were extensive 
 mining operations, and the following brief 
 account of their trip may not be uninter- 
 esting to the reader: 
 
 The family and servants, all told, com- 
 prised nineteen persons, of whom the two 
 eldest sons had gone on before, the coach- 
 man and cook traveling the entire dis- 
 tance in the family carriage. That left 
 fifteen persons to go by steamboat from 
 Ogdensburg to Oswego. They left their 
 own home for a hotel, there to await the 
 departure of the steamer which was de- 
 layed in starting. At last, about 9 o'clock 
 P. M., all was ready to "get aboard," but 
 before starting the captain of the steamer 
 recommended Mr. Charles Lawton, as 
 his party was a pretty large one, to 
 "count noses," to make sure that all 
 were on the steamer. This being done, 
 to their surprise one was missing; a search 
 
COMMEMVUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was made, and on returning; to the hotel, 
 behold! a younpson was discovered sound 
 asleep across the foot of the bed, so well 
 covered up with the bed clothes that he 
 had been overlooked. This young son 
 was Joseph G. Lawton. eight years old, 
 the subject of this biographical sketch. 
 From Oswego the family proceeded by 
 canal to Albany, N. Y. , thence by steam- 
 boat to New York, from which city a 
 chartered stage-coach conveyed them to 
 Philadelphia, while from that point another 
 chartered stage-coach carried them to their 
 destination, Pottsviile. Penn., one hun- 
 dred miles distant, the family arriving 
 October 4. i S30. Until a residence which 
 Mr. Lawton had engaged was prepared 
 for their reception, they took up their 
 quarters at a new hotel at Port Carbon; 
 but as soon as possible moved into the 
 house. In this they made their home one 
 year, and then removed into a more com- 
 modious residence which Mr. Lawton 
 bought, and this comparatively elegant 
 home the family occupied many years. 
 
 Charles Lawton ere long took a very 
 prominent and acti\c part in business mat- 
 ters and other affairs of Pntts\ille, becom- 
 ing one of the most extensive miners and 
 shippers of coal at that place. He died 
 there July 21, 1858; his wife passed from 
 earth .\pril 19, 1 844. while on a visit to 
 New York City, and they rest side by side 
 in the cemeterj' at Pottsviile. Fourteen 
 children were born to them as follows: 
 John W'illson, born ,\pril 22, 1810 (never 
 married): Alfred Tom, born August 16, 
 181 1, married October 16. 1834, to Mary 
 Kern Nichols, daughter of Francis B. 
 Nichols, who was on board the U. S. 
 frigate "Chesapeake" in her memorable 
 fight with the British frigate "Shannon," 
 on which occasion he was wounded by a 
 ball which entered his left side below the 
 heart, passed thence down into the groin, 
 causing lameness for many years; Mary 
 Willson. born March 28, 181 3, married 
 May 10, 1832, to William H. Mann, of 
 Pottsviile, and died November 12, 1879; 
 Sophia Matilda, born September 15, 181 5, 
 
 married Charles Warder Bacon May 10, 
 1832, and died December 22, 1839; 
 Charles, born April 27, 1817, married at 
 Pottsviile, Penn., April 7, 1842, to Eliza- 
 beth Evans Ridgeway, and died April 17, 
 1 891; Catherine Dobson, born Decem- 
 ber 31, 1 81 8, married April 11, 1843, at 
 Pottsviile, Penn., to John Charles Neville, 
 now of Green Bay, Wis., and died April 
 16, 1876; William, born April 15, 1820, 
 died August 5, 1820; Joseph Grellet, sub- 
 ject proper of sketch, whose personal 
 biography is given further on; Sarah Havi- 
 land, born May i, 1823, twice married, 
 first time October 5, 1847, to Alfred Sab- 
 baton (who died), second time June 28, 
 1 8 58, to William Henry Bruce Gilbert, 
 and now lives at De Pere, Wis. ; Walter 
 Van Wagener, born October 8, 1824, 
 married to Julia Willis, who died June 5, 
 1 88 1, and for his second wife wedded 
 Elizabeth E. Eustis, and died September 
 30, 1888, at Boston, Mass.; Amelia, born 
 December 6, 1825, married May 13, 
 1S48, to John Ogilvie Roorbach, and now 
 lives at Mystic, Conn. ; William Thorn- 
 ton, born December 6, 1828, died Octo- 
 ber 14, 1833; George Augustus, born De- 
 cember 6, 1829, married April 18, 1853, 
 at Green Bay, Wis., to Sophie Pauline 
 Mitchell, and now lives at Afton, Rock 
 Co., Wis.; and Anna Maria, born August 
 9, 1834, married at Erie, Penn., March 
 4, 1858, to George Selden, and died 
 March 2, 1871, at Erie. 
 
 Capt. Joseph G. Lawton, whose name 
 introduces this sketch, was born February 
 14, 1822, in New York City, where, on 
 Broome street, his father had erected 
 four fine dwelling houses, in one of which 
 it was destined our subject should first see 
 the light. He safely passed through the 
 years of his childhood and earlier boy- 
 hood, and was in his ninth year when the 
 family made their memorable trip from 
 Ogdensburg, N. Y. , to Pottsviile, Penn. 
 At the latter city he was placed in a pri- 
 vate school kept by one Silas Hough, 
 where he received his elementary instruc- 
 tion, and then at the end of one year 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3t 
 
 entered the hi^h school of the place. In 
 this educational institution he remained 
 until he was was about fourteen years old, 
 after which he became a student at the 
 Pennsylvania University at Philadelphia, 
 leaving at the close of one year to enter 
 upon his first business training. This was 
 in a fruit and wine importing house, in 
 Philadelphia, in which he remained until 
 1 840, when he returned to Pottsville, and 
 soon afterward, in compau}- with his 
 brother John, and assisted by his father, 
 purchased the Mammoth Vein Coal Mine, 
 on Mill creek, at the foot of Broad moun- 
 tain, which they operated until 1S49, also 
 conducting in connection a general store. 
 In that same year our subject began the 
 study of law. 
 
 Having heard and read much of the 
 brilliant opportunities awaiting men of 
 energy in the West, he on March i, 1851, 
 set out on a prospecting tour, to Green 
 Bay., arriving there on the 17th of the 
 same month. So favorably was he im- 
 pressed with the country and its surround- 
 ings, that he at once returned to Potts- 
 ville, and made preparations to move his 
 family to the new Wisconsin Eldorado. 
 Accordingly, a party — consisting of his 
 wife and four children; his brother-in-law, 
 W. H. Mann, wife and two children; his 
 brother, G. A. Lawton, and sister, Anna 
 ]\Iaria Lawton — set out with their effects, 
 arriving at Green Bay August 4, 1851. 
 In 1852 J. G. Lawton formed a partner- 
 ship with Otto Tank, for the purpose of 
 operating a foundry and machine shop at 
 Fort Howard, and same year purchased 
 Private Claim 12 and 13, 450 acres on 
 the west side of Fox river. Hereon he 
 built a commodious house, into which the 
 family moved December 14, 1852. In 
 the spring of the following year he organ- 
 ized in Green Bay, under State charter, 
 the Fo.x River Bank, of which he was 
 elected president and his brother, G. A., 
 cashier. In June, same year, the partner- 
 ship between him and Mr. Tank was dis- 
 solved. During all these years Mr. Law- 
 ton, busy as he was, still found time to 
 
 prosecute his law studies, and could have 
 been admitted to the bar, had he not, at 
 the request of Morgan L. Martin, pro- 
 ceeded to New York for the purpose of 
 selling the bonds which he received for 
 carrying on the improvements on Fox 
 river, under contract with the State. Mr. 
 Lawton succeeded in his mission, and in 
 December, 1853, proceeded to Madison, 
 Wis. , to attend the Legislative Assembly, 
 in the interest of Morgan L. Martin, to 
 endeavor to secure the issue of bonds by 
 the governor, as per contract with the 
 State. After no little delay and consid- 
 erable effort, this important mission sub- 
 stantially was successful. Mr. Lawton's 
 success depended in a great measure on the 
 interpretation of the laws already passed, 
 which laws the opponents of the improve- 
 ment refused to execute. Then the friends 
 of the improvement suggested to Mr. 
 Lawton that he should form a company 
 to complete the improvement, and prom- 
 ised that they would give himself and 
 friends a liberal charter. Having secured 
 the consent of Morgan L. Martin, Mr. 
 Lawton himself drew up a charter which 
 was presented to that session of the Leg- 
 islature. At that time, however, there 
 was great excitement over the impeach- 
 ment of Judge Hubbell, and the Legisla- 
 ture decided to try the impeachment at 
 an adjourned meeting to be held in June 
 following, when, after the acquittal of 
 Judge Hubbell, the Legislature took up 
 the subject of the Fox and Wisconsin im- 
 provement, and granted a charter to 
 Morgan L. Martin, Dr. Darling, Otto 
 Tank, Joseph G. Lawton, Edward Conk- 
 lin and Dr. U. H. Peak (who were incor- 
 porated as the Fox and Wisconsin Im- 
 provement Company) conditional that they 
 each enter into a bond of $10,000 for the 
 faithful performance of their part of the 
 contract. Prior to the meeting of the 
 adjourned session of the Legislature in 
 June, 1854, Mr. Lawton had purchased 
 from the executor of the estate of Joshua 
 F. Cox, the undivided half interest in the 
 town plat of De Pere as well as of the 
 
32 
 
 commemorath'e biographical record. 
 
 water power of the De Pare dam on both 
 sides of the Fox river at De Pere. Imme- 
 diatel)' after receipt of tiie cliarter of the 
 Fox and Wisconsin Improvement Coin- 
 pan)' they organized, executed the requisite 
 bonds to the State, and appointed a com- 
 mittee consisting; of Morgan L. Martin, 
 Dr. Darlinj.; and Joseph G. Lawton, to 
 proceed to New York in order to nep;otiate 
 requisite funds for the companj-. This 
 the committee succeeded in doinj;, and 
 while in New York Mr. Lawton arranged 
 with John & A. H. Lowery, owners of 
 the other undivided half of the Joshua F. 
 Cox estate, to deed the whole estate to a 
 company called the " De Pere Company," 
 and to issue bonds for the improvement of 
 same. 
 
 Early in 1855 Mr. Lawton purchased 
 the stock of the Erie City Bank, at Erie, 
 Penn., and in June of the same year 
 moved with his family to that city in or- 
 der to fill the position of cashier of that 
 institution, an incumbency he tilled until 
 1857. In 1858 he sold the Erie City 
 Bank to C. B. Wright, then of Philadof- 
 phia, Penn., and on June 7, that year, 
 returned to Wisconsin with his family, 
 locating at De Pere. In 1856 he had 
 founded the Brown County Bank of I)e- 
 Pere with a ca]Mtal of $25,000, appoint- 
 ing G. A. Lawton, president, and J. O. 
 Roorbach, cashier. On August 4, 1858, 
 he commenced the erection of a stone 
 dwelling in De Pere, on the north end of 
 Broadway, on Private Claim 28, into 
 which he moved with his family on the 
 last day of that year. New Year's Eve be- 
 ing celebrated within the new and elegant 
 structure. After leaving the army in 1863 
 (an account of his militar}' experience ap- 
 pears farther on), and recovering some- 
 what from an illness brought on by ex- 
 posure in the service, he set out east on 
 December 3 1 , that year, to arrange for the 
 erection of a stave factory at West De- 
 Pere, also for the erecting of a smelting 
 furnace and flax factory. Succeeding in 
 his mission, these enterprises were at 
 once commenced. In May, 1863, he 
 
 laid out and platted all that part of West 
 De Pere lying on Private Claim 28. In 
 the same year he built a wing dam on the 
 west side of the river, and dug a canal 
 200 feet long, which in 1867 was extend- 
 ed 600 feet farther. In 1864 he built a 
 new bridge i , 500 feet long between East 
 and West De Pere; also built a sash and 
 door factory — 80 x 40 feet — in West De- 
 Pere; and it may be here noted that his 
 work here during the two years, 1863-64, 
 increased the population of West De- 
 Pere from 150 to 2,500. From 1858 to 
 1 88 1 the family lived in the stone house 
 he had built at the north end of Broad- 
 way, East De Pere, and cleared and 
 farmed a 200-acre tract of land, and in 
 1889 he moved into his present residence. 
 No. 610, Broadway. Since 188 1 the 
 Captain has lived a retired life. 
 
 On February 19, 1844, Capt. Joseph 
 G. Lawton was married to Miss Ellen V. 
 Baird, daughter of Capt. Thomas J. 
 Bairdof the U. S. army, and grand-daugh- 
 ter of Mathew Carey, the Philadelphia 
 publisher and philanthropist, who pub- 
 lished the first Bible printed from mova- 
 ble type in the United States, a copy of 
 which, dated 181 2, is now owned by Capt. 
 Lawton. Henry C. Carey, an uncle of 
 Mrs. Ellen V. Lawton, was a well-known 
 author of standard works on political econ- 
 omy. To the marriage of Capt. Lawton 
 and Ellen V. (Baird) Lawton were born 
 children as follows: Charles Augustus, 
 December 16, 1844, Fannie Augusta, 
 August 30, 1846, Henry Carey, May 23, 
 1848 (died February 3, 1858), and Caro- 
 line Virginia, May 13, 1850, all born in 
 St. Clair, Penn. ; Sophie Willson, August 
 2, 1852, in Green Bay, Wis.; Ellen Jose- 
 phine, August I, 1854, in Fort Howard, 
 Wis., died February 3, 1888. Of these, 
 Charles Augustus was married September 
 5, 1866, in De Pere, Wis., to Elcey Mor- 
 gan Arndt, who was born November 27, 
 1846; they have two children, Edward 
 Wallace, born October 20, 1867, and 
 Ellen Baird, born April 9, 1869. Fannie 
 Augusta was married at De Pere Septem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 33 
 
 ber 26, 1867, to Jeremiah S. Dunham, 
 and they also have two children: Lewis 
 Augustus, born February 10, 1869; and 
 Edith Virginia, born May 17, 1872. Caro- 
 line Virginia was married in De Pere, Oc- 
 tober 4, 1876, to Archie Lynn Gowey, 
 and they have six children: Archie Lynn, 
 Eliza Carey, Paul Eugene, Pauline 
 Eugenie, Ellen Virginia and Clarence 
 Parish. Ellen Josephine married, June 
 25. 1879, Erwin A. Thompson, and they 
 have two children: Nanine M., born Aug- 
 ust 2, 1881, and Bessie D., born March 
 28, 1885. On February 19, 1894, Capt. 
 and Mrs. Lawton celebrated their ' ' golden 
 wedding," amid many congratulations 
 and much rejoicing. Capt. Lawton was 
 by birth a member of the Society of 
 Friends; but having been married by a 
 ' ' hireling Priest " he was ' ' disowned. " In 
 1 842 he united with the Episcopal Church, 
 afterward, in 1887, becoming a member 
 of the Presbyterian Church, with which 
 he is still associated. In 1843 he joined 
 the F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F. 
 
 Military Record of Capt. Joscpli G. 
 Law ton. — On August 20, 1861, Joseph 
 G. Lawton was authorized, by Governor 
 Harvey, of Wisconsin, to raise a com- 
 pany for service in the war of the Rebell- 
 ion. By September 22 he had enlisted 
 fort}- men, and soon thereafter received a 
 commission as first lieutenant, dated Sep- 
 tember 27, 1861; later was commissioned 
 captain, and by October 21 recruited his 
 company to one hundred men. On No- 
 vember 1 2 they were ordered into camp 
 at Camp Wood, Fond du Lac, arrived 
 there on the 15th, and were assigned to 
 the Fourteenth Regiment Wis. V. I. 
 The first night they passed at Camp 
 Wood, the thermometer registered twenty- 
 six degrees below zero. At six A. M., 
 March 8, 1862, the Fourteenth regiment 
 left Fond du Lac and arrived two days 
 later at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Mo., 
 and there were cheered with the view of 
 g;reen fields and dry land instead of a 
 countr}- covered with snow a foot deep, 
 as in Camp Wood. On March 23 they 
 
 left Benton Barracks on steamer ' ' Minne- 
 ha-ha" for seat of war; left Cairo, 111., 
 March 25, and Paducah, Ky., 26th, arriv- 
 ing at Savannah, Ga., 27th, and disem- 
 barking from steamer 28th. Encamped at 
 Savannah until April 6, on which day 
 they embarked on steamer for Pittsburg 
 Landing; disembarked 1 1 p. M. same day, 
 and by daylight of following morning 
 had occupied the right of the left wing of 
 General Smith's division. The regiment, 
 including Captain Lawton and his com- 
 pany, participated in the battle of Pitts- 
 burg Landing April 7, 1862, and in a 
 charge captured a Rebel battery of three 
 guns, which, by Captain Lawton's orders 
 and in his presence, were spiked. Dur- 
 ing a slight lull in the firing, after the 
 spiking of the guns. Captain Lawton ob- 
 served a number of soldiers retreating, 
 and supposing they were of his company, 
 hastened to rally them, and gave them 
 orders to get under cover in the woods. 
 They obeyed, and then Captain Lawton 
 discovered that they were chiefly mem- 
 bers of an Illinois regiment who had 
 passed through the ranks of his regiment; 
 soon afterward an officer of that regiment 
 came up and requested Captain Lawton's 
 assistance in re-forming the men. This 
 was soon accomplished, and their Colonel 
 gave the order to march and ' ' fire at 
 will." At this the Lieutenant-Colonel 
 rode up and asked the Colonel why the 
 men should fire when there was no 
 enemy in sight; to which he replied: 
 "Only to make a noise and let them 
 know we are here." Captain Lawton 
 fearing that his own regiment would be 
 in the line of their fire, unless they had 
 retreated, went in search of them and 
 meeting a lieutenant of cavalry, the latter 
 suggested that the Captain should rally a 
 large number of soldiers who had become 
 separated from their regiments. This he 
 proceeded to do, and on looking arouna 
 perceived the color-bearer of his own 
 regiment and a corporal guard. Asking 
 them where the regiment was, he received 
 the reply that "the regiment was all cut 
 
34 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BJOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to pieces." [To do the color-bearer jus- 
 tice, it should be added that afterward, 
 when he was put on oath b)' pension ex- 
 aminers, he swore that it was not he who 
 gave that answer, but the corporal.] 
 Capt. Lawton ordered them to halt, 
 and then rallied the retreating soldiers 
 around the flag, about a dozen of them 
 responding. He was also endeavoring to 
 get other soldiers to jcjin the little squad, 
 which took him some 150 yards away, 
 and on his return he found that the color- 
 bearer and the rest of the rallied soldiers 
 had disappeared. The cavalry lieuten- 
 ant said they had "gone off into the 
 woods to the left;" and while the)' were 
 yet talking a lieutenant of infantry came 
 up, and reported to the cavalry lieuten- 
 ant that the enemy were in full retreat. 
 This being the case, Capt. Lawton re- 
 paired to the regimental surgeon's head- 
 quarters, which were in sight, and while 
 talking with Surgeon Walker, the latter, 
 looking over his shoulder, exclaimed to 
 Capt. I-awton: "There is \our regi- 
 ment marching by." Of course, the re- 
 port of the regiment being cut to pieces 
 was false or imaginary, as it had been 
 ordered to this part of the field to guard 
 a battery. The Captain then rejoined 
 his regiment, which was marched back to 
 place of bivouac, formed in line and or- 
 dered to "rest" for the night. During 
 the Sth, 9th, loth and nth of April, 
 after the fight, the regiment was without 
 tents, and every night it rained. 
 
 Capt. Lawton relates some interest- 
 ing incidents illustrative of the bravery 
 and coolness of the men, among which 
 may be here recorded the following: A 
 si.\teen-year-oId soldier, named Philip 
 Duirr, had in his excitement loaded his 
 rifle ball-end of cartridge down, instead 
 of powder-end, rendering the rifle tempo- 
 rarily useless as a firearm. The young 
 soldier, running to the Captain, reported 
 his mistake, and asked what he should 
 do. "Throw away your gun and pick 
 up another." "But it's numbered, and 
 the boys will say I lost it." "Then take 
 
 your rod and draw the load." So, in 
 spite of the enemy's bullets flying thick 
 around him, he deliberately extracted the 
 charge from the barrel and reloaded his 
 rifle, then ran to his captain and reported 
 his "gun all right," but he could not 
 "return ramrod." as the wormer had 
 been screwed too tight on the rod. So 
 the captain and he put their united 
 strength to the job, but even then could 
 not unscrew it. The rod was then 
 thrown away and another picked up, and 
 he regained the ranks. Another inci- 
 dent: After the battle, when the 
 wounded were being cared for, Capt. 
 Lawton, observing a wounded soldier 
 lying on the ground in the hospital tent, 
 stopped to talk to him. He found the 
 man had been wounded thirty-six hours 
 before, and to all appearance a bullet 
 had passed through his body, entering 
 his breast near the heart and coming out 
 at the back. The unfortunate soldier 
 had been gi\en up b\' one or two of the 
 surgeons; but Capt. Lawton, thinking 
 that as he had lived so long after being 
 wounded there might yet be some chance 
 of saving his life, called to his assistance 
 a surgeon who had just amputated both 
 legs of a soldier at the thighs. This 
 surgeon, after carefully examining the 
 wound, said to the apparently dying man: 
 " You are a good deal better than a dead 
 man yet; what you want most is some- 
 thing to cat; the ball has not passed 
 through your body, but has simply 
 entered here in your breast, broken a ril), 
 glanced off, and run clear around under 
 the skin, and come out at the back." 
 The soldier immediately arose, and, 
 although weak, walked off in search of 
 his company as if nothing had happened; 
 he had been lying on the ground nearly 
 two days under the impression that he 
 had received a fatal wound — such is the 
 force of imagination! 
 
 On April 10, Col. Wood, who had 
 been appointed provost-marshal of the 
 camp, appointed Capt. Lawton ofificer of 
 the day, giving him at the same time the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 35 
 
 use of his horse, and he had to remain in 
 the saddle ail day long, from early morn- 
 ing; until night. On the i 5th Gov. Harvey 
 and staff arrived, and one of the latter, 
 Commissary-Gen. E. Wadsworth, called 
 on Capt. Lawton to inform him that 
 before starting for the seat of war he had 
 been at De Pere and there learned that 
 his (Capt. Lawton's) wife was very sick, 
 and that the attending physician had said 
 that her husband's return home was the 
 only hope for her life being saved. Con- 
 sequently, on the 18th he sent in his 
 resignation, which Gen. Wadsworth pre- 
 vailed on Col. Wood to accept, and Gov. 
 Harvey to approve. On the 19th Capt. 
 Lawton accompanied Gov. Harvey to 
 Gen. Grant's headquarters, and the Gov- 
 ernor induced the General to accept the 
 resignation, and grant Capt. Lawton leave 
 of absence and transportation home pend- 
 ing its approval by Gen. Halleck. The 
 Captain accompanied Gov. Harvey to the 
 steamboat, on which they were to go to 
 Cairo on their way to Wisconsin, and 
 just as they arrived at the gangway to the 
 upper cabin, some one told the Governor 
 that "a man wished to see him." There- 
 upon Gov. Harvey requested Capt. Law- 
 ton to take up to the cabin a Rebel gun 
 and some other relics he was taking home, 
 saying he would "be back in a minute." 
 The Captain took the articles from him, 
 carried them into the cabin, and had just 
 laid them on the table when some one 
 came on board exclaiming, ' ' the Governor 
 is drowned; " he had made a mis-step and 
 had fallen off the gang-plank. Capt. 
 Lawton left on the evening of the 19th 
 and arrived home, a very sick man, on 
 the afternoon of April 23, i>S63. 
 
 HENRY WATER.MOLEN, clerk 
 of the circuit court of Brown 
 county, is a native of Belgium, 
 born October 28, 1836, a son of 
 Christopher and Mary (Demuylder) Water- 
 molen. The family immigrated to the" 
 United States in 1856, settling in Belle- 
 
 vue township. Brown Co., Wis., where 
 the father died three weeks afterward; 
 the mother passed from earth in Febru- 
 ary, i860. They were the parents of 
 three children, namely: Christopher, 
 who resides on the old homestead in 
 Bellevue township; Francis, retired, hav- 
 ing his residence in Green Bay, and 
 Henry, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Henry \\'atermolen was reared and 
 educated in his native land, and, as will 
 be seen, was twenty years old when he 
 came to the New World. For a time, in 
 order to become conversant with the Ene- 
 lish language, he attended school at 
 Henry, 111., subsequently (1861) taking a 
 course at Munn's Business College, Chi- 
 cago. In that city he was employed in a 
 warehouse and commission business, 
 through the day, in the evenings attend- 
 ing school, until the age of twenty-six, at 
 which time he returned to Green Bay. 
 Here he engaged in the stave and shingle 
 business two years, after which he moved 
 to De Pere, same count}', and in Febru- 
 ary, 1865, embarked in general mercan- 
 tile trade, continuing in same till 1882. 
 In that year he returned to Green Bay, 
 having received the appointment of deputy 
 sheriff, an incumbency he filled four years, 
 at the end of which time he was elected 
 sheriff, serving as such until 1S88, when 
 he was elected to his present official posi- 
 tion. 
 
 On September 5, 1865, Mr. Water- 
 molen was united in marriage with Miss 
 Elizabeth Tuyls, also a native of Bel- 
 gium, daughter of John and Anna Marie 
 (Van Op. den Bosch) Tuyls, of the same 
 country, who came with their family to 
 America and to Brown county. Wis., in 
 1855; they died in Preble township. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. \\'atermolen were born 
 eight children, four of whom are yet liv- 
 ing, to-wit: Isabella, a school teacher in 
 Milwaukee, Wis.; Frances A., a student 
 in the law office of Ellis & Merrill, Green 
 Bay; Louise and Dora. The deceased 
 are Charles F. , who died in infancy- 
 Josephine, at the age of seven and a half 
 
36 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, Louie F. , in infancy, and Octavie, 
 at the age of four years. The parents 
 are members of St. Willebrord's (Catho- 
 lic) Church. Mr. W'atertnolen in politics 
 is an ardent Democrat, and in addition to 
 the public offices above mentioned he 
 served as a member of the board of trus- 
 tees of De Pare; as clerk of Lawrence 
 township; assessor for De Pere eight 
 years, and for several years was county 
 poor commissioner. 
 
 JR. MINAHAN, M. D. Among the 
 eminent physicians and surgeons of 
 Brown county, the more prominent 
 of whom find place in this volume, 
 none enjoys to a greater extent the con- 
 fidence and esteem of the community at 
 large than the gentleman, although yet a 
 young man, whose name is here recorded. 
 Dr. J. R. Minahan is a native of Wis- 
 consin, born September 6, 1862, in Calu- 
 met county, a son of William B. and 
 Mary (Shaughnessy) Minahan, natives of 
 Ireland, who immigrated thence in single 
 life to this country, settling in New York 
 State. In New York they were married, 
 and in 1850 they came west to Wisconsin, 
 locating first in Manitowoc county and 
 later in Calumet count}', for the most part 
 making their home in the town of Chilton. 
 
 REV. PROSPER GOEPFERT, C. 
 S. Sp. Emerson, the great Amer- 
 ican writer, has said that ' ' society 
 is a troop of thinkers, and the best 
 heads among them take the best places," 
 an epigram peculiarly applicable to the 
 reverend gentleman whose name is here 
 recorded. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born 
 a little over fifty years ago, in a suburban 
 parish of Colmar, in the (then) French 
 Province of Alsace. At an early age he 
 began his classical studies in the flourish- 
 ing college of that town, where year after 
 year he distinguished himself in all his 
 classes, and won the esteem and affection 
 
 of his masters and fellow-students. At 
 the age of eighteen he felt himself called 
 to enter the arena of foreign missions, 
 and with that purpose in view entered the 
 Society of the Holy Ghost, whose mem- 
 bers, though laboring in every part of the 
 earth, are chiefly devoted to the conver- 
 sion of the heathen in Africa, where they 
 have established numerous Christian set- 
 tlements. After spending three years at 
 the College of Langonnet, in Brittany, 
 where he finished his literary studies, he 
 took a five-years' philosophical and theo- 
 logical course at the seminary of the So- 
 ciety in Paris. Here, always crowned 
 with marked success, he eagerly availed 
 himself of every opportunity' to "drink 
 deep of the Pierian spring." 
 
 In 1 866 he was raised to the priest- 
 hood by Prince Cardinal Chigi, then Papal 
 nuncio at the court of Napoleon III. In 
 the following \ear his superiors, instead 
 of complying with his desires to de\ote 
 his life to the conversion of the unen- 
 lightened natives of the dark continent, 
 sent him to Rockwell College, Cashel, 
 Ireland, where he remained for twenty- 
 two years as master of novices, and pro- 
 fessor of almost every branch of educa- 
 tion. During the last ten years of Father 
 Goepfert's stay in Erin he filled with dis- 
 tinction the position of president of Rock- 
 well College, which has always ranked 
 among the foremost educational institu- 
 tions of the country. 
 
 In 1890 our subject came to Michigan, 
 and at Dearborn, Wayne county, he was 
 for three years the beloved pastor of a 
 parish under the direction of the Congre- 
 gation of the Holy Ghost, and although 
 but a limited field for so eminent a scholar 
 and prominent a priest of the Congrega- 
 tion, he was the same hard worker in his 
 Master's vineyard, and when he was sent 
 to his present charge in Green Bay, Wis., 
 he left a record of Christian charity, genial 
 characteristics, hospitality, and last, not 
 least, hard work in the comforting of the 
 unfortunate and the salvation of souls. 
 Early in the year 1893 he came to Green 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 37 
 
 Bay to take charge of the thriving parish 
 of St. John. 
 
 Besides his many other accompHsh- 
 ments, Father Goepfert has attained no 
 httle distinction as an author, having writ- 
 ten and published, during his sojourn in 
 Ireland, a work of much celebrity, en- 
 titled " Life of the Venerable Libermann, 
 Founder of the Congregation of the Holy 
 Ghost;" he also founded and edited till 
 his departure from Ireland the popular 
 monthly magazine, "The Messenger of 
 St. Joseph." In spite of his hard studies 
 and harder teaching, as well as the great 
 responsibility confided to him. Father 
 Goepfert is still active, hale and vigorous, 
 and his healthy appearance predicts for 
 him a long period yet of energetic useful- 
 ness and success as a minister in his new 
 field of labor. 
 
 Be. BRETT, M. D., is the oldest 
 active practitioner in the city of 
 Green Bay. He is a native of 
 the State of Maine, born in 
 Franklin county in 1835, ^ son of C. H. 
 and Mary (Hunter) Brett, also of Maine 
 nativity, the mother born in Franklin 
 county. About the year 1 862 the family 
 came west, locating in Minnesota, the 
 parents shortly afterward moving to and 
 settling in the town of Henry, S. Dak. 
 They were quiet, unassuming, farming 
 people, in their honorable pursuit, desir- 
 ing to live " far from the madding crowd's 
 ignoble strife." They were the parents 
 of nine children, as follows: B. C., of 
 whom this sketch chiefly relates; Mrs. 
 Lucy A. Baker (a widow), residing in St. 
 Paul, Minn. ; Mrs. E. P. Baker, in Henry, 
 S. Dak.; George E., in Mankato, Minn.; 
 Frank R. and Mrs. G. F. Piper, both 
 also in Henry, S. Dak., and Jennie M., 
 Maud, and Mrs. Sarah Jordan, deceased. 
 B. C. Brett received his elementary 
 education in the schools of Franklin 
 county and Augusta, Maine, and in 1857 
 entered the medical department of Bow- 
 doin College, Brunswick, same State, 
 
 whence, in 1859, he went to the medical 
 department of Dartmouth College. Han- 
 over, N. H. , where he graduated in the 
 class of '60. He then commenced hospi- 
 tal and dispensary practice in New York 
 City, diligently devoting to it his entire 
 time and attention until 1862, in which 
 year he came to Highland, Iowa Co., 
 Wis. Here, the Civil war being in pro- 
 gress, he was offered a commission as 
 assistant-surgeon to the Sixteenth Wis. 
 V. I., which he, however, declined; but 
 later (same year) was commissioned as- 
 sistant-surgeon to the Twenty-first Wis. 
 V. I., which position he accepted. He 
 joined the regiment at Mitchellville, 
 Tenn., and served with it throughout the 
 campaign in which it participated in the 
 battles of Stone River, Chickamauga and 
 minor engagements, as well as those 
 which occurred during " Sherman's march 
 to the sea." In January, 1865, the Doc- 
 tor was commissioned surgeon in the 
 Seventeenth Wis. \. I., but on account 
 of the illness of his wife was obliged to 
 decline. In 1865 he was honorably dis- 
 charged from the service at Savannah, 
 Ga. , and returned to Wisconsin. In 
 1 866 he commenced the general practice 
 of his profession in the town of Brodhead, 
 Green county, remaining there until Jul)', 
 1872, when he came to Green Bay. In 
 addition to his regular practice Dr. Brett 
 is A. A. Surgeon in the U. S. Marine 
 Hospital Service, has been Health Officer 
 of Green Bay fifteen years, and for nine 
 years was U. S. E.xamining Surgeon for 
 Pensions. 
 
 On April 19, i860, Dr. B. C. Brett 
 was united in marriage with Miss Lucy 
 Wilson Eastman, daughter of William H. 
 and Eliza Eastman, all of the State of 
 Maine, who after the war of the Rebellion 
 came to Green Bay; the parents are both 
 deceased, the father having died January 
 10, 1887, the mother July 17, 1884. To 
 Dr. and Mrs. Brett were born children as 
 follows: Frank, who died in Green Ba}' 
 August 2, 1879, at the age of nineteen; 
 Fred N. (married), attending Rush Medi- 
 
38 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cal College, Chicago; Anna E., Jennie 
 M., and James R., all at home. The 
 parents are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Ur. Brett is president of the 
 Wisconsin State Medical Society, presi- 
 dent of the Brown County Medical So- 
 ciety, a member of the Fox River Valley 
 Medical Society, of the Brainerd Medical 
 Society, and of the Menomonee River 
 Medical Society. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of Washington Lodge, No. 21, F. & 
 A. M., and of Warren Chapter; is Sur- 
 geon of T. O. Howe Post, G. A. R. ; and 
 is a member of the Wisconsin Command- 
 ery of the Loyal Legion of the United 
 States. Politically he is an active Re- 
 publican. 
 
 XA\IER MARTIN was born Janu- 
 ary 10, 1832, in the commune of 
 Grez-Doiceau, Province of Bra- 
 bant, Kingdom of Belgium, emi- 
 grating to the United States with his 
 father and mother, brothers and sisters, 
 and landing in New York, July 5, 1853, 
 from which city he proceeded at once to 
 Philadelphia. Here his father and mother 
 remained about a year, whence they 
 moved to Brown county, Wis., locating 
 in the Belgium settlement, where they 
 bought governnient land, and there they 
 lived, with their children, by farming and 
 making shingles. They were honest. 
 God-fearing people, and members of the 
 French Presbyterian Church. The family 
 trace their ancestry to the year 1665, and, 
 originally, to the city of Paris, France. 
 
 John Martin, father of Xavier, was 
 born in the Parish of Dion-le-val, Depart- 
 ment of the Dyle, on the 21st Brumaire, 
 in the year XIII of the French Republic, 
 which date corresponds with the 12th of 
 November, 1 804. He died on his farm 
 in 1 870. 
 
 Aseline Bosel, mother of Xavier, was 
 born in the city of Brussels, Belgium, in 
 October, 1805, and died in the city of 
 Green Bay, Wis., in 1874. John Martin, 
 by his wife Aseline, raised a family of 
 
 nine children, their names and births 
 being as follows: Constant, born May 
 1 I, 1830, lived in the city of Green Bay, 
 engaged in the real-estate and insurance 
 business until his death, which occurred 
 June 16, 1894; Xavier, born January 10, 
 1832, now living in the city of Green Bay, 
 engaged in the real-estate and insurance 
 business; Martin Leon, born June 28, 
 1834, died July 2, 1863, and until his 
 death was engaged in farming and lum- 
 bering; Pierre Joseph, born November 24, 
 1836, dietl February 3, 1840; Desire, 
 born August 23, 1839, died August 16, 
 1855; Mary Eleonore (now Mrs. Joseph 
 Dhyne), born XtJvember 23, 1841, is 
 residing in the city of Green Bay; Alex- 
 ander, born December 6, 1843, now 
 residing at Bayfield, Wis. ; Elie, born 
 August 12, 1848, is now residing in the 
 city of Green Bay, engaged in the real- 
 estate and insurance business, and is also 
 a popular justice of the peace; Celina 
 (now Mrs. Francois Hannon), born Janu- 
 ary 29, 1852, is living on their farm in the 
 town of Scott, Brown Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Xavier Martin came from Belgium to 
 Philadelphia, Penn., in 1853, where he 
 remained four years, and there studied 
 the English language and literature under 
 Prof. Gardner, a professor of languages 
 and literature in that citj-. In 1857 he 
 left Philadelphia and came to Brown 
 county. Wis., visiting the Belgian settle- 
 ment, where his people lived. Here he 
 was induced to locate, there being no one 
 in the settlement who could speak, read 
 or write the English language, and for 
 five years Mr. Martin labored among the 
 people of the settlement in the capacity 
 of school teacher, justice of the peace, 
 town clerk, school superintendent and 
 postmaster, and, in a great measure, 
 through him, his energy and his influence 
 in his official capacity, new highways were 
 laid out, new school districts were formed, 
 new school-houses were built, and teachers 
 provided. In the fall of 1862, at the 
 general election, he was elected register 
 of deeds for Brown county, consequently 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 39 
 
 on the 1st of January, 1863, he had to 
 leave the Belgian settlement and move 
 with his family to the city of Green Bay, 
 there to assume the duties of register of 
 deeds, to which he was elected for four 
 consecutive terms (eight )-ears). In 1871 
 he established his present business, that 
 of real-estate and insurance agent, in 
 which he has been engaged up to the pres- 
 ent time, and he has been closely identi- 
 fied with the business interests of the 
 city of Green Bay for over thirty- 
 one years. He has served his city 
 in various official capacities. In 1875 
 and 1876 he was an active member of the 
 city council; was president of same dur- 
 ing the last year, and was chairman of the 
 Finance Committee both years. In 1882 
 he was elected city assessor by the city 
 council, an office he has continued to fill 
 with credit to himself and satisfaction of 
 his constituents, having been elected and 
 re-elected to that important office thirteen 
 times, and is still occupying that position. 
 Mr. Martin has been thrice married: 
 First time, in 1855, in Philadelphia, 
 Penn., to Miss Mary R. Gray, the second 
 time in 1873 to Miss Augusta Bliske, who 
 bore him eight children, six of whom are 
 living, as follows: Rudolph, Albert, Paul- 
 ine, Frederick, Evelynn and Richard. 
 The mother of these children died in 
 Green Bay in 1887, and in 1888 Mr. 
 Martin married Mrs. Amelia Dendoven 
 («tr Amelia Gosin), daughter of Dieudon- 
 nez Gosin, who, in 1858. came from Bel- 
 gium to one of the Belgian settlements in 
 Kewaunee county. Wis. In his political 
 preferments Mr. Martin is an active Re- 
 publican. He is one of the founders of 
 the Wisconsin Society for the Prevention 
 of Cruelty to Animals, organized in 1874 
 and incorporated in 1882; was elected its 
 first president, and has filled that office 
 ever since. Socially he is a member of 
 the Knights of Honor, and of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is 
 also a member of Washington Lodge No. 
 21, of Free and Accepted Masons, and in 
 Masonry has been elected and served as 
 
 senior deacon, and junior and senior 
 warden; in the chapter of Royal Arch 
 Masons he has been elected and served as 
 scribe one year, king two years, and is 
 now a royal and select master in the 
 Council of Royal and Select Masters. 
 
 CONSTANT MARTIN, late dealer 
 in real estate, and insurance and 
 general collection agent, was a 
 native of the Province of Brabant, 
 Belgium, born May 11, 1830, a son of 
 John and Aseline (Bosel) Martin. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in his native land, and followed the rest 
 of the family to the United States. Im- 
 mediately on his arrival in Philadelphia 
 he commenced the study of the English 
 language. In Belgium he had been en- 
 gaged as clerk, but in this country he at 
 once commenced buying and selling land, 
 and became one af the most extensive 
 real-estate dealers in northern Wisconsin, 
 largely interested in town property. In 
 1853 Mr. Martin was united in marriage, 
 in Philadelphia, with Miss Fannie Gillon, 
 a native of Brussels, Belgium, by whom 
 there were two children, viz. : Clotilde 
 and Joseph, who both died in 1870 (as 
 did also their mother), the girl at the age 
 of fourteen years, the boy when two 
 months old. In 1870 Mr. Martin was 
 married, in Green Bay, to Mary Louisa 
 Rosenberg, a native of Johnstown, N. Y. , 
 daughter of Peter and Louisa (Isham) 
 Rosenberg, who came from New York 
 State to Clinton, Wis. , and from there in 
 1867 to Green Bay, where both died. To 
 this second marriage of Mr. Martin were 
 born two children, viz. : James C. , engaged 
 in the insurance business with his father, 
 and George, deceased in infancy. In his 
 political preferences our subject was an 
 Independent. In 1866 he was a member 
 of the Assembly; in 1867 he was deputy 
 United States assessor; in 1870 he was 
 deputy marshal for the Northern District 
 of Wisconsin; also, same year, postmaster 
 at Red River, and was a member and 
 
4o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chairman of the board. For five years 
 he was town clerk of Red River; served 
 as a justice of the peace five years; and 
 for two years was school superintendent 
 for Kewaunee county, ^^r. Slartin was a 
 resident (jf that county from 1859 to 1874, 
 and of Green Bay from 1874 until his 
 death, which occurred June 16, 1894. 
 From 1885 till 1892 he was an active 
 member of the board of education in the 
 city of Green Bay. This family trace 
 their ancestry to the year 1665, and orig- 
 inally to the City of Paris, France. 
 
 WEBSTER A. BINGH,\M. Pre- 
 senting as it does a worthy ex- 
 ample to the rising generation, 
 the life of this gentleman, which 
 from early boyhood has been one of as- 
 siduous industry, untiring energy and un- 
 questioned integrity, is well deserving of 
 being sketched, however briefly, in the 
 pages of this volume. 
 
 Mr. Bingham was born March 25, 
 1844, in Ogle county. 111., a son of Hol- 
 land Weeks and Sarah S. (Goodrich) 
 Bingham, both natives of Cornwall, Vt., 
 the father born in 1804, the mother in 
 1 8 10. They were married in the East, 
 in 1836; moved, in 1838, to a farm in 
 Ogle county. 111., and from there, in 1849, 
 to Watertown, Wis., one daughter, aged 
 eight years, and one son (our subject), 
 aged five years, accompanying them. The 
 latter was educated at the Watertown 
 (Wis.) High School, and at the age of 
 fourteen conniienced the battle of life by 
 carrying brick at twenty-five cents per 
 day. He also during the summer vaca- 
 tions worked in a machine shop; a part of 
 the time, up to the age of seventeen, ran 
 a stationary engine, and when he was but 
 sixteen years old he taught a country 
 school near Watertown; by which it will 
 be seen that his early life experience was 
 of a decidedly versatile character. But 
 he was always equal to the occasion. He 
 was possessed of vigorons natural abilities, 
 and although his opportunities for acquir- 
 
 ing knowledge were but few, yet he ap- 
 plied his powers of observation upon the 
 things which were nearest to him, and the 
 boy became father to the man. In 1861, 
 at the age of seventeen, he enlisted in the 
 First Wis. V. C, in which regiment he 
 experienced three years of constant active 
 service in the Civil war, never being absent 
 from his post of duty during any engage- 
 ment in which the" First " participated. 
 He received slight promotions in the non- 
 commissioned line, and in 1864, at the 
 age of twenty, by reason of expiration of 
 term of service, was mustered out as regi- 
 mental quartermaster-sergeant. Return- 
 ing to Wisconsin, he entered upon a 
 course of study at the Spencerian Business 
 College, Milwaukee, and when his course 
 was nearl\- completed secured a position 
 in one of the departments of the college 
 as teacher, which he held for a short time 
 until a situation was open to him in a cer- 
 tain large wholesale hardware house in 
 Milwaukee, at that time one of the most 
 prominent firms in the West. In this 
 business he remained as salesman eight 
 years, advancing from a salary of five 
 hundred dollars to twenty-five hundred 
 dollars per annum, and becoming very 
 popular with the trade. In the fall of 
 1872 he engaged in a general merchandise 
 business in West De Pere, Brown Co., 
 Wis., on a small capital, which was more 
 than doubled the first two years, the sales 
 having been pushed up to ninety thousand 
 dollars the first year, in an ordinary coun- 
 try store, and for several successive years 
 increased until a steady and permanent 
 trade was established, which has been al- 
 most phenomenally successful from its 
 commencement to the present time. The 
 business has been conducted on the best 
 and most secure business priciples, and 
 no firm in Brown county stands higher 
 either with customers or creditors. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Bingham made a trip to 
 California, in reality for recreation; but 
 an opening for manufacturing presenting 
 itself strongly, he became one of the 
 members of a large corporation organized 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 41 
 
 for the purpose of manufacturing fire-clay 
 products, principally vitrified pipe for ir- 
 rigation purposes, city sewers, etc. The 
 full management of this company was 
 soon placed in his hands, and for several 
 years he has been the president and man- 
 ager of the "Pacific Clay Manufacturing 
 Company," of Los Angeles, Cal. The 
 concern is in a most prosperous condi- 
 tion, and has paid regular dividends to the 
 stockholders each year, under his manage- 
 ment. He retains his business interests 
 in De Pere (which is really his home), and 
 gives them as much personal attention as 
 is needed. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Bingham was married in 
 Milwaukee to Miss Fannie H. Bird, of 
 Cambridge, Mass. , and three children 
 have blessed their union, named respect- 
 ively: Mary Homer, Arthur Walter and 
 Susan Abbott. In religious faith he has 
 been an active member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church from the age of sixteen; in 
 political predilections he is a Republican, 
 but not an active politician, and has 
 served on the board of education of West 
 De Pere, ten years, and as mayor of that 
 city, one year. Now at the age of fifty 
 years, and in the prime of life, Mr. Bing- 
 ham is in perfect health, with some of thg 
 best years before him, as he believes, and 
 he deserves to lake pride in a substantial, 
 though modest, business record which 
 stands without a blemish. 
 
 M 
 
 ARTIN VAN BEEK, owner of 
 one of the finest farms in 
 Preble township, Brown coun- 
 ty, is well-known as one of the 
 most industrious and progressive farmers 
 of his section. 
 
 He was born October 29, 1842, in 
 Holland, son of John Van Beek, who 
 was a carpenter by trade, at which he 
 worked in his native country, being also 
 employed as a plow maker. In 1850 
 John Van Beek emigrated from Holland, 
 on June 24, that year, landing in Green 
 Bay, Wis., with his family of five chil- 
 
 dren — three sons and two daughters. On 
 arriving here he had but ten guilders (four 
 dollars) left, and immediately went to 
 work for Judge Ellis (at a place near 
 where Hagemeister's brewery now is), 
 repairing a sawmill, and also at his trade. 
 So limited were their circumstances at 
 first that the family lived in a stable, and 
 later for four months in a blacksmith 
 shop, aftter which they removed to a house 
 owned by Joshua Whitney's father. Thus 
 Mr. Van Beek struggled along, and after 
 some years was able to purchase a house 
 and lot, and still later 120 acres of land 
 in Preble township. Brown county, part 
 of which is now incorporated in the farm 
 of our subject. John Van Beek passed 
 from earth in 1883, ^^ Bay Settlement; 
 his wife died May 23, 1880, at the same 
 place, and they now lie buried in Bay Set- 
 tlement cemetery. After coming here 
 Mr. Van Beek visited his native country 
 once, but was not content to remain 
 there. From being a poor man he had, 
 by hard work and honest industry, ac- 
 cumulated a comfortable competence, 
 and he was highly respected in his lo- 
 cality. 
 
 Martin Van Beek was deprived of 
 educational advantages in his youth by 
 the limited circumstances of his parents, 
 who needed his help; but he was anxious 
 to learn, and attended night school even 
 after his marriage. During his later years 
 he has been a great reader, and in this 
 manner, and by observation, he has se- 
 cured a practical education. When but 
 a boy he was initiated into the details of 
 the lumber business, becoming quite 
 skilled in the care of saws, and was also 
 expert at manufacturing shingles by hand. 
 When a little older he did some sailing on 
 the lakes and ocean. At New Franken, 
 Wis. , he found work as head sawyer in a 
 shingle mill. He was completely at home 
 in the lumber business, and during fifteen 
 springs he "rode logs," at which he had 
 few equals, for which hazardous labor he 
 has been paid as much as seven dollars per 
 day. But being of a roving disposition. 
 
42 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 he has not been content to remain at 
 home all the time, and, especially as a 
 sailor, has probably traveled more than 
 any other farmer in his neifjhborhood. 
 
 On January 2, 1867, Mr. Van Beek 
 was married to Miss Catharine Bomber, 
 who was born April iiS. 1843, in Bel- 
 gium, a daughter of Agelius Bomber, and 
 came to the United States when thirteen 
 years old; her parents resided in Green 
 Bay. To this marriage have been born 
 thirteen children, three of whom — Mar- 
 garet A., Joseph and William — are de- 
 ceased. The others are named as fol- 
 lows: Mary, Hcnr}-. John, Josephine, 
 Joseph, Gertrude. Elizabeth, Samuel, 
 AloN'sius and William. At the time of 
 his marriage Mr. \'an Beek located in 
 Green Bay, and shortly after went with a 
 surveying corps, who were laying out the 
 course of the Green Bay, Winona & St. 
 Paul railroad. Upon his return home he 
 again engaged in the lumber business, 
 remaining with one firm, Clouse & 
 Featherly, for five years, during which 
 time his work was such that he gained 
 some knowledge of the blacksmith and 
 machinist trades. For two summers he 
 was in the employ of Earl & Case, and 
 received good wages, scaling lumber and 
 "booming logs." He also commenced 
 to learn the printer's trade in the Gazette 
 office at Green Bay, but gave it up on 
 account of his health. During these 
 years he had saved some money, and 
 built a home in Green Bay, which he 
 subsequently traded for forty acres of 
 land where he now lives, and to which 
 he has added other forty acres. When 
 he took up his residence on this land it 
 was covered with stumps, was very 
 swampy, and, altogether, in such poor 
 condition that he found it necessary to 
 tile almost the whole farm. But his 
 labor has been well repaid, for to-day he 
 has one of the best farms in Preble town- 
 ship, the result of years of hard work and 
 systematic management. While not a 
 life-long farmer, he has, during his resi- 
 dence here, proven himself capable and 
 
 progressive in the agricultural depart- 
 ment, paying special attention to the 
 raising of garden truck. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Van Beek 
 enlisted in the United States service, at 
 Oconto, Wis., but was rejected on ac- 
 count of his youth. He afterward en- 
 listed at Berlin, Wis., and was again 
 rejected, this time on account of injuries 
 received in a fall. Politically he is a 
 stanch Republican, and a strong sup- 
 porter of the principles of that party, but 
 he gi\es no time to party affairs, his own 
 interests requiring all his attention. In 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the Catholic Church, in 
 which he has been councilor some \ears. 
 
 E 
 
 DWARD DECKER was born 
 Ma\' 2, 1827, in Casco, Cumber- 
 land Co., Maine, son of David 
 and Eliza (Dunhamj Decker. 
 The progenitor of the Decker family in 
 America was the great-great-grandfather 
 of our subject, coming from England, and 
 settling on the Kennebec river, in Maine, 
 where he became a prominent and pros- 
 perous citizen. His grandson, David 
 Decker, removed to Cumberland county, 
 Maine, in an early day, married Jemima 
 Decker, a cousin, and they became the 
 parents of the following children: Mary, 
 David, John, William, Eunice, Charles, 
 Nathan and Spencer. Of these, David 
 Decker, was a well-known character in 
 his community, was a Jacksonian Demo- 
 crat, and had considerable influence in 
 local and State politics. By occupation 
 he was a merchant and miller, his mill 
 property being situated on the Kennebec 
 river; and as he was a capable business 
 man he prospered, but he also met with 
 many reverses. About 1857 he was in- 
 duced by his son, Edward, to come west 
 to Wisconsin, where he purchased a half 
 section of land in Kewaunee county, near 
 Casco, so named by his son, Edward, in 
 honor of his birthplace. Here David 
 Decker died in 1865 at the age of sixty- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 45 
 
 four years. His wife, Eliza (Dunham), 
 was a daughter of Jesse Dunham, a na- 
 tive of Boston, Mass., who resided in 
 Otisfield, Maine. Domestic, kind-hearted, 
 ■charitable, and possessed of many en- 
 dearing quaHties of head and heart, she 
 had hosts of friends. To her and her 
 husband were born eight children, name- 
 l}': Edward, Eliza Ann, Stillman, Levi, 
 Lucy, Adeline, Jesse and Lizzie. She 
 died in 1S89, at the age of eighty years. 
 Her family, the Dunhams, were generally 
 noted for stability in business and social 
 circles. 
 
 Edward Decker received in his boy- 
 hood but few advantages, even of the 
 public schools, and at the age of fourteen 
 he left home and proceeding to Portland, 
 Maine, there obtained a position, working 
 for eight dollars per month. When six- 
 teen years old he went to Boston, where 
 he clerked for his uncle in a general store 
 two years. During his stay in that city 
 Mr. Decker heard a good deal about 
 Iowa, enough to induce him to set out for 
 that State; but while in Milwaukee he was 
 persuaded to locate with a large party in 
 ^^^isconsin, and thus the State gained a 
 valuable citizen. He landed in Milwau- 
 kee, May 2, 1845, and after one year's 
 residence in Watertown, Wis., moved to 
 Oshkosh, where he embarked in the lum- 
 ber business, being the first man to run 
 logs to that place, in which connection he 
 became well known. Under a treaty 
 with the Indians, Robert Grignon had 
 permission to build a sawmill on Indian 
 lands along the Little Wolf river, and 
 !Mr. Decker contracted to stock the mill 
 with logs, he receiving half of the lumber. 
 This lumber was rafted and run down the 
 river, where it was disposed of among the 
 •early settlers of Winnebago county, and 
 pieces of same are still to be found in the 
 old houses of that section. Mr. Decker 
 ■continued in the lumber business three 
 years, and then built a hotel in Menasha, 
 which he conducted for a short time. 
 Selling this and other property he re- 
 anoved in 1855 to Kewaunee county. Wis. 
 
 (where he entered a large amount of land 
 with the intention of establishing a set- 
 tlement), opened a store and cleared 
 some land. In 1856 the county was or- 
 ganized and county officers elected, but 
 Mr. Decker declined to ha\e anything to 
 do with the organization. The county 
 officers being inexperienced, however, all 
 failed to qualify in the following January, 
 and he was requested by prominent busi- 
 ness men in the county to organize the 
 affairs and establish the different offices. 
 Having set the machinery going, and hav- 
 ing been deputized by the treasurer and 
 clerk, he set to work to put things in run- 
 ning order, and the business was soon in 
 proper condition. At the end of two 
 years he was elected clerk, and continued 
 to serve as such many years, being re- 
 elected often against his wish; he held the 
 office until January i, 1869. In the fall 
 of 1859 Mr. Decker was elected State 
 senator, in which capacity he served one 
 term. At the next convention his name 
 was again used, but he refused to be a 
 candidate, and when tendered the nomi- 
 nation declined to accept it. In the same 
 fall the Republicans and Democrats called 
 a mass convention, and again offered him 
 the nomination, which he, as before, re- 
 fused. 
 
 Regardless of party politics, he per- 
 formed some deeds of daring and acts of 
 charity that are entitled to honorable 
 mention in the history of the State. Dur- 
 ing the Civil war the draft was inevitable 
 in many counties in Wisconsin, and in 
 some armed resistance was feared. The 
 principal population of Kewaunee county 
 was foreign, and resisted the draft; armed 
 bodies of men discussed the situation, and 
 excitement ran high. Troops had been 
 ordered to the scene of trouble, blood- 
 shed seemed unavoidable, and the feeling 
 was bitter against the government. At 
 this critical stage the cooler heads of the 
 representative men of the State proposed 
 Edward Decker as the only man who in 
 all probability could act as United States 
 deputy provost marshal, and avert blood- 
 
46 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 shed and the dire consequences attending 
 it. He realized to the full the difficult 
 task before him, but finally was persuaded 
 to accept it. His record as county officer, 
 friend, business man and neifjhbor, all 
 combined to aid him, but it was weeks 
 after accepting the office before any im- 
 pression could be made on the wrathful 
 inhabitants, who regarded him as an 
 enemy to their rights and privileges. 
 Many of his acquaintances refused to 
 speak to him on meeting, and manifested 
 marked hostility. He had stipulated that 
 no armed force should be sent into the 
 Territory, and had secured other rights 
 and privileges which he could make use 
 of if occasion demanded; so by degrees 
 the hostility subsided, and his influence 
 with the people was felt. The cooler 
 heads saw the wisdom of his counsel, 
 and eventually the obno.xious draft was 
 avoided, money was subscribed liberally, 
 and bounties were paid. Mr. Decker's 
 full share in bringing this about will never 
 be fully learned, but many an old farmer 
 and father remembers the aid he received 
 in that trying time. 
 
 During all these years, besides attend- 
 ing to his public duties, he looked after 
 his settlement on Decker creek, which, 
 as before mentioned, was named ' ' Casco " 
 in honor of his birthplace. He eventually 
 established a lumber mill, which is still in 
 operation; owns 1,500 acres in a body at 
 Casco, and 1,500 acres in the vicinity. 
 His long service in the county office made 
 him familiar with every acre of land in 
 Kewaunee and Door counties, where he 
 owns, altogether, over ten thousand acres, 
 this land being accumulated by degrees, 
 excepting the old homestead at Casco, 
 where he bought three thousand acres at 
 one time. After withdrawing from the 
 county ofTices Mr. Decker intended to go 
 into the railroad business, starting a road 
 from Green Bay to St. Paul, and a com- 
 pany was organized which obtained a 
 charter. Associated with Mr. Decker 
 were Col. C. B. Robinson, editor of the 
 Green Bay Adi-ocatc, and Anton Klaus, 
 
 a merchant and lumberman. The pro- 
 ject was a bold one. and there is no doubt 
 that, had it been carried out. it would 
 have been a success, and the road would 
 probably have been the first through the 
 Northwest to the Pacific coast; but al- 
 though aid was voted, no material pro- 
 gress was made. In 1868 Mr. Decker 
 concluded to embark in the undertaking 
 in earnest; new directors were elected, 
 and he was made president, but Provi- 
 dence had ordered it otherwise. He was 
 injured in a runaway, his left arm being 
 so mangled as to necessitate amputation, 
 he was disabled for over a year, and he 
 consequently resigned the presidenc\-, and 
 the road was subsequently built b\- others 
 to Winona, Minn., instead of St. Paul. 
 Always active in business affairs, he has 
 been interested in many deals, and has 
 been a silent partner in various concerns. 
 
 While residing in Kewaunee he had 
 an interest in the large lumber mills there, 
 which he subsequently sold to good ad- 
 vantage. In 1872 he took up his resi- 
 dence in Green Bay, and purchased a 
 controlling interest in the Bank of Com- 
 merce, of which he became one of the 
 officers, and with which he retained his 
 connection several years. Removing 
 again to Casco, he built up quite an ex- 
 tensive business there, also conducting 
 from that place his interest in various 
 enterprises with which he was identified. 
 He became one of the main stockholders 
 of the Kewaunee Exchange Bank, which 
 has since been incorporated as one of the 
 State Banks of Wisconsin, and of which 
 he is now president. In 1881 he started 
 a private bank at Ahnapee, called the 
 Bank of Ahnapee. of which he is president 
 and owns the entire stock. In 18SS, in 
 company with James Keogh. he founded 
 the Bank of Sturgeon Bay, of which he is 
 also president. In February, 1891, Mr. 
 Decker and his son David organized the 
 Bank of Two Rivers, Wis., of which he 
 is president and David Decker cashier. 
 
 Though ever engaged with the many 
 duties of the various commercial enter- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 47 
 
 prises with which he was connected, Mr. 
 Decker still found time to devote to news- 
 paper work. In June, 1859, he brought 
 to Kewaunee a printing press, which he 
 had purchased at Menasha, where it had 
 been used to print a small weekly. None 
 of the Kewaunee citizens knew of this 
 enterprise till its arrival, and having a 
 cousin who acted as his clerk, and who 
 was a professional printer, Mr. Decker 
 got him to set it up and started the Ke- 
 waunee Enterprise, a paper politically 
 Democratic; in January, 1869, it was 
 sold to John M. Reed. In 1885 Mr. 
 Decker bought a half interest in the Green 
 Bay Advocate, which has since been in- 
 corporated as the Green Bay Advocate 
 Company, of which he fs president and 
 principal stockholder. This paper is pub- 
 lished both daily and weekly and is also 
 Democratic. Mr. Decker has just com- 
 pleted the building of a railroad from Casco 
 Junction to Sturgeon Bay, called the 
 Ahnapee & Western railway, of which he 
 is president. The road, which is practically 
 his own conception, is thirty-four miles in 
 length, and is operated as a general freight 
 and passenger line. 
 
 Mr. Decker is the father of six chil- 
 dren, viz. : George A. (of California), 
 Mrs. Anna Curtin, David B., Edward, 
 Nathan and Libbie, the latter of whom is 
 a student at Grafton Hall. 
 
 Although Mr. Decker's position in life 
 makes him a conspicuous figure in this 
 part of the State of Wisconsin, he is yet 
 the most companionable and approach- 
 able of men, and has an ever ready ear 
 and a helping hand for those in distress or 
 seeking advice in business matters. In 
 summing up his life sketch it is but just to 
 speak more fully of his relation to the 
 business world of the State, for the men 
 that compose it have universally a high 
 respect for his integritj' and moral worth. 
 His success in life has led to many in- 
 quiries regarding his methods in business, 
 which are sound and safe, and peculiarly 
 free from the vortex of speculation which 
 has made a few wealthy men, but which 
 
 has ruined so many of the really progres- 
 sive and enterprising. Aside from his 
 proverbial square-dealing with rich and 
 poor, it is his attention to details that has 
 been the foundation and rock of all his suc- 
 cesses. The services he has rendered in 
 developing the resources of the State, and 
 more especially those of Kewaunee and 
 Door counties, 'will best be appreciated 
 by a new and thinking generation, who 
 will be more able, as time gives opportun- 
 ity for reflection, to truly comprehend and 
 revere the memory of its pioneers who 
 were its best benefactors. 
 
 JH. EBELING, one of the most 
 prominent millers in Green Bay, was 
 born in 1S36 in Holstein, Germany, 
 a son of J. H. and Anna Dorothea 
 (Winert) Ebeling. The father, who was 
 also a miller, died in Germany in 1851^ 
 the mother surviving until about 1887. 
 Of their eighteen children, Henry N. and 
 J. H. (our subject) now reside in Green 
 Bay. 
 
 In 1864 J. H. Ebeling came to the 
 United States, and in Mishicot, Mani- 
 towoc Co., Wis., was engaged, in part- 
 nership with Mr. Soenksen, in milling 
 until 1866, when he came to Green Bay. 
 Here he worked as a miller for a Mr. 
 Hoeffel two years; then, in 1868, went to 
 New Franken, Brown county, built a 
 flour mill, and under the firm name of 
 Smith & Ebeling carried on the business 
 until 1S76, when the mill was destroyed 
 by fire. In 1877 the present flour mills 
 were erected, Mr. Ebeling and H. A. 
 Straubel being then the proprietors. The 
 mills were built with four run of buhrs, 
 and later rebuilt to the roller system and 
 enlarged to a capacity of 300 barrels of 
 flour per day, with an elevator attached, 
 of 45,000 bushels capacity. The mills 
 were run under the firm name of Ebeling 
 & Straubel's mill until March, 1894, when 
 Mr. Ebeling bought his partner's interest, 
 and has since conducted the business on 
 his sole account. Mr. Ebeling is presi- 
 
4S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BlOOIiAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 dent of the Columbian Baker\' Company, 
 is a stockholder in the Brown County Fair 
 & Park Association, and holds various 
 other important business interests. 
 
 He was married, in 1865. in Mishicot, 
 to Miss Mary, dauf,'hter of Carl Frederic 
 and Augusta (Kunze) Altmann, all natives 
 of Dresden, Germanj-. To this union 
 were born four children, viz. : J. H., Jr., 
 engineer at the mills; Frederic Charles, 
 traveling salesman for the same; Marie 
 C. ; and William Theodore, shipping clerk 
 for the mills. Mr. Ebeling is in politics a 
 Republican. His business qualifications 
 are universally recognized, and it may be 
 mentioned, to his great credit, that he 
 started in his present lucrative trade with 
 a cash capital of only one thousand dollars. 
 
 CHARLES WEST DAY, of the 
 city of De Perc, was born July i, 
 1836, in the town of Limerick, 
 Jefferson Co., N. Y. , and is a son 
 of Otis and Elmira (Scribner) Day, both 
 also natives of New York State, the for- 
 mer of whom was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion. Three children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Day in New York State, as fol- 
 lows: Charles W., our subject; Philander 
 L. a butcher and farmer, of Wrightstown, 
 Wis., and Frances, who died in Wrights- 
 town at the age of seven vears. 
 
 In November, i 849, Otis Day sold his 
 farm and decided to come to Wisconsin, 
 then the " Far West," which State was 
 offering cheap homes at the time men- 
 tioned. Accompanied by his family, he 
 journeyed to Buffalo, N. Y. ; and thence 
 via the lakes to Manitowoc; thence to 
 Green Bay, in January, 1850, reaching 
 Wrightstown, Brown county, where he 
 entered a tract of eighty acres of land. 
 The route from Green Bay to this land 
 led through an unbroken wilderness, and 
 from De Pere down was only a trail, which 
 had to be cut through to form a road for 
 the passage of his team. On his eighty 
 acres Mr. Day erected the first habitation 
 ever occupied by a white man in that re- 
 
 gion — a cabin of logs covered with bass- 
 wood boughs, which was occupied by the 
 Daj' family seven or eight years before a 
 more substantial and pretentious residence 
 was substituted. The sufferings of the 
 famih' from sickness at that early day 
 were terrible in the extreme, and at one 
 time Charles W. was the only member of 
 the household able to be on his feet. He 
 brought supplies from De Pere on his 
 back, often through knee-deep snow, and 
 on one occasion, returning from one of 
 these trips, found his only sister a corpse. 
 The growth of timber was very dense, 
 and great labor was required in felling it. 
 Shingles made by hand were the only 
 source of revenue, and it required two 
 days' hard work to secure a load, that is 
 a thousand, which after being hauled to 
 De Pere, the nearest market, by ox-team, 
 brought but seventy-five cents in trade in 
 goods at the store. As the timber was 
 felled, an axe was used to make incisions 
 in the ground, into which seed corn was 
 dropped, and the natural fertility of the 
 soil producing good crops, a comfortable 
 living was gradually derived from this 
 cereal. The death of Otis Day occurred on 
 this farm June 20, 1882, and that of Mrs. 
 Day May 7, 1890, and their remains now 
 lie in Greenleaf cemetery. 
 
 Charles West Day received such an 
 education as the schools of his early days 
 afforded, and has lived to see great changes 
 in the conduct of these institutions, the 
 advantages of which he has fully availed 
 himself of for the benefit, at least, of his 
 own children. He of course began life on 
 a farm, but was early initiated into the 
 mysteries of lumbering, the general voca- 
 tion of his neighborhood. At the age of 
 twenty he left his old home to begin the 
 battle of life for himself, and has made a 
 good fight. The first summer of his ca- 
 reer was passed in company with Reuben 
 Thompson in making shingles by hand; 
 the following year he worked for a Mr. 
 Blake, of De Pere, who was building cor- 
 duroy roads, and the next winter received 
 his first real start in life by clearing five 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 49 
 
 hundred dollars with a team of oxen he 
 had purchased the year previous. 
 
 On July 3, i860, Mr. Day was mar- 
 ried to Miss Juliette Chase, who was born 
 June 14, 1840, in the town of Charleston, 
 Kalamazoo Co., Mich. Her parents, 
 Henrj' and Persis (Averill) Chase, were 
 New Englanders, but came from Canada 
 to Michigan, and later, in 1856, moved to 
 De Pere via Green Baj', four years after- 
 ward removing to Wrightstown. The 
 marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Day was sol- 
 emnized by Squire Brown on the site of 
 the "Old Agency House," a short dis- 
 tance north of De Pere. After his mar- 
 riage Mr. Day located on eighty acres of 
 timberland bought of Lucien Wright, in 
 partnership with H. S. Wright, whereon 
 he built a log shanty, and the fast}- man- 
 ner in which Mrs. Day kept the humble 
 abode was the comment of all the neigh- 
 bors round about. All the timber was 
 cut from the land, which Mr. Daj- sold 
 after passing one winter thereon, and 
 he then moved to Greenleaf, the follow- 
 ing winter locating on the old homestead, 
 where he continued lumbering. Here a 
 water-mill had been erected by Otis Day, 
 which Charles W. con\erted into a steam- 
 mill — something of a novelty in its day — 
 which in later years was enlarged and im- 
 proved. Mr. Day, in his time, has bought 
 and sold thousands of acres of timberland, 
 which he has resold after cutting off the 
 timber, and to-day owns a tract of 500 
 acres, of which 400 are under cultivation. 
 In August, 1884, he removed to De Pere, 
 where he has ever since resided, although 
 his business interests lie entirely in 
 Wrightstown, in and around Greenleaf. 
 
 Politicall}' a Republican, Mr. Day cast 
 his first Presidential vote for Abraham 
 Lincoln. He has never been an office- 
 seeker, but has always been one of the 
 advisers and counselors of his party in his 
 section, and has filled various local offices, 
 though on two occasions, when elected 
 township trustee, he declined to serve. 
 For twenty-nine years he was school 
 treasurer of his township, four years of 
 
 which he served after leaving the District, 
 and was, in fact, legally disqualified from 
 serving. In 1886 he was elected to the 
 State Senate, and served the term to the 
 gratification of all concerned. In all his 
 monetary transactions, involving thou- 
 sands upon thousands of dollars, he has 
 never had a lawsuit, which fact is in itself 
 sufficient demonstration of the rectitude 
 of his conduct. To the foresight, skill, 
 industry and indomitable energy of such 
 citizens does Brown county owe much of 
 her prosperity. Mr. Day is not a mem- 
 ber of a secret lodge or secret society of 
 any kind, preferring to spend his leisure 
 time in the home circle of his interesting 
 famil}', which is a true type of an ideal 
 American home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Day have had born to 
 them seven children, as follows: Ed- 
 ward B. , of Greenleaf; Persis E., now 
 the wife of W. H. Earles, M. D., of Mil- 
 waukee; Mary E., married to B. I. Bray- 
 ten, of St. Paul; Alma E., who died in 
 infancy; Carlton A., at home; Frederick 
 E., who also died in infancy; and Lillian 
 M., at home. 
 
 HON. JOHN M. HOGAN. This 
 gentleman is a well-known prom- 
 inent farmer, of Preble township, 
 Brown county, in whose career 
 as a successful merchant and financier 
 we find one of the best examples of safe 
 conservative enterprise. 
 
 Patrick Hogan, his father, was a na- 
 tive of County Clare, Ireland, where he 
 received a liberal education. When little 
 more than a lad he emigrated to the 
 United States, and in New York City 
 learned the trade of hatter, which he fol- 
 lowed for some time there. In that city 
 he married Miss Isabella McGillan, a na- 
 tive of Tyrone, Ireland, who came to 
 America with a sister, both being then in 
 their young womanhood, and to this 
 union were born two children: John M., 
 and Mary. When our subject was yet 
 an infant his parents came west, and 
 
5° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHJCAL RECORD. 
 
 landing in Detroit, Mich., the mother 
 and child were left there while the father 
 proceeded farther westward to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., where he purchased land in the 
 neighborhood, situated in Town 1 2, 
 Washington county. Later the family 
 joined him, and on this farm they lived 
 three years, at the end of which time they 
 moved to Green Bay, residing there un- 
 til March, i860, when they came to 
 Preble township and settled on the farm 
 now owned by our subject. Very little 
 clearing had been done on this piece of 
 land at the time the family came to it, 
 but hard work and industrious persever- 
 ance soon converted it into a productive 
 farm. The father resided here at vari- 
 ous times, occasionally in Green Bay, 
 where he died July 17, 1887, his remains 
 being interred in Allouez township ceme- 
 tery. His widow, now seventy-four years 
 of age, is living with our subject; she is a 
 member of the Church of St. John the 
 Evangelist, at Green Bay. The daughter, 
 Mary, died when four and one-half years 
 old, and is also buried in Allouez town- 
 ship cemetery. Mr. Hogan was a typ- 
 ical self-made man, one who climbed from 
 the bottom rung of the ladder of success 
 to the top, totally unaided, and by his 
 own indefatigable exertions and labor. 
 John M. Hogan, the subject proper of 
 these lines, was born, in 1848, in New 
 York City, whence when an infant he was 
 brought by his parents to Wisconsin, as 
 above related. At the common schools 
 of his boyhood period he received a fair 
 education, and was reared to agricultural 
 pursuits, in which he was thoroughly 
 trained. In 1882, in company with 
 Peter Tuyls, he embarked in general 
 merchandising in Green Bay, their store 
 being located on Main street, where they 
 met with encouraging success, but failing 
 health compelled his retirement. Selling 
 his interest in the store, he for a time 
 lived comparatively retired, occasionally 
 buying and selling real estate, in which he 
 also made a success. Two years after 
 the death of his father he purchased the 
 
 home farm, and believing it would im- 
 prove his health, in the spring of 1890 
 returned to it, and has remained there 
 ever since, not doing any active work, 
 however, as the farm, which now com- 
 prises eighty acres, is looked after by 
 others. In politics he is a Republican, 
 but no partisan, as in county and town- 
 ship matters he votes for the individual 
 he considers best suited to theoflfice, while 
 in State and National affairs he invariably 
 supports his party ticket. He has been 
 called upon to serve his township in var- 
 ious capacities, such as chairman of the 
 board of supervisors some seven years, 
 justice of the peace and treasurer of the 
 school board, at all times acquitting him- 
 self with credit and honor, and to the sat- 
 isfaction of his constituents. In the fall 
 of 1880 he was elected representative to 
 the State Legislature, in which he served 
 one term with marked ability. Much 
 credit is due to Mr. Hogan for the envia- 
 ble position in society he has elevated 
 himself to, he being recognized as a lead- 
 ing man in the county, and a wise coun- 
 selor. At the breaking out of the war of 
 the Rebellion Mr. Hogan was too young 
 to enlist, being then but twelve years of 
 age, but on May 26, 1864, when not quite 
 si.vteen years old, he enlisted at Green 
 Bay without the knowledge of his par- 
 ents, becoming a member of Company G, 
 Forty-first Wis. V. I. He served with 
 his command at Memphis, Tenn., and 
 was on picket duty there when the Con- 
 federate general Forrest made the attack 
 on that place in 1864. Mr. Hogan com- 
 pleted his term of enlistment, and on 
 September 23, 1864, was honorably dis- 
 charged from the service, in Milwaukee. 
 
 PHILIPP MULLER. In the life 
 of this well-known gentleman there 
 is presented a lesson for the youth 
 of any land; something to be found 
 in it of a nature encouraging to the young 
 aspirant, who, without friends or fortune, 
 is struggling to overcome obstacles in his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 efforts to acquire a comfortable compe- 
 tence, if not absolute wealth. 
 
 Mr. Muller was born in Prussia, Sep- 
 tember 6, 1 83 1, in one of the wine-grow- 
 ing districts that luxuriate along the fer- 
 tile banks of the beautiful river Moselle, 
 and distant some eighteen miles from the 
 city of Trier. He is the second child and 
 eldest son of Matthias Muller, a well-to-do 
 landowner in Germany, also a wine-grower 
 and cooper, making his own casks for use 
 in his business. Young Philipp was brought 
 up to this industry, working steadily at it 
 after leaving school, until he was nine- 
 teen years old, when he decided to emi- 
 grate to America, here to seek his fortune. 
 
 On May i, 1850, in company with a 
 cousin, Matthias Hoffman, he set sail 
 from the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in the 
 American ship "Edwina," and after a 
 quick passage of thirty days, landed at 
 New York, where he found his funds 
 completely e.xhausted. His cousin, how- 
 ever, kindly came to his assistance, sup- 
 plying him with sufficient money to bring 
 him on to Wisconsin, and after landing in 
 Milwaukee, he and his cousin (for they 
 were still companions in their journey) 
 proceeded to Sheboygan, thence by foot 
 to Manitowoc, where our subject found 
 his first employment on American soil, 
 commencing, as will be seen, in debt. 
 His employer was one Richter, who kept 
 several cows a short distance from Mani- 
 towoc, and young Muller's duties were 
 to attend to them, receiving the sum 
 of eight dollars per month for his serv- 
 ices, boarding all this time in Mani- 
 towoc with John Raymer, a fellow-coun- 
 tryman. On leaving Richter he went to 
 Two Rivers and commenced work in the 
 sawmill of H. H. Smith, at the same 
 wages as he had previously got; but in 
 two short weeks the terrible scourge, 
 cholera, broke out, paralyzing work, and 
 people fleeing from the place, one of the 
 fugitives allowing our subject to occupy 
 his deserted home, and here the latter re- 
 mained, living as best he could. When 
 the plague had abated, people began to re- 
 
 turn to their homes, the sawmill was once 
 more started up, and Mr. Muller found 
 work until the fall of the year, at which 
 time the mill was closed. Purchasing a 
 strong pair of boots and an axe, he ne.xt 
 tried his hand at chopping cordwood at two 
 shillings and sixpence per cord, but at 
 the end of winter he found on settling up 
 that he owed his employer eight dollars 
 after giving him his axe, which was not a 
 very encouraging transaction. In the 
 spring he again engaged to work in Smith's 
 sawmill at eight dollars per month, and 
 found himself at the end of the season 
 with just thirteen dollars in cash. From 
 that he again went to lumbering in the 
 woods for a short time; then, purchasing 
 an axe and a cross-cut saw, cut cordwood 
 for a time, after which for the remainder 
 of the winter he made shingles, and on 
 settling up in the spring he found that, 
 after surrendering his tools to his em- 
 ployer, he was enabled to begin the sum- 
 mer of 1852 simply out of debt. Work- 
 ing again in a sawmill at nine dollars per 
 month, he succeeded in saving by the 
 commencement of winter about twenty- 
 five dollars, and for the next few months 
 he found various kinds of employment for 
 no more than his board. 
 
 Next year, leaving Two Rivers, he 
 hired out at Neshoto at sixteen dollars 
 per month, and at the end of something 
 over a year he had saved $160, with 
 which sum he proceeded to New York in 
 order to meet his parents, brothers and 
 sisters and an old uncle, all of whom had 
 just landed from Germany, and were 
 without money to take them westward. 
 Mr. Muller, however, brought them all 
 to Wisconsin, thirteen in number, and 
 when they reached Two Rivers there was 
 not a penny left in the party, so Mr. 
 Muller had to borrow two shillings where- 
 with to pay the wharfage on the chattels. 
 The family' then went to live with a rela- 
 tive in Two Rivers, but the junior mem- 
 bers soon found work, the boys at peeling 
 bark, the girls as domestics. A farm was 
 rented for the parents and the old uncle. 
 
52 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the youngest child going with them. In 
 the following spring, in Mishicot town- 
 ship. Manitowoc county, the father 
 bought eighty acres of uncleared land, 
 paying on account $35, which money was 
 supplied by Philipp, saved by him out of 
 his earnings in the lumber woods, where 
 he worked at $18 per month. Later on, 
 finding themselves unable to meet pay- 
 ments falling due on this land, forty acres 
 had to be sold in order to clear them- 
 selves. There was not a single stick cut 
 on the remaining forty acres, so there 
 was a vast amount of work to be done to 
 make a clearing. A log house, 16x24 
 feet, was first built, and this was the only 
 shelter for the family, at that time seven 
 in munber, for a long time. By i860 
 sufficient improvements were made, our 
 subject furnishing out of his hard-earned 
 wages all the necessary means; and, in- 
 deed, it may be said he was the mainstay 
 of the family until they were able to sup- 
 port themselves from the product of the 
 farm, and then he began for himself. 
 
 On December 7, 1861, Mr. Muller 
 was married to Miss Magdalene Flem- 
 ming, who was born May 5. 1842, in 
 Luxemburg, Germany, a daughter of 
 Frank Flemming, who in 1S56 came from 
 Antwerp, Belgium, to New York, bring- 
 ing his family, from there traveling west- 
 ward to Wisconsin, and settling in Ne- 
 shoto, Manitowoc county, where the 
 marriage took place, 'Squire Jacob King 
 performing the ceremony. In Neshoto 
 the young people connnenced housekeep- 
 ing, and after a five-years' residence there 
 moved to Two Rivers, Mr. Muller work- 
 ing there in sawmills; thence proceeded 
 to Kewaunee, where he was employed in 
 the same line of work, his wages being 
 now $3 per day, for eight years working 
 in the mill summers and "scaling" logs 
 winters, after which for nineteen years 
 he was employed in sawmills only — a 
 total of twenty-seven years, eight years 
 under one employer, the remainder with 
 three different companies, never being 
 discharged from anyone of them, and not 
 
 leaving Kewaunee until the last log in the 
 neighborhood was sawed. 
 
 From there Mr. Muller came to the 
 city of Green Bay, owning some lots 
 there, but after a short sojourn re- 
 moved into the country. In the fall of 
 1877 he came to his present farm of 
 ninety-three acres in Preble township. 
 Brown county, situated four miles south- 
 east of Green Bay, and here he has since 
 resided, prosperously engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits, including stock-raising. 
 When he came to this farm it was in a 
 very wild condition, covered with under- 
 brush and fallen timber, but by dint of 
 assiduous labor and untiring energy he 
 has converted it into a luxuriant farm of 
 fertile fields. Two sons and two daugh- 
 ters complete the happy family circle, 
 viz. : Jacob, born February 6, 1863, in Ne- 
 shoto; George, born March 18, 1866, also 
 in Neshoto; Catherine, born June 15. 
 1875, in Kewaunee, and Elizabeth, born 
 August 21, 1877, ^1^0 '" Kewaunee. 
 They are all on the farm, the sons assist- 
 ing the father in the general work thereon. 
 Politically our subject is a Democrat, his 
 first vote being cast for Franklin Pierce, 
 and has served his township in various 
 offices, such as road overseer for District 
 No. 5, two terms. The family are wor- 
 thy members of the Catholic Church, and 
 enjoy the respect and esteem of all who 
 know them. 
 
 HON. S. D. HASTINGS, Jr., Cir- 
 cuit Judge of the District com- 
 prising Brown, Oconto, Marinette 
 and Door counties, was born 
 June 19, 1 84 1, in Philadelphia, a son of 
 Samuel D. and Margaretta (Schubert) 
 Hastings, the former a native of Massa- 
 chusetts, the latter of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Samuel D. Hastings was reared in his 
 native State, and as a representative of a 
 business house was sent to Philadelphia, 
 where he, resided until 1845, when he 
 came to Wisconsin and located in Wal- 
 worth county, where he was an earnest 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 53 
 
 worker in the cause of temperance, until 
 1 85 1, at which time he removed to La- 
 Crosse, Wis. In the fall of 1857 he was 
 elected State Treasurer of Wisconsin, and 
 filled the office eight years. On his elec- 
 tion to this responsible office he removed 
 to Madison, the capital of the State, and 
 there he and his wife still reside. Since 
 the expiration of his office as State 
 Treasurer, in 1865, he has devoted all 
 his attention to the cause of temperance. 
 His children are three in number, 
 namely: S. D., our subject; EmmaM., 
 wife of H. R. Hobart, editor of the 
 Rni/zi'ay Ag^c, of Chicago, 111., and Flor- 
 ence L. , married to H. W. Hoyt, princi- 
 pal owner of the Gates Iron Works, of 
 the same city. 
 
 Hon. S. D. Hastings came to Brown 
 county in August, 1867, from Madison, 
 where for two years he had been 
 in the practice of law; in 1883 he was 
 elected to his present high position, and 
 was re-elected in 1889 — each term being 
 for six years. He was a graduate of 
 Beloit College and of the Albany (N. Y.) 
 Law C'lllege; was admitted to the bar of 
 New York in 1865, and, with his eighteen- 
 years' experience at the bar, was fully 
 prepared for the duties of the circuit 
 judgeship, taking his seat on the bench 
 January i, 1884. The Judge was first 
 married, in 1863, at Beloit, Wis., to Miss 
 Marj' C. Kendall, a native of Milwaukee, 
 and a daughter of the late J. G. Kendall, 
 a pioneer of Beloit. Airs. Hastings be- 
 came the mother of three daughters, 
 Lillias M. (the only one now living), 
 and in 1868 passed to the other side of 
 Life's river. In 1872 the Judge chose for 
 his second wife Miss Hetta Sue Clapp, 
 whom he married in her native city, 
 Kenosha, Wis. Her parents were Na- 
 thaniel P. and Sarah (McCoy) Clapp, 
 natives of New York, and pioneers of 
 Kenosha before Wisconsin was admitted 
 to the sisterhood of States. The father, 
 who was prominent as a stock dealer, 
 was accidentally killed, while in New York 
 with a shipment of cattle; the mother 
 
 died in Green Bay in 1889. To this 
 second marriage of Judge Hastings have 
 been born five children — Florence N., 
 now aged fourteen; S. D., Jr., now aged 
 eleven, and three sons who died in in- 
 fancy. Mrs. Hastings has one living 
 sister, the wife of George G. Greene, of 
 the firm of Greene & Vrooman, attor- 
 neys-at-law. 
 
 Judge Hastings is a Republican in 
 politics; he was president of the Green 
 Bay school board for years, and has 
 been president of the board of directors 
 of the city library since its organization 
 in 1890; he is a member of the board of 
 directors of the Electric Light Company 
 of Green Ba}', of the Kellogg National 
 Bank of Green Bay, and of the Oconto 
 National Bank of Oconto. For several 
 years he has been lecturer in the law de- 
 partment of the Wisconsin University at 
 Madison. He has filled all these positions 
 of usefulness with marked ability, and 
 few men of his years in the State of 
 Wisconsin stand higher in the esteem of 
 its citizens. 
 
 EDWIN HART was one of the 
 early pioneers of Brown county. 
 Wis., having come here in 1S30, 
 in the emplo\- of the United States 
 Government, to assist in the rebuilding of 
 Fort Howard, and in other public works. 
 He was employed by the government 
 some years, having charge, part of the 
 time, of the surveying force on the con- 
 struction of military roads from Green 
 Bay to Manitowoc and Calumet, as well 
 as a lighthouse and fort at Mackinac 
 straits. Later he took up his residence 
 in Green Bay — in that portion of it known 
 as Navarino — as a carpenter and con- 
 tractor. During his active life he took 
 many large contracts, and nearly all the 
 old landmarks in and about Brown county 
 are his handiwork. In 1829, prior to 
 coming to Green Baj', he erected a Mission 
 church on Mackinac Island, but in the 
 
54 
 
 COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fall of that year he returned to Cleve- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Hart was born May 5, 1807, in 
 Griswold, New London Co., Conn., a son 
 of Judah and Abigail (Belden) Hart, both 
 also natives of Connecticut, in which 
 State they were married. In 1822 they 
 moved westward to Ohio, first locating in 
 Cleveland, and in 1824 settling on a farm 
 in Brownhelin township, Lorain county, 
 same State, where they died within three 
 days of each other. The father served in 
 the war of 1812. 
 
 Edwin Hart, of whom this sketch 
 more particularly relates, was fifteen 
 years old when the family moved from 
 Connecticut to Ohio, and in Cleveland he 
 learned carpentry (which was his regular 
 trade), there remaining until coming to 
 Wisconsin in the employ of the govern- 
 ment, as related at the commencement 
 of the sketch. In 1832 he was married 
 in Green Bay to Miss Eliza J. Glass, a 
 native of Clarksville, Ohio, and daughter 
 of Joseph and Effie fRoger) Glass, who 
 were married in Ohio, and came to Green 
 Bay in 1828; the father, who was a fur 
 trader, died in Green Bay, the mother 
 passing away in 1856 in Oconto. After 
 marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Hart con- 
 tinued to reside in Green Bay until 1852, 
 removing then to Oconto, same State, 
 where he embarked in the lumber, mill- 
 ing and steamboat business, and where 
 they still reside. This old pioneer couple 
 had a family of eight children, a brief 
 record of whom is as follows: (i) George 
 E. resides in California. (2) Levi W. was 
 killed in the railroad accident at Ashta- 
 bula, Ohio, in December, 1876, when 
 about forty years of age; he was a travel- 
 ing salesman at the time, with residence 
 in Akron, Ohio, and on hearing of the ac- 
 cident his wife, Mrs. Susie (May) Hart, 
 having some foreboding as to his fate, 
 drove all the way to Cleveland in a cut- 
 ter, to find her fears were only too well 
 founded; when his remains were dis- 
 covered in the wreck both arms and the 
 right leg had been burned off, but the rest 
 
 of the body, especially the face, was com- 
 paratively uninjured. (3) Mar\' A. is the 
 wife of Dr. S. A. Coleman, of Cleveland, 
 Ohio. (4) Clifford B. is a member of the 
 firm of H. W. & C. B. Hart, owners and 
 managers of Hart's Steamboat Line, 
 Green Bay. (5) Eliza Jane is the wife of 
 B. J. Brown, of Menominee, Mich. (6) 
 Cyrus S. is editor of the Oconto County 
 Reporter. (7) Capt. H. \V. is in partner- 
 ship with his brother C. B., as above 
 mentioned. (8) Franklin died at Oconto, 
 Wis., in 1863. Mr. Hart in politics was 
 originally a Whig, and since the formation 
 of the party has been a stanch Repub- 
 lican. Socially he is a member of the 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 CAPTAIN H. W. HART, senior 
 member of the firm of H. W. 
 & C. B. Hart, owners and mana- 
 gers of Hart's Steamboat Line, 
 Green Bay, is a native of the town, born 
 January 8, 1846, a son of Edwin and 
 Eliza J. (Glass) Hart. 
 
 At the age of six years he moved with 
 his parents to Oconto. Wis. , where he 
 received his education. In early life, 
 when a mere boy of fourteen years, he 
 shipped on board a lake vessel in the 
 capacity of cook, from which humble 
 position, by energy and perseverance, he 
 rose step by step, in the various ex- 
 periences of a sailor's life, at the age of 
 eighteen years becoming captain of his own 
 ship, the steamer "Eagle"; this vessel 
 was built in Oshkosh and was rechristened 
 in Oconto, running between the latter 
 city and Green Bay for two seasons, after 
 which it carried both freight and passen- 
 gers for a time, and was then turned into 
 a tug boat for raft towing. Hart's Steam- 
 boat Line was founded in 1873, with a 
 capital of $140,000, by Capts. H. W. 
 and C. B. Hart, both able and ex- 
 perienced steamboat men. They built 
 the "May Queen" in Green Bay, and ran 
 her on the old line for two seasons, after- 
 ward building the "Northwest" and re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 55 
 
 building the "May yueen," which was 
 burned at the dock in Green Bay in 1877. 
 In the spring of 1878 they launched the 
 steamer "Welcome," and some time 
 afterward the " C. W. Moore," which our 
 subject ran between Green Bay and 
 Manistique until 1888, when the " Fannie 
 C. Hart" was built, which he has since 
 run between Green Bay and Cheboygan, 
 Mich. The last-named boat was re- 
 modeled in 1890; the "Eugene C. Hart" 
 was built in 1890, and run on the same 
 route with the "Fannie C. Hart," the 
 company now owning four propellers — 
 the "Fannie C. Hart," "Eugene C. 
 Hart," "C. W. Moore" and the "Wel- 
 come " — all stanch, speedy, safe and re- 
 liable boats. The two brothers take 
 great pride in the "Fannie" and 
 "Eugene," which they command in 
 person. 
 
 In June, 1868, Capt. H. W. Hart 
 was married to Miss Hattie A. Wagner, 
 a native of Ogdensburg, N. Y., daughter 
 of Stephen H. Wagner, now a resident of 
 Green Bay, and to this union si.\ children 
 were born, viz. : Fannie C. , wife of 
 Frederick Brett, of Green Bay; Edwin 
 W. ; Katie and Eliza J., who died of scar- 
 let fever at the ages of six and four years 
 respectively; Hattie A. and Julia B. 
 Capt. H. W. Hart in politics is an active 
 Republican; socially he is a member of 
 the F. & A. M. , Washington Lodge No. 
 21, Warren Chapter, and Palestine Com- 
 mandery, all of Green Bay. 
 
 ELEAZER HOLMES ELLIS was 
 born August 26, 1826, in Brown 
 county. Wis., at or near Green 
 Bay. His Grandfather Ellis was 
 a native of Connecticut, and was of Welsh 
 extraction. He and his wife, who was 
 also a native of Connecticut, removed to 
 Herkimer county, N. Y. , where Mr. El- 
 lis died when still young; his widow pass- 
 ed away at the age of about seventy-seven 
 years, the mother of two children, Albert 
 Gallatin, and Sophronia (Mrs. Holmes). 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Holmes removed to Brown 
 county. Wis., in 1841; both have since 
 died leaving many descendants, Albert G. 
 E. Holmes, a merchant of Green Bay, 
 being their eldest son. 
 
 Albert G. Ellis, the father of Judge 
 Ellis, was born August 24, 1800, in Ver- 
 ona, N. Y. He received a common- 
 school education, and at the age of four- 
 teen years entered a printing office in old 
 Herkimer, N. Y., there laying the founda- 
 tion of a thoroughly practical education, 
 which proved of immense value to him in 
 after life. He was full of ambition, and 
 at the age of twenty-five sought a wider 
 field of usefulness in what were then the 
 wilds of Brown county. Wis. His first 
 visit to this country was made about 
 1 82 1, when he came with the Oneida In- 
 dians, who were removed to Wisconsin 
 from Oneida county, N. Y. He was em- 
 ployed as a surveyor, and assisted in lay- 
 ing out the land of the Indian Reserva- 
 tion in Brown county, which then includ- 
 ed the greater part of northern Wiscon- 
 sin. He was familiar with Indian cus- 
 toms, and after the survey was completed 
 remained as a permanent citizen and soon 
 became a valuable acquisition to the new 
 settlements, being a man of more than 
 ordinary ability, and of great force of 
 character. He taught school at three 
 different places in the neighborhood 
 of Fort Howard and Green Bay. In 1824 
 Mr. Ellis returned to Oneida county; 
 N. Y. , where he married Miss Pamela, 
 daughter of Elijah Holmes, of West 
 Winfield, N. Y. , and the young couple 
 came to Green Bay, Brown county, then 
 called La Baye Verte by the French and 
 the old settlers. They began housekeep- 
 ing at or near Shantytown, three miles 
 south of Green Bay. Mr. Ellis taught 
 school for some time, and later engaged 
 in various occupations until he became 
 identified with the Green Bay Intelligencer. 
 He was a practical printer, became asso- 
 ciated with John V. Suydam in the estab- 
 lishing of the paper, and with him shares 
 the honor of founding the first newspaper 
 
56 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the Northwest territory. Soon after 
 he severed his connection with the Green 
 Bay Intelligencer he was elected a mem- 
 ber of the Second Session of the Third 
 Territorial House of Kepresentati\'es, 
 which convened at Madison December 6, 
 1 84 1. In 1842 he was re-elected, and 
 had the honor of beinj^ elected speaker of 
 the House ; he was ajjain re-elected in 
 1843. In 1 84 1 or 1842 Mr. Ellis was 
 appointed, by the United States Govern- 
 ment, Surveyor-general for Wisconsin and 
 Iowa, the office then being located at 
 Dubuque, Iowa, whither he was accus- 
 tomed to travel on horseback; he still 
 made his home, however, at Green Ba}', 
 and he rendered the government valuable 
 services in both Territories. He also 
 surveyed and subdivided many townships 
 and sections in Wisconsin, embracing 
 Manitowoc, Kewaunee, Door, Oconto, 
 Brown and Outagamie counties. An un- 
 tiring worker, he often, in running his lines, 
 tireil out even his hardy French-Canadian 
 assistants. He also rendered valuable 
 service in this county, and as his surveys 
 were remarkably correct, he was consid- 
 ered quite an expert in his profession. 
 He was no speculator, or he could have 
 become wealthy, for he knew every valu- 
 able foot of land in the surrounding 
 country. In 1S38 he removed with his 
 family to Hill Creek, one and a half miles 
 east of Green Hay, where he carried on the 
 business of milling and farming, and he 
 there owned a sawmill, a gristmill, and a 
 cabinet shop, all of which, with the farm, 
 he successfully operated for many years. 
 He was familiar with mechanics' tools and 
 machinery, and could turn his hand to 
 almost every kind of work — a valuable 
 accomplishment indeed. He was moder- 
 ately successful from a financial point of 
 view, but sold much of his land at $3 
 an acre, before values in land were on 
 the increase. He also made some Gov- 
 ernment surveys north of Stevens Point, 
 to which place he removed in 1853, 
 making investments there in town lots. 
 Shortly after his arrival there he was ap- 
 
 pointed receiver of the United States 
 Land Office at that place, and he held the 
 position several years. Among the prop- 
 erties he bought there was a flouring mill, 
 which he conducted for some time. He 
 also started the Wisconsin Pinery, a 
 paper Democratic in politics, which ex- 
 isted until within a short time of this writ- 
 ing; he was editor of the same for many 
 years, but finally sold his interest. He 
 was a very enterprising, puplic-spirited 
 man, and at one time served as mayor of 
 Stevens Point. He was an ardent mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church, to which he 
 gave liberal support, and he helped to 
 build the churches at Stevens Point and 
 Green Bay; he was one of the incorporat- 
 ors and a vestryman in the church at the 
 latter place. Mr. Ellis was not a member 
 of any secret organization. Having the 
 welfare of the community always at heart, 
 his many acts of charity and brotherly 
 affection toward humanity in general en-* 
 deared him \.vi every one, and he died De- 
 cember 23. 1885, honored and respected 
 by all who knew him, at the advanced age 
 of eighty-five years. He was a man of 
 regular habits and good principles, and his 
 whole life is a lesson to posterity. Mrs. 
 Pamela Ellis was also an active member 
 of the Episcopal Church, and was beloved 
 by all, old and young. She died at Green 
 Bay, March 18, 1847, aged forty-three 
 j'ears, the mother of six children, of whom 
 Judge E. H. Ellis is the eldest, and the 
 only survivor. 
 
 Judge Ellis was educated in the pio- 
 neer schools of Green Bay, and his father 
 being anxious for him to study French 
 and Latin, he procured good private 
 teachers, some of whom resided in his 
 family at the Hill Creek Mills for several 
 years. Young Ellis entered the law office 
 of Hon. Henry S. Baird, a well-known 
 attorney in Green Bay and vicinity, who 
 was the president of the first Legislative 
 Assembly of the Territory of Wisconsin, 
 and after studying for three and a half 
 years was admitted to the bar by Judge 
 Andrew G. Miller, in October, 1847. The 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 57 
 
 sjime autumn he set out, on horseback, 
 to look up a suitable location, and at the 
 age of t\vent}-one years "hung out his 
 shingle" at Manitowoc Rapids, then the 
 count}' seat of Manitowoc count}'. Here 
 he practiced for three and a half j'ears 
 with good success, and in the spring of 
 1851 returned to Green Ba}-, where he 
 opened an office and met with good suc- 
 cess from the start. For many years he 
 practiced alone, and was uniform!}' suc- 
 cessful. As his business increased he en- 
 tered into co-partnerships at different 
 times with the well-known attorne}'S, S. 
 D. Hastings, Jr. , now circuit judge, 
 William H. Norris, George G. Greene 
 and Carlton Merrill, the names of the 
 firms being Ellis, Hastings & Greene, 
 Norris & Ellis, Ellis, Greene & Merrill, 
 and Ellis & Merrill; at present Mr. Ellis 
 is practicing with Mr. Merrill. In 1869 
 our subject was elected circuit judge, his 
 circuit including the counties of Brown, 
 Outagamie, Shawano, Oconto and Door. 
 He was twice elected without opposition, 
 and held the office for eight successive 
 years, when he resigned and resumed the 
 private practice of his profession. Judge 
 Ellis has gained an enviable reputation as 
 a member of the bench and bar of the 
 State of Wisconsin, being looked upon as 
 an able, conscientious and careful prac- 
 titioner. His whole career has been a 
 most honorable one, well worthy the em- 
 ulation of the }'outh of our nation. Our 
 subject is a member of the Episcopal 
 Church, and has been connected with the 
 same for more than forty }'ears. His pri- 
 vate character is above reproach. 
 
 JM. SMITH. The late J. M. Smith, 
 of Green Bay, was born in Morris- 
 town, N. J., December 13, 1S20, 
 and was the eldest son of Jonathan 
 Smith, who was at that time one of the 
 most progressive farmers in that region. 
 He was a subscriber to the first volume 
 of the first agricultural paper printed in 
 the United Si2A.es, the A/baiiv Cultivntor, 
 
 a full file of which was seen in the old 
 home at Morristown a few years ago; and 
 was also the first man, so far as is known, to 
 put down an underdrain in the United 
 States. It was made by digging a deep 
 ditch and putting large stones in the bot- 
 tom, then filling in with smaller ones, 
 and covering with sods and dirt. This 
 drain, sixty-five years later, is still doing 
 good work. Under the training of such 
 a father Mr. Smith naturally acquired 
 habits of industry and forethought, and 
 being a close student of everything that 
 came in his \\ay, he naturally did a good 
 deal of independent thinking on his own 
 account, and looked forward to a time 
 when he would have land of his own, and 
 test its capacity to grow crops. 
 
 He enjoyed the benefit of as good 
 schools as were within his reach; but as 
 he grew older, he became earnestly desir- 
 ous for something better, and finally en- 
 tered the nearest academy, to prepare for 
 college, hoping also to enter a law school 
 when he should reach that point. But 
 when ready to enter college, a dangerous 
 accident to his father called him home, 
 and changed the whole course of his life. 
 He remained at home until he became of 
 age, and made diligent use of his spare 
 time in study of different kinds. Then, 
 after a few months of teaching, he com- 
 menced business for himself as a lumber- 
 man and wood dealer in a small way, 
 with such success that on the 14th of 
 March, 1844, he felt qualified to take a 
 partner, and was married, at Sparta, N. 
 J., to Miss Emily B. Torrey. Two are 
 better than one, if well mated, and cheer- 
 ily they worked on for ten years together, 
 with varying success, taking their full 
 share of such disappointments as are 
 common to those working their way, 
 often under difficulties. But with sun- 
 shine in the home, all sorts of things may 
 be borne. 
 
 In the spring of 1854, ten years after 
 their marriage, they came with four sons 
 to Wisconsin, and in July located in 
 Green Bay, little thinking it was to be 
 
5S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 their home for the balance of their lives. 
 The chief productions of the place at that 
 time were pine lumber and icebergs; and 
 for a few years Mr. Smith was principally 
 engaged in lumbering; but in 1857, when 
 the bottom fell out of the lumber market, 
 he turned his attention to whatever he 
 could get to do, to afford a living for his 
 family, until 1S61, and then came the 
 terrible war. 
 
 Ten children had been born to them 
 (two were sleeping in the silent city), the 
 eldest being at that time sixteen years 
 old and the youngest ten months; but the 
 country must have soldiers, and in Sep- 
 tember of 1 86 1 Mr. Smith and the eldest 
 son left the home in the care of the wife 
 with her seven children, the eldest of the 
 seven being but twelve years old, and 
 went to help save the country. In five 
 months he came home to die, as he 
 thought; but he gradually improved in 
 health until the fall of 1864, when he was 
 drafted to serve another year, and again 
 he joined the army, remaining therein 
 until August, 1865, when the war was 
 over, and he was honorably discharged. 
 While he was absent, the mother and her 
 sons did what they could at gardening, and 
 soon after his return the market in the 
 towns north of Green Bay was opened 
 for the sale of vegetables, and as his 
 health was not equal to any arduous labor, 
 he went to work with his sons to try 
 what might be done in that direction. A 
 few acres of land were purchased at a 
 hgh price, to begin on; but the demand 
 for vegetables increased so rapidly that 
 more was soon needed, and the garden 
 increased in area from time to time, until 
 it contained forty acres. By the help of 
 true and loyal sons, the garden was 
 finally paid for, and improved by under- 
 draining and in other ways, until, if there 
 is another forty-acre piece of land in Wis- 
 consin of equal value and productiveness, 
 and as favorably situated for a market 
 garden, it would be hard to find it. 
 
 But it must not be imagined that all 
 of Mr. Smith's time or energy was spent 
 
 on the garden. He was, dunng nearly 
 all of these \ears, very largely identified 
 with the agricultural and horticultural de- 
 velopment of the State, and did much in 
 other ways, not only by personal work, 
 but with his pen, having been a regular 
 contributor to several agricultural papers 
 for several years; and was also an earnest 
 worker in farmers' Conventions and Insti- 
 tutes. He also, by special invitation, de- 
 livered addresses before the American 
 Pomological Society at Boston, and 
 at the dinner at the celebrated Shaw's 
 garden at St. Louis, as well as in many 
 other places. He was one of the com- 
 missioners from Wisconsin to the Cotton 
 E.\position at New Orleans, and also a 
 delegate from the Wisconsin Horticultural 
 Society to the Convention of the Ameri- 
 can Horticultural Society held in Cali- 
 fornia. He was twenty-two years presi- 
 dent of the Brown Count}' Horticultural 
 and Agricultural Society; four years pres- 
 ident of the Northern Wisconsin Agricul- 
 tural and Mechanical Association, located 
 at Oshkosh; and fifteen years president of 
 the Wisconsin State Horticultural So- 
 ciet}', in which he was largely instru- 
 mental in introducing among its workers 
 many educated women whose valuable 
 papers have helped to make our horticul- 
 tural volume one of the best, if not the 
 very best, published in the United States. 
 Mr. Smith was not a politician in the 
 common acceptance of the term, never 
 having been a seeker after office; but he 
 was .thoroughly versed in political affairs, 
 and acquainted by reputation with all the 
 prominent men in the nation who have 
 figured in political affairs since his early 
 manhood. He was proud to call himself 
 a Henry Clay Whig in his boyhood, and 
 was one of the men who helped to or- 
 ganize the first Republican part}- in Green 
 Bay. He claimed the right to hold and 
 enjoy his own opinions, but accorded to 
 every other man the same right. He 
 was a member of the Episcopal Church, 
 but very broad in his views, and honored 
 every man and woman who showed in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 59 
 
 their dealings with 
 
 their lives, and in 
 their fellowmen, the spirit of Chris 
 tianity, by whatever name the\' were 
 called. He was extremely fond of music, 
 having been a leader in church choirs in 
 his earl}' manhood, and also in his later 
 years, and a great many of his particular 
 friends through life have been musical 
 people. He was never better pleased 
 than when he could gather a company of 
 good singers around the organ in his own 
 home, and wake the echoes with the 
 ringing of the grand old anthems which 
 were his particular favorites. Of little 
 children he was very fond, and during his 
 long illness often asked to have some of 
 the little grandchildren brought in to see 
 him. Having himself felt the pressure of 
 hard times when he had a large family 
 dependent on his efforts, he was sympa- 
 thetic toward those who were trying to 
 do their best, and still finding it hard to 
 keep those dependent on them comfort- 
 able, and always ready to lend a helping 
 hand to lighten their burdens. 
 
 He did not amass a large amount of 
 money to leave to his children, but left 
 them the heritage of an honorable name, 
 unstained by any smirch of dishonor or 
 treachery to any one, and his death, which 
 occurred February 20, 1894, was felt in 
 many homes whose inmates he had be- 
 friended, as the departure of a near per- 
 sonal friend. Not long after his death a 
 farmer, who had often come to him for 
 advice about agricultural matters, was 
 heard to say: " I am worth thousands of 
 dollars more than I should have been if I 
 had never known J. M. Smith." He rests 
 from his labors, but his memory lives in 
 the hearts of many friends outside of his 
 own home. 
 
 Mrs. J. M. Smith was born in Bethany, 
 Penn., January 31, 1821. Her father died 
 before she was old enough to appreciate 
 his worth, but her mother was a woman 
 of such rare qualities of mind and heart 
 that she was able to govern a large family 
 with great firmness, and yet with such 
 loving gentleness that the desire to dis- 
 
 obey her was a rare thing among her flock 
 of children. Mrs. Smith was early thrown 
 upon her own resources, but managed to 
 acquire what was considered in those 
 days as a good common-school education, 
 and at the early age of sixteen was given 
 charge of a district school. The next 
 four years were spent alternately in teach- 
 ing and attending school, when she set- 
 tled down to the steady business of teach- 
 ing, until March 14, 1844, when she be- 
 came the wife of J. M. Smith. Like her 
 husband, she had grown up with habits of 
 industry and economy, and always thought 
 it worth while to learn how to perform 
 the many sorts of work that are likely to 
 fall to the lot of women in the common 
 walks of life. Consequently in the many 
 seasons of trial through which she has 
 been called to pass, the knowledge, thus 
 carefully stored away, has been a golden 
 treasury from which she has often been 
 able to draw for the benefit of others, as 
 well as herself. 
 
 The marriage proved to be a most 
 happy one; the love plighted at the altar 
 grew with the passing years, and was 
 strengthened and intensified by the joys 
 and sorrows which nearly fifty years must 
 inevitably bring. Nine sons and two 
 daughters were given to cheer and brighten 
 the home, of whom seven sons and one 
 daughter still remain. The children were 
 ahvajs considered by both parents as 
 God's best gift, and stood nobly by them 
 through storm and sunshine; and are 
 making, or we should say have already 
 made, for themselves honorable places 
 among their fellowmen. 
 
 FRANK T. SMITH, now a resident 
 of the town of Suamico, Brown 
 county, is the third son of the late 
 J. M. Smith, of Green Bay. He 
 was born in Morristown, N. J., October 
 27, 1849, and came with his parents to 
 Green Bay, Wis., in 1854, where be 
 lived until he removed to his present 
 home. 
 
6o 
 
 COMMEMORATIi'E BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 He enjoyed such advantages as were 
 possible in the common schools to which 
 he had access at that time, but bore his 
 full share in the hardships incident to the 
 times from 1857 until the close of the 
 war. He was too young for a soldier in 
 the army, or he would doubtless have 
 been there; but all the heroism was not 
 shown on the battlefields, and he with 
 younger brothers bravely stood by the 
 mother while the father and older brother 
 were at the front, helping to save the 
 country. After his father came home 
 broken in health, Frank T. , with his 
 brothers, worked faithfully at whatever 
 they could do, not only in the summer, 
 but during the winter, to help to support 
 the family, and to pay for the garden, 
 until he came of age. After that time he 
 worked on with his father on a salary, 
 gaining much practical knowledge in 
 methods of cultivating land. 
 
 On June 9, 1873, he married Miss 
 Clara Taylor, a native of Susquehanna 
 county, Penn., and daughter of Samuel 
 and Mary (Bruce) Taylor, the latter of 
 whom died when her daughter Clara was 
 twelve years old. From the union of 
 Frank T. and Clara Smith have been 
 born six children, namely: Clifford I., 
 born April 15, 1875; Elsie M., May 2, 
 1877; Bessie R., July 25, 1879; Emrie 
 B., September 22, i88i; Celia T., Sep- 
 tember 17, 1883, and Stanley B., June 
 16, 1887. Seven years (1880) after his 
 marriage, Frank T. , preferring farming 
 to gardening, left the employ of his father, 
 and purchased one hundred acres of land 
 in the town of Suamico, where he now 
 hves. Only a small part of the land was 
 adapted for the growing of crops when 
 purchased, but most of it is now in fairly 
 good condition, while some of it is highly 
 manured, and from now on he will find 
 much plainer sailing than in some of the 
 past years. He has always led a strictly 
 temperate life, following in this particular 
 the example of his father and grandfather 
 before him. He and his wife and older 
 children are members of the Methodist 
 
 Episcopal Church, and are also faithful 
 workers in the cause of temperance. In 
 his political faith he is a Republican, and 
 cast his first presidential vote for U. S. 
 Grant, on the occasion of that warrior's 
 second candidacy for that office. But 
 believing earnestly in Prohibition, and 
 having an unfailing faith in the principles 
 he advocates, he has since 1888 cast his 
 vote in accordance therewith. 
 
 DAVID McCartney. The stand- 
 ard by which to judge a commu- 
 nity is the character of its promi- 
 nent citizens. Progress is rarely, 
 if ever, the result of chance, but always 
 the execution of well-laid plans based on 
 a thorough comprehension of the laws of 
 business. It is only by keeping in view 
 the lives of men who are ever associated 
 in the busy marts of commerce that we 
 can judge of the importance of develop- 
 ment, and the possibilities of progress. 
 Thus it is, that from the commercial, 
 more than the literary or political side, 
 the most valuable lessons of life are to be 
 extracted. In this connection, as a gen- 
 tleman whose business qualifications have 
 proven of the best, as indicated by the 
 numerous enterprises he has brought to 
 a successful issue, a brief biographical 
 sketch is given of David McCartney. 
 
 Some writer has said that the most 
 prominent characteristics of the Scotch- 
 Irish are stern integrit)-, the defense of 
 liberty, and the love of God. Of such a 
 grand old race is the subject of this 
 sketch, who is a native of Count}- Down, 
 Ireland, born near the city of Belfast, 
 September 14, 18 14, of hardy, stalwart 
 Scotch-Irish ancestry, from whom he in- 
 herits, no doubt, his wonderful vitality, 
 strong individuality, courage and deter- 
 mination. He is a son of \\'illiam and 
 Isabella (McCreary) McCartney, who 
 about the year 1820, deciding to seek a 
 new home in the New World, set sail 
 from the shores of Erin with their little 
 family, consisting of one son (the subject 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAPMIVAL RECORD. 
 
 63 
 
 of these lines) and one daughter. From 
 the port of debarkation they made their 
 way to Ohio, where for some years in 
 Guernsey county, laterin Behnont county, 
 the father followed ai^ricultural pursuits, 
 which had been his vocation in the mother 
 country. He died on the farm he last 
 conducted, his widow passing away some 
 years later at Monmouth, Warren Co., 
 111. The blood running in their \eins of 
 that stern and rugged race of Covenanters 
 who left their Scottish mountains and 
 glens for the North of Ireland, where re- 
 ligious persecution could not follow them, 
 the}' lived and died in that Presbyterian 
 faith for which their forefathers had 
 fought and bled. 
 
 In Guernsey county, Ohio, David Mc- 
 Cartney received such education as could 
 be acquired at the primitive pioneer 
 schools of the period, at the same time 
 learning the trade of stone-cutter. His 
 father had two brothers in this country, 
 both builders and contractors, and with 
 one of these, John McCartney, he was 
 employed at the commencement of the 
 construction of the Baltimore & Ohio 
 railroad, his uncle having a contract 
 thereon; and later he was given employ- 
 ment by his other uncle, James McCart- 
 ney, who had a contract for earlier work 
 on the Philadelphia & Columbia railroad, 
 afterward known as the Pennsylvania Cen- 
 tral railroad. (At that time G. A. Thomp- 
 son was civil engineer for the company, 
 and by merit rose to be president of the 
 same road). Subsequently Mr. McCart- 
 ney was employed on. the construction of 
 the Lake Erie & Pittsburg canal. In 1836, 
 at the age of twenty-two years, he was 
 married in Coshocton county, Ohio, to Miss 
 Elizabeth Heslip, and the young couple 
 then took up farming pursuits in that 
 county, where and on other farms owned 
 by him they resided for about eight years. 
 Abandoning agriculture, Mr. McCartney 
 now embarked in the milling and mercan- 
 tile businesses at Hendrysburg, Belmont 
 Co., Ohio, in connection therewith en- 
 gaging in stock buying and general trad- 
 
 ing. But his natural enterprising spirit 
 was soaring yet higher, and in search of 
 fortune he sought other fields, turning his 
 attention naturally to railroad contract- 
 ing. Among the new roads on which he 
 secured contracts may be mentioned the 
 Baltimore & Ohio, Central Ohio and the 
 Hempfield railroad (now part of the Bal- 
 timore & Ohio; this railroad was built 
 about 1854-55, and the failure of the 
 company resulted in a loss to Mr. McCart- 
 ney of $80,000). Moving about the year 
 1855 to Barnesville, Ohio, he there oper- 
 ated a steam gristmill and a sawmill, 
 which he owned in connection therewith, 
 conducting other business, and at the end 
 of ten years, in the spring of 1865, he 
 came to Wisconsin. First locating in 
 Oshkosh, he operated two steam sawmills 
 there, but at the expiration of two years 
 sold his interests and removed to Ft. 
 Howard, where he became largely inter- 
 ested in lumbering, sawmilling and other 
 enterprises, involving the utilization of 
 thousands of acres of pine land. In 1882 
 Mr. McCartney retired from these inter- 
 ests and established the McCartney's Ex- 
 change Bank (a private institution) at 
 Ft. Howard, which in 1892 was organized 
 as a National Bank with a capital of 
 $50,000, and is recognized as one of the 
 safe and solid financial institutions of the 
 State. 
 
 In 1884, while visiting the Cotton 
 Exposition at New Orleans, his attention 
 was attracted to the State of Georgia and 
 its resources; and judging that there was 
 a good field for the profitable investment 
 of capital, he in the year following pur- 
 chased a tract of 3,500 acres of land, 
 comprising three plantations, subsequently 
 buying other tracts, consisting of 3,900 
 acres, making a total of 7,400 acres. At 
 Thomasville, the county town of Thomas 
 county, Ga. , he built a comfortable resi- 
 dence, where in the luxury of balmy 
 breezes and cheerful sunbeams he passes 
 his winter months, in the enjoyment of 
 that ease and comfort which comes as 
 the reward of years of industry and toil. 
 
64 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 The land he rents chiefly to negroes, who 
 raise for the most jxirt cotton, but por- 
 tions of the estate are covered with valu- 
 able timber, mostly pine. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. McCartney 
 was a])pointed a brigadier-general in the 
 Ohio State militia, and also a United 
 States provost-marshal, serving in the 
 last-named office one and one-half years. 
 During the famous raid into Ohio made 
 by the Confederate general Morgan, our 
 subject was in command of a thousand 
 militiamen at Barnesville, in Belmont 
 county, Ohio, guarding a long railroad 
 trestle, over which were carried daily 
 supplies for the Union army, as well as 
 drafts of soldiers on their way to the seat 
 of war. An attack on this trestle by 
 Morgan was daily expected, and to further 
 his ends he resorted to the following ruse: 
 In order to learn what force there was 
 guarding this work, from which he was but 
 eight miles distant, he cut the telegraph 
 wire, and instructed his own operator to 
 telegraph to Gen. McCartney asking how 
 many troops he had to defend the trestle, 
 at the end of the message placing the 
 name of Gen. I^urnsidc, who was in com- 
 mand of the Union troops at Cincinnati. 
 When the message reached Gen. McCart- 
 ney, he happened to be in the telegraph 
 office at Barnesville, reclining on a couch, 
 and on reading over the dispatch he at 
 once suspected it was a ' ' bogus " message. 
 With the presence of mind which was ever 
 ready to him, especially in moments of 
 danger or seeming perplexity, he tele- 
 graphed back that he had "sufficient 
 force to guard the trestle, and enough 
 men to capture Morgan's entire command 
 should he come this way. " This clever 
 thought of Gen. McCartney, crystallized 
 in the return message he sent, and which 
 of course was received by Morgan, was 
 no doubt the cause of the latter abandon- 
 ing his intended attack on the trestle, and 
 making a detour to the north. Who can 
 calculate of what inestimable value this 
 act alone proved to the Union cause! But 
 for the coolness, courage and presence of 
 
 mind of this one man. Gen. McCartney, 
 who can tell what terrible disaster might 
 have ensued .■' The sequel is a matter of 
 the history of the war. Shortly afterward 
 Morgan and his entire command were 
 captured, and he and his fellow prisoners 
 passed through Barnesville, where they 
 halted and were fed. Throughout the 
 entire war the General was a stanch sup- 
 porter of the government, giving liberally 
 both of his means and influence. 
 
 Twice married, our subject had. by 
 his first wife, three children, namely: 
 William, now of Guernsey county, Ohio; 
 Ellen, deceased wife of William Huin- 
 phreyville; and Thomas Jefferson, in 
 business at Golden, Colo. The mother 
 of these died February 17, 1845, ^n^ '" 
 1847 Mr. McCartney married Miss Lena 
 Eliza Harris, a native of Ohio, by which 
 union there were three children as follows: 
 Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Whelan, 
 and now a resident of Fort Howard; 
 Emma Belle, unmarried and living at 
 home, and Laney Viola, who died un- 
 married. The mother of these passed 
 from earth June 3, 1884. A lifelong 
 Presbyterian, Mr. McCartney has been a 
 liberal contributor toward its support, 
 as well as to all beneficent institutions, 
 particularly in his own city and in Green 
 Bay. At his own expense he built the 
 First Presbyterian Church of Fort How- 
 ard, at a cost of about eight thousand 
 dollars, and presented it to the congrega- 
 tion. He is a member and trustee of 
 same. In his political sympathies he was 
 a Whig until the organization of the Re- 
 publican party, when he enrolled himself 
 under its banner, as a zealous and loyal 
 supporter of its principles. 
 
 Before closing this sketch, there is to 
 be added yet another to the record of Mr. 
 McCartney's many gigantic undertakings; 
 for although more than an octogenarian, 
 he is as enterprising as he was twenty 
 years ago, and he feels that he has not 
 yet completed his task of doing good to 
 his fellowmen. As an individual enter- 
 prise, he is building at Fort Howard an 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6S 
 
 electric railroad, and also putting in an 
 electric system for lighting the city, all of 
 which will be completed ere long. Self- 
 reliance is and has been one of his strong- 
 est characteristics, and in his business 
 enterprises he has always relied upon his 
 own judgment for results rather than the 
 opinion and advice of others. He is a 
 man of fine as well as forcible intellectual 
 qualities, an extensive reader and close 
 thinker, of a remarkably practical cast of 
 mind. He is cautious, but firm in his 
 judgments, and reliable; in manner he is 
 social and friendly, and possesses quali- 
 ties that readily win admiration and re- 
 spect. His mental faculties to-day, when 
 he has passed fourscore milestones on the 
 highway of life, are as clear as ever, and 
 with seeming unabated energy he is man- 
 aging his far-away Georgia plantation of 
 over seven thousand acres; at the same 
 time is the head of a bank doing a large 
 business, and moreover is conducting the 
 construction of the important and com- 
 plicated work connected with the putting 
 into operation the electric railroad and 
 electric lighting already referred to. For 
 some thirty years he has been promi- 
 nently connected with the public and pri- 
 vate enterprises of Ft. Howard, and with 
 its social, educational and mercantile in- 
 terests. In brief, Mr. McCartney is a 
 man of sound common sense, of great 
 courage and resolution, and executive 
 ability; a Christian gentleman, generous 
 and liberal toward all beneficent institu- 
 tions that he believes to be for the good 
 of his city and the public at large; just to 
 a fault, and ever thoughtful of those con- 
 nected with him in social and business re- 
 lations. May he live on in the enjoy- 
 ment of life, the admiration of his many 
 friends. 
 
 CAPTAIN CLIFFORD BELDON 
 HART, junior member of the firm 
 of H. W. & C. B. Hart, owners 
 and managers of Hart's Steam- 
 boat Line, Green Bay, is a native of the 
 
 town, born November 13, 1S39, a son of 
 Edwin and Eliza J. (Glass) Hart. 
 
 In Green Bay and Oconto our subject 
 received his education, attending the com- 
 mon schools up to the age of twelve years, 
 when he commenced sailing on the lakes 
 between Oconto and Green Bay, and by 
 his ability as a mariner, and close atten- 
 tion to his duties, rose by degrees from a 
 comparatively humble position to be cap- 
 tain of his own steamboat. Hart's Steam- 
 boat Line was founded in 1873, with a 
 capital of $140,000, by Capts. H. W. 
 and C. B. Hart, both able and experi- 
 enced steamboat men. They have now 
 four propellers — the "Fannie C. Hart," 
 the "Eugene C. Hart," the " C. W. 
 Moore," and the "Welcome" — all as 
 stanch, safe and reliable as their com- 
 manders. The two brothers Hart are 
 captains of the ' ' Fannie " and ' ' Eugene " 
 in person, taking great pride in their boats. 
 They run chiefly between Green Bay, 
 Wis., and Cheboygan, Mich., and during 
 the season give employment to about one 
 hundred men. Capt. C. B. Hart was 
 also part owner of the schooners "Eva 
 M. Cone" and "Union," both in their 
 day plying between Green Bay and 
 Chicago, and was captain of the "Eva 
 M. Cone" from 1857 to 1863, and of the 
 "Union" from 1863 to 1865. From 
 1865 to 1883 he was steamboating on the 
 Oconto river, returning to Green Bay in 
 the latter year. 
 
 On December 25, 1862, Capt. C. B. 
 Hart was united in marriage with Miss 
 Hattie Ellen St. Ores, a native of Illinois, 
 but reared in Oconto, Wis., daughter of 
 Lewis and Maryette St. Ores, who in an 
 early day came from the East to Oconto, 
 where the father was engaged in the lum- 
 ber business till 1862; he died November 
 13, 1893, preceded to the grave by his 
 wife, who died in 1876 of heart disease. 
 To Captain and Mrs. Hart has come one 
 son, Eugene C, born December 7, 1880, 
 who is at home with his parents. Politic- 
 ally our subject is a Republican. In the 
 fall of 1888 he joined Washington Lodge 
 
66 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 No. 21, F. & A. M., and at once became 
 deeply interested in the workings of that 
 fraternity, rising rapidly in the order 
 until he attained thirty-second degree, 
 being connected with \\'arreii Chapter 
 No. 8, Palestine Conimandery, K. T. , 
 and Wisconsin Consistory. He is also a 
 member of Green Bay Lodge No. 259, 
 B. P. O. E., and of the I. O. O. F.. 
 Lodge No. 19, Green Bay, where he was 
 initiated. 
 
 H. LE ROY. Among the promi- 
 
 nent agriculturists of De Pere town- 
 
 ^1 ship. Brown county, none is more 
 deserving of mention than this gen- 
 tleman, who is a worthy member of one 
 of the early pioneer families of same. He 
 is descended from hardy New England 
 stock. 
 
 Jonas Le Roy, father of our subject, 
 Avas born August 12, 1S19, in West Troy, 
 N. Y., son of Isaac Le Roy, a native of 
 Poughkeepsie, who was a fisherman by 
 occupation, following same along the 
 banks of the Hudson river. His family 
 consisted of four sons, John. William, 
 Jonas and Henry. Jonas received a 
 limited education in the subscription 
 schools of the home neighborhood, left 
 home at the age of nineteen, after his 
 mother's death, and went to Cheapside, 
 Deerfield, Mass., where he learned the 
 trade of cabinet maker under Capt. 
 Thayer, and some time later removed to 
 Greenfield, same State, where he was 
 employed in the cutlerj- factory of John 
 Russell & Co. On September 10. 1S40, 
 he was married in Greenfield to Miss 
 Edith .\. King, who was born January 
 29, 1 82 1, in Sunderland, Vt., daughter 
 of James H. and Lilly (Willcutj King, 
 the former of whom was a shoemaker by 
 trade. In April, 1824, the King family 
 moved to Massachusetts, and they were 
 residing in Greenfield at the time of the 
 daughter's marriage. The young couple 
 immediately settled in Greenfield, and 
 there remained about fourteen years, Mr. 
 
 Le Roy continuing to work in the cutlery 
 establishment. Two sons were born to 
 them in Greenfield, viz.: John M., who 
 enlisted in September, 1861, at De Pere, 
 Wis., in Company F, Fourteenth Wis. 
 V. I., and was killed at Vicksburg May 
 22, 1863 (his body was never recovered), 
 and David S. J., who died when five 
 years old. From Greenfield the family 
 removed to Deerfield, where one child, 
 J. H., was born, and later to Conway, 
 same State, where they also had one 
 child, Edith A., now Mrs. W. R. Mat- 
 thews, of De Pere, Wis. In May, 1856, 
 the family came westward to Wisconsin, 
 journeying by stage to Adams, Mass., 
 thence by rail via West Troy to Buffalo, 
 N. Y. , at the latter place taking the 
 steamer "Michigan" for Green Bay, 
 where they landed May 28. The trip 
 from Green Bay to De Pere was made by 
 boat. 
 
 James S. King, a brother-in-law of 
 Mr. Le Roy, had preceded them to Wis- 
 consin, where, with money the latter had 
 sent, he had purchased eighty acres of 
 land in Section 32, De Pere township, 
 along the Dickinson road. Some of the 
 timber had been cut from this land during 
 two winters of lumbering on it, but other- 
 wise it was still in its primitive state, and 
 they immediately set to work to clear a 
 small space, where a log cabin, the first 
 building on the farm, was erected. On 
 this place was born one child, William S., 
 now of De Pere. They resided here for 
 eight years, and then, in 1865, sold the 
 place, and purchased the farm our sub- 
 ject now owns and resides upon, of which, 
 at that time but fifteen acres were cleared. 
 Another child was born on this farm, a 
 daughter, who died in infancy. In Octo- 
 ber, 1887, Mr. Le Roy removed to De- 
 Pere on account of failing health, and 
 there lived until his death, which oc- 
 curred September 8, 1892; he was buried 
 in Woodlawn cemetery. He was origin- 
 ally a Whig, afterward a Republican, in 
 politics, and for twelve years held the of- 
 fice of clerk of De Pere township, a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 67 
 
 record which speaks for itself; for two 
 years he was justice of the peace in the 
 city of De Pere. but his faihng health 
 compelled him to give this up. In religious 
 connection he was a member of the M. 
 E. Church, with which his widow is also 
 identified. Since his death she has con- 
 tinued to reside in De Pere. They had 
 lived a happy wedded life of over fifty 
 years, and the golden anniversary of 
 their marriage was appropriately cele- 
 brated by the family. When they came 
 to Brown county bears, deer and wolves 
 still roamed the forests, and almost the 
 entire country was yet in its primitive 
 condition. Bears were often seen even 
 on the farm, and frequently carried oH 
 the pigs. A portion of the journey to 
 their new home was made in an o.\-cart, 
 and for several years oxen were the only 
 beasts of burden the pioneers had. The 
 land was covered with white and red oak, 
 beech, pine and maple trees; in those 
 days not only the men, but the women 
 assisted in the clearing, and many were 
 the hardships and privations endured by 
 those early settlers before they had hewn 
 for themselves a comfortable home from 
 the dense forest. 
 
 J. H. Le Roy was born February 7, 
 1 85 1, in Deerfield, Mass., and in May, 
 1856, came with his parents to De Pere 
 township, Brown Co. , Wis. , where he 
 received such education as the district 
 schools of that time afforded. His older 
 brother having enlisted in the Civil war, 
 he was early put to work on the farm, 
 and thus his attendance at even those 
 primitive schools was limited to a few 
 months each year. He was thoroughly 
 trained to farming, and resided on the 
 home place until 1872, in the fall of 
 which year he entered the employ of 
 James S. Scott as clerk in a grocery store 
 in De Pere, remaining there two years. 
 He then attended Lawrence University, 
 at Appleton, three months, after which 
 he returned to his present farm. The 
 following winter he acted as bookkeeper 
 and measurer for Henry Graves, at the 
 
 Morrison Coal Kilns, in Glenmore town- 
 ship. Brown county, but he has since al- 
 ways made his home on the farm. He 
 successfully conducts a general farming 
 and stock-raising business, and in connec- 
 tion with his agricultural operations runs 
 a threshing machine. 
 
 Mr. Le Roy was married, September 5, 
 1878, in De Pere township, to Miss Susan 
 A. Winton, who was born in De Pere, 
 daughter of Charles A. Winton, a native 
 of Pennsylvania, who came to Brown 
 county in an early day. The young 
 couple immediately took up their resi- 
 dence on the farm, and here children as 
 follows have been born to them: Edith 
 A. (who is attending school at De Pere), 
 Ellsworth G., Eva W., Ada P., J. H., 
 Jr., and Charles A., all living. Politic- 
 ally Mr. Le Roy is a stanch Republican, 
 and keeps himself well informed in the 
 movements of his party, in whose welfare 
 he takes great interest. He has been 
 elected to various offices in his township, 
 having served as assessor (two terms), 
 school director, school treasurer, town- 
 ship clerk (eight years). United States 
 census enumerator for his town in 1890, 
 State census enumerator in 1885, and in 
 each capacity discharging his duties with 
 credit to himself and satisfaction to his 
 fellow citizens. He has also been called 
 upon to act as representative to county 
 conventions and assemblies, and he is one 
 of the " wheel horses" of the Republican 
 party in his section. Socially he is a 
 member of De Pere Lodge No. 222, L O. 
 O. P., and Maple Leaf Lodge No. 107, 
 K. of P., De Pere. Mrs. Le Roy, in re- 
 ligious connection, is a member of the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 THOMAS ELDER SHARP, the 
 well-known furniture dealer and 
 cabinet manufacturer of De Pere, 
 was born five miles northeast of 
 Newville, Cumberland Co., Penn. , in 
 August, 1 82 1, a son of James and Martha 
 (Hanna) Sharp, of Scotch and Irish de- 
 
68 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 scent respectively. The father was a 
 fanner, and also a captain in the Penn- 
 sylvania militia, and Ixjth parents died in 
 the Keystone State. 
 
 Thomas E. Sharp li\ed on the home 
 farm until si.xteen or se\enteen year.^^ of 
 age, when he went to Logansport, Ind., 
 where an uncle and friends of the family 
 resided, and began learning carpentry and 
 cabinet making at a point about five or 
 six miles north of that city. His mother 
 and the rest of the famih' accompanied 
 him (his father having died when subject 
 was but an infant), but the mother sub- 
 sequently returned to Penns\lvania. 
 Thomas E. prcjgresscd rapidly at his trade, 
 and was but a little over seventeen when 
 he built a school house near Logansport, 
 and also had manufactured several ar- 
 ticles of furnitiue. When twenty-one 
 or twenty-two he returned east, and for 
 eleven months worked in Pittsburg, four 
 months in Philadelphia, three in New 
 York, Philadelphia and Newcastle, Penn. ; 
 thence he went to Cincinnati, and in 
 I 84S-49, the cholera year, was in Louis- 
 ville. Ky. He then returned, \ia Indian- 
 apolis, to Logansport, and started a 
 cabinet shop, remaining about six months. 
 In i<S50, about the month of May, he set 
 out west with a horse and bugg}-, reach- 
 ing Chicago in the latter part of the same 
 month, and there shot at a mark on 
 stumps that would now be in the heart of 
 the cit}', if they were still in existence. 
 He then drove on to Milwaukee and thence 
 to Fond du Lac, where he disposed of his 
 rig; then went to Green Bay and thence 
 came to De Pere, where he built a resi- 
 dence and also did some cabinet work. 
 He had first intended to enter the build- 
 ing and cabinet-making business, but 
 final!}' drifted into cabinet making onl\-, 
 and in 1854 built a shop. He has also 
 done something at boat building, pattern 
 making, painting and other kinds of work, 
 and has always been an industrious man 
 and a skillful mechanic. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Sharp took place 
 in De Pere, October 4, 1853, to Miss 
 
 Harriet Stewart, a daughter of Robert D. 
 and Sarah fCarpenterj Stevvatt, who were 
 among the earliest settlers of the city. No 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sharp, although a neice of Mrs. Sharp- 
 Alice A. Stewart — lived with them man}' 
 years, and is now married to Dr. Porter, 
 of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp are 
 members of the Congregational Church, 
 and in politics he is a Republican. He 
 has served as city treasurer of De Pere, 
 and is considered to be one of the most 
 solid inhabitants of the place. 
 
 ROBERT D. STEWART (de- 
 ceased), born at Stewartsville, 
 Warren Co., N. J., March 5, 
 1779, was of Scotch descent. He 
 was married to Sarah Carpenter, October 
 20, 1807, and died May 10, 1848; the 
 death of his wife occurred May i, 1855. 
 He landed at Green Bay June 14, 1836, 
 lived in a house at Shantytown, three 
 miles distant, and was employed as super- 
 intendent of the hydraulic works at De- 
 Pere, at three dollars per day. In 1837 
 he moved his family to De Pere, and 
 bought a claim of 160 acres on the west 
 side of the Fox river, erected the first 
 house in W'est De Pere, and was the first 
 white man to make his permanent home 
 there. He was supervisor for many years 
 and also chairman of the board. He took 
 much interest in schools, was an elder in 
 the Presbyterian Church, and it was his 
 constant habit to take his family and 
 neighbers six miles to church at Green 
 Bay on the Sabbath, by means of his 
 sailboat. 
 
 Robert D. and Sarah Stewart had a 
 familv of thirteen children, three of whom 
 died in New Jerse}'. The ten who came 
 with him to De Pere were William Max- 
 well, who married Rachel Carpenter, and 
 is now deceased; Elizabeth, who became 
 the wife of W. W. Matthews, both now 
 deceased; Caroline M., widow of Godfrey 
 Miller, residing in De Pere; Mar}', de- 
 ceased; Joseph (deceased), who married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Lora Lessey; Theodore (deceased), who 
 married Mary J. Hammond, who now 
 lives in Chicago, 111. ; Ellen, who married 
 Fred \V. Newhall, and lives in Chicago; 
 Harriet, born December 28, 1830, mar- 
 ried Thomas E. Sharp; Charles A., mar- 
 ried to Maggie McFarland, and residing 
 in Chicago; Matilda, who married Will- 
 iam J. Green, of Nyack, N. Y., and is 
 now deceased. 
 
 Mrs. William Maxwell Stewart, widow 
 of the eldest son of Robert D., narrates: 
 "Mr. R. D. Stewart, in 1836, beside 
 farming, established a ferry across the 
 Fox river at his house, situate at that 
 time about a half mile south of the pres- 
 ent dam at De Pere, and during the ab- 
 sence of the father and brothers Mrs. T. 
 E. Sharp and others of the children would 
 often take passengers across the stream 
 in canoes, occasionally in the large scowe 
 and, to tell the truth, the young ladies 
 did not regret the absence of father or 
 brothers on such occasions, as the passage 
 money was applied by the girls to their 
 own use for pin money. When the family 
 arrived at De Pere Indians were quite 
 numerous." 
 
 Thomas Stewart, the father of Robert 
 D., was a native of Scotland, and settled 
 in Warren county, N. J., in 1739; he was 
 a farmer, owned 360 acres of land, and 
 built a stone dwelling, around which after- 
 ward clustered the village named Stewarts- 
 ville, in his honor. He served as judge 
 of the court of common pleas, five years, 
 and also as justice of the peace. He died 
 in his stone dwelling at the age of eighty- 
 three years. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Rachel Dewees. When Robert 
 D., his son, started for the West, he was 
 accompanied by thirty others, including 
 his own family, in their own boat, on the 
 Delaware and Raritan canal, and so on to 
 Philadelphia, New York and Buffalo 
 (where he sold his boat), and thence by 
 the steamer ' ' Daniel Webster " to Green 
 Bay, the trip from Easton, Penn., occupy- 
 ing just three weeks. The half-mile front- 
 age he purchased on the west side of Fox 
 
 river, and on which the larger part of 
 West De Pere has since been built, is 
 known as Stewart's addition. 
 
 The extraordinary career of this re- 
 markable man extends beyond the limits 
 of comprehensive comment. With a heart 
 filled with \o\e and charity for his fellow 
 creatures, his ear was ever open to the 
 plaint of those in distress, and his hand 
 ever extended in aid of the suffering. His 
 intuitive knowledge of the laws of trade 
 and the sequence of demand and supply 
 led him to adapt the means at hand in the 
 primitive country in which he lived to the 
 precise wants of the hour, as well as to a 
 permanent development of a prosperous 
 future. His death was a severe blow to 
 the community, and was indeed sincerely 
 deplored. 
 
 WILLIAM MAXWELL STEW- 
 ART preceded his father, Rob- 
 ert D. Stewart, in his de- 
 parture from New Jersey for 
 Wisconsin, in 1835, and on his arrival at 
 Green Bay acted as foreman for his uncle, 
 John P. Arndt, in getting out lumber, 
 and afterward had charge of a vessel be- 
 longing to the same gentleman, freighting 
 lumber and stone. 
 
 W. M. Stewart was married at what 
 is known as Carpentersville, N. J., in 
 June, 1834, to Rachel Carpenter, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph A. and Sarah (Stewart) 
 Carpenter. The Carpenters were of 
 German origin, and descendants of the 
 earliest settlers of New Jersey. When 
 William M. came west he left his wife in 
 New Jersey, and the following year, 1836, 
 she followed in company with Robert D. 
 Stewart's family. W. M. Stewart had 
 always been a farmer. In politics he 
 was a Republican, and served as super- 
 visor, besides filling several minor offices; 
 he was an elder in the Presbyterian 
 Church for a number of years. He died 
 in September, 1881. He and his wife 
 were the parents of ten children, as fol- 
 lows: Thomas, who married Augusta 
 
70 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 Sheeaii; John P., who was a Union sol- 
 dier in the Civil war, and died at home of 
 disease contracted in the service; L}nian, 
 who married Aimie E. Malone; Winslow, 
 who married Julia Bene; Luella, who 
 died in infancy; Ellen, who was married 
 to James C. Ritchie; Elsie, single, at 
 home; Robert D., who married Helen 
 Hodgeson; and Joseph Carpenter, who 
 married Matilda Stickles; Edward died at 
 the age of ten years. 
 
 WJ. FISK. This gentleman is 
 president of the Kellogg National 
 Bank at Green Bay, which in 
 1874 was organized out of the 
 City National Bank, and he has been 
 actively identified with the bank since 
 1865; he is also one of the largest railroad 
 contractors in the State of Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Fisk was born in Brunswick, 
 Ohio, in 1833, a son of Joel S. and Char- 
 lotte (Green) Fisk, natives of New York, 
 who in the year 1835 came to Wisconsin, 
 landing at Sheboygan, whence he pro- 
 ceeded on foot to Green Bay. From there 
 he traveled, again on foot, by an Indian 
 trail to Chicago, 111., returned east, and 
 in 1836 came to Green Bay with his 
 family. Here Joel S. Fisk found his first 
 employment, in his new western home, 
 in the general store of Mr. \\'hitnev, 
 afterward conducting a similiar establish- 
 ment for his own account, and for a long 
 time was a prominent figure in the mer- 
 cantile and lumbering interests of this 
 section of Wisconsin. But he did not 
 confine himself to these lines of business 
 (which were of necessity the leading ones 
 in the early days of a new country), for we 
 find him in 1S48 filling the position of 
 register of deeds in the Land Office, and 
 he it was who in 1850 platted what is now 
 the thriving city of Fort Howard. He 
 also served as postmaster at Green Bay 
 for some considerable time. He died in 
 1876, his wife preceding him to the grave 
 by just six weeks. They were the parents 
 
 of seven children, of whom the following is 
 a brief record: (i) W. J. is the subject of 
 this sketch. (2) \'alentine S. enlisted in 
 Kansas, at commencement of the war 
 of the Rebellion, in the Eighth Kansas 
 Infantr}', served thrt^ughout the entire 
 struggle, and died at \\'ashington, D. C. , 
 in 1872. (3) Elizabeth is the wife of 
 Albert Johnson, and resides in Idaho. 
 (4) Fannie C. died in 1875. (5) Kate P. 
 died in 1863. ('6) M. H. graduated in 
 medicine at Ann Arbor Medical College; 
 enlisted at Ann Arbor in the ninety-days' 
 service; is now practicing medicine at 
 \\'auwatosa, Wis. (7) One son, unnamed, 
 died in infancy. 
 
 W. J. Fisk received his elementary 
 education at the schools of Green Bay, 
 proving an apt scholar and diligent 
 student. In his boyhood he evinced 
 talent as a draughtsman, and at the early 
 age of fifteen (in 1 848) he made the maps 
 for the Reservation of Lands for the im- 
 provement of the Fox and Wisconsin 
 rivers. For two years thereafter he 
 served as clerk at Fort Howard, and 
 then, being desirous of improving his 
 education, attended college at Appleton, 
 Wis. Rettnning to Fort Howard, Mr. 
 Fisk here connnenced trading in shingles — 
 buying and selling; and as a natural tran- 
 sition he soon embarked in the manufac- 
 ture of that article, in course of time, 
 however, abandoning that line for the 
 lumber trade, in which he has since con- 
 tinued, from day to day expanding his 
 already vast interests. He began to sup- 
 ply railroads, and his first contract was 
 with the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
 way Company to supply them with ties 
 and timber for the construction of some 
 fifteen miles of their road. The business 
 was established in 1862 by W. J. Fisk, 
 and in 1877, admitting two sons, the firm 
 name became W. D. Fisk & Co., the 
 business consisting in the supplying of 
 wood, ties, telegraph poles, etc., to rail- 
 way companies. Quite an army of 
 laborers and teams find employment in 
 the vast operations of the firm. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 71 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Fisk was united in mar- 
 riage at Fond du Lac, Wis., with Miss 
 Mary J. Driggs, daughter of John J. 
 Driggs, a native of New York, who in 1836 
 came to Green Bay, where he carried on 
 a mercantile business. He died some 
 years ago. To 'S.iv. and Mrs. Fisk four 
 children have been born, viz.: Frank S., 
 who died in 1881; Wilbur D. and Harry 
 W. , both married and residing in Fort 
 Howard, being members of the firm of 
 W. D. Fisk & Co., of that place; and G. 
 Wallace, also married and living in Fort 
 Howard, where he is bookkeeper for the 
 Kellogg National Bank. In politics W. 
 J. Fisk is a Republican. From 1862 to 
 1865 he served as postmaster at Fort 
 Howard; during the term 1875-76-77 he 
 represented Brown county in the Assem- 
 bly, and was chairman of the Railroad 
 Committee when the famous Granger- 
 Potter railway law was repealed. 
 
 REV. FATHER ANTHONY JOS- 
 EPH VERBERK. Where emi- 
 nent abilities and unblemished in- 
 tegrity, combined with unimpeach- 
 able virtue, derivable from the daily 
 practice of religion and piety, contribute 
 to adorn the character of an individual, 
 then it is most proper to be prominently 
 set forth as an example to those who 
 would make themselves useful to the rest 
 of mankind. And the writer cherishes 
 the belief that he will perform this ac- 
 ceptable service in giving a brief sketch of 
 the reverend gentleman whose name here 
 appears. 
 
 Our subject was born in Holland Jan- 
 uary 17, 1832, a son of Martin Verberk, 
 a cabinet-maker and painter by trade in 
 the same country, where he was born 
 February 2, 1800. He (the father) was 
 educated for a teacher of French, during 
 the time of Napoleon's control of Hol- 
 land, but after the fall of Napoleon aban- 
 doned that profession for a trade. In his 
 family there were originally ten children 
 
 — five sons and five daughters — which by 
 1853 was reduced to two sons — Gerhard 
 and Anthony Joseph — and three daugh- 
 ters — Mary (now Mrs. H. Bremer, of 
 Cleveland, Ohio), Joanna (who married 
 John Rolder, and died in De Pere, Wis.), 
 and Dora (now Mrs. Anthony Meulen- 
 dyke, of Menominee, Mich.). In the 
 spring of the year just named the family, 
 resolving to seek a new home in the West- 
 ern World, sailed for New York via 
 Rotterdam and Liverpool. From their 
 port of debarkation the party came west 
 to Cleveland, Ohio, whither some of their 
 friends had alreadj' migrated, and from 
 here, in 1856, part of the family, amongst 
 them the subject of this sketch, came to 
 Green Bay; but becoming dissatisfied with 
 the locality they returned to Cleveland in 
 July, 1857. In after years the parents, 
 in care of their son Gerhard, again came 
 to W^isconsin, both dying in De Pere, 
 Brown county, the mother on April 10, 
 1874, the father on May 6, 1878. 
 
 Rev. A. J. Verberk received his ele- 
 mentary education at the parish schools 
 of his native town, proving himself an 
 apt and diligent scholar, studious and re- 
 flective. At the age of fourteen he entered 
 college, where for six years he was a no 
 less diligent student of the languages — 
 both ancient and modern — and studied 
 philosophy until he was about twenty-one 
 years old, when owing to his father's 
 physical affliction, his studies were inter- 
 rupted, and he had to assist in many 
 ways at home till 1861, in September of 
 which year he came to Little Chute, Wis., 
 to visit an old Holland acquaintance, 
 Father Spierings. Having been persuaded 
 by this gentleman to resume his studies, 
 Mr. Verberk on January 29, 1862, entered 
 St. Francis Seminary, near Milwaukee, 
 where he completed his philosophical and 
 theological course. On December 27, 
 1863, he was ordained to the priesthood, 
 by Bishop Henni, in the Cathedral at 
 ^Iilwaukee, and appointed to his first pas- 
 toral duties at Theresa, Dodge Co., Wis., 
 as assistant to the priest stationed there. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPIITCAL RECORD. 
 
 who was sick at the time. In September, 
 1864, he was given charge of his first con- 
 gregation, which was in Freedom, Outa- 
 gamie count)', and here he remained until 
 March, 1865, at which time he was trans- 
 ferred to Little Chute, where his old friend 
 Father Spierings had been stationed. 
 Here our subject labored among his flock 
 till October, 1869, during which time he 
 built a new house for the priest, and the 
 new church building, of which for several 
 years nothing had been standing except 
 the foundation, was through his efforts 
 and labor completed, with the exception 
 of the work on the interior. From Little 
 Chute he was sent to St. Mary's Church 
 at Appleton, at which time the parishion- 
 ers, who were of several nationalities, all 
 attended the same church, and it was dur- 
 ing his incumbency here than the separa- 
 tion took place. While in Appleton 
 Father Verberk decided to pay a \isit to 
 his native land, and set out on his journey 
 in June, 1872, proceeding to New York, 
 visiting en route friends in Cleveland, 
 Ohio, and Fort Lee, N. J. The voj'age 
 from New York to Liverpool occupied 
 twelve days, and in August he arrived in 
 Holland, where he met with an affection- 
 ate reception, and lingered long and 
 fondly about the hallowed spot of his 
 happy childhood and boyhood days. His 
 first intention was to travel through- 
 out the continent and visit the Holy Land, 
 but, a sickness that might be called " in- 
 digenous" to Holland having seized him, 
 he had to forego the anticipated pleasure, 
 and return to the United States after a 
 brief sojourn in his native country of 
 about tfiree months. 
 
 On November 25, he started on his 
 westward journe\' to resume his clerical 
 duties in the Far West, and after a 
 twenty-five days' passage from Liverpool 
 landed in New York, the voyage having 
 been protracted by an accident which oc- 
 curred when they were four days out, 
 necessitating return to port. Tarrying for 
 some weeks in New York and New Jersey, 
 he then visited relatives in Cleveland, 
 
 Ohio, and in the spring of 1873 arrived 
 once more at Green Bay, Wis. , whence 
 he proceeded to the diocese at Lacrosse, 
 and for two years and a half had charge 
 of the congregations at Baraboo, Sauk 
 county, and Eagle Point, Chippewa 
 county. Being claimed by the bishop of 
 Green Bay * as belonging to his diocese, 
 he in November, 1875, was called to the 
 temporary care of Wrightstown and other 
 charges, and later, in February, 1876, 
 was transferred to Chilton, Calumet 
 county, where was built under his pastor- 
 ate a new church costing some twelve 
 thousand dollars, and another for the 
 Germans, costing from six to seven thous- 
 and. In May, 1881, from the fact of his 
 speaking the language of Holland, best 
 understood by the Catholic congregation 
 at Little Chute, he was recalled thither, 
 remaining from 1881 to 1889. From that 
 parish, where during his stay he com- 
 pleted the yet unfinished church building 
 and erected a new parish school, he re- 
 moved in October, 1889, to his old charge 
 at Chilton, remaining until 1892, when 
 on account of failing health he resigned, 
 in September taking up his residence in 
 De Pere. where he made his home about 
 nine months, during which period of re- 
 pose he employed a portion of his time 
 writing for a Dutch paper called Dc Pere 
 Standard, and the English Echo of the 
 Valley. By the advice, however, of his 
 physician, who recommended him to live 
 more into the country, he came in May, 
 1893, to the town of Holland, in Holland 
 township. Brown county, where he has 
 since led a retired life, at the same time 
 filling the charge of St. Mary's Church, 
 Hilbert Junction, by regular weekly visits 
 and religious services whenever required. 
 
 * The first resident misionary priest at Green Bay was 
 Father \"an den Broek, and Father Verberk is the only Hoi- 
 land priest in Wisconsin to see that venerable divine in life. 
 This happened during the winter of 1847-48. when leather Van- 
 den Broek. after years of missionary work among the Indians 
 in the Fox River Valley, was on a visit to his native country. 
 Father Verberk. at that time making his college course, went 
 to see the aged missionary for advise about joining the colony 
 of Hollanders just then preparing to emigrate with Father 
 \'an den Broek. Strange, that the college boy in after years 
 should buiid a new church on the very spot, where the Pio- 
 neer was laid to rest! 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 73 
 
 HON. PATRICK FINNERTY, a 
 leading representative citizen and 
 prosperous farmer of Holland 
 township, Brown county, by vir- 
 tue of his popularity and usefulness in his 
 county, deserves prominent place in 
 this Biographical Record. 
 
 He is a native of Brown county, Wis., 
 born October 22, [856, on the farm 
 whereon he now lives in Section 14, Hol- 
 land township, the eldest son of Thomas 
 and Catherine (Keaton) Finnerty, natives 
 of Ireland. Thomas Finnerty was born 
 in County Sligo in 1820, the eldest in the 
 family of Patrick Finnerty, a tenant 
 farmer, who had by his wife, Catherine 
 (Caggin), a family of ten children — seven 
 sons and three daughters. In the spring 
 of 1 848 the family emigrated to the United 
 States, crossing the ocean from Liver- 
 pool in the sailing ship "Lord Elgin," 
 the voyage occupying seven weeks. Land- 
 ing in Boston, they proceeded from there 
 to Vermont, locating for a time in Rut- 
 land county. In November, 1849, the 
 entire family came to Wisconsin via Buf- 
 falo to Sheboygan, and in Holland (at 
 that time Kaukauna) township. Brown 
 county, settled in the dense wildwoods on 
 160 acres government land in Section 14, 
 for which he paid ten shillings per acre, 
 and entered in the name of Thomas, the 
 eldest son. To reach this property the 
 party traveled from Fond du Lac along 
 the military road to a point south of 
 Wrightstown, and from there had to lit- 
 erally hew their way through the unbroken 
 forest, there being neither road nor even 
 path, the one they had to cut being the 
 first. Here they built them a rude cabin 
 and commenced to make a clearing for a 
 farm. Patrick Finnerty, the head of this 
 immigrant family, died in 1871, his wife 
 passing away later at the home of their 
 son Thomas. 
 
 Thomas Finnerty, just mentioned, 
 soon after their arrival here, in fact in the 
 fall of the same year (1848), had to return 
 to Ireland for some purpose, but in the 
 following spring rejoined his parents and 
 
 was one of the hardest workers in the 
 clearing of the land. For two summers, 
 however, after coming here, Thomas Fin- 
 nerty worked at Kaukauna, for the Fox 
 River Improvement Company, as a com- 
 mon laborer, in order to earn means for the 
 support of his parents and younger broth- 
 ers and sisters, after which he commenced 
 regular farming on the home place, and 
 in the course of time what was a dense 
 inhospitable forest he converted into a fer- 
 tile farm and comfortable home, the met- 
 amorphosis representing years of toil and 
 unceasing industry. In 1855 he married 
 Catherine Keaton, a native of Tipperary, 
 Ireland, and by her had children as fol- 
 lows: Patrick, the subject proper of this 
 sketch; Ellen, now Mrs. Hugh Finnegan, 
 of Holland; Catherine, who died unmar- 
 ried at the age of thirty-one years; Mary, 
 living in Green Bay; and Bridget, at 
 home. The family are all members of St. 
 Francis Church, at Holland. In his po- 
 litical associations Thomas Finnert}' is an 
 ardent Democrat, and in National and 
 State elections invariably votes that 
 ticket, but in county and township affairs 
 he supports the candidate he considers 
 best qualified for the office, regardless 
 of party ties. In his township he has 
 held the positions of treasurer and chair- 
 man, as well as treasurer of the school 
 board. 
 
 Patrick Finnerty, the subject of this 
 memoir, received a liberal education at 
 the winter schools of the vicinit}' of his 
 home, and being a diligent and apt 
 scholar, made remarkable progress with 
 his books. Schools in his boyhood were 
 very different to what they are at the 
 present time, and the lad, young as he 
 was, saw by his own experience that vast 
 improvements in the nurseries of the 
 young mind were necessary if education 
 was to keep pace with the phenomenal 
 progress of the latter half of the nine- 
 teenth century. Indeed, so aggressive 
 was the stand he took, and so convincing 
 were the arguments he advanced, that 
 before he was twenty-one years old he 
 
74 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 received the appointment of clerk of the 
 school board of his district, an office he 
 has ever since held, always laboring for 
 the best interests of the educational in- 
 stitutions, particularly those included 
 within his own district. He was reared a 
 farmer boy on the same farm he now 
 conducts, all his instruction in this line 
 of work being received under the pre- 
 ceptorship of his father. Prior to his 
 marriage, in 1889, he took a trip to the 
 Pacific coast — his destination California; 
 and traveling by the Union Pacific rail- 
 road he stopped at many of the principal 
 c\i\es ill roil fi\ In the "Eureka State" 
 he sojourned some ten months, visiting 
 various interesting points, and in passing 
 through Oregon spent some time in Port- 
 land, returning to his \\'isconsin home at 
 the end of about a }'ear. 
 
 Politically Mr. Finnerty has been a 
 Democrat from the time he cast his first 
 vote, and has always been a wheel-horse 
 of the party, being from early manhood 
 recognized as a leader in the Democratic 
 ranks in his township. He has been re- 
 peatedly called to positions of honor and 
 trust, all of which he has tilled with honor 
 to himself and satisfaction to his con- 
 stituents. For two years he served as 
 treasurer, and in 1894 he was elected 
 township clerk. In the fall of 1886, by 
 a majority of v(jtes, he was sent to the 
 Assembly as member of the thirty- 
 eighth session of the Wisconsin Legis- 
 lature, the occasion being the second bi- 
 ennial session, and he was the youngest 
 man ever elected to the Legislature in 
 Brown county. 
 
 In February, 1889, Mr. Finnerty was 
 married at Milwaukee, Wis., to Miss 
 Ellen Desmond, a nati\e of Brooklyn, N. 
 Y. , and daughter of Matthew Desmond, 
 who settled in Milwaukee when Mrs. 
 Finnerty was a child of about three sum- 
 mers. Three children have been born to 
 this union: Addie, Matthew and Thomas. 
 The home farm, still comprising 160 acres 
 of prime land, is conducted under the 
 immediate supervision of our subject him- 
 
 self, and reflects as much credit on him 
 as an agriculturist as have his public ser- 
 vices as a statesman. 
 
 M 
 
 ATTHIAS REYNEX. Like 
 thousands of other worthy men 
 w hose lot in their native coun- 
 try was simply to drudge and 
 be always poor, John Reynen, father of 
 Matthias, saw in the Western World a 
 rainbow of promise. In the spring of 
 1 85 I, with his wife and six children, he 
 left hard times and Holland behind, and 
 sailed from Amsterdam in an English 
 ship bound for New York city, arriving 
 after a fifty-eight-days' voyage. Green 
 Bay, Wis. , was their final destination, and 
 they proceeded up the Hudson river by 
 steamboat to Albany, where the)- were 
 delayed a month by the severe illness of 
 the head of the family, ^^'hen he had re- 
 covered they continued their journe\' via 
 the Erie canal, and Matthias and his 
 brother werepriviledged characters on the 
 trip, being allowed to ride the horses which 
 drew the canal boat. Upon arrival at Buf- 
 falo it was learned that but one vessel, the 
 old " Michigan," was plying between that 
 point and Green Baj', and as it took her 
 two weeks to make the round trip, it was 
 necessary to wait most of that time for 
 her return; but they at length embarked, 
 and in the fall of 1851 reached their des- 
 tination. 
 
 The family passed the first winter in 
 Green Bay, but the following spring found 
 them in De Pere, as tenants of Samuel 
 Blake. After passing the summer here 
 they removed to Little Chute, where the 
 elder Re3'nen found employment on the 
 canal, as he had previously done, carry- 
 ing back to his family fifty pounds of 
 flour upon his return. He continued to 
 reside at Little Chute during his active 
 life, finally locating at De Pere, where he 
 died in 1883, and his remains were in- 
 terred in the Catholic cemetery at that 
 place. His widow yet lives with a mar- 
 ried daughter, on the same farm first 
 
COMMEMOllA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 75 
 
 occupied bj" the family upon their arrival 
 in this region. Their children, \\'ho are 
 all living, are as follows: William, re- 
 siding in South Dakota; Matthias, whose 
 name introduces this article; Gertrude, 
 now Mrs. John Coonen, of De Pere; Han- 
 nah, now Mrs. William Vandervelden, of 
 Cornelius, Oregon; Mary, wife of John 
 Vandyke, of Freedom, Outagamie Co. , 
 Wis.; Martin, of South Dakota; and the 
 only death in this famil}' has been that of 
 the father. The children ha\e all reared 
 large families. 
 
 Matthias Reynen was born in Holland 
 March 14, 1838, and was consequently 
 but thirteen years of age when he arrived 
 in the land of his adoption. His father 
 was able to afford him but a meager edu- 
 cution in the old country, and after arriv- 
 ing in the United States his only school- 
 ing was included in a four-weeks' attend- 
 ance at Albany, during the sickness of his 
 father, as above mentioned. He showed 
 remarkable aptness, and during that short 
 period succeeded in mastering the three 
 primary "readers" which a kind old 
 gentleman had furnished him. By the 
 time he reached Green Baj" he was able 
 to speak the English language fairly well, 
 and the first money he earned was fifty 
 cents received for acting as interpreter. 
 The same spirit of determination has been 
 of great value to him in the subsequent 
 years of his life, for by his own sole efforts 
 he has reached the position he now holds, 
 as a substantial, respected and estimable 
 citizen. His first employment in Wis- 
 consin was peeling potatoes for Gapt. Ed- 
 wards, proprietor of the old ' ' Washing- 
 ton House " (which stood on the site now 
 occupied by the "Beaumont House"), 
 and having performed the same kind of 
 labor in his passage across the Atlantic, 
 he was undoubtedly proficient. Contin- 
 uing to reside with his parents until he 
 became of age, young Matthias turned 
 his earnings over to them, assisting them 
 to the best of his ability to keep "the 
 wolf from the door" and become the pos- 
 sessors of a home, engaging in various 
 
 kinds of labor — fishing, gardening, etc. 
 Until 1852 he carried the mail for Mr. 
 Tyler between Green Bay and Manito- 
 woc, one summer, when his horse had 
 only an Indian trail to follow, and the boy 
 had no definite idea as to the location of 
 Manitowoc, frequently turning out to 
 avoid wolves, bears, and other wild ani- 
 mals. His instructions were, if the horse 
 got disabled and swamped, to shoulder 
 the mail bag and continue on foot; thij 
 happening on one occasion he left the 
 horse in the swampy ground, and started 
 to walk, but the animal succeeded in ex- 
 tricating itself from the mudhole, and fol- 
 lowing Mr. Reynen caught up with him 
 and whinnied for his master before he 
 had reached his destination. He at 
 length secured a position with Mr. Wager 
 and afterward with Wilcox & Wager, 
 millers of De Pere, with whom he learned 
 the milling trade, when the stone mill 
 was built in De Pere, and continued to 
 work at that place, at intervals, for twelve 
 years, as well as in a similar capacity at 
 other points; he is the oldest Hollander 
 miller in the Fox River Valley. He was al- 
 so employed more or less in the woods, and 
 hand in hand along with hard work plod- 
 ded along through the years, making a 
 record as a toiler scarcely surpassed by 
 a man of his age. He has been engaged 
 at nearly all kinds of labor except military 
 duty, and barely missed that, for he was 
 drafted, but escaped through a mistake on 
 the part of the enrolling officer, who 
 spelled his name "Ryan." Mr. Reynen 
 is unquestionably a leader of the self- 
 made men of his section, and, in addition 
 to his ability, being possessed of a won- 
 derful retentive memory, there is no 
 doubt but that, with proper education, he 
 might have made an honorable and dis- 
 tinguished record in the professional 
 world. 
 
 On November 16, 1863, Mr. Reynen 
 was wedded, in the old German Catholic 
 Church at Green Bay, to Adelia Martins, 
 who was born in Holland in 1843 and 
 came to the United States with h er 
 
76 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father's family in 1850, the latter locat- 
 ing near the home of our subject, in Al- 
 louez township, at the foot of Robinson 
 Hill, the propert}' now owned by Mr. 
 Reynen. The children born to this union 
 were: Minnie, now deceased; Fannie, 
 now Mrs. Frank Van Noss, of Green Bay; 
 Mary, now Mrs. Charles Van Noss, of 
 the same city, G. William, of Allouez, em- 
 ployed in the railroad ser\ice; Martin, 
 Xony, Ella and Minnie, at home; Frank, 
 deceased; Peter and Lilly May, at home; 
 and Dora, deceased. For a short time 
 after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Reynen 
 resided at Green Bay, but soon removed 
 to De Pere, where Mr. Reynen formed a 
 partnership with Fred Lucke, and en- 
 gaged for a few years in the milling busi- 
 ness. He also purchased the ' ' De Pere 
 House," becoming its landlord. He had 
 previously started up a new mill for other 
 parties in Chippewa Falls, and, besides, 
 built and conducted another at De Pere, 
 which latter was burned in 18S3, the loss 
 being heavy and the insurance small. 
 After this disaster he located upon the 
 farm of ninety-seven acres upon which he 
 has since resided, the homestead being 
 generally known as "Robinson Hill." 
 From his pleasant home, erected in 1891, 
 a delightful view of the Fox river is 
 obtained. 
 
 Politically Mr. Rejnen is an unswerv- 
 ing Democrat, and he has been elected by 
 his party to various official positions at 
 the different places where he has lived. 
 While in De Pere he was a member of the 
 city council several years, as well as of 
 the county board of supervisors twelve or 
 fifteen years, resigning upon his removal 
 to Allouez. In the latter township he has 
 been chairman of the town board for sev- 
 eral years, and is the present member for 
 Allouez on the county board, a position 
 in which he has always rendered credit- 
 able service. During the panic of 1873 
 he lost nine thousand dollars inside of six 
 months, and his fire losses in 1883 were 
 ten thousand; but, notwithstanding these 
 severe blows, he is yet comfortably situ- 
 
 ated, owning one hundred acres of the 
 most desirable land in the vicinity of 
 Green Bay, a property which is destined 
 to be worth many thousand dollars in the 
 not distant future. From his boyhood he 
 has found it necessary to make an uphill 
 fight. Instead of being assisted bj- his 
 parents his efforts were lent to their sup- 
 port, and it was a struggle for years be- 
 fore there was perceptible gain. In deal- 
 ing with his fellowmen his methods have 
 been straightforward and honorable, and 
 "Matt" Reynen, as he is best known, 
 is respected and esteemed by a wide circle 
 of acquaintances. He and his family are 
 members of the Holland Catholic Church, 
 in which he has been an officer for years, 
 and to which his contributions have been 
 most liberal. From out the Netherlands, 
 which have sent sturdy men and women 
 into the four quarters of the globe, there 
 have come few, if any, who can lay 
 stronger claim to the proud title, "a 
 self-made man," and he bears his laurels 
 with becoming composure. 
 
 CHARLES JOANNES, member of 
 the firm of Joannes Bros., whole- 
 sale grocers, Green Baj'. Wis., 
 is a native of Belgium, born in 
 the town of Tervueren, about six miles 
 east of Brussels, April 24, 1844, the 
 eldest son of Eugene C. and Marie Eliza- 
 beth (Vandersmissen) Joannes. 
 
 In 1856 the family, consisting of 
 father, mother and eight children, left 
 their native land for the New World, 
 taking passage on a sailing vessel at .Ant- 
 werp, and after a voyage of thirty-nine 
 days landed in New York. From there 
 they proceeded westward to Wisconsin, 
 via rail to Buffalo, thence steamer to 
 Green Bay, which they found to be a 
 thriving village and important trading 
 point. The family settled in Lawrence 
 township. Brown county, on a small 
 farm, which they commenced to clear, by 
 hard work and untiring perseverance to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 77 
 
 make a new home in the then compara- 
 tive wilderness; but the father was 
 doomed never to reahze his hopes and 
 plans for the future, for early in the fol- 
 lowing spring (1857), in attempting to 
 cross Fox river on the ice he broke 
 through and was drowned, leaving a 
 widow and seven children to survive him, 
 the youngest child (an infant) having died 
 a few months before this. He had lived 
 in Brown county only about six months, 
 yet during that short time had estab- 
 lished himself in the estimation of all 
 whom he came in contact with as an 
 earnest, industrious man, above the 
 average in intelligence and progressive- 
 ness. All of the children that were old 
 enough were sent to school soon after 
 they were settled. The death of the 
 father left the widowed mother alone 
 among strangers with her children, the 
 eldest being only about fourteen years 
 old; but being heroic in nature, and 
 possessed of an indomitable will power 
 and a strong constitution to back it, she 
 set herself to the task of rearing her 
 children as well as circumstances would 
 permit. The neighbors, being kind- 
 hearted people, took great interest in the 
 family, and helped them in many ways, 
 five of the children finding homes among 
 them, where they were required to do 
 chores, assisting in farm work during the 
 summer season and attending school 
 during the winter months. In 1 861 the 
 family moved into Green Bay, the farm 
 having been sold, and the money realized 
 from it was invested in a small home on 
 Pine street, where the Green Bay, 
 Winona & St. Paul railroad office build- 
 ing now stands. Here the family resided 
 some years, the children, when old 
 enough to leave school, succeeding in 
 securing employment of one kind or an- 
 other in Green Bay. 
 
 Charles Joannes, who, as will be 
 seen, was about twelve years old when 
 the family came to Wisconsin, after 
 spending five years on the farm, went to 
 Green Bay, where he immediately secured 
 
 a position with the late Dr. Henry 
 Pearce, remaining there a little more 
 than two years, doing chores and attend- 
 ing school. From there he entered the 
 office of register of deeds as copying 
 clerk under Xavier Martin, and there he 
 remained two years, at the end of which 
 time he entered the store of Bennett & 
 Williamson, proprietors of the then lead- 
 ing dry-goods store in Green Bay, con- 
 tinuing in their employ until the winter of 
 1867. At that time, being desirous of 
 improving himself in commercial theory, 
 he went to Chicago, where he entered 
 Bryant & Stratton's Business College, 
 and after graduating from this school he 
 received the appointment of assistant 
 bookkeeper with Belding Bros. & Co., 
 manufacturers and jobbers of sewing 
 silks, Chicago. At the end of three 
 months he had earned the confidence of 
 the firm, and was sent by them to their 
 Cincinnati house to take full charge of 
 their books there, while at the close of 
 two years he became traveling salesman 
 for the same firm, his territory covering 
 almost the entire South; but in July, 
 1872, he severed his connection with 
 Belding Brothers in order to embark in 
 the grocery business with his brothers in 
 Green Bay. 
 
 The firm of Joannes Brothers, consist- 
 ing of Charles, William, Mitchell and 
 Thomas, commenced business in a retail 
 way in August, 1872. William (at that 
 time the only one of the four brothers to 
 have any experience in that line) was sent 
 to New York to buy their first stock of 
 goods, which was bought for cash. The 
 boys, being well known and respected, did 
 a flourishing business from the start, and 
 soon became the leading retail grocers in 
 the city. There was then quite a large 
 jobbing business done in Green Bay, but 
 the panic of 1873 soon followed, and 
 proved very disastrous to all the business 
 interests in Green Bay, particularly to the 
 wholesale grocery trade, it taking but a 
 short time to close up all of the whole- 
 sale grocery firms in the city. Joannes 
 
COMMKMORATIVK BIOOHAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 Brothers, being then the leading retail 
 grocers, were quick to realize the import- 
 ance of trying to take care of as much of 
 the trade, that had formeriy been buying 
 their goods at wholesale on this market, 
 as possible; but with their limited capital, 
 together with the panicky condition then 
 existing, theycouUl readii_\' see that noth- 
 ing but a strictly cash basis would now be 
 safe to follow. This they adopted, and 
 adhered to until conditions were more 
 favorable to again return to a credit sys- 
 tem, from which time on their business 
 increased very rapidly, so that in 1884 
 they discontinued their retail department, 
 and have ever since conducted an exclu- 
 sively jobbing business. In 1891 their 
 business had grown to such an extent that 
 they found it absolutely necessary to in- 
 crease their facilities, and they then 
 erected their pre.sent four-story (and base- 
 ment) building, 88 x 90 feet in dimensions 
 (with granite front), with warehouses in 
 rear extending to the channel of the Fox 
 river, where all the largest lake steamers, 
 having goods for the firm, land and unload 
 their cargoes direct into these warehouses, 
 thus saving the firm a large amount every 
 year in cartage. They also have the track 
 of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 railroad running between their store and 
 warehouse, thus enabling them to being all 
 car-load lots directly opposite their prem- 
 ises for unloading. In connection with their 
 grocery business they also own and oper- 
 ate a very complete coffee and spice mill, 
 and there are no better goods on the 
 market than their Champion brand spices. 
 Taking all things into consideration, the 
 Joannes Brothers have, without a doubt, 
 the most complete and best equipped 
 plant for conducting a wholesale grocery 
 business that can be found in the North- 
 west, with a trade that is second to none 
 in the State of Wisconsin. They now 
 have seven traveling men on the road 
 selling goods, which fact, however, hardly 
 gives a correct idea of their business, 
 fully half of which comes to them un- 
 solicited, and they employ in their differ- 
 
 ent departments no less than forty-four 
 hands. In the accomplishment of this 
 the brothers have had ver\- little leisure 
 time, and to-da\', even, the\' are harder 
 workers than any of their numerous em- 
 ployees, and their success in life is largely 
 attributed to the close personal attention 
 they have always given every detail in 
 their business, they never allowing goods 
 to be misrepresented, so far as they are 
 able to judge. 
 
 On July 2, 1872, Charles Joannes, the 
 senior member of the firm, was married 
 in Cincinnati to Miss Hattie P. Lambdin, 
 a native of that city, and daughter of 
 William Thomas and Martha (Athern) 
 Lambdin, who were born in Martha's 
 Vine}ard, Mass., where W^illiam Athern, 
 the grandfather of Mrs. Charles Joannes, 
 helped to build the United States frigate 
 "Constitution." Mrs. Joannes received 
 her education in the schools of Rising 
 Sun, Ind., and is a lad)- of culture and 
 refinement. She is a prominent member 
 of the Congregational Church, and takes 
 c:n acti\e interest in the" social life of 
 Green Bay. As a business man, Mr. 
 Joannes is recognized as possessing the 
 utmost ability, push and energy, and as 
 a citizen none stand any better. 
 
 M 
 
 ITCHELL JOANNES, member 
 of the wholesale grocery firm of 
 Joannes Bros. , Green Ba}', is a 
 native of Belgium, born in 
 1848, and is the third son of Eugene C. 
 and Marie Elizabeth (V'andersmissen) 
 Joannes. 
 
 Mitchell Joannes was but eight years 
 of age when he left home to li\e with 
 others. At the age of eight and one-half 
 years he began working on a farm; four 
 years afterward went to Ripon, Wis. , 
 where for two years he was employed at 
 the same kind of labor. In 1 862 he 
 came to Green Bay, entered a physician's 
 office as clerk, and was thus engaged for 
 two years, at the end of which time he 
 commenced clerking in the crockery 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 house of W^heelock & Chapman, at 
 which he continued until his enhst- 
 ment, in 1865, in Company G, Forty- 
 first Wis. \. I., under the ninety- 
 days' call; was stationed at Mem- 
 phis, Tenn., and was honorably dis- 
 charged at the expiration of his term of 
 enlistment; he sustained only one injury, 
 and that was at Chatham, 111., through 
 an accident while cit route for home. On 
 his recovery, he was employed as clerk 
 for eighteen months in Green Bay, and 
 was then appointed to a position in the 
 postoffice, in the service of which, as 
 clerk and assistant postmaster, he re- 
 mained nine years, doing duty during the 
 terms of Capt. D. M. Whitney, Capt. C. 
 R. Tyler and W. C. E. Thomas. He 
 resigned this position to take an active 
 part with his brothers, Charles and Will- 
 iam, in the grocery business. [Business 
 record of Joannes Bros, will be found in 
 the sketch of Charles Joannes.] 
 
 Besides his interest in this extensive 
 concern, Mitchell Joannes has manifold 
 collateral connections. He has been a 
 director in the Citizens National Bank 
 since the organization of that institution; 
 is a stockholder in the Columbian Bakery 
 Companw of which he is a director and 
 vice-president; also stockholder in and 
 treasurer and director of the Green Bay 
 and Fort Howard Water Works Com- 
 pany. He is likewise a stockholder in 
 the Green Bay Planing Mill, as well as 
 in the Green Bay Pickle Factory, and 
 both building and loan societies; he is a 
 stockholder in the Brown County Fair 
 and Park Association, and director in the 
 J. R. Thomas Machine Company, and a 
 member of the Business Men's Associa- 
 tion of the city. In politics he is inde- 
 pendent, locally, voting for such men and 
 measures as will redound, in his opinion, 
 to the best interests of the general public, 
 and has served, with the same end in 
 view, as alderman from the Second 
 ward. In religion he is a devout Roman 
 Catholic, and worships at the French 
 
 Catholic Church. 
 5 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Joannes was 
 celebrated at Green Bay July i, 1875, 
 with Miss Fannie D. Goodhue, daughter 
 of Charles F. H. and Delia (Alger) Good- 
 hue, early settlers at Beloit, Wis. The 
 father of this amiable lady died in Wood 
 county. Wis., May 16, 1874, a much- 
 honored citizen; the mother makes her 
 home in Green Bay with Mr. Joannes' 
 famil)-. This union was crowned by the 
 birth of five children, of whom three are 
 still living, viz. : Gertrude A., Arline and 
 Harold V. ; the deceased are Guy Good- 
 hue, born May 17, 1876, died August 25, 
 1876; and Nellie Genevieve, born August 
 31, 1880, died June 23, 1882. Mr. Joannes 
 has indeed been the "architect of his 
 own fortune," having by his upright busi- 
 ness methods won for himself a host of 
 friends in the community of trade, and 
 by his genial manners and pleasant ad- 
 dress added daily to his list of patrons. 
 He has always been among the foremost 
 to aid by his means and enterprising 
 spirit the building up of Green Bay city 
 and the county of Brown, of which he is 
 recognized as one of the most substantial 
 citizens. 
 
 THOMAS JOANNES, member of 
 the wholesale grocery firm of 
 Joannes Brothers, Green Bay, is 
 a native of Belgium, born March 
 17, 1849, in Tervueren, a town situated 
 some six miles east of Brussels, a son of 
 Eugene C. and Marie Elizabeth (Vanders- 
 missen) Joannes. 
 
 Thomas Joannes was seven years old 
 when the family came to the United 
 States and to Wisconsin, and at the 
 schools of Green Bay he received a fairly 
 liberal education up to the age of fourteen 
 j-ears. On leaving school he commenced 
 learning the trade of jeweler, and by the 
 end of three years was so proficient at the 
 business that he was given charge of most 
 of the repairing in the store where he 
 served his apprenticeship. About the year 
 1866, abandoning the jewelry business, 
 
82 
 
 OOMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he was given a clerkship in the postoffice 
 at Green Bay, and after four years in that 
 capacity was appointed, by United States 
 Senator T. O. Howe, to the position of 
 postal clerk in the United States mail ser- 
 vice. He had charge of the first mail car 
 that ever ran north of Green Bay, and his 
 was the first appointment for that division; 
 but after a faithful service of one and one- 
 lialf years he resigned in order to take 
 active interest in the grocery business of 
 Joannes Brothers, with which he had been 
 affiliated since 1872. [Business record of 
 Joannes Brothers will be found in the 
 sketch of Charles Joannes.] 
 
 From the time of the opening out of the 
 wholesale branch, Thomas Joannes has, 
 more particularly, had charge of the spice 
 mills, besides attending to outside mat- 
 ters, such as collections, etc. On Octo- 
 ber 23, 1878, he was united in marriage, 
 in Oshkosh, Wis., with Miss Emma M. 
 Heath, a well-educated and highly-cul- 
 tured lady, whose native place is Racine, 
 Wis. She is a daughter of Joseph and 
 Catherine (Norton) Heath, old residents 
 of Oshkosh. To Mr. and Mrs. Joannes 
 have been born three children, named 
 respectively: Genevieve Regina, Mary 
 Hortense and Leland Heath. The par- 
 ents are members of St. John's Church, 
 Green Bay, and in his political sympathies 
 Mr. Joannes is pronouncedly independent. 
 During the winter of 1893-94 he built one 
 of the finest residences to be seen in Green 
 Bay or vicinity, in which he takes a pro- 
 per pride, for it is an ornament to the 
 city. His success in life is due to hard 
 work and good business management, 
 which, coupled with common sense and 
 sound judgment, have brought him the 
 reward he so well merits. 
 
 WILLIAM EDWARD KEL- 
 LOGG, cashier of the Kellogg 
 Banking Company at De Pere, 
 Brown county, was born June 
 I, 1855, in Amherst, Mass. He is a son 
 of Sanford W. and Emily L. (Spears) 
 
 Kellogg, the former of whom was at one 
 time a resident of Amherst, Mass., and 
 later a capitalist at Waukegan, 111., re- 
 moving still later to Sauk Center, Minn., 
 where he engaged cxtensivelj' in general 
 merchandising and flour-milling. He sub- 
 sequently returned to Waukegan, 111., 
 where he died in October. 1882. 
 
 William E. Kellogg was educated 
 partly at the high school of Waukegan, 
 having previously passed the junior year 
 at Notre Dame College, South Bend, Ind. 
 After leaving high school he was em- 
 ployed for a couple of years by a mer- 
 cantile firm at Sauk Center, Minn., of 
 which his father was the head, doing 
 business under the title of Kellogg, Chase 
 & Ma3o; later was with Thomas, La;;ear 
 & Hayden, wholesale dealers in furnish- 
 ing goods at Chicago, and then with John 
 V. Farwell & Co., wholesale dry -goods 
 men of the same city. In June, 1S78, 
 he entered the Kellogg National Bank at 
 Green Bay, Wis. , at the bottom of the 
 ladder, and remained until October, 1881, 
 when he was made cashier of the Rufus 
 B. Kellogg & Co. bank at De Pere, of 
 which institution he is now the heaviest 
 stockholder. The average annual de- 
 posits in this bank up to the panic o{ 
 1893 were about one hundred and twenty- 
 five thousand dollars, and although a 
 slight diminution then took place, the 
 deposits soon recovered their wonted 
 volume. Throughout the most stringent 
 season of the year nained the bank never 
 for a moment closed its doors, and never 
 asked a dollar aid from any source — an 
 illustration of the safe and conservative 
 system of the bank, which has never yet 
 lost a dollar by bad loans or investments. 
 Since 1881 the affairs of the bank have 
 virtually been under the control of Mr. 
 Kellogg, and although this gentleman 
 was but a novice when he took charge, 
 the owners made but one visit of inspec- 
 tion per year after the first two or three 
 months, being thoroughly satisfied with 
 the safe .system upon which the cashier 
 was conducting its affairs. The manage- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 83 
 
 ment hold the entire confidence of the 
 pubhc, and depositors feel that their 
 funds are as safe in its custody as if 
 locked up in a safety-deposit vault. The 
 bank is a State bank, and was incorpor- 
 ated in 1889 with R. B. Kellogg, presi- 
 dent; L. D. Hurd, vice-president, and W. 
 E. Kellogg, cashier, with a capital stock 
 of twenty-five thousand dollars, being the 
 outcome of a private bank established by 
 Rufus B. Kellogg in 1878. The death of 
 R. B. Kellogg, however, took place in 
 September, 1891, and H. H. Camp suc- 
 ceeded to the presidency of the Kellogg 
 Banking Company. This gentleman was 
 formerly president of the First National 
 Bank of Milwaukee, and is now also presi- 
 dent of the Milwaukee Trust Company. 
 
 At the death of Rufus B. Kellogg our 
 subject was appointed one of the execu- 
 tors of his estate of half a million, with- 
 out bonds, and was also made guardian 
 of his children. Rufus B. Kellogg was a 
 practical business man, and when our 
 subject started in with him, at the mea- 
 ger salary of twenty dollars per month, he 
 was warned that promotion depended on 
 his ability and attention to his duties. 
 The result speaks for itself. 
 
 The marriage of W. E. Kellogg with 
 Gertrude M. Hutchinson was solemnized 
 June 7, 1882, at Waukegan, 111., the 
 fruit of the union being Rufus H., born 
 December 13, 1889, and Anna, born 
 January 22, 1893. 
 
 DANIEL WHITNEY (deceased). 
 Something more than a simple 
 announcement and a passing re- 
 mark is due to the memory of one 
 who was not only the founder of Green 
 Bay, but for more than thirty years had 
 his residence there, and was as familiar 
 to the people as their own household 
 gods. More than any other man, he was, 
 in the earlier part of his career, ardently 
 and actively engaged in developing the 
 resources of the then wilderness of the 
 Northwest, and in building up the city of 
 
 Green Bay. As one of the first settlers 
 and pioneers of Wisconsin, there is due 
 to his memory a place on the record of 
 his adopted home. In the prosecution of 
 his early explorations, as pioneer, no one 
 traveled as much, or labored as hard as 
 he; and, in doing so, no man suffered 
 more hardships, or exposure, or ran more 
 desperate risks. He knew no fear. 
 Wherever his duty or his business called 
 him, he went. Cold, storm, or night- 
 time had no terrors sufftcient to deter him 
 from pursuing his object. 
 
 Mr. Whitney was born September 3, 
 1795, in Gilsum, N. H., a son of Samuel 
 and Mary Whitney, the former of whom 
 was a native of Massachusetts, borrt 
 August 5, 1758, in Newton, whence in an 
 early day he removed to New Hampshire, 
 becoming a very prominent man in the town 
 of Gilsum, that State. He there married 
 Miss Mary Whitney, daughter of Capt. 
 Joshua Whitney, a prominent citizen of 
 Worcester, Mass. , and captain of a vol- 
 unteer company raised there, serving 
 throughout the Revolutionary war. Sam- 
 uel Whitney, father of our subject, was 
 also a soldier in that struggle, a member 
 of Capt. Flagg's company of "Minute 
 Men." His son Daniel, of whom this 
 sketch pertains, was reared in New Hamp- 
 shire, and received his education in part 
 at the schools of the neighborhood of his 
 home, in part in Boston, Mass. In 18 16 
 he paid his first visit to Green Bay, tO' 
 "spy the land," and returning east again 
 in 1819, came here to make his perma- 
 nent home in the new country, being 
 twenty-four years old at the time. Here 
 he established himself in mercantile busi- 
 ness near Camp Smith, two and one-half 
 miles above the present site of Green 
 Bay, where the village then was; and this 
 was the starting point of all his subsequent 
 numerous enterprises. 
 
 Wisconsin, and all the west and north, 
 was then a complete wilderness, inhabited 
 only by wild Indians comprising within 
 the limits of the present State at least six 
 different nations, and other nations still 
 
84 
 
 COMMEMORAriVK BIOURAPIIICAL liECORD. 
 
 more fierce and warlike held all Ihc coun- 
 try west of the Mississippi. This did not 
 prevent Mr. W'hitnej- from making many 
 long journeys to the interior, and push- 
 ing his in\estigations wherever he thought 
 good locations for trade could be found. 
 He explored the Fo.\ river to its source, 
 and the Wisconsin from the rapids to the 
 ^lississippi. In 1821-22 he was sut- 
 ler for U. S. troops at Fort Snelling, on 
 the St. Peter's river, Minnesota; estab- 
 lished several trading posts on the Missis- 
 sippi, where he supplied traders with 
 goods, and had also a trading post at 
 Sault Ste. Marie. During the winter of 
 1822 he traveled on foot from Fort Snell- 
 ing to Detroit, with onlj- an Indian for a 
 companion, to assist him with his pro- 
 visions and bedding, which they drew on 
 a hand sled. During this whole journey 
 (about one thousand miles) he met but 
 one white man, and saw but two cabins. 
 An incident occurred on this trip which 
 showed the perseverance and daring of 
 the man. In crossing one of the numer- 
 ous rivers en route, he found the ice bad. 
 The Indian guide became afraid, but Mr. 
 Whitney crossed over, drawing the sled 
 and load with him. The Indian would 
 not follow, whereupon Mr. Whitnej' re- 
 crossed, and in so doing broke through 
 the ice (which was thin, the water deep 
 and the current strong) with one foot. 
 He provided himself with a rope from the 
 sled and a cudgel, and compelling the In- 
 dian to lie down upon the ice, with the 
 rope drew him over in safety. In the fall 
 of 1824 he had a vessel, loaded with 
 goods and provisions for Green Bay, frozen 
 in near Mackinac. Such an accident in 
 those times threatened serious conse- 
 quences to the settlements, and, although 
 starvation was impossible when fish and 
 venison were plent}', yet many would suf- 
 fer inconvenience, and Mr. W'hitney a 
 great loss, unless the supplies could be 
 reached. As soon, therefore, as cold 
 weather had insured a bridge of ice, along 
 the shore, and across the rivers and baj's, he 
 fitted out an expedition consisting of him- 
 
 self and several French-Canadians, with 
 horse-trains, made the trip to Mackinac 
 on the ice, where the vessel was, and re- 
 turned with all he could of the most 
 necessary goods. In order to carry on 
 his extensive operations, he went several 
 times to Canada, and procured large num- 
 bers of " voyageurs," men used to voy- 
 aging and the trader's life. With those as 
 companions and assistants, he traversed 
 the country on foot, in the bark canoe 
 and in the Mackinac boat, exploring new 
 sections of country, and transporting goods 
 to his trading houses. Many of these 
 men are still in the county, and are num- 
 bered among the most substantial farmers. 
 From these early times, until the light of 
 civilization shone across the country, un- 
 til settlements were formed, and roads 
 opened from the lake shore to the in- 
 terior, and until the improvement of the 
 Fox river had so far progressed as to ad- 
 mit of partial steamboat navigation, Mr. 
 Whitney was largely engaged in the trans- 
 portation business. For manj- years all 
 the supplies for Forts Winnebago and 
 Crawford and the upper Mississippi, for 
 troops, Indian treaties, etc., were con- 
 veyed in boats from Green Bay by the 
 Fox and Wisconsin rivers; and few per- 
 sons, not familiar with those times, can 
 form any idea of the immense labor and 
 cost involved. 
 
 Between 1825 and 1830 Mr. Whitney 
 explored the upper W^isconsin, built mills 
 at Plover Portage, and for more than 
 fifteen }ears was engaged in the business 
 of manufacturing lumber, and running it 
 down the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers 
 to the St. Louis market. This was the 
 first lumbering establishment erected on 
 the Wisconsin ri\er. and probably the 
 first on any tributary of the Mississippi. 
 During the same period he also built a 
 shot-tower at Helena, on the \\'^isconsin 
 river, and inaugurated an extensive busi- 
 ness at that point. From the time the 
 Stockbridge Indians came into the State 
 to commence their new homes, in 1827 
 or 1828, until their removal to their 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 85- 
 
 present location in Shawano county, he 
 kept a supply store among them, trans- 
 acting also their business for them; and 
 during the whole time, about thirteen 
 years, as a strictly honest man and a fair 
 and liberal dealer, he possessed their 
 entire confidence; and down to the time 
 of his death these Indians looked up to 
 him as their father and friend. He also 
 supplied goods to Indian agencies, as will 
 be seen by the following letter, written 
 over sixty j'ears ago: 
 
 Indian Agency. 
 Green Bay, July 21, '32. 
 To Daniel Whitney: 
 
 Dear Sir. — With the anus purchased from 
 Messrs. Kircheval & Hamilton, together with 
 your own, you will please to include some to be 
 had from Messrs. Law, Porlier iSr Grig^non, in 
 order that the whole number may be included 
 in the one draft to be drawn on ac. of 
 army. These arms I should be glad to have 
 .sent to the Agency in the course of the day, or 
 early on Monday morning. 
 
 (Signed) G. Boyd, II. S. Indian Agt. 
 
 In 1831 he abandoned his residence 
 near Camp Smith, and moved his family 
 and store to Navarino (now Green Bay), 
 near the mouth of the river, where he 
 passed the rest of his days. From his 
 earliest acquaintance with the locality 
 and surroundings of Green Ba\', he enter- 
 tained the most unbounded confidence in 
 its capabilities and fitness to become the 
 most important commercial town in the 
 State, and, acting upon this faith, he as 
 early as possible secured the land where 
 the city now stands, and in 1828 or 1829 
 laid out the town of Navarino, since 
 incorporated as Green Bay, and com- 
 menced building a city. In 1S30 he had 
 completed a wharf and spacious ware- 
 house, a portion of the "Washington 
 House," a school house, and some dwell- 
 ing houses for his mechanics and labor- 
 ers. From 1830 to 1840 he continued to 
 build, and as fast as materials could be 
 obtained erected eight or ten stores and 
 a large number of dwelling houses to rent; 
 in the meantime giving away a consider- 
 able number of lots to mechanics and 
 others who were desirous of building 
 
 homes for themselves. He also con- 
 tributed very largely toward the comple- 
 tion of the Episcopal church edifice — the 
 first Protestant house of worship built in 
 either the city or the State. This church 
 edifice was always a special object of 
 interest to him, and from its completion 
 in I 838 until cares ended with him on earth 
 he never ceased to watch about it, and 
 many a dollar has he expended in repairs, 
 from time to time, which no one but him- 
 self ever noted or recorded, and for which 
 the congregation can never cease to owe 
 him a grateful remembrance. The fol- 
 lowing is copied from a sketch of ' ' Pioneer 
 Life in Wisconsin," written by Henry 
 Merrill for the benefit of the State His- 
 torical Society: 
 
 At Shanteetown I met Rev. Mr. Cadle, who 
 had charge of the Episcopal Mission, delight- 
 fully situated on a hill back from the river in a 
 beautiful grove; and Alexander Irwin and his 
 lady, and Samuel, his brother, who were en- 
 gaged in merchandise here ; Wm. Dickinson 
 and others. Having letters of introduction to 
 Mr. Daniel Whitnej', I became well acquainted 
 with him, and have considered him one of the 
 most enterprising men of the West. At this 
 time he was doing an extensive business in 
 iTierchandise, reaching on to the Wisconsin 
 river, where he had built the first sawmill upon 
 the river at Point Pass, sotne seventy miles 
 above the Portage, one on the Wisconsin and 
 one on the Fox. a shot-tower at Helena, and 
 extending his business on to the Mississippi to 
 Galena and St. Louis. Three years before he 
 persisted in building and laj'ing off a town, 
 what is now the town of Green Bay, although 
 he was laughed at and called crazy. But the 
 trouble was, in many of his operations he was 
 ahead of the times, and some of them did not 
 prove good investments, although Navarino 
 did not prove one of them, for the town of 
 Green Bay is now a large and flourishing city. 
 I afterward met him often, and roamed over 
 the country with him on horseback, as all our 
 traveling was accomplished in that way in 
 those days, sometimes without road and some- 
 times on Indian trails, fording streams, marsh- 
 es, etc., etc., sometimes in the rain and some- 
 times throug-h the snow, taking the ground for 
 our body with our saddles for pillows, carrying 
 provisions and blankets with us. I always 
 found him a cheerful companion and an estima- 
 ble man. He gave me at one time an account, 
 the minutes of which I took down, of a journey 
 of his from Fort Snelling, on the St. Peter's, 
 to Detroit, Mich., in 1821, on foot in the midst 
 of winter, as follows: December 6, 1821, he 
 .started in a canoe with two men, the ice run- 
 ning thick in the river. His acquaintances 
 
86 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tried hard to persuade him to defer starting- 
 until the river closed; but no, business called 
 him. and he must go. They soon found them- 
 selves in a bad fix, for the ice blocked up under 
 the canoe so as to raise it six feet above the 
 water. After jfreat exertion thej' got to shore, 
 as he said, more pleased than he ever was in 
 his life at getting on land again. They then 
 started on foot, and got only nine miles the 
 first da3' and encamped. The next day started 
 down the river bank, packing their food and 
 blankets on their backs, each carrj-ing a gun, 
 the weather extremely cold and the snow six 
 inches deep. They were five days in getting 
 to Lake Pepin. In crossing the lake Mr. Whit- 
 ney broke through; the lock of his gun catch- 
 ing on the ice was the only thing that saved 
 him. Tlie weather was so cold some of the 
 time that they had to stop and build fires to 
 warm them.selves to keep from freezing. 
 Thirty miles above Prairie du Chien they got 
 out of provisions, but seeing a smoke they made 
 for it and found Augustin Grignon encamped, 
 an acquaintance from Green Bay. He was on 
 a trading voyage among the Indians ; he sup- 
 plied them with provisions. In this way they 
 passed through Prairie du Chien to Fort Win- 
 nebago, and from thence to Green Bay, where 
 they arrived in twenty-one days from Fort 
 Snelling. After remaining a few daj-s he took 
 a guide and started on foot for Chicago, where 
 he arrived in ten days, and from there to De- 
 troit in ten days more, making his tramp in 
 forty-one days from Fort Snelling, and said he 
 could then make his forty miles a day, and 
 easier than to ride on horseback. 
 
 During the last iifteen years of Mr. 
 Whitney's life he pursued no regular busi- 
 ness, but devoted his whole time to the 
 care of an immense landed estate. His 
 early life in the wilderness, upon the 
 rivers, and upon the bay, is full of in- 
 cidents, interesting, as showing the intre- 
 pidity of his character, and his indomitable 
 perseverance, luider the most discourag- 
 ing difificulties. On one occasion while 
 returning home from Grand Kaukauna 
 with hor.se and train, on the ice, in the 
 night, his horse broke through. Being 
 alone, and finding himself unable to extri- 
 cate the horse without aid, in order to 
 keep the horse's head above water he tied 
 it to the train, and then went three miles 
 for assistance, rather than let his horse be 
 drowned, as most men would have done. 
 He returned with help, and saved the 
 animal. Whenever there was danger in 
 the path, he was always at the head of 
 his party, and never required a man in 
 
 his employ to go where he was afraid to 
 lead. He was never a candidate for 
 office and never served in one. Honest 
 and upright in all his dealings, he always 
 possessed the confidence of his employes 
 and dependents, and all who had any 
 business transactions with him. His heart 
 was ever kind, and the poor, the unfortun- 
 ate, and the afflicted, in his death lost a 
 friend who never forgot them. Many was 
 the time that such, in their greatest want, 
 found the needed supply in the doorway, 
 or at the kitchen corner at nightfall, or 
 at daydawn, without ever knowing the 
 hand that relieved them; and oft had the 
 Christmas-tide brought with it happiness, 
 when else no merry Christmas jubilee 
 would have found its way around the fires 
 where no Yule log was wont to burn, but 
 for his ever benevolent and open hand. 
 Such will remember him with affection, 
 and it is feared look in vain for one to 
 take his place. He died November 4, 
 1862, in the house where he had resided 
 almost thirty years, at the age of sixty- 
 eight years, and by his will left his large 
 and valuable estate entirely under the 
 control of his widow, as sole executor. 
 Calmly he awaited the approach of death, 
 which he saw slowly but surely approach- 
 ing for many weeks; and spoke of it as 
 unconcernedly as if he was expecting a 
 friend to accompany him on a pleasant 
 journey. And thus quietly passed away 
 Daniel Whitney. If he had faults, let us 
 forget them, and remember only his many 
 virtues, and the sweet savor of his good 
 deeds. In his political associations he 
 was a lifelong Whig. 
 
 Our subject was married at Middle- 
 bury, Vt., September i, 1826, to Miss 
 Emmeline Henshaw, a native of that 
 place, born July 21, 1803, daughter of 
 Daniel and Sarah (Prentis) Henshaw, na- 
 tives of Connecticut, he born in Middle- 
 town, she in New London, both dying in 
 Vermont. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Whitney made their permanent home in 
 Green Bay, where, October 25, 1890, she 
 passed away. To them were born seven 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 87 
 
 children, of whom the following is a brief 
 record: (Ij Daniel Henshaw, born in 
 Shantytown, June 7, 1827, was married 
 March 10, 1863, to Miss Rosena Bader, 
 and settled in Stockbridge, Wis., but died 
 in Menasha November 17, 1866; they had 
 two children: Emmeline Stillman, born 
 October 28, 1865, now residing in Green 
 Bay, and Daniel, born January 27, 1867, 
 now living in Philadelphia. (II) Joshua 
 resides in Green Bay, and sketch of him 
 immediatel}' follows this. (Ill) William 
 Beaumont, born in Navarino (now Green 
 Bay) April 4, 1832, the first male white 
 child to see the light in that then village, 
 resides in Philadelphia; was married first 
 in Piqua, Ohio, November 21, 1854, to 
 Miss Laura Margaret Clewell, who died 
 May 4, 1884; to them were born children 
 as follows: Mary C, November 4, 1855, 
 died in Newport, Ky., August 28, 1857; 
 Helen C., November 15, 1863, married 
 to Francis Sedgwick Bangs, November 
 9, 1888, and resides in New York; Mary 
 Douglas, born October 29, 1865, married 
 November 19, 1891, George M. Hender- 
 son, and lives in Germantown, Penn. ; 
 William Beaumont was married the sec- 
 ond time at Chicago, November 23, 1888, 
 to Miss Emma Graham Varian, by whom 
 he has one child, Margaretta, born March 
 13, 1892. (IV) Charles Richards, born 
 September 27, 1837, died November 27, 
 
 1 84 1. (V) John Prentis Kane, born No- 
 vember 10, 1840, died October 30, 1841. 
 (VI) Harriet Hayward, born October 18, 
 
 1842, is still living on the old homestead, 
 in the house she was born in. (VII) 
 Henry Clay, born April 12, 1847, died 
 September 28, 1847. 
 
 JOSHUA WHITNEY. Were this 
 gentleman asked to define the secret 
 of success in life, from his own 
 standpoint and experience, his reply 
 would be, no doubt, that it is hard work, 
 availing itself of fair opportunities. Always 
 and everywhere he remembers that his 
 
 business career has been a successful one, 
 and that to himself, and all Wisconsin 
 men of his caliber, is peculiarly applicable 
 the well-worn ma.xim, that " nothing is so 
 successful as success." 
 
 Mr. Whitney was born in the city of 
 Green Bay, Wis., in 1829, a son of Daniel 
 and Emmeline S. (Henshaw) Whitney, 
 a sketch of whom immediately precedes 
 this. He received his education in Gam- 
 bier, Ohio, whither he was taken when a 
 four-year-old boy. On leaving school he 
 went to the Middlebury (Vt.j College, 
 where he studied five years, and then re- 
 turned to Green Bay. He was engaged 
 in the carrying trade on Fox river, and 
 transported the first iron for the N. 
 W. R. R. in this section, from Fond 
 du Lac to Watertown. For some 
 time in the iron industry, his interests 
 therein took him much abroad, and for a 
 time he was a resident of Hartford, Conn., 
 where he had charge of the Connecticut 
 Valley railroad. On his return to Green 
 Bay he did not here remain long, as we 
 next find him in Duluth, Minn., of which 
 city he was a resident eight years, finally 
 returning to Green Bay, where he has 
 since continuously resided. 
 
 On November 9, 1852, Mr. Whitney 
 was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth 
 Frances Irwin, a native of Brown county. 
 Wis., daughter of Alexander A. and 
 Frances P. (Smith) Irwin, and they have 
 one child, Emmeline Henshaw, married 
 to Walter A. Calhoun, of St. Louis, Mo., 
 by whom she has a son named George 
 Whitney. In his political preferences 
 Mr. Whitney was originally an Old-line 
 Whig, and since the organization of the 
 party he has been a stanch Republican, 
 at one time a member of the Know- 
 Nothing party. In municipal matters he 
 has been president of the council, and 
 served as chief of the Fire Department. 
 Socially he is a member of Washington 
 Lodge, F. & A. M. A generous, liberal 
 gentleman, the private life of Joshua 
 Whitney is adorned with man)- beneficent 
 acts. 
 
88 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQllAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 G 
 
 REGORIE DENIS. Anions the 
 representative self-made men, and 
 well-known capitalists of Brown 
 county, few if any have been the 
 architects of their own fortune to a degree 
 such as has been attained by the gentle- 
 man whose name is here recorded. 
 
 Mr. Denis is a native of Belgium, born 
 February 8, 1841, the eldest in the family 
 of Justice and Josephine Denis, also Bel- 
 gians by birth. The father in his native 
 land was a well-to-do farmer, in comfort- 
 able circumstances, but lieing desirous of 
 seeing something of the New World, and 
 perhaps bettering himself and family, re- 
 solved to emigrate hither to prospect for 
 a new home in the Far West, if he could 
 find a suitable one. Accordingly, in 
 1855, finding himself possessed of suf- 
 ficient means for the purpose without hav- 
 ing to convert any of his real estate into 
 cash, accompanied b\' his wife and son 
 Emil, he set sail from the port of Ant- 
 werp, and on arrival at New York the lit- 
 tle family at once proceeded westward to 
 Wisconsin, where in Green Bay town- 
 ship. Brown county, near the village of 
 Robinsonville, Mr. Denis purchased a 
 farm. Here they lived for some time, and 
 liking the locality and finding the property 
 a desirable one, Mr. Denis concluded to 
 remain, sending instructions to Belgium 
 to have his property there disposed of and 
 the proceeds sent to him. Shortly after 
 their settlement here another child was 
 born in the family, a daughter, named 
 Fanny, who is now living in Wausau, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 But we must now return to our sub- 
 ject, Gregorie, who had been left behind 
 in Belgium in the care of friends. He 
 received a fairly liberal education at the 
 parish schools of his native place, and 
 being of studious habits and an apt 
 scholar made good progress with his 
 books. The party he had been left in care 
 of by his parents was by trade a 
 baker, who, shortly after young Denis 
 commenced to make his home with him, 
 became financially involved, having all 
 
 his possessions seized by the authorities 
 for debt, thereby making the lad prac- 
 tically homeless. For some time Gregorie 
 debated within himself what to do, and 
 even at his then early stage of life his in- 
 domitable will power and other charac- 
 teristics began to assert themselves. As 
 the fiint show its fire only when it is 
 struck, so this sudden stroke of misfor- 
 tune at once awakened into action the 
 dormant spirit in the lad. His mind after 
 some deliberation being made up, he con- 
 cluded to return to the old home of his 
 childhood, where he first saw the light, 
 and which yet remained in the family, 
 there to await the summons from his 
 father to set out for the new home in 
 America. The thought of having to leave 
 the hallowed spot where in sunny daj's 
 he sported in childish glee, and trod in 
 boyish pride, was a bitter one indeed; 
 and as he surveyed the well-known sur- 
 roundings of the old home, one of the 
 most beautiful in that part of the country, 
 shaded as it was by luxuriant shrubbery 
 and fragrant with the perfume wafted 
 from a million beautiful fiowers, he could 
 scarce restrain the tears from coming to 
 his ej'es. For some time he remained 
 around the sacred spot, but was far from 
 contented, although, being naturally in- 
 dustrious, he employed his time well at 
 whatever of use he could find for his hand 
 to do. After a time an uncle kindly 
 offered him a home, which he accepted, 
 and there he remained until sent for by 
 his parents, during the winter of 1855-56 
 attending school again, the last of his edu- 
 cational training. In April following the 
 summons came for his departure to 
 America, and accordingly bidding a fond 
 farewell to friends and old scenes so dear 
 to him, he took passage at Antwerp on a 
 sailing vessel for Quebec, Canada, which 
 he reached after a voyage of thirty-five 
 days. From there he at once came west- 
 ward to Wisconsin, and had a happy 
 meeting with his parents, his brother 
 Emil and his little sister, Fanny, whom 
 he had never yet seen. Here the lad 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 89 
 
 worked industriously, assisting his father 
 in clearing up the farm, and familiarizing 
 himself with all the trials and vicissitudes 
 incident to pioneer life. The country in 
 Brown county was but sparsely settled at 
 this time, and wild animals still roamed 
 the forests, Indians being also numerous, 
 though friendly. Our subject worked 
 many a time for neighbors at one shilling 
 per day, his father being able to earn no 
 more than two shillings. The latter, who 
 was an industrious, persevering man, 
 without reproach and highly respected, 
 died in 1867, his demise being, no doubt, 
 hastened by hard work and exposure; his 
 widow, who passed her declining years 
 at the home of her son Gregorie, was 
 called from earth in 1891, and the}' both 
 sleep their last sleep in Bay Settlement 
 cemetery. They were consistent mem- 
 bers of the Catholic church. Emil, the 
 other son, is now a farmer in Green Bay 
 township. 
 
 In 1 86 1 the subject of this sketch was 
 united in marriage at Bay Settlement 
 with Mrs. Mary Depereaux {nrr Gosya), 
 widow of Joseph Depereaux, and he at 
 once located at that place. She was pro- 
 prietor of a small restaurant there, doing 
 a thriving business with the traveling 
 public; but the business did not af- 
 ford support to both, and our subject 
 had to take employment in Appleton as a 
 common laborer on the Chicago & North 
 Western railway then building. Here 
 for three months he worked at meager 
 wages under contractors who paid but 
 little for their help, and many a sleepless 
 night he had from the violent aching of 
 his bones and muscles, the result of -the 
 previous day's hard labor. During these 
 three months of toil he succeeded, by 
 dint of the strictest economy, in saving 
 $35.00, with which sum he returned to 
 his wife in the Bay Settlement. She in 
 the meantime had saved some $30.00, 
 and their combined capital they invested 
 in a stock of groceries. Business was 
 opened up in the log house then standing, 
 but finding their capital still insufficient, 
 
 Mr. Denis proceeded to Green Bay where 
 he purchased one hundred dollars' worth 
 of groceries from Louis Day, who, how- 
 ever being unacquainted with Mr. Denis, 
 was indisposed to credit him. However, 
 a Mr. DePew, who had confidence in 
 the young man, and was disposed to be- 
 friend him, offered himself as a surety to 
 Mr. Da}-, and the goods were shipped on 
 to the unpretentious store in Bay Settle- 
 ment. Business continuing to increase, 
 purchasers from a distance patronizing 
 the store, which was beginning to enjoy 
 a wide piopularity, it became evident that 
 both stock and premises would have to 
 be enlarged. But, again, the lack of 
 capital was the seemingly insurmountable 
 obstacle, and the worthy business couple 
 were not a little concerned about their 
 future prospects. One day, however, 
 two customers, who were at their counter 
 refreshing themselves (for in addition to 
 the store Mr. and Mrs. Denis also kept 
 a sort of saloon) — Mr. Louis Van Dycke 
 and a Mr. Croker, then cashier of the city 
 bank, of Green Bay — got into conversa- 
 tion with our subject, and on learning 
 from him the circumstances just related, 
 and having confidence in the young mer- 
 chant, and in his ability to conduct a 
 much more extensive business, voluntar- 
 ily offered to give him letters of credit to 
 certain wholesale merchants in Milwau- 
 kee. Thus equipped Mr. Denis pro- 
 ceeded to the "Cream City," and made 
 purchases of dry goods, boots and 
 shoes, hardware, tinware, etc., until he 
 thought he had a sufficient stock, all 
 selected with the same shrewdness and 
 caution which have characterized all his 
 dealings both before and since, and never 
 thinking of taking any advantage of the 
 unlimited confidence placed in him by his 
 two friends. Great was his surprise and 
 dismay when, on returning to his hotel, 
 he found that his purchases summed up 
 to about seven thousand five hundred 
 dollars! The very thought of assum- 
 ing so great an indebtedness with a 
 capital of but a few dollars much per- 
 
9° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPHICAL ME CORD. 
 
 turbed him, but after due reflection and 
 revolving all the /ros and co/is in his 
 mind, he concluded to allow the goods to 
 be shipped, and trust to fortune and his 
 own good business capacity for the re- 
 sults. The freight on the goods itself 
 was eighty-five dollars, a large sum for 
 him to pay out at one time, and then there 
 was the expense of enlarging the store- 
 room. But undismayed now, he put his 
 shoulder to the wheel, and adopting a 
 strictly cash trade, he soon did a paying 
 business, the magnitude of his stock alone 
 bringing him hundreds of customers who 
 came out of curiosity, but very few of 
 whom left without purchasing something. 
 His bills were met as they became due, 
 business continued to expand, the stock 
 was added to with fresh lines as enquiries 
 for various articles demanded, and in 
 course of time Mr. Denis found himself 
 the leading merchant in Brown count}'. 
 His home for a considerable time was in 
 the rear of the store, but the rooms being 
 required for business purposes, he in 1889 
 erected what is probably the finest coun- 
 try residence in the county, elegantly 
 furnished throughout with all modern im- 
 provements. 
 
 His mercantile business not affording 
 sufficient opportunities for judicious in- 
 vestments of his rapidly accumulating 
 capital, Mr. Denis commenced a private 
 banking and real-estate business. Here 
 and there purchasing land, he at the 
 present time owns, in Scott and Preble 
 townships, between 400 and 500 acres, 
 which, however, does not nearly repre- 
 sent his possessions. In Green Bay he 
 owns a residence on Pine street, a busi- 
 ness block on Washington street, sixty- 
 six feet frontage of desirable business 
 property between Pine and Main streets, 
 where it is his intention to erect a suit- 
 able block. In all his investments and 
 transactions his business acumen and 
 sagacity have been particularly notice- 
 able, and to these for the most part is his 
 phenomenal success to be attributed. 
 
 By his first marriage Mr. Denis had 
 
 three children, viz. : Edward, who acts 
 as private secretary, and has control of 
 his father's immense business, taking 
 charge of nearly all his transactions, a 
 position for which he is well adapted, 
 having received a good business educa- 
 tion; Louis, who owns a prosperous 
 butcher business in Milwaukee; and 
 Joseph, in the employ of A. G. Spuhler 
 & Co., of Green Bay. In 1869 the 
 mother of these was called from earth, 
 and was interred in the Bay Settlement 
 cemetery. To her thorough business 
 capacity, judgment and tact, much of her 
 husband's earlier success was due, and in 
 his after prosperity he never forgot the 
 onward struggle she so faithfully shared 
 with him. For his second and present 
 wife he wedded Miss Annie Schurger, who 
 was born August 6, 1845, *^" Lake Michi- 
 gan, to Mr. and Mrs. Casper Schurger, 
 while they were i-ii route from Germany 
 to Wisconsin. To this marriage there 
 arc five children, all living, as follows: 
 Mary, Barbara, Annie, George (studying 
 pharmacy at the North Western Ohio 
 Normal School at Ada, Ohio), and Will- 
 iam. 
 
 Politically our subject has been a life- 
 long Republican, and was appointed by 
 the Grant administration postmaster at 
 Bay Settlement, an incumbency he filled 
 with acknowledged ability, twenty-three 
 years, his removal after that long period 
 being due to political reasons only. He 
 and his wife and family are all prominent 
 members of the Catholic Church. The 
 parents, deprived themselves of early 
 educational advantages, believe in the 
 thorough training of their children, who 
 have all had excellent academical and 
 other advantages. Mr. Denis has been 
 remarkably and happily fortunate in his 
 marriages. His worthy helpmeet possesses 
 all the characteristics of a thorough busi- 
 ness woman, and has been of invaluable 
 assistance to him in his many and diverse 
 interests. His success in life has well 
 proven the truth of the adage: "Where 
 there's a will there's a way," and his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 91 
 
 stron;L,' determination, indomitable will 
 and never-failing courage, have placed 
 him in a position to be recognized as, 
 without a peer, the heaviest taxpayer in 
 Scott township. 
 
 REV. FATHER C. DE LOUW,the 
 learned and pious pastor of St. 
 Francis Roman Catholic Church, 
 in the town of Holland, Brown 
 county, is a native of Holland, born Au- 
 gust 27, 1839. 
 
 He is the youngest in the family of 
 fourteen children born to the late Martin 
 De Louw, who was by occupation a manu- 
 facturer of cloth in Holland. One son, 
 Andrew, is now a priest at Moergestel, 
 Holland; another son, John, is conducting 
 his father's old business, and one daugh- 
 ter is a Sister of Mercy. One of the sons 
 and one of the daughters married, but, as 
 the son had no children, with this genera- 
 tion the famil}' name becomes e.xtinct. 
 The father reached the advanced age of 
 eighty-three, the mother dying when six- 
 ty-three, and her mother lived to the 
 patriarchal age of ninety-three. 
 
 When six years old our subject com- 
 menced attending the public school in the 
 vicinity of his home, at the end of three 
 years entering the French college there, 
 from which he graduated with high honors 
 after a four-years' curriculum, at which 
 time he was not yet thirteen years old. 
 He then for four or five years worked in 
 his father's factory and was engaged in 
 other business, but his inclinations lead- 
 ing him more in the direction of the " Pie- 
 rian spring," he resumed his studies, at- 
 tending a gymnasium in Jumet, a French 
 village in Belgium, and here took a classi- 
 cal course preparatory to entering college 
 at Enghien, where he studied philosophy 
 and theology, dogmatic and moral. Here 
 he remained from 1859 till 1866, on June 
 6, of the latter year, being consecrated to 
 the priesthood at Bruges, and until 1871 he 
 served as a missionary priest in various 
 cities in Belgium and Holland. 
 
 In the }"ear last named, deciding to 
 come to America, he proceeded to Liver- 
 pool, England, and there took passage 
 on the steamship, "City of Lisbon," 
 which, after a somewhat tempestuous 
 passage, the vessel on one occasion en- 
 countering a great storm, landed at New 
 York. Our subject's destination being 
 Green Bay, Wis., whither he had been 
 called by Bishop Melcher, he continued 
 his westward journey via Chicago, arriv- 
 ing in Green Bay November 16, 1871. 
 His first charge in his new field of pas- 
 toral duty was the mission at Wrights- 
 town, in Brown county, which in course 
 of a short time he organized as a parish, 
 becoming its first pastor, an incumbency 
 he held two years from January 12, 1872, 
 at the same time establishing the mission 
 at East Wrightstown and also attending 
 the mission at Sniderville. In 1874 he 
 was transferred to Robinsonville, same 
 county, and after one year's labor in the 
 vineyard there he attended occasionally 
 five missions which were without priests, 
 viz. : Dyckesville, Thierrij-Daams, Mar- 
 chant, Little Sturgeon Ba}' and Delwich. 
 Returning to Wrightstown in 1873 he re- 
 sumed his charge there, remaining till 
 1875, when he removed to Green Bay, 
 having been given the pastorate of the 
 Holland Church in that city. For three 
 years he labored here with unremitting 
 zeal, and then, in 1878, was transferred 
 to Little Chute, Outagamie county, hav- 
 ing been given charge of St. John's Nipo- 
 moc Church. Here, by his piety and 
 assiduous attentions to the spiritual wel- 
 fare of his flock, he became much liked 
 and beloved, but having been recalled by 
 Bishop Krautbauer to his old Green Bay 
 congregation he acceded to their request, 
 and for three more years ministered there. 
 On September i, 1884, he came from 
 Green Bay to his present charge, the 
 Church of St. Francis, at Holland. In 
 1886 he was made dean of the Diocese 
 by Bishop Katser, but this office after 
 three years he resigned. In 1876 he was 
 appointed a member of the Bishop's 
 
92 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 council, one of four, since 1892 one of 
 six, he being consulter for the Dutch ele- 
 ment, for in the congregation three 
 nationalities — Dutch, German and Irish 
 — worship in perfect harmony. 
 
 Since coming here Father De Louw 
 has been the means of many improve- 
 ments and additions being made in the 
 church and parish, among which may be 
 mentioned a winter chapel, besides re- 
 pairing the main building, which was 
 struck by lightning; a pipe organ costing 
 thirteen hundred dollars, fully equipped 
 with all modern improvements; and a 
 new convent for the Sisters. St. Francis 
 congregation, in early days known as ' ' St. 
 Francis Bush," was organized by five 
 Holland families, early settlers in Holland 
 township, who gave forty acres of land, 
 from the proceeds of the sale of which the 
 original church building was erected, and 
 on nine acres of this same land now stand 
 the church, the rectory, schoolhouse and 
 other buildings. Father De Louw's cler- 
 ical jurisdiction is of no small e.xtent, and 
 he finds ample scope for his characteris- 
 tic zeal and energy, while here, as in all 
 his previous incumbencies, he has gained 
 for himself an enviable popularity and 
 the well-merited love and esteem of his 
 parishioners. 
 
 M 
 
 .AIXOLM SELLERS, Fort 
 Howard. It is always gratify- 
 ing to true citizens of this Re- 
 public to note the readiness of 
 many men, born under foreign flags, to 
 become loyal and patriotic supporters of 
 the United States Government, when they 
 adopt the country as their home. This 
 can never be misconstrued as an act dis- 
 playing lack of fidelity to their native 
 land, for which they must e\er hold the 
 warmest affection, but it is evidence that 
 they are men who recognize their duty 
 as citizens in common with the nati\'e- 
 born of the Republic, and do not hesitate 
 to perform it. 
 
 Malcolm Sellers was born October 
 26, 1 8 1 9, in Guysboro, in the county of 
 the same name in Nova Scotia, removing 
 to Prince Edward Island when twelve 
 years old. That he was diligent in ac- 
 quiring an education is plain from the 
 fact that he began teaching at the age of 
 fourteen, continuing two years. At six- 
 teen he became a clerk in the mercantile 
 establishment of McKeever & Walsh, 
 shipbuilders, and six months later was 
 placed at the head of the management of 
 that branch of the firm's business, con- 
 tinuing in that capacity for three years. 
 His relations there were interrupted by a 
 summons to the sick bed of his mother, so 
 he settled his affairs and went home. She 
 recovered, and the trustees of school affairs 
 in his native place offered him a situation 
 which he accepted and filled three years. 
 At the end of that time he received a 
 letter from the Lord Bishop, inquiring if 
 he would go to Country Harbor and as- 
 sume charge of a school and church at 
 that point. He accepted the proposition, 
 proceeded at once to the place, and re- 
 ceived his credentials as catechist and lay 
 reader from the Lord Bishop, and a general 
 license as teacher and missionar\', under 
 the Colonial Church Society of London. 
 He discharged the duties of this position 
 for more than five years, and in the mean- 
 time was married in Nova Scotia, in 1844, 
 to Miss Isabella Archibald, daughter of 
 Hon. Charles and Margaret .Archibald, 
 natives of Nova Scotia, and who resided 
 there until their death. 
 
 Desiring to find a wider field in which 
 to exercise his abilities Mr. Sellers came 
 to the United States in the spring of 1847, 
 and after visiting a number of eastern 
 cities concluded to push farther westward. 
 He finally located at Beaver Dam, Dodge 
 Co., Wis., where he engaged in the 
 manufacture of mill products and con- 
 ducted a mercantile establishment in con- 
 nection. It was natural that he should 
 take an interest in public affairs, and in 
 the fall of 1849 he was persuaded by the 
 Whigs in his locality to become a candi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 93 
 
 date for the State Assembly. He was 
 elected over four competitors, and entered 
 the Legislature in the session of 1850. 
 In 1852 he accepted a position with Bean, 
 Clinton & Powers, at Waukesha, and six 
 months later took charge of a primary 
 class in Carroll College. Among his 
 pupils was Sidney A. Bean, who after- 
 ward became colonel of the Fourth Wis- 
 consin Cavalry, and was killed in action. 
 His brothers, Walter and Irving Bean, 
 who were also gallant soldiers, were pupils 
 of Mr. Sellers, as were James Proctor, of 
 MiKvauker.; George Burchard, of Fort 
 Atkinson, distinguished in the annals of 
 Wisconsin, and Hon. Cushman C. Davis, 
 afterward senator from Minnesota. Upon 
 the close of his service at the College, 
 Mr. Sellers became agent for the Mil- 
 waukee & Prairie du Chien railroad on the 
 route from Milwaukee to Waukesha, and 
 was one of the first in the State to fill 
 such a position. In his anxiety to please 
 he over-exerted himself, and was attacked 
 with hemorrhage of the lungs. When 
 once more able to transact business he 
 established a general store at Waukesha, 
 and bought wool in the interest of manu- 
 facturers, becoming the heaviest dealer in 
 that commodity in Wisconsin. Coming 
 to the State before its admission to the 
 Union, he has been identified with and a 
 prominent factor in its growth and devel- 
 opment, while his acquaintance with men 
 in business and political circles has been 
 extensive. "He has, " says a writer, ' ' ever 
 maintained an active interest in the re- 
 ligious and moral advancement of society 
 where he has resided, and has been espe- 
 cially prominent in Church and temperance 
 work. He holds commissions from the 
 American Bible Society, the American 
 Sunday-school Union and other evangeli- 
 cal organizations in the United States. 
 For more than a half century he has been 
 a declared advocate of temperance, and 
 was one of the founders of the Republi- 
 can party in Wisconsin. He has been 
 one of its most ardent and enthusiastic 
 supporters from its inception, aiding by 
 
 voice, money and ballot in its march of 
 progress." 
 
 When the gauntlet of battle was 
 thrown down in Charleston Harbor, in 
 April, 1 86 1, Mr. Sellers, who was then in 
 Madison serving as clerk of the Judiciary 
 Committee, was one of the first to offer his 
 services to Governor Randall. The lat- 
 ter, knowing his weak physical condition, 
 said to him, " Malcolm, you would not 
 live a month in the service; you are not 
 fit for war, but stay at home and do what 
 you can and I will give you any position 
 you ask in the State." Under this 
 arrangement he was assigned to the 
 quartermaster's department, with head- 
 quarters at Madison, and later was trans- 
 ferred to the commissary department. 
 Upon the call for additional troops he 
 went to Waukesha and neighboring coun- 
 ties to recruit soldiers, spending a year in 
 such service at his personal expense. If 
 unable to demonstrate his unswerving 
 patriotism on the field of carnage, he per- 
 formed such services at home as stamped 
 him with the undoubted seal of loyalty, 
 and won the gratitude of those who were 
 cognizant of his labors. In 1869 he re- 
 moved from Waukesha to Fort Howard, at 
 the instance of Hon. E. D. Clinton, to as- 
 sist in the construction of the railroad from 
 the latter place, by way of Shawano, to 
 the Mississippi river. Through a re-ar- 
 rangement of plans both his connection 
 and that of Mr. Clinton with the enter- 
 prise ceased, and in the years following, 
 until 1874, he was engaged in lumbering 
 and mercantile interests. His active busi- 
 ness life practically ceased in the latter 
 year, and he subsequently took up the 
 work of assisting old soldiers to obtain 
 pensions. In this line he became partic- 
 ularly successful, and many a veteran has 
 had reason to rejoice in the fruit of his 
 labors. He has added insurance to his 
 pension work with marked success. He 
 has been a notary public as long as Wis- 
 consin has been a State, and is at present 
 serving a third term as justice of the 
 peace at Fort Howard. He also cond ucts 
 
94 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGMAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a livery business, in which he is assisted 
 by his son, Malcolm, who was previously 
 for some time in the railway mail service. 
 It was larj^ely through Mr. Sellers' exer- 
 tions and influence that Hon. T. O. Howe 
 was the first time sent to the United 
 States Senate. The following, taken from 
 the Milwaukee Scutiiicl of November 4, 
 1 888, speaks for itself: 
 
 Fort How.\kd, Nov. 2. 
 To tlic Editor of Tin Sentinel: 
 
 On Wednesday of this week I received a cir- 
 cular from James Morgan, the nominee of the 
 Democratic party for governor of thi.s State, to 
 which I sent the following reply: 
 
 FOKT Howard. Oct., 31. 188S. 
 Dear Sir: — Your circular reached ine this morning, and in 
 reply would say. if 1 had ten thousand votes I would not give 
 you one under your present nomination. A Scotchman receiv- 
 ing a nomination from the modern Democratic party, which 
 has souglit by all lueans on earth and in hell to destroy our 
 Nation, is too much for me. As a true Scot. I cannot compre- 
 hend what you are after. 
 
 Yours truly, M. Sellers. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Jvfrs. Sellers 
 have been si.x in number, but of these 
 only two are living: Maggie I. and Mal- 
 colm A. Charles A. enlisted early in the 
 war in Company F, First Wisconsin Cav- 
 alry, was wounded at Pulaski, Tenn., and 
 sent to the hospital, and finally came 
 home wrecked physically and with his 
 constitution undermined by disease and 
 wounds, causing him to fall a victim to 
 chronic diarrhea and inflammatory rheu- 
 matism. His death occurred February 
 20, 1876. Florence Victoria died when 
 but four years of age. Martha lived to 
 the age of twenty and died in the dawn 
 of beautiful womanhood, and Ida P. 
 passed away at the age of nineteen years. 
 On November lo, 1894, on the occasion 
 of the " Golden Wedding " of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Malcolm Sellers, friends to the num- 
 ber of 1 50 persons assembled at the Sell- 
 ers residence in Fort Howard in the eve- 
 ning, and presented Mr. Sellers with a 
 handsome gold-headed cane, and Mrs. 
 Sellers with a number of elegant and 
 valuable presents. The guests were highly 
 pleased, and declared that it was the 
 pleasantest entertainment they ever at- 
 tended. 
 
 Mr. Sellers, while not a native of the 
 
 United States, is in every possible respect 
 an American. His parents, Donald and 
 Margaret (McKenzie) Sellers, were re- 
 spectively of Highland and Lowland 
 Scotch ancestry, his father coming to the 
 .'\merican colonies previous to the war of 
 the Revolution. In that struggle for lib- 
 erty and independence he espoused the 
 cause of his adopted country, enlisted in 
 her army and served until the battle of 
 Charleston, S. C, where he received a 
 British bullet in his thigh and was sent to 
 the hospital. He finally reached home, 
 and after the war removed to Nova 
 Scotia, where he married and located on 
 a farm. " He reared ten children and died 
 on his estate in 1848, in his ninety-ninth 
 year. He was a man of vigorous temper- 
 ament, and two years before his death 
 walked from his farm to Guysboro, and 
 return, a distance of twenty miles. He 
 had no son who could perforin such 
 a feat. The ball he received in the 
 battle of Charleston moved down to 
 a position below his knee, and was 
 in his body when he was buried." 
 The son of such a sire could not help 
 being imbued with an intense love for that 
 country for which his father fought and 
 bled, and the record of the famil)' in the 
 service of the Nation is a proud one. In 
 such men lies the hope of the Republic. 
 May they multiply within her borders. 
 
 HON. ROBERT J. McGEEHAN, 
 State Senator from the Second 
 Senatorial District of Wisconsin, 
 comprising the counties of Brown 
 and Outagamie, was born August 26, i 854, 
 at Peel, Wellington county, Canada. His 
 grandfather, Robert McGeehan, a native 
 of Scotland, was married in County Down, 
 Ireland, to Margaret Morgan, and in 1818 
 migrated with his wife and family to 
 Guelph, Canada. 
 
 John J. McGeehan, son of Robert, was 
 but five years of age when the family 
 reached Canada, where he was reared a 
 farmer, and where he married Mary Ann 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGllAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 95 
 
 Driscoll, who was born in Canada. In 1 870 
 John J. and his family came to Wiscon- 
 sin, and on March i of that year located at 
 Wrightstown, where he purchased a farm. 
 His son, Robert J., the subject proper 
 of this sketch, was also reared to farming, 
 which he followed, in conjunction with 
 sawmilling, until 1878, when he estab- 
 lished the agricultural implement business 
 at De Pere, which he is still most success- 
 fully conducting, handling large numbers 
 of wagons, buggies, carriages, etc. In 
 early life he became an adherent of the 
 Democratic party, and at once became 
 most enthusiastic in its support. Although 
 still a comparatively young man, he was 
 recognized as being possessed of ability, 
 and as a hard worker, and was soon 
 elected by his neighbors to serve in many 
 local offices of honor and trust. During 
 the years 1884-85, he served as alderman 
 of De Pere, and from 1887 to 1890 as 
 member of the Brown county board of 
 supervisors; he has also served for five 
 years as a member of the board of trus- 
 tees of the County Asylum for the Chronic 
 Insane, and is now president of the Brown 
 County Agricultural and Mechanical As- 
 sociation, an office to which he has been 
 elected for a term of three years. In 1889, 
 while serving as supervisor, he was elected 
 a member of the Wisconsin State Assem- 
 bly for the Second District, and re-elected 
 in 1890; in 1892 he was elected to the 
 State Senate, which office he continues 
 to fill to the entire satisfaction of his con- 
 stituents. He never tires in his devotion 
 to the interests of his fellow citizens or of 
 his party; has acted as chairman of the 
 Brown county Democratic committee; is 
 also a member of the Democratic State 
 Central committee, elected September 6, 
 1 894, and on several occasions has served 
 as delegate to Democratic State and 
 Congressional conventions. He is prob- 
 ably as well and as favorably known as 
 any public man in his portion of the State, 
 and socially and fraternally stands very 
 high, being now president of the Society 
 of Catholic Knights, Branch No. 46, of 
 
 De Pere, member of the Order of the 
 Catholic Knights of America, and also of 
 the Business Men's Association of De- 
 Pere. 
 
 Mr. McGeehan was most happily 
 married, October 3, 1882, to Miss Bridget 
 E. Hines, who was born September 10, 
 i860, at Kaukauna, Wis., and six chil- 
 dren were the result of this union, viz. : 
 Myra C, who died in infancy; Grover 
 Thomas, born December 8, 1884; Elmer 
 James, born May 12, i886; Mary Eliza- 
 beth, born May 11, 1888; Margaret 
 Catharine, born April 17, 1890, and Ellen 
 Earen, born October 10, 1894. Mr. Mc- 
 Geehan owes his success entirely to his 
 own unaided efforts, having, since he was 
 eleven years of age, fought the battle of 
 life with Nature's weapons only — intel- 
 ligence and determination. 
 
 JOHN C. NEVILLE, senior member 
 of the well-known law firm of John 
 C. and A. C. Neville, Green Bay, is, 
 probably, the oldest legal practi- 
 tioner in this part of Wisconsin, having 
 come to Green Bay nearl}' forty years 
 ago, when the now bustling city was in 
 its infancy. 
 
 He is a native of Dublin, Ireland, born 
 July 27, 181 5, and was there reared and 
 educated, remaining at the parental home 
 until he was twenty-one years old, at 
 which time, in 1836 or 1837, he emi- 
 grated to this country, landing in New 
 York. From there he moved to Potts- 
 ville, Penn., and in 1840 commenced the 
 study of law in the office of Francis W. 
 Hughes (who, later, became attorney- 
 general of Pennsylvania), and was ad- 
 mitted to the bar of that State in July, 
 1842. Immediately thereafter he com- 
 menced the practice of his chosen profes- 
 sion at Pottsville, practicing in all the 
 Pennsylvania courts, and remained in 
 that city until coming to Green Bay, De- 
 cember 27, 1856, where he has since had 
 his home, and built up one of the most 
 lucrative clientages in northern Wiscon- 
 
96 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPSICAL RECORD. 
 
 sin, in 1869 forming a partnership with 
 J. J. Tracy, later, in 1874, receiving his 
 son Arthur C. into the firm. In 1875, 
 Mr. Tracy withdrew, and the firm has 
 since been known by the above title. 
 
 On April 11, 1843, Mr. Neville was 
 married at Pottsville, Penn., to Miss 
 Catherine D. Lawton, a daughter of 
 Charles Lawton, all natives of New York 
 city, whence they moved to Pottsville, 
 where Mr. Lawton was engaged in the 
 coal business, and where he and his wife 
 passed the rest of their days. To this 
 union were born in Pottsvile, six children, 
 only two of whom are now living: Arthur 
 C, who was six years old when the 
 family came to Green Bay, read law with 
 Neville & Tracy, and is now a member of 
 the firm, as alread\- related (he was mar- 
 ried in i88ij; and Sophia R., at home. 
 The mother, Mrs. Neville, died in 1876. 
 In his political predilections Mr. Neville 
 has been a Democrat since qualifying to 
 vote, and has been honored by his party 
 with election to various positions of trust. 
 For several years he was district attorney; 
 was city attorney in 1S62, and in 1880 
 served as mayor of the city, at which 
 time Gen. U. S. Grant visited Green Bay, 
 and was escorted through the city by our 
 subject. In 1859 he was elected repre- 
 sentati\e t(j the State Legislature, taking 
 his seat in i860, but at the expiration of 
 his term of service he declined renomina- 
 tion. Socially, Mr. Neville is a member 
 of the I. O. O. F. , in 1844 was admitted 
 to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and 
 since 1856 has been deputy grand master; 
 he is also a member of the Daughters of 
 Rebekah. In religious faith he is promi- 
 nently indentified with the Episcopal 
 Church, and he enjoys the respect and 
 esteem of a wide circle of warm friends. 
 
 GEORGE B. HESS, senior mem- 
 ber of the Geo. B. Hess Milling 
 Company, of Green Bay, Wis., is 
 a native of Ohio, born in Carroll 
 
 cotint\- in I 85 I. 
 
 John D. Hess, father of our subject, 
 was a native of Maryland, a miller by 
 trade, carrying on a milling business in 
 Uhrichsville, Ohio. He married Cath- 
 erine A. Simmons, a lady of Connecticut 
 birth, who died in 1886, he himself pass- 
 ing away in 1889. They were the parents 
 of eight children. 
 
 The subject of these lines received his 
 education in the schools of his native 
 place, and learned his trade in his father's 
 mill and under his tuition. In 1874 he 
 came to Wisconsin, and was engaged in 
 the milling business for a number of years 
 in company with Thos. Smith, of Green 
 Bay, Wis. In 1893 he, in company with 
 Dr. H. A. Wolter and C. Massey, erected 
 the "Star Flouring Mills," corner of 
 Quincy and Cedar streets in the city of 
 Green Bay, which has a daily capacity of 
 two hundred barrels of flour and ten tons 
 of feed. The institution has been incor- 
 porated, and is doing a fine business. 
 Politically Mr. Hess is a Republican; 
 socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. , 
 Green Ba}' Lodge No. 19. 
 
 w 
 
 ILLIAM FINNEGAN. Biog- 
 raphy is history of the purest 
 type, and to possess a history 
 is that which distinguishes man 
 from the lower creatures around him. 
 They present the same appearance from 
 age to age, unchanging in their instincts 
 and habits, except in so far as they have 
 been modified through contact with man; 
 and, therefore, the history of one gener- 
 ation of irrational animals is the history 
 of every other. But in the human race 
 there is progressive change, which it is 
 the part of history to both record and 
 accelerate, and the duty of the living to 
 perpetuate in biographical form for the 
 benefit of coming generations. In this 
 connection it is a pleasure to here pre- 
 sent a brief review of the life of the gen- 
 tleman whose name is here recorded. 
 
 Mr. Finnegan was born November 22, 
 1836, in the city of Philadelphia, Penn., 
 
f 5«»«^^, 
 
 
 ^^T'l^r^ 
 
 T 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 99 
 
 in what was then called Moyamensiiig, 
 on Bedford street (now known as Kates 
 street), three doors east of Broad street, 
 a son of Henry and Nancy (Smith) Finne- 
 gan. The parents were of Scotch-Irish 
 origin, the father born in County Tyrone, 
 a son of Henry Finnegan, and the mother 
 in Culdaff, near the most northern point 
 of Ireland, both coining to this country 
 when quite young, marrying, in 1827, in 
 Philadelphia, where they had located. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared 
 to farming pursuits in the old country, 
 and after coming to Philadelphia he kept 
 teams working in brickyards, besides do- 
 ing teaming for the corporation and for 
 Stephen Girard, who gave him an old gig 
 he used to ride in himself, which the 
 recipient kept for a long time. In those 
 days cows, hogs and goats were "free 
 commoners" in the southern part of 
 Philadelphia; that is, they were allowed 
 to run at large; and in this connection it 
 is known that Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan 
 kept cows, whose milk they sold, and also 
 hogs which they fed on swill gathered 
 from place to place in the city and con- 
 veyed in carts made with water-tight 
 boxes; the cows were allowed to run on 
 the commons lying west of Broad street 
 and south of South street. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Henry Finnegan accumnudated consider- 
 able property in small three-story houses — 
 some ten or twelve in number — which 
 they rented, and in 1843 he bought forty 
 acres of land twelve miles west of the 
 city, in Marple township, Delaware county, 
 whither he moved April 4, 1844, and here, 
 August I, 1846, his faithful wife, at the 
 early age of thirty-four years, died of 
 dropsy brought on by hard work. She 
 was the mother of three sons and two 
 daughters, the latter of whom both died 
 in infancy, and were buried in the Randle- 
 son burying ground, Philadelphia, which 
 at the present time is in the heart of the 
 city. Of the three sons, John and Henry 
 are living in Jones county, Iowa, and 
 William is the subject of this sketch. 
 Some time after the death of the 
 
 mother of these Mr. Finnegan mar- 
 ried a much younger woman than 
 himself, in the person of Charlotte Pat- 
 ton, which event broke up the family, 
 the two elder sons not living at home 
 much afterward. After residing on the 
 farm in Marple township the family re- 
 turned to the city. In i860 the father 
 moved to Iowa, where, in Jones county, 
 he had previously bought a partly im- 
 proved farm of 320 acres, from which he 
 eventually retired to Fairview, where he 
 passed the rest of his days in retirement, 
 dying at the age of eighty-five years. 
 
 Until the fall of 1857 our sub- 
 ject worked in the brickyards at Phila- 
 delphia, and in the following spring, ac- 
 companied by his brother Henry, he set 
 out for the then " Far West," arriving at 
 Muscatine, Iowa, April i, 1858. Times 
 being then particularly "hard," no work 
 being obtainable at any price, they stayed 
 around Muscatine until their money was 
 all gone and William's trunk held at 
 Stein's Hotel for $6.00, the balance he 
 owed for board. Finding no work on 
 land, they shipped on board a steamboat 
 bound for St. Louis, Mo. , in the capacity 
 of roustabouts, and now in earnest com- 
 menced their hardships. Arrived at St. 
 Louis, they looked in vain for work until 
 their hard-earned money was all gone 
 again, so once more they shipped as deck 
 hands, this time on a Missouri river 
 packet bound for Leavenworth city, they 
 intending to hire themselves out there to 
 the government as ox-drivers across the 
 Plains, as United States troops were on 
 the eve of setting out for Utah Territory 
 for the purpose of operating against the 
 Mormons. When our young adventurers 
 reached the fort (Leavenworth) they found 
 to their disgust and disappointment that 
 for every vacancy there were not less 
 than fifty applicants already on the 
 ground, so there was nothing for it but to 
 return to St. Louis by the same boat that 
 brought them up, working on her as deck 
 hands. While on the down trip the 
 cylinder head of one side of the engine 
 
lOO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 blew out, so that the vessel had to make 
 the rest of the trip to St. Louis with one 
 wheel; and when she did arrive it was 
 found there w.ere no funds to pay the 
 crew with, and as the brothers had not a 
 cent wherewith to pay for board while 
 waiting for a settlement with the steam- 
 boat people, they concluded to sell their 
 claims, which they did to a lawyer, each 
 getting about eight dollars, by which time, 
 as Mr. Finnegan himself sagely remarks, 
 he was "beginning to find out the value 
 of money," and in all probability these 
 hard knocks were the ■ ' open sesame " to 
 his future wonderful career of success. 
 At this point things were getting des- 
 perate, and something had to be done, at 
 once. Henry still had his trunk, Will- 
 iam's was where he left it at the hotel in 
 Muscatine; so the two agreed that Henry 
 should pay his passage to Muscatine, and 
 that William should try to make his way 
 thither without paying. On arrival at 
 Keokuk, however, he was put ashore, but 
 just then another boat was leaving "for 
 somewhere," which our subject immedi- 
 ately boarded, not knowing at the time 
 whether she was going up or down the 
 river. On the boat were several rafts- 
 men on their way to Prairie du Chien, 
 Wis. , and he cleverly succeeded in get- 
 ting "mixed up" with them, the result 
 being that he finally, without let or hin- 
 drance, reached Muscatine (for fortu- 
 nately the vessel was going in that direc- 
 tion) before his brother did. Here they 
 found it necessary to live as economically 
 as possible, and finding a family in the 
 outskirts of the town who allowed them 
 the use of their cooking-stove, they fur- 
 nished their own victuals and slept wher- 
 ever they could. Learning that there 
 was some wood-chopping to be done at 
 Fredonia, on the Iowa river, west of Mus- 
 catine, they proceeded thither, and found 
 that employers were paying thirty cents a 
 cord for cutting big knotty black jack oak, 
 while board, consisting of salt pork, corn 
 bread, black molasses and rye coffee, was 
 $2.00 per week. Here our subject worked 
 
 for two weeks, in that time not earning 
 enough to pay his board, for being brought 
 up in a large city he knew very little 
 about chopping, and his hands would 
 continually blister. In the meantime his 
 brother had returned to Muscatine, in- 
 tending to be gone about one week, but 
 William did not see him again for three 
 months. Giving the " board boss " what 
 wood he had cut, his a.\e and iron wedge, 
 in payment for his board, our subject set 
 out for Iowa City on foot, and now, alas! 
 to use his own words, "became a genuine 
 tramp, out of money, begging my food as 
 I journeyed onward by day, and sleeping 
 under the canopy of some straw or hay 
 stack at night." All his clothes, except 
 what he was wearing, were in his trunk 
 at Muscatine, so he had no change of 
 clothing whatever. After wandering 
 through Iowa for more than a month Mr. 
 Finnegan returned to Muscatine, and 
 securing employment on a farm at five 
 dollars per month, worked one month, 
 after which he set out for Illinois for the 
 purpose of hunting up his brother Henr}', 
 and falling in with James Vanatta, the 
 latter took him to his home. Mr. Van- 
 atta is now living at Buffalo Prairie, Rock 
 Island Co., 111., at the age of seventy- 
 one years, and Mr. Finnegan has kept up 
 a correspondence with him ever since 
 they parted, some thirty or forty years ago. 
 At Buffalo Prairie our subject found 
 three months' work on a farm, for which 
 he was to receive six dollars per month; 
 but being unable to get cash he had to 
 be content to accept three steers in lieu 
 thereof. These he drove to Muscatine to 
 sell, but all he could get for them was 
 nine dollars cash for the three, six dollars 
 of which he applied toward getting his 
 trunk released from "Stein's Hotel." 
 That winter he worked for James V-anatta 
 for his board, and during the summer of 
 1859 he worked land on shares, getting 
 one-third of the crop for his labor. The 
 wheat yield, however, was a failure, and 
 corn was only half a crop. Mr. Finnegan 
 traded his share of the corn crop for a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 young mare which he took with him to 
 Iowa, to the farm his father had bought; 
 but two days after reaching this farm, the 
 mare strayed away, and he never saw her 
 again. On his father's farm he worked 
 from December 25, 1859, till August 7, 
 1862, when he enlisted in Company F, 
 Twenty-fourth Iowa V. I., under 
 Capt. Dimmit. He served through- 
 out the entire struggle, being mustered 
 out July 17, 1865. He took an active 
 part in all the marches, skirmishes and 
 engagements of his regiment, but was 
 once taken prisoner in Louisiana, and 
 held from November 15, 1863, until 
 December 25, following, when he was 
 exchanged. At Milliken's Bend, in the 
 same State, he was once confined to 
 hospital through sickness for several 
 weeks, but with these exceptions he was 
 on constant duty. 
 
 After his return from the war Mr. 
 Finnegan again worked on his father's 
 farm for a time, but his stepmother's 
 manner toward him becoming so unbear- 
 able, he concluded to try his luck farther 
 west. Consequently, on March 10, 1867, 
 he left home with a light wagon and span 
 of horses, with which he traveled across 
 Iowa, arriving April 10 following at Lin- 
 coln, Neb., which now prosperous city 
 was said at the time to contain but 300 
 inhabitants. Times were good there, 
 work plentiful and wages high, and until 
 the fall of that year Mr. Finnegan 
 freighted lumber from the Missouri river 
 to Lincoln; also hauled from Beatrice 
 some of the stone that was used in the 
 building of the capitol. In that fall 
 (1867) he took up a pre-emption claim 
 twelve miles north of the city (Lincoln), 
 built a "dug-out," and lived therein 
 throughout the winter, during the follow- 
 ing spring breaking prairie and hauling 
 stone for the State University then build- 
 ing at Lincoln. In the fall of 1868 he 
 proved up his claim and homesteaded 
 eighty acres adjoining, making in all 240 
 acres, and during the following two years 
 he was occupied in farming and teaming. 
 
 In the spring of 1870, in company with 
 L. K. Holmes, an uncle of his wife, he 
 started a brickyard, made brick two 
 years, at the end of which time he sold 
 out his interest in the business to his 
 partner, his farm to other parties, and 
 with his wife started for Wisconsin, arriv- 
 ing in the town of Howard December 17, 
 1872. In the spring of -1873 he com- 
 menced operating a small brickyard on 
 land owned by A. G. E. Holmes, molding 
 the brick himself by hand and making an 
 average of 8,000 for a day's work, con- 
 ducting the yard entirely by hand for 
 some seven years, or until August, 18S0, 
 when he put in small steam-power, which, 
 in 1882, he supplanted with large power 
 machinery. At the same time he built a 
 modern brickyard, known as "Yard No. 
 I," which is located on the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul and Green Bay, 
 Winona & St. Paul railroads, also on 
 Duck creek, a navigable stream for light- 
 draft boats. In 1890 he built "Yard 
 No. 2," on the same stream, one mile 
 below "Yard No. i," with a track from 
 the Chicago & Northwestern railroad to 
 the yard, a distance of three-quarters of 
 a mile. In 1891 he purchased 124 acres 
 of land in the city of Fort Howard, and 
 following year built on this land ' ' Yard 
 No. 3," which has a capacity of 60,000 
 bricks per day. The total capacity of 
 the three yards, when running full time, 
 is from twelve million to fifteen million 
 bricks per annum. 
 
 On June 16, 1872, at Trinity Episco- 
 pal Church, Lincoln, Neb., Mr. Finnegan 
 was most happily married to Miss Ella S. 
 Oatley, who was born in Oneida county, 
 N. Y., March 12, 1851, daughter of 
 Albert B. and Lavantia (Holmes) Oatley, 
 also natives of Oneida county, who came 
 to Wisconsin in 1857, settling in Suamico 
 township. Brown county, where they 
 lived for twelve years, and now reside in 
 the town of Howard. To this union were 
 born five children, as follows: Holmes 
 Adelbert, William, Jr., Ella Ruth, Edith 
 May, and Anna Leona, the eldest of 
 
I02 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 whom died at the age of nine years, the 
 youngest when one )ear and nine months 
 old. Mrs. Finnegan is a prominent 
 member of the Episcopal Church, with 
 which she united herself at the age of 
 fourteen years, and is known far and 
 wide as a good Christian lady, given to 
 works of benevolence wherever her femi- 
 nine sympathycan reach. Mr. Finnegan 
 in politics is a sound Republican, and his 
 first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln. 
 He is remarkable for his quiet, unobtru- 
 sive manner, in all his acts proving 
 himself the very beau ideal of a good, 
 loyal and useful citizen. In local affairs 
 he takes a deep interest, and although he 
 has filled several minor offices in his town- 
 ship he has never been an office-seeker. 
 Besides being an expert in the manufac- 
 ture of brick, he is equally skillful as an 
 agriculturist, and his tract of 250 acres is 
 a model of neatness and comfort, giving 
 every evidence of intelligent and system- 
 atic management. His talents as a business 
 man have made him a prominent figure 
 in the business world, and have given 
 him a solid standing as a substantial citi- 
 zen, which his continuous transactions 
 since 1S73, without the slightest in- 
 fringement of his word or infringement of 
 his integrity, fully entitle him to. 
 
 PHILIPP KLAUS (deceased). Men 
 there have been, unversed in 
 classics or science, without art, 
 without eloquence, who jet had 
 the wisdom to devise and the courage to 
 perform that which they lacked language 
 to explain. Such men have worked the 
 deliverance of nations and their own 
 greatness. Their hearts are their books; 
 events are their tutors ; great actions are 
 their eloquence, and in this category 
 stand surely men of such a stamp as is 
 the subject of this sketch. 
 
 In the pretty little village of Bruttig, 
 ^'on the Banks of the Blue Moselle," in 
 Rhein Prussia, Germany, was born, July 
 
 20, 1832, Philipp Klaus, of whom this 
 sketch relates, and he there received his 
 education, less a knowledge of the En- 
 glish language. At the age of seventeen 
 he left the Fatherland, in company with 
 his father and four brothers, to seek a 
 new home in the Western World, and on 
 November ii, 1849, landed in the then 
 young town of Green Bay, Wis. , thus be- 
 coming, in fact, one of its German pio- 
 neers. He quickly Americanized him- 
 self, made rapid progress in the English 
 language, and in course of time became 
 one of the most active and energetic, as 
 well as influential, business men of the 
 town. 
 
 His ancestors, as the name indicates, 
 were Germans, and the village of Bruttig 
 has known the family for manj' years. 
 Here Grandfather Stephen Klaus was 
 born, married, and at an advanced age 
 died, leaving a good name as an heritage 
 to his posterity — a name that has been 
 honored and kept unsullied ever since. 
 His son, Jacob, father of Philipp, also 
 born there, was taught the trade of shoe- 
 maker, and became a good workman. 
 He was married in Bruttig to a young 
 German woman, who bore him li\e chil- 
 dren, all sons, and died at the birth of 
 our subject. The names of the children 
 are John, Joseph, Charles, Anton and 
 Philipp, of whom only Anton survives. 
 
 Philipp Klaus was reared by his broth- 
 ers, whose devotion for him, and their 
 almost motherly care, often excited the 
 admiration of the neighbors and others 
 who knew the family. The boys also 
 kept house, and did their domestic work 
 well, while all of them learned to cook. 
 When the eldest entered the German 
 army, the next eldest took his place, and 
 so on in rotation till it came to Philipp's 
 turn, when, in 1848, the father concluded 
 to leave the Fatherland, and bring his 
 five stalwart sons to America. On land- 
 ing in New York they at once proceeded 
 by boat on the Hudson river to Albany, 
 thence traveled by cars to Buffalo, from 
 which city they came by the steamer 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 103, 
 
 "Empire State" (at that time the finest 
 boat on the lakes) to Milwaukee, Wis. 
 Here they took passage on the old 
 steamer " Lexington," which on a beauti- 
 ful November morn, as the rising orb of 
 day was tinting the heavens with ethereal 
 hues, majestically entered the Fox river, 
 and in due time safely landed the immi- 
 grant family in Green Bay — the " ultima 
 thule" of their long journey. 
 
 During the first few years after his 
 arrival in Green Bay our subject worked 
 with his father at the shoemaking trade, 
 and then betook himself to the pineries 
 at Peshtigo, same State, where he re- 
 mained until 1 85 5, returning to Green 
 Bay. At this time he and his brother 
 Charles leased the ' ' Green Bay House, " 
 a well-known hostelry in Green Bay, 
 which they conducted till 1856. The 
 same year Mr. Klaus built the old " Ivlaus 
 Hall, " which was afterward sold to the 
 proprietors of the Green Bay Advocate, 
 and he then erected the present "Klaus 
 Hall." Here he opened a general store, 
 in which he met with the most encour- 
 aging success. From about 1874 till 
 within a year or two ago he was chiefly 
 engaged in the real-estate and insurance 
 business, and for the most part in the 
 real-estate line managed the affairs of 
 large outside corporations or interests, 
 among which ma}' be mentioned the great 
 W. L. Newberry (Chicago) estate, while 
 in insurance matters he represented the 
 Phcenix, Mutual Life, the Charter Oak 
 and other companies. These insurance 
 agencies came to Mr. Klaus totally un- 
 solicited by him, at the time he was suf- 
 fering from the financial depression 
 following the panic of 1873, and he was 
 thus enabled to resume his real-estate 
 operations, which had been temporarily 
 discontinued from the same cause. Hav- 
 ing by patient, quiet industry and 
 laborious diligence accumulated a hand- 
 some competence, Mr. Klaus for the last 
 few years of his life resided in Green 
 Bay, in the enjoj'ment of quiet retire- 
 ment, with his faithful wife, still, how- 
 
 ever, doing a little real-estate business, 
 principally among friends and old ac- 
 quaintances. For the last year or so of 
 his life he was in poor health, and his 
 death, on July 23, 1894, caused little sur- 
 prise among his friends and acquaintances 
 in Green Bay, where he will long be re- 
 membered as a most worthy citizen. 
 
 On Easter Monday, March 24, 1856, 
 Mr. Klaus was united in marriage with 
 Miss Elizabeth Basten, daughter of Franz 
 Jacob and Maggie Concen Basten, and to 
 this union were born five children, as fol- 
 lows: Christine, wife of A. M. Grau, of 
 Milwaukee; Anna, who died at the age of 
 fifteen years; Barbara, wife of A. G. 
 Netter; Elizabeth, and Henry P., now of 
 Milwaukee, of whom special mention will 
 presently be made. In politics Mr. Klaus 
 was a Democrat, and the citizens of 
 Green Bay honored him by electing him 
 to the office of city treasurer, which he 
 filled with much acceptability for nine 
 years, leaving an honorable record as a 
 city official; later he was elected city as- 
 sessor, an office he held two terms, de- 
 clining re-election. He was a prominent 
 member of the Cathedral Church at Green 
 Bay, with which Mrs. Klaus is also con- 
 nected. 
 
 Henry P. Klaus, only son of Philipp 
 and Elizabeth Klaus, received his ele- 
 mentary education at the Cathedral school, 
 Green Bay, and at the age of thirteen 
 years entered Marquette College, Mil- 
 waukee, where he took a three-years' 
 business course, graduating in August, 
 1 89 1, with the class honors, and receiv- 
 ing a gold medal from the college. Im- 
 mediately on leaving college he looked for 
 employment, and found it in a wholesale 
 establishment in Milwaukee, in the capac- 
 ity of receiving clerk. After a few months 
 he was offered, and accepted, a position 
 as bookkeeper for the Cream City Brewery, 
 Milwaukee, where he was held in high 
 esteem by his employers, and he is win- 
 ning well-merited recognition among busi- 
 ness men. At present he is at home, man- 
 aging the affairs of his deceased parent. 
 
104 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ELISHA MORROW. When an 
 e\ei-bu.sy man, from the fe\erish 
 turmoil of politics, and the harass- 
 ing cares of business, is retired to 
 a peaceful, quiet and happy life, such an 
 individual naturally excites the friendly 
 envy of his less-favored fellowmen. With- 
 out ostentation or apparent conscious 
 superiority, he mingles in the society of 
 his neighbors, and enjoys with them the 
 affairs of the present, and a pleasant 
 retrospect of a life well spent. 
 
 Elisha Morrow, of whom we write, 
 comes, on the paternal and maternal 
 sides respectively, of Irish and English 
 ancestry who settled in New Jersey prior 
 to the Revolutionary war. He was born 
 in Sussex county, N. J., in 1819, a son 
 of George and Maria (Davis) Morrow, 
 who for some years resided in that county, 
 where the father was engaged in the man- 
 ufacture of iron, and died in 1826. His 
 widow spent the rest of her days at the 
 home of her son Elisha, in Green Bay, 
 Wis., passing from earth in 1869. Our 
 subject received his education at the 
 schools of Sparta, N. J., and at about 
 the age of fifteen commenced clerking in 
 a store in that town, remaining there 
 some three or four years. In 1837 he 
 came west, locating at Peoria, 111., where 
 he had, living, three sisters married to mer- 
 chants of the place. Near here he took 
 up 160 acres of wild land at $1.25 per 
 acre, eighty acres of which he cleared and 
 farmed. At the end of three years he 
 sold this property and bought several 
 head of cattle, which he drove to Galena, 
 same State, where he sold them. His 
 next speculation was the purchase of 100 
 'head of cattle, driving them to Green 
 Bay, Wis., where he arrived with them 
 November 26, 1840. At that time there 
 was a fort at the place, several compa- 
 nies of United States soldiers being sta- 
 tioned thereat, and some of the cattle he 
 sold to the Government, others being 
 slaughtered and sold by the carcass, the 
 venture proving fairly successful. Hav- 
 ing bought an interest in a tannery at 
 
 Green Bay, and liking the place, Mr. 
 Morrow concluded to remain, and his 
 home has since been here. In addition 
 to the tannery he was for a long time 
 more or less interested in the buying and 
 selling of real estate, lumbering, farming, 
 merchandising, etc. From 1843 to 1851 
 he ran stage lines from Green Bay to 
 Milwaukee, Sheboygan and Madison. 
 
 As a politician Mr. Morrow was origi- 
 nally one of the most active supporters of 
 the Democratic party, and in 1845 ^^ 
 was elected to the Territorial Legislature, 
 serving two successive terms of one year 
 each. In 1847-48-49, under the admin- 
 istration of President Polk, he served as 
 receiver for the United States land office 
 at Green Bay, which at that time was sit- 
 uated on the corner of Adams and Chi- 
 cago streets. At this time there was a 
 great boom, and during Mr. Morrow's in- 
 cumbency about two million dollars worth 
 of property was turned over. On leaving 
 the land office he became largely inter- 
 ested in the lumbering business and mer- 
 cantile pursuits until 1873. In 1856 the 
 course of events caused Mr. Morrow to 
 change his allegiance from the Demo- 
 cratic part}' to the new Republican one, 
 he becoming one of the early adherents and 
 organizers of that party in Wisconsin. He 
 was prominent and active in the nomina- 
 tion for President of J. C. Fremont, and in 
 the subsequent campaign, attending as a 
 delegate the first Republican State con- 
 vention (of which he was elected presi- 
 dent) held in Wisconsin; this was in June, 
 1856, and the convention was held in 
 Fond du Lac. In June, i860, he was a 
 delegate to the Chicago convention that 
 nominated Lincoln for President. Since 
 the organization of the State government 
 he has taken no part in public affairs, and 
 since 1874 has been engaged in no busi- 
 ness except agriculture, having one or 
 two farms in the neighborhood of the 
 city. 
 
 In 1849 Mr. Morrow was married to 
 Miss Maria Bemis, of Buffalo, N. Y. , who 
 died in 1852, leaving two children, viz.: 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWGEAPUIVAL RECORD. 
 
 lo; 
 
 Claude Bemis, born in 1850, now in 
 charge of a lumbering establishment at 
 Barronett, Wis., recently all burned out 
 by the forest fires, and Maria, who died 
 at the age of five years. In 1859 Mr. 
 Morrow married, at Green Bay, Miss 
 Josephine Amelia Sayre, of that town, 
 by which union there are six daughters: 
 Maria (Mrs. Lally, of Kansas City), Helen 
 E. , Carrie (wife of R. H. Pierce, who 
 was chief electrician for the World's 
 Fair, and now living in Chicago), May, 
 Jennie R. and Louisa L. , the unmarried 
 young ladies living at the pleasant family 
 home in Green Bay. Mrs. Morrow is a 
 member of Christ Church, Episcopal. 
 
 ALBERT G. E. HOLMES, retired 
 merchant, of Green Bay, was 
 born in Oneida county, N. Y. , in 
 1825, a son of Alvah and Sophro- 
 nia (Ellis) Holmes. 
 
 Alvah Holmes was a native of Con- 
 necticut, and at eight years of age was 
 taken to Oneida county, N. Y. , by his 
 father, Elijah, who was also a native of 
 Connecticut, but removed to Herkimer 
 county, N. Y. , and later to Oneida coun- 
 ty. Alvah Holmes was reared in New 
 York, was a drummer boy in the war of 
 1812, and in 1821, at his majority, was 
 married; in 1840 he came with his family 
 to Green Bay, Wis. , where he was en- 
 gaged in milling and farming. Here his 
 wife died in 1845, ^"d he returned to 
 Oneida county, where his death took place 
 Februarys, 1871. He reared a family of 
 seven children, viz. : Olive Ingalls, widow 
 of Edson Sherwood, of the firm of Sher- 
 wood & Holmes, Mr. Sherwood dying in 
 Greing Bay in 1880, and Mrs. Sherwood 
 taking up her residence in Howard town- 
 ship. Brown Co., Wis. (she died Septem- 
 ber 10, 1894); Albert G. E., our subject, 
 the second in the family; Clinton resides 
 on the old homestead in Oneida county, 
 N. Y. ; Lavantia C. , wife of Albert Oat- 
 ley, resides in the town of Howard ; Leo- 
 nidas K., who lives in Lincoln, Neb.; 
 
 Asahel Brainerd, of Los Angeles, Cal., 
 and Stephen Augustus, a resident of 
 Herkimer county, N. Y., died January 
 26, 1894. 
 
 During the Presidential campaign of 
 1840, A. G. E. Holmes took part in a 
 Harrison log-cabin procession, going on 
 horseback from Oneida county, N. Y. , to 
 Buffalo, where the family, including him- 
 self, embarked on a steamboat for Green 
 Baj'. Our subject was then fourteen 
 years of age, and had been fairly edu- 
 cated in New York, to which privilege he 
 added by further study in Green Bay. In 
 1853 he here engaged in the grocery and 
 provision business under the firm name of 
 Sherwood & Holmes; in 1877 Mr. Sher- 
 wood retired, but the business was con- 
 tinued, under the style of Holmes & Har- 
 teau, until about 1879, when Mr. Holmes 
 disposed of his interest in the concern and 
 engaged, in partnership with L. M. Mar- 
 shall, in the lumber, shingle and general 
 merchandise trade, which was successfully 
 conducted until 1888, when Mr. Marshall 
 died. The trade was then carried on by 
 Mr. Holmes alone until 1892, when he re- 
 tired entirely from business, after an ac- 
 tive e.xperience of over forty years. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Holmes was sol- 
 emnized in the town of Brookfield, Madi- 
 son Co., N. Y. , in 1849, to Miss Antoin- 
 nette R. Brown, a native of Madison 
 county, and daughter of Williams and Es- 
 ther (Randall) Brown. Williams Brown 
 was born in Connecticut, in 1783, coming 
 to New York with his father, Asa Brown, 
 when twelve years of age. He lost his wife 
 in 1863 in Madison county, and just after 
 this event came to Dane county, Wis., 
 where his death occurred in 1 867. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. A. G. E. Holmes have been born 
 two children: Kittie, who died in 1872, 
 and Albert, who is attending a business 
 college in Green Bay. Mr. Holmes is a 
 Republican; he was a member of the 
 school board for three years, has served 
 as alderman from the Second ward, and 
 for nine years was county superintend- 
 ent of the poor; he is a member of the 
 
io6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Knights of Honor and a charter member of 
 Green Bay Lodge. Mrs. Holmes is a 
 member of the Episcopal Church, Mr. 
 Holmes himself being a constant attend- 
 ant. The family are respected by all the 
 community of Green Bay, and the busi- 
 ness qualifications of Mr. Holmes have 
 been made the subject of constant re- 
 mark. He is patriotic and liberal in for- 
 warding and sustaining the general in- 
 terests and improvement of Green Bay, 
 and is a factor in her moral and educa- 
 tional progress. 
 
 HENRY F. HAGEMEISTER.presi- 
 dent of the Hagemeister Brewing 
 Co., Green Bay, which was or- 
 ganized in 1886 and incorporated 
 in 1890, is a native of Green Bay, Wis., 
 born in 1855. 
 
 Francis Henry Hagemeister. father of 
 subject, was born in Prussia, and in early 
 manhood emigrated thence to the United 
 States, locating first in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 where he worked in a meat market for 
 J. Nunnemacher. In 1866, along with 
 four others, he organized a brewing com- 
 pany in Green Bay, Wis., later buying 
 out the interests of the others. In Green 
 Bay he married Miss Barbara Martin, a 
 native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and 
 they reared a family of si.\ children, as 
 follows: Mary, wife of G. W^alters, of 
 Pittsburg, Penn. ; Henry F. ; Bessie; Min- 
 nie; Albert, married, and residing in Green 
 Bay; and Louis W. , engaged in a boot 
 and shoe business in Green Bay. [Since 
 this was written Louis W. Hagemeister 
 died February 20, 1895.] The father 
 died November 18, 1892, aged si.xty-five 
 years, eleven months; the mother passed 
 away in 1882. Francis H. Hagemeister 
 was a member and an officer of the Luth- 
 eran Church; politically he was a Dem- 
 crat, and at one time served as alderman 
 in Green Bay. 
 
 Henry F. Hagemeister, the subject 
 proper of this sketch, received a liberal 
 education at the public schools of his na- 
 
 tive town, and at the age of seventeen 
 years commenced working in a brewery, 
 a line of business he has been identified 
 with ever since. In 1879, when twenty- 
 four years old, he had the management of 
 abrewrey, and in 1886, as above recorded, 
 was organized the present concern, of 
 which he is president, his brother Albert 
 being secretar}' and treasurer. The plant 
 in Green Baj' is located on the East side, 
 and, including the branch brewery at 
 Sturgeon Bay, Wis., represents a capital 
 of two hundred and twentj'-five thousand 
 dollars. 
 
 A Democrat of the purest type, Mr. 
 Hagemeister has not been inactive in the 
 interests of either his party or the public 
 at large. At the present time he repre- 
 sents the First District of Brown county 
 in the Legislature; has served his city as 
 alderman four years; has been president 
 of the council, and is now supervisor of 
 his ward. Socially he is a thirt3'-second 
 degree Mason, a member of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M. ; of Warren 
 Chapter, No. 8; of Palestine Command- 
 ery. No. 20; and of the Wisconsin \'alle3' 
 Consistory ; is also a member of the Golden 
 Shrine, of the Order of Elks; and of the 
 Knights of Honor. In all connections — 
 business, political or social — Mr. Hage- 
 meister has ever pro\ed himself worthy of 
 the high esteem and respect in which he 
 is held by the community. 
 
 LOUIS W. HAGEMEISTER, 
 proprietor of boot and shoe estab- 
 lishment, in Green Bay, and vice- 
 president of the Hagemeister Brew- 
 ing Co., is a native of Green Bay, born 
 March 17, 1865; a son of Francis H., and 
 Barbara ( Martin) Hagemeister, natives of 
 Germany. 
 
 The subject of this biographical mem- 
 oir received his education in Green Bay, 
 and on leaving school commenced to work 
 in a brewery. In 1 890 he became a stock- 
 holder in same, and in 1893 was appoint- 
 ed vice-president of the Hagemeister 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 107 
 
 Brewing Co. , which was organized in that 
 year. In addition to the extensive plant 
 in Green Bay, there is a branch brewery 
 at Sturgeon Bay, the entire plant costing 
 in the neighborhood of two hundred thou- 
 sand dollars; the industry giving employ- 
 ment to from thirty to forty hands. In 
 1893 he commenced in his present boot 
 and shoe business, keeping a full line of 
 everything in the trade. After learning 
 the brewing business in Green Bay, Mr. 
 Hagemeister went, at the age of twenty- 
 one, to Detroit, Mich., and for twelve 
 months worked in the E. W. Voight 
 Brewery, receiving a diploma; after which 
 he was for a time in Keeley Bros. Brew- 
 ery, Chicago. Moving to Dallas, Te.\as, 
 he remained with the Dallas Brewing Co., 
 eighteen months, and then returned to 
 Green Bay, becoming manager of the Stur- 
 geon Bay Brewing Co., after which he 
 was appointed manager of the bottling de- 
 partment. In addition to city real estate, 
 Mr. Hagemeister owns an interest in 130 
 acres farm property. In his political 
 preferments he is a Democrat, and he is 
 a member of the K. O. T. M. , Tent 
 No. 25. 
 
 The following account of the old home 
 of the Hagemeister family is from the pen 
 of Miss Bessie Hagemeister: " It is one of 
 the old landmarks of Green Bay. Much 
 of m}' knowledge was gathered from Mrs. 
 Mitchell, mother of Mrs. Theodore Har- 
 ris, and from others who had occupied it 
 or knew o"f its history. The home is sit- 
 uated at the corner of North Adams and 
 Pine streets, Green Bay. It was erected 
 in 1835 by the late Hon. Fred Ellis, 
 father of Judge Ellis. Mr. Ellis contin- 
 ued in possession of the property until 
 about 1844, when it passed into the hands 
 of one Rev. Davis, an Episcopalian divine. 
 The next change in ownership occurred 
 in 1858, when it was bought by Frank 
 Hagemeister, and it is still in the posses- 
 sion of the Hagemeister family. During 
 all these years the home was occupied by 
 other families, as tenants. In 1839 the 
 parents of Charles White moved into the 
 
 house, and resided there until 1S44. 
 Then for a short time it was vacant. 
 During this period Rev. T. R. Haff, the 
 present rector of Christ Church, Green 
 Bay, and a few friends, while on an ex- 
 pedition through the country for an out- 
 ing, camped in the house for a short time, 
 instead of pitching tents outside. Some- 
 time between this and 1846 a family 
 named Stevens lived there. In 1847 the 
 late Col. Chapman and family became its 
 occupants, and Mrs. Wheelock was with 
 them as a member of the family during 
 the time. In 1848 the owner. Rev. Davis, 
 moved in, Col. Chapman having vacated. 
 In 1852 Mr. Davis died, but Mrs. Davis 
 still made it her home till 1854, when 
 Mr. Holmes moved in, and she boarded 
 with his family until 1857. The next oc- 
 cupants were Mr. Frank Lenz and wife. 
 The old home then became a sort of 
 country tavern, or, more properly, a 
 boarding house, although Mr. Lenz occa- 
 sionally entertained transients, and became 
 quite popular as a stopping-place for fel- 
 low countrymen of Mr. Lenz on their ar- 
 rival in the city; and it was here that Mr. 
 and Mrs. Schellenbeck first stopped on 
 their honeymoon. About this time the 
 property was purchased by Mr. Hage- 
 meister, and he lived there during his life- 
 time. I have preserved all this history of 
 the old home, in which I am deeply inter- 
 ested." [Since the above sketch was put 
 in type, we have received information of 
 the death of Mr. Louis W. Hagemeister, 
 which occurred February 20, 1895, at the 
 old homestead. — Ed. 
 
 REV. JOHN L. HEWITT, A. M., 
 D. D., pastor of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church of Green Bay, is 
 a native of England, born March 
 4, 1843, in Oswestry, Shropshire, of an 
 old family in that stalwart " little island," 
 the name Hewitt frequently appearing in 
 old-time annals. 
 
 Grandfather Samuel Hewitt held a 
 
loS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 .{government position, and was a man of 
 prominence in his day. He and his wife, 
 EHzabeth, were members of the Church 
 of England, and were the parents of five 
 children, named respectively: Samuel, 
 Joseph, Thomas, Sarah and Elizabeth. 
 Of these, Thomas was born in Wolver- 
 hampton, Staffordshire, England, and 
 was reared to the trade of mechanic, in 
 which he became highly skilled. In Os- 
 westrj' he married Miss Elizabeth Jones, 
 a granddaughter of Charles Devereux 
 Price, who was a son of a London gentle- 
 man of means, supposed to be a descend- 
 ant of the Earls of Essex. Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth Hewitt's father, Morris Jones, was 
 a master builder by occupation, becom- 
 ing successful and prosperous ; he came 
 to the United States about the year 185 1, 
 and died in Racine, Wis. He had a 
 family of six children, of whom, Eliza- 
 beth was born in Mellinochreg Hall, 
 Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, North 
 Wales, almost under the shadow of 
 Plynlymmon, a picturesque mountain in 
 Cardiganshire. She was well-educated 
 in her native city, and a woman of the 
 most refined taste, one who reared her 
 family well and in true Christian faith. 
 To her and her husband were born twelve 
 children, six of whom survive. In 1856 
 the family came to the United States, 
 settling in Racine, Wis., where the father 
 died in July, 1867. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received his 
 education in London, England, first in 
 three different select schools, later in St. 
 Luke's, Chelsea, and St. Mark's College, 
 Brompton. He was thirteen years old 
 when the family came to Wisconsin, and 
 here he has since lived. In 1862 he en- 
 tered Lawrence University, Appleton, and 
 in 1870 was ordained a minister. Since, 
 he has officiated at Waukesha, Kenosha 
 and Milwaukee, at which latter place he 
 was pastor of the Grand Avenue M. E. 
 Church; subsequently he was presiding 
 elder of the Milwaukee district, and pastor 
 of Washington Avenue Church. In 1881 
 he received the degree of Master of Arts 
 
 at Lawrence University, and, in 1891, 
 while officiating as pastor of the Wash- 
 ington Avenue M. E. Church, Milwaukee, 
 that of Doctor of Divinity, from the Uni- 
 versity of the Northwest. In 1892 he 
 received an unanimous call to the pastor- 
 ate of the First Presbyterian Church of 
 Green Bay, his present incumbency, and 
 was installed October 17, 1893. Of this 
 church a local paper of October, 1893, 
 says the following: "The Green Bay 
 Church in question is one of the oldest, 
 if not the oldest. Congregational Church 
 in Wisconsin, being over sixty \ears old 
 as a church organization. The site upon 
 which the society's buildings stood since 
 organization was presented to the congre- 
 gation by John Jacob Astor, in the days 
 of his great fur deals. The deed to the 
 land reads: ' From John Jacob Astor 
 to the First Presbyterian Church of 
 Green Bay,' etc., and in that way the so- 
 ciety received its name as a Presbyterian 
 Church, although it has always been a 
 Congregational Church in doctrine and 
 practice." Of the chief characteristics 
 of the present pastor, the following is 
 gleaned from a long-time acquaintance: 
 " Dr. Hewitt was cast in a finer, gentler 
 mould than many men, and yet he has 
 also those manly qualities that we ought 
 to find in every man, be he statesman or 
 business man or clergyman. His sense 
 of the fit and the beautiful is keen — he has 
 much of the spirit of the poet in his 
 thinking and living. His ideas of honor 
 and integrity and duty are exceptionally 
 strong. Mentally he has both depth and 
 breadth. He is never afraid of new 
 ideas, is receptive to any new truth, but 
 has the faith that assures him the founda- 
 tions of God stand unshaken amid man's 
 changing opinions and speculations. 
 * * * As a minister of the Gospel he 
 has always emphasized the spiritual 
 rather than the ecclesiastical or dogmatic 
 side of the church and the personal life, 
 and has been uniformly beloved as 
 preacher, teacher, pastor and man. To 
 this sacred and honored calling he has 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 109 
 
 devoted all of himself, and is splendidly 
 equipped for successful work." 
 
 In 1866 Rev. Dr. Hewitt was married 
 to Miss Kate Richardson, daughter of 
 George Richardson, of Omro, Wis. , and 
 three children have been born to them, 
 to wit: Frederick]., in Milwaukee; May 
 Belle, at home; and George P., a classi- 
 cal student at Lawrence University. In 
 his political preferences our subject is a 
 Republican, with Prohibition tendencies; 
 socially he is a Royal Arch Mason. 
 
 HON. THOMAS RICHARD 
 H U D D. Thers is something ex- 
 ceedingly attractive in the volun- 
 tary retirement of a man who, for 
 several years, has taken an active and in- 
 fluential part in the affairs of the govern- 
 ment. He leaves public life in the full- 
 ness of his strength, and while in the path- 
 way of political advancement. He ex- 
 changes the exciting scenes of political 
 turmoil, which present the most power- 
 ful attractions to the ambitious, for the 
 peaceful labors of his profession, or other 
 vocation, in the pursuit of which he, may- 
 hap, finds time to ruminate on past 
 events, on those that are passing, and on 
 those which futurity will probably develop. 
 Mr. Hudd is a native of New York 
 State, born October i, 1835, in Buffalo, 
 a son of Richard and Mary (Harrison) 
 Hudd, English people, the father a na- 
 tive of Laylock, Wiltshire, the mother of 
 Northamptonshire, born in the village of 
 Barby. Richard Hudd was a painter and 
 decorator, and in 1 830 came to the United 
 States, where he followed his trade until 
 his death, which occurred in 1841, he 
 having been accidentally drowned. He 
 was descended from the land-holding 
 class of England, and was a man of fine 
 appearance, and good education, having 
 been a student at the famous Eton school. 
 His wife was daughter of Thomas Harri- 
 son, who came to this country and for a 
 time resided near Utica, N. Y. , but after- 
 ward, in 1833, became a pioneer of Illi- 
 
 nois, settling near Lisbon, Kendall county. 
 He died of apoplexy while taking a load 
 of wheat to Chicago by wagon. He was 
 a lineal descendant of Gen. Harrison, who 
 was one of Cromwell's right-hand men, 
 and one of the judges who condemned 
 Charles I. to death. 
 
 Thomas R. Hudd was a lad of seven 
 summers when his father died, and soon 
 after that sad event the widowed mother 
 moved with her little boy to Chicago, 
 where he attended school until he was 
 about fifteen years old, when he left his 
 books to assume the role of "devil" in 
 the job-room of the Evening Journal, 
 Richard L. Wilson at that time being 
 publisher, and Andrew Matteson foreman 
 of the job-room. From there he went to 
 the Western Citizen, where he learned 
 typesetting and the trade in general, 
 remaining in that office until 1853. In 
 the meantime his mother, having married 
 a Mr. A. D. Partridge and removed to 
 Neenah, Wis., induced the lad to rejoin 
 her, which he did, and he soon thereafter 
 became a student at Lawrence (Appleton) 
 University, paying his way toward receiv- 
 ing a good education by working at his 
 trade in the office of the Appleton Crescent. 
 In 1855 he left college and commenced the 
 study of law with R. P. Eaton, in Apple- 
 ton, then with Smith & Ballard, the senior 
 member of which firm. Perry H. Smith, 
 afterward became well-known as a prom- 
 inent railroad official of Chicago. In 
 October, 1856, Mr. Hudd was admitted 
 to the bar, and in the following Novem- 
 ber was elected district attorney of Outa- 
 gamie county. Forming a partnership 
 with John J. Jewett, they practiced law 
 together in Appleton until 1863, when 
 Mr. Jewett retired, and Mr. J. H. M. 
 Wigman succeeded him in the partner- 
 ship. When Mr. Hudd came to Green 
 Bay, in 1868, Mr. Wigman continued the 
 Appleton office until 1870, when he re- 
 moved to Green Ba}', after which time 
 the firm engaged in general law practice, 
 extending to all the State and Federal 
 courts. For a short time, in the heyday 
 
no 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of his Congressional work, and at the ex- 
 piration of the Lth Congress, Mr. Hiidd 
 was a member of the law firm, in Chi- 
 cago, of Case, Hudd & Hogan, which was 
 intended only as a temporary arrange- 
 ment, and was discontinued in October, 
 1890. 
 
 Mr. Hudd has served his adopted 
 State well in public affairs. In 1861 he 
 was elected to the State Senate, and in 
 1867 to the Assembly; in 1876 he was 
 again elected to the Assembly, and in this 
 session he was prominently identified in 
 the securing of the repeal of the ' ' Granger 
 Law," which had become so obnoxious to 
 the State. In 1877 he was again sent 
 by his constituents to the Senate, and 
 was successively re-elected to same until 
 1885, in which year he was elected to the 
 United States Congress, resigning his 
 seat in the State Senate when he had 
 three years yet to serve. This was the 
 XLIXth Congress, and he was elected to 
 the vacancy caused by the death of Jos- 
 eph Rankin. In this Congress he served 
 on the committee on Commerce, to take 
 the place of Joseph Pultzer, who had re- 
 signed in order to visit Europe. Elected 
 to the Lth Congress, Mr. Hudd was ap- 
 pointed chairman of the committee on 
 Expenditures, in the Interior Department. 
 This closed his most active life in the 
 arena of politics, and he has since con- 
 fined himself to the practice of his pro- 
 fession, wherein he has a wide clientage 
 and enjoys the distinction of being the 
 leading criminal lawyer in this section of 
 Wisconsin. In municipal affairs, also, he 
 has been active, having served the peo- 
 ple of his locality in many minor offices, 
 among which may be mentioned that of 
 president of the school board, several 
 years. In 1889 he was appointed by 
 Gov. Hoar, one of three commissioners 
 to represent the State of Wisconsin at 
 the Centennial celebration of the inaugur- 
 ation of George Washington as first 
 President of the United States, which was 
 held at New York in April, 1889. Dur- 
 ing the Civil war he was commissioned to 
 
 a lieutenancy, and mainly by his individ- 
 ual exertion were organized two military 
 companies in Outagamie county, but he 
 was unable to take active service, having 
 just been elected to the State Senate. 
 
 Mr. Hudd has been twice married, 
 first time, in 1857, to Parthenia S. Peak, 
 who died in 1871, the mother of four 
 children, as follows: Richard P., Sophia 
 M. (now wife of William Beatty, of Colo- 
 rado), Mary H., and Julia P. (now living 
 in Washington, D. C). In 1872 Mr. 
 Hudd married, for his second wife, Miss 
 Mary Kiel, and four children, all daugh- 
 ters, have been born to them, named as 
 follows: Gertrude D., Nellie, May and 
 Maude, all at home. Mr. Hudd is a mem- 
 ber of the F. & A. M., Waverly Lodge 
 No. 51, Appleton, and in politics he is a 
 stanch Democrat. 
 
 WILLIAM C. HINSDALE, the 
 popular and efficient agent at 
 Green Bay for the American 
 Express Company, is one of the 
 ten oldest employees of that corporation 
 in Wisconsin, and has earned for himself 
 an enviable reputation as a courteous, 
 painstaking official. 
 
 He is a native of this State, born, in 
 1847, '" the town of Kenosha, a son of 
 W. L. and Isabella C. (Courtenay) Hins- 
 dale, natives of New York City, whence 
 they came in 1836 to South Port (now 
 Kenosha), Wis., where, in company with 
 a brother, Mr. Hinsdale was engaged for 
 some }ears in the lumber business, they 
 becoming extensive traders in that line, 
 and ultimately selling out to F. B. Gard- 
 ner, of Chicago. Mr. Hinsdale then re- 
 sided in Madison, Wis., one year, moving 
 from there, in 1S55, to Milwaukee, where 
 he became the first treasurer of the Chi- 
 cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, 
 which in a few years he resigned to ac- 
 cept the position of secretary of the North 
 Western National Fire and Marine Insur- 
 ance Company. His father was a well- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 known jeweler in New York Cit}', where 
 he passed his entire Hfe. 
 
 Isabella C. Courtena}, mother of the 
 subject of this sketch, was born in Balti- 
 more, Md., and was a member of one 
 of the early leading families of that State, 
 English people who settled in the town of 
 Goodhope about the year 1700. One of 
 her remote ancestors on her father's side 
 lost his life on account of claiming a right 
 to the crown of England, and some of her 
 later ancestry were engaged in the war of 
 the Revolution in this country, others, 
 again, in the war of 181 2. Grandfather 
 Courtenay died in Maryland, and his 
 widow came to Kenosha, Wis. , with her 
 brother, Hercules, who opened up a farm 
 in Kenosha county, where he died; she 
 passed from earth in the town of Kenosha 
 about the year 185 1. Mrs. Isabella C. 
 Hinsdale died in 1892. 
 
 William C. Hinsdale, our subject, re- 
 ceived his education in Milwaukee, and 
 after leaving school entered the employ 
 of Marshall Ilsley, as bank collection 
 clerk, and after four j-ears, or in 1869, 
 entered the service of the American Ex- 
 press Company, at Black River Falls, 
 Wis., thence moved to Milwaukee, from 
 there to Green Bay in 1871, passing 
 through the various grades of promotion 
 "with flying colors." In 1873-74 he was 
 Express Messenger between Green Bay 
 and Marquette, Mich., and other points, 
 and in 1881 received the appointment of 
 agent at Green Bay, his present incum- 
 bency. In October, 1881, he was mar- 
 ried in Green Bay to Miss Minnie C. 
 Gardner, a native of that town, a daughter 
 of B. C. and M. E. Gardner, who about 
 the year 1854 came to Green Ba}-, where 
 the father followed his business, that of 
 contractor and builder; he died about 
 1880; the mother is yet living in Green 
 Ba}-. To Mr. and Mrs. Hinsdale have 
 been born two children, Florence and 
 Isabella. In politics our subject is a Re- 
 publican; socially he is a member of 
 Pochequette Lodge No. 26, K. of P., and 
 has passed all the Chairs. To his well- 
 
 directed efforts — efforts that never know 
 fatigue — Green Bay is indebted for as 
 well-conducted an express system as ex- 
 ists in the State. 
 
 GE. T. KYBER, notary public, 
 mortgage loan and real-estate 
 broker, of Green Bay, Wis., was 
 born in Saxony, Germany, in 
 1828, a son of Theodore George and 
 Caroline (Weygant) Kyber, the former of 
 whom, a native of Saxony, died at the 
 age of ninety-one; the latter was of Polish 
 descent. They had born to them eight 
 children, of whom the living are Carl, in 
 Glauchau, Saxony; Frederick and Amelia, 
 residing near Dresden, Saxony, and G. E. 
 T. , who is the subject of this sketch. 
 
 G. E. T. Kyber lost his mother when 
 he was six years of age. He was reared 
 and educated in Saxony and studied mili- 
 tary science and architecture, which pro- 
 fession he followed in the old country 
 until he was twenty-two years old. In 
 1850 he came to America, and in New 
 York was employed for a short time in 
 lithographic work and painting; then 
 went to Central America and served as 
 head steward of a large hospital, caught 
 the yellow fever, and returned north. In 
 1854 he came to Green Bay and opened 
 a paint shop, which he conducted until 
 1 86 1, when he was appointed notary pub- 
 lic; in 1863 he was appointed, as a Demo- 
 crat, auditor of the Volunteers Aid Fund 
 in the office of the Secretary of State, and 
 held the position until 1865; in 1867 was 
 elected the first police justice of Green 
 Bay. In 1873 he moved to Allouez town- 
 ship, where he has ever since had his resi- 
 dence, and is now public administrator 
 for Brown county. Mr. Kyber was mar- 
 ried, in New York, in 1852, to Miss 
 Susanna Muth, and to this union have 
 been born eight children, of whom the 
 living are: Fannie, wife of F. L. Erd- 
 mann, of Green Bay; Virginia, Theodore 
 G. and Frederick E. The mother of this 
 family was called from earth in 1887 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 since when Mr. Kyber has remained a 
 widower. 
 
 Mr. Kjber is a member of Herman 
 Lodge No. Ill, I. O. O. F. , and also of 
 the Turn Verein, of which he was one of 
 the organizers. He is also a member of 
 the Lutheran Church, lives fully up to its 
 teachings, and is greatly respected for his 
 moral walk through life. 
 
 THOMAS J. McGRATH, senior 
 member of McGrath & Anderson, 
 leading firm of contractors and 
 builders, of Green Bay, is a fair 
 representative of those whose sagacity 
 and capital have done so much toward 
 the commercial and manufacturing pro- 
 gress of the city of his adoption. 
 
 A native of Canada, he was born 
 January 15, 1859, in Emily, Victoria Co., 
 Ontario, to Michael and Mary Ann (Mc- 
 Carthy) McGrath, the former of whom 
 was a carpenter by trade. In March, 
 1863, the father died, and in 1875 the 
 family, then consisting of mother and 
 three children, including our subject, 
 came to Wisconsin and settled in Lebanon, 
 Waupaca county, where the mother 
 subsequently married Michael Ahearn, of 
 that place, where they are now living. 
 As will be seen, our subject was a lad of 
 some sixteen summers when the family 
 came to Wisconsin, prior to which he had 
 received at the excellent public schools 
 of Canada the only literary education he 
 was destined to have, which in after 
 years he added to by close reading and 
 general observation of men and things. 
 At the age of eighteen he commenced to 
 learn carpentry, at which trade he soon 
 proved himself admirably adapted; and so 
 quickly did he make himself proficient 
 that at the early age of twenty-two he was 
 placed as foreman over men whose actual 
 experience represented more years than 
 he had lived. But he was equal to the 
 responsibility, and proved himself an- 
 efficient and capable overseer. In this 
 capacity his first employment was for 
 
 contractors, but ere long he entered the 
 employ of the Chicago & Northwestern 
 Railway Company as foreman of bridge 
 carpenters, the work at that time being 
 done by this company on the St. Peter 
 division in Minnesota. For six years he 
 continued in this position, proving him- 
 self well worthy of his trust — honest and 
 capable. He then entered the employ of 
 the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. 
 Marie Railroad Company as superin- 
 tendent of building construction, but at 
 the end of one year he resigned to accept 
 the position of superintendent of bridges 
 and buildings for the Milwaukee & North- 
 ern railroad, which about three 3ears 
 thereafter merged into the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul railroad. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. McGrath commenced the 
 since prosperous business of general con- 
 tracting and building, and among the 
 many substantial works in Green Bay 
 that stand to-day as evidence of his skill 
 may be mentioned the Mason street 
 bridge over the Fox river; an extension 
 of one thousand feet dockage for the 
 Murphy Lumber Company, and elevator 
 and dock for W. W. Cargill & Bro. In 
 February, 1893, Mr. McGrath recei\ed 
 as partner in his extensive business Mr. 
 W. B. Anderson, since when the firm 
 have completed the following contracts: 
 Plant for "The Columbian Bakery"; ex- 
 tensive coal-sheds for Barkhousen & 
 Hathaway; the power-house for the Fox 
 River Street Railway Company; 800 feet 
 extra dockage for the Murphy Lumber 
 Company; about 14,000 yards of cedar 
 block paving on Washington street; 25,- 
 000 yards cedar block pavement on 
 Crooks and Walnut streets; bridge over 
 the East river, connecting Allouez and 
 Bellevue townships, in Brown county; 
 bridge over East river on Mason street; 
 and three and one-half miles of railroad 
 for the Chicago & North Western Com- 
 pany, in Michigan. 
 
 At Mankato, Minn., on March 21, 
 1880, Mr. McGrath was married to Miss 
 Eleanor Fuller, a native of Lapeer, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 "3 
 
 Mich., and daughter of Daniel and Marj' 
 J. (Arlow) Fuller. An interesting family 
 of si.\ clever children have been born to 
 this union, named respectively: Nellie 
 M., Claude A., Violet M., Thomas R., 
 Daniel F. and Alvin E. Politically Mr. 
 McGrath is a stanch Republican, but has 
 no time to spare for office, his business 
 demanding and receiving his closest at- 
 tention. He is a member of the F. & A. 
 M., Washington Lodge No. 21, Warren 
 Chapter No. 8, Warren Council No. 13, 
 and Palestine Commandery No. 20. Mrs. 
 McGrath is a member of the M. E. 
 Church. 
 
 N 
 
 S. KIMBALL, division master- 
 mechanic of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul railroad, by 
 virtue of his long residence in 
 Wisconsin, covering a period of over 
 thirty-six years, is not only well known 
 but highly respected, especially in railroad 
 circles, where he is prominent. 
 
 He is a native of New Hampshire, 
 born November 21, 1831, in the town of 
 Warner, Merrimack county, a son of John 
 and Hannah (Bean) Kimball, the former 
 of whom was born and reared in Waltham, 
 Mass. In early life, he, John, moved to 
 New Hampshire, and in the town of War- 
 ner established a paper-mill as well as a 
 bookbindery, being proprietor of both. 
 Senator Chandler, of New Hampshire, 
 is now owner of the site on which these 
 old-time industries stood. John Kimball 
 and his wife passed the rest of their 
 days in New Hampshire, dying in Man- 
 chester in 1 84 1 and 1862 respectively, he 
 at the age of fifty years, she at the age of 
 sixty-two; his maternal grandfather, 
 Thomas Wellington, was a soldier in the 
 Revolution, spent the winter at Valley 
 Forge and crossed the Delaware with 
 Washington. John Kimball served in the 
 war of 1 81 2, in which conflict John Bean, 
 the maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 was also a soldier. 
 
 The subject of these lines received a 
 
 liberal education, in part at the schools of 
 Manchester, N. H., and in part in Hop- 
 kinton Academy, same State, chiefly, 
 however, at the schools of the latter 
 place. He was in reality reared to farm- 
 ing, and for a time tended sheep on the 
 Kearsarge Mountains, but in 1847, 3-t the 
 age of seventeen, he commenced to learn 
 the trade of machinist in the Amoskeag 
 locomotive shops of Manchester, N. H., 
 which had just been started, remaining in 
 them as long as the}' existed as locomotive 
 shops, or until 1857. In January of that 
 year he moved to Detroit, Mich., and 
 for a short time was in the employ of the 
 Michigan Central Railroad Company, 
 thence removing to La Porte, Ind. , where 
 he worked for the Lake Shore & Michi- 
 gan Southern railroad. After this he 
 was on a farm in Logan county. 111., for 
 some eight months, at the end of which 
 time, in 1858, he removed to Milwaukee, 
 Wis. , where he was given charge as fore- 
 man in the repair shops of the Milwaukee 
 & Mississippi railroad, which at that time 
 extended as far as Prairie du Chien, and 
 is at present a division of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul railroad, on which he 
 is now employed. Here he remained 
 within one year of a quarter of a century, 
 and in 1882, having accepted the position 
 of division master-mechanic of the Mil- 
 waukee & Northern railroad, came to 
 Green Bay, where he still remains in the 
 same capacity. In 1882 this was the 
 Milwaukee & Northern railroad, but in 
 1 890 it was absorbed by the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. He has 
 therefore served continuously thirty-six 
 years in positions of responsibility on the 
 lines of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul railroad. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. Kimball was married to 
 Miss Mary A. Edmunds, daughter of 
 Enoch and Mary (Campbell) Edmunds, 
 all natives of New Hampshire, where her 
 father died, the widowed mother after- 
 ward coming to Green Bay, where, at 
 the residence of our subject, she passed 
 away in 1892. To Mr. and Mrs. Kim- 
 
114 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ball has been born one child, Walter H., 
 by profession a stenographer, married, 
 and residing at Green Bay. In his polit- 
 ical preferences our subject is a Republi- 
 can. In 1854 he joined the Masons, at 
 Manchester, N. H., and he is a member 
 of Washington Lodge No. 21, F. & A. 
 M., Green Bay; Chapter No. 7, Milwaukee; 
 Palestine Commandery No. 20, of Green 
 Bay (of which he is past eminent com- 
 mander), and of the Wisconsin Consis- 
 tory, thirty-second degree ; he is also a 
 member of the Mystic Shrine, Tripoli 
 Temple, of Milwaukee. He and his wife 
 are members of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church, with which he has been connect- 
 ed for thirty jears, and for several years 
 he has been a vestryman and warden. 
 
 FW. SCHNEIDER, photographic 
 artist, at No. 310 North Wash- 
 ington street. Green Bay, was 
 born in Westphalia, Prussia, Janu- 
 ary 8, 1854. His parents were Anton 
 and Mary Elizabeth (Schneider) Schneider, 
 natives of Rhine-Province, Prussia, where 
 the father died in 1859; in 1868 the 
 mother came to Wisconsin and located in 
 Kewaunee county, where she carried on 
 fanning and a cheese factory and store 
 until her death in 1891. She reared a 
 family of three children, viz: Charley, a 
 farmer; F. W. , our subject; and Helen, 
 wife of W. Gauerke, of Brown county. 
 F. W. Schneider was educated in 
 Prussia until fourteen years of age, and 
 after coming to America attended the 
 evening schools, and a business college 
 in Green Bay, Wis. In 1870 he settled 
 in Brown county, and was employed in 
 sawmilling and team driving till 1874, 
 when he moved into Green Bay, where he 
 learned his art, and in May, 1877, com- 
 menced business on his own account, be- 
 ing now the oldest gallery proprietor in 
 the city, and one of its finest artists. 
 
 Mr. Schneider was married in De- 
 Pere, in 1876, to Miss Elainna M. Nuss, 
 a native of Pennsylvania, and daughter 
 
 of Michael Nuss, who settled in De Pere 
 about the year 1866. This happy union 
 has been blessed with three children, 
 named respectively: Alvin, Mabel and 
 Fred. Mr. Schneider is a Republican in 
 his political affiliations, and in his social 
 and fraternal connections is affiliated with 
 Green Bay Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., 
 in which he has passed all the chairs, and 
 is also a member of the Encampment; is 
 a member of the Royal Arcanum, of the 
 Modern Woodmen, and of the Knights of 
 the Maccabees. He has grown up with 
 the city of Green Bay, has been a witness 
 to much of its progress, and is now 
 ranked among its most respected citizens. 
 
 HON. W. J. ABRAMS. The life 
 of the subject of this sketch pre- 
 sents a striking example of enter- 
 prise, industr}' and integrity, con- 
 ducting to eminent success, and of politi- 
 cal consistencies based on enlightened 
 and moderate views — views at all times 
 compatible with a generous toleration of 
 the sentiments entertained bj' others, and 
 commanding general confidence and es- 
 teem. 
 
 Mr. Abrams was born March 19, 1829, 
 in Cambridge, Washington Co., N. Y. , 
 and is a son of Isaac T. and Ruth (Hall) 
 Abrams, natives of New York. The 
 father, who was a business man of West 
 Troy, N. Y., died in 1868, the mother in 
 1870. Of their family of children only 
 one grew to maturity, the son whose 
 name introduces this sketch. His great- 
 grandfather on the mother's side, Capt. 
 Alexander Thomas, was commissioned in 
 December, 1 778, by the General As- 
 sembly of Rhode Island, a captain in 
 Col. Topham's regiment, and it is rec- 
 orded that he "drew regular pa\-. " Our 
 subject is a blood-relation, on his 
 mother's side, of Lyman Hall, one of 
 the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, and, on his father's side, Mr. 
 Abrams claims lineal descent from Lord 
 Townley, of the English House of Peers. 
 
n/-^ a. 
 
 CT C> 
 
 7:^/5 QJ^a^j^ 
 
aOMMEMORATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 117 
 
 an 
 
 and 
 theological 
 
 W. J. Abrams, after 
 academic education at Cambridge 
 Troy, N. Y. , entered the 
 school at Williamstown, Mass. ; but, 
 owing to impaired health he had to aban- 
 don the course, and spent some years in 
 travel, at the same time continuing his 
 studies, for the most part in history, arts 
 and general literature. In the latter con- 
 nection it may be mentioned that he was 
 the author, under various noinmcs dc 
 phivie of various essays, but his health 
 would not permit of his continuing in such 
 work as a profession. 
 
 In 1856 he came to northern Wiscon- 
 sin, and was engaged for a considerable 
 time in railroad surveys from Lake Michi- 
 gan to Ontonagon, making his permanent 
 home in Green Bay in 1861. He became 
 identified with the Collingwood, Sarnia 
 and Buffalo line of steamers, and, until 
 1870, none was more prominent in the 
 development of the water transportation 
 facilities of the town. In that year he 
 directed his attention more especially to 
 railroad enterprise, and was one of the 
 promoters of the Green Bay & Lake Pepin 
 railroad (having made the survey and ob- 
 tained its charter), becoming officially 
 connected with same, for many years 
 serving as secretary. This road was sub- 
 sequently merged into the Green Bay & 
 Minnesota, and still later into the Green 
 Bay, Winona & St. Paul. Mr. Abrams 
 was also the leading promoter of the Ke- 
 waunee, Green Bay & Western railroad, 
 some thirty-five miles in length, built in 
 1 89 1, and has been president of the com- 
 pany from its organization. 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Abrams was married in 
 Montgomery county, N. Y., to Miss Hen- 
 rietta T. Alton, a native of New York 
 State, daughter of James Alton. Her 
 mother, at the time of her marriage with 
 Mr. Alton, was the widow of Commodore 
 Germain, commander of the ' ' Ironsides," 
 during the Revolutionarv war. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Alton are now deceased. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Abrams have been born three 
 children, viz.: Two daughters — Kate, 
 
 wife of Hamilton Townsend, in the real- 
 estate business in Milwaukee, Wis. ; and 
 Ruth, wife of Dr. C. McVeigh Tobey, of 
 St. Paul, Minn. ; and one son — Winford, 
 at home. Mrs. Townsend is a member 
 of the Daughters of the Revolution in 
 Milwaukee, and secretary of the State di- 
 vision of that order. 
 
 During the Rebellion Mr. Abrams was 
 an uncompromising war Democrat, and is 
 still as ardent as he was when he cham- 
 pioned the rights of the party in the halls 
 of the State Assembly and in the Senate, 
 in the former of which he served four 
 years (from 1864 to 1867), and in the lat- 
 ter two years (1868-69). Among the nu- 
 merous official positions he holds or has 
 held may be mentioned — vice-president 
 of the Soldiers Orphans Home, at Mad- 
 ison, Wis.; vice-president of the Fair and 
 Park Association, in which he is a stock- 
 holder, and a member of the Horticul- 
 tural Society; mayor of Green Bay in 
 1882-83, and again in 1885. Socially he 
 is a retired member of the I. O. O. F. , 
 and a member of the Royal Arcanum, of 
 which he is supreme representative at the 
 present time, and has been Grand Regent 
 of the State. One of the most active, 
 progressive, public-spirited men, Mr. 
 Abrams has done as much to develop the 
 almost inexhaustible resources of the Fox 
 River Valley as any other man. 
 
 Mr. Abrams has frequently appeared 
 as a public speaker, especially during po- 
 litical campaigns, and his style is of a char- 
 acter to command the respect and atten- 
 tion of his audience. As a public officer 
 he has few superiors; as a railroad official 
 he has a wide reputation for executive ca- 
 pacity and able management of affairs, 
 and it would be hard to find a man better 
 adapted to organizing capital to promote 
 sucfi enterprises as he may become inter- 
 ested in, his foresight and sagacity in 
 financial matters fitting him especially 
 therefor. His power over men — and 
 hence his influence in social, political, and 
 business matters — is of that quiet order 
 that makes little outward show, yet is a 
 
iS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 potent factor in shaping the success of 
 the community in which he resides. The 
 State of Wisconsin is justly proud of such 
 sons, and the record of their lives should 
 be perpetuated in iiistory, chronicled in 
 steel and in words that endure forever. 
 
 THOMAS ATKINSON, a respected 
 and well-known citizen of Preble 
 townsliip. Brown county, is a na- 
 tive of Ireland, born March lo, 
 1816, in County Sligo, son of Henry and 
 Kate (Kaveny) Atkinson, the former of 
 whom was a farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Thomas Atkinson received such an 
 education as the schools of the time and 
 place afforded, and from boyhood was 
 reared to farm life. In January, 1842, 
 he was married to Miss Mary Flatley, 
 who was l)()rn in 1823, dauj^hter of Dom- 
 inick and Margaret (Flynn) Flatley, and 
 this union was blessed with children as 
 follows: Margaret (now Mrs. John Mahon, 
 of Preble), Henry (deceased in infancy), 
 Kate (who died, unmarried, in Preble 
 township) and Maria (who was a school 
 teacher, and died in Preble, township in 
 young w(jmanhood), all four born in 
 Ireland; and Louis (at home), Philip (of 
 Ironwood, Mich.) and Thomas H. (who 
 died young), these three born in America. 
 In January, 1848, Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson, 
 with their family, then consisting of three 
 girls, left Ireland, and shortly afterward 
 sailed from Liverpool, England, on the 
 "West Point," landing at New York in 
 March, after a voyage of forty-one days. 
 They first located in Cherry Valley, 
 Oneida Co. , N. Y. , where Mr. Atkinson 
 worked as laborer on a plank-road at that 
 time in course of construction, remaining 
 there over a year; then, in the fall of 1849, 
 proceeding by canal from Rome to Buf- 
 falo, N. Y., they took passage on a ves- 
 sel bound for Kewaunee, Wis., thence 
 coming to Green Bay on the tug "Jim 
 Wood." The same fall Mr. Atkinson 
 located on a small farm in Holland town- 
 
 ship. Brown county, "all in the woods;" 
 but after remaining there about a month 
 returned to Green Bay, where he resided 
 some years. In 1853 he was appointed 
 lighthouse keeper at Long Tail Point, 
 Wis., and was stationed there six years 
 and one month, at the end of which time 
 he removed to Fort Howard, where he 
 opened out a grocery and saloon business. 
 A few months later, in the spring of i860, 
 he located on his present farm, and has 
 here since continuously resided, having 
 now 133.1 acres of prime land, which he 
 has accumulated by years of industry and 
 toil. On May 4, 1856, Mrs. Mary Atkin- 
 son passed from earth, and May 29, 1857, 
 Mr. Atkinson wedded, for his second wife, 
 Miss Margaret Howard, who was born, 
 in iiS27, in County Limerick, Ireland, 
 daughter of Michael Howard; she died 
 January 22, 1877, without issue, and her 
 remains now rest in Shantj'town cemetery. 
 Our subject, as a member of the Dem- 
 ocratic party, takes an active interest in 
 politics, and has held the offices of super- 
 visor aixl chairman of his township; in 
 religious faith he is a member of the Cath- 
 olic Church. He is well read, keeping 
 himself closely informed on the issues of 
 the day, and is highly respected where- 
 ever he is known. 
 
 THOMAS DOUBELL BOWRING 
 is a native of Reigate, county of 
 Surrey, England, and was born 
 January 13, 1844, the son of 
 Thomas and Susan (Doubell) Bowring. 
 The father, with his wife and five chil- 
 dren, came to the United States in 1851, 
 locating at Lyons, N. Y. From there he 
 moved to Detroit, Mich., where for the 
 most part he lived until his death, which 
 took place in i8<S5; his widow died in the 
 same city in 1891. 
 
 Thomas D. Bowring obtained his edu- 
 cation partly in England, and partly at 
 the common schools of this country. 
 While attending school at Lyons, N. Y. , 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 119 
 
 he sustained an injury to his left hip 
 which crippled him for life. He learned 
 the art of photography in Detroit, where 
 for about a year he was in business for 
 himself; but in 1868 he moved to Green 
 Bay to become operator for H. S. Clark. 
 In 1869 he took charge of a branch gal- 
 lery in De Pere, which, at the close of the 
 year, he purchased, and has since been in 
 business for himself. Mr. Bowring was 
 married in 1874 to Miss Alice Arndt, 
 daughter of J. W. Arndt, and there have 
 been born to this union five children, 
 named, respectively: Alice Irene, Thomas 
 Reuben, Randall, William Wallace and 
 Elcey Arndt. Of these, Randall died in 
 1883; the others are living with their par- 
 ents. In local politics Mr. Bowring is 
 independent, supporting the men whom 
 he thinks will best perform the duties of 
 the various offices; but in National affairs 
 he has usually been in accord with the 
 policy of the Democratic party. He was 
 treasurer of De Pere in 1877-78, and is 
 the present supervisor from the First 
 ward. He is a member of the De Pere 
 Temple of Honor, was made a Freemason 
 in Detroit in 1863, and is now a member 
 of the De Pere Lodsre, F. & A. M. 
 
 WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, of De- 
 Pere, is now retired on his 
 means, although when he first 
 reached De Pere he was the pos- 
 sessor of the sum of only twenty-five cents. 
 His indomitable energy and shrewd busi- 
 ness qualifications have alone been the 
 secret of his success, as will be found in 
 the sequel. He is of Scotch-Irish extrac- 
 tion, and was born in the village of 
 Bathurst, N. B. , January 14, 1821, 
 son of William and Sarah (Ellis) Arm- 
 strong, natives, respectively, of Aberdeen, 
 Scotland, and Londonderry, Ireland, the 
 former of whom, by \ocation a lumber- 
 man and ship-owner, took up his resi- 
 dence in New Brunswick, where he and 
 his wife passed their declining days. 
 
 William Armstrong received a fair ed- 
 ucation at the common or district schools 
 of Bathurst, and at the age of twenty-one 
 years began work at lumbering at Paubo, 
 in the district of Gaspe. Being very apt 
 and well educated, at the end of a year's 
 life in the woods he was made superin- 
 tendent of a gang-mill employing 300 
 men, natives of Canada, of whom two 
 only could write their names, and over 
 this large number of men he held con- 
 trol three years. In 1849, smitten with 
 the gold fever, he started for Califor- 
 nia, going by team to St. John, N. B. , 
 thence by boat to Boston, Mass. ; but the 
 sea-going vessel had taken its departure 
 before he reached that port. This cir- 
 cumstance necessitated a change of plans 
 on the part of Mr. Armstrong, and, after 
 working three months in a ship-yard in 
 Boston, he found his way to Albany, N. 
 Y., where for three months he was em- 
 ployed in canal-boat building. From Al- 
 bany he went to Buffalo, N. Y., by canal, 
 thence by steamer, via the lake, to She- 
 boygan, Wis., and finally reached De- 
 Pere, his present residence, about May 
 30, 1850, as before stated, with only a 
 few cents in his pocket, and one suit of 
 working clothes, as his trunks were de- 
 layed and did not arrive until two or three 
 weeks afterward. He found employ- 
 ment in a lumber-mill as head sawyer, 
 and, after working three or four da\s the 
 proprietor was heard to remark chat there 
 must be something wrong about that man, 
 for, to judge by his good writing and fig- 
 ures, he was evidently well educated and 
 superior to his present emplo}'ment; so 
 he was set down as a rogue in hiding, an 
 impression which did not last long, how- 
 e\'er, although there was perhaps suffi- 
 cient cause for it, as he had worked in the 
 dirt and wet for two or three weeks with- 
 out change of clothes, making him look 
 very rough, a condition which was rem- 
 edied on the arrival of his trunks. After 
 working a year as head sawyer in the 
 lumber-mill he subsequently rented the 
 same, in partnership with James ^lorgan. 
 
120 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong superintending the getting 
 out of the logs and the general work of 
 the gang in the forest. Having now ac- 
 cumulated some money, our subject ne.xt 
 purchased a ta.x-title to some heavily tim- 
 bered pine land east of De Pere, which 
 proved as prolific as any to be found in 
 the State of Wisconsin; still, with his 
 keen business eye, he saw that the price of 
 lumber was going down, and for several 
 years filled positions as superintendent 
 for various lumber companies on salary, 
 until i860, from which time until 1862, 
 the times being troublous, he wisely ab- 
 stained from venturing his capital in busi- 
 ness. In the latter year, however, he ac- 
 cepted an appointment as deputy United 
 States marshal for the northern district of 
 Wisconsin, filled the quota of enlisted 
 men, and then proceeded to make the 
 draft for extra men over and above the 
 volunteer contingent. In this draft, which 
 first occurred at Green Bay for the town of 
 Washington Island, Door county, a singu- 
 lar incident occurred: A blind man was 
 selected to do the drawing, and Mr. Arm- 
 strong gave the wheel containing the 
 names of the men to be drawn, three 
 turns; a somewhat prominent fisherman, 
 standing near, demanded another turn of 
 the wheel, until he said enough, and, on 
 this beiniJ done, the first name drawn was 
 that of Robert Nolan, the fisherman who 
 had demanded a. new turn of the wheel. 
 For two years Mr. Armstrong filled the 
 office of provost marshal, and in 1864 
 started for the gold fields of Montana, 
 where he secured a placer claim on Hen- 
 derson Gulch, and wrought out $12,000 
 in one season. He also bought an inter- 
 est in a ranch on Burnt Fork, a stream 
 that emptied into Bitter Root valley, from 
 which he produced 250 barrels of flour, 
 which was sold at forty dollars per barrel; 
 1.500 bushels of potatoes, sold at seven 
 dollars and fifty cents per bushel; 1,200. 
 bushels of oats, sold at fivp dollars per 
 bushel, all spot gold; onions sold at 
 twenty-five cents per p^und, rutabaeas 
 at fifteen cents per pound, and other 
 
 products in proportion. A portion of his 
 produce was sent to the mines market, 
 140 miles away, and the hauling was done 
 by four six-yoke oxen-teams, and two 
 four-horse teams, the rate of freight being 
 four cents per pound. Mr. Armstrong 
 also purchased beef cattle in large quan- 
 tities, which he slaughtered and sold for 
 food to the miners; and thus life was 
 passed at the mining districts, to the great 
 profit of Mr. Armstrong, his gain for his 
 residence of two years on the ranch being 
 ten thousand dollars, or more. He was 
 always a favorite with the miners, among 
 whom he was familiarly known by the 
 sobriquet of " Uncle Billy," and enjoyed 
 a monopoly of the trade of the camp, 
 never hesitating to run out a line of credit 
 to those who had not the ready means for 
 cash payment. During the winter season 
 he lumbered a little, whipsawed lumber 
 at two hundred dollars per thousand feet 
 for spruce, and also manufactured shingles 
 at an immense profit. He built the 
 first shingle-roofed house in Bitter Root 
 valley, and at the end of the four years 
 sold out the balance of his mining claim 
 for one thousand dollars, and went to 
 Fort Benton,thenceb3' steamer to Omaha, 
 and from that point came to De Pere. 
 Here he was engaged two years at the 
 furnace business; next was superintendent 
 for the Fox River Iron Company for 
 about ten years, continuing to put money 
 in his purse and filling the position to the 
 entire satisfaction of his employers. In 
 1880 he patented a stump-puller, in the 
 manufacture of which he was engaged 
 eight years at De Pere. Of this valuable 
 implement he sold upwards of three 
 thousand, and, in addition, disposed of 
 the right to manufacture in a large extent 
 of territory. In 1889 he was appointed, 
 by President Harrison, postmaster at De- 
 Pere; but, at the expiration of the Presi- 
 dential term, resigned, for political reasons, 
 although no fault had been found by the 
 general public with his performance of 
 the duties of the office. It will readily be 
 perceived that Mr. Armstrong is a Repub- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 121 
 
 lican in politics, and as such has been 
 elected three terms as alderman, in which 
 capacity he is now serving. For one 
 term, also, he served as president of East 
 De Pare village, and in all public offices 
 he has discharged his duties with credit to 
 himself and to the public. In rehgion he 
 is a birthright member of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and in 1874 was also admitted, 
 by profession of faith, as a member ofthe 
 church at De Pere, of which body he is 
 now an elder, and has always lived up to 
 its teachings. 
 
 • On March 25. 1851, Mr. Armstrong 
 was happily married to Miss Rebecca 
 Rogers, a native of Nova Scotia, and a 
 daughter of David and Hannah (Hadley), 
 Rogers, who ended their life pilgrimage in 
 Mr. Armstrong's land of birth. To the 
 union of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong have 
 been born two children, viz.: Alexander, 
 born January 4, 1852, married to Mary 
 Hannah, and now residing in Chicago, 
 111., and William S., born January 2, 
 1863, and now a resident of Green Ba\-, 
 Wis. William Armstrong is, strictly 
 speaking, a self-made man, having in- 
 herited nothing from his father, who was 
 reduced from most excellent circumstances 
 by the failure of Joseph C. Cunard, ship- 
 builder and ship-owner. But Mr. Arm- 
 strong has ever been a moral man, has 
 been enterprising and industrious, and is 
 now retired with a comfortable com- 
 petence. 
 
 CHAUNCY N. ALDRICH, one of 
 the earliest and best-known resi- 
 dents of Preble township. Brown 
 county, is a native of Cortland 
 county, N. Y., born in the town of Preble, 
 May 1 1, 1825. 
 
 His father, Jonathan Aldrich, who was 
 a farmer, first saw the light in Vermont, 
 where he married Amelia Gains, and to 
 this union were born children as follows: 
 Jonathan, who died about 1890, at Am- 
 herst, Portage Co., Wis.; Penelope, who 
 
 married Caleb Blanchard, and died in 
 Lewis county, N. Y. ; Olive, who was first 
 married to Horatio Howard, and later to 
 William H. Bruce (she died on the farm 
 of our subject); Amelia, who married 
 Francis Gilbert, and died at Green Bay; 
 Delight, who was married to Royal 
 Jacobs, and died in Michigan; Valentine, 
 who died in Cooperstown, Manitowoc 
 Co., Wis. ; Amasa G., who died in Preble. 
 Cortland Co., N. Y. ; Asa H., who died 
 in Brown county. Wis.; Samuel M., who 
 died on the farm of his brother, C. N. ; 
 Gains D., who died in Green Bay; 
 Chauncy N., specially mentioned further 
 on; and Rexville R. , deceased in infancy. 
 The father of this family was a life-long 
 agriculturist, and made his home in New 
 York State for many years, dying August 
 13, 1838, in the town of Scott, Cortland 
 county; he was buried in Preble, same 
 county. His wife, who survived hirn 
 many years, passed away June i, 1871, 
 in Preble township, Brown Co., Wis., at 
 the home of her son Chauncy N., and her 
 remains now rest in a private cemetery 
 on his farm, where she was laid at her 
 own request. She was a member of the 
 Methodist Church. Jonathan Aldrich 
 was a Dem.ocrat of the "Jacksonian 
 stripe, "and a very stanch adherent of the 
 party. 
 
 Chauncy N. Aldrich is the sole survi- 
 vor of the family of twelve children born 
 to Jonathan and Amelia (Gains) Aldrich. 
 He received such an education as the 
 common schools of his time afforded, and 
 was reared a farmer boy, residing at home 
 up to the time of his father's death. The 
 latter had requested him to go west to 
 Brown county, Wis., and make his home 
 with his brother-in-law, \\'illiam H. 
 Bruce, until he reached his majority, and 
 after attending school one year longer he 
 left his native place for the " Far West," 
 as Wisconsin was then considered. He 
 made the journey by wagon to Syracuse, 
 by canal to Buffalo, and thence by lake 
 on the boat "Illinois," Capt. Blake (her 
 first trip), to Mackinaw, where he waited 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 for a boat to Green Bay. He took pas- 
 sage on the "Gov. Marcy, " and arrived 
 at his destination October 24, 1839. His 
 brother-in-law, Mr. Bruce (above men- 
 tioned), was a jTjeneral merchant at Green 
 Bay, and young .Aldrich resided with him 
 for seven years, engaged at various kinds 
 of labor, driving team, working on the 
 farm, and in fact doing anything that 
 presented itself. 
 
 At the age of twenty-two Mr. Aid- 
 rich was united in marriage, at Green 
 Bay, with Miss Amanda Porter, who was 
 born at Coeymans, X. Y. , daughter of 
 John Porter. Mr. Aldrich, in the mean- 
 time, had saved a few dollars, and shortly 
 after his marriage located on the farm 
 where he has ever since resided, and 
 which then belonged to his brother-in- 
 law, Mr. Bruce. At the time our sub- 
 ject came here there was not a building 
 between the farm and Green Bay, and 
 the road-? had to be cut out as he went 
 along The old house which he first oc- 
 cupied is still standing. Here he has 
 since made his home, with the exception 
 of one year, when he lived in Stephens- 
 ville, Outagamie county. Mr. Aldrich 
 has been a farmer and stockman, and he 
 has seen his land converted from its 
 primitive condition, the forests sup- 
 planted b\- fertile fields, all representing 
 many years of hard, unremitting toil. 
 When he first located here wild animals 
 abounded, deer and wolves being especi- 
 ally numerous. His farm consists of 160 
 acres of good land. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs Aldrich have been 
 born nine children, a brief record of them 
 being as follows: Arthur N. is a resident 
 of Larimer county. Colo. ; Amelia is the 
 wife of John Coppcns, < f Humboldt town- 
 ship; Olive is married to Henry Rock- 
 well, of Preble township; I.^avina married 
 Charles Sidel, and died in Wausau.Wis. , 
 leaving four children; Madison is a resi- 
 dent of Preble township; Chauncy N. 
 died whr;n three months old; \\'illiam is 
 li\inL,^ ;it home; Delight is tiie wife of 
 Fred Rockwell, of Preble tovvnship; 
 
 Porter lives at home. Politically a Demo- 
 crat, Mr. Aldrich has been one of the 
 stanch supporters of the party in his 
 township, and has been called on to 
 serve in many positions of trust, such as 
 chairman of the board, in which capacity 
 he has served for twenty years, at various 
 times, at one time holding the office when 
 his jurisdiction extended over what is now 
 six townships. He has also served two 
 years as township treasurer, and has been 
 justice of the peace, filling every position 
 with credit to himself and satisfaction to 
 his constituency. In religious connection 
 Mrs. Aldrich is a member of the Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 FRED. P. GROSS, a well-known 
 citi;?en of Port Howard, Brown 
 county, was born in 1863, in Mor- 
 rison township, Brown Co., 
 Wis., and was educated in the schools of 
 the locality. His parents, John G. and 
 Margaret (Moschel) Gross, were born in 
 Germany, near the "wild and winding 
 Rhine," the father coming to this vicinity 
 when a young man, about 1852, and set- 
 tling on a farm in the woods. F"or some 
 years subsequent to 1871 he was pro- 
 prietor of a sawmill, and he and his wife 
 arc now residents of Morrison township, 
 Brown county. Their children are: Car- 
 oline, wife of Frank Falk, of Seymour, 
 Wis. ; Louisa, wife of Joseph Leonard, of 
 Medford, Wis. ; August, married and re- 
 siding in Morrison tovvnship, where he 
 operates a sawmill; John, married and 
 residing in Fort Howard, engaged in the 
 saloon business; Fred. P, , the subject of 
 this article; Maggie, wife of I3aniel 
 Schunk, of Morrison township; Sophia, 
 wife of William Peters, of Bullion, W^is. ; 
 Christina, wife of Charley Furstenburg, 
 also of Bullion, and Godfrey, residing 
 in Fort Howard. 
 
 Our subject resided on the home farm 
 and was engaged in milling pursuits until 
 April, 1889, when he located at Fort 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Howard, embarking the following year in 
 the saloon business on Broadway. He is 
 a Democrat in politics, and in the spring 
 of 1894 was elected supervisor of the 
 Third ward, Fort Howard, his opponent 
 being A. L. Gray. In 1890 he was mar- 
 ried, in Morrison township, to Miss Minnie 
 Lapnow, a native of that township, 
 daughter of Fred Lapnow, and they have 
 two children: Laura and Minnie. Mr. 
 Gross, with his wife, belongs to the Lu- 
 theran Church, and he is a member of the 
 F. & A. M., Despres Lodge, No. 85, of the 
 American Legion of Honor, and of the 
 Turnverein. 
 
 JOHN COOK, fashionable merchant 
 tailor, and proprietor of the opera 
 house at De Pere, Brown county, is 
 a native of that city, born March 21, 
 1856, a son of John and Catherine 
 (Dwyer) Cook. 
 
 The father of our subject was a na- 
 tive of Germany, a tailor by trade, and 
 came to the United States with his par- 
 ents, who settled at Tiffin, Ohio, in 1832. 
 In 1848 he came to De Pere, and in 1849 
 established a merchant-tailoring establish- 
 ment. In 1858 he purchased a farm of 
 fifty-eight acres one-half mile south of 
 East De Pere, and upon it moved his 
 family, but retained his business in the 
 village until his death. He was a Demo- 
 crat in politics, served as chairman of 
 the board of supervisors some eight or 
 nine years, was a member of the Catholic 
 Church, and was regarded as a man of 
 the strictest integrity. His wife, Mrs. 
 Catherine (Dwyer) Cook, was born near 
 Dublin, Ireland, and came to the United 
 States with her brothers and sisters, set- 
 tling in the northern part of Illinois, in 
 Lake county, in which State she became 
 acquainted with Mr. Cook. Her death 
 took place in i860, and her remains lie 
 interred beside those of her husband in 
 the Catholic cemetery, just south of 
 Green Bay and east of Shantytown. Mr. 
 
 and Mrs. Cook had born to them a family 
 of three children, viz. : Mary, who mar- 
 ried Albert Martens, of De Pere; Isadore 
 William, who went to California twenty 
 years ago, and John, the subject of this 
 sketch. The last named was educated 
 in the De Pere schools, and was taught 
 his trade by his father. In the fall of 
 1882 he began merchant tailoring on his 
 own account, and has since been at the 
 head of the trade in De Pere. On April 
 10, 1888, he opened his opera house to 
 the public, and has found it to be a profit- 
 able investment; the building is a frame 
 structure, with an auditorium 60 x 114 
 feet, and has a seating capacity for six 
 hundred persons, but, on extraordinary 
 occasions, from nine hundred to one 
 thousand can be crowded within its walls. 
 In politics Mr. Cook is Democratic, 
 in 1890 was elected alderman from the 
 First ward of De Pere, and proved him- 
 self so efficient that he was re-elected in 
 1 891 ; in religious faith he is a member of 
 the Catholic Church. In the fall of 1 888 
 he was married to Catherine Rooney, who 
 was born in Canada, and one child, Cyrill, 
 has blessed this union. Mr. Cook has 
 led a life of integrity and industry, and is 
 recognized as one of the solid men of 
 De Pere. 
 
 JB. LAST, general freight and pas- 
 senger agent at Green Bay for the 
 Green Bay, Winona & St. Paul, the 
 Kewaunee and Green Bay & Western 
 Railroad Companies, is one of the most 
 popular, courteous and obliging railroad 
 officials to be found in the State. 
 
 Mr. Last was born at Green Bay, in 
 1848, a son of John and Sarah (Green) 
 Last, the father a native of near London, 
 England, the mother of New York. Some 
 time in the "thirties" John Last immi- 
 grated to America, and coming to Wis- 
 consin settled in Green Bay. He died in 
 1884; his widow is still a resident of 
 Green Bay. After receiving a liberal ed- 
 
124 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 iication at the schools of his native town, 
 our subject commenced active business 
 life in the service of the American Ex- 
 press Company as messenger between 
 Green Bay and Oshkosh, Wis. This po- 
 sition he held for about one year (1866), 
 and then accepted a cnj^agement as clerk 
 for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway 
 Company at Fort Howard, remainingthere 
 three years, at the end of which time he 
 embarked in mercantile business in Green 
 Bay. At the close of si.\ years, his in- 
 clinations tending more toward railroad 
 work, he entered, as clerk, the general 
 freight offices of the Green Bay, Winona 
 & St. Paul railroad. In the fall of 1882 
 he went to Chicago as general agent 
 for the Milwaukee & Northern railroad, 
 being located there until the spring of 
 1883. We next find our subject in Den- 
 ver, Colo., where he was in the service 
 of the Claim Department of the Union 
 Pacific railroad till 1887, in which year he 
 returned to Green Bay. Here he was lo- 
 cal agent for the United States Express 
 Company some two j-ears, when (1889) 
 he was a])pointed to his present position, 
 to which, by his wide experience and gen- 
 eral qualifications, he is admirably 
 adapted. 
 
 Fi:KDINAND GOFFAKT, justice 
 of the peace, and one of the most 
 extensive farmers of De Pere 
 township, Brown county, was 
 born November 18, 1836, in Belgium, son 
 of Peter J. Goffart. The latter was a 
 gardener and store-keeper, and also fol- 
 lowed the business of dyer, besides 
 various other occupations. He had eight 
 children — five sons and three daughters — 
 of whom Ferdinand is the second child 
 and eldest son. 
 
 Our subject first attended the village 
 schools, and then for two years went to a 
 graded school, receiving a very fair educa- 
 tion, all in French. It was the intention 
 of his parents to educate him for profes- 
 
 sional life, but, his father dying when he 
 was sixteen years old, he was obliged to 
 leave school and assist in the support of 
 the family. Concluding he could better 
 his condition by coming to the United 
 States, he bade farewell to his home and 
 friends, and in the spring of 1857 sailed 
 from Antwerp on the "John Elliot," 
 landing at New York after a voyage of 
 fifty-six days. His destination was Green 
 Bay, Wis., and thither he proceeded from 
 New York by rail and water, arriving 
 August 8. The first work he did in the 
 New World was on a piece of land in the 
 town of Scott, Brown Co., Wis., which 
 he abandoned after some time, and hard 
 work, and later he went to Bay Settle- 
 ment; proceeding to Red River township, 
 Kewaunee county, he prospected for land; 
 but, not being satisfied, he returned to 
 Green Bay. In the following spring 
 (1858) he came to De Pere township, 
 Brown county, and here purchased about 
 one hundred acres of land, paying there- 
 for eleven hundred dollars. On this 
 tract he erected a round-log house, 14 x 16, 
 which was the first building on the place, 
 and there was only one other house be- 
 tween it and De Pere. He immediately 
 set to work to clear u]i the land, which 
 was densely covered with timber, princi- 
 pally beech and niRple. but he also found 
 some pine, black birch, elm and ash 
 trees; on one part of the land was a heavy 
 growth of "sugar bush." After much 
 hard work he succeeded in clearing space 
 enough to put in a crop, the first being 
 rj'e, and as the years passed the entire 
 tract gradually became a well-cultivated 
 farm. In June, 1858, Mr. Goffart's wid- 
 owed mother had come hither, bringing 
 the remainder of the familv, but the 
 'greater part of the responsibility rested on 
 Ferdinand. She died in Rockland town- 
 ship. Brown count)', in 1 888, and was 
 buried in De Pere cemetery. 
 
 On March 9, 1861. Ferdinand Goffart 
 was united in marriage in Fremont coun- 
 ty, Iowa, \yith Miss Julia E. Frederick- 
 son, who was born in Burlington, Racine 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 125 
 
 Co. , Wis. , and to this union were born 
 twelve children, eight of whom are now 
 living, viz. : Sylvester, a resident of the 
 State of Washington; Mary C, now Mrs. 
 Oscar Barkrnan, of St. Paul, Minn. ; 
 Adaline, a Sister in the convent at De- 
 troit; Noah, residing in the State of 
 Washington; Isabella, Sister in the con- 
 vent at Chicago, 111.; Sedonia, at home; 
 and Emily and Julia, both of Detroit, 
 Mich. Those deceased are Christiana, 
 Charlotte S. , Mary S. and Francis B. 
 The mother of these died in 1882, and 
 was buried in De Pere cemetery. On 
 September 24, 1882, Mr. Goffart was 
 married in De Pere, for his second wife, 
 to Pelagie Bell, who was born December 
 31, 1 85 1, in Belgium, daughter of Remy 
 Bell, and came to the United States in 
 1865. To this marriage were born chil- 
 dren as follows: Victor B. (deceased), 
 Rachel, Isaac, Rebecca, Moses, Zipporah 
 (deceased), and Aaron. Immediately after 
 his marriage to Julia Frederickson, Mr. 
 Goffart went to South Dakota and took 
 up a homestead at Elk Point, on the Mis- 
 souri river, where he remained for nearly 
 two years. He then removed to Iowa 
 City, Iowa, and while there enlisted, on 
 August 9, 1862, in Company G, Twenty- 
 second Iowa V. I. , for three years. He 
 served to the close of the war, and was 
 discharged in July, 1865, in Savannah, 
 Ga. , being mustered out at Davenport, 
 Iowa, and during his entire service he 
 was never on the sick list, and was never 
 wounded. Upon his return home from 
 the army he went back to Dakota, and 
 thence, after a residence of two years 
 more, removed to Detroit, Mich., and for 
 one summer acted as superintendent of a 
 farm near that city. Then, in 1868, he 
 came to his present farm in De Pere 
 township, Brown Co., Wis., which at 
 that time was in a totally unimproved 
 condition, and here he has ever since 
 made his home. He now owns 225 acres 
 of excellent land, and is one of the most 
 extensive agriculturists of his section. He 
 has labored much and endured many 
 
 hardships in the clearing and subduing of 
 his land, and during his residence here he 
 has seen the entire surrounding country 
 transformed from a wilderness into fertile 
 farms. He and his estimable wife are 
 now about to live a retired life. During 
 his service in the Civil war Mr. Goffart saw 
 a great deal of the South; he is a well-read 
 man and an observer, and is possessed 
 of no small stock of general information. 
 During the war he was a Republican, but 
 he has since been a member of the Demo- 
 cratic party, and is a strong supporter of 
 its principles, always voting that ticket 
 in State and National elections, but in 
 township and county affairs he exercises 
 his franchise according to the dictates of 
 his own conscience. He has been elected 
 to various offices in his township, has 
 been member of the school board, clerk 
 of same, and is at present serving as jus- 
 tice of the peace, an office he has held 
 with eminent satisfaction to all for the 
 past fifteen years. He and his wife are 
 members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 ALEX. CLEEREMANS, alderman 
 from the Second ward. Fort 
 Howard, is now serving his first 
 term in that capacity. He is also 
 engaged in gardening, and for the past 
 nine years has been janitor of the Second 
 ward schoolhouse. He took the State 
 census for a certain district in 1885, and 
 has gathered statistics for the school cen- 
 sus for eight years in succession. 
 
 Mr. Cleeremans, who is a son of 
 Frank and Josie (DeLang) Cleeremans, 
 was born in 1850 in the village of Weert 
 St. Georges, Belgium, and came with his 
 parents to the vicinity of Green Bay in 
 1867, the family settling on a farrii in the 
 forest of Scott township. The father 
 died in 1876, the mother in 1871. Alex, 
 is one of the family of five sons, the other 
 four being: Charley, a gardener of Fort 
 Howard; John, working at the carpenter's 
 trade in the same city; Frank, a farmer 
 
126 
 
 COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL ItECOHD. 
 
 in Scott township; and Henry, a sawyer 
 or setter in the mills at Oconto. Alex, 
 received his education in Beigiuni, in 
 both the Belgian and French languages. 
 He aided his father in clearing and im- 
 proving the Scott township farm, and 
 after coming to Fort Howard, in 1871, 
 worked in the McDonald mills, and for 
 the government in the stone (juarr}'. In 
 1877 he went to Oregon, thence two 
 months later to Nevada, where he worked 
 in the mountains, getting out mining 
 timber for McKay & Fair. He came 
 home in the latter part of the same year, 
 by way of California and Oregon; from 
 1880 till 1886 was tie inspector for the 
 Chicago & Northwestern railroad, and 
 now owns a fine garden tract of four 
 acres within the city limits. He was 
 married, in 1874, in Duck Creek, town 
 of Howard, to Miss Sophia Simoens, who 
 was born in Cleveland, Ohio, daughter of 
 Frank and Theresa (Houters) Simoens, 
 natives of Belgium, who settled near Fort 
 Howard in 1857, on a farm in Howard 
 township. Her father now resides in Fort 
 Howard; her mother died January i, 
 1886. Of their eight children three are 
 living: Nettie, wife of Bernard Vaner- 
 beck; Mrs. Cleeremans; and Henry, of 
 Fort Howard. The children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cleeremans are: Celia, Joseph, 
 Rosa, Angeline, Anna, Lucy, M^illie and 
 Laura. Mr. Cleeremans is a Democrat 
 in politics, and was elected several times 
 to Congressional and Senatorial conven- 
 tions. He is a member of St. Joseph's 
 Society of Green Bay, and, with his wife, 
 belongs to St. Patrick's Catholic Church. 
 
 PETER HERBEK, an energetic 
 young farmer of Howard town- 
 ship. Brown count}-, was born in 
 New York, Mav 6, 1S55, a son of 
 John and Elizabeth ,'Fuchs) Hcrber. 
 
 John Herberwas born in Rothcrburg; 
 Germany, April 14, 18 16, left his home 
 at the age of thirteen years, and was em- 
 
 ployed as a laborer through the country. 
 On November 15. 1854, he married, and 
 the same year started for the United 
 States via Liverpool, the voyage from 
 that port to New York occupying six 
 weeks. After working in a stone quarry- 
 in New York until 1856, he came to 
 Wisconsin, and first settled in Eaton town- 
 ship, Brown county, where he resided 
 twelve years, cleared up a farm, for two 
 j'ears rented one, and then bought his 
 present place of fifty-seven acres in How- 
 ard township. This tract was partly im- 
 proved, and for seven j'ears he made his 
 home in the log house then on the prem- 
 ises, afterward moving into his present 
 handsome and convenient dwelling. Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Herber was born in Bavaria, 
 Germany, January 23, 1824, but lost her 
 parents when she was a little girl. 
 
 Peter Herber is an only child, and has 
 always lived under the parental roof. He 
 was reared to the useful pursuit of farm- 
 ing, and on October 25, 18S1, married 
 Miss Karolinc Breuninger, a native of 
 Green Bay, born October 2, 1857, and a 
 daughter of Karl and Sophia (Huenger) 
 Brueninger. the former of whom was born 
 at Shrotsburg. Wurtemburg, Germany, No- 
 vember 23, 181 8, and in 1S40 came to 
 the United States, and for a year lived in 
 the State of Delaware: he next went to 
 Ohio, and four months later came to 
 Wisconsin and settled in Green Bay, 
 where his death occurred March 3, 1866. 
 He was a son of John Breuninger, an old 
 school-teacher, who was born in Kocher- 
 stertien. and there died: his wife, Sophia 
 C. Phaff. was born I'ebruary 17, 1800, 
 in Hermersberg Castle, and her death 
 took place October 9. 1834, at the place 
 where her husband's death occurred. 
 Karl Breuninger. as Tuav well be sup- 
 posed, was a hi£rhly-cdncated man, and 
 was emploved in clerical work. His wife, 
 Sophia Huenger. was born in Saxony, 
 and is now a resident of Preble township, 
 Brown county. 
 
 To the, union of Peter and Karoline 
 Herber have been born three children. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 viz.: Henrj' J., October 4, 18.S2; Peter 
 K., Februar}- 15, 1884; and Karl F. , 
 October 4, 1886. After his marriage 
 Mr. Herber settled down on the old 
 homestead, and has increased his posses- 
 sions to eighty acres, which he devotes to 
 general farming. Both father and son 
 have been hard-working, industrious men 
 and worthy citizens, and to illustrate in a 
 small way the hardships of pioneer life it 
 may be mentioned that the elder Mr. 
 Herber, on first settling, was obliged to 
 pawn his coat in order to obtain an axe 
 wherewith to chop wood, so scarce was 
 money in that day. In politics, both 
 father and son are Republicans, the 
 father having cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Abraham Lincoln, and the son 
 for I-iutherford B. Haves. 
 
 JOHN CONNELLY, proprietor of 
 the " Pine Grove Hotel," and a suc- 
 cessful, self-made man, of De Pere 
 township. Brown county, is de- 
 scended from Scotch-Irish ancestry. He 
 was born March 25, 1840, in Ouebec, 
 Lower Canada (now known as the Prov- 
 ince of Ouebec), a son of Michael Con- 
 nelly, who was a native of county Lim- 
 erick, Ireland. 
 
 When a 3'oung man Michael Connell)' 
 immigrated to Canada, where he married 
 Marv Hamilton, a native of County Don- 
 egal, Ireland, and to their union were 
 born fifteen children — four sons and 
 eleven daughters — seven of whom are yet 
 living. Michael, who was a farmer in 
 Quebec, in the fall of 1865 came with his 
 family to De Pere, Brown Co., Wis., later 
 moving to Bay Settlement, same county, 
 and here for some time worked in a saw- 
 mill. He then removed to Bellevue town- 
 ship, where he had purchased a partly- 
 improved farm of T40 acres, and there 
 made his home for a number of years, 
 finally returning to De Pere township, 
 where he and his wife are now passing 
 their declining years. Two of the daugh- 
 
 ters, Mary Jane and Jennie, also came to 
 De Pere in 1865. Mr. Connolly is a 
 Democrat in politics, but he takes no ac- 
 tive interest in party affairs. 
 
 John Connell}', the subject proper of 
 these lines, lived with his parents until he 
 reached the age of seventeen, at which 
 time he commenced to work in the lum- 
 ber regions. Up to that period he had 
 received no schooling whatever, but he 
 then attended a night school, where he 
 received a fair common-school education, 
 the instruction being in the French lan- 
 guage, which he learned to read and write. 
 He was two years in Wilkinsonville, 
 Mass., near Worcester, working in cotton 
 factories and mills; from there went to 
 Lower Canada and bought a farm of ninety 
 acres, which he sold, and then located in 
 Belleville, Upper Canada (Ontario), where 
 he again attended night school. On July 
 17, 1865, Mr. Connelly was married in 
 Belleville to Miss Mary McDermott, a 
 native of Canada, daughter of Michael 
 McDermott. At this time our subject had 
 about one thousand dollars, every cent of 
 which he had saved from his own earn- 
 ings. In October. 1865, he returned to 
 De Pere. Wis., and worked for one year 
 for Reed in a sawmill, thence going to 
 Bay Settlement, in Scott township. Brown 
 county, where he was employed for seven 
 years as foreman and superintendent of a 
 sawmill, and as foreman in the woods. 
 About 1867 he purchased 160 acres of 
 land in Bellevue township. Brown county, 
 and the family resided there off and on, 
 never making a permanent home there, 
 however, until 1888, as Mr. Connelly's 
 work took him to various places. For 
 many years he was in the employ of Anton 
 Claus and other lumbermen, and for four 
 years resided at Angelica, Wis. , where he 
 was superintendent of a sawmill. In 1871 
 Mr. and Mrs. Connelly, while residing in 
 the town of Scott, lost everything in the 
 great fire that broke out there on the 
 night of October 7, and which destroyed 
 the sawmill, as well as £.11 the surround- 
 ing buildings, including the boarding 
 
I2S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUIVAL RECORD. 
 
 house, besides the cattle, horses, etc. 
 Mrs. Connelly and her children escaped 
 from the boarding house with nothing but 
 their night clothes, and, taking to the 
 woods for their lives, succeeded, after a 
 desperate fight with fire and smoke, in 
 reaching a clearing, where they were in 
 comparative safety; but the itifantjohnnie, 
 whom the mother carried in her arms, was 
 so injured by the heat that it died a few 
 months afterward. Mrs. Connelly, as 
 soon as possible, went to the home of her 
 parents in Belleville, Canada, there to re- 
 main till her husband should have a new 
 home prepared, and in the meantime he 
 and his crew were fighting the flames, 
 which continued in great fury for three 
 weeks. Prior to the fire Mr. Connelly 
 had been working as engineer for a saw- 
 mill in l^russels township, Door county; 
 but as there was considerable danger of 
 fire, of which there was a good deal 
 throughout the woods at that time, he 
 left there for Scott township, and the 
 very night of the breaking out of the fire 
 in the latter locality a conflagration burst 
 out in Brussels township, which destroyed 
 everything for miles around, no less than 
 sixtj' people being burned to death, in- 
 cluding the man Mr. Connelly had en- 
 gaged to take his place; and our subject, 
 on visiting the spot shortly afterward, saw 
 si.xtecn charred bodies of his old comrades 
 lying close together. 
 
 After the fire in Scott township, Mr. 
 Connelly put up a mill for Anton Claus 
 on the spot where the burned mill stood, 
 and this he superintended some ten 
 months. His wife and children having 
 returned from Canada by this time, he, in 
 1888. moved with them to his farm; but 
 after two years he removed to Little River 
 in order to superintend the erection of a 
 mill for Marshall & Holmes. After this 
 he again returned to the farm, and re- 
 mained there until 1891, in which year he 
 came tu Pine Grove, where he now con- 
 ducts the "Pine Grove Hotel," of which 
 he is proprietor. He is the owner of 227 
 acres of land, all representing years of 
 
 hard work and thrift. His success has 
 been the direct result of his own individual 
 energy and good business management, 
 coupled with industry and a strong deter- 
 mination to win. ^ His long and varied 
 experience in the lumber business made 
 him one of the most competent managers 
 in that line, and at different times he had 
 as many as one hundred men under his 
 direction. 
 
 Mr. Connelh- has taken an active and 
 leading interest in the welfare of his town- 
 ship and county, and is recognized as a 
 progressive, loyal citizen. He has served 
 his community in various capacities, hav- 
 ing been chairman and supervisor of Belle- 
 vue township for eight years, and for 
 twelve years he was a member of the 
 school board, acting as director and treas- 
 urer. In his political affiliations Mr. 
 Connelly was a Republican until 1884, 
 since when he has been non-partisan, 
 voting for the best man, regardless of 
 party lines. He is not an advocate of 
 free trade, but believes in tariff reduction. 
 In religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of St. Francis Catholic Church. 
 De Pere. They had children, as follows: 
 Lizzie, wife of Henry Nachtwey, a mer- 
 chant of Pine Grove; Rosa, Mrs. Frank 
 Novakafsky. of Green Bay; John, de- 
 ceased in infancy; and John, Edward and 
 Arthur, at home. 
 
 FRANK HEYRMAN. Among the 
 earl\- pioneer families of Preble 
 township. Brown county, none 
 are better known than the Heyr- 
 man family, the first of whom to come to 
 Wisconsin was John Heyrman fgrand- 
 father of Frank Heyrman), who, about 
 the year 1856, came to the United States 
 from Belgium, where he was a well-to-do 
 farmer. 
 
 John Heyrman married in his native 
 country, and there three sons were born 
 to him: Charles L. , who is mentioned 
 farther on; John B., editor of a news- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 paper at De Pere; and Joseph, now de- 
 ceased, who was a civil engineer at Green 
 Baj'. The mother of these died on the 
 ocean, while the family were en route for 
 America, and was buried at sea. From 
 the port of landing the father and sons 
 came by rail to Chicago, III., thence by 
 water to Green Bay, Wis., where they 
 arrived May 4, 1856. Here they made 
 but a short stay while deciding on a place 
 to locate, and then made a settlement in 
 Preble township, where Mr. Heyrman, 
 who was a man of considerable means, 
 purchased a farm of 160 acres, the same 
 his grandson Frank Heyrman now re- 
 sides on. At that time not a tree had 
 been felled, nor a habitation of any kind 
 erected by white men; but they soon 
 had built a log cabin, in which they re- 
 sided until 1868, when it was supplanted 
 by a more substantial residence, which 
 still stands. The land was densely 
 covered with oak, pine, hemlock and 
 maple trees, and, in the low places, ash 
 trees, and wild animals were still numer- 
 ous and troublesome. But the forests 
 soon gave way before the axe of the pio- 
 neer, and the cleared land not only af- 
 forded support for the family, but yielded 
 a comfortable income as well. On this 
 farm John Heyrman passed the remainder 
 of his life, dying August 25, 1874, a 
 member of the Catholic Church, and he 
 was buried in the Finger Church ceme- 
 tery. Prior to his decease his two younger 
 sons had left home and engaged in busi- 
 ness, Charles L. alone remaining on the 
 farm. 
 
 Charles L. Heyrman was born Septem- 
 ber 8, 1827, in Belgium, and, as will be 
 seen, was nearly thirty years of age when 
 he came with his father to the United 
 States. In Brown county, Wis., on Jan- 
 uary 6, 1857, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Monica Van Lent, also a native 
 of Belgium, and they immediately settled 
 on the home farm with his father, and 
 there made a permanent home. To their 
 union were born six children, of whom 
 Frank is the subject of this sketch; Mary 
 
 is the wife of Martin Lindsley, of Belle- 
 vue township; Celia is married to Julius 
 Lamal, of Humboldt township; Edward 
 died in 1893 at the age of twenty-four 
 years; two sons died in infancy. Mr. 
 Heyrman was very successful, and became 
 one of the leading farmers in his town- 
 ship, continuing to live on the home farm 
 until his death, which occurred Septem- 
 ber 8, 18S9, when he was just sixiy-two 
 years old, and his remains now rest m the 
 Finger Church cemetery. He was a 
 Catholic in religious faith, and one ot the 
 founders of the Church of the Holy Mar- 
 tyrs of Gorcum, in Preble town.-hip, of 
 which for many years he was a leading 
 member. Mr. Heyrman served as super- 
 visor of his township; in his political 
 preferences he was a Democrat, mvari- 
 ably supporting that party in State and 
 National elections, but in township and 
 county affairs he was non-partisan, the 
 fitness of a candidate being more im- 
 portant to him than party connection. 
 Since his death his widow has resided on 
 the home farm with our subject; she is a 
 devout member of the Catholic Church. 
 Frank Heyrman was born November 
 25, 1858, in Preble township, Brown 
 county, on the farm he now owns and 
 resides on. He attended the first school 
 ever held in his district, the "hall of 
 learning " being a log cabin, and was 
 among the first pupils the day it was 
 opened, the teacher being Miss Aldrirh, a 
 daughter of C. N. Aldrich, of Preble 
 township. At the same t'lne he n ceived 
 thorough training to agriculture, under the 
 direction of his father, on the home place, 
 where his whole life has been passed. On 
 February 19, 1889, our subject was 
 united in marriage with Miss Clara De- 
 Greef, who was born in Humboldt town- 
 ship, Brown county. November 27, 1865, 
 daughter of Anton De Greef, w ho came 
 from Belgium. Three children have been 
 born to them, viz : Louis, John and 
 Kate, who represent the fourth generation 
 of the Hej'rman family who have lived 
 on the farm. Politically Mr. Heyrman is 
 
I30 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 a Democrat, and one of the leadin)^ mem- 
 bers of the party in liis township, where 
 he has held various offices of honor and 
 trust. For two years he served in the 
 important position of chairman of the 
 township, and has also been assessor, 
 proving himself an efficient and trust- 
 worthy official. He keeps himself in- 
 formed on the movements of his party, 
 and is well read on all current topics, 
 finding a great help in his excellent mem- 
 ory. Though still jounghe is a res]iccted, 
 worthy representative of the farming 
 community in Preble township, and is 
 foremost in every movement of interest 
 or benefit to his section. 
 
 NIEI.S HANSEN, contractor and 
 builder. Fort Howard. This 
 gentleman, who was born in 1840 
 in Denmark, is a son of John and 
 X'alburg (Holm) Hansen, and one of a 
 familv of nine children — five sons and 
 four daughters — of whom seven are now 
 living, all married: Peter, who lives in 
 Prussia, and Johan. in Denmark, both 
 blacksmiths; Niels, of Fort Howard; Iver, 
 a shoemaker in Denmark; Mary, wife of 
 Henry Terp, of Prussia; Anna, wife of 
 Peter Lund, a Danish farmer; and Sarah, 
 wife of John Zimmerman, of Prussia. 
 Their father, who followed blacksmithing 
 in early life, afterward became a farmer. 
 His death occurred about 1878, and that 
 of his widow in 1879, in Denmark. 
 
 Niels Hansen grew to manhood and 
 was educated in the vicinity of Kolding, 
 Denmark, and during the war between 
 Denmark and Prussia served two years 
 ( 1 863-64) in the Danish army. He learned 
 his trade in that country, following it until 
 coming to Fort Howard in 1872, in which 
 place he is now the oldest contractor. 
 Among the many buildings he has erected 
 are those of R. M. Wilson, J. L. Jorgen- 
 sen, Mrs. Blesch, James Treman, the 
 Presbyterian church, Kellogg National 
 Bank, Jorgensen & Blesch Company's 
 
 store at Green Ba\', L. Gotfredson's resi- 
 dence in the same city, and others. Dur- 
 ing the busy season he furnishes employ- 
 ment to from fifteen to twenty-five hands. 
 His own residence, one of the finest in 
 Fort Howard, was built in 1891. Aside 
 from this he owns four other dwellings in 
 the city, from which he derives rental. 
 His propert) has been accumulated 
 through untiring industry and close econ- 
 omy, and in his declining years will serve 
 to furnish him the means for living with- 
 out the necessity of hard labor such as his 
 former years have experienced. As a 
 good citizen he takes avowed interest 
 in all that may contribute to the growth 
 and prosperity of his city. Mr. Hansen 
 was united in marriage, in 1875, to Mary 
 M. Peterson, daughter of Anders and 
 Mary Peterson, all natives of Denmark, 
 where her parents remained. The chil- 
 dren of Mr. and Mrs. Hansen are Bertha, 
 John, Lizzie and Alvin, and of these, 
 John, who is now eighteen years of age, 
 holds a position as clerk in the McCart- 
 ney National Bank. In political matters 
 Mr. Hansen is actively interested, voting 
 with the Republican party. Socially he 
 is a member of (jreen Bay I^odge, No. 19, 
 I. O. O. F. , also of Mistical Seven Coun- 
 cil, No. 519, Royal Arcanum, in which 
 latter organization he has served one 
 term as treasurer and two terms as trus- 
 tee. He and his wife are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 P1:TKK HOSKENS, a well-to-do 
 agriculturist of De Pere township. 
 Brown count}-, was born Feb- 
 ruary 4. 1S38. in East Flanders, 
 Belgium, son of Peter J. and Catherine 
 Hoskens, farming people of that countr\\ 
 They had a family of thirteen children — 
 si.x sons and seven daughters — of whom 
 our subject is the eleventh. 
 
 Peter attended the schools of his birth- 
 place until he was eleven years of age, 
 when he commenced farming, working 
 
a COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 131 
 
 for his father and others, perforininj4' such 
 labor as his age would permit. He re- 
 mained in his native country until he 
 reached the ajje of twenty-six, when he 
 went t(j France, and there worked on 
 railroads for a time; he was also employed 
 (1867) at work on the then forthcommg 
 Paris Exposition. Concluding he could 
 improve his condition by coming to the 
 United States, Mr. Hoskens returned to 
 his native country, and bidding his home 
 and friends farewell, set sail August 20, 
 1868, from Antwerp for Liverpool, Eng- 
 land. At that port he took passage on 
 the "Colorado," and after a voyage of 
 thirteen days landed in New York, from 
 which city he came, with several others of 
 his countrymen, to Green Bay, Wis., ar- 
 riving September 8. He remained over 
 night with John Martin, at the ' ' United 
 States Hotel, "and the next day, Sunday, 
 came to De Pere. Mr. Hoskens had 
 saved a small sum from his earnings, but 
 his passage to the United States cost 
 three hundred francs, and by the time he 
 reached De Pere he had only twenty 
 francs with which to begin life in his new 
 home. He secured work in a brickyard 
 opposite De Pere, remaining there until 
 the season closed, in November, and then 
 went to Suamico, Brown county, where 
 for a short time he was employed 
 in the mills. He next went to Stiles, 
 Wis., and remained all winter, \\ork- 
 ing in the lumber mills and in the 
 woods, where he became thoroughly famil- 
 iar with the hardships and dangers in- 
 cident to lumbering, and the privations 
 which must be endured in camp life. But 
 this occupation, though dangerous, was 
 very popular, as in those earl}' days it 
 was a very lucrative business, and was 
 an important industry in pioneer times. 
 After finishing his work in Stiles our sub- 
 ject returned to De Pere, and there re- 
 mained until the spring of 1870, when he 
 went to Delta county, Mich. , at which 
 place he took out his naturalization papers. 
 Here he worked at railroading and char- 
 coal-burning until 1873, when, having 
 
 saved some money (eight hundred and 
 forty dollars), he concluded to pay a visit 
 to his native country. He sailed from 
 New York to Liverpool, thence to Ant- 
 werp, where he arrived in June, 1873. 
 On May 16, 1874, he was united in mar- 
 riage, at his old home, with Miss Louise 
 Van Remoortel, who was born June 25, 
 1836, a daughter of Joseph and Celia 
 Van Remoortel, and shortly after their 
 marriage the young couple sailed from 
 Antwerp on the "Switzerland," bound 
 for New York, from which city they came 
 by rail to De Pere, Wis. In the mean- 
 time Thomas Hoskens, brother of our 
 subject, had come to the United States 
 and purchased the farm now owned by 
 Peter, in De Pere township, and for a 
 short time they made their home with 
 him. But Peter, not wishing to take up 
 farming at that time, again went to Delta, 
 Mich., resuming his old occupation, 
 though he had to work for less than half 
 of what he had before received. He lived 
 there, however, for three and a half years, 
 and then, in August, 1878, returned once 
 more to De Pere township, and purchased 
 his present farm from his brother Thomas, 
 paying eight hundred dollars for forty 
 acres. Here he has since been engaged 
 in general farming and stock-raising, and 
 he has improved his farm and added 
 thereto until it now comprises si.xty acres. 
 In 1 891 the residence on the place was 
 burned, and the following year he built 
 the present comfortable home of the 
 family, which is the most substantial farm 
 residence in the township. The place is 
 also equipped with commodious out- 
 buildings. Our subject is a self-made 
 man in the fullest sense of the word, and 
 his success shows what man may do with 
 plenty of energy and a determination to 
 win. Coming to America a poor man, 
 he has, by industry and pluck and strict 
 attention to his business, made for him- 
 self a comfortable property and gained 
 the respect of his fellow citizens for hon- 
 esty and integrity. Mr. Hoskens votes 
 independently, and does not take any 
 
132 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGHAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 active part in political matters. In re- 
 ligious connections he and wife are mem- 
 bers of St. Mary's Catholic Church, De- 
 Pere. They have had one child, Joseph, 
 who was born on the farm in Dc Pere 
 township, January 29, 1879, and is at 
 present attending the De Pere High 
 School. He is the only heir of Peter and 
 Louise Hoskens, the only living child of 
 the three they had by their marriage, and 
 the only one for whom they live and work. 
 On him they ba.se all their hopes, and, 
 therefore, wish to give him a good edu- 
 cation. The lad's father says he would 
 like him to be something better than a 
 farmer, not that he (the father) has any 
 distaste for the vocation, but probably 
 thinks Joseph should take up one of the 
 professions. Grandfather Henry Hoskens 
 had six children, five of whom were mar- 
 ried, but left only two children, Peter and 
 Thomas. The latter has si.\ daughters, 
 three of whom are Sisters in the Order of 
 Notre Dame, the inclination of the other 
 three being in the same direction. The 
 family, as far back as known, have be- 
 longed to the Roman Catholic faith, and 
 Peter Hoskens says that if his son Joseph 
 follows their rule, " the laws will be of no 
 use to him, for not one of the family has 
 ever come before the law." 
 
 DA\ID WELLS BRITTON, the 
 most extensive manufacturer of 
 cooperage of every kind in the 
 Northwest, with his plant at Green 
 Bay, was born December 8, 1832, -in 
 Sidney Plains, Delaware Co., N. Y. , a 
 son of Solomon and Amy (Whitney) Brit- 
 ton, who were natives of New England, 
 the father having been born in Massa- 
 chusetts and the mother in Connecticut. 
 In 1806 Solomon Britton removed 
 from his native State to Albany county, 
 N; Y. , and later to Delaware county, 
 where he was married. He followed his 
 vocations of farmer and cooper in both 
 counties until 1850, in that year coming 
 
 to Green Bay, Wis., where he died in 
 1854, his wife in 1856. Walter Whitney, 
 the maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 was a resident of Albany, N. Y. ; at the 
 age of fifteen years he enlisted in the 
 patriot army, and served throughout the 
 Revolutionary war. The Brittons, who 
 are of French extraction, settled in Amer- 
 ica during Colonial days, and members of 
 that family also served in the war for 
 American independence. To the union 
 of Solomon and Amy Britton came nine 
 children, all born in the State of New 
 York, and all deceased with the exception 
 of D. W. Britton, the subject of this 
 sketch; of the remainder — Dorcas died at 
 Long Lake, Minn., in 1884; Walter in 
 Knox county. 111., in 1888; Nicholas, at 
 Buffalo, N. Y. , in 1869; Emaline, at 
 Freeport, 111., in 1850; Julia, in Indiana, 
 in 1874; the other three died in New York 
 State — Hannah, in 1838, at the age of 
 seventeen, and two in infancy. 
 
 D. W. Britton was educated in the 
 schools of Delaware county and Buffalo, 
 N. Y. At the age of eighteen he moved 
 with his parents to Green Bay (previous 
 to which he had resided four years in 
 Ashville, N. Y.), and the same year 
 opened out the cooperage business on 
 premises beginning at the confluence of 
 the East and Fox rivers, retaining that 
 yard one year, after which he moved to 
 the present site of the Green Bay Car- 
 riage Co., holding possession here until 
 1867, when he removed to his present 
 extensive yards and shops, which are now 
 the largest establishment — or promise to 
 be, to say the least — of any of the kind 
 in the great Northwest. In little over 
 three decades a business has been estab- 
 lished that would, in the conservative 
 countries of the Old World, have taken 
 several generations to build up. With 
 shops supplied with every description of 
 the most desirable machinery required in 
 the business; with his immense yards, 
 filled with every form of lumber demanded 
 by his trade, Mr. Britton's operations are 
 seen to require a more than ordinary ex- 
 
%•. 
 
 'm 
 
 m 
 
 4 
 
 m 
 
 ^ar^tZ&-iAj 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 135 
 
 ecutive ability and a knowledge of detail 
 that would dismay the ordinary mind. 
 The manufactory and contingents oc- 
 cupy nearly fifteen acres, and Mr. Brit- 
 ton's operations extend into twelve dif- 
 ferent States, in itself significant of what 
 great advantage to the citj' such an insti- 
 tution must be. One hundred and thirty 
 men, on an average, are employed, and 
 allotting a family of three to each man 
 (the lowest estimate allowed by statis- 
 ticians), it would indicate a population of 
 nearly four hundred, all of whom depend 
 for their subsistence upon the enterprise 
 and ability of Mr. Britton. Illustrative 
 of hi3 methods it ma\' be mentioned that 
 all workmen are regularly paid each Mon- 
 day — a consideration of great moment to 
 the poor man, and one which frees him 
 from the clutches of debt, that monster 
 that follows close in the train of the 
 monthly payment system. It is not only 
 better for the workman, but a great 
 desideratum with the merchants who sup- 
 ply his daily needs. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Britton 
 is a Republican, and under the auspices 
 of that party has most satisfactorily served 
 as alderman of Green Bay three terms; he 
 has also done good service on the board 
 of health, on the school board, and one 
 term as fire warden. He was one of the 
 promoters and organizers of the Fair and 
 Park Association, was its first president, 
 serving two years, and is at present one 
 of its directors. He is a stockholder in 
 the Kellogg National Bank, and is always 
 one of the first to assist in any enterprise 
 tending to promote the public good. So- 
 cially he is a member of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 21, F. & .A. M., and of the 
 I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 19. 
 
 Mr. Britton was first married, in 1853, 
 to Miss Frances Daggett, a native of New 
 York, whose father, E. Daggett, came to 
 Wisconsin years ago, locating first at Ke- 
 nosha, and afterward, in 1852, engaging 
 in the manufacture of shingles at Green 
 Bay; he died in Suamico township. Brown 
 
 county. Mrs. Frances Britton died the 
 8 
 
 year of her marriage, and in 1855 Mr. 
 Britton wedded Jerusha Kelsey, who was 
 reared in Green Bay; she died in 1856, 
 the mother of one child, who died when 
 one year old. Mr. Britton's third mar- 
 riage was solemnized in 1859, the lady of 
 his choice being Laura Strickland, whose 
 death occurred September i, 1890. This 
 union was blessed with two children, 
 Elmer E., married, and Sarah Josephine, 
 who died at the age of two years and eight 
 months. For his fourth wife Mr. Britton. 
 married, October 18, 1892, Amy Thrall, 
 a native of New York. Mr. Britton is- 
 one of the oldest and most prominent fig- 
 ures in the commercial circles of Green 
 Bay, as well as one of the most extensive 
 business men of the Northwest, and his 
 experience has extended over the most 
 progressive periods in the history of Green 
 Bay and Brown county. 
 
 JOHN Mcknight, an esteemed and 
 prosperous farmer of New Denmark 
 township, is a native of the land 
 of Erin, born in 1833, son of John 
 and Bridget (Frawley) McKnight, the 
 former of whom was a farmer. Our sub- 
 ject was the eldest in their family of five 
 children, namely: John, Margaret, Mar- 
 tin, Michael and Catherine. 
 
 About 1847 the family sailed for 
 America, and during the six-weeks' voy- 
 age the father died and was buried at 
 sea. The mother and children landed at 
 Quebec, thence traveling to Burlington, 
 Vt., where they lived one year, and then 
 returned to Quebec, where Mrs. McKnight 
 purchased some property, and there 
 passed the remainder of her life. John 
 McKnight remained with his mother sev- 
 eral years after coming to America and 
 then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where 
 he lived about three years, principally 
 engaged in farming. From there he went 
 to La Fayette, Ind , where he worked as 
 day laborer for about a year, after which 
 he migrated to Brown county. Wis., and 
 
136 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 entered the employ of the Two Rivers 
 Company, continuing to work for them 
 several winters, in the summer time doing 
 farm labor. 
 
 In 1859 he was married to Miss Mar- 
 garet Smith, also born in Ireland, daugh- 
 ter of James and Mary Smith, who died 
 when she was a child; she came to the 
 United States when about twenty-five 
 years old. After his marriage Mr. Mc- 
 Knight bought forty acres of wild land in 
 New Denmark township, and a few years 
 later added an adjoining forty-acre tract, 
 subsequently making other additions to 
 the place, which now comprises 1 18 acres, 
 all of which he has cleared and improved 
 himself. To Mr. and Mrs. McKnight 
 have been born ten children, viz. ; Michael, 
 Catherine, Mary, Margaret(Mrs.T. Arens), 
 John, Martin, Julia, Bridget, Honora and 
 George. The family give twelve mem- 
 bers to the Catholic Church. Politically 
 Mr. McKnight is a Democrat, but not a 
 strong partisan, and does not aspire to 
 office, though he has served as school 
 director. He is much respected in his 
 community, where he is regarded as a 
 faithful, loyal citizen. 
 
 WILLIAM HANDEYSIDE, the 
 very popular liveryman of De- 
 Pere, Brown county, was born 
 September 15, 1843, in York- 
 shire, England, and is a son of Roger and 
 Ann (Stevenson) Handeyside, who were 
 the parents of nine children, William 
 being the eldest. In April, 1849, Roger 
 Handeyside, who was a shepherd in the 
 old country, sailed from Hull, England, 
 for Quebec, Canada, the voyage lasting 
 forty-three days. After experiencing 
 many " ups and downs " in Canada, the 
 family came to the United States in 1858, 
 settling in Wayne county, Mich., where 
 several members still reside. The father 
 is now eighty-two years of age, the mother 
 died November 10, 1877. 
 
 William Handeyside has earned his 
 
 living since he was fifteen years old, and 
 until he reached the age of twenty-one 
 gave all his earnings, like the dutiful son 
 that he was, to his parents. As a dutiful 
 citizen, also, he enlisted, November 18, 
 1864, in Company C, Thirtieth Mich. V. 
 I., and served until June 17, 1865, prin- 
 cipally on detached duty. He then re- 
 turned to Michigan, and worked at farm- 
 ing and broom-making ; next went to 
 Kentucky; thence back to Michigan; then 
 to Green Bay, Wis. ; thence to Marquette, 
 Mich., where he was employed a year 
 and a half as teamster at the Morgan 
 Iron Furnace, No. i, and worked himself 
 up to engineer of Furnace No. 2. In 
 August, 1868, he came to De Pere, and 
 for nine years was employed as en- 
 gineer for the Fox River Company; then 
 was employed at E. E. Bolle's Wooden- 
 ware Co. 's Works, as engineer and fore- 
 man in the lumber yard; thence went to 
 Glenmore township, where he conducted 
 a mill and store for his employers; then 
 returned to De Pere and organized the 
 VanGalder & Handeyside Co., for making 
 imitation cedar cigar-box lumber, and at 
 the end of a year became sole proprietor 
 of the plant, but was soon afterward burned 
 out. In June, 1889, he became a member 
 of the firm of Thiele & Handeyside, now 
 the most popular and successful livery 
 men in the city of De Pere. 
 
 On January 19, 1873, Mr. Handey- 
 side was united in marriage with Miss 
 Blanche Packard, daughter of John and 
 Diantha (Hannon) Packard, the former a 
 native of Canada, the latter of New York 
 State. Mrs. Handeyside is the seventh 
 child in a family of nine, the other eight 
 being Winslow H., who served three 
 years in the Union army and died Sep- 
 tember 13, 1874, leaving a wife and two 
 children, Mary and Cynthia; Florence A., 
 now the wife of John Handeyside, her 
 former husband, John Leach, having been 
 killed in the Civil war; William P., of 
 Canton, Wayne Co., Mich. ; Silas J., who 
 died at the age of twenty-seven; Cynthia, 
 now Mrs. William McKinstrey, of Jack- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL BE CORD. 
 
 137 
 
 son, Mich.; George W., who died at the 
 age of ten; Martha, who died at the 
 age of nineteen, and Eibertie, now on 
 the homestead at Canton, Wayne Co., 
 Mich. The father of this familj', who 
 was a pioneer of Wayne county, Mich., 
 died May 20, 1886, his wife following 
 him to the land of eternal rest December 
 2, 1888, both dying at the age of sixty- 
 eight years. Mr. Handeyside and his 
 wife are both Baptists in their religious 
 belief, but there is no church of that de- 
 nomination at De Pere with which to af- 
 filiate. In politics he is a Republican; 
 socially he is a member of the Soldiers' 
 Relief Committee, appointed by the county 
 judge, and is also a member of the F. & 
 A. M., I. O. O. F.; K. of P., G. A. R., 
 and Temple of Honor. He has won a 
 high place in the confidence of the busi- 
 ness men of the community, and is highly 
 esteemed in a wide circle of social ac- 
 quaintances. Mrs. Handeyside is a 
 member of the Women's Relief Corps of 
 the G. A. R. , and of the Social Temple — 
 the latter an auxiliary degree of the Tem- 
 ple of Honor — and enjoys, with her hus- 
 band, the respect of all acquaintances. 
 
 CARL G. MUELLER (deceased), 
 well-known and highly respected 
 in his day in both county and 
 State, was born January 8, 1834, 
 in Saxony, Germany, and in 1852 came 
 to America with his father and a brother 
 and sister, his mother having died in the 
 old country when he was but three years 
 old. The family, on arriving in the United 
 States, located near Milwaukee, Wis., and, 
 for about two years, Carl G. clerked in 
 a general store in the village of Calumet 
 and other localities, in 1856 settling in 
 Wrightstown, Brown county, where for 
 two years he clerked in a hotel. He then 
 opened a general store in the village, 
 which was one of the first in this section, 
 and practically succeeded to the business 
 interests of the Wrights, who were the 
 
 founders of the place. In August, 1861, 
 he married Miss Mary Thompson, who 
 was born December 9, 1841, in Gran- 
 ville, a suburb of Milwaukee, one of a 
 family of nine children born to William 
 and Frances (Quinette) Thompson, the 
 former of whom was a native of Scotland, 
 and an early settler in Milwaukee county, 
 Wis. He died in Wrightstown at the 
 age of seventy-three; his wife, who was 
 born in France, is still living in Wrights- 
 town. Of the thirteen children born to 
 the marriage of Carl G. and Mary Mueller 
 six sons and one daughter have been 
 called away. The survivors are Charles 
 W. (whose name opens this sketch), 
 Emma, Mary, Clara E., Gertrude and 
 Selma. Mr. Mueller continued to carry 
 on his general store after his marriage, 
 and was honored and respected by the 
 entire community until the day of his 
 death; and, indeed, his memory is still 
 cherished with affection by those who 
 knew him. He was a gentleman of a 
 most enterprising spirit as well as of phil- 
 anthropic disposition; was prosperous as 
 a merchant, and invested his profits in 
 large tracts of wild land, giving poor per- 
 sons every opportunity to buy a home 
 cheaply and get a start in life. It was a 
 prominent trait in his character that in 
 old times, when the country was new and 
 money scarce, he would advance all need- 
 ful supplies, and even money to the poor 
 and rich, alike. In fact, all had unlimit- 
 ed credit, as can be readily testified to by 
 the old residents; to which fact, however, 
 sad to relate, he lost the greater portion 
 of his estate (which at one time was esti- 
 mated to be worth over one hundred 
 thousand dollars), many of those whom 
 he had befriended when in need refusing 
 to pav their obligations when the}' found 
 themselves in more prosperous circum- 
 stances. For years he ran the ferry 
 across Fox river, and afterward built and 
 operated the fir=t bridsre across that river, 
 at this place a floating bridge. He built 
 the "American House," the best hotel in 
 the town, and was landlord of same; 
 
13^5 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 also built and operated a brewery on 
 the west side of the village: started the 
 first sawmill in Wrightstown, and a few 
 years later also opened a general store and 
 built a sawmill in Ashland, Wis. Just 
 prior to his death he sold the Ashland 
 mill, however, and after his demise the 
 entire business at Ashland was closed up. 
 Mr. Mueller was a devout Christian, ac- 
 tive in religious work. He assisted in or- 
 ganizing the first Lutheran Society in 
 Wrightstown, gave the ground on which 
 to build a church, much of the timber 
 necessary for the building, and a good 
 portion of the cash requisite for its erec- 
 tion. It is said cjf him by the residents 
 of Wrightstown that he gave sites for and 
 helped, financially, all the churches and 
 schools on the east side of the villiage of 
 W'rightstown. In politics he was a life- 
 long Ueniocrat, and for over twenty-five 
 years was postmaster, also filling several 
 other local offices with honor and credit 
 at different times. He was the architect 
 of his own fortune, and was in every re- 
 spect a representative self-made man. 
 His funeral took place from the Lutheran 
 Church December 15, 1886, and was the 
 largest ever seen in this part of the coun- 
 try; so great, indeed, was the attendance 
 of Germans, Americans and others, that 
 two sermons were delivered, one in Ger- 
 man and the other in English. His 
 death was a sad blow to the entire com- 
 munity, as he was not only a friend to the 
 individual members thereof, but was also 
 looked upon as one of the fathers of 
 Wrightstown. His estimable widow still 
 lias her residence at the old home, sur- 
 rounded by her children and every com- 
 fort calculated to make life desirable. She 
 is a devout member of the Catholic 
 Church, a kind and lovable woman, a 
 noble mother, and a model of honor in 
 her daily walk throuefh life. 
 
 CHARLES W. MUELLER.the eldest 
 son of this honored gentleman, was born 
 in Wrightstown township. Brown Co., 
 Wis., December 27, 1862. He is now 
 the manager of the estate, and displays a 
 
 rare business talent, which already marks 
 him as one of the future representative 
 men of his county. He has filled several 
 local offices, and is at present clerk of the 
 village and township, which responsible 
 offices he has filled with credit for the 
 past two years. He is a graduate of Ap- 
 pleton high school, and he and his sisters 
 have been reared to a faithful observance 
 of the doctrines of the Catholic Church. 
 From an early day he was his father's 
 chief assistant, and, after the death of the 
 latter, successfully conducted the large 
 business in all its details, until his own 
 marriage, when he wound up the business 
 and has since had charge of the estate 
 and everything pertaining to it. He was 
 wedded in 1886 to Miss Louisa Delger, a 
 native of Calumet county, Wis., and 
 daughter of August and Estina Delger, 
 both of whom are now deceased. Two 
 children have blessed this union, viz. : 
 Edwin and Irene. Socially Mr. and Mrs. 
 Mueller stand in the front rank in their 
 community, and as a business man he has 
 the respect of all acquaintances. 
 
 AUGUST H.AESE, prominent as a 
 farmer and sawmill owner of 
 Morrison township, Brown county, 
 was born January 10, 1843, ''i 
 Northern Prussia, son of Christoff Haese, 
 a farmer. 
 
 At the age of eleven years our subject 
 emigrated, in company with his brother, 
 John Ferdinand, to the United States, 
 landing in New York, thence coming di- 
 rectly to Manitowoc county. Wis., where 
 a brother, a sister, and a brother-in-law 
 were then living. Although a mere lad, 
 August, after attending school a }ear, 
 went to work in the woods at shingle 
 making, then an industry pursued alto- 
 gether by hand. Early in the spring of 
 I 860 he went to Spring Lake Prairie, and 
 for eight months worked on a farm at six 
 dollars per month. He saved his earn- 
 ings here, and also the money he earned 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWGBAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 139 
 
 later near Ripon, in Fond du Lac county. 
 In the latter part of August, 1862, he re- 
 turned to Manitowoc county, enlisted in 
 Company F, Twenty-sixth Wis. V. I., 
 and was sent to Milwaukee, whence, after 
 two weeks' drilHng, he was returned 
 home on account of being too young for 
 a soldier and his father refusing to sign 
 his enlistment papers. For a few years 
 following he worked in the northern part 
 of the State in sawmills and at lumbering, 
 and then, in January, 1867, in company 
 with his brother Ferdinand and another 
 comrade, he settled on Section 22, in 
 Morrison township, where the three 
 erected a sawmill in a dense forest, the 
 nearest road to the mill being the old 
 stage road, one and a half miles west. 
 Here, on the Branch river, the partner- 
 ship lasted for a year and a half, Mr. 
 Haese at that time buying his partners 
 out and forming a new firm, comprising 
 himself and his brothers Ferdinand and 
 Albert, who for seven years worked sol- 
 idly together, and consequently prospered. 
 
 On January 15, 1869, Mr. Haese 
 married, in Cooperstown, Wis. , Miss Ma- 
 tilda Olp, who was born in Milwaukee in 
 1850, a daughter of Ferdinand Olp, a na- 
 tive of Prussia. The young couple went to 
 housekeeping in a log cabin that stood 
 north of their present fine residence 
 which Mr. Haese erected in 1883. The 
 children born to this union were as^ol- 
 lows: Helena, who died at the age of 
 seventeen; Louisa, now Mrs. Louis Falck; 
 Robert C, an assistant of his father; Ida, 
 Emma and Bertha, at home; August, who 
 died at nine years of age; and Julia (twin 
 of August), who lives at home; Arthur, 
 also at home, and Ella, the survivor of a 
 twin that died at birth. 
 
 The Haese brothers remained together 
 in business until 1876, when August 
 bought the interest of the other two; one 
 year after his making this purchase his 
 mill was destroyed by fire. He had no 
 insurance and but little capital left, but 
 he had good credit, the next best thing to 
 cash, and, probably a better thing yet, 
 
 an unimpeachable character for integrity. 
 Three solid contractors were anxious to 
 secure the job of rebuilding, knowing full 
 well that their pay would be certain if the 
 life of Mr. Haese were spared, and that 
 they would be fully reimbursed for their 
 cash outlay and expenditure of time. So 
 the mill was rebuilt, and paid for by Mr. 
 Haese. and now, for twenty-seven years, 
 he has been continuously and prosperously 
 conducting the business on his own prop- 
 erty — a tract of 160 acres. In 1869 he 
 added farming to his milling industry, and 
 has been as successful as an agriculturist 
 as he has been as a mill man. This farm 
 was literally hewn out of the woods, but 
 is now a model of thrift and beauty and 
 skillful culture. 
 
 Mr. Haese's political proclivities are 
 Democratic, but he prefers active busi- 
 ness interests to the ephemeral ones of 
 party politics, and wisely has never been 
 an office seeker. He and his family are 
 members of the Lutheran Church, and 
 for six years he has been a deacon. His 
 aim has always been to be a good citizen 
 and so to train his children, and there is 
 no family in the township that stands 
 higher socially than his. When it is re- 
 membered that he had no assistance in a 
 pecuniary sense in his start in life; that 
 his mother died when he was but three 
 years of age, and that he was reared 
 without the fostering care of the parent, 
 who, as a rule, imparts the virtuous les- 
 sons that from infancy onward make the 
 man what he ought to be morally, it be- 
 comes a matter of wonder that he has 
 succeeded so well; and it may be inci- 
 dentally added that his course through 
 life is well worthy the emulation of the 
 youth of our land. 
 
 N 
 
 lELS RASMUSSEN, one of the 
 
 well-to-do farmers of Glenmore 
 
 township. Brown county, was 
 
 born November 11, 1838, in the 
 
 Kingdom of Denmark, son of Rasmus 
 
140 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Christensen, who was employed as a farm 
 hand by a large landowner for forty years, 
 and who died in Denmark, as did also his 
 wife. They were the parents of ten chil- 
 dren — four sons and six daughters — of 
 whom Niels is the eldest son and the sec- 
 ond child in order of birth. 
 
 Niels Rasmussen attended school in 
 his native country from his seventh to his 
 fourteenth year. He was reared to farm- 
 ing, which he continued to follow until he 
 was twenty-one years old, about which 
 time he joined the army, serving seven- 
 teen months. In 1863 he again joined 
 the army, also in 1864, during the war 
 with Prussia, ami while i.n the service was 
 never wounded, though his clothing was 
 pierced by a ball. On March 16, 1866, 
 he married Miss Hannah Neilson, who 
 was born June 2 1839, (daughter of Niels 
 Anderson, a farmer in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances), and attended school from 
 the time she was seven years old until she 
 reached the age of fifteen. One child was 
 born to this union in Denmark, Mary, 
 now the wife of J. P. Christenson, of 
 Glenmore township. Brown countv. After 
 his marriage Mr. Rasmussen worked as 
 a laborer for a grain merchant on the 
 Island of Moen, Denmark, until 1869, in 
 the spring of which year, bidding their 
 native land farewell, he and his little 
 family proceeded from Copenhagen to 
 Hull, I^ngland, and thence to Liverpool, 
 where they took pa'^sage on the "North 
 America" on April i, setting sail for 
 America. The boat was bound for 
 Quebec, but as it was early in the season 
 the ice compelled them to put in at Port- 
 land, Maine, and they landed there on 
 the 14th of April. They had tickets for 
 Green Bay, Wis. , whither they came via 
 Chicago (where a sister of Mrs. Rasmus- 
 sen was living), arriving at their destina- 
 tion, April 21, strangers in a strange land, 
 and totally unacquainted with the English 
 language. The family remained in Green 
 Ba\- while Mr. Rasmussen went to Glen- 
 more township, where a brother resided, 
 and during that summer he worked as a 
 
 farm hand, also making shingles and do- 
 ing anything else he could to earn an 
 honest dollar to support his family. In 
 the fall of 1869 he purchased a piece of 
 land in section 24, Glenmore township, 
 but through some mistake commenced 
 clearing the wrong tract, and it was not 
 until 1884, after much expensive litiga- 
 tion, that he finally secured a clear title 
 to his land. He now has a fine farm of 
 120 acres, all of which has been cleared 
 by him, or under his direction, a laborious 
 task, and one which occupied many years. 
 But from being a poor man he has, by 
 honest industry and assiduous toil, become 
 a well-to-do farmer and landowner. 
 
 He and his wife had five children 
 born to them in Wisconsin, namely: 
 Charles, Lawrence, Andrew and Alfred, 
 all living, and Niels, who died in infancy. 
 The sons, who are all hard-workingyoung 
 men, have been of great assistance to 
 their father in the cultivation of the farm, 
 which is one of the best-improved places 
 in the township, the buildings being ex- 
 ceptionally fine, and the barn one of the 
 most commodious in the vicinity. In 
 politics our subject is not an ardent party 
 man, voting usually for the best man re- 
 gardless of party, and he has served as 
 school director in his township. He and 
 his wife are members of the Lutheran 
 Church of Denmark, and they are known 
 and respected throughout their commu- 
 nity as kind-hearted, hospitable people. 
 
 FELIX LUROUIN, Fort Howard. 
 The pioneer settlers in the Green 
 Bay region had many difficulties 
 to encounter in the earh' days, 
 but they were, for the most part, hardy 
 and persevering men, and more than one 
 lived to see his final triumph over them all. 
 Among these there have been persons of 
 various nativities, all alike struggling to 
 acquire a competence, and all developing 
 into excellent citizens, public-spirited and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 141 
 
 alive to the best interests of their com- 
 munity. 
 
 Fehx Lurquin was born in 1842, in the 
 village of Blanden, Belgium, son of Joseph 
 and Mary (Haazendonk) Lurquin, who 
 had a family of five children, as follows: 
 John B., married and residing on Elmore 
 street. Fort Howard, where he is engaged 
 in gardening; Collett, wife of John B. 
 Vanderveken, residing in Belgium; Felix, 
 our subject; and August and Leonie, both 
 residents of Belgium, the latter the widow 
 of Bernard Nakaars. The parents both 
 died in the old country in the same month 
 in 1893, the father aged eighty-six and 
 the mother eighty-four years. 
 
 Mr. Lurquin was educated and grew 
 to man's estate in Belgium, and in 1865 
 was married in that country to Miss Rosa- 
 line De \to3', daughter of Franz and 
 Johanna (Kattersoll) De Vroy, all natives 
 of the same countr}-, where her parents 
 passed their entire lives. Upon coming 
 to Green Bay, in 1866, Mr. Lurquin found 
 employment as a day laborer, and in the 
 fall of 1867 removed to Fort Howard, 
 settling where he now resides, on Dous- 
 man street. Purchasing four acres of land 
 from Mr. Elmore he engaged in garden- 
 ing, and subsequently added a considera- 
 ble area to this original small tract, still 
 owning twelve acres, besides which he 
 sold fourteen acres and gave eight and a 
 half acres to his children. In 1876 he 
 built his present brick residence, and is 
 the owner of the fine brick Fink block 
 on Dousman street, which he purchased 
 in 1893. In politics Mr. Lurquin is a 
 Democrat, and takes an active interest in 
 the workings of his party; he was city 
 marshal of Fort Howard for five years, 
 serving twice in that capacity, and for two 
 years he was superintendent of streets, 
 but he is by no means an office-seeker. 
 He and his wife are members of St. Willi- 
 brord's Catholic Church at Green Bay. 
 When they built their home at Fort 
 Howard it was in the woods, but the place 
 has grown beyond its then narrow con- 
 fines, having developed to a degree per- 
 
 haps never anticipated by its pioneer set- 
 tlers, and their home is now within the 
 city limits. Mr. Lurquin has adhered to 
 industrious habits, and by perseverance 
 has accumulated the property he now pos- 
 sesses. When he and his wife arrived in 
 this country, in 1866, they were without 
 money, and all that they succeeded in 
 gathering together has been acquired by 
 hard labor and assiduous industry; at the 
 present writing he has an independent 
 competence, and is counted among the 
 substantial citizens of Fort Howard. He 
 is a worthy example of the pioneers who 
 hewed out a home in the midst of a forest, 
 and from a start of nothing secured a 
 comfortable property by patient toil. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lurquin 
 are: Joseph, who married Frances Deu- 
 ster, and resides in the same house with 
 his parents (they have one child, Henry); 
 and Nettie, the wife of Ferdinand De- 
 Volder, of Fort Howard, who has one 
 daughter, Rosaline (she had a son who 
 died February 14, 1894). 
 
 EMILE VAN CALSTER, one of 
 the respected self-made farmers of 
 Bellevue township. Brown coun- 
 ty, was born April 20, 1840, in 
 Belgium, son of Gregg Van Calster, a 
 blacksmith, who had eight children — 
 four sons and four daughters — of whom 
 Emile is the eldest. 
 
 Our subject attended the schools of 
 Belgium until he was eleven years old, 
 after which, for eight years, he was em- 
 ployed in the thread mills. When about 
 twenty years old he commenced to learn 
 the trade of painter, in which he con- 
 tinued five years. Then, in the spring of 
 1865, he sailed from Antwerp, and after 
 a voyage of fourteen days landed at New 
 York City, thence immediately coming to 
 Wisconsin, and on June i landing at 
 Green Bay, eighty dollars in debt, as he 
 had borrowed to pay the expenses of the 
 journey. In Green Bay he secured work 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at his trade, which he continued to follow 
 until 1872. In the meantime he had 
 purchased thirtj' acres in Bellevue town- 
 ship, where he now lives, at that time all 
 new land, and put up the first dwelling, a 
 24x28 house, himself, removing thereon 
 in 1870. On December 25, 1867, Mr. 
 Van Calster was married, in Green Bay, 
 to Miss Hortense Daix, who was born 
 January 18, 1841, near his home in Bel- 
 gium, a daughter of Anton Daix, who 
 died in Belgium. In 1865, his widow, 
 Mrs. Daix, came with her family to Wis- 
 consin, our subject being also one of 
 the party. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Van Calster have 
 been born the following named children : 
 Joseph (who is a carpenter in Green Bay) ; 
 Constance, Julius, and Sarah, at home; 
 and two that died, Constance when seven 
 years old, and Alvinia, when two and a 
 half years old. Since 1872 our subject 
 has given his attention principally to his 
 farm, and he now has 120 acres of fine 
 land, all improved by himself, where he 
 is engaged in farming, in connection with 
 which he also conducts a dairy business, 
 lindustry and good management have 
 brought him success, and he is highly es- 
 teemed in his township. Politically he is 
 a Republican, and has served his township 
 as road master. In religious belief he 
 and his wife are Spiritualists. 
 
 Z.\CHAKIE GOFFART. Among 
 the intelligent, prosperous agricul- 
 turists and self-made citizens of 
 Dc Pere township, none is more 
 deserving of mention than the one whose 
 name is here recorded. He was born 
 August I, 1842, in Belgium, a son of 
 Peter J. Goffart, who was a merchant and 
 landowner in his native land, and in com- 
 fortable circumstances. He died when 
 his son, Zacharie was twelve years old. 
 
 Zacharic Goffart received all his edu- 
 cation in Belgium, and when, about four- 
 teen \'ears old, came with his widowed 
 
 mother to the United States. They sailed 
 from Antwerp in April, 1857, on the 
 "Westphalia,' and came via Quebec to 
 Green Bay, Wis., where they arrived 
 eight weeks after leaving their home. An 
 older brother of our subject, Ferdinand, 
 had preceded them to this country, and 
 they all resided for a time in Green Bay 
 township; but the la,nd was poor, and 
 they soon afterward moved to De Pore 
 township, along the East river. In this 
 region, which was then all in the woods 
 and abounded with wild animals, Zacharie 
 was reared to manhood, and, there being 
 no lack of work he commenced early to 
 assist in the clearing of the land. From 
 De Pere the family later removed to 
 Rockland township, where they resided 
 seven years. 
 
 On June 11, 1867, Mr. Goffart was 
 married, in De Pere, to Miss Mary T. 
 Daix, a native of Belgium, and to this 
 union were born six children, four of 
 whom are yet living, namely: Catherine, 
 Ellen (a school teacher, of Peoria, 111.), 
 Hortense (a school teacher at Steven's 
 Point, Wis.), and Leo (living at home). 
 The mother of these died November 10, 
 1879, and was buried in De Pere ceme- 
 tery, and on January 10, 1881, Mr. Gof- 
 fart was married, in De Pere, to his pres- 
 ent wife, Elizabeth Becher. She was 
 born March 17, 1 861, in New Denmark 
 townshi]!. Brown county, a daughter 
 of Joseph Becher, who was a native 
 of Germany. To this marriage were born 
 children as follows: Emil}', Constant 
 (deceased), Joseph, John, Edward, Zach- 
 ariah, Elizabeth, and Flora (deceased). 
 After his marriage Mr. Goffart first lo- 
 cated in De Pere township, along East 
 river, and then for seven years resided in 
 Rockland township. In 1892 he remo\ed 
 to the city of De Pere, where he owns 
 twenty acres within the corporation limits 
 and forty-four acres outside in the town- 
 ship, private claim No. 35. He has fol- 
 lowed general farming and stock raising, 
 and has met with encouraging success. 
 He has seen the entire surroundin'j coun- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 '43 
 
 try transformed from the woods to fertile, 
 well-kept farms, and has himself taken no 
 small part in the development of his sec- 
 tion. He has been a hard-workinjj man, 
 and by industry and energy has earned for 
 himself a comfortable, well-improved farm 
 and home. In his political affiliations he 
 is a Democrat, but he does not take any 
 active interest in party affairs, preferring 
 to give his attention exclusively to his 
 private business interests; but, though 
 not an aspirant for office, he has served 
 as roadmaster in Rockland and De Pare 
 townships. Though Mr. Goffart's early 
 educational ad\antages were somewhat 
 limited, he has acquired a good store of 
 knowledge by reading and observation; 
 he takes great interest in the newspapers 
 cf his section, as well as others of general 
 interest, and keeps himself well informed, 
 on current topics. He has ever been and 
 is yet a very active man, always finding 
 something to occupy his time. He has 
 crossed the Atlantic five times, having 
 paid two visits to his native home since 
 coming to the United States, taking the 
 first trip in 1S71. In 1S93 he proceeded 
 over the Baltimore & Ohio railway to 
 New York, where he embarked on the 
 Red Star liner "Westerland" for Antwerp, 
 and spent two months as a guest at the 
 same house where he was born, as well 
 as his mother and grandmother. Mr. 
 Goffart has also journeyed throughout the 
 Great West, for the benefit of his health, 
 which was much improved, and all in all 
 there are few farmers of his section who 
 have traveled more extensively. 
 
 PETER VANDERK INTER. 
 Brown county is indebted to the 
 little kingdom of Holland for 
 many of her most loyal and sub- 
 stantial farmer citizens, prominent among 
 whom in New Denmark township is the 
 gentleman here named. He was born in 
 Holland December 25, 181 8, a son of 
 Peter and Anna (Cooper) Vanderkinter, 
 
 who reared a family of seven children, 
 named as follows: Jacob, Mary, Duke, 
 Leona, Catherine, John and Peter. The 
 father owned a small farm, which he cul- 
 tivated, and by thrift and industry was 
 enabled to support his family in comfort. 
 Peter Vanderkinter lived with his par- 
 ents until he reached the age of eighteen 
 years, at which time he entered the army, 
 remaining in the service ten years. He 
 then sailed for America in company with 
 two other young men, and landed in New 
 York after a voyage of thirty-seven days, 
 during which one of his companions was 
 so seriously injured that he died a short 
 time after landing; the other young man 
 lived in New York State six years, and 
 then returned to his native land. Our 
 subject was penniless on his arrival in the 
 New World, and found employment with- 
 out delay, working first for a gardener in 
 New York at four dollars a month, and 
 later going to New Jersey, where he re- 
 mained seven j'ears, following the same 
 line of work. Here he was married 
 March 9, 1850, to Miss Anna Bush, and 
 they came westward to Wisconsin, Mr. 
 Vanderkinter working near Sheboj-gan as 
 a farm hand for a year and a half, thence 
 moving to New Denmark township, 
 Browncounty, where he took up eighty 
 acres of land, a complete wilderness at 
 that time, and set about the task of con- 
 verting it into a pleasant, fertile farm. 
 He and his wife lived with their nearest 
 neighbor until the log shanty, 18 x 20, was 
 ready for occupancy, and this was their 
 home for seven years, when a more sub- 
 stantial one took its place; which in its 
 turn was in course of time supplanted by 
 the modern frame house now occupied by 
 Frank Vanderkinter. The clearing of the 
 land necessarily progressed slowly, for 
 our subject had no team during the first 
 six years, and therefore he had to hire 
 such aid, working out bv the day to pay 
 for it. All the trading had to be done at 
 Green Bay, and, having to walk the entire 
 distance, a trip to town occupied three 
 davs. About fifteen vears after his removal 
 
144 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 here Mr. Vanderkinter purchased another 
 forty-acre tract of wild hind, which he has 
 also cleared and improved, the farm being 
 well-equipped with outbuildinj^s, and 
 other accessories. 
 
 To our subject and wife were born 
 twelve children, as follows: Jacob, John, 
 Rozina, Anna, triplets who died in in- 
 fancy, Peter, Frank, Henry, Abraham 
 and William, of which large family but 
 four are now living: John, Frank, Henry 
 and \\'illiam. The mother of these 
 passed from earth March i, 1885, and 
 was laid to rest in New Denmark ceme- 
 tery, deeply mourned by all who knew 
 her. Frank Vanderkinter has always re- 
 mained on the home farm, of which he 
 now has the principal management, his 
 father having retired from active work. 
 On August 18, 1888, he was married to 
 Miss Minnie Fager, daughter of August 
 and Hannah Fager, and their union has 
 been blessed with three children: Will- 
 iam, F"rederick and Henry. Politically 
 Mr. Vanderkinter is a Democrat, but not 
 active in party affairs. 
 
 CW. STRECKENBACH. Far 
 across the stormy Atlantic, in the 
 quaint old German Fatherland, 
 Ernest Streckenbach and Nettie 
 Miller, his wife, were born. Both sought 
 homes in the country of the stars and 
 stripes, coming to Brown county, Wis., 
 in the days when it was practically an un- 
 broken wilderness. 
 
 Mr. Streckenbach reached Green Bay 
 in 1 848, married, and settled in the woods 
 of Pittsfield township. Brown county, 
 where he erected a log cabin and began 
 the improvement of his land. ' It may be 
 readily imagined that the young German 
 soldier found this life wonderfully difTer- 
 ent from what he had been accustomed to; 
 but he bravely plodded ahead, and lived 
 to see great changes accomplislied in the 
 region about him. Four children came 
 to gladden the home: Edward C., now 
 
 engaged in the boot and shoe business at 
 Fort Howard; Pauline, wife of L. C. 
 Schilling; Louise, teacher in the public 
 schools of Milwaukee; and the subject of 
 this sketch. Mrs. Streckenbach, who had 
 also come with her parents to Green Bay 
 in 1 848, was called upon in 1 863 to mourn 
 the death of her husband, who passed 
 away in that year. She subsequently be- 
 came the wife of Henry Rathman, and 
 bore him four children: Lena, now Mrs. 
 Alvin Outland, of Green Baj'; Clara, wife 
 of W. W. Nuss. also of Green Bay; 
 Emma, teacher in the public schools of 
 the same city, and one deceased. 
 
 C. W. Streckenbach was born in 1861 
 in Pittsfield township. Brown Co., Wis. 
 Coming to Green Bay at an early age, he 
 acquired a common education in the pub- 
 schools and at Prof. Murch's business 
 college. At the age of thirteen years he 
 engaged in the cooperage business in a 
 plant, a portion of which is now owned by 
 D. W. Britton. In 1885 the present 
 wholesale firm of C. W. Streckenbach & 
 Co. was formed. These gentlemen deal 
 extensively in oysters and fish, and fur- 
 nish employment at their establishment to 
 twelve or fifteen men. In September, 
 1890, Mr. Streckenbach was united in 
 marriage, at Stephenson, Mich., with 
 Miss Maud Benjamin, a native of Mani- 
 towoc county. Wis., where her father, 
 Sumner Benjamin, was a respected pio- 
 neer; he now resides at Stephenson, and 
 is a millwright by occupation. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Streckenbach have been born 
 two children, Sumner and Hazel. Mr. 
 Streckenbach is a Republican in politics, 
 and takes a becoming interest in the af- 
 fairs of his party. He is a member of 
 the Royal Arcanum, Council No. 546; 
 also of Pochequette Lodge, No. 126, K. 
 of P. His estimable wife, who was reared 
 a Methodist, attends the services of the 
 M. E. Church. 
 
 In a region like that surrounding Green 
 Bay, and having so manj- natural facili- 
 ties for commercial advancement, the 
 changes in a few vears will necessarih- be 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 H5 
 
 many, and, although yet a young man, 
 Mr. Streckenbach has witnessed a re- 
 markable development in the surround- 
 ings of his home. The future is full of 
 promise for this locality, and such repre- 
 sentative men will be at the front in shap- 
 ing its destiny along the lines of prosper- 
 ity and usefulness. 
 
 HORACE J. CONLEY, yacht 
 builder, commodore of the Green 
 Bay Yacht Club, and former pro- 
 prietor of the beautiful vessel 
 "Merlin," said to be the safest, best 
 equipped and fastest yacht on the lakes, 
 has been a resident of Green Bay for over 
 a quarter of a century, having come to 
 the town when a boy. 
 
 He is a native of Maine, born in the 
 town of Medway, August 3, 1861, to Vin- 
 cent and Eleanor (Fowles) Conley, the 
 father a Canadian by birth, the mother a 
 native of Maine. The}' were married in 
 that State, and there Vincent Conley fol- 
 lowed the lumber business and carpentry, 
 until I 866, when they came west to Wis- 
 consin, bringing their family. Settling for 
 the time in Green Bay, the father worked 
 in the shipyards, later building vessels 
 for his own account, and finally engaging 
 in the ice trade until 1884, when he 
 moved to Sheboygan, establishing there 
 an extensive ice business which he still 
 carries on. Eight children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Conley, five of 
 whom are yet living, namely: William, 
 married, in business a boat builder; Etta; 
 Horace J., our subject; Lincoln, and 
 Lewis — of whom William, Etta and Lewis 
 live in Fort Howard, Wis. ; Lincoln, who 
 is married, lives at Sheboygan. Wis. ; 
 Edward, who was married and resided at 
 Watersmeet, Gogebic Co., Mich., where 
 he was a notary public and township 
 supervisor, died there July 19, 1894. 
 
 Horace J. Conley, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, received his education 
 at the schools of Fort Howard and at 
 
 Green Bay Business College, afterward 
 learning the trade of boat builder, making 
 himself conversant with all the details of 
 the craft. In 1883 he commenced build- 
 ing boats, yachts, etc., for his own ac- 
 count, making a specialty of racing and 
 sporting yachts of all descriptions, as well 
 as ordinary sail boats, and he has built 
 several boats that have "shown a clean 
 pair of heels" to all competitors. His 
 industry gives employment to some seven 
 hands. In connection with his business 
 Mr. Conley has naturally been deeply in- 
 terested in yacht racing, in which his 
 record places him "second to none," for 
 he has proven that he can not only build 
 boats, but that he can also sail them like 
 the true " fore-an'-aft " sailor he is. 
 Among the many yatch races in which he 
 came off the victor may be mentioned the 
 regatta at Chicago during the World's 
 Fair, which was of more than local in- 
 terest, as it attracted from all parts of 
 the United States thousands of lovers 
 of aquatic sports Besides winning the 
 free-for-all race, his yacht, "Merlin," 
 also beat, in private races, the schooner- 
 yacht "Toxteth," and sloop "Rambler," 
 coming in ahead of the first-named by a 
 quarter of an hour. She took first prize 
 at the Milwaukee Yacht Club regatta held 
 at Milwaukee, July 4, 1894, and first 
 prize at the Green Bay Yacht Club regat- 
 ta held at Green Bay, September 26, 
 1 894. In September, 1 894, the ' ' Mer- 
 lin '' was sold by Commodore H. J. Con- 
 ley to Commodore J. D. Sarles, of Green 
 Bas'. Mr. Conley's "Empress" and 
 "Vivian" are also famed for speed, the 
 first-named being said to be the best 
 finished yacht on the lakes; she won first 
 prize in a race on Lake Oconomowoc, 
 without availing herself of her time allow- 
 ance, the "Vivian" coming in second. 
 (The prize was a silver cup presented by 
 Commodore Greene). In 1886, at the 
 closing of the season of the Oconomowoc 
 Yacht Club, on the waters of La Belle, 
 the "Vivian" captured the first prize. 
 Among other A i yachts built by Mr. Con- 
 
146 
 
 COMMEMOllATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ley may be mentioned the fast sailor •' Au 
 Re\oir, " for A. J. Chase, of Lake Crystal, 
 Minnesota; schooner yacht "Oneida, "for 
 John C. F"ollett, of Green Bay, Wis., (she 
 won first prize in her class in the Green Bay 
 rej^atta held July 27, 18941; sloop "Em- 
 ma," for Commodore Greene, which, in 
 her maiden race, beat the "Empress" 
 and ' ' Vivian " on Lake Oconomowoc, July 
 4, I 894, also on Auf^ust 26, in a race on 
 the same lake, between boats brought in 
 from Pine and Pewaukee Lakes, again 
 won first prize, this time against ten 
 starters, the boats taking part in this race 
 representing the best builders in the coun- 
 try, some of them coming from New York 
 and Boston. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Conley was married in 
 Green Bay (where she was born) to Miss 
 Clara M. Scheller, daughter of Albert 
 and Louise Scheller, natives of Germany, 
 whence several years ago they came to Wis- 
 consin, settling in Green Bay, where Mr. 
 Scheller conducted one of the first tailor- 
 ing establishments of the place. He died 
 in 1863; his widow is still residing in 
 Green Bay. To Mr. and Mrs. Conley 
 has been born one child, a charming little 
 daughter, named Marie Vivian. Mrs. 
 Conlej' is a member of the Moravian 
 Church. Our subject is a member of 
 Pochequette Lodge, No. 26, K. of P., 
 Green Bay, and of the Republican party. 
 He was elected commodore of the Green 
 Bay Yacht Club July 1 1. 1894. In addi- 
 tion toj'achts and boats, he is also manu- 
 facturer of sails, tents, flags, awnings, 
 etc. The family residence is at No. 300 
 South Washington street, Green Bay. 
 
 FELIX DKOOG. This substantial, 
 well-to-do citizen of De Pere, 
 Brown coimty, is a native of Bel- 
 gium, where he was born Decem- 
 ber 25, 1823. and educated, attending 
 school up to the age of thirteen yenrs. 
 
 He started out in life for himself, first 
 commencing to work as mason's assistant. 
 
 afterward learning the trade of mason and 
 bricklayer, at which he continued to work, 
 and, being thrifty and economical, saved 
 some mone\-. On April 15, 1856. he was 
 married in Antwerp to Bernardine Evard, 
 who was born in Belgium in August, 1826, 
 and a few days after their marriage they 
 bade farewell to their friends and home. 
 Mr. Droog had not to leave his native 
 country because of the fear of coming to 
 want in later life, for he had been re- 
 warded with the National Recompense of 
 two medals of honor for devoted acts of 
 courage. The first medal (silver) he re- 
 ceived in April, 1850; the second one 
 (gold), also an engraving showing his 
 courageous acts, received from the royal 
 palace February 11, 1851. With this 
 honor, he and his j'onng bride set sail 
 from Antwerp for America. They 
 took passage in the "Mary Goodwin," 
 and after a long voyage landed at Que- 
 bec, Canada, whence they at once set out 
 for their final destination. Green Bay, 
 Wis. The journey from Quebec occu- 
 pied nine days, and they arrived in Green 
 Bay July 14, strangers in a strange land, 
 and with but fifteen dollars to commence 
 life in the New World. For o\er a year 
 after their arrival they resided with Greg- 
 orie Bormans. in .'Mlouez township, and 
 then moved to De Pcre, where Mr. Droog 
 obtained employment on the old stone 
 school building, which was then in course 
 of construction, and later took the con- 
 tract for the mason work on the "Cali- 
 fornia House " He continued to follow 
 his trade at odd times for four and a half 
 years, part of the time working for Joseph 
 G. Lawton at seventy-five cents per day. 
 Purchasing a lot in De Pere, he erected 
 thereon the house in which the family 
 still resides, and, after some years, pur- 
 chased twenty acres of wild land in De- 
 Pere township. The place was entirel}' in 
 the woods, not a stick having been cut from 
 it, and he at once set to work to clear and 
 improve it; he never lived there, however, 
 continuing to have his home in the town. 
 He is energetic and industrious, and by hard 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 '47 
 
 work and perseverance has accumulated a 
 comfortable competence. He not only 
 cultivated his original larin, but added to 
 it gradually, until it now consists of fifty 
 acres of productive land. In addition to 
 his agricultural labors he also continued 
 to follow his trade until 1892, when he 
 abandoned it. For twenty-three years he 
 had been employed to set fire-brick and 
 do other repair work in different furnaces 
 in the Fo.\ River \'alle3', many of which 
 he had also helped to build. There are 
 few men in the township who have toiled 
 harder, but he has met with encouraging 
 success in his efforts, and he is highly re- 
 spected everj'where for his sterling worth. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Droog have been blessed 
 with children as follows: Mar}', Mrs. 
 Frank Calaway, of WestDePere: Leona, 
 Mrs. August Matzke, of Glenmore; Jo- 
 sephine, deceased wife of Mathias Matzke 
 (she was a school teacher prior to her 
 marriage); and Jennie C. and Henry J., 
 at home. Mr. Droog is a Democrat in 
 his political preferences, and in religious 
 connection he and his wife are members 
 of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, De Pere. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOSEPH DENIS, of the 
 steam tug "Charniy," has been 
 sailing from the port of Green 
 Bay since 1864, commencing on 
 the steamboat "George L. Dunlap," and 
 receiving his commission in 1868. 
 
 He was born in Belgium in 1845, a 
 son of Leopold and Rosalie (Noel) Denis, 
 and in 1855 the family left their native 
 land on the " Henry Reed," a sailing 
 vessel, in fifty da\s arriving at New York 
 City. Thence they proceeded to Buffalo, 
 N. Y., where they passed their first win- 
 ter; from there, in the following spring, 
 came by rail to Fond du Lac, Wis., and 
 thence by team to Green Bay. In Bel- 
 gium the father had followed agricultural 
 pursuits, and, being desirous of continuing 
 the same vocation in the New World, 
 bought 160 acres of totally uncleared 
 
 timber land in Brussells township. Door 
 Co., Wis., near Red river. This, how- 
 ever, the family never cleared, nor even 
 lived on, though in later years the father 
 did some logging on it; but in Allouez 
 township they lived for five years on Capt. 
 Cotton's farm, where is now the cemetery 
 of that township. He then bought a farm 
 near the old military road, where he died 
 Januarj- 22, 1892; his first wife had pre- 
 ceded him to the grave in 1866. He was 
 a Democrat in politics, and for eighteen 
 years was assessor of his township. This 
 couple had born to them children as 
 follows: Joseph, the subject of this 
 sketch; Victoria, wife of Frank Garrett, 
 of Green Baj'; Celestin R. , residing at 
 East De Pere, engaged as engineer and at 
 farming; Louis, an engineer, who died in 
 1891, at Appleton; Alfonsine, who died 
 while en route to America; Charles, who 
 died in Buffalo, N. Y. ; Leopold, an en- 
 gineer, residing in Green Bay; Julia, wife 
 of X. Parmentier, city clerk of Green 
 Bay; Mary, wife of Alfonse Hugot, of 
 Allouez; Rosalie, wife of Ralph Soquet, a 
 druggist, and Charles, a resident of De- 
 Pere. In 1867 Leopold Denis, father of 
 this famil}', for his second wife married 
 Honorine Istash, also a native of Belgium, 
 and to this union were born seven chil- 
 dren, of whom the living are Victor, 
 P"rank, James, Honorine and Louisa. 
 
 Our subject was but ten years of age 
 when he came to Green Bay, and was 
 educated in the schools of that city and 
 in Allouez township. Until he com- 
 menced boating he was employed on the 
 farm; in 1882 and 1883, however, he was 
 connected with his brother, Leopold, in 
 sawmilling, but continued steamboating 
 between Green Bay and all lake ports as 
 far as Chicago. In 1868 he \\as married, 
 in Green Bay, to Miss Mary Briquelet, a 
 native of France and a daughter of 
 Nicholas Briquelet, at that time a resi- 
 dent of Allouez, where he died. Her 
 brother, Joseph, came to this country in 
 1856, and died in 1888. To the marriage 
 of Capt. Denis have been born four chil- 
 
1 48 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren, viz.: Aj^nes (deceased in 1891) was 
 the wife of Joseph Coel, a clotliing mer- 
 chant; James is a salesman with Joannes 
 Bros. ; and Lucy, and Joseph, also clerk- 
 ing with Joannes Bros. The Captain in 
 politics is a Republican; fraternally he is a 
 member of the Royal Arcanum; in relig- 
 ious faith he and his wife are members of 
 St. John's Catholic Church. Their fine 
 residence in Green Bay is located at No. 
 325 Van Buren street, and is centrally 
 situated. The Captain takes a lively in- 
 terest in the progress of the city, is high- 
 ly respected both on the lakes and on 
 shore, and is recognized as a useful, sub- 
 stantial citizen. 
 
 PETER VANDERHEIDEN, 
 farmer of Holland township, 
 Brown county, was born in North 
 Brabant, Holland, February 10, 
 1849, a son of Derk and Antonet (Van- 
 Roy) Vanderheiden. 
 
 The father of our subject was a 
 farmer, and was twice married, first to 
 Petrone'la Van de Nymelenberg, who bore 
 him seven children, and died November 
 9, 1847. The father then married, No- 
 vember 30, 1848, Antonet Van Roy, who 
 has bore him six children, viz. : Peter, 
 our subject; George B. ; Mary, deceased; 
 John and Bardine (twins), and Mary (2). 
 In 1850 the parents came to America, 
 landing in New York, thence coming 
 directly to Wisconsin. They settled in 
 Holland township, where the father 
 bought 160 acres of land in the wild 
 woods, from which was carved out the 
 splendid farm where our subject now lives. 
 It would be superfluous to here relate the 
 primitive manner in which the farm was 
 reached and hewed from the wilderness. 
 The courage and the endurance of the pio- 
 neer have been depicted a* housand times, 
 and the experience of the Vanderheiden 
 family was that of all others in like cir- 
 cumstances. Suffice it to say that the 
 family prospered, but that it was for a 
 
 period of thirty years that they lived in 
 the 20 X 30 log cabin that originally occu- 
 pied the site of their present substantial 
 stone dwelling. 
 
 Peter \'anderheiden was faithful in 
 aiding his father in developing the home- 
 stead, and was alwa)s a hard worker at 
 home, with the exception of a few months 
 during the winters, when he worked for 
 neighbors; but he always brought his 
 earnings home, adding thus to the family 
 store. The father died here February 1 1, 
 1874, aged fifty-nine years, eleven months 
 and eleven days, deeply mourned by 
 friends and neighbors. Our subject then 
 took possession of the farm, which he has 
 successfully managed to the present time; 
 each heir became the owner of eighty 
 acres. In 1887 our subject married Miss 
 Louise, daughter of John and Mary 
 (Gilsing) Pekel, the family coming to 
 America from Germany in i860. There 
 were nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Pekel, namely: Lambert, John, William, 
 Mary, George, Kate (deceased in in- 
 fancy), Louise, Kate (2), and Lena. To 
 our subject and his wife have come four 
 children, viz. : Theodore, born Decem- 
 ber 7, 1S88; John and Mary, born Jan- 
 uary 14, 1891; and William, born Jan- 
 uary 7, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderheiden 
 are devout members of the Catholic 
 Church; in politics he is a Democrat, and 
 socially he is one of the most respected 
 citizens of the township. 
 
 JOSEPH CRABB, a rising young agri- 
 culturist of De Perc township, is a 
 native of the town of De Pare, 
 Brown county, born November 8, 
 1 87 1, son of Philip and Gertrude Crabb, 
 the former a native of Belgium, the latter 
 of Holland. She was his second wife, 
 and they were the parents of six children — 
 three sons and three daughters — of whom 
 Joseph is the eldest son. 
 
 Joseph Crabb received a liberal com- 
 mon-school education in the schools of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 149 
 
 De Pere. When he was seven years old 
 his father died, and his mother having re- 
 married, he resided at home until he 
 reached the age of eighteen, at which 
 time he commenced life for his own ac- 
 count. Proceeding to Glenwood, St. 
 Croix Co., Wis., he remained there three 
 years, the greater part of the time work- 
 ing in a mill, excepting for a few months 
 when it was idle, and he engaged in rail- 
 roading. He then returned to De Pere 
 township, Brown county, where for a 
 short time he made his home with his 
 wife's parents, coming, March i, 1893, to 
 the farm where he now resides. On No- 
 vember 5, 1889, Mr. Crabb was married, 
 in De Pere, to Miss Nellie Kersten, who 
 was born August 17, 1870, in De Pere 
 township, daughter of John Kersten, a 
 native of Germany. To this union have 
 been born two children, Philip and Ger- 
 trude A. Though Mr. Crabb is but a 
 young man, and is, in fact, the youngest 
 fanner in the township, he has no su- 
 perior as an agriculturist in his section. 
 He is hard-working, energetic and pro- 
 gressive, and with his natural ability and 
 good business management is bound to 
 prosper. In his political affiliations he 
 is a member of the Democratic party, 
 and in religious connection he and his 
 wife are both members of St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 JAMES D. McAllister, a weii- 
 known resident of Howard township. 
 Brown county, is a native of Wis- 
 consin, born in Manitowoc county 
 November 27, 1847, son of Clement and 
 Minalta (Holbrook) McAllister. 
 
 Clement McAllister was born and 
 reared on a farm in the forests of New 
 York State, and came to Wisconsin in 
 1839, settling on a farm, where he died 
 when about fifty years of age. His parents 
 were Francis and Nancy (Elkins) McAllis- 
 ter, natives of Scotland, the former of 
 whom was born March i, 1792, and died 
 
 November 6, 1841, in Manitowoc county, 
 Wis. ; the latter died in St. Lawrence 
 county, N. Y. Mrs. Minalta McAllister 
 was born November 18, 18 10, in St. Law- 
 rence county, N. Y., and now makes her 
 home with her son, James D. She is a 
 daughter of David and Minerva (Bartholo- 
 mew) Holbrook, the former of whom, a 
 farmer, was born in 1785 in Lebanon, 
 Conn., and died in T833 in St. Lawrence 
 county, N. Y. His parents were Peltia 
 and Mary (Clark) Holbrook. Minerva 
 Bartholomew, daughter of Isaac and 
 Lydia (Deming) Bartholomev^', of Ver- 
 mont, but later of New York, was born 
 June 3, 1793, and died in 1843, the mother 
 of twelve children, of whom Minalta Mc- 
 Allister was the eldest, and of whom seven 
 are yet living. 
 
 James D. McAllister is the youngest 
 child in a family of six, of whom but one 
 besides himself, a sister, is living. He was 
 reared on the home farm until fourteen 
 years of age, when his father died, and he 
 went to work for his Uncle Hiram, with 
 whom he remained eight or nine years. 
 In 1876 he first came to Howard town- 
 ship. Brown count}', and bought eighty 
 acres of partly cultivated land, which he 
 at once commenced to improve and work. 
 On May 28, 1879, he was married to Miss 
 Ella Ames, who was born March 27, 1859, 
 in Erie county, Penn., daughter of Clark 
 and Mary (Robbins) Ames, who had a 
 family of five children; these parents were 
 also natives of Pennsylvania, in which 
 State the mother died at the early age of 
 twenty-seven years; the father, Clark 
 Ames, and his children came to Wiscon- 
 sin about the year 1866, and still reside 
 in Pittsfield township. 
 
 The union of James D. and Ella Mc- 
 Allister has been blessed with six chil- 
 dren, as follows: Mabel V., born April 
 3, 1 881; William L. , born September 10, 
 1882; Susan S., born June 3, 1885; Alvin 
 L., born March 8, 1888; and Clyde C, 
 born May 18, 1890, and one born May 
 17, 1894, died July 28, 1894. Mr. Mc- 
 Allister, at the time of his marriage, set- 
 
•50 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 tied on his present farm, on which he 
 conducts a profitable dairying business. 
 In his political affiliations he is a Republi- 
 can, and he is active in promoting the 
 educational interests of his section, also 
 giving his aid to religious and other moral 
 movements which tend to benefit or ad- 
 vance his township or county. He and 
 his family are universally respected, and 
 Mr. McAllister's steady habits render him 
 a desirable member of the community. 
 
 SETH WILLIAMS CHAMPION, 
 railroad manager, was born De- 
 cember 25, 1844, at Princeton, 
 Ky., son of Henry W. and Sally 
 (Wiggcnton) Champion, also natives of 
 Kentucky. They were both closely allied 
 to well-known southern families, although 
 bearing different names. 
 
 Thomas Champion, grandfather of the 
 subject of these lines, was a native of 
 North Carolina, whence he moved into 
 Kentucky, settling in Livingston county, 
 near the city of Salem, where he resided 
 until 1 8 14. He served as sheriff of Liv- 
 ingston county, was a trader with the 
 Southern States, and while on a trip 
 south with a drove of horses contracted 
 yellow fever, from which he died soon 
 after reaching home, leaving a widow and 
 five children, Henry W. being the eldest; 
 Dr. Alfred Champion, now a resident of 
 Eddyvillc, Ky., is the only surviving 
 member of this family. Their mother, 
 Mrs. Thomas Champion, was Miss 
 Frances Williams, who, in 1809, in com- 
 pany with her brother Henry, migrated 
 from Virginia to Kentucky, and settled in 
 Livingston county, near Salem. She was 
 connected with the Williams family, nota- 
 ble among the large landowners of Cul- 
 peper county. Va., some members of 
 which achieved distinction in public life. 
 One of the most distinguished members 
 of this family was Gen. Robert Williams, 
 of the United States Army, an ardent 
 Unionist, who rendered valuable service 
 
 to the government during the Rebellion, 
 notwithstanding the fact that he was a 
 Virginian by birth. After the war he 
 served as adjutant-general of the army, 
 and married the widow of Stephen A. 
 Douglas. His grandfather served in the 
 Virginian line during the war of the Rev- 
 olution, and was also a commissioned 
 officer in the war of 1H12. The paternal 
 great-grandmother of Seth Williams 
 Champion came of another distinguished 
 Virginia family, representatives of which 
 were also numerous in Culpeper county. 
 
 Henry W. Champion, father of our 
 subject, was born, in 1812, in Livingston 
 county, Ky., and was but a boy when his 
 father died. His wife was a granddaugh- 
 ter of John Miller Bell, who belonged to 
 a famous Southern family, numerous rep- 
 resentatives of which have been promi- 
 nent in public life, John Minor Botts, 
 who was one of the signers of Jefferson 
 Davis' bail bond at the close of the Civil 
 war, belonging to the antecedents of the 
 Bell family. Prior to the war he served 
 many years in Congress as an "Old-Line 
 Whig," and was an enthusiastic follower 
 of Henry Clay. He was a lawyer and 
 gentleman farmer, his law office being in 
 Richmond, and his country home near 
 Culpeper Court House. He opposed the 
 Secession movement, and when the war 
 began retired to his farm, refusing to act 
 with the large majority of the public men 
 of Virginia who held that they owed their 
 State allegiance paramount to that which 
 they owed to the National Government. 
 His loyalty to the Union caused him to 
 suffer arrest and imprisonment at the 
 hands of the Confederates, and his for- 
 tune was seriously impaired by the rav- 
 ages of war. After the struggle was ended, 
 he e.xerted his influence to restore Vir- 
 ginia to Statehood, and published an in- 
 teresting volume entitled "The Great 
 Rebellion, Its Secret History, Rise, Pro- 
 gress and Disastrous Failure." 
 
 In 1857 Henry W. Champion, with 
 his family, emigrated from Kentucky to 
 Coles county. 111., one of the older coun- 
 
'^Icr^Kt 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 153 
 
 ties of southeastern Illinois, where he be- 
 came a fanner. In 1862 he removed to 
 central Illinois, settling first in Macon 
 county, and three or four years later in 
 Menard county, where he continued to re- 
 side up to his death, which occurred in 
 1 88 1, one week after the decease of his 
 wife. In early life he was a printer, and 
 published a paper both in Tennessee and 
 Kentucky, but later was a merchant at 
 Greenview, and for many years postmaster 
 of that village. In his religious faith he 
 was a stanch and active member of the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and 
 during his whole life was an ardent worker 
 in the Sunday-schools. 
 
 Seth Williams Champion, the subject 
 proper of this sketch, received his literary 
 education at the schools in Coles county 
 and Mount Zion, Macon Co., 111., at the 
 age of thirteen years commencing to work 
 on his father's farm, and, until he at- 
 tained his majority and sought other em- 
 ployment, by far the greater share of 
 his time was thereafter devoted to that 
 kind of labor. When he was about twen- 
 ty-two years of age, he left home and 
 went to Virden, 111., becoming a clerk in 
 the office of the Chicago & Alton Railway 
 Co. at that point, and after remaining 
 there one year he was appointed station 
 agent at Greenview, 111. At the end of two 
 years more he was promoted to station 
 agent at Lacon, 111. (also on the Chicago 
 & Alton railroad), and remained there 
 eight years. In 1878 he came to Green 
 Bay, Wis., and became the agent in that 
 city of the Green Bay & Minnesota Rail- 
 road Company, now known as the Green 
 Bay, Winona & St. Paul Railroad Com- 
 pany. Sometime afterward he entered 
 the general offices of this company as 
 chief clerk, and later was promoted in 
 succession to the important and respon- 
 sible positions of general freight and pas- 
 senger agent, and superintendent. In 
 1890 he became general manager of this 
 line of railroad, with headquarters in 
 Green Bay. He has also been manager, 
 since its construction, of the Kewaunee, 
 
 Green Bay & Western railroad, running 
 from Green Bay to Kewaunee, a line 
 thirty-four miles long, of which he was 
 one of the builders and principal pro- 
 moters. 
 
 As a railroad man, Mr. Champion 
 has become well known throughout the 
 entire Northwest, and is recognized as a 
 railroad operator of superior capacity and 
 ability. Having begun his career, as a 
 railroad man, as station agent in a country 
 village, he has thoroughly familiarized 
 himself with all the details of railroad 
 business and management, and has earned 
 promotion by hard work and thorough 
 honest}', intelligent effort, and efficient 
 services. He has made a close study of 
 what may be termed ' ' The science of 
 railroading," has a broad knowledge of 
 the principles governing the operation of 
 railroads and all the rules and regulations 
 pertaining to railroad traffic, and is a 
 man, also, of extensive general informa- 
 tion. The duties and responsibilities of 
 the positions which he has held have de- 
 manded his undivided attention, and he 
 has had neither the time nor the inclina- 
 tion to seek official preferment or public 
 honors of any kind, the only office he has 
 ever held being that of alderman, while 
 a resident of Lacon, III. He has, how- 
 ever, taken the interest which all good 
 citizens should feel in political move- 
 ments, acting always with the Republi- 
 can party where political issues are in- 
 volved, and being a firm believer in the 
 wisdom of its principles and politics. His 
 family, although of Southern origin, be- 
 longed to the " Old-Whig" party of ante- 
 war days, and when his father came 
 North he drifted easily and naturally into 
 the Republican party, when that party 
 came into existence. The son wasbrought 
 up under this influence, and has seen no 
 reason to change his political faith. The 
 religious influences, which surrounded him 
 in early life, were those of the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Cham- 
 pion is still a Presbyterian in his Church 
 affiliations, but on account of there being 
 
'54 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 no Presbyterian Church of the Cumber- 
 land faith in Green Bay, he affihates with 
 the Methodist Church, of which his wife 
 is a member. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Champion was married 
 to Miss Lucinda A. White, a daughter of 
 George Roley White, of Decatur, 111., in 
 which city she was born, and to this union 
 were born five children, of whom three 
 are living, namely: Lalla May, Ora A. 
 and Clyde W. 
 
 REV. JACOBUS BOZMACK was 
 born May i, 1848, in Austria, son 
 of Valentine and Constantia Boz- 
 mack, who had a family of eight 
 children, all of whom are deceased ex- 
 cept our subject. The parents both died 
 in their native country. 
 
 Jacobus Bozmack received his early 
 education in the common schools of the 
 land of his birth, and, at the age of 
 twenty-seven years, entered the priest- 
 hood. In 1 893 he came to America, 
 and after a very rough voyage landed in 
 New York city, thence coming directly 
 to his charge in Eaton township, P)rown 
 county, Wisconsin. 
 
 HENRY NACHTWEY, a prosper- 
 ous wide-awake general merchant 
 of De Fere township, and post- 
 master at Pine Grove, is a native 
 of Wisconsin, born July 22, 1858, in Coop- 
 erstown. Anton Nachtwey, father of 
 Henry, was born March 26, 1826, in 
 Prussia, Germany, a son of Michael 
 Nachtwey, who died when his son, Anton, 
 was twelve years old. Michael Nachtwey 
 was married four times, and had twenty- 
 five children; by his third marriage he had 
 ten, of whom Anton was the ninth and 
 the youngest son. This wife died when 
 her son Anton was five 3ears old. 
 
 Anton Nachtwey received a good edu- 
 cation in the schools of his native coun- 
 
 try. He was reared a farmer boy, and 
 after the death of his father left the home- 
 stead and hired out as a farmhand at 
 various places until he reached the age of 
 sixteen, when he went to Frankfort-on- 
 the-Main. Here he remained until he 
 was twenty-one years of age, during which 
 time he was emplo}ed in the German 
 mint for three years, and for a year and 
 a half worked in a brewery with his 
 brother, Henry (this brother afterward 
 conducted a store and a saloon in Coopers- 
 town, Wis. ). Anton had a very profitable 
 situation in the government mint, but 
 he was obliged to abandon it on account 
 of his health. Having a few hundred 
 dollars, part of which he received from 
 his father's estate, and part of which he 
 had saved, Mr. Nachtwey, in the summer 
 of 1847, left his native countr}' and set out 
 for America. He proceeded to London, 
 England; but after waiting there nine days 
 for a vessel which did not arrive, he took 
 the cars to Liverpool, whence he set sail, 
 and after a voyage of seven weeks landed 
 at New York. From there he proceeded 
 by steamboat to Albany, thence, via the 
 Erie canal to Buffalo, where he took 
 passage on the steamer "Michigan" for 
 Milwaukee, Wis. His destination was 
 Two Rivers, but as the "Michigan " did 
 not stop at that port, he came hither by 
 sailing vessel from Milwaukee, arriving at 
 his journey's end in the latter part of 
 July. At that time the town of Two 
 Rivers contained but twenty-seven build- 
 ings, by actual count, and Indians were 
 still numerous in the surrounding country. 
 Here Mr. Nachtwey found work in the 
 sawmill of a Mr. Smit, and remained four 
 years. 
 
 On July 20, 1 85 I, he was married, in 
 Cooperstown, to Miss Catherine Flatten, 
 who was born July 8, 1835, '" Prussia, 
 daughter of Anton and Margaret Flatten, 
 who came to the United States in 1842. 
 They were seven weeks crossijig the ocean, 
 and made the entire journey from their 
 home in Germany to Green Bay, Wis., 
 by water, making the lake trip (-)n the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 155 
 
 "Old Columbus," this being; the last trip 
 made by that old boat. For a year and 
 a half after their arrival the Flattens lived 
 in Gi^een Bay, and then moved to De- 
 Pere township. Brown county, where Mrs. 
 Nachtwey resided until her marriage. To 
 Anton and Margaret Nachtwey have been 
 born children as follows: Joseph, of 
 Bellevue township; John, of New Den- 
 mark township; Henry, whose name opens 
 this sketch; Anton, of Glenmore town- 
 ship; Frank, of Bellevue township; Mary, 
 teacher in a convent in Chicago; Mark, 
 Matilda, and Maggie and Lizzie (twins). 
 at home; thre^ children that died young; 
 and Peter, who died in Green Bay at the 
 age of seventeen, from lockjaw, the re- 
 sult of an accident in a sawmill. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Nachtwey re- 
 sided in Cooperstown, of which place he 
 and his brother Henry were among the first 
 German settlers. When they first came 
 there the surrounding country was still in 
 its primitive condition, and Mr. Nachtwey 
 remembers at one time seeing seventeen 
 Indian wigwams in Cooperstown, the oc- 
 cupants of which were all engaged in 
 making maple sugar, which they traded 
 to the settlers for potatoes and other food. 
 In 1877 he came to New Denmark town- 
 ship, Brown county, where he and his 
 wife still make their home. He has fol- 
 lowed farming continuously ever since his 
 marriage, and he now has a fine tract of 
 160 acres. He and his wife are members 
 of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church at 
 Pine Grove, and in his political affilia- 
 tions Mr. Nachtwey generally fa\'ors the 
 principles of the Democratic party; how- 
 ever, he cast a vote for Abraham Lincoln, 
 and supports the best man without much 
 regard for party lines. He is universally 
 respected as an honest, upright citizen. 
 He has a remarkable memory, and easily 
 recalls events which happened vears ago. 
 
 Henry Nachtwey received his educa- 
 tion in the common schools of his time, 
 and was thoroughly trained to agriculture 
 on the home farm. In 1 870 he commenced 
 to work in a shingle-mil], and continued the 
 
 same until a painful accident to his 
 shoulder compelled him to retire from 
 active labor and rest for a year, at the end of 
 which time, with complete rest and the 
 aid of a costly contrivance, he fully re- 
 covered and was able to resume work. 
 For three years he was employed in the 
 mills of Gillon & Monroe, becoming thor- 
 oughly familiar with all kinds of sawmill- 
 ing, which in the early pioneer times was 
 a very important industry, but with the 
 clearing up of the countrj' has been gradu- 
 ally decreasing. On November 12, 1889, 
 Mr. Nachtwej' was united in marriage, in 
 De Pere, with Miss Margaret E. Connel- 
 ly, who was born May 23, 1865, in the 
 Province of Ontario, Canada, daughter of 
 John Connelly, and was but nine weeks 
 old when her parents came to Wisconsin, 
 where she was reared. After marriage the 
 young couple commenced housekeeping 
 in Pine Grove, De Pere township, where 
 he has been engaged in general mercan- 
 tile business since 1882. He commenced 
 alone, but later received his brother, 
 Joseph, as a partner, and they carried on 
 the business together until 1891, since 
 when our subject has been sole proprietor. 
 He has been very successful, and he con- 
 ducts one of the best-kept and most com- 
 plete general stores in the county, his 
 courteous and accommodating disposition 
 having made him exceedingly popular 
 with his fellowmen. The postoffice at 
 Pine Grove had been discontinued, but in 
 1882 it was re-established, and Mr. 
 Nachtwey was appointed to the position 
 of postmaster, in which he now serves. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nachtwey are both mem- 
 bers of Holy Trinity Catholic Church at 
 Pine Grove. They have had one child, 
 Allen A., who was born June 22, 1892. 
 
 WILLIAM WORKMAN, the pop- 
 ular druggist of De Pere, Wis., 
 was born at the village of Prest- 
 wick, Ayrshire, Scotland, June 
 22, 1S22, a son of John and Ann (Prin- 
 
156 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 glej Workman, the former of whom was 
 a weaver, who employed several journey- 
 men, but who died when his son William 
 was but six years of age. Mrs. Ann 
 Workman continued to reside at Prest- 
 wick for some years after the death of her 
 husband, but tinall}' followed her son Will- 
 iam to America, and ended her days at 
 his home in De Pere. Both parents were 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 William Workman ser\ed an appren- 
 ticeship of five and a half years at the 
 machinist's trade in Deanston, Perth- 
 shire, Scotland, and then, July i, 1842, 
 at the age of twenty years, embarked at 
 Glasgow on a sailing vessel for the United 
 States, and nine weeks later landed in 
 New York City, where he remained about 
 a year, employed at various occupations; 
 he then came to Milwaukee, Wis. ; thence 
 moved to Waterville, where he emplo\ed 
 himself at farming for a year, and was 
 then employed in carpentering at Ripon. 
 On January 8, 1852, he started for Cali- 
 fornia b\' the Panama route, reaching 
 Panama on the first of the following 
 March; built and started the first circu- 
 lar sawmill in the place at a salary of 
 one hundred dollars per week in gold, 
 and on May i reached San Francisco. 
 After quite successfully mining in Cali- 
 fornia for two years, Mr. Workman re- 
 turned to Ripon, Wis., May 30, 1854, 
 and established a steam cabinet-making 
 establishment; in 1859 he purchased a 
 seeding machine patent, and for three 
 years was engaged in its manufacture at 
 Ripon, but the patent proved a failure. 
 Mr. Workman ne.xt secured several pat- 
 ents for sundry other machines, and in 
 the manufacture of these he met with 
 better success. In 1866 he entered into 
 partnership with Jason and \\'ellington 
 Hitchcock, and added the manufacture of 
 sleighs, cutters, wagons, etc., and in 1878 
 sold his interest in the factor}' to Jason 
 Hitchcock and moved to De Pere, where 
 he took the position of superintendent of 
 the De Pere Iron Works, in which he 
 held some stock. In 1873 the company 
 
 failed and was bought in by Blanchard & 
 Arnold, of Milwaukee, for whom Mr. 
 Workman acted as superintendent. This 
 firm also fell into financial difficulties 
 through the failure of the Union Steel & 
 Iron Company, of Chicago, in 1884, and 
 by this disaster Mr. Workman was again 
 a sufferer to the extent of five thousand 
 dollars. On November 30, 1885, Mr. 
 Workman bought out the interest of his 
 son and his son's partner, Michael Welsh, 
 in their drug store in West De Pere, and 
 this he conducted until August 18, 1890; 
 in 1887 he also purchased from William 
 Chapman his drug store in East De Pere, 
 and to this, after selling out in W'est De- 
 Pere, he has since devoted his entire at- 
 tention, meeting with a prosperous trade. 
 Mr. Workman has been twice mar- 
 ried, first time at Ripon, in 1845, to Miss 
 Rachel Stilwell, who survived her mar- 
 riage only three months; his second mar- 
 riage occurred, in 1850, to Margaret 
 Miller, also at Ripon. and this union has 
 been blessed with six children, viz. : Will- 
 iam M., a druggist of West De Pere; 
 Mary, married to David Thomas, of Ripon; 
 Margaret and Aimie P., at home; John, 
 who died at Ripon of scarletina at the 
 the age of two years and nine months; 
 and Frank, who died of diphtheria at De- 
 Pere, aged three years and three months. 
 Mr. Workman was a charter member of 
 Ripon Lodge, No. 95, F. & A. M., in 
 1857; he also was a charter member of 
 Ripon Chapter, No. 30, and a member of 
 the Commandery at Fond du Lac; he is 
 now a member of De Pere Lodge. No. 
 85, of which he has served as secretary 
 three j'ears. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, and while living at Ripon he served 
 as county supervisor from the First ward; 
 two terms; also in the city council several 
 terms, and as mayor one term; at West 
 De Pere he has served as president of the 
 village for ten or more years, and also as 
 member of council in East De Pere for 
 two years — evincing in each position a 
 business ability that gave the utmost 
 satisfaction to the public. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 157 
 
 Mr. Workman has always commanded 
 the respect of the communities in which 
 he has lived, and been recognized as a 
 valuable and desirable member of society. 
 
 JAMES TOUHEY, the genial pro- 
 prietor of the "New Transit Hotel" 
 at De Pere, was born July 28, 1836, 
 in County Clare, Ireland, son of 
 Michael and Bridget (Maloney) Touhey, 
 natives of the same county. 
 
 Michael Touhey was a farmer of 
 moderate means, and also a cattle dealer, 
 with his residence about seven miles 
 northeast of Limerick. His children, 
 who were all born in Ireland, were named 
 as follows: Jane, Mary, Dennis, Bridget, 
 Michael, Honora, Margaret, Winnie, 
 Michael (2), Timothy, Winnie (2), and 
 James; there was also one that died in in- 
 fancy. They were not, however, born in 
 the order named, as James, our subject, 
 was the fifth child and the third son. On 
 March 17, 1848, Michael Touhey and his 
 family left Limerick for America, and on 
 June 20, landed in Quebec. From that 
 city he went to Burlington, Vt., where he 
 was appointed overseer and timekeeper 
 over 1,200 men employed on the New 
 York & Erie railway, then being built. 
 Wisconsin was then a new State, and, al- 
 though he was making money he con- 
 cluded to try his fortune here. Accord- 
 ingly, in the latter part of August, 1848, he 
 arrived in Milwaukee, where he was en- 
 gaged in street grading, etc. , employing 
 many men and teams, until September, 
 1855, when he removed to Manitowoc, 
 and a short time afterward purchased a 
 tract of 160 acres in Franklin township, 
 same count}', which he subsequently in- 
 creased to 400 acres. Here he died, in 
 the Catholic faith, April 6, 1886, and was 
 followed to the grave by his faithful wife 
 four days later. Their remains now rest 
 side by side in Maple Grove cemetery, 
 Manitowoc county. Of his large family 
 four children only survive: Honora, a 
 
 widow; James, our subject; Margaret, 
 now Mrs. Patrick McMann, of Kansas; 
 and Michael, of Bessemer, Mich., but 
 formerly of Morrison township. Brown 
 Co., Wis., being then the representative 
 of his District in the State Legislature. 
 
 James Touhey received his earlier ed- 
 ucation in his native land, and, after 
 reaching the United States, at the age of 
 eleven years, attended the Milwaukee 
 schools until large enough to drive a team 
 for his father. While thus employed he 
 drove the horses that hoisted the first lo- 
 comotive that e\'er ran in Wisconsin, and 
 which was subsequently used on the Mil- 
 waukee & Mississippi railroad. He moved 
 with his parents to Franklin township, 
 Manitowoc county, where he worked on 
 his father's extensive tracts of new land 
 until his marriage, October 26, 1858, at 
 Manitowoc Rapids, with Miss Mary Mans- 
 field, a native County Kilkenu}-, Ireland, 
 born in 1839, daughter of Thomas Mans- 
 field, who died when his daughter was 
 but five years of age, leaving a widow and 
 five children. The widow came to the 
 United States in 1850. remarried, and had 
 three children by her second husband. 
 Mary Mansfield was reared near Haver- 
 straw, on the Hud.son (or North) river. 
 New York, and in 1858, while on a visit 
 to Wisconsin, met and married Mr. Tou- 
 hey. For five years after his marriage 
 Mr. Touhey resided with his father, and 
 then located on i 20 acres of timbered land 
 that had formed part of his father's estate. 
 He cleared this land and made a fine 
 farm, on which he resided twelve years, 
 doing hard work all the time. In the fall 
 of 1873 he removed to De Pcie and pur- 
 chased the " Fox River Hotel," which he 
 remodeled and opened on the second 
 Tuesday in November of the same year, 
 changing the name to the "Manitowoc 
 House." Aided by his wife, a very ac- 
 complished lady, he carried on a most 
 prosperous business until April 22, 1882, 
 when the edifice was consumed by fire. 
 Mr. Touhey immediately rebuilt on a 
 larger scale, and called the new hotel the 
 
I5S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 "Transit Hotel." in which he did a thriv- 
 ing trade for seven years, when he was 
 af,'ain burned out. Mr. Touhe}-, some- 
 what di.scouraged, then went to Hot 
 Springs, Ark., to be treated for rheuma- 
 tism, from which he had been suffering 
 since 1879; later he visited various sites 
 in Colorado, where .several offers of an 
 advantageous nature were made to as- 
 sist him in opening a hotel, but the pub- 
 lic-spirited citizens of De Pere induced 
 him to return to that city and resume his 
 former business. Acordinglv. on the ist 
 of September, 1890, he opened the "New 
 Transit Hotel," now .so well known along 
 the F"o.\ river. 
 
 Mr. Touhey is a stanch Democrat, and 
 was once elected justice ol the peace, but 
 declined to serve; in 1863, however, he 
 served as a member of the board of alder- 
 men of De Pere. He is a member of St 
 Francis Catholic Church, and he and his 
 wife are held in the highest respect by the 
 entire community. They have had no 
 children born to them, but some young 
 relative— niece or nephew— has always 
 found a home under their roof. 
 
 Emma, Robert, Ida, and Albert. After 
 a residence of about si.xteen years on his 
 farm Mr. Schroeder removed with his 
 family to Wrightstown, leaving one son in 
 charge of the home place. Here Mr. 
 Schroeder at once established his present 
 business, dealing in farm machiner\- and 
 agricultural implements, and has built up 
 a successful and thriving trade, his fair 
 dealing and gentlemanly deportment gain- 
 ing for him the confidence of the com- 
 munity. He is a local leader in the Dem- 
 ocratic party, and has filled .several re- 
 sponsible offices; he is now a candidate 
 for the position of postmaster. 
 
 Chari.es schroi£dp:r. This 
 popular dealer in agricultural im- 
 plements of Wrightstown, Brown 
 county, was born June 6, 1844 
 in West Pru.ssia, son of Gottlieb and 
 Louise fLuefgei Schroeder. 
 
 In 1863, ill company with his mother 
 and two sisters, our subject came to the 
 United States, landing at Baltimore Md., 
 August 15, whence they moved to the 
 town of Rockland. Brown Co., Wis., set- 
 thng in the wilderness near the Fo.\ River 
 Valley, where he engaged in farming. On 
 January 18. 1870, Mr. Schroeder was 
 here married to Miss Bertha \\'irschke a 
 daughter of Gottlieb Wir.schke, who was 
 largely engaged in the manufacture of 
 linseed oil. To this union have been 
 born ten children, namelv: Marv. Charles, 
 August, Emilie, Rudolph, " Wilhelm' 
 
 CHRISTOPH MEISTER, who is a 
 contractor and builder, of Green 
 Bay, was born in Saxony, Ger- 
 many, November 9, 1820, a son 
 of Henry and Elizabeth (Neuman) Meis- 
 ter, who, in 1855, settled in Green Bay, 
 where the father died in 1864, the mother 
 in 1866. They reared a family of six 
 children, as follows: Christoph, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch; Fredericka, wife of 
 Matthias Fi.st, of Pittstield township; 
 Carolme, wife of Jacob Low, of Preble 
 township; Harry; James; and Ernestine, 
 I wife of Frank Lipman,of Preble township.' 
 I Christoph Meister was educated in 
 
 Germany, and also learned his trade of 
 carpenter and builder in that country. 
 On June 18, 1853, he came to Green Bay, 
 and m 1856 erected his present plea.sant 
 residence. On arriving here he at once 
 engaged in business, and among the many 
 structures he has put up may be men"- 
 tioned "Cook's Hotel," Chapman block. 
 Uncle Frank's block. Engine House No. 1 ,' 
 the old Postoffice building. Turner Halli 
 the Union Brewery, a brewery in Esca- 
 naba, the courthouse in Grand Rapids, 
 and most of the larger stores and dwell- 
 ings in Green Bay. Mr. Meister was 
 united in matrimonv' in Germany, in 1.S49, 
 to Miss Dorothea Montag. and to this 
 union have been born eight children, viz. : 
 
COMMEMORATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 159 
 
 Ernest, Charley, Herman, Frederick, 
 Louisa (wife of Otto Brehmer), Lena, 
 Emma, and Matilda. Mr. and Mrs. Meis- 
 ter are members of the Lutheran Church. 
 Socially he is a member of Herman 
 Lodge, No. Ill, in which he has passed 
 all the chairs, and is also a member of 
 the Turnverein and of the German Benev- 
 olent Society. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican, taking an active interest in the 
 success of the party, and has served as 
 alderman four years. Mr. Meister is the 
 oldest contractor in Green Bay, has la- 
 bored hard to advance its interests, and 
 has won for himself a high standing in the 
 estimation of the entire communit\'. 
 
 JOHN BATEY, of De Pere, was born 
 in the village of Stella, on the river 
 Tyne, County of Durham, England, 
 September I I, 1823, and is a son of 
 John and Ann (Blair) Batey, the former 
 of whom was a mason and contractor. 
 
 Our subject was educated in private 
 schools in the village of Backworth, 
 county of Northumberland, England, 
 until fifteen years of age, when he was 
 indentured for six years to a coal com- 
 pany (for whom his father was a foreman 
 over the masons employed) for the pur- 
 pose of learning masonry. He served 
 out the full term of his indentures, and also 
 worked for the company three years as a 
 journeyman. On the 25th of |anuar\-, 
 1845, he married Doroth)- Armstrong, 
 then eighteen years and eleven days old, 
 a daughter of Thomas and Ann (Scott) 
 Armstrong, the wedding taking place in 
 All Saints Church, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 
 For ten years after his marriage Mr. 
 Batey resided in Backworth, working at 
 his trade, and, of his four children born 
 there, three died of scarlet fever, which 
 so distressed him that he resolved to 
 abandon the country and emigrate to 
 Australia. On reaching Liverpool with 
 his wife and remaining child, Ann, then 
 eight years old, the news of hard times 
 
 was so disheartening from the antipodes, 
 that he changed his destination to Amer- 
 ica, and landed in Montreal, Canada, 
 where he found work on the famous Vic- 
 toria bridge, tlien in course of construc- 
 tion for the Grand Trunk railway. But 
 the work was dangerous, and drownings 
 of masons were of such frequent occur- 
 rence, that he sought and secured em- 
 ployment in the Grand Trunk railroad 
 shops at Montreal, where he remained 
 three months, and then moved to Point 
 Levi, near Quebec; but, the water freez- 
 ing here a quarter of an inch in one night, 
 in the month of September, he immedi- 
 ately took passage for Toronto. This trip 
 was an exceedingh- stormy one; the boat 
 was wrecked, his household goods all 
 lost, and he, his wife and child barely 
 escaped with their lives. Being unaware 
 of the liability of the boat owners for his 
 entire loss, Mr. Batey accepted five dol- 
 lars from the Captain as full indemnity 
 for his goods and clothing. At Toronto 
 Mr. Batey worked for three years at his 
 trade for the railroad company, and then 
 came to Wisconsin and passed two years 
 at Marquette; from there, about 1870, he 
 came to De Pere, since when he has con- 
 tracted for or assisted in the erecting of 
 furnaces all the way across the continent 
 from Detroit, Mich., to Portland, Ore., 
 at one time taking nineteen workmen 
 from De Pere to Oregon. At present 
 Mr. Batey confines himself to acting 
 as foreman or director of men engaged 
 in mason work, having accumulated suf- 
 ficient means to support his wife and self 
 during his declining years. 
 
 While residing in Canada there were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Batey four children, 
 of whom two only are now living, viz. : 
 Rebecca, married to Mr. Bicksler, of 
 Spokane Falls, Wash., and Thomas W., 
 at home with his parents. Ann, the child 
 who was born in England, was married 
 in Canada, to William Wright, bore her 
 husband five children, and died when 
 about twenty-six years old — the children 
 being mostly reared by Mrs. Batey. In 
 
i6o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVK BWGRAPniCAL nECORD. 
 
 politics Mr. Batey is independent, while 
 Mrs. Batey affiliates with the Repub- 
 licans, and she has been a consistent 
 member of the Presbyterian Church for 
 twenty-six years. 
 
 M 
 
 H. NOLAN, chief of police of 
 Green Bay, was born in 1856, 
 in Sheboygan coimty, Wis. 
 His parents, Thomas and Mary 
 (McDonald) Nolan, natives of Ireland, 
 about the year 1 84 1 settled in the woods 
 of Sheboygan county, where they wrested 
 a farm from the forest and acquired a 
 moderate fortune. They now reside in 
 Green Bush township, Sheboygan county, 
 in ease and comfort. They had born to 
 them a family of twelve children, of whom 
 eleven are living, viz. : Bridget, wife of 
 Michael Flynn, of Antigo, Wis. ; John, 
 of Altoona, Wis.; M. H., our subject; 
 Andrew, a farmer of Dakota; Katie, at- 
 tending the Normal School at Oshkosh, 
 Wis. ; Libbie, assistant county treasurer 
 of Langlade county, Wis. ; Anna, clerk- 
 ing in Milwaukee; Thomas, a farmer of 
 Sheboygan county; Winnie, wife of Thom- 
 as Keenan, of Milwaukee; Alice, a school- 
 teacher of Sheboygan county, and Madge, 
 now attending school. 
 
 M. H. Nolan was reared to farming 
 on the Sheboygan county homestead. 
 While yet a young man he passed two 
 years in traveling, seeing the country and 
 working here and there until his final set- 
 tlement in Green Bay, in 1882. After 
 being employed at different branches of 
 labor, he was placed in the city tire de- 
 partment, and had charge of engine 
 house No. 2 for a year; was then tran.s- 
 ferred to the police force, and served four 
 years in a subordinate position, when he 
 was appointed chief in 1893; having filled 
 the position one term with ability and to 
 the satisfaction of all concerned, he was 
 re-appointed and is now serving his sec- 
 ond term. The force comprises the chief 
 and si.\ subordinates, and, under Mr. 
 
 Nolan's guidance, have succeeded in keep- 
 ing the city in an admirable state of good 
 order and quietude. In piilitics Chief 
 Nolan is a Democrat; in religion he is a 
 devout Catholic. He is a member of the 
 Knights of the Maccabees, of which he 
 was one of the organizers of Green Bay, 
 and is also a member of the Royal .Ar- 
 canum. He is a man of nerve, and is 
 much admired by his many friends and 
 associates. 
 
 FRANK THEODORE BLESCH, 
 a wide-awake and enterprising 
 merchant of Green Bay, and who 
 for some years has been connected 
 with the commercial and social interests 
 of that city, was born in Fort Howard, 
 Wis., July 18,1861, of German ilescent, 
 his grandfather, Carl Blesch, having been 
 born at Bingen-on-the-Rhine. The great- 
 grandfather was a well-known musician 
 of that locality, and a composer of piano 
 and organ music. Carl Blesch was also 
 a very popular citizen in the community 
 where he lived, and was the proprietor of 
 the ' ' Pariser Hof " (or ' • Parisian Hotel ") 
 in Bingen. He died in the prime of life, 
 leaving a widow, whose maiden name was 
 Clara Heuser, who survived him many 
 years. They were the parents of seven 
 children: Margareta and Carl, both de- 
 ceased; John B; .Andrew; Francis, also 
 ceased; Elesa and Peter. 
 
 Francis Blesch, father of our subject, 
 was born in Bingen, November 6, 1824, 
 and in the public schools of his native 
 town obtained a good practical education. 
 He there learned the cooper's and brewer's 
 trades, perfecting himself in the business, 
 and worked along those lines in many 
 places, traveling over the greater part of 
 Europe. Eventually returning to Bingen, 
 he there remained until October, 1849, 
 when he crossed the Atlantic to America, 
 with but little capital; he was thoroughly 
 honest, however, and willing to work, and 
 soon won the respect and confidence of all 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 i6i 
 
 by his many good qualities of head and 
 heart. He first located in Milford, Penn., 
 but in 1850 came to Green Bay, Wis., 
 where he established a brewery and did a 
 successful business. He was a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity and a benevo- 
 lent and charitable man, giving freely of 
 his means to the poor and distressed, 
 doing all in a quiet and unostentatious 
 manner. His death occurred November 
 9, 1879, and he was mourned by many 
 friends. He married Antoinette Schnei- 
 der, a native of Brussels, Belgium, who 
 survives her husband; she is the mother of 
 six children, namely: Mrs. Sophia B. 
 Jorgenson, Mrs. Clara Monroe, Mrs. 
 Emily Lewis, Gustav A., Frank T. and 
 Louise A. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was edu- 
 cated in the public schools of his native 
 town, and at the age of seventeen entered 
 upon his business career as a clerk in the 
 dry-goods store of his brother-in-law, J. 
 L. Jorgenson. He remained in that store 
 nine years, during which time he mastered 
 every detail of the business. He became 
 a partner in the concern, and when a 
 branch store was established at Green 
 Bay he moved thither to assume the po- 
 sition of resident manager, and has since 
 been in charge of what is now one of the 
 leading mercantile establishments of the 
 city. He is a man of excellent business 
 and executive abilities, sagacious and far- 
 sighted, and by his earnest desire to please 
 his customers, and his courteous treatment 
 and fair dealing, he has secured a liberal 
 patronage, of which he is well deserving. 
 The best interests of the community re- 
 ceive his support, and he withholds his co- 
 operation from no worthy undertaking 
 calculated to promote the general welfare. 
 
 RJ. BLACK, stock dealer. Fort 
 Howard. This gentleman was 
 born, in 1843, in Jylland, Den- 
 mark, and is a son of James and 
 Carrie (Morup) Black, natives of the same 
 
 place, where the father died in 1869, the 
 mother in 1871, never having left their 
 native countrj-. Their children were 
 seven in number (of whom four came to 
 Wisconsin), viz. : James, who resides in 
 Denmark; R. J., the subject of these 
 lines; Carrie Marie, wife of Anders Nel- 
 son, a large dairy farmer of Denmark; 
 Peter, also residing in Denmark; Chris- 
 tian, a resident of Fort Howard, Wis ; 
 Anna Catherine, who came to Oshkosh, 
 Wis., and died there in 1870, and James, 
 who came to Fort Howard in 1874, where 
 he now resides. 
 
 R. J. Black was reared and educated 
 in Denmark, and prepared himself for a 
 teacher. At the age of twenty-one years 
 he left his native land and came to Wis- 
 consin. Returning to Denmark in 1869 
 he remained until the following year, 
 when he again came to the "Badger 
 State." He first located at Oshkosh, in 
 1865, working at the lumber business, but 
 in May, 1874, removed to Fort Howard 
 and settled in Tanktown. He was then in 
 the employ of the Green Bay, Winona & 
 St. Paul Railroad Company, for whom he 
 had begun work as a track-layer, assisting 
 in laying the rails as far as Winona, Minn. 
 He had previously, after his return from 
 Denmark, been employed by the Wiscon- 
 sin Central Railroad Company, helping 
 to grade the road, and, later, was with 
 the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad 
 Company, on their line between Green 
 Bay and Marinette. After the first year 
 at Fort Howard Mr. Black opened a meat 
 market, which he conducted for .seventeen 
 years, finally selling out and engaging in 
 the stock business, in which he has con- 
 tinued. He buys and sells live stock, and 
 has an extensive business. He is the 
 owner of a good farm in the city limits, 
 and has been successful in his ventures. 
 
 In 1872, at New London, Wis., Mr. 
 Black was married to Miss Marie Madsen, 
 a native of Lolland, Denmark, and daugh- 
 ter of Mads and Miriam Christina (Torsen) 
 Rasmussen, who spent their entire lives 
 in their natiN'e country. Four of their 
 
l62 
 
 COMMEMOUATIVK BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 chil(iren emifjrated to Wisconsin: Rasmus 
 Madscn and I'rcderic Matisen, both resi- 
 dents of l-'ort Howard; Mrs. Black, of the 
 same place, and Signc, wife of C. J. 
 Black, who died at Fort Howard in 1 886. 
 There were two brothers, Nels, who died 
 in Australia, and Christian, who died in 
 the South. Mr. and Mrs. Black are the 
 parents of si.\ children: Charlotte, wife 
 of Rev. J. F. Younj:;, pastor of the Pres- 
 byterian Church at Fort Howard; Marie, 
 a j^aaduate of the Fort Howard schools 
 in 1<S93, and now attending Normal School 
 at Oshkosh; Agnes, Emma and Stella, at 
 school; and Edna. In political matters 
 Mr. Black is a Prohibitionist, and he and 
 his wife were charter members of the 
 local organization of the I. O. G. T. ; 
 both are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Mr. Black also holds member- 
 ship in the I. O. O. F. at Green Bay, 
 and the Royal .\rcanum at Fort Howard. 
 For five years he has served on the school 
 board, and for an ecpial period was alder- 
 man from the Fifth ward, serving also two 
 years as supervisor. He takes commend- 
 able interest in public affairs, and is in every 
 respect an upright, worthy citizen. In 
 1889, in order to enjoy a pleasure trip 
 and see more of the country, he visited 
 California. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Black have both re- 
 sided in Fort Howard a sufficient period 
 to witness remarkal)le changes in the 
 place, and have kept pace with its devel- 
 opment. All the region round about 
 Green Bay has undergone almost a com- 
 plete transformation during the years of 
 their residence, and the end is not \et. 
 
 DM. HARTEAU, architect, of 
 Green Bay, was born at Dc Pere, 
 Brown count}', Wis., in 1842, a 
 son of Joseph and Mary iGorham) 
 Harteau, the former a native of Canada, 
 the latter of Mackinac. Michigan. 
 
 Joseph Harteau, with two brothers. 
 
 Mitchell and Lewis, early came to Green 
 Ba)' (Shantytown), and there Joseph 
 found employment on the river under a 
 Mr. Whitney, and was there married. 
 Later he migrated to Scott township and 
 engaged in farming, and still later moved 
 to Chase township, Oconto Co., Wis., 
 where he passed from earth in 1889; his 
 wife had died in 1888. Mrs. Harteau's 
 father, David B. Gorham, was a native 
 of England, and was a shipbuilder. On 
 coming to America he settled in the Ter- 
 ritor)- of Michigan, and in July, 1827, 
 was naturalized in the county of Michili- 
 mackinac, but shortly afterward moved to 
 Green Bay, Wis., where he was employed 
 by the government in boat building, and 
 where he met his death at the hands of a 
 soldier. His widow, of whom Charley 
 Gorham, of De Pere, is the youngest 
 brother, afterward married Charles Ga- 
 beau, a native of Canada. Joseph and 
 Mary Harteau were the parents of eight 
 children, as follows: D. M., our subject; 
 Ivosella, who married William Pherson, 
 and died at Oshkosh; Adeline, wife of 
 Louis Hardvvelk, of Menominee; Charley, 
 of Chase township, Oconto county ; Joseph ; 
 Augustus, of Chase township; Adel, mar- 
 ried to John Wilson, and Eliza (Mrs. 
 Longled), of Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1864, D. M. Harteau enlisted at 
 Green Bay, in Company C, Forty-seventh 
 Wis. V. I., was assigned to garrison duty 
 at Tuliahoma, Tenn., and was discharged 
 at Nashville, Tenn., in 1865. On his re- 
 turn he worked at his trade, that of mason, 
 and studied architecture, opening an office 
 in Green Bay, in 1874, for the practice of 
 the latter science, and has been so em- 
 ployed ever since. He was married, in 
 1872 to Miss Camilla Follett, who was 
 born in AUouez township. Brown county, 
 a datighter of Burley and Lizzie Follett. 
 The father was a stationer, but later was 
 in the boot and shoe business, and died 
 in Green Bay; the mother passed from 
 earth in Marinette. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Harteau six children were born, of whom 
 oidv one survives, Zola Lillian; the de- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 16,^ 
 
 ceased are: Lewis, Sarah, Charles, David, 
 and Adda. 
 
 In pohtics Mr. Harteau is a Repub- 
 lican, and has served as a member of the 
 common council from the Third ward; he 
 is also a member of T. O. Howe Post, No. 
 124, G. A. R., and of the French Catholic 
 Church; Mrs. Harteau is Presbyterian. 
 The family are quiet and retiring in their 
 habits, and are regarded with general re- 
 spect, while Mr. Harteau's professional 
 reputation stands on a firm basis. 
 
 JOSEPH HENRIGILLES, present 
 district clerk, is one of the most 
 popular citizens of De Pere town- 
 ship, Brown county, with whose in- 
 terests he has for many years been promi- 
 nently identified. 
 
 Our subject was born Februar\- 9, 
 1840, in Francorchamps, Belgium, son of 
 Hubert Henrigilles, who was a well-to-do 
 fanner and miller. The latter married 
 Mary C. Legros, and to their union came 
 five children, four of whom grew to ma- 
 turity, viz.: Therese, married to J. Nisen; 
 Margaret, now the wife of Jacques Ducat, 
 a farmer of De Pere township; Marj-, who 
 married Nic. Guirsh, and died in Kansas; 
 and Joseph, whose name introduces this 
 memoir. The mother of these died in 
 1846. In 1858 Hubert Henrigilles sold 
 his property in Belgium, and in the fall of 
 the year took passage at Antwerp for New 
 York, where he and his family landed 
 after a voyage of thirty-six days. From 
 New York they proceeded westward to 
 Chicago, 111., and here remained two 
 months, at the end of which time they 
 came to Peshtigo, Wis. , where the father 
 and son entered the employ of Ogden, the 
 lumber and railroad man. They worked 
 in sawmills, and also at vessel loading 
 until i860, when they removed to New 
 Hamburg, Scott Co., Mo., and here the 
 father engaged in farming and other pur- 
 suits until 1 87 1, when he returned to 
 "Wisconsin, and passed the remainder of 
 
 his life in De Pere township. Brown 
 county, at the home of his son. He died 
 in 1892, at the age of ninety, a member 
 of the Catholic Church, and in politics a 
 Republican. While a resident of Missouri 
 he enlisted in the home guards, on the 
 Union side. 
 
 Joseph Henrigilles was reared to agri- 
 cultural life, and received his education in 
 the common schools of his native place, 
 the instruction being principall}' in 
 French, but he also received a fair train- 
 ing in the English language. When 
 eighteen years of age he came with his 
 father to the United States, and his first 
 work in the New World was for the Ogden 
 Com.pany, near Peshtigo, Wis., as pre- 
 viousl}' stated. The first private resi- 
 dence in Peshtigo was built for his father, 
 but it was never taken off the contractor's 
 hands. Later our subject engaged in 
 fishing, and in 1 860 he went to New Ham- 
 burg, Scott Co., Mo., and there joined 
 Company B, Scott Count}- (Mo.) Home 
 Guards, Volunteer Battalion. On August, 
 15, 1 86 1, he enlisted in Company B, First 
 Missouri Cavalry, Hubbard's Battalion, at 
 Jefferson Barracks, Mo., for three years, 
 or during the war. In 1863 he was pro- 
 moted to corporal, and on December 31, 
 same year he was honorably discharged at 
 Little Rock, Ark. The next day, January 
 1 , 1 864, he re-enlisted in the same company 
 and regiment, and served to the close of 
 the war, receiving his final discharge Sep- 
 tember I, 1865. Mr. Henrigilles was 
 taken ill in St. Louis soon after his enroll- 
 ment, and was sent to the hospital, where 
 he suffered much for want of proper food. 
 After leaving the hospital he joined his 
 regiment at Tipton, Mo., and thence went 
 to Springfield, same State, under the 
 command of Gen. Fremont, subsequently 
 returned to Tipton, where he was taken 
 ill with fever, and, upon his recovery, he 
 rejoined his regiment at Springfield, Mo., 
 to assist in driving the Rebels from the 
 State. The latter returning, the engage- 
 ment at Pea Ridge took place. At Sugar 
 Creek a friend of our subject was wounded, 
 
164 
 
 COMMEMOnATIVE BIOURAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 and Mr. Henrigilles was sent to the hos- 
 pital with him. This establishment had 
 been moved three miles from its first lo- 
 cation, and on March 7, 1862, it was at- 
 tacked by the Rebels, the building being 
 between the fires of both armies. From 
 there our subject was sent to Cassville, 
 Mo., was appointed hospital steward, and, 
 after some four months rejoined his com- 
 mand at Springfield. For a time he served 
 as scout. and was then engaged with 1,300 
 other men in the pursuit of Col. Coffee. The 
 Confederates were driven from the State, 
 and the pursuers returned to Mt. Vernon, 
 Mo. Our subject was then detailed with 
 one hundred other men to guard a mill at 
 Newtonia, Mo., which was thirty-three 
 miles from the Union and five miles from 
 the Confederate camp. The second day 
 the horse Mr. Henrigilles rode gave out. 
 When the detachment arrived at New- 
 tonia they were met by i , 600 Confederates, 
 forming into line for battle, and Capt. 
 Adams, who had the command, ordered 
 the men to take care of themselves. Our | 
 subject was captured, put in a pen with a 1 
 score of others, and taken to Sugar Creek, 
 where all their effects were taken from 
 them, and they were kept on the bare ' 
 ground. Thence they were conveyed I 
 across Arkansas, via Elm Springs, Fay- j 
 etteville, over the Ozark mountains to | 
 Van Buren, and from there to Fort Smith, I 
 where they were held for three months, ' 
 scantily clothed and fed, and with bricks 
 for their bed. They were paroled at Lit- 
 tle Rock, and from there Mr. Henrigilles 
 went to Helena, .Ark., and after remaining 
 in that city several weeks joined his bat- 
 talion at RoUa. Mo. He was again on 
 scouting duty for a while, and then went 
 to Pilot Knob and Jackson, Mo., being 
 with his connnand when it encountered 
 Gen. Marmaduke and drove him from the 
 State, capturing the towns of Pilot Knob 
 and, later. Little Rock. .Ark. The winter 
 was spent at Benton, .\rk., .scouting, and 
 they then joined the Camden expedition, 
 bein? assigned to the command of Gen. 
 Steele; they were on the march for forty- 
 
 two days, fifteen days without drawing 
 rations, and three days without having 
 anjthing to eat. On the return to Little 
 Rock, our subject was granted a veteran 
 furlough. He afterward was detailed to 
 carry mail from Camden, .Ark., to Wash- 
 ington, Arkansas. 
 
 Major Hubbard's battalion, or the 
 battalion to which Mr. Henrigilles be- 
 longed, was engaged in the following ac- 
 tions: Springfield, Mo., October 26,1861; 
 Little Blue, Mo., November 11, 1861; 
 Clinton, Mo., December 17, 1861; Silver 
 Creek, Mo, January 8, 1862; Spring- 
 field, Mo., February 12, 1862; Cross 
 Timber, Ark., February 16, 1862; charge 
 at Sugar Creek. Ark., February 18,1862; 
 first capture at Fayetteville, .Ark., Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1862; Pea Ridge. Ark.. March 
 6. 7 and 8; Neosho, Mo., April 26, 1862; 
 Cowskin Prairie, April 24, 1862; Berry- 
 ville, ,Ark., May 20, 1862; Fayetteville, 
 Ark., June 27, 1862; Newtonia, Mo., 
 September 13. 1862; Seneca Mill, Ind. 
 Ter. ,Scptemberi6, 1862; McGuire's Ford, 
 Ark., October 28, 1862; Prairie Grove, 
 Ark. , December 7, 1 862 ; Van Buren, Ark. , 
 December 28, 1862; Chalk Bluff, Mo., 
 May 5. 1863; Bajou Metre, Ark., August 
 20, 1863; Shallow Ford, Ark., August 25, 
 1863; Caddo Gap, Ark., November 7, 
 1863; Cedar Glade, Ark., November 10, 
 1S63; Arkadelphia, Ark., March 3, 1864; 
 Spoonville, -Ark., March 5, 1864; Little 
 Mi.ssouri River, Ark., March 10, 1864 
 Prairie D'Anne, Ark., March 13, 1864 
 Poison Spring, Ark., March 14, 1864 
 capture of Camden, Ark. .March 15, 1864 
 Jenkins Ferry, Ark., April 30, 1864. 
 Genera! Steele's division, which had suf- 
 fered heavily in incessant skirmishing 
 through the entire march to make con- 
 nection with Banks from Little Kock,was 
 attacked on the Sabine river, in Arkansas, 
 by the consolidated forces of Generals 
 Kirby Smith and Price — 5,000 Union 
 soldiers against 20,000 Rebels. A battle 
 of about eight hours' duration ensued, 
 which was- one of the sharpest contests 
 of the Southwest in the war, but resulted 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 l6: 
 
 in a victory for the Union force, which 
 saved Little Rock and Arkansas to the 
 United States Government. The army of 
 the Frontier, to which our subject's regi- 
 ment had been assigned, was designed to 
 put an end to the combination of Rebels 
 and Indians, and to do service in all 
 capacities where needed; consequently 
 it performed duties of the most arduous 
 and dangerous character, much of which 
 has never been portrayed on the pages of 
 history. They were occupied successively 
 in expeditions against the I-iebels and In- 
 dians, connected with the Confederate 
 forces in skirmishes with Rebel guerrillas, 
 bushwhackers, etc. ; and of such heav}- 
 marches as were made by the cavalry and 
 sharpshooters history has no record. 
 
 Joseph Henngilles received his dis- 
 charge September 1,1865, at Little Rock, 
 Ark., and immediately proceeded to De- 
 Pere, Wis. , in the hope of recovering his 
 health, which had broken down com- 
 pletely in his long service. For two years 
 thereafter he worked in a sawmill for 
 David Loy. On December i, 1866, Mr. 
 Henrigilles was married, in De Pere, by 
 Father Verboort, to Miss Mary B. Bor- 
 man, who was born February 4, 1850, in 
 Belgium. She was one of a family of six 
 children ('two now living) who came with 
 their parents to the United States in 1855, 
 and was reared in Brown county, Wis. 
 For about five years the young couple 
 had their residence on the Borman home- 
 stead, and then, in 1871, took up their 
 home on the place where they are yet re- 
 siding, lot 20, private claim 36, De Pere 
 township. At that time the tract com- 
 prised twenty acres of heavily-wooded 
 land, but it has since been increased to 
 eighty-five acres. Although he has been 
 in poor health ever since the war, Mr. 
 Henrigilles has been a hard worker, and 
 his good management and progressive 
 habits have brought him success. He is 
 naturally intelligent, keeps himself well 
 informed on the general topics of the day, 
 and reads considerably. He is a fine pen- 
 man, and, had he devoted much time to 
 
 it, he would undobtedly have become an 
 artist in this line. In his political affilia- 
 tions Mr. Henrigilles is a stanch supporter 
 of the Republican party, and, as such, has 
 been elected to various offices, serving his 
 township as justice of the peace, as town 
 clerk for several years, assessor and su- 
 pervisor, and at present he holds the office 
 of district clerk. In religious faith he 
 and his wife are both members of the 
 Catholic Church. To their union have 
 been born the following named fifteen 
 children: Mar}- T. (now Mrs. Joseph 
 Martin, of Lawrence township), Mary E. 
 (now Mrs. Hubert Duquaine, of De Pere 
 township), Mary L. (now Mrs. Henry Von 
 \'onderen, of De Pere township), Joseph, 
 Mary H., Mary L., Ann J., Mary T., 
 Hubert H., Laura E., Alise C, Ida M., 
 Elionor L. , Catherine E. , and Mary L. ; 
 of whom Mary H., Mary L. , Mary T., 
 Mary L. , and Ann J. are deceased. 
 
 ALVIX HUNTER, a prosperous 
 husbandman of Suamico town- 
 ship, Brown county, is a native of 
 Maine, born in Kennebec county, 
 March 24, 1844. His parents, Arthur 
 and Emeline fSmith) Hunter, were also 
 natives of the same place, the former 
 born in 18 16, dying at the age of seventy- 
 four; the latter still enjoys life on the old 
 home farm. Of their three children, Al- 
 vin is one of the two surviving. 
 
 Our subject worked among the granite 
 hills of his native State, assisting on the 
 home farm, until the blast of war called 
 him from his home. He was nearly 
 twenty years old when he enlisted, Decem- 
 ber 5, 1863, in Company F, First Maine 
 Cavalry, and he did faithful service until 
 March 31, 1865, when he was wounded 
 at Dinwiddie C. H., Va. ; he was honor- 
 ably discharged June 27, 1865, from hos- 
 pital at Augusta, Maine. After the close 
 of the war he came to Brown county, 
 Wis. , and bought a forty-acre tract of 
 land, but he followed teaming for a liveli- 
 
i66 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 hood until his marriage, which took place 
 November 28, 1868, to Miss Rose Bru- 
 nette, who was a native of Green Bay, 
 born in 1842. Her parents. Prudent 
 and Mary L. fKeynold) Brunette, were 
 natives of Canada, who came in 1854 to 
 the United States, where they died at the 
 respective ajjes of eighty-eipht and seven- 
 ty-nine, the father passing away first. 
 They were born in 1804 and 1805, re- 
 spectively, and their longevity was the 
 result, no doubt, of the steady habits that 
 descended to their children, of whom 
 they had eleven, four of them still living. 
 To Alvin and Rose Hunter were born nine- 
 children, as follows: Ida E., married 
 to Ed. J. Coffin, and has two sons; 
 Edward A., married to Verna Codington; 
 Cnra M., second wife of N. J. Putnam, 
 by whom she has two daughters; Lillian 
 (i^rst wife of N. J. Putnam), who died 
 leaving one child; George, who died at 
 the age of four months; and Willie A., 
 Walter O., George D. and Charles L. , 
 all four at home. 
 
 At the time of his marriage Mr. Hun- 
 ter settled on his purchase of forty acres, 
 which he cultivated twenty years and 
 then went east, and for one summer 
 worked on his father's farm, after which 
 he returned to Wisconsin and bought a 
 new farm of eighty acres, on which he 
 still lives. In his political preferences Mr. 
 Hunter is a Republican, having cast his 
 first Presidential vote for U. S. Grant in 
 1 868, since when he has been active in 
 party work, and has held several offices; 
 he is now chairman of his township. 
 Socially he is an active member of T. O. 
 Howe Post, No. 124, G. A. R., of Green 
 Bay, and he and his wife are regular at- 
 tendants of Calvary Church. 
 
 CM. WINTON, general farmer and 
 stock-raiser, of De Pere township, 
 Brown county, is one of the best- 
 known and most highly respected 
 men in his community. He was born July 
 
 27, 1850, in Meadville, Crawford Co., 
 Penn., son of Charles Winton, who was 
 a native of Centreville, same county. 
 
 The Winton family are descended from 
 English ancestry, who settled in Pennsyl- 
 vania about the beginning of the present 
 century, coming either from New York 
 or one of the New England States. When 
 a young man Charles Winton married, in 
 his native county. Miss Phoebe Waid, who 
 was also born there. He was a farmer of 
 but limited means, and in 1854 he brought 
 his family westward to Wisconsin, where 
 cheap homes could then be had by those 
 who were willing to undergo the numerous 
 trials and inconveniences which were the 
 common lot of the pioneer. He first lo- 
 cated in Rock county, where he spent the 
 winter of 1854-5, and in the spring of 
 1855 removed farther north to Glenmore 
 township, at that time one of the wildest 
 sections of Brown county. Some timber 
 had been cut from the land, but the greater 
 part of the country was still in its primi- 
 tive state, and the life of the early settler 
 was one of constant hardship, privation 
 and danger. In 1865 Mr. Winton re- 
 moved to De Pere township, where his 
 wife died in 1872. He now makes his 
 home in Daggett, Mich. Thej- had a 
 family of ten children — five sons and five 
 daughters — all of whom but one, Edgar, 
 are yet living. 
 
 Charles Mead Winton was but four 
 years of age when he came with his par- 
 ents to Wisconsin, and his early education 
 was such as the common district schools 
 of that early day afforded. In the mean- 
 time he also received a thorough training 
 on the farm, and remained with his par- 
 ents until 1872, when he decided to pay 
 a visit to his birthplace in Pennsylvania. 
 The superior educational advantages to be 
 had in the East became so apparent to 
 him that he concluded to remain, and for 
 five years attended school at Centreville, 
 Crawford Co., Penn., where he received 
 thorough instruction, and in 1879 he re- 
 turned to Wisconsin. 
 
 On July 20, 1881, Mr. Winton was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL UECORD. 
 
 167 
 
 married in De Pere, to Miss Harriet G. 
 Phelps, a native of Janesville Wis. , 
 daughter of Jeremiah and Theresa Phelps, 
 natives of New York State, who came to 
 Wisconsin in an early day. In 1879 Mr. 
 Winton bought the old homestead, and 
 after his marriage he made it his perma- 
 nent home; it now consists of eighty acres 
 of fertile land, where he conducts a gen- 
 eral farming and stock-raising business. 
 By industry and perseverance he has 
 greatly improved his farm and home. In 
 politics he is a stanch adherent of the 
 principles of the Republican part\', and 
 in 1891, 1893 and 1894 was elected town- 
 ship assessor, in which position he is 
 proving himself an able officer. Mrs. 
 Winton is a member of the M. E. Church 
 in De Pere. They have had one child, 
 Aden L. , who was born September 25, 
 1882. Mr. Winton is a great reader, 
 keeping himself well informed on general 
 topics, and he and his wife are highly es- 
 teemed in the community. 
 
 LEONARD BONE, retired mer- 
 chant, of De Pere, was born about 
 thirty miles southwest of Montreal, 
 Canada, in the village of Vau- 
 dreuil, February 2, 1826, a son of Andrew 
 and Monick (Lesbuay) Bone, both also 
 natives of Canada and of French descent. 
 At the age of eleven years our sub- 
 ject was permitted to make his residence 
 with a wealthy gentleman, who, in return 
 for Leonard's services, was to give him a 
 good education, but who wholly neglected 
 so to do, the result being that the lad, when 
 nearly seventeen years old, quit the em- 
 ploy of the part}' mentioned and made 
 his way to Whitehall, N. Y. , when not 
 quite seventeen. A few weeks later he 
 reached Albany, in the same State, where 
 he was fortunate enough to secure work 
 with a stonecutter, and, although a novice, 
 was soon able to earn sixty-five dollars a 
 month, and this business he followed 
 about eighteen months. Times becoming 
 
 dull, however, he engaged at work as a 
 farm hand seven miles from Albany, be- 
 ginning at three dollars per month, but at 
 the end of the first month his wages were 
 increased to ten dollars, his employer find- 
 ing him to be worth that amount. After 
 a two-month's sickness, he was married at 
 Albany to Miss Jane Remington, a native 
 of Two Rivers, Canada, born September 
 27, 1823, a daughter of John and Vic- 
 toria (LeClainj Remington, the former of 
 whom was of English descent, the latter 
 of French. Shortly after his marriage 
 Mr. Bone came west and found employ- 
 ment at stone-cutting in Joliet, 111., where 
 he worked two jears, and was then per- 
 suaded by William Townsend to embark 
 in the hotel business at Chicago, where, 
 within two years, he lost all he had in- 
 vested — seventeen hundred dollars — and 
 was obliged to borrow fifty dollars to en- 
 able him to leave that city. About this 
 time, in 1849, he first came to De Pere, 
 but did not stay long, preferring to 
 go to Pensaukee, where, for a year, he 
 managed a boarding house forF. B. Gard- 
 ner, who operated a sawmill, and for his 
 own and his wife's services received thirty 
 dollars per month; the following four 
 years their compensation was one thou- 
 sand one hundred dollars per year. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bone then settled on a farm of 
 eight}- acres near De Pere, which he cul- 
 tivated some years, and then went into the 
 grocer}' business within the limits of the 
 city, where he erected the first brick block 
 and accumulated a competence that justi- 
 fied his retirement fifteen years ago. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bone are members of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and in politics he is a Re- 
 publican. There have been no children 
 born to them, but they have'reared, from 
 the age of thirteen months, Kate Palmer, 
 now happil}- married to Michael Tessier, 
 and with him living in Nebraska; the}" 
 have also reared Leonard Tessier (son of 
 Michael and Kate), a graduate of the De- 
 Pere High School and of the Universit}' 
 ,of Wisconsin, and who is now superin- 
 tendent of the Electric Light Works at 
 
1 68 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 De Pere; in addition to these adopted 
 children, they also reared a nephew, 
 Julian Bone, from the age of twelve to 
 twenty j'ears. What more need be said 
 as to the native kindness of their hearts? 
 
 ANTHONY GOEMANS (deceased), 
 who during his lifetime was a 
 much respected farmer of Rock- 
 land township. Brown county, 
 was a native of Holland, born September 
 29, 1 82 1, in the province of Limburg. 
 He was a son of John Goemans, a well- 
 to-do fajmer, who had six children, An- 
 thony being the eldest in the family. 
 
 During his youth Anthon}' Goemans 
 had very limited educational advantages, 
 as he had to commence work very early 
 in life, and was reared to farming, which 
 he always followed. In 1856, hearing 
 that he would have better wages and op- 
 portunities for advancement in the United 
 States, he left his native country, and 
 coming to Wisconsin remained here ten 
 years, engaging in various kinds of work. 
 In 1866 he returned to Holland, and on 
 February 28, 1867, was there married to 
 Miss Joanna Bernards, who was born No- 
 vember 5, 1839, daughter of John Ber- 
 nards, a farmer of that country. Bid- 
 ding farewell to their home and friends, 
 they left Holland a month after their 
 marriage, and, proceeding from Rotter- 
 dam to Glasgow, took passage there on 
 a vessel bound for New York, at which 
 port they landed after a voyage of twenty- 
 four days. Their destination being in 
 Wisconsin, they proceeded thither by 
 rail, and after a short stay in Little 
 Chute, Outagamie county, came to De- 
 Pere township. Brown county, where Mr. 
 Goemans purchased a tract of eighty 
 acres in Section i i. The land had not 
 been improved in any way; in some 
 places it was covered with logs and wood, 
 all of which had to be cleared away, the 
 task involving no small amount of hard 
 work; but being anxious to have a home he 
 
 could call his own, Mr. Goemans perse- 
 vered, and in time succeeded in hewing a 
 fine property out of the dense forest. On 
 this farm all their children were born, as 
 follows: Anna M. (Mrs. Martin Baeten), 
 John W., Mary M. (Mrs. Henry Herm- 
 sen, of Green Bay), Frank S., Peter J., 
 Katie, Christina M., Herbert, and Nellie 
 E. Of these, John W. is a carpenter by 
 trade, moves buildings, drives piles, and 
 builds bridges; Frank S. entered the 
 monastery of the Servite Fathers Sep- 
 tember 4, 1894, and is still there. On 
 January 2, 1886, the father of this family 
 was called from earth, and was buried in 
 De Pere Cemeter)'. He was a Catholic 
 in religious faith, and in politics a Demo- 
 crat. At the time of his death the eld- 
 est of the nine chddren was but seventeen 
 years of age, but Mrs. Goemans has car- 
 ried on the farm successfully, and has dis- 
 played no little business ability and sa- 
 gacity in the management of the place, 
 which comprises 1 20 acres of prime land. 
 The farm work is now attended to by the 
 sons, Peter J. and Herbert, who have 
 proven themselves full}' competent, and 
 the entire family are respected for their 
 industry wherever they are known. In 
 church connection they are all members 
 of St. Mary's Catholic Congregation, 
 De Pere. 
 
 JOSEPH HOEFFEL, president of 
 the Allouez Mineral Spring Com- 
 pany, of Green Bay, was born March 
 25, 1825, in thetown of Lichtenberg, 
 Province of Lorraine, France. The first 
 of the family of whom we have any record, 
 was Joseph Hoeffel (grandfather of our 
 subject), who was a mechanic, following 
 his trade in France. He reared a family 
 of six children — five sons and one daugh- 
 ter — all of whom received good educa- 
 tions, becoming for the most part teachers 
 and musicians. 
 
 Of the sons, Anthony (father of our 
 subject) was brought up to the trade of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 [71 
 
 weaver, which he followed in Europe for 
 some time. In his military service, which 
 ended with Waterloo, he was in the arm)- 
 of Napoleon the Great, doing garrison 
 duty chiefly. In 18 10 he was united in 
 marriage to Miss Cecelia Carabin, who 
 bore him ten children, of whom Louis 
 died at Havre, France, in the fall of 1828, 
 while the family were c// ;-tf«/tto America. 
 In the United States they made their 
 hom.e at Norwalk, Huron Co., Ohio, 
 where they followed farming with consid- 
 erable success. The father being a 
 weaver, as already related, constructed a 
 loom for himself and manufactured cloth 
 for his neighbors, as well as for family 
 use. He was devoted to music, and was 
 for many years leader of church choirs. 
 His wife died at the age of forty, in i 840, 
 and two years later he married Miss Mary 
 Beyer, who passed away, in 1857, aged 
 sixty-five years. Both wives died at Nor- 
 walk, where he himself departed this life 
 March 10, 1861, aged seventy-four years. 
 Joseph Hoeffel,the subject properof this 
 sketch, received his education at Norwalk, 
 Ohio. When seventeen years of age he 
 began to learn carriage making, and at 
 the end of a three-years' apprenticeship, 
 October 8, 1845, came to Milwaukee, 
 Wis. , where he followed his trade as a 
 journeyman one year. On August 10, 
 1846, he moved to Brookfield, Waukesha 
 county, and here he engaged in the busi- 
 ness of manufacturing carriages, etc. In 
 1848, he visited Norwalk, Ohio, and was 
 married November 3 to Miss Catharine 
 Frye, who bore him a son, A. Louis 
 Hoeffel. Mrs. Hoeffel died at Brookfield, 
 Wis., June 13, 1850, and May 20, 1851, 
 Mr. Hoeffel was again married, this time 
 at Waukesha, Wis. , to Miss Frances 
 Knowles, by which union nine children 
 have been born, of whom are now living 
 the following named six: Frank, Sylves- 
 ter, Elizabeth, Agnes, Joseph P. and 
 James I. 
 
 In the fall of 1853, at the first Wis- 
 consin State Fair, held at Watertown, 
 Wis., Mr. Hoeffel exhibited a full line of 
 
 10 
 
 carriages, wagons, etc., of his own manu- 
 facture, and received awards on his 
 patents in gearing. On May i, 1856, he 
 sold out his Brookfield business and re- 
 moved to Green Ba\-, Wis. , arriving June 
 28, 1856. The same j-ear he erected a 
 store building on Washington street, and 
 opened a general store, conducting same 
 until 1 87 1. In the spring of 1872, hav- 
 ing acquired property at Oconto, Wis., 
 he moved there, and started a store. 
 Business prospered and his sons, Frank 
 and Sylvester, after assisting him in the 
 business a number of }ears, purchased 
 same in 1886, Mr. Hoeffel retiring, owing 
 to poor health. 
 
 In 1 888, an accidental discover}' de- 
 cided Mr. Hoeffel to again enter business 
 life. ^^'hile overseeing some improve- 
 ments on his Astor Hill property at 
 Green Bay he drank freel}' of the waters 
 of a spring at the foot of the hill. The 
 prompt action of the \\-ater on his en- 
 feebled s\'stem and the remarkable relief 
 he experienced from its use convinced 
 him of its great medicinal value. He 
 arranged at once for a thorongh and ex- 
 haustive analysis of the water. Samples 
 were for\\arded to Prof. W. W. Daniells, 
 the distinguished professor of chemistry 
 and pharmacy in the W'isconsin State 
 University, Madison, and, after a com- 
 plete and scientific analysis of the water, 
 he subsmitted same: 
 
 University of Wisconsin. \ 
 
 Chemic.'^l Laboratories, [• 
 
 MAnisON, Wi.*;., AiiR-ust 13, 1888. ) 
 
 Joseph Hoeffel: 
 
 Dear Sir: The sample of spring water re- 
 ceived from -you for analysis has the following- 
 composition, expressed in jfrains, per United 
 States standard gallon of 231 cubic inches: 
 
 Sodium chloride 4.2SS2S 
 
 Potassium sulphate 0.12072 
 
 Sodium sulphate 3.4S826 
 
 Calcium sulphate 0.10788 
 
 Sodium phosphate trace. 
 
 Bicarbonate of iron 0.06257 
 
 Bicarbonate of lime 24.68662 
 
 Bicarbonate of magnesia 27.53300 
 
 Oxide of aluminum (alumina). . 0.17470 
 Silica and insoluble residue. . . . 1.97160 
 
 Total grains per U. S. gal. .62.38060 
 Temperature, 46 degrees Fahrenheit. 
 
COMMEMORAriVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 This is an unusually large amount of solids 
 to find in a Wisconsin mineral water — the larg^- 
 est amount I have ever found. The salts that 
 exist in unusual quantities are niaffnesia, 
 sodium salts, sulphuric acid, lime and chlorine. 
 Of these I have made duplicate determinations, 
 to he assured of their accuracy. 
 
 You will note its freedom from organic mat- 
 ter. Yours trulv, 
 
 W. W. DANIELLS, 
 Professor of Analytical and Applied Chemistry. 
 
 The receipt of this exceedingly favor- 
 able analysis from so reliable a source, 
 and the action of the water on Mr. Hoef- 
 fel having proved same to be possessed of 
 positive curative virtues, determined him 
 to develop the springs and place the water 
 before the public that others might like- 
 wise enjoy its healing powers. The an- 
 alysis of Allouez Water reveals the fact 
 that it is the strongest alkaline (antacid) 
 mineral water known. The combination 
 of the salts of sodium, magnesia, lime, 
 iron and silica with carbonic, sulphuric, 
 and hydrochloric acids, all in perfect solu- 
 tion, is a rare one. This fact at once 
 brought it into prominence before the 
 public. Physicians, especially, recog- 
 nized in the harmonious blending of these 
 therapeutic properties, a sovereign rem- 
 edy, whose use is indicated in all dis- 
 eases of the allied phenomena of the uric 
 acid diathesis, viz. : Diabetes, Bright's 
 disease, inflammation of the bladder and 
 kidneys, rheumatism, dyspepsia, torpid 
 liver, cloudy urine, gravel, suppression of 
 urine, calculi or stone in bladder, consti- 
 pation, piles, catarrh of the stomach, 
 nervous debility, gout, rheumatic gout, 
 dropsy, sick headache, female weakness, 
 and eczema. In the short period of time 
 since the discovery of the medicinal vir- 
 tues of Allouez, the reputation and fame 
 of the water have become widespread. 
 The marvelous curative power it possesses 
 has gained for it the attention of the 
 medical profession in various parts of this 
 countrj', who recommend and prescribe 
 it, often where medicine has failed to ef- 
 fect a cure. As a remedy it acts the 
 same alone or in connection with medi- 
 cal treatment. The demand for Allouez 
 
 is constantly inceasing, and thousands of 
 cases of bottled water are shipped annu- 
 ally. The springs were named ' ' Allouez " 
 in honor of Pere Claude Allouez, the in- 
 trepid missionary who founded the first 
 Indian mission in 1668 (225 years ago;, 
 but a short distance from these springs. 
 That the medical virtues of the waters of 
 these springs were known to the Indians 
 and early missionaries may be inferred 
 from extracts taken from Marcjuette's 
 Journal: "Embarking in our canoes, 
 we left the river and nation of the Wild 
 Oats (Menominees), and soon reached the 
 extremity of Baydes Puants (Green Bay;. 
 Leaving this bay, we entered the river 
 emptying into it. We found the river 
 full of bustard, duck, teal and other water 
 birds, attracted by the wild oats growing. 
 I had the curiosity to drink the mineral 
 waters found not far from here. " 
 
 The following is a short sketch of Mr. 
 Hoeffel's seven living children: (I). A. 
 Louis, eldest of the seven living children, 
 was born at Brooktield, Wis., September 
 4, 1849, and moved with his parents to 
 Green Bay, where he was educated; he 
 became a marine engineer, which voca- 
 tion he now follows; he is married and 
 has four children. (II). John Francis 
 was born at Brookfield, Wis., June 25, 
 1853, and came with his parents to Green 
 Bay, where he received his education in 
 the public schools; later he attended St. 
 Francis Seminary at Milwaukee, Wis. ; 
 in 1883, he married Miss Clara Saylor, of 
 Saugatuck, Mich., who died June 12, 
 1883; on January 25, 1888, he was united 
 in marriage to ^Iiss Adelaide Doolittle, at 
 Whitewater, Wis. ; he is now located in 
 business at Chicago; thev have one son, 
 Basil D., born October 2'6, 1888. (III). 
 Sylvester was born October 10, 1857. at 
 Brookfield, Wis., came to Green Bay with 
 his parents, and pursued his studies in the 
 public schools; in 1871, he engaged in 
 mercantile business in Oconto, where he 
 still resides; he was married May 25, 
 1 88 1, to Miss Genevieve Heath, of Osh- 
 kosh, and they have five children, their 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 173 
 
 names and dates of birth being as follows: 
 Paul S., June 12, 1885; Mildred G., Oc- 
 tober 27, 1888; Marion F., October 27, 
 1888; Gerald N., June 20, 1892; Ken- 
 neth M., March 29, 1894. (IV). Eliza- 
 beth was born at Green Bay, Wis., June 
 
 8, 1858; after graduating from the high 
 school here, she attended St. Mary's In- 
 stitute at Milwaukee, Wis., in 1875, where 
 she graduated four years later; she was 
 united in marriage with Dr. P. O'Keefe, 
 at Oconto, Wis., January 31, 1883, where 
 they still reside; they have four children, 
 Horace V., born December 28, 1884; Jes- 
 sie A., born October 9, 1886; Carroll J., 
 born September i, 1889; and Gertrude 
 L. , born June 2, 1894. (V). Agnes C. 
 was born December 3, i860, at Green 
 Bay, Wis. ; received a thorough high school 
 and convent education; in 1878, she 
 studied painting at Chicago, under Prof. 
 Gregori, for two years, also music at the 
 Chicago Conservatory; on October 10, 
 1 88 1, she was united in marriage at 
 Oconto, Wis., to Henry U. Cole, where 
 they continue to reside; they have seven 
 children, their names and dates of birth 
 being as follows-: Francis M., August 3, 
 1882; Minnie Cecile, December 15, 1883; 
 Helen, August, t 886; Henry U., April 26, 
 1888; Pauline A., July 15, 1889; Agnes 
 C, September 27, 1892; Kathleen, June 
 
 9, 1894. (VI). Joseph P., born Septem- 
 ber 17, 1 86 1, at Green Bay, Wis., 
 was educated at the public schools; in 
 1879, he attended the College of the Sa- 
 cred Heart at Watertown, Wis., finishing 
 his studies there; after seven years' ex- 
 perience in his father's store in Oconto, 
 became to Green Bay in April, 1889, 
 where he andjames I. (mentioned below) 
 engaged in the shoe business; he is inter- 
 ested in the Allouez Mineral Spring Com- 
 pany, at Green Bay, directing the man- 
 agement of the same; he was united in 
 marriage to Miss Christine Romana Waite, 
 of Pewaukee, Wis., Februar}' 3, 1890, 
 and they have one son, Joseph Merrill, 
 born October 31, 1890. (VII). James I. 
 was born April i, 1863, at Green Bay, 
 
 \\'is. ; after attending the public schools 
 here and at Oconto, he entered the Col- 
 lege of the Sacred Heart at Watertown, 
 Wis., finishing his studies there in 1881; 
 having secured a business education in his 
 father's store at Oconto, he came to 
 Green Bay, 1889, and associated himself 
 in the shoe business with his brother, 
 Joseph P. ; he is also interested in the 
 Allouez Mineral Spring Company; he is 
 not married. 
 
 T 
 
 HOMAS RYAN, who for the past 
 forty years has been actively 
 identified with the agricultural in- 
 terests of Rockland township. 
 Brown county, was born November 10, 
 1833, in County Tipperary, Ireland, son 
 of Patrick and Nora Ryan, the former of 
 whom, who was a farmer, died in 1 846, 
 leaving a widow and seven children — 
 four sons and three daughters. In 1853, 
 having determined to try their fortune in 
 the New World, the family proceeded to 
 Liverpool, where they took passage on 
 the "Arctic," bound for New York, in 
 which city they landed after a voyage of 
 five weeks and five days. Going to 
 Otsego county, N. Y., they remained 
 there a year and a half, the sons engag- 
 ing in farm work, and then came west- 
 ward to Brown county, Wis., by water, 
 arriving in Green Bay in November, 1855. 
 After coming to Wisconsin, our sub- 
 ject worked in Oconto county and vicini- 
 ty for some time, following various pur- 
 suits, principally farming. In i860 he 
 purchased forty acres of new land in Sec- 
 tion 10, Rockland township (being obliged 
 to go into debt for a portion of this 
 tract), and built thereon a rude, though 
 comfortable log house, in which he and 
 his mother made their home. As the 
 farm yielded no support for some years, 
 he followed lumbering during the winter 
 season for several years, devoting the 
 rest of the year to clearing and improving 
 the land. He has not only succeeded in 
 converting the original forty acres into a 
 
1/4 
 
 COM.VEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 present 
 leading;; 
 He has 
 
 fertile, well-cultivated tract, but has 
 added thereto until he now has a fine 
 farm of 160 acres. His property has 
 been feathered by years of industry and 
 untiring energy, and he is a self-made 
 man in the full sense of the word, having 
 risen from a poor boy to his 
 enviable position among the 
 farmers of Rockland township. 
 been called upon to serve in various of- 
 fices of honor and trust in his township, 
 such as member of the school board, 
 supervisor and chairman, and has dis- 
 charged the duties imposed upon him in a 
 creditable and highly satisfactory manner. 
 In his political preferences he is a Demo- 
 crat, though not strictly partisan, in local 
 elections voting for the best man regard- 
 less of party ties. 
 
 fn November, 1865, Mr. Kyan was 
 married to Miss Margaret Lee, a native 
 of County Galway, freland, daughter of 
 Michael I^ee, who was a farmer of Rock- 
 land township. After marriage the young 
 couple immediately took up their resi- 
 dence on the farm, where, in 1886, Mr. 
 Ryan erected one of the most substantial 
 rural homes in the vicinity. This union 
 has been blessed with children as follows: 
 Catherine, Mrs. H. P. Crist, of Wausau- 
 kee, Wis. ; Agatha, a school-teacher of 
 De Pare: Patrick J., at home; Marie 
 Anna, a school-teacher of Wausaukee; 
 Michael E., at home, who attends the 
 high school in West De Pere; Winnifred, 
 attending the State Normal School at Osh- 
 kosh; Timothy, going to school in De- 
 Pere; and Thomas and Robert, at home. 
 These children have all had excellent 
 educational opportimities, of which they 
 have not been slow to take advantage 
 and to fully appreciate, and the entire 
 family are among the highly respected 
 ones of the vicinity. In religious connec- 
 tion they arc members of St. Francis 
 Church, De Pere. During the Civil war 
 Mr. Ryan enlisted, on January i, 1865, 
 at Green Bay, in Company I, Fifty-first 
 Regiment Wis., V. I. and served during 
 the remainder of the struggle on scouting 
 
 and guard duty, receiving an honorable 
 discharge at Madison, Wis., August i, 
 same year. 
 
 CF. GOODELL, station agent 
 and general local representative 
 of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul Railway Company at De- 
 Pere, is a practical railroad man. When 
 but a youth of seventeen he was initiated 
 into the mysteries of telegraphy, and since 
 that time his rise, though gradual, has 
 been marked. There are probably no 
 other business concerns conducted by 
 large corporations in which ability and 
 attention to duty are more promptly 
 rewarded by promotion than in our great 
 railway systems, where precision, effi- 
 ciency, and reliability are extremely es- 
 sential, and in these respects our subject, 
 though thoroughly tried, has not been 
 found wanting. 
 
 C. F. Goodell is the son of Watson 
 and Luvilla (Stranahan) Goodell, the 
 former of whom was born in Schenectady, 
 N. Y., the latter in Utica, X. V., both 
 descendants of sturdy New England stock. 
 Watson Goodell received a good common- 
 school education in the schools of Albany, 
 N. Y. , and later in life became an expert 
 accountant, a profession he followed for 
 several years. His health having become 
 impaired in the comparatively' confining 
 work, Mr. Goodell, thinking the change 
 would prove beneficial, decided to remove 
 to Wisconsin, then considered the "Far 
 West." Accordingly, in about 1850, he 
 removed hither, and made his first loca- 
 tion near Oconomowoc, where he com- 
 menced farming. At that time the coun- 
 try was entirely new, and the land being 
 covered with timber, the work was at- 
 tended with many hardships; but the 
 change brought about the result he had 
 hoped for, and his health improved. He 
 had married, in New York State, Miss 
 Luvilla Stranahan, who survives him, and 
 they had three children: C. P.; Carrie; 
 and Maria, the wife of J. H. Le Grand, a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 175 
 
 prominent politician and at present county 
 auditor of Buena Vista county, Iowa, with 
 residence in Storm Lake. Mr. Goodell 
 passed from earth in June, 1890, in Port- 
 age, Wis., and his widow now resides 
 with her daughter Maria, in Storm Lake, 
 Iowa. In politics he was a stanch mem- 
 ber of the Republican party, and at one 
 time served as justice of the peace in his 
 township. He was a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, as is also his widow, 
 though she was originally a member of 
 the Episcopal Church. Shortly after his 
 removal to Wisconsin Mr. Goodell went to 
 Pardeeville, where he had his residence 
 several years. 
 
 C. F. Goodell was born October 5, 
 1853, in Oconomowoc, Wis., and received 
 at first an elementary education, after- 
 ward taking a more complete course in 
 the schools of Oconomowoc. When 
 seventeen years old he entered a railway 
 office at Pardeeville, Wis., on what was 
 then the St. Paul road, where, under A. 
 E. Cole, station agent at that place, he 
 obtained his first knowledge of telegraphy. 
 When he had advanced far enough to re- 
 ceive and send messages he was placed in 
 the capacity of " extra man " on the then 
 Northern division, from Horicon Junction 
 to Portage City, Wis., and later, while 
 still in his "teens, " was given charge of 
 the office at Rolling Prairie, Wis. He 
 was next stationed at Winneconne, on the 
 Northern division, as operator and clerk; 
 afterward served as operator at Horicon 
 Junction for two years, and then for a 
 short time filled similar positions at Ripon 
 and Oshkosh. Mr. Goodell then went to 
 Milwaukee, where for a time he was in 
 the train dispatcher's office of the Wis- 
 consin Central, later going to Phillips, 
 Wis., in the employ of the same com- 
 pany, as operator and clerk at the chief 
 engineers's headquarters. His first ex- 
 perience as station agent was at Fifield, 
 at which place he was stationed when 
 there was not a house in the town, tents 
 being the only shelter, and in addition to 
 his regular duties he sold the lots there 
 
 for the compan}-, who owned the plat. 
 From Fifield he was transferred to 
 Waldo, Sheboygan count}-, where he 
 again acted as agent, and here m the 
 spring of 1878 he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Carrie Ford, a native of Waldo, 
 daughter of Benjamin Ford, who came here 
 from Lake county, Ohio. In February, 
 1882, Mr. Goodell came to De Pere, at 
 which time the road through here was 
 operated by the Wisconsin Central, and 
 when the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 Railway Company assumed charge he 
 still continued in the office, and now has 
 charge of their interests at this place. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican, and a 
 stanch adherent of the party, though be- 
 }ond voting regularly he takes no active 
 part in political affairs. He is a leading 
 member of the Congregational Church, 
 being at present a trustee and superin- 
 tendent of the Sunday-school. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Goodell have four children, namely: 
 Harold F. , Charles W. , Lula and 
 Alton W. 
 
 M 
 
 RS. MARGARET AEBISCH- 
 ER, widow of Samuel Aebischer, 
 is a daughter of Charles and 
 Barbara (Meringer) Bloom, who 
 came to America from Germany when 
 their daughter was about seven months 
 old, locating first in New York. They 
 fanned there until 1850, when thej- re- 
 moved to Wisconsin, and they still live 
 at Chilton, where they are engaged in the 
 same vocation. They have a famih' of 
 nine children. 
 
 Samuel Aebischer was a native of 
 Switzerland, and, on coming to America, 
 in company with two brothers, first lo- 
 cated at Elkhorn, Walworth Co., Wis., 
 where he learned shoemaking, a trade he 
 followed thirty-five years. The family 
 came to Brown county in 1887, where 
 Mr. Aebischer bought a farm of i i 5 acres 
 from a brother, and cultivated same until his 
 death, which occurred when he was fifty- 
 two years old. In the Civil war he served 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 one year (1863) in Company K, Fourth 
 Regiment Wis. V. C. , and was discharged 
 at Vicksburg, Miss., on account of sick- 
 ness. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Acbischer took place October 13. 1867, 
 and they had eight children, of whom five 
 are still living, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows: Charles N., Sep- 
 tember 25, 1870; Willie, March 7, 1872; 
 Maggie, August 3, 1879; Minnie, April 
 26, 1883; and Cora, June 21, 1885. It 
 was not until after her husband's death 
 that Mrs. Aebischer erected her pres- 
 ent comfortable brick dwelling, where 
 her son, Charles N., also lives. Mrs. 
 Aebischer has proven herself to be a 
 woman of no small business ability; but 
 the affairs of the farm are now looked 
 after by her son, Charles N. She is a 
 devout member of the Lutheran Church, 
 and is greatly respected throughout the 
 township. 
 
 EBERHARDT A. LANCE, a well- 
 known and jiopular druggist at 
 West De Pere, Brown county, is 
 a native of Fond du Lac, Wis., 
 born April 11, 1859, and is a son of A. 
 A. and Catherine (Trumbauer) Lange. 
 A. A. Lange, a native of Berlin, Ger- 
 many, came to the United States about 
 1835, and, being an upholsterer, carried 
 on that business at Fond du Lac for 
 several years, and also at Milwaukee. 
 Mrs. Catherine I^ange came from Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was edu- 
 cated in the schools of Fond du Lac, and 
 at the age of seventeen entered the drug 
 store of Ur. Wright. He remained in 
 the same store ten years, the firm chang- 
 ing twice in that time, first to A. De- 
 Land, and then to Kellogg & Lange; 
 then, in 18S6-87, he carried on a drug 
 store on his own account, in Brillion, 
 Wis. In the fall of 1887 he came to De- 
 Pere, and for three and a half years was 
 employed in the drug store of William 
 Workman. In 1890 he bought out his 
 
 employer's business in West De Pere, 
 and in 1893 moved to his present loca- 
 tion, where he carries a full line of drugs, 
 paints, wall paper, ammunition, station- 
 ery, etc., has one of the neatest and best- 
 equipped establishments of the kind in 
 the town, and does a remunerative trade. 
 In 18S3 Mr. Lange married Miss Allie E. 
 Megnussen, who has borne him three 
 children, named respectively: Albert H., 
 Roy Harrison and Arthur D. Mr. Lange 
 is a member of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and is very highly esteemed in the com- 
 munity'. 
 
 AUGUSTIN H. BABCOCK, a well- 
 to-do farmer of Howard town- 
 ship, Brown county, was born 
 July 17, 1840, in Alexander, 
 Washington Co., Maine, a son of Stephen 
 and Betsey (Flood) Babcock. In 1873 
 he come alone to Wisconsin. His par- 
 ents had also come here, settling on the 
 farm where our subject still resides, and 
 here the father died at the age of seventy- 
 five years, the mother at the age of 
 seventy-seven. They were the parents 
 of twelve children, of whom two sons 
 and three daughters are yet living. 
 
 Stephen Babcock was a native of 
 King's county, N. S., but when a young 
 man came to the United States and made 
 his home in Maine. Mrs. Betsey (Flood) 
 Babcock was born in St. Matthews, 
 Mass. , one of the nine children of Peter and 
 Lucy (Snow) Flood, the former of whom 
 was a shoemaker and harnessmaker, and 
 died at Alexander, Maine, at a very ad- 
 vanced age: he served through the Mexi- 
 can war. Military ardor seems to have 
 been inherent in the family, as four of 
 the grandsons, of the Babcock branch, 
 did gallant service in the Civil war, in- 
 cluding Augustin H., our subject, whose 
 military record is mentioned farther on; 
 his brother William died while in the 
 service; another brother, George A., 
 served in Company A, Fourteenth Wis. 
 V. I. ; and another brother, Gilbert, was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGEAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 '77 
 
 wounded in the battle of Petersburg, Va. , 
 while serving in the Twenty-eighth Wis- 
 consin Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 Augustin H. Babcock left the parental 
 farm at the age of ten years, and hired 
 out by the month on his own account, 
 continuing to work thus until his enlist- 
 ment. He was first in Company F, 
 Sixth Maine Volunteers, and later in the 
 Nineteenth Regiment, Maine V. I., serv- 
 ing altogether four years. At the bat- 
 tle of the Wilderness he was so badly 
 wounded that he was disabled for the 
 entire summer, and subsequently he was 
 confined to hospital with typhoid fever; 
 but with these exceptions was with 
 his regiment in all its marches, engage- 
 ments and skirmishes. After the close of 
 the war he resumed the pursuits of peace, 
 and shortly afterward married Miss Louisa 
 Foster, who died two years later. In 
 about 1873 he settled down on the old 
 farm in Howard township, Brown county, 
 and in 1879 married Miss Jennie Black- 
 burn, who was born in Manitowoc county. 
 Wis., a daughter of Lorin and Hannah 
 Blackburn. To this union five children 
 have been born, of whom the following 
 four are still living: Louisa, born Au- 
 gust 9, 1880; Alice, born January 22, 1883; 
 Stella, born October 24, 1886; and Vera, 
 born October 22, 1888. Mr. Babcock 
 has made a success of his life as a farmer, 
 and has always maintained the respect 
 and esteem of his neighbors. In relig- 
 ious faith he and his wife are members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. In poli- 
 tics he has been independent; he cast his 
 first Presidential vote, in 1865, for George 
 Brinton McClellan, the Democratic nomi- 
 nee, but since then has voted the Repub- 
 lican ticket. 
 
 JOSEPH LEY, a worthy representa- 
 tive of one of the old pioneer fami- 
 lies of Rockland township, Brown 
 county, where he is a well-known 
 and highly respected citizen, was born in 
 
 that township May 10, 1854, a son of 
 Joseph Ley. 
 
 The latter was born in 1823, in Prus- 
 sia, where he was reared, and in early 
 manhood learned the trade of carpenter. 
 Hearing and reading of the superior ad- 
 vantages offered to young men in the 
 New World, he resolved to emigrate, and 
 gathering together what capital he could, 
 he left his native land in 1844 to seek his 
 fortune in the United States. Many of 
 the early settlers in Wisconsin were Ger- 
 mans, and having decided to come to that 
 then new State, Mr. Lej' after landing in 
 New York proceeded by boat to Milwau- 
 kee, Wis. He came from Milwaukee to 
 Green Bay on foot, the road which he 
 took leading him the greater part oi the 
 way through the dense forest, and often 
 it was nothing more than an Indian trail. 
 He frequently met Indians, who were 
 then still numerous in this region, though 
 usually friendly, but as he did not know this 
 their appearance alarmed him not a little. 
 The woods abounded with wild animals, 
 and the howling of the wolves, which 
 were especially ferocious, caused him 
 great uneasiness. But the long, tedious 
 journey was at last safely accomplisiied, 
 and on arriving at Green Bay he found it 
 a small town, containing a few houses, 
 the garrison stationed at Fort Howard 
 forming the greater part of the popula- 
 tion of both towns at that time. Mr. 
 Ley made his first location in Section 3, 
 Rockland, in which township only three 
 other families were then living. He had 
 a brother living at Fond du Lac, but is 
 now a resident of Jordan, Minn. Mr. 
 Ley was at this time but a poor young 
 man, not able to jnirchase land even 
 at the low prices it then sold for. He 
 could obtain work at his trade, how- 
 ever, and was offered two blocks in what 
 is now the business portion of Green Bay, 
 for a year's labor, an offer which he re- 
 fused, never realizing that the little vil- 
 lage would in a few years become an im- 
 portant city. He was truly a pioneer of 
 Rockland township, for he cut the first 
 
17S 
 
 COJdMKMOnATlVK BIOCUAPHICAI. RECORD. 
 
 timber felled by a white man in Section 
 3, and after making a small clearing built 
 the lirst house there. It was only a rude 
 log dwelling, but it was the only shelter 
 he and his family had the year round. 
 Here he resided for some time, toiling 
 early and late to clear his land and hew a 
 home from the dense forest, and a few 
 years later removed to a farm in Section 
 8, Rockland township, where he passed 
 the remainder of his da\s. This was also 
 new land; but he once more commenced 
 the task of converting the forest into a 
 productive farm, and at his death he left 
 150 acres of good farming land as well 
 improved as any in the township up to 
 that time. He endured all the vicissi- 
 tudes and hardships incident to the set- 
 tling and improving of a new country, and 
 did his full share toward the advancement 
 oi his section. Politically he was a Dem- 
 ocrat and a leader in the party, and he 
 served faithfully in various local positions 
 of honor and trust, being township as- 
 sessor fifteen \ears and justice of the i)eace 
 sixteen years; and his good common sense 
 and sound judgment won for him the re- 
 spect of all who came in contact with 
 him. He died November 23, 1878, a 
 member of St. Francis Catholic Church, 
 De Perc. and was buried in De Pere cem- 
 etery. After his settlement here Mr. Ley 
 offered a home/o his aged parents, and 
 the\- set out on the journey from Ger- 
 man}-, but the mother died iii route. The 
 father arrived safely at his destination, and 
 passed his declining years in comfort, dy- 
 ing at the home^ of his son February 17, 
 1872, at the age of ninety years. 
 
 Joseph I-ey, Sr. , was first married in 
 1 85 I, in De Pere, to Miss Mary Engles, a 
 native of Germany, and they had a fam- 
 ily, of whom tw(j sons grew to maturity: 
 Michael, who is a resident of Lu.xem- 
 bourg, Kewaunee county; and Joseph, 
 mention of whom is made farther on. 
 The mother of these was called from 
 earth in 185S, and buried in Shantytown 
 cemetery. For his second wife Mr. Ley 
 subsecjuently wedded Mrs. Josephine Det- 
 
 rich, who was born in Belgium, and came 
 to the United States with relatives. She 
 is yet living at the age of seventy-three 
 years. Of their family one son and three 
 daughters are living, viz. : Thomas, living 
 at Pound, Wis. ; Mary, wife of Henry 
 Berg, of De Pere; Julia, wife of Con. 
 Keefe, of Rockland; and Louisa, wife of 
 Charles Brown, of Pound, Wis. ; the 
 others dying in infanc}-. 
 
 Joseph Ley, whose name introduces 
 these lines, was reared in the same man- 
 ner as other pioneer children, receiving 
 his literary training at the rude schools of 
 the time, which were quite different from 
 those of the present day. His knowledge 
 of farming he received under the tuition 
 of his father. On May 13, 1884, he was 
 united in marriage, at Menasha, Wis., 
 with Miss Mary Lemmel, the ceremony 
 being performed by Father Andrew Sen- 
 bert. She was born April 11, 1858, at 
 Maple Grove, Manitowoc Co., Wis., 
 daughter of Agidius Lemmel, who was a 
 native of Bavaria, Germany, from which 
 country he came to Wisconsin in an 
 early day. Here he married Barbara 
 Schaeffer, and they had a family of seven 
 children, to wit: John D., of Menasha, 
 Wis. ; Kate. Mrs. John Cure, of Mil- 
 waukee; Mary, Mrs. Joseph Lej-; Bar- 
 bara, Mrs. Fred Digler, of Menasha; 
 Anna L. , S. S. de Notre Dame, Cham- 
 paign, Illinois; Rosa, Mrs. Fred Esser, 
 of .Milwaukee; and Maggie, Mrs. Henry 
 Grant, of Menasha. Wis. After mar- 
 riage our subject resided at the paternal 
 homestead until 1889, when became to 
 his present farm, which now comprises 
 I 30 acres of excellent land. All the im- 
 provements on this farm have been made 
 by him, and he has also erected all the 
 buildings on the farm. He is a success- 
 ful agriculturist, progressive and enter- 
 prising, and is recognized as one of Rock- 
 land township's public-spirited citizens, 
 always ready to encourage and assist 
 every movement for the improvement and 
 advancement of his section. 
 
 A local leader in the Democratic ranks, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 '79 
 
 Mr. Ley has been elected by that party 
 to positions of trust, such as township 
 treasurer, in which he served ten years, 
 and he was school clerk eleven years, 
 giving complete satisfaction to his con- 
 stituency. Mr. and Mrs. Ley have an 
 interesting familj- of six children, namely: 
 Anton J., Maggie M., Anna L. , Hen- 
 rietta M., Joseph H. and Hildy M. In 
 religious faith the entire family are 
 members of St. Francis Catholic Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
 GEORGE A. DELANEY, one of 
 the best stone-cutters in Howard 
 township. Brown county, was 
 born here in i 869, the youngest 
 in the family of six sons and five daugh- 
 ters born to James C. Delaney. 
 
 janies C. Delaney was born Februar}' 
 I, 1819, in Shippensburg, Penn., a son of 
 James and Rebecca (Anderson) Delaney, 
 the former of whom was a native of Ire- 
 land, the latter of England. James and 
 Rebecca Delaney came to the United 
 States when quite young, and here he first 
 followed the blacksmith trade, afterward 
 conducting an old-time tavern; later he 
 settled on a farm in Ohio, where he also 
 conducted a blacksmith shop, around 
 •which a little country village sprang up. 
 Here he died at the age of sixty-four 
 years; his wife had died when their son, 
 James C, was but two years of age. Of 
 the five children born to James and 
 Rebecca Delaney, four are still living. 
 
 James C. Delaney, at the age of ten 
 years, started out in the world for him- 
 self, and worked at various places by the 
 month until he was fourteen years old, 
 when he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. 
 After a two-years' service he ran away, 
 and at Philadelphia found employment as 
 driver of a canal-boat horse, later became 
 steersman, and then captain. When 
 twenty years old he enlisted in the army 
 as a musician, and for two years served as 
 fifer in the Florida war. On his return he 
 met Miss Elizabeth Dickinson at Buffalo, 
 
 N. Y. , and they were married December 
 7, 1842. She was born in England, a 
 daughter of Robert and Mary Dickinson, 
 and was two years old when brought to 
 America by her parents, who both died in 
 Buffalo. Shortly after his marriage Mr. 
 Delaney re-enlisted for five years, served 
 as fifer, and was sent to Mexico, where he 
 was quartered in the halls of the Monte- 
 zumas. He served, in all, ten years as 
 fifer, eight of which he was fife-major of 
 the Second United States Infantry. After 
 the Mexican war the army was billeted at 
 different points, and Mr. Delaney's lot 
 was cast at Fort Howard, Wis. , where he 
 was eventually discharged. But in the 
 meantime he had bought a few acres of 
 land, on which he has lived ever since, 
 adding constantly to his original purchase 
 until he became, possessor of a fine piece 
 of property, of which he has given each of 
 his two sons forty or fiftj' acres. 
 
 WJ. CASEY, who for the past 
 thirteen years has been favor- 
 ably known as a pains-taking and 
 careful railroad official, is a native 
 of Ireland, born in 1856. a son of John 
 and Mary (O'Keefe) Casey, of the same 
 nativity. The father died in Ireland, the 
 widowed mother, about the year 1859, 
 coming with her little family of one (onr 
 subject) to the United States, first locat- 
 ing in Fond du Lac, Wis., later settling 
 in Milwaukee, where she is now residing. 
 Our subject, as will be seen, was three 
 years old when he was brought to Wis- 
 consin, and he was reared and educated 
 in Fond du Lac. When old enough to 
 commence the world, he learned teleg- 
 raphy at Campbellsport, same State, and 
 after six months received the appointment 
 of local agent at Fredonia, Wis., for the 
 Wisconsin Central railroad. After six 
 months so employed, he was sent to 
 Forest Junction, where he also served six 
 months in similar work, at the end of 
 which time he moved to Amherst Junc- 
 tion, having been appointed joint agent 
 
I So 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for the Wisconsin Central and the Green 
 Bay, Winona & St. Paul railroads. Here 
 he was stationed from 1882 till 1885, and 
 was then moved to Green Bay, to till the 
 position of chief clerk in the freight and 
 passenger department of the Green Bay, 
 Winona & St. Paul railroad. In 1887 he 
 was appointed agent at Green Bay (Fort 
 Howard Junction); in 1890 he was ap- 
 pointed traveling auditor for the company, 
 in 1892 being promoted to his present in- 
 cumbency, that of car accountant for the 
 Green Bay, Winona, & St. Paul and the 
 Kewaunee, Green Bay & Western rail- 
 roads. 
 
 In 1878 Mr. Casey was married at 
 Fond du Lac, Wis., to Miss Hattie 
 Durand, and four children have blessed 
 their union, viz. : Charles, Mamie, \\'ill- 
 iam and George. Our subject is a mem- 
 ber of the Royal Arcanum, of Pochequette 
 Lodge, No. 26, Knights of P\thias, and 
 lieutenant in the Uniform Kank of same. 
 
 JOSEPH HEBEL, who, for the past 
 quarter of a century, has been act- 
 ively identified with the farming in- 
 terests of the township of Glenmore, 
 Brown county, was born in Germany in 
 1845, <i ^o" "f Mathias Hebel. The 
 latter died before our subject was nine 
 years old, and, the family being left in 
 somewhat straitened circumstances, Jo- 
 seph went to live with a farmer. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farming, 
 and continued to follow that vocation 
 until lie was twenty-one years of age, 
 when he concluded to come to the New 
 World, where he would have better 
 chances for advancement. Borrowing 
 the necessary money from a friend, he 
 sailed from Bremen early in the summer 
 of 1867, and landed at Quebec after a 
 voyage of eight weeks. From there he 
 came at once by rail to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 thence to Manitowoc, where he found 
 himself a stranger in a strange land, but 
 young and active, and willing to work at 
 anything which would bring him an honest 
 
 dollar. He remained in Manitowoc coun- 
 ty about three years, finding employment 
 during the summers at farm work, and in 
 the winter season engaged in lumbering. 
 Two years after his arrival he returned 
 the money he had borrowed to bring him 
 here, and he also saved enough to bring 
 his widowed mother, and his two sisters 
 — Mary and Barbara. They lived in a 
 rented house in Manitowoc county, and, 
 after the daughters married the mother 
 continued to reside with our subject until 
 her death. 
 
 On January 2'si, 18G9, Joseph Hebel 
 was married, in Francis Creek, Wis., to 
 Miss Mary Gruber, who was born in Ger- 
 many in 1847, daughter of Mathias Gru- 
 ber. In the year of his marriage Mr. 
 Hebel purchased forty acres in Section 24, 
 Glenmore township. Brown county, only 
 five acres of which were cleared at that 
 time, and here, in a small log house, 
 which stood a short distance from their 
 present residence, they made their home 
 for a number of years. .\t first the farm 
 afforded no revenue whatever, and, in 
 addition to the arduous task of clearing' 
 away the forest, Mr. Hebel also engaged 
 in making shingles by hand, receiving two 
 dollars a thousand for them, delivered at 
 Green Bay. fifteen miles distant. But 
 after several years of hard work the land 
 was greatly improved, and, though obliged 
 to go into debt for his first purchase, he 
 soon paid for it, and added another tract, 
 now owning eight\' acres of excellent 
 land. At that time his children were all 
 too \oung to help, but he has reared his 
 family in comfort, and hewed a comforta- 
 ble home from the dense forest. In all 
 his dealings with his fellow men he has 
 been square and upright, and has acquired 
 an enviable reputation for integrity of 
 character and honesty of ]iurpose, being 
 respected by all who know him. Mr. 
 Hebel is a Democrat in his political 
 preferences, but takes no active part in 
 party affairs; in religious connection he 
 and his wife are members of St. James 
 Catholic Church, at Cooperstown, Mani- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 iSi 
 
 towoc county. To their union came 
 children as follows, their names and dates 
 of birth being: Joseph, November i8, 
 iS7i;John, April 29, 1873; Anton, No- 
 vember 2, 1875; Louis, February 23, 
 1878; Margaret, April 12, 1881; Annie, 
 March 22, 1883; Mary, May 31, 1886; 
 Frank, January 4, 1891. One son, Louis, 
 died x'oung. 
 
 S\V. H A Y F O R D, a prominent 
 citizen of Wrightstown, Brown 
 county, is a native of Potsdam, N. 
 v., born July 25, 1832. His father, 
 Abiel D. Hayford, who was a native of 
 Massachusetts, was a Congregational min- 
 ister. He married Miss Laura A. John- 
 son, whose father, C. Johnson, was con- 
 nected with the body-guard of Gen. George 
 Washington. According to tradition, he 
 was a skillful carpenter, and made the 
 coffin for the unfortunate Major Andre. 
 
 S. W. Hayford, at the age of fifteen 
 years, leaving the parental roof to brave 
 the world on his own account, worked in 
 different States for a time, and then, to- 
 gether with his brother, James H., began 
 the study of medicine. But their means 
 were too cramped to allow them both to 
 continue their education, so our subject 
 concluded to abandon the stud\- for the 
 time being, and with fraternal generosity 
 assist his brother to a diploma, after which 
 he would resume the study himself. Re- 
 turning to New York, he married, on 
 May 3, 1854, Miss R. Chapin. daughter 
 of a prosperous farmer of that State, and 
 two years later they came to Wrights- 
 town, Wis. To this union have been 
 born the following named children: Lu- 
 ther D., of Rhinelander, Wis. ; Lucina A., 
 at home; James H., in Illinois; Edwin, 
 of Wheatland, N. Dak. ; Alfred, still at 
 home; Chester, in Illinois; Charles, of 
 Sheboygan, Wis. ; Carrie, Chapin and 
 Laura, at home. In 1864 Mr. Hayford en- 
 listed in Company E, Forty-second Wis- 
 consin V. I. , with which he served until 
 the close of the war, when he received an 
 
 honorable discharge, and returned to his 
 home to resume the peaceful occupation 
 of tilling the soil. Circumstances pre- 
 vented his ever resuming the study of 
 medicine. Politically he is an ardent Re- 
 publican, but is not an aspirant for office, 
 although he has served as justice of the 
 peace. From a child he has been a very 
 active temperance worker and an active 
 Christian. 
 
 Dr. James H. Hayford, brother of our 
 subject, and now the editor of the Lara- 
 mie (Wyo.) WccklyScntiml, has attained 
 considerable fame as the originator of the 
 woman suffrage movement. Mrs. Hay- 
 ford, his wife, had the distinction of serv- 
 ing on the first and only jury composed 
 equally of male and female members in 
 the United States. 
 
 WB. ANDERSON, junior member 
 of the well-known leading firm 
 of contractors and builders, 
 McGrath & Anderson, Green 
 Bay, is a living e.xample of what industry, 
 perseverance and sound judgment can 
 produce; while his business life bears tes- 
 timony to what it is possible for man, 
 with willing heart and hands, to ac- 
 complish. 
 
 He isanati\eof Ontario, Canada, born 
 August 20, 185 I, in the town of Corn- 
 wall, a son of Robert and Mary (McMillen) 
 Anderson, the former of whom came, 
 when a boy, from his native land, Scot- 
 land, to Canada. He learned the trade 
 of tailor, which for many years he fol- 
 lowed in Cornwall, where he made a set- 
 tlement, becoming a leading citizen of the 
 town, which he served as clerk and treas- 
 urer for thirty-four years. Of Kno.x 
 Presbyterian Church in Cornwall he was 
 a prominent member for a long period of 
 time, and he served in many positions of 
 honor and trust, so highly was fie esteemed 
 by the community. He and his wife lived 
 to advanced ages, dying, he in 1892, she 
 in 1886. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, who is 
 
I 82 
 
 COMMEMOUATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 third ill order of birth in his parents' 
 family, received a fair education at the 
 schools of his native town. At the age 
 of fifteen he went to work as a farm 
 hand, receiving nine dollars per month 
 and his "keep," and his earnings he 
 turned over to his father, not that he was 
 obliged to do so, but in response to the sim- 
 ple filial promptings of his heart. When, in 
 the winter time, there was not much to 
 do on the farm, the lad would be found 
 hauling cordwood to town, his pay at 
 that time being six dollars per month. 
 Coming to the United States in 1868, he 
 worked for a time as a farm hand in St. 
 Lawrence county, N. Y. , receiving seven- 
 teen dollars per month, and during one 
 season he labored in the lumber regions, 
 known as "The South Woods," in St. 
 Lawrence county. In 1870, learning 
 that labor was better paid in the West, 
 he set out with buoyant spirits and a 
 hard hand— for in the words of Shake- 
 speare "there is no better sign of a 
 brave heart than a hard hand " — and 
 landing in Winona, Minn., he found 
 himself the happy owner of only twelve 
 dollars in cash and his clothes (rather a 
 limited supply), but possessed of a super- 
 abundant allowance of courage and Scotch- 
 Canadian "grit." Here he secured work 
 as a common laborer in the service of a 
 contractor named F. A. Johnson, who 
 was engaged in driving piles and erecting 
 bridges for the Chicago & Northwestern 
 railroad. After a time, Mr. Johnson 
 having similar work at St. Joe, Mich., 
 our subject went there, and staid till the 
 contract was completed. Returning to 
 Winona, he continued sometime longer 
 in the employ of Mr. Johnson, and then 
 engaged with the Chicago & Northwestern 
 Railroad Company as a bridge builder. 
 In this, though yet a lad, his work was so 
 thorough, and so highly appreciated by 
 his einpl(j}ers, that he was made fore- 
 man of a gang, in which position he re- 
 mained till 1 876, when he resigned, hav- 
 ing accepted a similar appointment from 
 the Southern Minnesota Railwa\' Com- 
 
 pany. This last was a two-years" engage- 
 ment; and his efficiency was again re- 
 warded with promotion, he becoming 
 superintendent of bridges and buildings, 
 in which capacity he remained some four 
 years. At the end of that time he 
 moved to Winnipeg, Canada, where he 
 found similar work on the Canadian Pa- 
 cific railroad, then in course of construc- 
 tion, his engagement with them termi- 
 nating in 1884, when he returned to the 
 United States, and for two years lived in 
 St. Paul, Minn., taking a much-needed 
 rest. During the next two years he was 
 foreman for contractors on the Minneapo- 
 lis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie rail- 
 way, and then for one year was superin- 
 tendent of bridges and buildings for that 
 company. We now find him in the em- 
 ploy of the Milwaukee & Northern Rail- 
 road Compan}', whom he served in similar 
 capacity till in February, 1893, when he 
 became a partner with Mr. Thomas J. 
 McGrath, as contractors and builders. 
 Since the partnership was formed the 
 firm have erected 800 feet of dockage for 
 the Murphy Lumber Co. ; plant for " The 
 Columbian Bakery;" extensive coal sheds 
 for Barkhousen & Hathawa\-; the power 
 house for the Green Bay Electric Co. ; 
 about 14,000 yards of cedar block paving 
 on Washington street, all in the city of 
 Green Bay, besides the bridge over the 
 East river, connecting Allouez and Belle- 
 vue townships, in Brown county. 
 
 On October 9, 1875, Mr. Anderson 
 was married in Winona, Minn., to Sarah 
 Pritchard, who was born May 2, 1856, in 
 the city of Delaware, Del., a daughter of 
 Thomas and Mary ("Morgan) Pritchard, 
 who were of English descent. At the 
 age of thirteen Mrs. Anderson accom- 
 panied her parents to England, where 
 they left her, as they had to return to the 
 United States. The intention was that 
 the 3'oung girl should come home with 
 some relatives, but she concluded to re- 
 turn without their company which she 
 did on the steamship "Turriffo." In 1868 
 her parents removed to Minnesota, and a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I S3 
 
 year later she followed them. The names 
 of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. W. 
 B. x\nderson are: Mary Jessie (she died 
 when two months old); James R. , Will- 
 iam Iv. , and Olive A. Politically our 
 subject is a stanch Democrat. Mrs. 
 Anderson is a member of the Catholic 
 Church, and the entire family enjoy the 
 respect and esteem of a wide circle of 
 friends. 
 
 JOSEPH TREML, farmer and stock- 
 raiser, and one of the highly re- 
 respected citizens of Glen more 
 township, Brown county, is a na- 
 tive of Germany, born October 15, 1S28, 
 son of Joseph Treml, who had fi\e chil- 
 dren — three sons and two daughters — of 
 whom our subject is the eldest. 
 
 Joseph Treml was reared to farm life, 
 and during his youth had but limited edu- 
 cational advantages, attending school only 
 three winters. He remained at home until 
 he reached the age of twenty-one, at 
 which time he commenced life on his own 
 account, working as a farm hand, and 
 later the homestead came into his posses- 
 sion. In February, 1866, he was married 
 in Germany, to Miss Mary Reiter, who 
 was born November 30, 1843, daughter 
 of Adam Reiter, and while living in Ger- 
 many they had two children, as follows: 
 Joseph, born October 10, 1868. now 
 working on the home farm; and Annie, 
 born February 22, 1872, who was mar- 
 ried August 3, 1892, to Thomas Crestoff, 
 of Montpelier township, Kewaunee coun- 
 ty. After his marriage Mr. Treml contin- 
 ued farming until 1874, when he disposed 
 of his property, and with the proceeds 
 brought his family to the United States. 
 They sailed from Bremen, arriving in 
 Baltimore, Md., after an ocean voyage of 
 eighteen days, and immediately after 
 landing came westward over the Pennsyl- 
 vania railroad, to De Pere, Brown Co., 
 Wis., via Chicago. Shortly afterward 
 Mr. Treml purchased forty acres of new 
 land in Section 25, Glenmore township. 
 
 for which he paid three hundred dollars. 
 The first timber on this land had been 
 cut by lumbermen; but he built the first 
 house, a log structure, which stood where 
 the kitchen of the present residence now 
 is. The years that followed were filled 
 with hardship and stern toil, but these 
 settlers were an.xious to have a home of 
 their own, and by perseverance suc- 
 ceeded at last in clearing the entire farm. 
 On this place the rest of their children 
 were born, as follows: Wolfgang, born 
 October 1, 1874; Mary, born November 
 8, 1876; Frank, born January 10, 1880, 
 all three living at home; and four sons — 
 John, Charles (i), Charles (2), and 
 George — who died in infancy. 
 
 During his residence in Glenmore 
 township our subject has devoted himself 
 exclusively to farming and stock-raising, 
 and besides improving the original tract 
 has added to it till he now has 120 acres. 
 When he settled here it was covered with 
 brush and stumps and fallen timber left 
 by lumbermen, and no small amount of 
 labor has been involved in its transforma- 
 tion to its present condition, in which 
 work his sons have been of great help to 
 him. He is universally respected by his 
 fellow citizens for his square, honest 
 methods and upright character. He is a 
 stanch Democrat, but has never given 
 any time to politics, all his time being de- 
 voted to his business interests. He and 
 his wife are members of St. Mary's 
 Church, in Glenmore, and they are highly 
 esteemed by all who know them. 
 
 LG. SCHILLER, manager of C. 
 Schiller, wholesale dealer in fresh, 
 salt and smoked fish, at the foot 
 of Jefferson street. Green Bay, 
 was born September 12, 1848, in the 
 Province of Brandenburg, Germany. 
 
 Our subject came to Green Bay in 
 1872, and April 6, 1874, married Miss 
 Clara Asimont, daughter of George Asi- 
 mont, who came to Green Bay from Ger- 
 many in 1857. On first coming to that 
 
184 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 city Mr. Schiller was employed by Cran- 
 dall & North, wholesale f^jrocers, and for 
 four years did faithful service; he was then 
 employed for three months b\- John Daj- 
 & Son, wholesale grocers and fish dealers, 
 and in November, 1876, went into the 
 grocery business at the corner of Pine 
 and Adams streets; in the spring of 1882 
 he moved to Washington street, but sold 
 out May 30, 1889, and assumed his pres- 
 ent position. This house was established 
 in 1879 on East river, and in 1889 L. G. 
 Schiller established the business at the 
 foot of Jefferson street, in the interest of 
 his employer, at the time of his taking 
 the management of the concern in Green 
 Bay. Under his control all things have 
 prospered, and he now employs twenty- 
 five hands. The position of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Schiller in social circles is all that 
 can be desired, and both are members of 
 the Lutheran Church, in good and faith- 
 ful standing. He has also been treasurer 
 of his church ten years; is a member of 
 the Royal Arcanum, of the Orderof Tonti, 
 and of the Knights of the Maccabees. In 
 politics he is a Republican, and in 1877- 
 78 was a member of the city council; he 
 has likewise served as a member of the 
 board of school trustees, and every office 
 he has held with credit to himself and to 
 the satisfaction of the public. 
 
 Of seven children born to the parents 
 of L. G. Schiller, two besides himself are 
 residents of the United States — Louis, 
 who came to Green Bay in 1868, worked 
 for Crandall & North, until 1874, and 
 then went to Milwaukee, where he still 
 resides; and Frank, who reached Green 
 Bay in 1872, was in business with his 
 brother, L. G., till 1889, but is now a 
 resident of Fort Scott, Kans. To the 
 marriage of L. G. Schiller and Clara Asi- 
 mont were born ten children, viz. : Clara, 
 died in 1875; Gustave, bookkeeper for his 
 father; Julia, residing with her parents; 
 Frieda and Clara, (twins), died in 1878; 
 Sophie, died in 1880; Henrietta, died in 
 1 882 ; Louis, died in 1883; Clarence, resid- 
 ing with his parents ; and Otto, died in 1 889. 
 
 FRANK CRABB, one of De Pere's 
 prosperous young business men, 
 is a nati\e of Brown county, born 
 May 8, 1862, in Section 3. Rock- 
 land township. 
 
 Philip Crabb, his father, was born in 
 Belgium, and was there reared, receiving 
 but a limited education, as he had to 
 commence work when but a bo\'. In 
 early manhood, hoping to succeed better 
 in the United States, he emigrated hither, 
 and coming to northern Wisconsin, at 
 that time a new and unsettled country, 
 found employment as a laborer, work be- 
 ing plenty in the lumber regions. He was 
 married in Green Bay to Mrs. Catherine 
 Tillmans, a widow, and shortly afterward 
 located on a farm in Rockland township, 
 where they resided until their removal to 
 De Pere. Previous to their coming, Mr. 
 Crabb had had a business room built in 
 the town, walking daily to and fro from 
 his farm to superintend its construction, 
 and during his absence Mrs. Crabb would 
 work in the clearing. One day, while 
 she was thus engaged, she heard the 
 screams of her little daughter, who was 
 playing about the house. The child's 
 dress had accidently caught fire, and, with 
 great presence of mind, the mother dashed 
 her into a watering-trough, but the little 
 girl soon afterward died from the injuries. 
 Our subject, Frank, was the only child 
 by the first wife that grew to maturity; 
 she died in 1871, and was buried in the 
 Catholic cemetery at De Pere. Philip 
 Crabb subsequently remarried, and by 
 that union had two children who lived to 
 adult age, namely: Annie, now Mrs. 
 Peter Pembrook, of De Pere; and Joseph, 
 a farmer of De Pere township. Mr. 
 Crabb died July i, 1879, and was buried 
 in De Pere cemeter}-; he was a member 
 of the Catholic Church, and a stanch 
 Democrat, though he never took an active 
 part in politics. After his removal to the 
 town of De Pere he carried on a grocery 
 and liquor business in the store room 
 above mentioned, becoming very success- 
 ful and accumulating a snug property. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 1S5 
 
 Frugality and industrj' and attention to 
 business were the elements of his success, 
 for his proper!}' was made from a start of 
 nothing else. 
 
 Up to the age of five years Frank 
 Crabb lived on a farm in Rockland town- 
 ship, and then came with his parents to 
 De Pare, where he received his education, 
 attending the "old stone schoolhouse " 
 for several years. When but a boy he 
 commenced to assist his father in the 
 store, where he secured his first business 
 training, and, after the death of the father, 
 continued the business in the same build- 
 ing until 1882, when he was burned out. 
 In 1885 he rebuilt, erecting a substantial 
 brick business room and residence, where 
 he now conducts one of the best-appointed 
 saloons in De Pere, doing a prosperous 
 business. Mr. Crabb was married in 1880 
 to Miss Allie Vanderhyden, a native of 
 Oconto county. Wis. , and a daughter of 
 John Vanderhyden, who is a Hollander 
 by birth. This union was blessed with the 
 following named children: Katie G., 
 Cecelia T. , Theresa A., Frank John 
 Joseph (deceased), George A., and Al- 
 gomaj. Our subject, like his father, is a 
 stanch member of the Democratic party, 
 but does not mingle in political affairs. 
 In religious faith he is a member of St. 
 Mary's Catholic Church. 
 
 BARNARD FINNEGAN, a self- 
 made prosperous agriculturist and 
 extensive land owner of Holland 
 township. Brown county, is a na- 
 tive of the land of Erin, born about the 
 year 1 827 in County Sligo, a son of Patrick 
 and Rose (Flynn) Finnegan. 
 
 Patrick Finnegan was a tenant farmer, 
 and like many others at that time, though 
 hard-working and frugal, found it no easy 
 task to support his family in comfort. He 
 had six children — one daughter, Winnie, 
 who died young, and five sons, Barnard, 
 Patrick, Thomas, John and Eugene, of 
 whom but two are now living, Barnard 
 and Patrick. The mother of these dying. 
 
 the father subsequently married Miss Mar- 
 garet Kerrigan, with whom he came to 
 the United States in 1846 (leaving his 
 sons in Ireland), and made his home in 
 Montgomery county, N. Y. Barnard 
 Finnegan received a somewhat limited 
 common-school education, for, being the 
 eldest son, he commenced work at the 
 early age of eleven years. After his father 
 left Ireland Barnard supported himself by 
 farm labor until the fall of 1847, when 
 his father provided him and his brother 
 Thomas with means to emigrate. The 
 two young men proceeded to Liverpool, 
 where they took passage on a sailing ves- 
 sel bound for America, and, landing after 
 a four-weeks' voyage, immediately joined 
 their father in Montgomery county, N. Y. 
 Here Barnard found employment as a 
 farm hand, and was also employed as 
 section laborer on the New York Central 
 railroad between Utica and Albany, con- 
 tinuing in this some years. Thomas Fin- 
 negan died in Montgomery county, where 
 he was buried, and in the spring of 1853 
 Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan and Barnard con- 
 cluded to migrate to Wisconsin, attracted 
 undoubtedly by the cheapness of the land 
 in that then new State. Gathering to- 
 gether their household effects, they set 
 out for what was then the "Far West," 
 going by rail to Buffalo, where they em- 
 barked on the lake steamer "Morton," 
 Capt. Thompson, and landed in Green 
 Bay, Wis., early in June. The father 
 came at once to Kaukauna, but Barnard 
 obtained employment for the summer as 
 deck-hand on the steamer '.' Moore," ply- 
 ing between Green Bay, Washington Har- 
 bor and Mackinac. In the fall, after navi- 
 gation had closed, oursubject rejoined his 
 father at Kaukauna, and here he remained 
 two years in the employ of the Fox River 
 Improvement Co About 1855 he pur- 
 chased eighty acres in section 22, Hol- 
 land township, on which not a single im- 
 provement had been made, and he built 
 the first house on the place, which is yet 
 standing. Here Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan 
 passed their declining days; but Barnard 
 
iS6 
 
 COMMEMOKATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 did not make a permanent home there at 
 first, for it needed mone}' to carry on the 
 farm, and he could at that time earn more 
 at other pursuits. Hut he earnestly set 
 about the task of clearing and improving 
 his farm, and not only accomplished this 
 much, hut also added to the place from 
 time to time, now owning 280 acres of ex- 
 cellent land, all of which he has accjuired 
 by industry and honest toil. His sons 
 have been of great assistance to him in 
 the cultivation of this large farm, and to- 
 day they stand among the leading \oung 
 men in the township. 
 
 On February ly, 1S61, liarnard Fin- 
 negan was united in marriage with Miss 
 Mary Cavney, who was born March 7, 
 1843, in County Sligo, Ireland, only 
 daughter of Roger and Julia (McNulty) 
 Cavney. They came to the United States 
 in 1850, and for several years resided in 
 New York City, where Mrs. Cavney died. 
 In 1858 the father and his daughter Mary 
 came to Wisconsin, where he passed the 
 remainder of his days, making his home 
 with his daughter until his death, which 
 occurred March 28, 1877. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Finne- 
 gan took uji their residence on the farm, 
 where they have since continued to make- 
 their home. Their union has been 
 blessed -with eight children, a brief rec- 
 ord of whom is as follows : Rosa, died 
 at the age of three years. Patrick, died 
 at the age of fifteen \'ears and nine 
 months. John C, born Jul}' 10, 1867, 
 received an education at the common 
 schools of the home neighbi)rhood, sub- 
 sequently attended McCunn's Business 
 College in Green Bay for a year, and 
 taught school in Brown county seven 
 years; he is a stanch Democrat, a local 
 leader in the party, and in 1893 was 
 elected township clerk; at present he is a 
 notary public; he married Odell Savageau 
 November 7, 1S94, and lives in a fine 
 residence on his farm in Holland town- 
 ship. Brown county. Michael J., born 
 August 28, 1869, graduated from the 
 Green Bay Business College, and for the 
 
 past six years has been employed by the 
 Metropolitan Lumber Comjian}', of Dick- 
 inson county, Mich., as bookkeeper. 
 Eddie B., born January 23, 1872, also 
 took a course in the Green Bay Business 
 College; he resides at home. Charles 
 T., born November i. 1874, lives at 
 home. F'rank died when two years and 
 seven months old. Mamie E. . born 
 January 11, 1883, is living at home. In 
 religious connection the famil)' are all 
 members of St. Francis Church, Holland 
 township. Politically Mr. Finnegan is an 
 ardent adherent of the principles of the 
 Democratic party, but, though interested 
 in its welfare, is not acti\e in party affairs. 
 
 M 
 
 .\XUEL BRUNETTE, proprie- 
 tor of the Duck Creek Stone 
 ( Uiarry, \"elp, Brown county, is 
 one of the prominent self-made 
 men of northeastern \\'isconsin, where he 
 is widely and favorably known. 
 
 He was born June 5, 1842, in Green 
 Bay, son of Dominick and Louisa (Bru- 
 nette) Brunette, the foriner of whom was 
 born in Green Bay in 181 2, and for many 
 years was a jobber in logs, lumber, etc. ; 
 he is now retired from business, residing 
 on a farm in Brown county owned by 
 our subject. Mrs. Louisa Brunette was 
 born in Lower Canada, and died in How- 
 ard township. Brown county, at the age 
 of sixt\-six years, the mother of fourteen 
 children, of whom but five are now li\ing. 
 Manuel Brunette's paternal grandfather, 
 Dominick Brunette, Sr. , was born in 
 Little Moscow, Canada, and in 1796 came 
 to Green Bay with a party in bark canoes, 
 being among the first to \isit the shores 
 and settle here. On entering the bay, at 
 that point known as •' Death's Door," the 
 party was dashed against an island, and 
 the canoes wrecked, but they succeeded 
 in repairing them with birch bark, and 
 then made their way along the east 
 shore to what is now the city of Green 
 Bay, at that time only a fur-trading post. 
 Here for some \ears Dominick Brunette 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1S9 
 
 engaged in fur trading, and then marired 
 a Miss Grignori, through whom he in- 
 herited part of an old French claim. 
 This led him to adopt farming, a voca- 
 tion he followed the remainder of his days, 
 dying in 1862 at the age of seventy-eight 
 years; his wife also lived to an advanced 
 age. He had reared his son Dominick to 
 a life of usefulness and hardihood, a train- 
 ing which fully qualified him for the 
 dangers incident to those early times, and 
 he took an active part as a home guard in 
 defense of the settlers during the Indian 
 war against the depredations and attack 
 of the Redskins, as well as in the more 
 peaceful but equally hazardous undertak- 
 ing of acting as one of the party who sur- 
 veyed the military road running from 
 Green Bay to Prairie Du Chien. 
 
 Manuel Brunette was reared to the 
 practical pursuits of agriculture as well as 
 to those of life in the woods. On com- 
 mencing life for himself he first hired out 
 by the day or month either at logging or 
 farming, also as a shingle sawyer, and 
 from these crude beginnings has accumu- 
 lated his present fortune. He was vir- 
 tually at home during his " jobbing out" 
 experience, until his marriage to Miss 
 Teressa Walker, a native of Lockport, 
 N. Y. , which event occurred April 21, 
 186"; their union has been blessed with 
 fourteen children, ten of whom are yet 
 living, as follows: Mary L., Sarah, Lemuel, 
 Margaret, Roland, Manuel, Abbie, 
 Robert, Norine and James. Of these the 
 second daughter, Sarah, is the wife of 
 Albert Strasburger, superintendent of 
 schools of Sheboygan county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mrs. Teressa Brunette is a daughter 
 of James and Sarah (Welch) Walker, the 
 former of whom was born in Tullamore, 
 King's county, Ireland, May 3, 1 8 14, and 
 was about eleven years old when he came 
 to America with his sister and settled in 
 New Brunswick. There he at once shipped 
 as a cabin boy, sailing between Que- 
 bec and Chatham, a vocation he followed 
 until he reached the age of twenty, when 
 
 he went to Pennsylvania, working in a 
 11 
 
 stone quarry until 1839, in which year he 
 moved to Lockport, N. Y. He was there 
 married, in 1840, to Miss Sarah Welch, 
 and resided there until 1849, when he set 
 out for Wisconsin, traveling via canal to 
 Buffalo, and thence by steamer "A. D. 
 Patchen" to Milwaukee, where he passed 
 the greater part of the summer. Coming 
 thence to Green Bay, he settled finally 
 at Velp, Brown county, where he cleared 
 forty acres of land, and made a perma- 
 nent home, residing there until his death, 
 which occurred in November, 1892. In 
 1872 he opened a general store, and for 
 fonrteen years served as postmaster at 
 Velp. In politics he was first an Aboli- 
 tionist, later a Democrat. He was the 
 father of ten children, of whom four sons 
 and three daughters survive. Mr. Walker 
 was a great traveler in his day, and vis- 
 ited nearly every stone quarry in the 
 United States; he was a great reader, and 
 a most enterprising and progressive man 
 in every way, having assisted in construct- 
 ing the first threshing machine in the 
 country; put in the first blast in the Erie 
 canal near Lockport, N. Y. , and was one 
 of the first passengers to cross the Alle- 
 ghany Mountains on a railroad. Having 
 been educated in the common schools, he 
 knew their value, and, in company with 
 David Cormier and Charles W. Athey, 
 organized the first school in Howard 
 township, against strong opposition on 
 account of the cost. He was always active 
 in public affairs, and was highly honored 
 in this section of the county. Mrs. Sarah 
 (Welch) Walker was born March 4, 1826, 
 daughter of Thomas and Mary (Nichols) 
 Welch, natives of Limerick, Ireland, who 
 landed in Toronto, Canada, the year Mrs. 
 Walker was born. 
 
 After his marriage Manuel Brunette 
 settled on a single acre of land he had 
 previously purchased with money earned 
 by hard daily labor, and built a small 
 frame house, 20x26, thereon. With no 
 capital, save good health and determina- 
 tion, he, for sixteen vears, followed boat- 
 ing, and hauling lumber, shingles, etc., 
 
190 
 
 COMMEMOaAriVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 by frugality and attention to business 
 managing to accumulate some cash cap- 
 ital. In 1873 he bought the Duck Creek 
 Stone Ouarry, the business which chietly 
 engages his attention at present, but in 
 the meantime had purchased various tracts 
 of farming lands, to the cultivation of 
 which he has given his personal super- 
 vision, and is now not only recognized as 
 one of the most progressive farmers of 
 Brown county, but as a thoroughly sub- 
 stantial business man. The Duck Creek 
 Ouarry stone is described to be the most 
 substantial for sub-structure in the North- 
 west, and is so acknowledged. The es- 
 tablishment supplies engine beds, fur- 
 nishes cut and dimension stone to order, 
 and has a steam barge to deliver orders 
 wherever practicable. It runs steam 
 drills, a channeling machine and polish- 
 ing machines, giving constant employ- 
 ment to about fifty men, and is yearly 
 extending its trade. Many of the finest 
 buildings in the Northwest are constructed 
 from the product of this quarry, and Mr. 
 Brunette deserves great credit for placing 
 the valuable material before builders and 
 architects of the country. 
 
 In politics our subject is a Democrat, 
 and cast his first Presidential vote for 
 George B. McClellan. He has served 
 his fellow- citizens fifteen years as super- 
 visor, for several terms as member of the 
 Brown county board, and in other local 
 offices, in every one of which he has 
 given the utmost satisfaction. He is the 
 present treasurer of the school board, and 
 has been postmaster of Velp since Grover 
 Cleveland's first administration, with his 
 daughter Margaret as assistant. Mr. 
 Brunette and family are members of the 
 Catholic Church, toward the support of 
 which he has contributed generously, as 
 well as to the building up of other 
 churches and schools. In fact, he is 
 active and liberal in all public under- 
 takings. Mr. Brunette is self-educated, 
 and has been the sole architect of his 
 fortune. His reading is of a most exten- 
 sive character, including ancient and 
 
 modern history, politics and current litera- 
 ture. He is wise in counsel, and is much 
 sought after both by business and profes- 
 sional men for advice, and few men are 
 more highly respected in Brown county. 
 Of such men the State of Wisconsin is 
 justly proud, as such lives are a living 
 example to the new generation. 
 
 WILLARD E. BURDEAU, of 
 Flintville, Brown county, was 
 born December i, 1859, in 
 Clinton county, N. Y. His 
 grandparents, Jacob and Fannie Burdeau, 
 were born near Montreal, Canada, and 
 came to t'.e United States about 181 2, 
 locating near LakeChamplain, in Clinton 
 county, N. Y. ; later moved to a farm at 
 Chazy, Clinton county, thence to Woods 
 Falls, N. Y. , finally returning to Dover, 
 Canada, where they died at an advanced 
 age. They had a family of thirteen chil- 
 dren, among whom was Isaac, the father 
 of our subject. 
 
 Isaac Burdeau was born May S, 1831, 
 in the village of Champlain, Clinton Co., 
 N. Y., was reared a farmer, and was mar- 
 ried December 31, 1853, to Miss Mary A. 
 Cook, who was born in Clinton county, N. 
 Y. , October 8, 1837, a daughter of John 
 and Ann Cook. Isaac Burdeau followed 
 farming in his native county until 1866, 
 when he brought his family to Brown 
 county. Wis., and bought a farm near 
 where his son Willard E. now lives, re- 
 siding thereon until his death, which oc- 
 curred January 13, 1894. He was one of 
 the best known and most highly respected 
 lousiness men of the county, and an old- 
 time and influential Democrat. There 
 were six children in his family, one of 
 whom died at the age of thirty-four years, 
 leaving a family of eight children. 
 
 Willard E. Burdeau, at twenty-one 
 years of age, left the home farm for Lake 
 Superior, where, for two years, he was 
 foreman for a large sawmill firm; then re- 
 turned home, and for the next two years 
 followed logging, working hard and mak- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 191 
 
 ing money. On May 8, 1884, he married 
 Miss Sarah A. PhilHps, a native of 
 Suamico township, born July 6, 1863, 
 and this happy union has been blessed 
 with four children, as follows: Alma E. , 
 born February 18, 1886; Earl \V., born 
 February 21, 1888; Leo A., born October 
 5, 1891, and Flora, born March 16, 1893. 
 After his marriage Mr. Burdeau carried 
 on a farm until 1892, when he bought a 
 general store, to which, in 1894, he add- 
 ed a large stock of farm machinery, in- 
 cluding binders and mowers, besides 
 wagons and buggies, in all of which he has 
 made a success. He is a member of the 
 Democratic party, and September 30, 
 1893, "^'^s appointed postmaster. He 
 has served as supervisor and road over- 
 seer, and for one year as chairman of the 
 town board; he has also been a school of- 
 ficer for several years. He and his wife 
 are members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah A. Burdeau is a daughter 
 of George Phillips, whose parents, Daniel 
 and Nancy (Hughes) Phillips, were natives 
 of County Down, Ireland, where George 
 was born, in August, 1820, one of ten 
 children. George came to America in 
 1854, landing in Canada, where he lived 
 fourteen months, and then went to 
 Whitehall, and later to Clinton, N. Y., 
 thence to Syracuse, same State. While 
 there he married Miss Sarah Quinn, who 
 was one of a family of seven children, also 
 born in County Down; her mother was a 
 daughter of John and Sarah Sloan. To 
 George and Sarah (Ouinn) Phillips were 
 born five children, and the family came 
 to Wisconsin about the year 1S56, but 
 three years later returned to New York, 
 where they remained one year. At the 
 end of that time they came back to Wis- 
 consin, locating in Door county, but 
 about i860 settled in Suamico township. 
 Brown county, where they now reside, 
 beins; among its most honored citizens. 
 
 Willard E. Burdeau has led a very 
 active and industrious life, and has made 
 his fortune solely through his personal 
 exertions. He is recognized by his 
 
 neighbors as a man of enterprise, ever 
 ready to promote all projects designed 
 for the public good; and his fellow citizens 
 have never hesitated to call upon his ser- 
 vices when in need of a faithful and reli- 
 able executor of a public trust. His social 
 standing is with the best people in the 
 community, and his business integrity has 
 ever been without reproach. 
 
 FRANZ LI EB MANN, a typical 
 self-made, industrious farmer, and 
 one of the leading, highly respected 
 citizens of Preble township, Brown 
 county, is a native of Schwarzburg-Rudol- 
 stadt, Germany, born June 27, 1824, in 
 the village of Lichte, by Koenigsee. His 
 father. Christian M. Liebmann, was a na- 
 tive of the same place, and by occupa- 
 tion was a farmer. 
 
 Franz Liebmann was educated in the 
 common schools of his place of birth. 
 When thirteen years old he commenced 
 to learn the trade of potter, at which he 
 served an apprenticeship of three years, 
 and then followed same as journeyman in 
 various parts of Germany, giving his 
 father part of his earnings before he be- 
 came of age. In the spring of 185 i, con- 
 cluding he could better his condition by 
 coming to the United States, he bade 
 adieu to his home and friends and sailed 
 from Hamburg on the vessel ' ' Germany. " 
 Reaching New York after an ocean voy- 
 age of five or six weeks, he proceeded 
 thence by boat to Albany, and from there 
 by rail to Buffalo, where he took the lake 
 boat to Sheboygan, Wis. From the 
 latter place he came to Green Bay, where 
 several families from his home neighbor- 
 hood had settled. Mr. Liebmann's first 
 employment in the New World was mak- 
 ing ditches, at which he continued one year, 
 and then spent three months at his trade, 
 conducting the pottery business on a small 
 scale in Green Bay, where he was the 
 first in that line. After a time his health 
 became poor, and, on his recovery, he 
 went to Menasha, Wis., and worked for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOOEAPIIICAL UECORD. 
 
 Mr. Hatchclder in the potter}' in that 
 town for about six months. Then, join- 
 ing his father and brother Louis, who had 
 followed him to the United States, he 
 went to Washington Harbor, Wis., where 
 they engaged in the fishery business, and 
 prospered. But here he was again taken 
 sick, and he left the place one hundred 
 dollars in debt. Coming to Green Bay, 
 he worked in sawmills for Robinson, 
 Howe, Tyler, and others, was then for 
 some time employed in Bellevue town- 
 ship, and finall}-, in November, 1859, 
 came to his present farm, having sold his 
 house and lot in Green Bay. 
 
 On October 31, 1858, Mr. Liebmann 
 was married, in Green Bay. to Enistina 
 Meister, who came from Germany about 
 1853, and children as follows were born 
 to their union: Ernst, a farmer of Preble 
 township, born October 19, 1859, who 
 was married October 26, 1886, to Hannah 
 Jobelius, and has had two children: Nellie 
 (deceased) and Laura (he is a Republican 
 in political coimection, a leader in the 
 party in his township, and has served as 
 chairman of the board, supervisor, and 
 for three years as assessor, still holding 
 the latter office); Edwin, a saloon keeper 
 in Preble; Fred, at home; Louisa, widow 
 of Charles Wallman, of Peshtigo, Wis., 
 and Caroline, Mrs. Hubbard Basten, of 
 Preble. Mr. Liebmann first purchased a 
 tract of twenty acres, and now owns 120 
 acres of excellent farming land, the culti- 
 vation of which is now carried on by his 
 sons. In January, 1865, he was drafted 
 into Company B, Fourteenth Regiment 
 Wis. V. I., was first sent to Vicksburg, 
 and was present at the fall of Spanish 
 Fort, this being his first battle; they then 
 commenced the march toward Montgom- 
 ery, and we cii route at the time of Lee's 
 surrender. Mr. Liebmann was mustered 
 out at Mobile, and received his discharge 
 October 9, 1S65, at Madison, Wis., com- 
 ing home at once; but after his return he 
 had an attack of fever and ague, also rheu- 
 matism (which still troubles him), being 
 sick for two jears as a result of exposure. 
 
 Our subject has follow-ed farming for 
 thirty-ti\e years, and from a start of forty 
 dollars, the amount he had when he 
 landed in Green Bay, he has accumulated 
 a very comfortable propert}', the result of 
 years of hard work and economy. Atone 
 time, while working at day labor, money 
 was so- scarce that he was obliged to take 
 his pay in "shin plasters" (this was in 
 1856-57). But he struggled along, jear 
 by year improving his circumstances, till 
 he now stands among the most successful 
 farmers of his section. In politics he has 
 been a Republican since i S60, and is a 
 stanch supporter of the principles of his 
 party. He has held various offices in his 
 township, and served for some time as 
 clerk of the school board, then as chair- 
 man of same for six years, discharging 
 his duties with credit to himself and satis- 
 faction to all. During his younger days 
 Mr. Liebmann was a most indefatigable 
 worker, and he has attended to the clear- 
 ing of his entire farm, seeing the dense 
 forest, once inhabited by wild animals, 
 supplanted by fertile fields, representing 
 many years of unrelenting toil. He and 
 his family are highly esteemed, and he is 
 known to be honest and straightforward 
 in all his dealings with his fellowmen. 
 Sociallv he is a member of Hermann 
 Lodge," No. Ill, I. O. O. F., of T. O. 
 Howe Post, No. 124, G. A. R. , and of 
 the Germania Benevolent Society. 
 
 JOHN D. ESMANN, an industrious 
 well-to-do farmer of New Denmark 
 township. Brown county, is a native 
 of Germany, born September 9, 
 1823, a son of Herman H. and Margaret 
 (Schlake) Esmann, who had a family of 
 seven children, namely: John D., Anna, 
 Gesche, Fritz, Meta, Henry, and Ber- 
 nend. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of his native land, 
 and learned the mason's trade under his 
 father, following same constantly in his 
 native countrv. In 1852 he was married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 193 
 
 in Germany to Miss Adelaide Meise- 
 gades, and, in 1861, they emigrated to 
 America, landing' in New York City, thence 
 immediately comin;; westward to New 
 Denmark township. Brown Co., Wis. 
 Here Mr. Esmann purchased eighty acres 
 of wild land, which, by hard labor and 
 shrewd financiering, he has converted 
 into a highly cultivated improved farm, 
 where he is ruccessfully engaged in general 
 agriculture. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Esmann were born 
 four children, as follows: Meta, Henry 
 (deceased), Gesene, and Fritz, the latter 
 remaining on the home farm with his 
 father, their mother having died in 1883. 
 She was a member of the Lutheran 
 Church, as is also Mr. Esmann. In his 
 political preferences' he is a Republican. 
 
 LORENZ HEIM, one of the thrifty 
 industrious German farmers of 
 Scott township. Brown count)-, is 
 a native of the Fatherland, born 
 February 28, 1831, son of Martin Heim. 
 In the fall of 1846 the latter, with his 
 family of three sons and two daughters, 
 immigrated to the United States, and com- 
 ing directly to Wisconsin, made a settle- 
 ment in Brown county. In Green Bay 
 township, which then comprised what is 
 now four townships, he purchased a tract 
 of eighty acres of new land, covered with 
 timber and brush, and on this farm he and 
 his wife passed the remainder of their 
 days, he dying in 1872, she in 1878. 
 
 Lorenz Heim was fifteen years of age 
 when he came with his parents to Amer- 
 ica, prior to which he had received his 
 education in the common schools of his 
 native land. He secured work in Green 
 Bay, for four years doing chores around 
 the old " Astor House," for which work 
 he received eleven dollars per month, his 
 earnings all going to assist his parents to 
 pay for their new home; subsequently he 
 worked two years at another hotel in the 
 same capacity. On November 26, 1855, 
 Mr. Heim was married at New Franken, 
 
 Brown county, to Miss Barbara Bidde- 
 john, who was born in Belgium, March 
 22, 1830, and came to America in 1855. 
 To this union have been born seventeen 
 children, of whom Mary is the wife of 
 Joseph Ryder, of Menominee, Mich. ; 
 Catherine is married to Andrew Simons; 
 Frona lives at home; Andrew is a resident 
 of Marinette, Wis. ; Louis is living at 
 home; Agnes is the wife of Peter Becker, 
 of Michigan; Lena, Hobart, Caroline, 
 John, and Joseph all live at home; the 
 others died in infancy. 
 
 At the time of his marriage Mr. Heim 
 had purchased a tract of new, uncleared 
 land, for which he went into debt, and 
 this he has since cleared and improved, 
 now owning 160 acres of prime farm 
 land. He is one of the self-made men of 
 his section, and is everywhere respected 
 for his industry and honest, straightfor- 
 ward methods in dealing with his fellow- 
 men. In 1865 he was drafted into the 
 army, but hired a substitute whom he 
 paid $800. In politics Mr. Heim is a 
 stanch Democrat, and, though not particu- 
 lar!}' active in politics and no office- 
 seeker, has served four years as super- 
 visor of his township. The entire family 
 belong to the Catholic Church. 
 
 ARCHIE LYNN GOWEY, plumber 
 at De Pere, was .born in Spring 
 Vale, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., 
 May 29, 1854, and is a son of 
 John H. and Jane (Parish) Gowey, na- 
 tives, respectively, of Poultney, Vt. , and 
 of the village of Askron, England. John 
 Gowey was engaged in farming at Spring 
 Vale, also carried on a lumber business 
 at Fond du Lac for many years, and there 
 built the Moore & Galloway mill. In 
 1866-67 he was engaged in the milling 
 and lumber business at De Pere, but 
 afterward moved to Oshkosh, Winnebago 
 Co., Wis., where he died; he was buried 
 at Neenah, same county. His widow 
 still resides at De Pere. 
 
 Archie L. Gowey was educated in the 
 
194 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BI06BAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 schools of De Pere, and when seventeen 
 years of age went to Oconto, Wis., and 
 was there engaged in scaling lumber for 
 the Oconto Compan\', and for England, 
 Taylor & Company. About 1871 he 
 opened a grocery and general store at 
 Oshkosh, Wis., carried it on about two 
 years, and then engaged in farming near 
 De Pere until 1877. In 1882 he entered 
 upon his present plumbing and heating 
 business in De Pere. Mr. Gowey was 
 most happily married, in 1876, to Miss 
 Carrie Lawton, a daughter of Joseph G. 
 Lawton, and this union has been blessed 
 with the birth of six children, as follows: 
 Archie L. , Leila C, Paul E. and Pauline 
 E. (twins), Ella \. and Clarence P. Mr. 
 Gowey is a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias, Lodge No. 107, of De Pere. In 
 politics he is a Republican, and he and 
 his wife are members of the Episcopal 
 Church. Socially the family hold an 
 enviable position. 
 
 IVl 
 
 ARTIN VER STRATEN.one of 
 the prosperous self-made agri- 
 culturists of the township of De- 
 Pere, is a native of North Bra- 
 bant, Holland, born July 25, 1836, son 
 of George and Delia \'er Straten, the 
 former of whom was a farmer in but or- 
 dinary circumstances. He had a family 
 of eight children (three of whom lived to 
 adult age), of whom John and Martin 
 (twins) were the eldest. 
 
 Martin Ver Straten attended school 
 until he was twelve years of age, and then 
 commenced to work at farm labor, first 
 for his father, and later for others. He 
 supported his parents until they died, and 
 then he and his brother took care of their 
 younger sister, who was then seven years 
 old. In 1865 his brother John immi- 
 grated to the United States, settling in 
 Brown county. Wis., and, having ac- 
 quainted Martin with the superior advan- 
 tages for advancement offered in the New 
 World, our subject concluded to follow. 
 Accordingly, in the spring of 1866, he 
 
 bid adieu to his home and friends, and 
 proceeded from Rotterdam to Hull, Eng- 
 land, thence to Liverpool, where he 
 took passage in a vessel bound for New 
 York, arriving in the latter city after a 
 voyage of eleven days. He was accom- 
 panied by Miss Anna Van Den, his 
 brother's fiancee, and they proceeded 
 directly from New York to Little Chute, 
 Brown Co. , Wis. , where the\- found John 
 awaiting his bride. Martin \'er Straten 
 worked as a farm hand for five or six 
 weeks after his arrival, and then came to 
 De Pere township, where he found em- 
 ployment in a sawmill, and later on a 
 boat. His first day's work in this town- 
 ship was for John Coenen, and shortly 
 afterward he and his brother purchased, 
 in partnership, fort}- acres of partly- 
 cleared land, which he still owns, on 
 which stood a small log house. In 
 the fall of 1869 he returned to his 
 birthplace, and, in the spring of 1870, 
 was there married to Miss Gertrude "Van- 
 derwise, a native of the same locality, 
 immediately after which event the young 
 couple set sail from Rotterdam, landing, 
 after a voyage of thirteen days, at Port- 
 land, Maine. From that city they came 
 over the Grand Trunk railroad to Chi- 
 cago, and thence to the home in Brown 
 county. Wis. In the fall of 1868 he had 
 purchased the interest of his brother John 
 in the tract of forty acres, and he and his 
 wife lived there in the log house until it 
 was destroyed by fire and replaced by a 
 better one. This was the home of the 
 family until 1885, when the present sub- 
 stantial residence was erected. To Mar- 
 tin and Gertrude Ver Straten were born 
 six children, as follows: George, Leon- 
 ard, Annie, and Henry, living, and two 
 that died young. The mother of these 
 died in 1882, and was buried in the St. 
 Marj^'s cemetery, at De Pere, and for his 
 second wife Mr. Ver Straten married, in 
 18S5, Mrs. Catherine Smit, widow of 
 Alexander Smit. She was born in Ba- 
 varia, Germany, daughter of John Burk, 
 and came to the United States with her 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 '95 
 
 parents when five years old. Her father 
 had emigrated three years before and lo- 
 cated in New York, remaining there until 
 he saved enough to bring his family and 
 two sisters from the old country. Later 
 they removed west to Waukesha, Wis., 
 and still later came to Brown county. 
 
 Mr. Ver Straten now has a well cul- 
 tivated farm of 1 30 acres, which repre- 
 sents years of hard, untiring toil and 
 economy. He is a self-made man in 
 every respect, having, from a start of 
 nothing, accumulated a comfortable prop- 
 erty and a snug income, his success being 
 the direct result of his own individual 
 labor. He is highly respected in his town- 
 ship, where he has been elected to various 
 offices of trust, serving as supervisor four 
 terms with satisfaction to all, and he is 
 now clerk of the school board. In his 
 political preferences he is a Democrat; in 
 religious faith he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of St. Mary's Catholic Church, De- 
 Pere. When he was nineteen years old 
 he was called to serve in the Dutch army 
 five years, by Wilhelm III, King of the 
 Netherlands, but at the end of one year's 
 service he was allowed to return to his 
 home by consent of the King. 
 
 JOHN VER STRATEN, who, during 
 his lifetime, was one of the best- 
 known farmer citizens of De Pere 
 township. Brown county, was a na- 
 tive of Holland, born July 25, 1836, in 
 the Province of North Brabant. He was 
 a son of George Ver Straten, a farmer, 
 and a twin brother of Martin Ver Straten, 
 a sketch of whom precedes this. 
 
 John Ver Straten lived in his native 
 country, doing farm work until he was 
 twenty-nine years old. He then concluded 
 to try his fortune in the United States, 
 and in 1865 set sail from Antwerp, taking 
 passage in the "Agnace." During the 
 first day of the voyage cholera broke out 
 on board, and the vessel put back to port, 
 where a fort was converted into a pest- 
 house; the vessel started again after a few 
 
 days, but three hundred of the seven 
 hundred passengers died of the disease. 
 Immediately after landing Mr. Ver Straten 
 came to Brown county. Wis., and for 
 one year worked on a farm. In April, 
 1866, he was married, in Little Chute, to 
 Miss Anna Van Den, who was born Sep- 
 tember I, 1838, in Holland, daughter of 
 Martin and Delia Van Den, and came to 
 the United States in 1866 with Martin 
 Ver Straten, brother of her late husband. 
 Immediately after their marriage the 
 young couple took up their residence with 
 a farmer in Holland township. Brown 
 county, where they remained one year; 
 but, being anxious to have a home of their 
 own, they, in 1867, purchased private 
 claim No. 39, a farm of forty acres, for 
 the payment of part of which they were 
 obliged to go into debt. A small log 
 house was the only building on this land, 
 fifteen acres of which was cleared, and 
 here they resided one year, and then for 
 three years lived on a rented farm along 
 the Dickinson road, his brother Martin 
 locating on the farm they had left. In 
 the spring of 1873 they came to the 
 farm in De Pere township where the 
 family still make their home, and here 
 Mr. Ver Straten passed the remainder of 
 his life. The year before they had pur- 
 chased forty acres, private claim No. 38, 
 where they now live, but a small portion 
 of which tract had then been cleared, and 
 on which there was not even a dwelling; 
 but a rude house was soon erected, which 
 served as a shelter for the family until 
 their present substantial home was built. 
 Mr. Ver Straten died on this farm May 
 14, 1885, leaving a family of eight chil- 
 dren to be provided for, and a home 
 encumbered with an indebtedness of seven 
 hundred dollars. However, by working 
 together and practicing thrift and strict 
 economy, the family have paid off every 
 cent of the debt, and they now have a fine 
 farm of one hundred acres, equipped 
 with good out-buildings and a comfortable 
 residence. The children are as follows: 
 George, Henry, Martin, Delia, John, 
 
196 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mary, Ellen, and Peter, all living; one 
 child, Nellie, died in infancy. The sons 
 are all hard working men. and have nobly 
 assisted their mother in paying for the 
 home. George met with a very serious 
 accident in August, 1894, whereby he 
 lost an arm. It appears that on the 25th 
 of that month, while he was operating the 
 threshing machine at the home of his 
 mother (an occupation he had been ac- 
 customed to for the past eight \ears), he 
 unfortunateh' got his arm entangled in the 
 pulley through which the belt ran, and it 
 was terribly torn, the bone being broken 
 as well. The doctors who attended him 
 set the bone and did all they could to save 
 the arm, but three days afterward the 
 patient was sent to the hospital at Green 
 Bay, where it was found necessary to 
 amputate the arm above the elbow. He 
 is now working his mother's farm. Mrs. 
 Anna Ver Straten is a thrifty economical 
 woman, and has shown no small amount 
 of business ability and sagacity in the 
 management of the farm. The entire 
 family are held in the highest esteem in 
 the communitj' in which they reside. Mr. 
 Ver Straten was a genial, sociable man, 
 and he had many friends. He was a 
 member of St. Mary's Catholic Church 
 in De Pere, as is also his widow, and in 
 politics he was a Democrat, though he 
 never took much interest in party affairs, 
 and about fifteen years ago served as 
 assessor three years. 
 
 ARONDOU, a prominent gardener, 
 and now serving his seventh year 
 as supervisor of the First ward, 
 Fort Howard, came to Fort How- 
 ard in 1870, locating where he now lives 
 in 1876, and engaging in gardening. He 
 has an ex'cellent farm of thirty acres, all 
 inside the city limits, and is in the enjoy- 
 ment of a prosperous business. He built 
 a good barn in 1891, and raises small 
 fruit and vegetables. 
 
 Mr. Rondou, who is a son of John and 
 Catherine (De 'Vray) Rondou, was born 
 
 in 1853, in Belgium, where his parents 
 lived and died. He came to Detroit, 
 Mich., in 1868, finding a home with an 
 aunt, and from there removed to Fort 
 Howard. Here he was married, in 1876, 
 to Miss Johanna Carton, a native of Brown 
 count} , daughter of Joseph Carton, who 
 was born in Belgium, and coming to this 
 country located in Pittsfield township, 
 Brown Co., Wis., in 1854. Here he 
 married MarxCabesen, and, with his wife, 
 is now living with Mr. Rondou. Nine 
 children came to gladden the home of the 
 Rondous: Joseph, Frank, Anton, Mary, 
 Katie, Nettie, Lizzie (deceased;, Fred 
 and Rosa. Mr. Rondou is a Democrat 
 in politics, and the leader of his party in 
 the First ward, of which he has been 
 supervisor since 1887. He has also 
 served as alderman from the same ward. 
 He and his wife are members of St.Willi- 
 brord's Catholic Church, and Mr. Rondou 
 holds membership in the Catholic Order 
 of Foresters, the Catholic Knights of 
 Wisconsin, and St. Joseph Society, of 
 which latter he is treasurer. He is one 
 of the progressive, successful men of Fort 
 Howard, and always active in furthering 
 the best interests of the community in 
 which he resides. 
 
 JD. MORAUX, M. D., eminent as a 
 physician and surgeon, was born in 
 Green Bay, Wis., his present resi- 
 dence. May 9, 1864, and is a son of 
 Victor and Mary (Collart) Moraux, both 
 natives of Belgium. 
 
 Ferdinand Morau.x, father of \'ictor, 
 was also a native of Belgium, and came to 
 Brown county. Wis., in quite an early 
 day, bringing his family and locating in 
 Green Bay, where Victor found employ- 
 ment in the grain business as foreman, 
 being employed later by \'an Dyke, Burr 
 & Co., then by John Beth, and finally by 
 Weise, Hollman & Co., and here died 
 in January, 1894. Mrs. Mary Moraux, 
 daughter of Desire Collart, Sr. , still re- 
 sides in Green Bay, as does her father. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■97 
 
 who once operated a stone quarry at 
 Duck Creek. To Victor and Mary Moraux 
 were born seven children, as follows: J. 
 D. , our subject; Louis, who died of scar- 
 let fever; Louis (II), who was drowned; 
 Mary, Felix, Julia and Flora. 
 
 Dr. J. D. Moraux was reared in his 
 native cit}-, and, after a proper preliminary 
 education, read medicine with Dr. J. R. 
 Brandt. He then entered the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago, where 
 he graduated in February, 1887, and the 
 same year began practice at Luxembourg, 
 Kewaunee Co., Wis., but, before the close 
 of the year, came to Green Bay, and 
 formed a partnership with Dr. Bartran. 
 After a brief practice in this connecticn he 
 bought out Dr. Dechesne, at Robinson- 
 ville, Brown Co., Wis., but there soon 
 lost everything by fire, and returned to 
 Green Bay. The Doctor has always met 
 with the approbation of his fellow-practi- 
 tioners, and has been earnest in his en- 
 deavors to maintain the dignity and coher- 
 ence of the profession. He is a member 
 of the Fox River Valley Medical Society, 
 and once filled the office of vice-president 
 of the Kewaunee County Medical Society, 
 of which, also, he was one of the Censors. 
 He has built up a fine reputation as a 
 physician, and enjoys quite a lucrative 
 patronage for a practitioner of his years. 
 
 Dr. Moraux was married at Green 
 Bay, October i. 1888, to Miss Hettie 
 Schellenbeck, a native of Green Bay and 
 daughter of Jacob and Otilia (Texton) 
 Schellenbeck, who came from Germany 
 to Green Bay about the year 1855. 
 Here Jacob Schellenbeck engaged in tan- 
 ning, and later in the leather business; 
 he was a Republican in politics, served as 
 a member of the school board, and died 
 full of honors in July, 1892; his widow is 
 still a resident of Green Bay. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Schellenbeck were born five 
 children, viz. : Emma, who died at two 
 years of age; Emma (2), wife of G. P. 
 Kusterman, of Green Bay; Otto, who was 
 engaged in the drug trade for some \ ears, 
 was a K. of P., and died in 1885, at the 
 
 age of twenty-nine years; Ernest, who 
 died when five years old, and Hettie, now 
 the wife of Dr. Moraux. To Dr. and Mrs. 
 Moraux were born two children: Otto 
 Schellenbeck and Hettie, the latter of 
 whom died in infancy. 
 
 Dr. Moraux is a Republican in poli- 
 tics, is a warm supporter of his party, but 
 has never been an office seeker. Being a 
 native of the city he has witnessed much 
 of its progress, and has naturally taken 
 great interest in its advancement, and has- 
 willingly lent every aid in his power to- 
 ward that desirable end. 
 
 CARLMANTHEY, manufacturer of 
 monuments, headstones and cem- 
 etery work of all description, and 
 dealer in marble, granite, etc., at 
 Green Bay, was born May 11, 1851, at 
 Coerlin, Province of Pomerania, Prussia, 
 Germany, a son of Johanna Petersohn, 
 and in 1858 was adopted by Hermann 
 and Henrietta Manthey, also natives of 
 the Province of Pomerania, and moved to 
 Stettin, Prussia. The family came to the 
 United States in 1 869, and located on 
 Clybourne avenue, Chicago, where they 
 were burned out during the great fire, 
 losing everything. Here the father worked 
 as a laborer until 1874, when he came to 
 Brown county, Wis., and opened up a 
 farm in Morrison township, which he cul- 
 tivated until his death in 1883; the widow- 
 ed mother then returned to Chicago, and 
 now resides on the North side. 
 
 Carl Manthey, the only child, was 
 educated at Stettin, Prussia, and on 
 reaching Chicago began an apprenticeship 
 at his present trade with the Gowen Mar- 
 ble Company of that city. In Morrison, 
 Crown Co., Wis., in 1874, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elizabeth Hansch, a native 
 of Prussia, and to this union have been 
 born four sons, viz : Hermann, in busi- 
 ness with his father; Otto, who works for 
 Joannes Bros., and Charles and Ervin. In 
 1875 Mr. Manthey worked at his trade in . 
 Appleton, Wis., moving from there to 
 
198 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 Oshkosh, thence to Fond du Lac, where 
 he passed four years and, then, in the fall 
 •of 1880, came to Green Bay. About 
 
 1881 he formed a partnership with G. 
 Kurtz, under the firm name of Kurtz & 
 Manthey, but at the end of one year 
 bought out Mr. Kurtz's interest, and since 
 
 1882 has been in business for himself. In 
 1892 he erected his present substantial 
 brick office building at No. 132 South 
 Washington street. It is 20 x 50 in dimen- 
 sions, and here he contracts for everj- va- 
 riety of work in his line, being himself a 
 first-class workman, in the busy season 
 employing six assistants. Mr. Manthey 
 is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of 
 the Turnverein, of which latter societ\- he 
 was dramatic manager ten years. He has 
 seen a great many changes take place in 
 Green Bay since coming here, and has al- 
 ways taken a strong interest in the welfare 
 of both county and town. 
 
 THOMAS H. SCANLAN, justice of 
 of the peace and notar\' public, at 
 West Ue Pere, Brown county, is 
 a native of Askeaton, County 
 Limerick, Ireland, and was born July 10, 
 1837. His parents, Thomas and Mary 
 (Hanley) Scanlan, who were respectable 
 farming people, both died in Ireland, the 
 latter when our subject was ten years old, 
 the former when the boy was twelve years 
 of age. 
 
 Having received a fair education in 
 the select schools of his native place, our 
 subject followed his father's vocation for 
 several years, and then decided on emi- 
 grating to America. Accordingly, on the 
 5th day of May, 1863, he embarked on a 
 sailing vessel at Liverpool, and, after a 
 voyage of three weeks, landed at New 
 York, whence he went to Philadelphia, 
 where some relatives resided. There he 
 remained until the i ith of the following 
 October, at which time he came to Wis- 
 consin, and for awhile stopped at Oconto. 
 On May 5, 1864, he reached De Pere, 
 and for two years lived in East De Pere, 
 
 but on June 8, 1866, he moved into a 
 house that he had built on Oneida street, 
 between P'ourth and Fifth street, in West 
 De Pere, and here has resided ever since. 
 On arriving at De Pere, Mr. Scanlan 
 began work in a sawmill, remaining thus 
 employed for about two years; but No- 
 vember 22, 1866, he entered the employ 
 of the E. E. Bolles Wooden Ware Com- 
 pany as yard foreman, and with this 
 company remained twenty-one years, 
 quitting their employ March 17, 1888. 
 
 While filling this position Mr. Scanlan 
 became quite a favorite with the general 
 public. In 1 872 he was elected a mem- 
 ber of the board of trustees of West De- 
 Pere, and for ten years faithfully per- 
 formed the functions of that office; in 
 1883, he was elected treasurer of the city 
 of West De Pere, in which position he 
 gave such satisfaction that he was re- 
 elected in 1 884; in i 885 he was nominated 
 for the office of mayor of West De Pere. 
 but being disinclined to run he voted 
 against himself, and having urged his 
 friends to the same course, he was conse- 
 quently defeated; in 1889 he was elected 
 a justice of the peace, an office he has 
 ever since held; in that year was also 
 elected a supervisor, and was appointed 
 city clerk same j'ear by common council; 
 in May, 1891, he was commissioned a 
 notary public, and is still acting in that 
 capacity. It must be here observed, 
 however, that 'Squire Scanlan has been 
 borne into office solely on his own merits 
 and unbounded popularity, and that he 
 never was an office-seeker in the. usual 
 acceptation of that term. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Scanlan took 
 place at Philadelphia, October 10, 1863, 
 to Miss Catherin Dowling, and three 
 children were born to this union, all dying 
 young. Mr. and Mrs. Scanlan, however, 
 have reared to womanhood a niece, Mary 
 Ann Loftus. who was left an orphan at 
 the age of four years, her mother having 
 lost her life by the explosion of a kerosene 
 oil can at her home in Green Bav. Miss 
 Loftus was married to John Hoks, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 199 
 
 became the mother of one child, Pater- 
 nella Hoks, now nine years old, who, 
 having lost her parents when young, is 
 being also reared by the 'Squire and his 
 estimable wife. Mr. and Mrs. Scanlan 
 are devout members of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and their quiet and un- 
 assuming lives have won for them the 
 respect of all who know them. 
 
 EUGENE K. ANSORGE. The 
 beautiful land of Bohemia, famed 
 for its picturesque valleys, silvery 
 streams, romantic mountain scenes 
 and its handsome, gay and music-loving 
 people, has sent to our country some of 
 its most industrious, loyal and peaceful 
 citizens, among whom is found, in no small 
 degree of prominence, the gentleman 
 whose name is here recorded. 
 
 Mr. Ansorge was born September 23, 
 1843, in the German village of Christofs- 
 grund, in the northeastern part of 
 Bohemia, a son of Anton and Caroline 
 Ansorge, who, in 1855, with their family 
 of three children (the eldest son, Kilian, 
 serving at that time in the Austrian army, 
 followed in 1866), emigrated to the 
 United States, where, in Manitowoc 
 county, Wis., they cleared up a farm 
 from wild woodland they had bought. 
 Here the mother died in 1867, the father 
 at Green Bay in 1888, aged eighty-six 
 years. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was a lad 
 of eleven years when the family came to 
 Wisconsin, and, not having the oppor- 
 tunity to visit a school, he acquired the 
 greater part of his education by self in- 
 struction in reading, etc. Up to the age 
 of twenty-one he worked on his father's 
 farm, learning also the trade of carpenter, 
 at which time, his two-years-older brother 
 returning from the war, he volunteered 
 his services to the Union for the suppres- 
 sion of the Rebellion, by enlisting in 
 Company F, Forty-fifth Wis. V. I. From 
 the commencement of his enlistment he 
 served as sergeant, chiefly in Tennessee, 
 
 and for the most part on camp and train 
 guard duty. In August, same year, the 
 war having closed, he was honorably dis- 
 charged, and came home. A short time 
 afterward he went to Missouri, and for 
 over a year worked at carpentry. In 
 June, 1867, he started as contractor and 
 builder, but being taken sick, had once 
 more, in November of that year, to return 
 to the parental roof. In the following 
 spring, having recovered his health, he 
 resumed his trade as builder at home, 
 continuing it until the ne.xt fall; but such 
 work does not appear to have been the 
 primary and great object of his ambition, 
 and he began to look around him for some 
 occupation more suited to his tastes and 
 inclinations. Determined to try his hand 
 at insurance work, he, in December, 1868, 
 entered the service of the " Dodge County 
 Mutual Insurance Company" as solicitor, 
 and as such traveled on foot over part of 
 Manitowoc county, and near all of Ke- 
 waunee county, in the following April 
 opening an office in Oconto, where for 
 four years he did a thriving business in Fire 
 insurance. During all this time, being a 
 musician of acknowledged merit, playing 
 the violin, he was frequently employed to 
 furnish music for entertainments, etc., 
 and even now, at times, assists at concerts. 
 In March, 1873, he moved to Green Bay, 
 transferring his office in toto, and has 
 since conducted one of the most reliable 
 and flourishing Fire and Life insurance 
 businesses in northern Wisconsin. On No- 
 vember I, 1892, he received into partner- 
 ship E. P. Parish, the firm name being 
 Ansorge & Parish, which still continues. 
 In 1870 Mr. Ansorge was married to 
 Miss Johanna T. Ansorge, and five chil- 
 dren were born to them, namely: Herman 
 and Walter, both deceased, and Clara, 
 Herman and Flora, all three at home. In 
 his political associations our subject is a 
 Republican, and, although no office seeker, 
 has served the city of Green Bay as alder- 
 man. He is a member of the K. of P., 
 Turnverein, German Singing Societj', 
 Green Bay Sharpshooters Society, and G. 
 
200 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 A. R., in all of which he has taken an 
 active interest, and served in various offi- 
 cial capacities. A man of enterprise and 
 integrity, success has crowned his efforts, 
 and he is the owner of considerable 
 amount of real estate. He is now a 
 director of the Citizens National Bank. 
 Although favored with but limited school- 
 ing, as alread)' intimated, Mr. Ansorge 
 has acquired a more than ordinary practi- 
 cal education by extensive reading and 
 close observation of men and things. He 
 is the owner of an excellent library, in 
 which he takes deep interest, realizing 
 full well that books "are a substantial 
 world, both pure and good, round which 
 our pastime and our happiness will grow. " 
 
 AW. JOHNSON, successor to 
 Johnson & Havens, is a highly 
 reputable dealer in marble and 
 granite monuments and tomb- 
 stones, his office being at Xo. 310 Cherry 
 street. Green Bay, Wisconsin. 
 
 He was born in Black Brook, Clinton 
 Co., N. Y. , in 1854, and is a son of 
 William and Sarah (Belong) Johnson, 
 natives of Essex county, same State. 
 William Johnson was a miller and iron 
 manufacturer at Black Brook, but later 
 moved to Plattsburg, where he was em- 
 ployed by a marble firm. He finally 
 came to ^^'isconsin, and died at Fort 
 Howard, Brown county, in 1S86; his 
 widow now resides in Beekmantown, N. 
 Y. They were the parents of two chil- 
 dren : Ida, wife of A. Rea, of Beekman- 
 town, and A. \\'., our subject. The lat- 
 ter was reared, educated anti learned 
 marble cutting in Plattsburg, and worked 
 at his trade in Clinton, Essex, Franklin 
 and' St. Lawrence counties, N. Y. , and 
 then came to Wisconsin. He began 
 business in Hilbert Junction, Calumet 
 county, in 1876, remaining there until the 
 fall of 1 88 1, when, at Fort Howard, he 
 formed a partnership with Mr. Havens. 
 In 1882 the firm came to Green Bay, 
 
 where they continued in partnership un- 
 til February, 1891, when Mr. Johnson 
 bought out the interest of Mr. Havens, 
 and is now building up a fine trade on his 
 own account, employing, on an a\erage, 
 four men. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married at Fort 
 Howard, in 1885, to Miss Anna Klauson, 
 a native of that place, and a daughter of 
 Henry and Mary (Hintzj Klauson, the 
 former a native of Holland, the latter of 
 Germany. They were married in Fort 
 Howard, and became the parents of 
 three children, viz. : Catherine, wife of 
 James Faulkner, of Fort Howard; Henry, 
 a painter by trade, who died in 1879, and 
 Anna (Mrs. Johnson). To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Johnson have been born two children, 
 W'allace Rea and May Ida. Politically 
 our subject is a Republican; social!}' he is 
 a member of Hilbert Lodge, No. 56, I. O. 
 O. F., and of the A. O. U. W., of Fort 
 Howard. Mrs. Johnson is a devout mem- 
 ber of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. 
 
 ALEXANDER P. SCHMIDT, a 
 prosperous brewer of West De- 
 Pere, is a native of New York 
 State, born in Tonawanda, Erie 
 county, October 3, 1846, a son of Martin 
 and Mary Ann (Nagle) Schmidt. 
 
 Martin Schmidt was born near the 
 city of Sweibrucken, Bavaria, was a shoe- 
 maker, and came to the United States in 
 1832. At Buffalo, N. Y., he met and 
 married Mar}- Ann Nagle, a native of 
 Tonawanda, whose father, Antony Nagle, 
 was born in Alsace, but who served in 
 the United States army in the war with 
 Great Britain in 181 2 (for which he re- 
 ceives a small pension); he was killed, at 
 the age of ninety-six years, on the 4th of 
 July, 1876, by a railway train, being deaf 
 and partially blind from old age. 
 
 Alexander P. Schmidt was educated 
 until eight years of age at the public 
 schools of Tonawanda, when, in 1854, 
 his father moved with his family to Mani- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 20I 
 
 towoc, Wis., where our subject completed 
 his education. The father purchased a 
 farm near the city of Manitowoc, but 
 later engaged in mercantile business, and 
 since Cleveland's first administration has 
 been postmaster at Elverno, Wis., and 
 has also served, as a Democrat, on the 
 board of supervisors — a portion of the 
 time as its chairman. Mrs. Mary Ann 
 Schmidt died in the town of Manitowoc 
 Rapids in 1855. On June 24, 1864, 
 Alexander P. Schmidt enlisted in the 
 Union army at Buffalo, N. Y. , and saw 
 active service in the department of the 
 Mississippi until September, 1865, when 
 he was honorably discharged. After be- 
 ing mustered out he commenced learning 
 the brewing business at Manitowoc, and 
 five years later, in partnership with his 
 father, Martin Schmidt, built a brewery 
 at Silver Lake, Wis. , where a profitable 
 business was conducted for sixteen months, 
 at the end of which time our subject 
 moved to Mazo Manie, Dane Co., Wis., 
 and here kept a boarding-house and saloon 
 for a year, after which he settled, in May, 
 1874, in De Pere, Brown county, where 
 he purchased his present site of four lots, 
 erecting a fine residence and brewery and 
 several commodious barns, granaries, etc. 
 Here he turns out about 500 barrels of 
 beer annually, the home trade consuming 
 the entire product. Mr. Schmidt owns 
 one-half of the brewery lands in partner- 
 ship with Pauline Zeller, and also owns a 
 neat farm of ninety-eight acres, of which 
 fifty-eight acres lie within the city limits. 
 In politics Mr. Schmidt is a Demo- 
 crat, and has served as alderman of West 
 De Pere ten or twelve terms at various 
 periods. He is a member of Harrison 
 Post, G. A. R. , at De Pere, is an upright 
 member of the Catholic Church, and en- 
 joys the respect of his fellow citizens. In 
 1872 Mr. Schmidt married Miss Augusta 
 Ya;ller, a native of Calumet, Fond du Lac 
 Co. , Wis. , and of Saxon descent. Five 
 children have been born to this union, as 
 follows: Estella C. S., now filling her 
 fourth term as teacher in the high schools 
 
 of De Pere; Edward A. G., attending 
 the State University at Madison; Laura, 
 attending the Normal School at Milwau- 
 kee: and Myrtle and Richard, at home. 
 
 DAVID ZIMDARS, a respected, 
 self-made agriculturist of Glen- 
 more township. Brown county, 
 was born February 22, 1840, in 
 Germany, son of Joaquim Ziindars, who 
 had a family of eleven children, David 
 being the sixth in the order of birth. 
 
 Our subject received a fair education 
 at the common schools of his native land, 
 but commenced to work at an early age, 
 as his parents were only in moderate cir- 
 cumstances. At the age of twenty he 
 entered the army, and served three years. 
 In 1865 he was married to Miss Minnie 
 Berkenhagen, who was born in Germany 
 in 1842, and shortly afterward the young 
 couple went to work for a large farmer. 
 The wages were small, but in four years 
 Ihey had managed to save enough to 
 bring them to America, and, with their 
 only child, Hulda, they journeyed to 
 Bremen, where they took passage on the 
 vessel "Ferdinand," landing at Quebec, 
 Canada, after a voyage of eight weeks. 
 At this point their funds were exhausted, 
 but, receiving money from a brother-in- 
 law in Milwaukee to come to that city, 
 Mr. Zimdars took his family thither at 
 once. There they remained for about 
 ten years, during which time he was em- 
 ployed as laborer in the manufactories of 
 the city, and, by economy and thrift, they 
 managed to save a little. In the spring 
 of 1878 they removed to Section 10, 
 Glenmore township. Brown county, where 
 Mr. Zimdars had previously purchased 
 eighty acres of wild land, which had been 
 lumbered over, but was totally unim- 
 proved. He built the first dwelling on 
 the place, and all other improvements 
 thereon have also been made by him, or 
 under his direction; he now has 120 acres, 
 the greater part of which is cleared and 
 under cultivation. Since coming to this 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPlIICAL ItECORD. 
 
 farm Mr. Ziindars has done a great deal 
 of hard work, for when he first took up 
 his home here the land was poor, and af- 
 forded but a scanty support, their principal 
 re\enue being derived from the sale of 
 timber; and his success, in the face of 
 all difficulties, shows what may be ac- 
 complished by industry and honest toil. 
 Though in debt when he landed in the 
 United States, he is to-day one of the 
 well-to-do farmers of his locality. His 
 wife has assisted him nobly in the ac- 
 cumulation of their comfortable property, 
 and they are highly esteemed in the com- 
 munity for their many good qualities; they 
 have a wide circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances. They are both members of the 
 Lutheran Church. In politics Mr. Zim- 
 dars is a Democrat, but, though interested 
 in the welfare of the party, he is not a 
 strong partisan, in local elections voting 
 for the best man regardless of politics. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Zimdars had but one 
 child, Hulda, who was born in Germany. 
 She was married in Glenmore township. 
 Brown county, to Henry Goethe, a native 
 of southern Germany, and one child, 
 William, was born to this marriage. Mrs. 
 Goethe died September 23, 1889, in Mil- 
 waukee (where she was buried), deeply 
 mourned by her family and friends. 
 
 JOHN MURPHY, widely known and 
 respected in Brown county, and es- 
 peciall}' in Glenmore township, 
 where he is justly recognized as a 
 public-spirited, progressive citizen, was 
 born April 16, 1850, in Roxbury, Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 Timothy Murphy, his father, was 
 born in County Cork, Ireland, son of 
 John Murphy, where he received a com- 
 mon-school education, and when a young 
 man, having decided to seek his fortune 
 in the United States, he came to Boston, 
 Mass. In that city he wedded Ellen Ma- 
 honey, also a native of Ireland, and after 
 their marriage they removed to Ro.xbury, 
 Mass., where two children — Elnora (now 
 
 a school-teacher of Stephenson, Mich.), 
 and John (our subject) — were born to 
 them. In the fall of 1850 Mr. Murphy, 
 accompanied by his father and his little 
 family, migrated westwanl to Wisconsin 
 (where a brother had previously located), 
 attracted by the cheap homes to be had. 
 They proceeded to Buffalo, thence to 
 Green Bay, on the steamer "Old Michi- 
 gan," and from there to De Pere, where 
 for a time the family resided. In the 
 same year he purchased 160 acres in 
 Section 23, northwest quarter, Glen- 
 more township, at ten shillings per acre, 
 and immediately commenced the clearing 
 of the land, which was still in its primi- 
 tive condition. He spent some time pre- 
 paring a home for his family, and his 
 route from De Pere to his settlement led 
 through the woods from a point on the 
 Dixon road; no bridges spanned the 
 streams, which had to be forded or crossed 
 by means of some fallen log. The land 
 was heavily timbered, and a space had to 
 be cleared for the log cabin, which stood 
 a short distance southeast of the present 
 residence. Early in 1852 the family re- 
 moved to their pioneer home, and at that 
 day the township was so wild and so 
 sparsely settled that the few families 
 grouped together near Mr. Murphy's 
 cabin. The farm at first afforded no sup- 
 port whatever to the family, and, but for 
 the few dollars he had managed to save, 
 they would even have wanted the neces- 
 saries of life. Such stock as they had 
 they were in constant danger of losing, 
 for the wild beasts, especially wolves, 
 made frequent visits to the farm. But 
 gradually the wild animals disappeared 
 from the vicinity, the forest was sup- 
 planted by beautiful, smiling farms, a 
 great work indeed, and one which in- 
 volved many years of stern toil. Two 
 more children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Murphy on this farm, Cornelius and 
 Mary, both now of Chicago. These old 
 pioneers passed from earth in 1887, Mr. 
 Murphy on June 30, when about seventy- 
 three years of age, his wife on March 4, 
 
COMMEMOIIATIVE BIOGIiAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 203 
 
 and they now lie buried in Shantytown 
 cemetery. Tiiey were members of the 
 Catholic Church. In politics he was a 
 stanch Democrat, held many offices of 
 honor and trust in his township, and as- 
 sisted materially in the improvement of 
 his section. 
 
 John Murphy, eldest son of this old 
 pioneer, was but a child when he came 
 with his parents to Glenmore township, 
 and here was reared to manhood. He re- 
 ceived his first schooling in District No. 2, 
 under Maurice Casey, and later attended 
 for about a year in District No. 4, Rock- 
 land township. But, being the eldest son 
 his help was needed on the farm, where 
 he received a thorough training to agri- 
 culture under his father, and during his 
 younger da3's he also worked at lumber- 
 ing, an occupation then very popular 
 among young men. But with the excep- 
 tion of probably a year, he remained at 
 home. On May 13, 1880, Mr. Murphy 
 was married in De Pere to Miss Johanna 
 Heffernan, a native of Glenmore town- 
 ship, born February 11, i860, daughter 
 of James and Bridget (Leary) Heffernan, 
 who were natives of the Emerald Isle and 
 early settlers of Glenmore township. 
 This union has been blessed with one 
 child, Ellen E. , born April 16, 1881. 
 After his marriage our subject settled on 
 the old homestead, where he has ever 
 since resided, principally engaged in gen- 
 eral farming and stock-raising, having 
 eighty acres of excellent land, all under 
 cultivation. In his political preferences 
 Mr. Murphy is a Democrat, and gives 
 that party his unfailing support in State 
 and National elections; but in township 
 and county affairs he selects the best man 
 without much regard for party lines. He 
 has been called upon to fill various local 
 offices of trust; in 1884 he was elected 
 township treasurer, and served continu- 
 ously until 1889; he has been justice of 
 the peace for many years, and in 1 894 
 was elected to his present position, chair- 
 man of the township; in every capacity 
 he has proven himself an efficient officer, 
 
 and his service has invariably been marked 
 by a careful, conscientious discharge of 
 his duties, which has never failed to give 
 satisfaction. He gives a ready and willing 
 support to every enterprise of interest or 
 benefit to his township, and his many 
 years of public service have made him 
 well known and infiuential. In religious 
 connection he and his wife are members 
 of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Glenmore. 
 
 PETER HANSON SCHULTZ, an 
 old settler and prominent citizen 
 of Fort Howard, Brown county, 
 was born in North Schleswig, 
 Denmark, in 1S24. His parents, Johan 
 and Christina (Hanson) Schultz, were 
 also natives of Denmark, in which country 
 the former died, his excellent wife, mother 
 of Peter, came to Brown county, Wis., 
 and settled in the township of New Den- 
 mark, where she died about 1879, aged 
 ninety-three years and four months. She 
 also had two daughters: Christina, wife 
 of Christian Hartz, in Denmark; and 
 Ureka (widow of Hans Nelson), now a 
 resident of New Denmark township, 
 Brown county. 
 
 The son, Peter Hanson Schultz, lived 
 in his native country twenty-six years. 
 He received a good education, and in 
 1848 entered the Danish army, which 
 during that year engaged in its regular 
 drill, and in 1849-50 he saw active ser- 
 vice in a war against the Germans. He 
 learned the trades of carpenter, plasterer, 
 and cabinet-maker while yet a resident of 
 Denmark, and found employment in those 
 lines until he concluded to come to 
 America. In 1852 he set out on the sail- 
 ing vessel "Alter Peter," from Hamburg, 
 landing six weeks later at New York, 
 from which city he proceeded directly to 
 to Fort Howard, Wis., finding employ- 
 ment at the carpenter's trade, which he 
 followed for years. In the course of time 
 he acquired considerable property, and 
 now owns three houses besides the one in 
 which he lives. As a Republican he takes 
 
304 
 
 COMMEMORAriVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a lively interest in political affairs, and 
 was for one year a member of the town 
 council. Both he and his wife belonf^j to 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. Schultz was married in 1869, at 
 Fort Howard, to Anna Maria Hanson, 
 daughter of Hans Jorgen and Hannah 
 Marguerita (Hendrickson) Hanson, all 
 natives of Denmark. The family located 
 in New Denmark township in 1868, set- 
 tling on a farm. The senior Hanson died 
 in 1878; his widow, now over eighty-four 
 years of age, yet resides on the old farm. 
 Their children were: Fredericka, wife of 
 Jens Anderson, of Denmark; Carrie, wife 
 of Jacob Klausen, of New Denmark 
 township; Hans Henry, married and re- 
 siding in the same township; Anna Maria, 
 now Mrs. Schultz; Martha, wife of Hans 
 Rasmussen, of Denmark; Julia, wife of 
 Louie Larsen, of New Denmark, Brown 
 county. When Mr. Schult/ first came to 
 Fort Howard, he settled in what was 
 known as Tanktown, working at the 
 carpenter's trade for Schwar^, Kemnitz 
 & Voight, and at contracting and building. 
 
 SIMON JONES MURPHY, JR. 
 In the human race there is ever 
 progressive change, and it becomes 
 the part of biography, which is 
 the essence of history, to record and ac- 
 celerate it. It shows us how far weha\'e 
 advanced beyond the past, and it treas- 
 ures up the experience of that past for 
 still further advance in the future. 
 
 Without history we would constantly 
 require to begin the march of improve- 
 ment or progress anew, and society would 
 be moving in a narrow ever-returning 
 circle, instead of in one straight and for- 
 ward line. While this is true of history 
 in general, that of ourselves, our relatives, 
 our people — crystallized into the form of 
 biography, whereby are perpetuated the 
 lives of the fittest — has special, even first, 
 claims upon us; and it becomes a duty to 
 both the present and coming generations 
 
 to include in this biographical work 
 records of the lives of such representative 
 men of our time as the gentleman of whom 
 it is our privilege to now write, whose 
 success in business is due to the practical 
 and sensible constitution of his mind, 
 and to the thoroughness of his business 
 training. 
 
 Mr. Murphy is a nati\e of the State 
 of Maine, born March 27, 1851, in the 
 town of Bradley, a grandson of Charles 
 Murphy, who was born in the Kennebec 
 Valley, in that State, and was a farmer 
 of fair education, possessed withal of 
 strong characteristics. His son, Simon 
 Jones Murphy, Sr. , who is a native of 
 the same locality, born in April, 181 5, 
 was reared by his uncle, George Jones, a 
 farmer on Jones Hill, remaining under his 
 care till he was eighteen years old. At 
 the age of eighteen he left the farm, going 
 to Bangor, on the Penobscot river, where 
 he became a lumberman, exploring the 
 river and its tributaries for lumbering pur- 
 poses. After making himself acquainted 
 with all the details of the business, he 
 embarked in the industry for his own 
 account, and, by energy, sagacity and 
 prudence, became a successful lumber- 
 man. He was a hard worker, but 
 was endowed by nature with a rug- 
 ged and strong constitution that carried 
 him through many severe hardships. In 
 all his ventures he met with success, and 
 is to-day, in his declining years, a typical 
 representative of a New England pioneer 
 lumberman. Soon after getting well 
 started in business he married in the 
 State of Maine, and in 1866 removed to 
 Detroit, Mich., where he has since had 
 his home, although for the past several 
 winters he has lived in Los Angeles 
 county, Cal. His wife, Ann Montgomery, 
 was a daughter of Charles M. Dorr, a 
 citizen of prominence in the East, and 
 she was educated in Boston while living 
 with an aunt. Twelve children were 
 born of this union, of whom but six lived 
 to maturit}', as follows: Charles E., 
 Simon J. Jr., Albert M., \\'illiam H., 
 
UOMMEMOHATIVE DIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 207 
 
 Anna D., and Frank E. Of these, 
 Simon J. Jr., the subject proper of these 
 lines, received his primary education in 
 Bangor, Maine, finishing at the high 
 school, Detroit, Mich. , after which he 
 prepared himself for college, in 1870 
 entering Harvard University, where he 
 graduated in the class of 1873, in the 
 Lawrence Scientific School. The object 
 of his ambition at this time appears to 
 have been railroading, and he was 
 promised a position on the Northern Pa- 
 cific railroad, but the financial crash of 
 that year intervened, frustrating his in- 
 tentions, and he was fain to enter the 
 employ of his father in the lumber busi- 
 ness. In order to become thoroughly 
 acquainted with all the details from the 
 very commencement, he began at the 
 bottom round of the ladder, driving 
 teams, etc., and doing all other offices of 
 the laboring man, in the end thoroughly 
 mastering the business. There is some- 
 thing to admire in the conduct of the 
 young Harvard graduate working in the 
 ranks, as it were, and receiving no ad- 
 vantage over the common laborer. As 
 soon as practicable, he was put in charge 
 of a camp, and, later, he had control of 
 drivers, in a few years becoming a mana- 
 ger in his father's vast lumber business on 
 the Saginaw river, Michigan. In 1878 
 he became also interested in the White 
 River lumber operations, controlled by 
 his father, and in 1882 the style of the 
 firm became Crepin, Murphy & Sons. In 
 1883, after the election of officers, our 
 subject became one of the directoi's, and 
 was made president of the White River 
 Boom Co., remaining as such until 1885, 
 by which time the timber owned by his 
 firm had been all cut. 
 
 In February, i 886, Mr. Murphy came 
 to Green Bay, and at once set to work to 
 build a sawmill at the mouth of Fox river, 
 on what was known as the "Whitney 
 slough," which mill is now one of the 
 largest in northern Wisconsin, its ca- 
 pacity being twenty-five million feet per 
 annum, running daytime only. In April, 
 
 1886, his brother Frank E. joined him, 
 becoming a partner in the business, and 
 he is a director and secretary-treasurer of 
 the Murphy Lumber Co. , their father 
 being president, and their brother Will- 
 iam H. vice-president. From the very- 
 commencement this vast industry has 
 been a pronounced success, giving em- 
 ployment to some 250 men in the woods 
 and in the mill, the product of which 
 latter is shipped by water and rail to 
 Chicago, Milwaukee and eastern points. 
 
 On October 17, 1877, Mr. Murphy 
 was married to Miss Helena Bogardus 
 Piatt, a lady of much refinement, culture 
 and rare grace in entertaining. She is a 
 daughter of James Piatt, of Boston, an 
 Englishman by birth and education; her 
 mother was a Miss Bogardus, of the old 
 Dutch family of that name in New York, 
 who are related to the Van Rensselaers. 
 To this union were born five children, 
 named as follows: Elsie L. , Florence L. , 
 Lorraine A. , Yvonne Dorr, and C. Temple. 
 
 Politically Mr. Murphy is a Republi- 
 can, and, in 1890 and 1894, he was a 
 candidate on that ticket for member of 
 the Assembly from Democratic Brown 
 county, but was defeated by a small ma- 
 jority. Socially he is a member of the 
 F. & A. M., thirty-second degree, A. A. 
 S. Rite, of Tripoli Temple, A. A. O. N. O. 
 M. S., E. C. of Palestine Commandery, 
 No. 20, and Gr. J. W. of the Grand 
 Commandery of the State; he is exalted 
 ruler of Green Bay Lodge, No. 259, B. 
 P. O. E., and is a member of the Order 
 of Hoo-Hoo. He was president of the 
 Business Association of Green Bay two 
 terms. Since becoming a resident of the 
 city of his adoption Mr. Murphy has con- 
 spicuously and effectively contributed to 
 its rapid development, and he is justly 
 honored as one of its most useful, most 
 substantial and most enterprising citizens. 
 
 The valuable lessons, a young and 
 thinking generation can glean from such a 
 sterling character as our subject presents, 
 are briefly these: that natural ability with 
 a good education, coupled with tact and 
 
JoS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 restless energ;y, are sure roads to success 
 in business, as well as in the social and 
 political fields. Only a man of the right 
 material could readily doff the student's 
 gown for the woodman's jacket, and learn 
 the details of a vast business, and in a 
 short time place himself practically at the 
 head of a vast lumbering concern, be- 
 sides finding time to look after the in- 
 terest of his city and watch every op- 
 portunity which might bring a benefit to 
 his town and county; and also to be all 
 that a fond father and husband should be 
 to his famil)' in the home where the inner 
 life, which is the real life of any man, is 
 lived. There in the home circle, where 
 presides with tact and grace a true Amer- 
 ican lady, Mr. Murphy gains much of that 
 good cheer for which he is so well known, 
 and which is so highly appreciated by his 
 numerous friends. 
 
 Mr. Murphy's youth was passed with 
 a keen intelligence and much out-door 
 life that built up a healthy and robust 
 physique, which soon won for him recog- 
 nition and respect at the hands of those 
 with whom he was thrown in contact; 
 thus gradually but surely placing him in 
 an enviable position as a prominent citi- 
 zen and business man. 
 
 He is of sanguine temperament, though 
 cool and deliberate, even when absorbed 
 in the most momentous and intricate 
 business proposition; in fact, he is pos- 
 sessed of what might not improperly be 
 styled a judicial cast of mind, which has en- 
 abled him to conduct and regulate his large 
 business with that perfect order which in- 
 sures success; also to maintain discipline 
 in, and guarantee honest service at the 
 hands of, his small army of employes in 
 the mill orforests, which, through the same 
 potent agency, are kept in perfect accord 
 and under thorough control. 
 
 The casual observer may not always 
 recognize, in his often careless attire and 
 unostentatious mien, the college graduate 
 or polished sympathetic speaker, for as 
 such he is fast beginning to be known in 
 this part of the State, because he is a 
 
 man that hates cant and empty ceremony, 
 and at all times is more than he seems to 
 appear. 
 
 ABEL D. NEWTON (deceased) 
 was, in his lifetime, a conspicuous 
 landmark in the part of the coun- 
 try in which for so many years the 
 cheerful ring of his anvil was heard for 
 miles around. He was a native of North 
 Leverett, Franklin Co. , Mass., born Sep- 
 tember 2, 1806, being of the seventh gen- 
 eration from Richard Newton, who came 
 from England to the American Colonies 
 before 1640, the heads of the family from 
 him down to our subject being as follows: 
 Moses, Jonathan, Nathan, Paul, Edward 
 and Abel D. Richard Newton, the im- 
 migrant, located in Sudbury, Mass., and 
 was one of the original proprietors of 
 that town. 
 
 Abel D. Newton, the subject proper 
 of this sketch, was reared by his grand- 
 father, Paul Newton, attending the public 
 schools of his early day to the age of 
 fifteen years, at which time he commenced 
 a six-years' apprenticeship to the trade of 
 blacksmith at Deerfield, Mass., and, at 
 the age of twenty-one, worked at his trade 
 in Ashfield, same State and county. Sub- 
 sequently he took a one-year's course of 
 study at an academy in Ipswich, Mass., 
 at which town he became interested in 
 mission work. He united with the Con- 
 gregational Church of Ashfield in 1828, 
 in 1830 joined the American Board of 
 Home Missions, and same year was sent 
 out to Mackinaw in the capacity of mis- 
 sionary among the Indians in that region, 
 continuing cheerfully and faithfully in his 
 arduous duties for three or fouryears; but, 
 his health becoming impaired, he had to 
 abandon mission work. His work was to- 
 teach the Indian boys blacksmithing and 
 other trades, reading and the customs of 
 civilized life. 
 
 On April 29, 1834, Mr. Newton was 
 married, in Ashfield, Mass. fwhither he 
 had returned for the purpose), to Mi.ss 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 209 
 
 Betsey Leonard, a native of that town, 
 born December 6, 1809, a daughter of 
 Ziba Leonard, of Ashfield, who was of 
 the seventh generation from Solomon 
 Leonard, who came from England to the 
 American Colonies in 1630, locating in 
 Duxbury, Mass., and whose descendants 
 by generations were: Jacob, Joseph, 
 Joseph, Dan, and Ziba. After marriage 
 Mr. and Mrs. Abel D. Newton came to 
 Wisconsin, he having entered into an en- 
 gagement as blacksmith for the American 
 Fur Company, at La Pointe; this was in 
 .1834, and for about four years he re- 
 mained in this employ, at the same time 
 giving some attention to missionary work. 
 In October, 1839, he came to Green 
 Bay, about which time he and his family 
 were prostrated with fever and ague, but 
 all recovered. During the ensuing winter 
 he worked at blacksmithing for Daniel 
 Whitney, and in the following summer 
 carried on a blacksmith shop he had built 
 on Adams street, between Croaks and 
 Stuart, so continuing until 185 1, the year 
 of his coming to De Pere, where he built 
 him a shop, becoming the leading black- 
 smith of the locality. For edge tools, a 
 branch of the trade at which he was an 
 expert, his services were waited on from 
 far and near, his reputation as an all- 
 round artisan being widely recognized. 
 In De Pere he bought four lots, built a 
 house and lived there until i860. He 
 had, in 1849, bought a farm of 120 acres 
 in Section 32, De Pere township, for 
 which he paid $200 in gold, and hither he 
 moved in i860, having built a log house 
 on his property, which stands a short dis- 
 tance north of his present dwelling, the 
 latter having been erected in 1875. Here 
 Mr. Newton, by unremitting toil and tire- 
 less energy, cleared a fine farm, and passed 
 in peace the rest of his life, dying January 
 7, 1889, full of years and honor. His re- 
 mains rest in Greenwood cemetery. In 
 Church matters he was an active leader, a 
 ruling elder and a prominent member of 
 the Presbyterian Congregation, of which 
 Mrs. Newton has also been a member for 
 
 sixty-seven years. Now, in her eighty- 
 sixth year, she is calmly awaiting the 
 summons that shall call her hence, to join 
 those gone before to the Better Land. 
 The children, nine in number, born to this 
 honored couple, were as follows: Mercena 
 L. , widow of Charles T. Dickinson, of 
 St. John's, Ore.; Martha, Mrs. R. F. 
 Wilson, of Portland, Ore.; Edward D., 
 who died on the home farm from disease 
 contracted in the army, he having served 
 three years as a member of Company G, 
 First Wisconsin Cavalry; Zebina Leonard, 
 deceased at the age of three years; James 
 K. , who died in California, June 26, 1892 
 (he had studied abroad, and for sixteen 
 years was professor of modern languages 
 at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio; dur- 
 ing the Civil war he served four years, 
 and was second lieutenant in Company F, 
 Fourteenth Wis. V. I.); Samuel, now re- 
 siding in De Pere, who is clerk for Jack- 
 son & Sons (he served one year in Com- 
 pany G, First Wisconsin Cavalry); Er- 
 mina E., married, June 2, 1888, to B. A. 
 Leonard (sketch of whom follows), and 
 living on the home farm in De Pere town- 
 ship; Sarah A., Mrs. I. S. Clifford, of 
 Manston, Wis., and Marion A., who died 
 at the age of twenty-two years. 
 
 BERNARD A. LEONARD, who is now 
 living on the home farm of the late Abel 
 D. Newton, in De Pere township. Brown 
 county, is a native of Massachusetts, born 
 July 25, 1844, in Southbridge, second son 
 of Manning Leonard, who was of the 
 seventh generation from Solomon Leon- 
 ard, who came from England to the 
 Colonies in 1630, as already recorded in 
 the sketch of Abel D, Newton. He at- 
 tended both common and high school, and 
 when of age began life for himself. In 
 Iosco county, Mich., he bought some land, 
 after a visit to Oconto, Wis,, which, ad- 
 vancing in price, he sold, thus furn shing 
 himself with sufficient capital to embark 
 in regular business. For three years he 
 was a successful dealer in hardwood lum- 
 ber in Detroit, and from there moving to 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, became a leading mem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVK BIUCHAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 ber of the Greenwood Stove Company, 
 but at the end of three years, his health 
 failing, he returned to Detroit and com- 
 menced the manufacture of carriage 
 wheels, also conducting a dental supply 
 store. His health, however, not improv- 
 ing, Mr. Leonard returned to his native 
 State in order to recuperate, and, after a 
 stay of two years, removetl to Jackson, 
 Mich., and here entered the retail grocery 
 and wholesale spice mills of Ford, Dela- 
 niater & Company, tlicn returned to 
 Massachusetts, where, from 1879 to 1888, 
 he remained. 
 
 Mr. Leonard first married. May 31, 
 1 87 1, Miss Nellie T. Burr. For his sec- 
 ond wife he married, June 2, 1888, Miss 
 Ermina E. Newton, of De Pere, Wis., 
 since when he has lived a retired life on 
 the old Newton homestead. In genealogy 
 he takes great interest, and he has latelj' 
 taken up a partly completed work (left so 
 by his father) treating on the Leonard 
 family genealogy, to the completion of 
 which he devotes much of his time. 
 
 DANIEL H. DAVIS, a thriving 
 farmer of Pittsfield township, 
 Brown county, was born in Par- 
 ishville, St. Lawrence Co., N. 
 Y. , November 24, 1842, a son of Darwin 
 and Emeline (Steel) Davis, who were the 
 parents of four children, viz. : Alonzo D., 
 deceased at the age of twenty-six; Daniel 
 H., our subject; Emeory, now the wife of 
 George Jenkins, of Wrightstown ; and 
 William Henry, of Cato, Manitowoc Co., 
 Wis. The family came to Wisconsin in 
 1846, and for five years lived in Wal- 
 worth county; then moved to Manitowoc 
 county, where Darwin Da\is bought eighty 
 acres of hard-timber land, from which he 
 cleared up a farm; in 185S he sold twenty 
 acres, and in 1869 sold the balance and 
 bought a house and lot in Cato, where he 
 and his wife lived until May 7, 1885, when 
 he died in the Presbyterian faith. His 
 widow passed away at the home of her 
 
 son, Daniel H., December 4, 1894, at the 
 advanced age of eighty-two years, seven 
 months, two da\s, and was buried at Cato, 
 Manitowoc Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 On August II, 1862, Daniel H. Davis 
 enlisted in Company K, Twenty-first 
 Wis. v. I., and served until December 
 29, when, having been shot through the 
 arm at the battle of Perryville, he was 
 discharged at Louisville, Ky. , and re- 
 turned to his home, where he was laid up 
 a year. Early in 1864 he began driving 
 team for S. A. Benjamin, and remained 
 with him four years. In the meantime, 
 November 12, 1865, he married Mrs. Edna 
 M. (Warfield) Branch, daughter of John 
 and Caroline (Post) Warfield, and widow 
 of Nelson Branch. Mr. Warfield was a 
 butcher and farmer, and was twice mar- 
 ried; his first wife was Caroline Post, who 
 bore him three children, viz. : Mary, 
 Edna M. and John M. Mrs. Caroline 
 Warfield died when Edna M. (Mrs. Davis) 
 was but eight years of age, and Mr. War- 
 field married a widow — Caroline Howard 
 — who had by her first marriage two 
 children, Spencer and Eli; to her marriage 
 with Mr. Warfield were born four chil- 
 dren, viz. : Augustus, Caroline, William 
 and Julia. Edna M. Warfield (Mrs. Davis) 
 was first married April 11, 1855, to Nel- 
 son Branch, a school-teacher and specu- 
 lator, to whom she bore one child, Rosa, 
 now Mrs. Frank Hubbard, of Maple Val- 
 ley, Oconto Co., Wis. Mr. Branch had 
 been married about eight years when he 
 became insane, and died in an asylum. 
 No children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Davis. 
 
 After his marriage, and after leaving 
 the employ of S. A. Benjamin, Mr. Davis 
 came with his wife, in 1868, to Mills Cen- 
 ter, Pittsfield township, and for three 
 years kept a boarding house. During this 
 period he bought forty acres of land. He 
 got rid of the standing timber by giving it 
 to charcoal burners for the clearing of it 
 away, built a frame house on the cleared 
 land, and a year later took possession of 
 it and still lives thereon, having been en- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 21 I 
 
 gaged in farming ever since his removal 
 hither. 
 
 In politics Mr. Davis is a Republican, 
 and has been school clerk two terms, also 
 justice of the peace six years, offices he 
 has filled with great credit to himself, and 
 to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. 
 
 GEORGE GEURTS, one of the 
 well-known farmer citizents of 
 De Pere township. Brown coun- 
 ty, is a native of Holland, born 
 March 4, 1845, son of Arnold Geurts, 
 who was also a farmer. In the spring of 
 1866 Arnold Geurts came to the United 
 States, bringing his family, consisting of 
 five children, all of whom are yet living. 
 They sailed form Antwerp, landing in 
 New York after a voyage of !orty-five 
 days, and, in three months from the time 
 they leftt heir native land, arrived at their 
 final destination. Brown county. Wis. They 
 first went to Little Chute, where some rela- 
 tives had previously located, and there 
 remained four months, working at an}'- 
 thing they could find to do. The family 
 then came to De Pere township and pur- 
 chased the forty acres where Martin Ver 
 Straten now resides, and which at that 
 time had no improvements whatever but 
 a small log house. There they made 
 their home for eight or nine years, all 
 working together to clear and improve the 
 land, which at the end of that time was 
 divided. 
 
 In July, 1872, George Geurts was 
 united in marriage with Miss Harriet Van- 
 derVoort, who was born February 20, 
 1852, in Holland, daughter of Arnold and 
 Mary (Barten) VanderVoort, who came 
 to the United States in 1856. They made 
 the voyage from Antwerp to New York in 
 thirty-five days, and then proceeded by 
 water to Green Bay, Wis. At that time 
 Arnold VanderVoort was a poor man, and 
 for a while supported his family by work- 
 ing as mason's assistant. He died in De- 
 Pere township in 1871 on the farm now 
 owned by our subject, with whom his 
 
 widow, now aged seventy-two years, yet 
 resides. After marriage Mr. Geurts im- 
 mediately commenced farming on the 
 place he now owns and resides upon, and 
 which, at the present time, comprises 114 
 acres of excellent farming land, all taken 
 from the woods. To Mr. and Mrs. Geurts 
 were born children as follows: Mary, Ar- 
 nold, Annie, John, Nellie, Delia, and Cor- 
 nelius, all living, and four that died young. 
 Mr. Geurts has resided on his present 
 farm for over twenty yerrs, during which 
 time, by industry and assiduous toil he 
 has done much toward its improvement 
 and made for himself a comfortable home. 
 He is well known and highly respected 
 in his township, where he is recognized 
 as a thorough, hard working agriculturist 
 and a kind-hearted neighbor. In politics 
 he is a Democrat, and, though not an 
 office-seeker, he is at present serving as 
 school treasurer in his district. He and 
 his wife are members of St. Mary's Cath- 
 olic Church at De Pere. 
 
 JOHN CODY, assessor of Fort 
 Howard, city and township, has 
 held this responsible position for 
 eighteen years, evidence sufficient 
 in itself of the esteem in which this gentle- 
 man is held by his fellow citizens and of 
 the trust imposed in him. 
 
 Mr. Cody was born in 1820, in Coun- 
 ty Kilkenny, Ireland, in which land of 
 the Shamrock his parents, James and 
 Bridget (McCarty) Cody, passed their 
 lives. Of their children, Ann died in Ire- 
 land; Alice came to Philadelphia; Michael; 
 a baker by trade, immigrated to Oswe- 
 go, N. Y., removing thence to Ohio. 
 John, who had received an education in 
 the schools of the locality of his birth, 
 set out at the age of eighteen years for 
 America, and in Greene county, N. Y. , 
 was employed for seven summers at brick 
 making. He was married, in 1841, at 
 Albany, N. Y., to Miss Catherine Ken- 
 nedy, also a native of Ireland, whence her 
 father came in the early days to New 
 
212 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 York, finally locating at New Orleans, 
 where his death occurred. Eleven chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cod), of 
 whom eight are living : James Henrj', 
 who enlisted in a Massachusetts regiment 
 during the war of the Rebellion, served 
 one year, and now resides in the Lake 
 Superior region; John Edward and Will- 
 iam, both also residents of the Lake 
 Superior countrj'; Maria, married and 
 residing in New York City; Frank, a 
 resident of Quincy, 111. ; Robert, who has 
 his home in Dubuque, Iowa; R. D., a resi- 
 dent of Winona, Minn. ; and Delia, at home 
 with her parents; Michael, who comes 
 between Maria and Frank, died in 1874. 
 About 1847 Mr. Cody removed to Oswe- 
 go county, N. Y. , where he continued to 
 reside eighteen years, owning a sawmill 
 and 1 30 acres of land. He came to Fort 
 Howard in 1865 and settled where he 
 now resides, engaging in sawmilling for 
 the Howard Mill Company, and a portion 
 of the time for the Astor Mill Company; 
 he was also, for a few years, engaged in 
 the grocery business. He has always 
 taken an active interest in public affairs, 
 and enjoys the esteem and confidence of 
 all who know him. In politics he is a 
 Democrat, and he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. 
 
 JOHN BECHER is one of the indus- 
 trious young farmer citizens of 
 Preble township, Brown county, a 
 son of Joseph Becher, who was born 
 in Austria, where he followed farming un- 
 til 1854, in which year he came to the 
 United States. In his native country 
 Joseph Becher had married Anna Rosena 
 Fisher, and four children were born to 
 them in Europe, Annie, who is now Mrs. 
 Leopold Kelner, of New Denmark town- 
 ship, Brown county, being the only sur- 
 vivor. The others were: Theresa, died in 
 Europe; Matilda, died on the ocean and 
 there buried; Karl, died in New York and 
 buried there. On their arrival in America 
 the Becher family came at once to Wis- 
 
 consin, making their first location at 
 Waukesha, then in Manitowoc county, 
 and later in Brown count}', settling on a 
 farm in New Denmark township, near the 
 eastern township line. The country was 
 new, and they endured many hardships and 
 privations in the clearing and cultivating 
 of the land; but being diligent and perse- 
 vering Mr. Becher succeeded in convert- 
 ing it into a fertile, productive farm. In 
 1870 he removed to Pine Grove in De- 
 Pere township, where he peacefully passed 
 the remainder of his days, dying Novem- 
 ber 18, 1882, a respected member of his 
 community. He was a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, and in religion a member of the 
 Catholic Church. Since his decease his 
 widow has made her home with her son, 
 John. Her husband was enrolled during 
 the Civil war, October 4, 1864, in Com- 
 pany D, Seventeenth Wis. V. I., for one 
 year's service, and was discharged July 
 14, 1865, at Madison, Wis. On Febru- 
 ary 12, 1 89 1, she received $2,200 pension 
 as back pay for her husband, and twelve 
 dollars per month up to date, which 
 latter she receives as pension as long as 
 she remains a widow. The children born 
 to her in America, besides our subject 
 were: Frank, born in Manitowoc county. 
 Wis., in 1857, died in Duluth, Minn., 
 November 18, 1892; Lizzie, born, also in 
 Manitowoc county, in i860, married to 
 Zachary Goffard, and living in the city of 
 De Pere; Mary, born in New Denmark, 
 Brown Co., Wis., in May, 1862, now a 
 Sister of Charity; and Clara, born also 
 in New Denmark, in May, 1867, married 
 to Samuel Boggs, and living in Preble 
 township. 
 
 John Becher first saw the light Febru- 
 ary 27, 1864, on the farm of his parents 
 in New Denmark township. He received 
 his education in the common schools of 
 his time, and remained on the home farm 
 until he reached the age of fifteen. From 
 that time until 1884 he engaged in vari- 
 ous pursuits, working a year and a half 
 for the Van Dycke Brewing Co., nine 
 months for the Menominee Brewing Co., 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 -'3 
 
 three winters for Ramsey & Jones in the 
 lumber woods, etc. , and part of the time 
 with his parents at home. In 1884 he 
 opened out a saloon and dance hall in 
 Preble, conducting the business for his 
 mother until 1 889, when he purchased it for 
 himself, and continued as proprietor until 
 May, 1894, when he sold it back to his 
 mother. He then removed to his present 
 beautiful home in Preble, near the Belle- 
 vue township line, the location being one of 
 the most delightful in the vicinity; the resi- 
 dence is situated on a knoll. Here he 
 owns a small tract of excellent land, to 
 the cultivation of which he now devotes 
 himself; also owns one dwelling house in 
 Fort Howard, one dwelling house in the 
 city of Green Bay, which he has to rent 
 out; also forty acres of timber and farm 
 land in Glenmore township, Brown 
 county. Mr. Becher is everywhere known 
 as a hard-working young man, and, being 
 possessed of good common sense and 
 sound judgment, he has made his busi- 
 ness a success. He has a wide acquaint- 
 ance in his township, in which he is at 
 present serving as supervisor and member 
 of the board of health, having been 
 elected to the latter office in 1893. In 
 his political preferences he is a Democrat. 
 On February 7, 1889, Mr. Becher 
 was married to Miss Thersa Matcke, who 
 was born in De Pere, Wis., daughter of 
 Frederick Matcke, a native of Germany, 
 and to this marriage have come three chil- 
 dren, namely: Frederick J., born Octo- 
 ber 10, 1890; Joseph W. , born October 
 26, 1 89 1; and John Frank, born October 
 6, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Becher are mem- 
 bers of the Cathedral Catholic Church at 
 Green Bay. 
 
 JOHN WALLACE ARNDT (origin- 
 ally John B. Wallace Arndt), of De- 
 Pere,Wis., was, born September 15, 
 181 5, at Wilkes-Barre, Penn., son 
 of John P. and Elizabeth (Carpenter) 
 Arndt. 
 
 The family is a very old one in this 
 
 country, the first to reach here having 
 been John Philip and Ernest Arndt, who 
 had lived on a farm at Frankfort-on-the- 
 Main, Germany, until about 1684, when, 
 being taxed beyond endurance, they, with 
 many friends, sold their property, came 
 to America, and bought land of William 
 Penn on the Delaware river. John, the 
 elder of the two brothers above men- 
 tioned, was the ancestor of our subject. 
 He erected his dwelling one mile above 
 Durham Cove, and this he and his de- 
 scendants occupied until 1 700, when the 
 grandfather of John W. sold out and 
 moved to Easton, Penn., taking with him 
 a son, J. P. Arndt. The latter married 
 Elizabeth Carpenter, whose ancestors 
 came over in the same ship with the 
 Arndts, and to this union was born the 
 subject of this sketch and several other 
 children. J. P. Arndt met with consider- 
 able losses at Wilkes-Barre, Penn. , dur- 
 ing the war of 18 12, and in 1818 he con- 
 cluded to "go west," and after a horse- 
 back tour as far as Michigan and Illinois, 
 selected Buffalo, N. Y., as his future 
 home. In the fall of 1819, therefore, 
 with his wife and four chidren and such 
 household goods as could be transported 
 in three wagons, he migrated to that 
 city and there engaged in the fish and fur 
 trade with the settlements on the great 
 lakes until 1822, when he changed his 
 headquarters to Mackinac, Mich., and, in 
 1824, to Green Bay, Wis. — a distance of 
 200 miles, which was made in a sailing 
 vessel in a tempestuous voyage of two 
 weeks' duration. John W. was then a 
 lad of nine years, but he still vividly re- 
 members the hardships of this voyage and 
 the loss of a part of the cargo. 
 
 The life of John P. Arndt was an act- 
 ive and successful one, and he filled many 
 public offices — among others that of mem- 
 ber of the Territorial Legislature several 
 times. He died June 10, 1861, in his 
 eighty-first year, just one year after the 
 death of his wife. His eldest son, Alex- 
 ander Hamilton, died ai Point Isabel dur- 
 ing the Mexican war; his second son, 
 
214 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 Charles C. P., a graduate of Rutgers Col- 
 lege, and an attorney \>y profession, was 
 elected to the Territorial Senate of Wis- 
 consin in 1 840, and was shot and killed 
 in the Senate Chamber in i<S4i by James 
 K. \'inyard. The eldest daughter, Mary 
 Arndt, was married to Capt. J. W. 
 Cotton, of the United States army; Eliza- 
 beth, the other daughter, was married to 
 H. E. Eastman, an attorney and colonel 
 of cavalry in the Civil war. 
 
 J. \\allace Arndt, at the age of nine- 
 teen, had received but little schooling, but 
 in 1S34 he entered the academy of Rev. 
 Dr. John Vandavers at Ea.ston, Penn., 
 studied two years, then entered Yale Col- 
 lege, where he remained until 1839, after 
 which he taught school one year. He 
 then read law a jear with his brother; but 
 on the death of the latter dropped this 
 study and assisted his father in the lum- 
 ber business until 1856, later working in 
 the gold mines of Colorado, and also at 
 the oil wells of Pennsylvania. Mr. Arndt 
 was united in marriage, September 25, 
 1842, with Miss Mary C. Wilcox, who 
 was his affectionate companion and faith- 
 ful helpmeet until her death from pneu- 
 monia, April 13, 1 89 1. She was a 
 daughter of Randall Wilcox, for many 
 years a member of the Wisconsin State 
 Legislature. Randall Wilcox was born 
 at Lee, Mass., was of English descent, 
 and settled in Ue Pere in 1836. He here 
 became president of the De Pere Hy- 
 draulic Co., ha\ing had much previous 
 experience in hydraulics as a builder of 
 many bridges and dams in Pennsylvania 
 and Maryland. The mother of Mrs. Arndt 
 bore the maiden name of Lydia Field; her 
 ancestors were early settlers near Pom- 
 fret, Conn., and their old home is still 
 known as Field's Point, where a branch 
 of the family still lives. The children 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Arndt were as fol- 
 lows: Edward W., born February 8, 
 1845, a resident of Superior, Wis.; Elcey 
 M., born November 27, 1846, who mar- 
 ried Charles A. Lawton September 5, 
 1866; Emily, born March 26, 1848, mar- 
 
 ried to Peter S. Loy September 7, 1869; 
 Mary, born November 28, 1849, and mar- 
 ried to James R. Shepard; Lizzie V., 
 born June 17, 1851, died October 24, 
 1870; Alice, born May 8, 1854, married 
 to Thomas D. Bowring; Randall, born 
 March 9, 1855, married to Annie C. Ash, 
 September 26, 1878; Lydia, born Sept- 
 ember 13, 1857, died November 7, 1879, 
 and Martha Ann, born May 20, 1859, 
 married to John F. Byers August 2, 1882. 
 John Wallace Arndt has been actively 
 identified with the business interests and 
 public impro\einents of De Pere nearly 
 all his life, and the interests of the entire 
 territory comprising Brown county have 
 received his close attention. He has 
 given his aid to every enterprise that 
 could in any way benefit the people at 
 large, especially toward promoting the 
 incoming and outgoing of railroads and 
 their construction throughout the county 
 as connecting links for traffic between 
 local and distant points of trade. Fra- 
 ternally he is a Freemason; politically a 
 Republican, and in religious belief a Prot- 
 estant. Socially he and his family stand 
 as high as any in the county or State. 
 
 JAMES PALMER WETER, dentist, 
 of De Pere, is a native of Floyd, 
 Oneida Co., N. Y. , and was born 
 May 2, 1844. His parents were 
 Mahlon Palmer Weter and Jane G. (Pal- 
 mer) Weter, of whom the latter died 
 when our subject was but a year old. 
 The father again married, and in 1846 
 carrte with his family to Wisconsin, lo- 
 cating in Linn township, Walworth coun- 
 ty, and he now resides in Sharon township, 
 in the same county. 
 
 James P. Weter resided with his father 
 in Walworth county until just past eight- 
 een years of age, when he enlisted, in 
 August, 1862, in Company C, Twenty- 
 second Wis. V. I., and served in Ken- 
 tucky until June, 1863, when he was hon- 
 orably discharged on account of having 
 contracted typhoid pneumonia, by which 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 215 
 
 he was invalided for two years after his 
 return home. When sufficiently recov- 
 ered, he attended a private seminary at 
 Hebron, 111., for six months, and next an 
 academy of sciences at Elmira, N. Y. , 
 for a year, and this training was supple- 
 mented with a course in a commercial 
 college, followed by a six-months' study 
 of the law in the office of Smith, Robert- 
 son & Fasset, Elmira; but his health 
 proved to be too frail for the continuance 
 of the latter, and he therefore became a 
 student of dentistry in the office of Ur. 
 E. C. Terry, of Elmira, N. Y., ,with 
 whom he remained for two years, later 
 forming a partnership for one year with 
 Dr. E. O. Beers, of the same city. In 
 the spring of 1870 he married Miss Sarah 
 A. Nichols, of Windsor, Berkshire Co., 
 Mass. , and immediately located in Sharon, 
 Wis., where he practiced his profession 
 until 1874, when he came to De Pere, 
 and has here built up a fine professional 
 reputation. In 1889 he took a post- 
 graduate course in the College of Dental 
 Surgery at Chicago, 111., thus adding 
 largely to his already extensi\'e knowledge 
 of his art. 
 
 In politics the Doctor is a stanch Pro- 
 hibitionist, and has served the city of De- 
 Pere three times as alderman in a most 
 satisfactory manner — once by appoint- 
 ment to vacancy and twice by election. 
 He has also taken a most active interest 
 in educational matters, and has served as 
 secretary to the West De Pere board of 
 of education for ten j-ears. In the sum- 
 mer of 1870 he was appointed United 
 States marshal for taking census statis- 
 tics. He is a member of the G. A. R. , 
 of the Temple of H(inor, and of the I. O. 
 O. F. In religion he is a devout member 
 of the M. E. Church, having joined that 
 denomination in 1867. He has taken an 
 active interest in church work, has served 
 as superintendent of Sunday-school for 
 the past twenty-four years consecutively, 
 and has also filled the positions of stew- 
 ard, trustee and treasurer, as well as 
 minor offices. 
 
 On the Doctor's start in life his father 
 gave him one thousand dollars; but, 
 meeting with an accident, he was laid up 
 so long with an abscess, fever and other 
 ills, that his funds were exhausted, so 
 that he was compelled to work his way 
 up to an education, and was virtually five 
 hundred dollars in debt when he began 
 practice. Since his residence in De Pere, 
 however, he has paid off all his indebted- 
 ness, and has accumulated a comfortable 
 property. The children born to his mar- 
 riage were three in number, namely: 
 Mary O., who died in January, 1888; 
 Winifred A., now attending Lawrence 
 University at Appleton, Wis.; James P., 
 Jr., a student in the State University at 
 Madison, Wis. The Weters are descended 
 from one of the very early settled families 
 of the United States, and on the paternal 
 side are of undoubted German origin, 
 while on the maternal side they are of 
 Holland descent. 
 
 EDMUND F. LIEBMANN, a well- 
 known prosperous young farmer, 
 of Preble township, Brown county, 
 is the eldest son of Louis and 
 Christina (Opstfelder) Liebmann, both of 
 whom are natives of Germany. 
 
 Louis Liebmann was born May 29, 
 1828, and was reared in his native coun- 
 try, receiving a common-school education. 
 In 1853 he set out with his parents for 
 the United States, landing, after a voyage 
 of several weeks, in New York, and thence 
 proceeding westward, their destination 
 being Green Bay, Wis., where a brother 
 of Louis, Frank Liebmann, had located 
 two years previously. They made their 
 home in Brown count}', and, some time 
 later, Louis, his father and brother, Frank, 
 commenced the fishing business at Wash- 
 ington Harbor, Door Co., Wis., in which 
 they prospered. In i860 Louis Liebmann 
 removed with his parents to the farm 
 where he passed the remainder of his life 
 (the same on which our subject now re- 
 sides). On June 26, 1861, he was united 
 
2l6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in marriage with Miss Christina Opstfelder, 
 and theyhad three children, viz.: Edmund 
 F. , subject of sketch; Ida, now Mrs. 
 Aup;ust Fontain, of Humboldt township; 
 and Emma, Mrs. Louis Dudeau, of Merrill, 
 Wis. His widow now makes her home 
 with her son, Edmund F. 
 
 The land was entirely new at the time 
 of Louis' location, and had to be cleared, 
 but his was an energetic nature, and, going 
 to work with characteristic German in- 
 dustry, he soon transformed the forest 
 into a productive farm. At the time of 
 his death he was in comfortable circum- 
 stances, the result of years of stern labor 
 and strict economy. A quiet, unassuming 
 man, he was universally respected. Po- 
 litically he was a Republican, but took 
 little or no interest in party affairs, and in 
 church connection he was a Lutheran. 
 He died on the farm February 5, 1886, 
 and now lies buried in Woodlawn ceme- 
 tery. Green Bay. 
 
 Our subject was born October 11, 
 1862, in Preble township. Brown county, 
 on the farm where he yet resides, re- 
 ceived in his youth a common-school edu- 
 cation, and has followed farming all his 
 life. On May 10, 1887, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Elizabeth Larchied, 
 who was born July 29, 1868, in Preble 
 township, daughter of Anton and Ger- 
 trude (Basten) Larchied, and to this union 
 have come two children, Christina E. and 
 Julia L. In his political preferences Mr. 
 Liebmann is a Republican, and in 1890 
 he was elected township overseer. He is 
 a systematic agriculturist, and, possessing 
 the industry so characteristic of the fam- 
 ily, has a prosperous career before him. 
 
 WM. WORKMAN, the well-known 
 and popular druggist, of West 
 De Pere, was born in Ripon, 
 Wis., December 13, 1850, and 
 is a son of William and Margaret (Miller) 
 Workman. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the city 
 schools, also at Brockway College, Ripon, 
 
 and was also highly trained in vocal and 
 instrumental music. At the age of 
 twenty he was proficient on many instru- 
 ments, including nearly all the pieces 
 used in a brass band. Although troubled 
 with pulmonary ailments, he accepted a 
 lucrative position with the Blakely Con- 
 cert and Oratorio Companj-, as tenor 
 singer, and, later, made an engagement 
 with the Harry Robinson Minstrel Com- 
 pany, also as tenor singer, traveling with 
 the same for about four 3'ears. His 
 versatility as a musician was so great that 
 he could at any time be relied on to take 
 the place and instrument of almost any 
 member of the company who might be 
 absent from a performance on account of 
 illness or for other cause. Mr. Work- 
 man was also a most excellent book- 
 keeper, and, when he came to De Pere, 
 April 4, 1874, was employed in that 
 capacity by the De Pere Car Works, of 
 which his father was superintendent, but, 
 at the end of the year the business was 
 discontinued, and he then became book- 
 keeper for the Menomonee Furnace Com- 
 pany, at Menomonee, with which he re- 
 mained until 1877, when he accepted a 
 position with the De Pere Agricultural 
 Works, contracting to do all its painting 
 for a year. He then became bookkeeper 
 for the same company, then its secretary, 
 filling the latter position until February 
 24, 1885, when he resigned and engaged 
 in breeding trotting horses on a farm six 
 and a half miles south of Ripon, in part- 
 nership with D. Thomas. Among the 
 trotters here bred, one, "Barney F. ," 
 made a record of 2:29.^ when five years 
 old. Mr. Workman also brought to 
 Brown county, " Achilles," No. 2535 in 
 Wallace's Trotting Register — the first 
 registered, trotting-bred stallion brought 
 to the county. At Ripon, in 1892-93, 
 Mr. Workman was secretary of the 
 Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany, which company carried risks aver- 
 aging $1,500,000 annually. In 1893 he 
 settled in West De Pere, and, on Novem- 
 ber I, began his present drug business. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 217 
 
 He carries a full line of drugs, paints, oils, 
 wall paper, stationery, etc., and is doing 
 a thriving business. Mr. Workman is a 
 member of the Masonic Lodge at De- 
 Pere, in which he has passed all the sub- 
 ordinate chairs, and has served as wor- 
 shipful master; he has also filled the 
 position of chief templar of the Temple of 
 Honor at De Pere, and for eight years, 
 all told, was a member of the West De- 
 Pere fire department, serving four years 
 as chief. 
 
 Mr. Workman was married October 
 24, 1878, to Harriet S. Stewart, who has 
 borne him four children, viz. : Jean (de- 
 ceased), William Stewart (deceased). Dean 
 and Nannie. Mr. Workman and family 
 stand very high socially, and he is looked 
 upon as one of the most enterprising and 
 substantial residents of West De Pere. 
 
 AUGUST GREILING, a respected, 
 self-made farmer of Preble town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native of 
 the Fatherland, born August 5, 
 1836, son of Nicholas Greiling, a stone- 
 mason, who had three children : Fred- 
 erick, who died in Germany; Caroline, 
 yet residing in her native land; and 
 August. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of the time, attend- 
 ing until his fourteenth year. He learned 
 the cabinet-maker's trade, serving an ap- 
 prenticeship of three and a half years at 
 same, after which according to the rules 
 of that time, he traveled for three years, 
 then followed the business on his own 
 account, later employing three or four 
 men. On August 23, 1864, he married 
 Miss Amelia C. Overlander, who was 
 born September 21, 1840, in Germany, 
 six miles from the birthplace of her hus- 
 band, daughter of Christopher Over- 
 lander, an ironworker employed at the 
 furnaces there. Two children were born 
 to this marriage in Germany, namely: 
 Hugo H. and Louis L. , both of whom 
 are now farmers in Preble township. Mr. 
 
 Greiling managed to save some money 
 from his hard-earned wages, and in 1866 
 concluded to try his fortune in America. 
 Accordingly, on October 13, that year, 
 he and his family sailed from Hamburg 
 on the steamer •■ Allmonia," of the Ham- 
 burg-American line, bound for New York, 
 where they landed after a voyage of fif- 
 teen days. Having friends in Green Bay, 
 Wis., they proceeded thither at once, 
 traveling by rail via Chicago, and arriving 
 November 13. Mr. Greiling secured 
 work with Bender & Phal, furniture 
 manufacturers, of Green Bay, remaining 
 with them one year, and then remaining 
 another year and a half with Mrs. Phal, 
 who continued the business after Mr. 
 Bender's death. By strict economy dur- 
 ing this time he had saved a hundred dol- 
 lars, which in part paid for the forty acres he 
 had purchased in Section 33, Preble town- 
 ship, the present homestead, where he buiit 
 a small house and took up his residence 
 thereon in April, 1868. Here for a year 
 he continued to follow his trade, making 
 furniture and hauling it to town for Anton 
 Burkhard, and then abandoned cabinet 
 making, and for twelve to fifteen years 
 engaged in contracting at various places 
 in the township, building houses, barns, 
 etc., and doing anything else in that line. 
 He has never discontinued carpentry alto- 
 gether, and still does odd jobs for others 
 besides such work as he requires for him- 
 self. When he first settled on the farm 
 it was covered with timber and brush, 
 and the task of clearing was an arduous 
 one; but he has succeeded by industry in 
 converting it into a fertile, productive 
 tract, and has also added another forty 
 acres, now having a well-improved farm 
 of eighty acres. Mrs. Greiling, by her 
 economical management has been no 
 small factor in her husband's success, and 
 the children have also assisted faithfully. 
 Much credit is due her for bringing up 
 and caring for so large a family as was 
 their's, of whom she takes, in her later 
 days, so much pride. 
 
 In this country Mr. and Mrs. Greiling 
 
2lS 
 
 COMMEMOUATIVK BIOdliAl'IIICAL ItECOHD. 
 
 have had the followinj^ children born to 
 them: Charles and Herman, contrac- 
 tors, now the firm of (ireiliiif; Bros., 
 in Green Ba\-; Fred C, Frank, Caroline, 
 Albert L. and Henry, all living at home; 
 John, deceased in infancy; and Emma, at 
 home. Mr. Greiling and his sons arc 
 stanch Republicans, and, though not by 
 any means an active partisan, he is an 
 ardent supporter of the principles of his 
 party, and is a strong advocate of protec- 
 tive tariff. His friends credit him with 
 being a strong advocate of more liberal edu- 
 cational facilities and stringent laws gov- 
 erning same. Mr. Greiling has won the 
 respect of his fellow citizens for his fair 
 dealings and honest methods; arid is self- 
 made in the full sense of the term, having, 
 from a start of nothing, accumulated the 
 comfortable property he now enjoys and 
 richl}' deser\es. At present he is enjoy- 
 ing his daily papers. 
 
 FRED MATZKE, an upright, ener- 
 getic citi/en and farmer of De- 
 Pere township, is a native of the 
 village of Gross-Pogul, Wohlau, 
 Prussia, born March 2, 1S26, son of 
 Anton Mat;ike, a farmer in ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, who died when his son Fred 
 was six years of age, leaving six children, 
 four sons and two daughters. 
 
 Fred Mat;;ke received his education in 
 the common schools of his native place, 
 attending until he was fourteen years of 
 age. When sixteen years old he hired 
 out as a farm hand, and thereafter worked 
 as a farmer and sliepherd. In it^55 he 
 married Mary Herda, a native of the vil- 
 lage of Gleinau, Wohlau, Prussia, and 
 shortly afterward he and his young wife 
 emigrated to the United States, sailing 
 from Bremen to Quebec, where they 
 landed after a voyage of seven weeks. 
 From Quebec they came to Green Bay 
 Wis., and here resided a short time, Mr. 
 Matzke also working in sawmills at 
 Oconto, his wife remaining in Green Bay. 
 Subsequently, having a let in Green Bay, 
 
 he traded half of it for a farm of thirteen 
 acres in Bellevue township. Brown county, 
 and forty-five dollars in cash; the other 
 half of the lot he sold for $250. On 
 this farm in Bellevue township the family 
 resided in a log house, Mr. Matzke labor- 
 ing in the harvest fields for others, and at 
 first they endured many hardships. The 
 land was uncleared, and Mr. Matzke 
 chopped wood on the farm at six shillings 
 a cord. On March 1, 1864, he rented a 
 farm of eighty acres of culti\atcdland one 
 mile from his own farm in Belle\ue town- 
 ship, and here worked hard and indus- 
 triously, doing well. On October 7, 1864, 
 while on his way to visit his brother-in- 
 law in Minnesota, he enlisted at LaCrosse, 
 Wis., in Company D, Forty-fourth Wis. 
 V. I., and was sent to Nashville, where, 
 under Gen. George H. Thomas (who was 
 his commander during his entire service), 
 he participateil in his first active engage- 
 ment, a three-days' battle. He served 
 until the close of the war, and on August 
 28, 1865, was honorably discharged at 
 Paducah, Ky., immediately returning to 
 his home in Brown county, WMs. In the 
 meantime, during his absence, his wife 
 sold all the personal property and grain, 
 and moved back to their own log house in 
 Bellevue township, where she remained 
 with her five children; and to add to the 
 general unpleasantness of the situation 
 the family were considerably annoyed by 
 thieving Intlians in the neighborhooci. Mr. 
 Matzke takes this opportunity to return 
 many thanks to the good neighbors who 
 assisted his wife during his absence in 
 the war. 
 
 In the fall of 1 865 he purchased eighty 
 acres of partly improved timber land in 
 De Pere township, going into debt for 
 same to the extent of seven hundred dol- 
 lars, and here he has e\er since made his 
 home. To our subject and wife have 
 been born children as follows : August 
 and Mathias, farmers of Glenmore town- 
 ship; Annie, now Mrs. Victor Fonder, of 
 Glenwood Springs, Colo. ; Mary, now 
 Mrs. Albert Radke, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; 
 
COMMEMORAriVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Rosa, Mrs. Joseph Raster, of De Pere 
 township; Paul, a farmer, of Wrights- 
 town, \Vis. ; Theresa, Mrs. John Becher, 
 of Preble; Sylvester, residing in Millbank. 
 S. Dak. ; and Elizabeth and Philip, at 
 home. In politics Mr. Matzke was 
 originally a Democrat, but he is now in- 
 dependent, voting as his conscience and 
 judgment dictate; he has served nine 
 years as supervisor of De Pere township, 
 and school treasurer fourteen years; the 
 first school building ever erected in his 
 district he bought, and is now using as 
 his granary on the farm. He and his 
 wife are members of the St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church of De Pere. Mr. Matzke 
 has been one of the most industrious men 
 in his township, and his noble wife has 
 also done her share of work in the rearing 
 of their large family and the careful 
 management of the household. He is 
 straightforward and honest in all his 
 dealings, and has won the respect of the 
 community by his fair methods and sterl- 
 ing worth. Though he was not wounded 
 during his service in the Civil war, his 
 general health was seriously impaired, 
 and he has never been a robust man since 
 before the three-days' battle referred to 
 above, when he was taken sick. During 
 that fight he was so unwell that he had 
 to lie down on the wet ground in the 
 rain, which increased his illness. When 
 he and his faithful wife first arrived in 
 Green Bay about forty years ago, he had 
 only about $150 in cash, and everything 
 they now possess has been accumulated 
 by honest industry and judicious econ- 
 omy. As good Christian people they are 
 deservedly honored and respected by the 
 entire community. 
 
 T 
 
 land. 
 
 IMOTHY RYAN (deceased), who 
 was known during his lifetime as 
 an industrious farmer, was a na- 
 tive of County Tipperary, Ire- 
 where he grew to manhood. Timo- 
 thy was but a young boy when his father 
 
 died, and consequently he was obliged to 
 commence work when still very young. 
 
 In early manhood, having saved 
 enough to bring him to America, Mr. 
 Ryan emigrated from his native country, 
 to try his fortune in the New World, 
 locating first in New York State. In 
 Cooperstown, N. Y., he was united in 
 marriage to Miss Bridget R\an, who was 
 born in County Limerick, Ireland, daugh- 
 ter of Timothy Ryan, and came to the 
 United States in her girlhood. After 
 their marriage the young couple concluded 
 to go west where work was plenty and 
 land was cheap, and, coming to Wiscon- 
 sin, spent the first winter in Green Bay, 
 Mr. Ryan finding employment in the 
 lumber woods. The following spring he 
 purchased a totally unimproved tract of 
 land in Rockland township. Brown county, 
 and while waiting for their dwelling to 
 be built they lived at the home of An- 
 thony Dwyer. The surrounding country 
 was all new and very wild, but Mr. Ryan 
 bravely set about the task of clearing 
 away the forest; and being a diligent 
 worker and anxious to make a comfort- 
 able home for himself and family, he soon 
 had a fine farm. He died on this place 
 April 12, 1S74, and was buried in De- 
 Pere cemetery. In politics he was a stanch 
 Democrat. During the Civil war he was 
 a soldier in the Union army, and he never 
 fully recovered from the hardships en- 
 dured in the service. He left a family of 
 eight children (the eldest then but sixteen 
 years of age), viz.: Nora, now a resi- 
 dent of Chicago; Joanna, Mrs. John 
 Underwood; Patrick, of Ashland, Wis., 
 Timothy, on the home farm; Mary, Mrs. 
 Fred Bettinger; Simon, a lumberman; 
 and Morris and Katy, at home. At the 
 time of the father's death the home had 
 not been fully paid for, and a portion of 
 the land was allowed to go to pay the 
 balance. Mrs. Ryan has since managed 
 the affairs of the place with ability and 
 success, and has been faithfully assisted 
 by her children. The agricultural work 
 is now attended to by the son Timothy, 
 
220 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 and the farm yields a comfortable sup- 
 port to the family, being a fertile, well- 
 cultivated piece of land. Mrs. Ryan has 
 seen her home transformed from the 
 dense forest, taking no small part in this 
 work herself. She is a member of St. 
 Francis Catholic Church, De Pere, and 
 is highly respected in the community 
 where he has resided for so many years. 
 
 JOHN F. WATERMOLEN, attor- 
 ney at law in his native city of 
 Green Bay, was born in 1862, and 
 for three years has been actively en- 
 gaged in the practice of his profession, at 
 first under the hrni name of Waterrnolen 
 & Wavrunek. His parents were natives 
 of Belgium, and in 1857 came to America, 
 settling in Bellevue township, Brown Co., 
 Wis., where the father engaged in farm- 
 ing, and where he and his wife still re- 
 side. Of their eight children, seven are 
 still living, viz.: Joseph P., William, 
 Henry, Mary, Philip, John F. , and 
 John B. 
 
 J. F. Waterrnolen was reared and ed- 
 ucated in the township of Bellevue until 
 the age of twenty-three, and then at- 
 tended the business college managed by 
 Murch & Hills, at Green Bay; he next 
 taught in the district schools of Brown 
 county, reading law in the meanwhile, 
 and finally entered the law office of 
 Wigman & Martin, studying until Decem- 
 ber 29, 1 891, when he was admitted to 
 the bar with highest honors at Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., since when he has enjoyed a 
 lucrative practice. He is United States Cir- 
 cuit Court Commissioner for the Eastern 
 District of Wisconsin. He was married, 
 April 18, 1893, in Green Bay, to Miss 
 Ella M. Wigman, daughter of J. H. M. 
 Wigman, a prominent attorney at law. 
 One child, James J., is the fruit of this 
 congenial union. Mr. and Mrs. Water- 
 rnolen are devoted members of St. Willi- 
 brord's Catholic Church, and socially are 
 held in high esteem by a large circle of 
 personal friends, as well as by the com- 
 
 munity at large. Mr. Waterrnolen is a 
 member of the Catholic Order of Fores- 
 ters and of Navarino Camp, No. 534, 
 Modern Woodmen. His business is daily 
 increasing, and his abilities as a law\er 
 are fully recognized as being far beyond 
 those of any practitioner of his age in 
 the county. He is one of the many young 
 men, self-educated and self-made, who 
 have made the most of the golden op- 
 portunities open to the ambitious Ameri- 
 can youth. 
 
 CONSTANT DE JONGHE, the 
 leading baker of De Pere, was 
 born in 1831, in Belgium, a son 
 of Frank De Jonghe, who was a 
 butcher by trade, and had a numerous 
 family. 
 
 Constant was but three j'ears old when 
 he lost his parents, and, until he reached 
 the age of twenty years, was reared by his 
 maternal step-grandfather, at the end of 
 which time he commenced learning the 
 baker's trade, and worked at same in the 
 old country until he was twenty-four 
 years of age. He then, on July 5, 1856, 
 set sail from Antwerp for the United 
 States on the "American Alexander," 
 which should have sailed the previous 
 day, but was detained in port one day in 
 order to give the crew an opportunity of 
 celebrating the "Fourth" onshore. On 
 September 25, Mr. De Jonghe landed at 
 New York, whence he came directly to 
 Wisconsin, landing in Green Bay with 
 but twenty-nine cents in his pocket. He 
 soon found work, however, in sawmills, 
 in the woods and on the lakes, all along 
 saving some money; and, as he was always 
 faithful in his service to his employers, he 
 never had to ask for work a second time 
 from any employer. Fourteen years of 
 his life were passed in the lumber woods 
 of Wisconsin, but he lost his earnings; he 
 was also for some fifteen or sixteen years 
 in Menominee, Mich. In 1873 he came 
 to West De Pere, and with what capital 
 he had managed to save from the time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 221 
 
 he lost everything, as above referred to, 
 he started a bakery which he carried on 
 there until 1887, when he moved into 
 De Pere and opened his present business, 
 on the corner of Broadway and Charles 
 street. Here he has built a very substan- 
 tial brick block, two and a half stories 
 high, and containing two business rooms. 
 His bakery is now the leading one in the 
 city, and his success is the result of his 
 own hard work and indomitable perse- 
 verance. 
 
 In July, 1882, Mr. De Jonghe was 
 married in West De Pere to Miss Romaine 
 Van De Walle, a native of Belgium, and a 
 resident of Wisconsin since 1881. They 
 have one child, Mary, who is a natural 
 musician, and, for her age, quite awonder 
 as a piano player. In his religious faith 
 Mr. De Jonghe is a devout Catholic, and 
 he enjoys the respect and esteem of all 
 who know him. 
 
 OTTOMAN GEORGI. As a living 
 example of what resolute work- 
 ing, earnest endeavor and indom- 
 itable perseverance will accom- 
 plish, this gentleman stands prominent 
 among the worthy citizens of Brown 
 county. He is a native of Prussia, Ger- 
 many, born February 24, 1837, in the 
 village of Blankenburg, son of Philip 
 Georgi, a tanner by occupation, who 
 passed his entire life in the Fatherland, 
 dying there in 1859. 
 
 The boyhood experiences of Ottoman 
 were not different from those of other 
 lads in his rank of life — attending school 
 with regularity for a few years, and then 
 learning a trade. This latter part of his 
 education cur subject received under his 
 father's tuition, he serving a three-years' 
 apprenticeship in the tannery, after which 
 he did journeyman work at various places. 
 In 1853 he was nearing the age when he 
 should enter the army, according to the 
 law of his country, but through his father's 
 personal intercession with the King of 
 Bavaria he was given exemption. His 
 
 father having now presented him with one 
 hundred Prussian dollars to commence 
 the world with, young Ottoman concluded 
 to try his fortune in the Western World. 
 Accordingly, securing passage on board 
 the ship "George Corning," from Ham- 
 burg to New York, he set sail with a 
 light heart and bright prospects, and, 
 after a six-weeks' voyage, landed at the 
 port of debarkation. From New York 
 he at once proceeded in the direction of 
 his destination. Green Bay, Wis., but on 
 his arrival in Detroit found his money all 
 gone. Assistance, however, coming from 
 friends in Green Bay, he was enabled to 
 pursue his way, but, through some mis- 
 take, landed in the town of Madison, a 
 total stranger, and penniless. Here he 
 could find no employment, and, de- 
 ciding to make his way to Portage 
 City, where he hoped to be more suc- 
 cessful, he set out on foot, getting an 
 occasional meal from farmers c/i route. 
 In Portage he succeeded in securing work 
 at eight dollars per month; but, never 
 losing sight of his proper detination, he 
 left there after saving little money, and, 
 traveling by way of Madison, Milwaukee, 
 Sheboygan and Manitowoc, finally reached 
 Green Bay, arriving August 26, 1854, 
 after many adverse experiences. Here he 
 readily secured work in F. B. Gardner's 
 sawmill, remaining there over five years, 
 or until early in the spring of 1859, when, 
 having received news of his father's death 
 in Germany, he set out in the month of 
 April for his old home, taking passage at 
 New York for Bremen, the voyage occupy- 
 ing fourteen days. At his old home he 
 spent about one month, and then returned 
 by the same boat, from Hamburg to New 
 York, bringing with him to Green Bay his 
 sister, Sophia, and brother, August, the 
 latter party arriving in August, 1859. 
 Our subject then returned to his work in 
 Gardner's sawmill, continuing there until 
 1862, at which time he went to Onton- 
 agon, Mich. , and there worked in a 
 tannery a couple of months, and also in 
 the mines. Returnine: to Green Bay, 
 
222 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Georjifi secured einployinent in Fred 
 Schellers' Cedar Crcuk Gristmill, in Preble 
 township, but in October, 1864, he had to 
 leave, having been drafted into Company 
 E, Seventeenth Wis. \'. I., which was 
 mustered in at Camp Randall, Madison, 
 Wis. From there the regiment was sent 
 to Louisville, thence to Kingston, Chatta- 
 nooga and linally to Atlanta, where they 
 experienced their first battle. They then 
 participated in Sherman's inarch to the 
 sea, and followed the fortunes of the army 
 till the Grand Review at Washington in 
 1865. At Louisville, Ky., our subject 
 was honorably discharged July 14, 1865, 
 and was mustered out at Madison, 
 Wis., whence he at once proceeded to 
 Green Bay thence to Preble township, 
 where his wife and infant son were, 
 and at once resumed the pursuits of 
 peace. In 1867 he purchased twenty 
 acres of land in Preble township, on which 
 his present residence stands, and to this 
 he from time to time added until he found 
 himself the owner of over 230 acres — part 
 of which he has given to his children — -all 
 the result of his own individual hard work, 
 untiring energy and sound judgment. 
 
 On January i, 1864, Mr. Georgi was 
 married to Miss Maria Barbara Basten, 
 born .April 24, 1835, in the village of 
 Kosen, Prussia, who came to the United 
 States in 1852, along with her parents. 
 The children of this union are Fred and 
 Philip, both of whom are farmers in Preble 
 township; Lena and Charles, at home; 
 and August, who died May 22, 1876, aged 
 eight years. The mother of these died 
 January 14, 1890, and sleeps her last 
 sleep in the cemetery at Green Bay, since 
 when the daughter, Lena, has presided 
 over her father's house with becoming 
 grace. In i 870 our subject revisited Ger- 
 many, and on his return brought with him 
 his aged mother, who passed the rest of 
 her life at his home, dying November 
 9, 1892. 
 
 In politics our subject is a Republi- 
 can, and for some eight or ten years 
 served his township as supervisor, ha\'ing 
 
 been elected on that ticket; but he is no 
 partisan, in county and township affairs 
 invariably supporting such men and 
 measures as he deems best for the com- 
 munity at large. Socially he is a member of 
 Herman Lodge, No. iii, I. O. O. F. ; of 
 the Germania Society, and of T. O. Howe 
 Post, No. 124, G. A.' R., all of Green Bay. 
 Taken all in all, Mr. Georgi is a thoroughly 
 representative citizen, universally respect- 
 ed, and is a typical self-made man. 
 
 DON F. SMITH, one of the most 
 prominent and active citizens of 
 Suamico village. Brown county, 
 was born July 28, 1836, in Onon- 
 daga county, N. Y., a son of Hiram J. 
 and Elsie H. (Adams) Smith, also natives 
 of New Ycrk. Hiram J. Smith was born 
 March 6, 1800, was a shoemaker by trade, 
 and died May 26, 1845, in Erie county, 
 N. Y. ; Mrs. Elsie H. Smith, whose par- 
 ents came from Rhode Island, was born 
 September 4, 1802, and died October 13, 
 1872. Of the six children born to them 
 but two are still living, Don F. and Ho- 
 ratio, the latter a resident of Michigan. 
 
 Don F. Smith was reared on the farm 
 of an uncle from the time he was fifteen 
 until he reached the age of twenty-one, 
 when, in 1857, he came to Wisconsin with 
 his brother-in-law, H. J. Ayres, and locat- 
 ing in Duck Creek, Brown county, worked 
 here two years in a sawmill. Then for a 
 time he taught school in Howard town- 
 ship, and later engaged by the month in a 
 saw and shingle mill in Suamico town- 
 ship, being thus emploj-ed at the time of 
 his marriage. On August 25, 1863, he 
 wedded Miss Julia A. Woodruff, who was 
 born at Norton, Summit Co. , Ohio, but 
 was reared and educated in Akron, same 
 State, and when quite young came west 
 for the benefit of her health, teaching 
 school until her marriage, when she re- 
 linquished that vocation. The union of 
 Don F. and Julia A. Smith has been 
 blessed. with six children, as follows: (i) 
 Hattie M., born August 29, 1864; was 
 
fl 
 
 "r^ 
 
 M 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 first married to C. O. Stevens, who died 
 leaving one son, now also deceased; her 
 second marriage was to D. W. Burns, and 
 to them has come one daughter, Esther 
 C. , born August 12, 1893. (2; Estella, 
 born April 12, 1866, was married to F. 
 B. Stevens, and to this union were born 
 three children — Hiram D. , October 4, 
 1890, Ethel, November — , 1891, and El- 
 sie, February 21, 1893. (3) Frank A. 
 was born April 30, 1868. (4) Don D. was 
 born July 21, 1870. (5) Lloyd was born 
 April 30, 1 88 1. (6) Cora was born Octo- 
 ber 9, 1883. Mrs. Julia A. Smith is a 
 daughter of Giles and Esther (Wetmore) 
 Woodruff, natives, respectively, of Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut. Giles Wood- 
 ruff, who is a farmer, was a pioneer of 
 Ohio, and served as colonel of a regiment 
 of home guards. He died in Akron, Ohio, 
 at the age of seventy-six years, leaving 
 two children, Mrs. Julia A. Smith and 
 Mrs. Lucia E. Vosburg. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Don F. 
 Smith located in Suamico village, where 
 for a year and a half he worked in a 
 sawmill, and then went to Akron, Ohio, 
 at which place he bought a meat market, 
 and conducted same one summer. He 
 then returned to Suamico, where he had 
 charge of the shipping interests of several 
 large firms for two or three years. When 
 the Chicago & Northwestern railway was 
 built through the town of Suamico he was 
 appointed, on July i, 1872, agent forthe 
 company, a position he has held ever 
 since, giving the utmost satisfaction. He 
 has also served as postmaster for the last 
 thirty years; township treasurer for over 
 three years, and has filled several other 
 local offices with great credit and accepta- 
 bility. His first vote was cast for Abraham 
 Lincoln in i860, and he has been a faith- 
 ful member of the Republican party ever 
 since. He is a notary public, acts as 
 agent for the American Express Company, 
 and has always manifested marked busi- 
 ness ability, industry and activity. He is 
 treasurer of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Suamico. Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
 
 13 
 
 were both school teachers, and fully com- 
 petent to rear their family. No man in 
 the county is more capable of filling the 
 responsible positions to which he has been 
 called than Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Smith is 
 a lady of fine intellect, highly accomplished 
 and much loved by all. The family have 
 a delightful home in the town, and also 
 own a small farm, which is rented out. 
 Mr. Smith has, assisted by his amiable 
 wife, made his comfortable property 
 through industry, and backed by a deter- 
 mination to succeed. By his unswerving 
 integrit}' he first gained the confidence of 
 his fellow citizens, and by his faithful at- 
 tention to the duties of the various posi- 
 tions he has filled as a public officer, and 
 as an employe, he has won the approba- 
 tion of all parties concerned. Socially, no 
 family in the township occupies a more 
 enviable position. 
 
 JACOB KETTENHOFEN, a wide- 
 awake, progressive citizen, and the 
 leading blacksmith of Wrightstown, 
 Brown county, of which city he has 
 been a resident some twenty years, is a 
 native of Rhein-Province, Germany, born 
 July 16, 1854, in Irsch, Kreis Saarbruck, 
 Regierungsbezirk Trier. For ten genera- 
 tions his ancestors were blacksmiths before 
 him, some serving in the armies of Europe, 
 and they were, for the most part, educated 
 above their station, many members of the 
 families being educators. Grandfather 
 Mathias Kettenhofen followed blacksmith- 
 ing in Orsholtz, Germany, and also his 
 sons. 
 
 Peter Kettenhofen, father of Jacob, 
 our subject, carried on that trade in Irsch 
 till 1862, when he was induced to come 
 to America by his sisters, who had pre- 
 ceded him to the Western World. Com- 
 ing with his family to Wisconsin, Peter 
 located in Holland township. Brown 
 county, where he followed his trade in 
 connection with farming till 1872, in 
 which year he removed to Wrightstown 
 and established the blacksmith shop now 
 
226 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 occupied by his son Jacob. He died 
 October 21, 1887, af:;ed about sixty years, 
 esteemed and respected by all who knew 
 him as a brij^ht, intelligent, active and 
 honorable man. In Europe he had been 
 educated for the profession of teacher; 
 but the ruling trait of the family was so 
 strong in him that he preferred the trade 
 he followed throughout life, and he had 
 five brothers, all also blacksmiths. He 
 was considered a first-class mechanic, 
 making a success of his business, and 
 much of his work is still to be seen in 
 various parts of the county. In his native 
 land he had married Miss Anna Fish, who 
 was also born in Irsch, near Trier, Rhein 
 Province, Germany, and nine children 
 were born to them, six of whom are yet 
 living. The mother was called from 
 earth August 27, 1892. Peter Ketten- 
 hofen was a consistent member of the 
 Catholic Church; in politics he was a 
 stanch Democrat, and served as delegate 
 to county conventions. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines, 
 whose name opens the sketch, was eight 
 years old when his parents brought him to 
 this country, and in Holland township. 
 Brown county, he received a good com- 
 mon-school education. In 1871, when 
 seventeen years old, he commenced to 
 learn blacksmithing in Menasha, with 
 Philip Sensenbrenner, a master mechanic, 
 and at the end of two years came to 
 Wrightstown, where he entered his 
 father's shop, and has remained there 
 continuously to the present time, a period 
 of over twenty years, in which connection 
 it were superfluous to add that he is a 
 master of the business in every detail, 
 and a thoroughly expert horse-shoer. On 
 June 29, 1880. he was married to Miss Liz- 
 zie Brenzel. who has borne him nine chil- 
 dren: Catharina. Annie, John, Helena, 
 Jacob, Mary, Clara, Eva and Peter. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kettenhofen are members of the 
 Catholic Church. Politically he is identi- 
 fied with the Democratic party, has con- 
 siderable influence in local and county 
 politics, being well known all over the 
 
 southern part of Brown county and the 
 northern part of Outagamie, and generally 
 serves as delegate to conventions. So- 
 cially he is an active member of the Cath- 
 olic Knights of Wisconsin, is president of 
 the local order, was elected a delegate to 
 the State convention at Oshkosh in 1 894. 
 He has taken an interest in educational 
 matters, and is trustee of the Sisters' 
 school at Wrightstown. 
 
 On March 28, 1894, he was chosen 
 chairman of the caucus, being the first 
 caucus held in the new town hall at 
 Greenleaf, to nominate officers for the 
 town election. 
 
 JAMES McKONE, a popular livery- 
 man and horse breeder, of Green 
 Bay, was born in County Cavan, 
 Ireland, April 15, 1854, and is a 
 son of James and Ann (McCabe) McKone. 
 The father, who was a prosperous farmer, 
 died in 1858, leaving a widow and six 
 children, viz. : Patrick, Catherine, John, 
 James L. , Terrence and Ann — all living 
 with the exception of Ann, who died in 
 Minneapolis, Minn., leaving one child, 
 also named Ann. In 1868 the mother of 
 our subject sold her property in Ireland, 
 and with three children came to America, 
 her other children having preceded her. 
 She bought a place in Oshkosh, Wis., 
 where her three brothers, Cornelius, John 
 and Frank, then lived, and where John 
 still has his residence. Here Mrs. Mc- 
 Kone passed away December 5, 1885. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, after pass- 
 ing six weeks in New York, was employed 
 in a sawmill at Oshkosh, Wis., until 
 December, 1879, when he went to Wau- 
 sau, Wis., and for four years profitably 
 carried on a dairy; he then moved to 
 Clintonville, Wis., and bought a livery 
 stock, which he transferred to Fort 
 Howard, where he remained fourteen 
 months, and then settled in Green Bay, 
 and here he rented the barn which he 
 now owns. He has had his business mis- 
 fortunes, but, on the whole, has been re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 227 
 
 markably successful. His stables con- 
 tain thirty-four horses, some of which 
 are very valuable, among them being a 
 two-year-old mare, "Bourbon Break," 
 with a record, as a two-year-old, of 2:31!^; 
 for this animal Mr. McKone has refused 
 $3,000. Among other promising animals 
 in this stud are "Anna May," "Wilkes," 
 "J. C," "Skylark," "Ben Crosier," 
 "Fancher, "and " Daisy H." While a resi- 
 dent of Oshkosh, Mr. Mclvone married 
 Julia Helpen, daughter of Patrick and Jen- 
 nie (Mallon) Helpen. She bore her hus- 
 band two children — James L. and Mamie, 
 the former of whom resides with his father, 
 the latter dying in infancy. Mrs. Mc- 
 Kone died May 15, 1881, and her re- 
 mains were interred at Wausau. The 
 second marriage of Mr. McKone took 
 place at Clintonville, Wis., to Miss Mary 
 Geary, a native of Hazleton, Penn., and 
 daughter of Patrick and Catherine (Mulli- 
 gan) Geary, the former of whom died in 
 Chicago in 1876, while on his way home 
 to Clintonville from a trip to Texas; the 
 latter is now a resident of Philadelphia, 
 Penn. The second marriage of Mr. Mc- 
 Kone has been blessed with three chil- 
 dren : Frank, John and Alvin, the last 
 named dying in infancy. Mr. McKone is 
 a member of the Royal Arcanum, and, 
 with his wife, attends St. John's (Catho- 
 lic) Church. He is a gentleman of great 
 native energy, has made himself what he 
 is, in a financial point of view, notwith- 
 standing some severe business reverses, 
 and, through his affability and straightfor- 
 ward dealing, has won hosts of friends. 
 
 M 
 
 ICHAEL PATTON. This gen- 
 tleman, who is now living semi- 
 retired on his farm in Glenmore 
 township. Brown county, en- 
 joys the distinction of being its oldest liv- 
 ing settler. 
 
 He is a native of the Emerald Isle, 
 born about 18 14, in County Waterford, 
 son of Martin and Mary (Powers) Patton, 
 farmingpeople in moderate circumstances. 
 
 They had a family of si.\ children — four 
 sons and two daughters — of whom 
 Michael was the eldest, and consequently 
 his educational opportunities were some- 
 what limited. When a mere boy he com- 
 menced to work in the copper mines, con- 
 tinuing thus while in his native country. 
 In young manhood he was married to 
 Miss Mary Hayes, who was also a native 
 of County Waterford, and three children 
 were born to them in Ireland, namely: 
 William, who is now a resident of Fort 
 Howard, Brown county; Martin, of Glen- 
 more township; and Mary, who married 
 Leonard Miller, and died in Marinette, 
 Wis. Having by economy managed to 
 save a few dollars from his meager earn- 
 ings, Mr. Patton concluded to emigrate 
 and try his fortune in the New World, 
 and, bidding their early home farewell, he 
 and his family sailed on the "Admiral," 
 in the spring of 1844, and landed in Que- 
 bec after a voyage of five weeks and three 
 days. Mr. Patton had intended to go to 
 the Lake Superior copper region ; but 
 learning that work was scarce there, he 
 went instead to Lowell, Ohio, where he 
 found employment at a furnace. Later 
 he worked at other towns in the Mahon- 
 ing Valley, and also in the coal and iron 
 mines of that country, remaining in the 
 vicinity of Youngstown until 1848, when 
 he came to Wisconsin to look over the 
 land. In Section 8, Glenmore township. 
 Brown county, he purchased a half-section 
 of wild land, and then went back to Ohio 
 for his family, returning to Wisconsin in 
 the fall. There were no roads laid out 
 at this time, the path to his farm led 
 through the forest, and their neighbors 
 were the Whitmores, who lived two miles 
 away, along the Dixon road. The trees 
 were so thick that a spot large enough 
 for the dwelling had to be cleared, and 
 Mr. Patton put up a log cabin, into which 
 the family moved. Wild animals were 
 numerous, but they gradually passed away 
 with the clearing and settling of the conn- 
 try. The settlers labored under many 
 disadvantages in the improving and culti- 
 
328 
 
 COMMEMOHATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 vating of the land, for almost the only 
 tools Xhey had were an axe and a grub- 
 hoe, and oxen were the only beasts of 
 burden. But the prospect of having a 
 comfortable property of his own cheered 
 Mr. Patton through the first few j-ears of 
 hard work, and encouraged him to prese- 
 vere until the land became productive and 
 yielded a good income. As his sons grew 
 up they proved a great assistance to 
 him, and in turn he has given them a 
 comfortable start in life; he, at one time, 
 owned between 400 and 500 acres of good 
 land, but he has given the greater part 
 of it to his sons. In 1 892 a new resi- 
 dence was erected on the farm. 
 
 After coming to the United States Mr. 
 and Mrs. Patton had the following chil- 
 dren: Kate, Mrs. Richard Gorman, of 
 Marinette, Wis. ; Morris, who died in 
 Youngstown, Ohio, where he was buried; 
 Patrick, a resident of Glenmore town- 
 ship, Brown county; Edward, who died 
 in Glenmore township in 1893; John, 
 who is mentioned farther on; Michael, 
 who died in Glenmore township; and 
 Morris, of Green Bay. Mr. Patton is 
 now retired from active farm work, en- 
 joying the fruits of his early toil, for the 
 past twelve years having made his home 
 with his son John. He is a typical self- 
 made man, for, landing in this country 
 with no capital save health and energy, 
 he rose by his own efforts to an enviable 
 position among the leading farmers of 
 Glenmore township. In his political af- 
 filiations he is a stanch Democrat, and in 
 his earlier years he served as supervisor 
 and school treasurer in his township, but 
 he was never an office-seeker, always pre- 
 ferring to give his undivided attention to 
 his business. In religious faith he is a 
 member of St. Francis Church De Pere. 
 His estimable wife was called from earth 
 January i, 1888, when aged seventy-two 
 years, and her remains now rest in Al- 
 louez cemetery. 
 
 John Patton was born March 25, 1856, 
 on the farm where he is yet living, and 
 here obtained a thorough knowledge of 
 
 agriculture under his father, at the same 
 time receiving his literary education in 
 the common schools. On May 2, 1882, 
 he was married in St. Francis Church, 
 De Pere, to Miss Frances A. Lawlor, who 
 was born in April, 1865, in Glenmore 
 township, daughter of Thomas and Mary 
 (Connors) Lawkjr. To this union came 
 children as follows: Mary, Lizzie, Fran- 
 ces, and Pearl, living; Lucy, deceased; 
 and James Rhaman, living. Mr. Patton 
 is a hard-working, prosperous farmer, and 
 one of the substantial, public-spirited 
 citizens of his township. He devotes his 
 time exclusively to the cultivation of his 
 farm, which comprises i 20 acres of excel- 
 lent land. In his political preferences 
 he is a Democrat, and in religious connec- 
 tion a member of St. Francis Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
 WD. RICE, of Pittsfield town- 
 ship. Brown county, was born 
 February 14, 1838. in F'itz- 
 william, N. H., the eldest of 
 the four children born to John and Caro- 
 line (Hayden) Rice. The other three 
 were Eliza, who died leaving three chil- 
 dren, Lizzie, Ellsworth and Fred; Wins- 
 low, who was killed in the Civil war; and 
 Sarah, who died leaving a husband and 
 two children — Eva and Nellie. 
 
 W. D. Rice, since the age of fifteen, 
 has earned his living through his own ex- 
 ertions. From his native State he came 
 directly to Wisconsin, and was one of the 
 early settlers of Pittsfield (then Suamico) 
 township. Brown count}', where he 
 bought eighty acres of land which he 
 still owns, having first earned the money 
 by hard work in the lumber woods — a 
 business he followed thirty-nine years be- 
 fore he ceased active work, having al- 
 ways had charge of a camp from the age 
 of eighteen. He cleared off the timber 
 from his farm at odd intervals, ridding it 
 of trees, Indians, bears and wolves, until 
 it became one of the model farms of the 
 township. Having commenced the prep- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 aration of a home, he was married, on 
 April 23, 1859, to Miss Hannah E., 
 daughter of Cornehus and Ivfargaret 
 (Leonard) Keefe, put up the house they 
 at present occupy, and in i860 moved 
 into the new home. ft was in this year 
 that the town was set off, the poll at that 
 time being 13; in 1894 it had reached 
 230. To Mr. and Mrs. Rice were born 
 five children, as follows: Lizzie, John, 
 James (who died in infancy), Clara and 
 Leonard. 
 
 In politics Mr. Rice is a stanch Re- 
 publican; in 1885 he was elected chair- 
 man of the town, and has held the posi- 
 tion for several years. He has been true 
 to his party from the time he cast his 
 first Presidential vote, for Abraham Lin- 
 coln, and this circumstance has been 
 fully recognized by his political friends. 
 
 HM. I3ECK, M. D. This esteemed 
 citizen of Green 13ay, and well- 
 known physician and surgeon, is 
 a native of Bavaria, Germany, 
 born November i, 1855, a son of Leon- 
 ard and Eva (Gesner) Beck, also of Ba- 
 varian birth, the former of whom died in 
 1892 in his native land, where his widow 
 is yet living. They were the parents of 
 six children, viz. : Valentine, in Bavaria; 
 H. M. , subject of sketch; Barbara, wife 
 of John Schenck, of Brown county, Wis. , 
 Velp P. O. ; Johanna, Iska, and Anna. 
 Of these, two came to Green Bay, and 
 are here now residing, to wit: H. M. and 
 Barbara. 
 
 H. M. Beck received his primary edu- 
 cation at the public and preparatory 
 schools of Bavaria, after which he at- 
 tended the Polytechnic High-shool at 
 Munich. In 1876 he immigrated to the 
 United States, arriving in Green Bay, 
 Wis., in December of that year. Here 
 for about one year he gave music lessons, 
 after which he engaged in the drug busi- 
 ness, carrying same on for several years. 
 In 1879 he commenced the study of 
 medicine with Dr. B. C. Brett, in 
 
 1 88 1 entering Rush Medical College, 
 Chicago, where he graduated in March, 
 1883, thereafter at once commencing 
 the general practice of his profession 
 in Green Bay, in which he has met 
 with well-merited success. In 1879 
 Dr. Beck married Miss Mary Fox, daugh- 
 ter of Paul Fox, an early settler of Brown 
 county. This wife died in 1886, leaving 
 one son. Otto, and in 1888 the Doctor 
 was united in marriage with Miss Irma C. 
 Van Dyke, daughter of Louis Van Dyke, 
 and two children have come to brighten 
 their home, viz. : Irma and Florence. 
 
 Dr. Beck is a member of Fox River 
 Valley Medical Society, and of the State 
 Medical Society. He is examining sur- 
 geon for the Northwestern Mutual Life 
 Insurance Company; for the ^Etna, Equi- 
 table, Connecticut Mutual, the National 
 Life Insurance Company of Montpelier, 
 Metropolitan of New York, Mutual Life 
 of New York, etc., besides for three or 
 four societies. He has been local sur- 
 geon for the Chicago, Minneapolis cS: St. 
 Paul Railroad Company for over ten 
 years. Socially he is a member of the 
 K. of P., Pochequette Lodge, No. 26(0! 
 which he is Keeper of Records and Seals), 
 and of the Uniform Rank; also a mem- 
 ber of the Elks, No. 229, Green Bay. In 
 his political associations he is a Repub- 
 lican; served as county commissioner two 
 years; as member of the school board also 
 two years. Taken all in all, the Doctor 
 is a thorough representative of the best 
 citizenship of Green Bay. 
 
 ADAM DOHN, a prosperous agri- 
 culturist, and one of the most 
 highly respected citizens, of De- 
 Pere township. Brown county, 
 was born February 4, 1835, in Bavaria, 
 Germany, son of John G. Dohn, a shoe- 
 maker, who had three children, Adam 
 being the eldest. 
 
 Our subject attended the common 
 schools of his birthplace until he reached 
 the age of fourteen years, when he began 
 
230 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to assist in the support of the family. 
 When he was seventeen years old his 
 father died, leaving a home unpaid for, 
 and the property was thus lost. In the 
 fall of 1852 the widowed mother and her 
 three children set out from Germany for 
 Havre, France, where they took passage 
 on the vessel "Lindy" for the United 
 States, landing in New York after a voy- 
 age of forty-two days. From there they 
 proceeded by rail to Dunkirk, N. Y. , 
 thence by boat to Detroit, Mich. , by rail 
 to Chicago, 111., and from there by boat 
 to Milwaukee, Wis. Their destination 
 was Waukesha, Wis. , and, their funds hav- 
 mg been exhausted by the time they 
 reached Milwaukee, they walked the re- 
 mainder of the way, twenty miles, arriv- 
 ing in Waukesha seven days after landing 
 in New York City. Mrs. Dohn made her 
 home in Waukesha with her brother, Philip 
 Filer, who had loaned them mone}- to 
 help pay the e.xpenses of their journey to 
 the United States; and Adam, who being 
 the eldest was looked to for support, hired 
 out as a farm hand, receiving sixty dollars 
 for his first year's work. He not only as- 
 sisted in the support of his mother, but 
 also paid back the money, one hundred 
 and twenty dollars, which they had bor- 
 rowed from his uncle, and for the first few 
 years his life in the New World was one of 
 constant toil and hardship. Of the other 
 two children, his brother William received 
 a liberal education in the common schools, 
 and later engaged in business in Gibson- 
 burg, Ohio, first in merchandising, and 
 afterward in the lime business; he died in 
 Gibsonburg. The sister, Catherine, died 
 in Waukesha at the age of thirteen years. 
 Mrs. Dohn died in Ohio at the home of 
 her son William. 
 
 On May 6, 18 58, Adam Dohn was 
 married, in Milwaukee, Wis., to Margaret 
 Miller, who was born, August 28, 1833, 
 in Hesse-Darmstadt, a daughter of John 
 and Anna Miller, the former of whom died 
 in Germany when his daughter, Margaret, 
 was three years old. She set out with 
 her mother for the United States in 1853, 
 
 sailing from Bremen on the " Elizabeth," 
 and, after a voyage of forty-two days, 
 landed in New York, from which city 
 they came at once to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 the journey occupying one week. After 
 his marriage Mr. Dohn purchased four 
 acres of land in Waukesha, taking up his 
 residence thereon, and, in addition to 
 culti\ating his own land, worked at farm- 
 ing for others and also at railroading. In 
 1 870 he removed to Brown county, locat- 
 ing on the farm where he has ever since 
 resided. Private Claim, No. 40, De Pere 
 township, containing eighty acres of highly 
 cultivated, productive land. When he 
 came here, however, it was still in a 
 primitive condition, and he set to work 
 at once to clear and improve it, giving 
 his attention exclusively to general 
 farming and stock-raising. The first 
 house Mr. Dohn erected on the place was 
 built of logs, and the family lived in it 
 until 1 89 1, when the present comfortable 
 residence was erected. From a start of 
 nothing, and without assistance from any 
 one, our subject has accumulated a com- 
 fortable competence, and his life furnishes 
 an example of what may be accomplished 
 by determination and energy and indus- 
 trious habits. He has won the esteem of 
 his fellow citizens for honesty and ster- 
 ling worth, and he and his family are 
 highly respected in their community. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dohn have been born seven 
 children, viz. : George, John, William, 
 Minnie (Mrs. William Delzer, of Wood- 
 ville township, Calumet county), Anna (of 
 De Pere), and Maggie and Herbert E., 
 both deceased. 
 
 On February 18, 1864, Mr. Dohn en- 
 listed, at Milwaukee, in Company D, 
 Forty-eighth Wis. V. I., and was sent to 
 St. Louis, Mo., thence to Fort Scott, 
 Kans. , on patrol duty, remaining in the 
 service until April, 1866, when he re- 
 ceived an honorable discharge at Madison, 
 Wis. ; he was mustered out at Fort Leaven- 
 worth, Kans. He had served in the In- 
 dian campaigns, during which the men 
 suffered greatly from exposure and lack 
 
COMMEMOBAl'lVia BiOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 231 
 
 of provisions. From Colorado they 
 marched 600 miles over the plains to Fort 
 Leavenworth, Kans., and, for thirty-two 
 nights, they had to sleep on the ground, 
 although it was covered with snow. For 
 300 miles of this long march each com- 
 pany had but one load of firewood, and 
 the men were allowed to make coffee but 
 once a day; on the remaining 300-mile 
 march they had no wood at all. Mr. 
 Doha's health was so seriously impaired 
 by the hardships he endured that he has 
 never fully recovered. In his political 
 affiliations he was originally a Democrat, 
 but he is now an advocate of protection 
 and a member of the Republican party. 
 He has served his township as supervisor, 
 and for eight years as member of the 
 township board, but his ill-health com- 
 pelled him to resign this position. He 
 and his wife are members of the Presby- 
 terian Church of De Pere. 
 
 FRANK KOZLOWSKY, a worthy 
 citizen of New Denmark town- 
 ship, Brown county, where he has 
 been actively engaged in farming 
 for over thirty years, and of which he is 
 one of the oldest and most highly honored 
 residents, was born March 14, 1834, in 
 Bohemia, Austria. His parents, John and 
 Anna (Horene) Kozlowsky, the former 
 of whom was engaged in farming, had a 
 family of three children, namely: Joseph, 
 Frank (our subject), ahd Philip, now a 
 resident of Coopers.own, Wis., who is 
 married and has seven children. The 
 mother died when her son Frank was 
 eight years old. 
 
 At the age of twelve Frank I\ozlowsky 
 commenced to learn the tailor's trade, 
 continuing to follow same in his native 
 country for six years. When eighteen 
 years old he set sail from Bremen, Ger- 
 many, and landed in New York after a 
 nine-weeks' voyage, thence continuing 
 his journey to Chicago, 111., where his 
 funds were exhausted, and he had to wait 
 for his baggage. He waited in that city 
 
 until his goods came after him, then he 
 started for Wisconsin, coming across Af- 
 ton to Milwaukee, thence by wagon to 
 Port Washington, from which place he 
 proceeded on foot to Manitowoc, a dis- 
 tance of sixty-five miles, whence he walked 
 to Kossuth township, Manitowoc county, 
 where his uncle resided. Here he engaged 
 in clearing land for about a year and a 
 half, and then invested in a tract of eighty 
 acres in Cooperstown township, in part- 
 nership with a Mr. Nejedlo. They erected 
 a small shanty and commenced clearing 
 the place, continuing together for about a 
 year, when Mr. Nejedlo sold his share, 
 our subject becoming sole owner of the 
 tract. On January 19, 1856, Mr. Koz- 
 lowsky was married to Miss Anna Pivonka, 
 and walked afoot, along with two wit- 
 nesses, to the justice of the peace, Charles 
 Rieter, at Manitowoc, about fourteen 
 miles, and back the same day, along a 
 good snow road. They lived in the shanty 
 four years, when it was supplanted by a 
 comfortable log dwelling. Besides at- 
 tending to the work of clearing, Mr. Koz- 
 lowsky engaged in the manufacture of 
 shingles, an occupation that brought him 
 a small revenue until the farm afforded 
 a comfortable support. All the provisions 
 had to be carried by him from Kossuth, on 
 his back or in his hands, and on one oc- 
 casion, having lost his way, he wandered 
 about for several hours before he found 
 the path. After living on that farm six 
 years they sold it and come to New Den- 
 mark township. Brown count}', here buy- 
 ing 120 acres, which forms part of the 
 present homestead. This was also new 
 land, totally unimproved, like all the sur- 
 rounding country, and there were no roads 
 in the township, only Indian trails, over 
 which they brought their supplies from 
 De Pere and Green Bay. The work of 
 clearing was commenced in earnest, and 
 besides reducing the first purchase to a 
 condition of fertility, he purchased and 
 improved forty acres additional. When 
 he first started to cultivate his land he 
 had no team with which to plow, and all 
 
232 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the {ground for planting or sowing of grain 
 was made ready with a grub hoe. Mr. 
 Kozlowsky is a Democrat in politics, and 
 has served his township two years as super- 
 visor and four years as clerk of the school 
 board. In religious faith he and his 
 family are devout members of the Catho- 
 lic Church, and he donated the land for 
 the Catholic Church situated near his resi- 
 dence. In 1862 he was drafted into the 
 army, and was sent to Madison, whence 
 in four days ho proceeded to Fond du 
 Lac, and then was sent home. Being 
 drafted a second time, he was sent to 
 Green Bay. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Kozlowsky have been 
 born eight children, namely : Antone, 
 Catherine, Anna, Mary, Frank, Joseph, 
 Adolph and Ennna, of whom Frank has 
 alwa\s resided on the farm; the others re- 
 mained at home up to the time of their 
 marriage. Mr. Ko/lowsk}' is now retired 
 from active farm work, he and his wife 
 living with their son Frank, ^\•ho now 
 owns the farm and carries on the agricul- 
 tural work, and in 188S, besides attending 
 to all his work on the homestead, he 
 (Frank, Jr. ) cleared five acres. 
 
 On January 31, 1888, Frank Koz- 
 lowsky, Jr.. was united in marriage with 
 Miss Anna Kc)nop. bringing his wife at 
 once to the home farm. Their union has 
 been blessed with four children, namely : 
 Joseph, Mary, Emma and Annie. 
 
 WILLIAM LARSEN, mayor of 
 F"ort Howard, and one of the 
 most extensive shipping mer- 
 chants and traders of north- 
 eastern Wisconsin, was born May 29, 
 1850, in Buffalo, New York. 
 
 His father, Ole Larsen, who was a native 
 of Norway, with his first wife, a son and 
 four daughters, came to the United States 
 in 1844, and first embarked in the groc- 
 cery business at Buffalo, remaining there 
 until 1852, when he came to Wisconsin. 
 For a short time he resided in Fort How- 
 ard, then removed to Door county, and 
 
 was engaged in fanning until his death, 
 which occurred when he was sixty-five 
 years of age. Before leaving Buffalo his 
 first wife had died, and he married, for his 
 second, Miss Rachel Weisenberg, also a 
 native of Norway, who came to the 
 United States with her friends when 
 about thirty years of age ; she now lives 
 at the home of our subject. To this 
 marriage were born four children : A 
 daughter that died in infancy; William, 
 whose name introduces this article; Otis, 
 a merchant of Chicago ; and Henry, who 
 is associated with \\'illiam. 
 
 William Larsen attended the district 
 schools of this State until about fifteen 
 years of age, then passed a year at Ap- 
 pleton College, after which he entered the 
 general store of M. E. Tremble & Co., 
 at Suamico, as head clerk, having charge 
 of the store and books for the firm. 
 This position he held four years, when, 
 at the age of twenty, he married Miss 
 Sarah Krouse. He at once settled in 
 Fort Howard, and, with $700 he had 
 saved during his clerking days, engaged in 
 the grocery business with M. C. Johnson, 
 conducting same . most prosperously for 
 seven years, when both partners sold out. 
 Mr. Larsen then established a general 
 shipping business, handling principally 
 fruits, produce, hay, etc., and this has 
 reached enormous proportions, the vol- 
 ume of his trade at present representing 
 half a million dollars per annum at alow 
 estimate. His pay-roll is in excess of 
 three thousand five hundred dollars per 
 month, and his payments for produce in 
 the season exceed ten thousand dollars 
 per month; during the same part of the 
 year his transactions in hay are pro- 
 digious. Mr. Larsen is also a stock-hold- 
 er in and vice-president of McCartney's 
 National Bank, and holds a large interest 
 in the Columbia Bakery Co., a very ex- 
 tensive, popular and prosperous establish- 
 ment. Besides attending to his immense 
 mercantile and financial interests, he finds 
 time to devote to the care of a forty-acre 
 garden plat, from which he also derives 
 
-j^'^ &t^II7 £^-PVgr&ftms &-^-- 
 
 J OiA<^^y\/J 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 235 
 
 a considerable profit. Public duties, 
 moreover, have claimed and still claim 
 much of his time and attention ; for 
 three years he was alderman from the 
 Second ward of Fort Howard, and he is 
 now serving his third term as mayor of 
 the city. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Larsen was born in Suam- 
 ico, Brown Co., Wis., and is a daughter 
 of Ferdinand and Sarah Krouse, who 
 had a family of five children. To her 
 marriage have been born ten children, of 
 whom one died when but a year old ; the 
 names of the others are Mabel, Austin, 
 Leslie, Edith, Grace, Charles Sumner, 
 Marie, Milton, and Warren. The eldest 
 of these is proficient in music, and is 
 still taking lessons at the Auditorium in 
 Chicago, while several of the others are 
 being educated at the best colleges of 
 Wisconsin. Mr. Larsen and his wife at 
 first lived in a rented house, for which 
 they paid $8 or $10 per month, and con- 
 tinued to reside there until about 1888, 
 when he completed his present magnifi- 
 cent home at a cost of nearly fifteen 
 thousand dollars. It is the most mod- 
 ern, handsome and complete house in 
 this section of the country, and the fur- 
 niture and grounds are in appropriate har- 
 mony with the residence. His business is 
 now one of themost extensive commercial 
 enterprises of the entire State, and Green 
 Bay, as well as Fort Howard, is especially 
 benefited through its dealings in country 
 produce. He is endowed, in a remarkable 
 degree, with the characteristics possessed 
 by his hardy, brave and adventurous an- 
 cestors — traits of character which enabled 
 them to secure a more than prominent 
 place in the history of the world. These 
 " Norsemen " were old-time heroes, whose 
 indomitable spirit made them the most 
 adventurous navigators of their time, and 
 who undoubtedh' viewed the shores of 
 the New World at a period long antedating 
 its "discovery" by Columbus, the Geno- 
 ese mariner. And not only as navigators 
 were they supreme, but as warriors in the 
 field, also; for, in all western and northern 
 
 Europe, they came to be known and 
 dreaded as redoubtable and fearless 
 fighters; in later days admired and re- 
 spected as an enlightened and Christian 
 people. Mr. Larsen may be justly termed 
 a representative self-made man, one who 
 in his early life received little, if any, 
 financial aid. His youth was passed 
 with a keen intelligence, and a healthy, 
 robust physique that soon won for him 
 recognition and respect at the hands of 
 those with whom he was thrown in con- 
 tact, thus gradually, but surely, placing 
 him in an enviable position as a citizen 
 and business man. He is of a sanguine 
 temperament, though cool and deliberate 
 even when absorbed in the most mo- 
 mentous and intricate business proposi- 
 tion; in fact, he is possessed of what 
 might not improperly be styled a thor- 
 oughly judicial cast of mind — a quality 
 that has stood him in good stead, placing^ 
 him in the front rank of the strong array 
 of merchants in his adopted city, and 
 enabling him to conduct and regulate his 
 large and varied business with that per- 
 fect order which insures success; also to 
 maintain discipline in, and guarantee 
 honest service at the hands of, his army 
 of employes, either at home or attending 
 to his affairs elsewhere. The minutest 
 as well as the most extensive details of 
 his intricate business are supervised by 
 the master mind, and kept in perfect ac- 
 cord and under thorough control through 
 the same potent agency. In all his deal- 
 ings he is recognized as one of the most 
 fair and honorable of merchants, and, as 
 a citizen, he is held in such a high degree 
 of regard as to be honored with election 
 to many positions of honor and trust — 
 including the highest in municipal affairs 
 — all which he has filled faithfully and 
 well, ever giving his best endeavors for 
 the benefit of the city, and using the 
 same sound judgment and shrewd sagacity 
 that have so successfully militated in 
 building up his own business — now the 
 largest of the kind in northern Wisconsin. 
 No man is more highly honored than 
 
:236 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Larsen, regardless of politics, re- 
 ligion or nationality, his talents as a busi- 
 ness man having won for him the un- 
 grudged esteem of his fellow citizens at 
 home and abroad, who have ever had 
 communication with him, either in person 
 or in the channels of trade. He and his 
 wife are both members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and both are active 
 in the extension of the good work car- 
 ried on by their church, while their 
 private works of charity, which are multi- 
 tudinous, go without record. 
 
 AUGUST BAUMGART, who for 
 more than twenty years has been 
 identified with the farming inter- 
 ests of Glenmore township. Brown 
 county, is a native of the Fatherland, 
 born November 28, 1848, son of August 
 Baumgart. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 his native land, and after leaving school 
 commenced work in a brickyard, continu- 
 ing in that vocation until about twent}' 
 years of age, when he came with his par- 
 ents to America, and to Brown county, 
 Wis. On September 29, 1874, he was 
 married, in Green Bay, Wis., to Miss 
 Honora Murphy, born in that city May 
 19, 1856, daughter of Dennis Murphy, 
 who came from Cork, Ireland. After com- 
 ing to Brown county August Baumgart 
 remained with his parents four years, 
 helping them to pay for their farm, and 
 one year prior to his marriage purchased, 
 on his own account, eighty acres of land 
 in Section 14, Glenmore township. A 
 few acres had been partially cleared, but 
 otherwise there were no improvements 
 except an old log shanty, in which he 
 made his home until the comfortable 
 house now occupied by the family was 
 built. To Mr. and Mrs. Baumgart were 
 born ten children, as follows: Charles, 
 Gertrude, Joseph, Edward. John, and 
 Anton, all living, and four that died young. 
 By industry and assiduous toil Mr. Baum- 
 gart has succeeded in clearing all his land. 
 
 and now has a well-cultivated, improved 
 farm, the result of years of energy and 
 persevering labor, his wife having assisted 
 him greatly in the accumulation of their 
 comfortable propert}'. They are respected 
 by all who know them as kind-hearted, 
 hospitable neighbors, and as members of 
 St. Mary's Catholic Church, of which he 
 has served as trustee the past three years, 
 and he is at present a member of the 
 board of education. In politics Mr. Baum- 
 gart is a Democrat, and at present he is 
 serving as assessor of his township, but 
 has refused other ofifices, as he prefers to 
 give his principal attention to his farm. 
 In connection with his other agricultural 
 interests he has for the past fifteen years 
 operated a threshing-machine. Mr. Baum- 
 gart has always been ready to listen to 
 the distressed and unfortunate, and has 
 ever been willing to extend pecuniary aid 
 and give wise counsel. 
 
 M 
 
 ATTHIAS LINSSEN. the pop- 
 ular treasurer of Bellevue town- 
 ship. Brown county, in which 
 incumbency he has served since 
 1 89 1, is one of the leading young farmers 
 in his township. 
 
 He was born February 19, 1859, in 
 Holland, son of Henry Linssen, a car- 
 penter, who, in 1871, came with his wife 
 and ten children to America, sailing from 
 Liverpool, England. They landed at 
 Quebec, Canada, thence coming to Wis- 
 consin on May 24,^871, arriving in Green 
 Baj- with just seventy dollars to com- 
 mence life in their new home. They 
 made a temporary location on a farm in 
 Bellevue township. Brown county, where 
 Mr. Linssen shortly afterward purchased 
 and removed to a new farm, and there 
 made his home until 1890, in which year 
 he removed to Preble township, where he 
 has since resided, highly respected by all 
 who know him. After coming to Amer- 
 ica he abandoned his trade and turned his 
 attention exclusively to farming. His 
 first wife died in Holland, and before 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 237 
 
 coming to the United States he there 
 married his present wife; four children 
 have been born to them in Wisconsin. 
 Matthias Linssen is the second son and 
 fourth child born to the first marriage. 
 
 Our subject received the greater part 
 of his education in Holland, and when 
 eleven years old came with his parents 
 to America. He commenced to work 
 early in life, being thoroughly instructed 
 in the duties of the farm on the home 
 place, where he remained until his mar- 
 riage. In 1880 he wedded Miss Annie 
 Wald, a native of Scott township, Brown 
 county, daughter of Michael Wald, at 
 which time he had one winter's earnings 
 with which to commence life for himself. 
 The first winter they resided with Mrs. 
 Linssen's parents, and soon afterward he 
 purchased a piece of timber land, which 
 he cleared, realising good returns for his 
 labor; subsequently he bought forty acres 
 of new land in Bellevue township, which 
 he afterward sold, the investment proving 
 a good one, and then purchased the place 
 in Preble township where he lived until 
 1 89 1. In that year he came to the farm 
 where his home now is, a beautiful tract 
 of eighty-four acres, highl}' cultivated, 
 well improved and systematically con- 
 ducted, everything about the place evi- 
 dencing the owner's thrift, good manage- 
 ment, and prosperity. Mr. Linssen has 
 no superior in his township as an agricul- 
 turist, and he is a striking example of a 
 successful, self-made man. For six years 
 he was employed at the National furnace, 
 in De Pere — one year in the stock-house 
 and five years in the casting-house, and 
 thus obtained capital to start with. In 
 addition to his general farming interests 
 he has a part ownership in a modern 
 threshing outfit. In his political prefer- 
 ences Mr. Linssen is a stanch Democrat, 
 and in 1891 was, without solicitation, 
 elected treasurer of his township, in which 
 office he has since served; and, though the 
 youngest man who has ever held that 
 office in the township, he has given com- 
 plete satisfaction to all. In church rela- 
 
 tion he and his wife are members of the 
 Holland Catholic Church at Green Bay. 
 To them were born eight children, viz. : An- 
 nie, Nellie, Mary, Elizabeth, Catharine, Jo- 
 seph, and Gertrude, all living; and Michael, 
 who died in infancv. 
 
 GEORGE HUISENFELDT, one 
 of the substantial farmer citizens 
 of Rockland township, Brown 
 county, is a native of same, born 
 October 28, 1856, son of Stephen and 
 Wilhelmina (Sultan) Huisenfeldt. 
 
 Stephen Huisenfeldt was born in Hol- 
 land, and in 1847 came to the United 
 States, landing in New York City. Having 
 heard of the superior advantages offered 
 to settlers in the great West, he came to 
 Green Bay, Brown Co., Wis., and thence, 
 after a short stay, to Bay Settlement, where 
 for two years he made his home with his 
 brother, Reinhard, after which he came 
 to De Pere township, where he was em- 
 ployed three years on the farm of James 
 Boyd, and then for two years following 
 rented and worked a farm along the Dixon 
 road. Mr. Huisenfeldt was married in 
 Green Bay to a Miss Hazacher, who 
 passed away eighteen months afterward, 
 the mother of one child, who also died. 
 He subsequently married Miss Wilhelmina 
 Sultan, a native of Holland, and, after 
 living on the rented farm a short time, 
 they came to the place in Rockland town- 
 ship, now owned by our subject, on which 
 they passed the remainder of their lives. 
 He first purchased forty acres in Section 
 10, at $2. 50 per acre, and, after clearing a 
 small space erected a I2x 14 log shanty, 
 in which they lived five years. The task 
 of clearing was commenced at once; but, 
 owing to the lack of necessary farming 
 implements, the work was slow and labo- 
 rious, several years of hard labor being ex- 
 pended on the place before it yielded any 
 return. For seven years after their settle- 
 ment they had no team, and either had to 
 hire one or exchange work with others. 
 When the ground had been cleared and 
 
23S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 prepared for the first crop, Mr. Huisen- 
 feldt found himself without money to bu\' 
 seed, and accordingly he exchanged an 
 acre of ground for four bushels of wheat 
 seed, thus obtaining a start. In 1870 he 
 purchased thirty-six acres more (which 
 also needed clearing and improving), the 
 home farm now containing seventy-five 
 acres of highly cultivated land. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Huisenfeldt had four children, as 
 follows: Cornelius, who resides in Mar- 
 shall, Minn. ;George, subject of this sketch; 
 Johanna, who died at the age of eighteen 
 3'ears; and one that died in infancy. 
 Stephen Huisenfeldt passed from earth 
 November 9, 1S89, at the age of seventy- 
 nine years, and was followed to the grave 
 by his wife Februarj' 4, 1893. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farm life, in 
 early boyhood commencing to assist his 
 father in the work on the pioneer farm, 
 taking no small share in transforming the 
 wilderness into a pleasant farm. He 
 always remained at home assisting his 
 parents, and on the death of his father 
 the home place came into his possession, 
 his mother residing there with him until 
 her decease. On April 19, 1889, Mr. 
 Huisenfeldt was united in marriage with 
 Miss Christine Alliers, daughter of Gerard 
 and Johanna Albers, who emigrated from 
 Germany to America in 1882, coming west 
 to De Pere, Wis., where Mr. Albers fol- 
 lowed his trade, that of a carpenter. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Albers had thirteen children, 
 seven of whom are living, viz. : Mary, 
 Henry, Johanna, Nellie, Dora, Christine 
 and Peter. After their marriage our sub- 
 ject and wife came at once to the home 
 farm, which he conducts in a systematic 
 manner, engaging successfully in general 
 farming. Their union has been blessed 
 with two children, namely : Anna Minnie, 
 born April 17, 1 890, and Stephen G. , born 
 May 24, 1 893. Mr. and Mrs. Huisenfeldt are 
 members of the Holland Catholic Church 
 of De Pere. Politically he is independ- 
 ent, and though not an active politician 
 has served his township as supervisor, 
 discharging the duties of his office in a 
 
 conscientious, business-like way. He 
 stands in the front rank of the progres- 
 sive farmers of his section; and commands 
 the respect of all who know him for his 
 integrity and uprightness. 
 
 ,AUL BAUMGART. who ranks 
 
 among the industrious, rising 
 
 P 
 
 I young farmers of his section, is a 
 
 native of the Fatherland, born 
 August 9, 1858, in I^reslau, Prussia. 
 
 His father, August Baumgart, was a 
 farmer and land-owner in Prussia, and for 
 several years also engaged in the manu- 
 facture of bricks. He and his wife had 
 seven children, namely: Charles (who died 
 in Germany), Joseph, Caroline, August, 
 Edward, John and Paul. Deciding to 
 bring his family to America, Mr. Baum- 
 gart sold his property, and in the spring 
 of 1868 they sailed on the "Schiller," 
 which vessel was bound for Baltimore, at 
 which port they arrived after a stormy 
 passage of eight weeks and three days. 
 They then came west over the I^altimore 
 & Ohio railway, via Columbus (Ohio) and 
 Chicago (111.), and on July 6, same year, 
 landed in Green Bay, Wis., locating 
 eventually in Bellevue township. Brown 
 county, where, shortly after their arrival, 
 Mr. Baumgart purchased seventy-two 
 acres of new land, all of which was still 
 in the woods, not even space enough for 
 a house having been cleared. But they 
 set to work at once, and soon had a 
 dwelling 16x20, near the site of their 
 present home. The farm was gradually 
 cleared and cultivated, and there Mr. 
 Baumgart made his home until 1882, in 
 which year he removed to another farm 
 in Bellevue township, where he and his 
 wife yet reside. They are members of 
 the Catholic Church, and in politics he is 
 a Democrat. 
 
 Paul Baumgart was nine years of age 
 when he came with his parents to Wis- 
 consin. He had attended school for three 
 years in Germany, and the rest of his edu- 
 cation was received in the district schools 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 -39 
 
 of the period in the \icinity of his new 
 home. He was reared a farmer boy, 
 thorouf;hly trained to agricultural pursuits 
 on the farm he now owns and resides on, 
 which he has seen transformed from the 
 dense forest to a fertile tract. On April 
 17, 1883, he was married, at Francis 
 Creek, Manitowoc Co., Wis., to Miss 
 Lizzie Auntholtz, a native of that county, 
 born May 31, 1861, daughter of Henry 
 Auntholtz, who came to Wisconsin from 
 Prussia in an early day. The 3'oung couple 
 immediately settled on their present farm, 
 and in 1888 Mr. Baumgart erected the 
 substantial, comfortable dwelling where 
 they now make their home. They have 
 had children as follows: Nettie, Theresa, 
 Sylvester, Paul, Peter and William, all 
 living. Our subject is a self-made man, 
 and by hard work and thrift has acquired 
 the comfortable property he now owns; 
 the farm is an excellent one, and he con- 
 ducts a profitable general farming busi- 
 ness, in which he can not fail to prosper. 
 Politically he is a Democrat, and though 
 not an office-seeker, he has served his 
 township as road master. The family are 
 all members of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church, De Pere. 
 
 HERRMAN EHLE, one of the 
 early pioneers of Brown county, 
 was born in the village of Bari- 
 gau, Schwarzburg- Rudolstadt, 
 Germany, January 6, 1830. 
 
 His father, Nicholas Ehle, a farmer, 
 died in that country about 1853, and his 
 mother, who afterward came to Brown 
 county, Wis., died about 1878. Of their 
 seven children, four came to Brown coun- 
 ty: Herrman in 1855; August in 1856 (he 
 was a blacksmith by trade and removed 
 to Texas, dying at Houston in 1861 or 
 1862); Caroline in 1857 (she was the wife 
 wife of Gottfried Undehaun, and died at 
 Green Bay about 1888); Henrietta in 
 1857 (she married Theodore Mahn, and 
 now resides at Green Bay, her children 
 were seven in number, as follows: Albert, 
 
 who was accidentl)- killed while on a 
 hunting trip; Lena, wife of Herman Kapp, 
 of Green Bay; William, a tailor, residing 
 at Green Bay, who is married to Mamme 
 Vandenhubel; Mary, wife of Conrad Beth, 
 also of Green Bay; Theodore, a tailor, of 
 Fort Howard; Anna, wife of Frank Miller, 
 of Green Bay, and Herman Mahn). 
 
 Herrman Ehle, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, was reared and educated in 
 Germany, and was engaged in farming 
 previous to coming to the United 
 States. After locating at Fort Howard, 
 on August 12, 1855, he learned the car- 
 penter's trade, and followed that vocation 
 many years. On arriving at Wisconsin 
 he first located at McKane, near Milwau- 
 kee, remaining there ten weeks before 
 coming to Fort Howard. He was en- 
 gaged in building in Fort Howard, and for 
 five years was connected with Mr. C. 
 Schwarz in contracting and building, con- 
 tinuing in the same business for himself a 
 long period following. He erected a large 
 number of residences in Fort Howard and 
 Green Bay, building the first brick resi- 
 dence in the city of Green Bay in 1866; 
 in 1870 he erected a brick building in Fort 
 Howard, and another in 1871. He is the 
 owner of thirteen dwellings in the Fifth 
 ward of Fort Howard, five of the num- 
 ber being constructed of brick, and it will 
 be seen that Mr. Ehle has done much 
 personally toward building up and im- 
 proving the city. He has, in addition, 
 been prominently connected with affairs 
 generally incident to the development of 
 Brown county, and is recognized as a 
 substantial citizen and representative bus- 
 iness man, with progressive ideas and 
 vigorous methods. Politically he is a 
 Republican, and has served for twelve 
 years as alderman from the Fifth ward of 
 Fort Howard. Industrious and careful, 
 he has in the nearly forty years of his 
 residence here been fortunate in business, 
 and has a record and a reputation justly 
 the source of pride. He has never mar- 
 ried. Mr. Ehle was reared under the 
 influence of the Lutheran Church, and has 
 
240 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 always been considered one of the most 
 straifjhtforward business men and upright 
 citizens of Fort Howard. 
 
 BARTHOLOMEW DOOLAN, a 
 thrifty and wealthy young farmer, 
 of Morrison township. Brown 
 county, is a native of Massachu- 
 setts, born September 7, 1846. 
 
 John and Julia (Noonan) Doolan, his 
 parents, natives of Ireland, were the 
 parents of five children, namely: Mary, 
 Michael, Bartholomew, Ellen, and John. 
 The father was a farmer, and, with his 
 wife and his eldest (then his only) child, 
 came to the United States in 1832, land- 
 ing at New York after having passed seven 
 long weeks on the ocean. From New 
 York the family went to New England, 
 and lived there for a period of eleven 
 years, principally in Rhode Island, also 
 residing for a few years in Massachusetts. 
 In 1849 John and his family reached Wis- 
 consin, and settled in Franklin township, 
 Manitowoc county, where he bought 304 
 acres of land in its primitive condition, 
 from which he, in due course of time, 
 hewed out a farm that was the pride of 
 the township. Their first dwelling was a 
 log cabin, 16x24 fe^t in size, in which 
 they lived twelve years, after which they 
 erected a comfortable frame dwelling. 
 The first schoolhouse was erected after 
 the family had been in the township five 
 years, and in this Bartholomew received 
 his education. The father died May i s, 
 1877, the mother in 1882, and the re- 
 mains of both were interred in Franklin. 
 Bartholomew Doolan did good and 
 faithful service in assisting his father in 
 clearing up and tilling the home farm un- 
 til he was twenty-one years of age, with 
 the exception of a short time passed in 
 working in the woods. Employing his 
 time thereafter on his own account until 
 he had reached the age of twenty-five, he 
 married, September 19, 1871, Miss Sarah 
 Watt, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah 
 (O'Connell) Watt, natives of Ireland who 
 
 came to America in 1845, ''"^ after their 
 marriage here settled in Maple Grove, 
 Manitowoc county. Wis., and reared six 
 children — Anna, Sarah, Michael, Thomas, 
 Mary, and John. After his marriage Bar- 
 tholomew and his wife came to Morrison 
 township. Brown county, and here Mr. 
 Doolan bought eighty acres of wild land, 
 on which they erected their present home, 
 with Indians, wohes, bear and deer for 
 their companions and neighbors. Here 
 was begun that life of toil and hardship 
 developed only in pioneer life, but which 
 resulted in after years in the possession of 
 all the comforts and conveniences of civili- 
 zation. The eighty-acre tract was in- 
 creased to a farm of 200 acres, and the 
 old log house, which is still standing, was 
 their habitation fully twelve years, but 
 their present residence, erected about 
 1884, is a modern frame, with every de- 
 sirable convenience and comfort. But the 
 acquirement of all this has required toil, 
 economy, and the willing efforts of man 
 and wife and the cheerful aid of the elder 
 children. The children, eleven in num- 
 ber, were born in the following order: 
 John, July 4, 1872; Thomas, July 27, 1874; 
 Mary, October 4, 1876; Agnes J., Janu- 
 ary 21, 1879; Sarah E., May 28, 1881; 
 Helen A., May 14, 1883; Frances B., 
 September 11, 1884; Catherine G., No- 
 vember 17, 1S85; Margaret, March 19, 
 1888; Lucy'L. , November 17, 1890; and 
 Theresa, October 3, 1892. Of these, 
 Frances B. died September 15, 1884; the 
 others are all living at home, with the ex- 
 ception of Thomas, who is attending a 
 business college at Manitowoc. The 
 family are all strict members of the 
 Catholic Church, with the exception, of 
 course, of the younger members, who 
 have been baptized in that faith. Mr. 
 Doolan has served as trustee of his Church, 
 and, as a Democrat, is serving as school 
 clerk of his township, but he takes no 
 special itjterest in politics. 
 
 Mr. Doolan and his family rank among 
 the best and most respectable citizens of 
 Morrison township, and it is such as he. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGEAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 241 
 
 with strong muscles, willing disposition, 
 industrious habits and law-abiding princi- 
 ples, that have made the township and 
 county what they are. 
 
 FERDINAND SMET, one of the 
 highly respected citizens of De- 
 Pere township. Brown county, 
 where he owns a well-improved 
 farm, is a native of Belgium, born Jan- 
 uary 12, 1832. His father, Albert Bene- 
 dictus Smet, was a life-long farmer, in 
 comfortable circumstances, owning a good 
 farm, and he passed his entire life in his 
 native country. I-Ie had a family of seven 
 children — four sons and three daughters — 
 of whom Ferdinand is the eldest. 
 
 Ferdinand Smet attended the schools 
 of his birthplace until he was thirteen 
 years old, and then commenced to work 
 on the home farm, where he remained 
 over thirty years. They lived but a short 
 distance from Antwerp. He was married 
 in Belgium to Constance Boart, and they 
 had three children born to them there, 
 viz. : Ozarine, now Mrs. August Johnson, 
 of De Pere township; Emma, Mrs. John 
 Van Vedron, of Rockland township; and 
 Martin, of Washington. About 1868 Mr. 
 Smet disposed of his business and prop- 
 erty, he being a merchant and store- 
 keeper, and set out with his family for 
 the United States, where he thought to 
 find better opportunities for his family. 
 He journeyed from Antwerp to Hull, 
 England, thence to Liverpool, from 
 which port he sailed for New York on 
 the "Colorado," making the voyage 
 in twelve days. Their destination was 
 Green Bay, Wis., whither they traveled 
 by rail, arriving six days later, on Satur- 
 day, and spent the first night with John 
 Martin. A few days afterward Ferdinand 
 Smet secured work«in the hub factory at 
 De Pere, and here he continued to work 
 for two and a half years, until, in 1872, 
 he purchased his present farm in De Pere 
 township. It then consisted of forty acres 
 of new land, upon which stood only a log 
 
 house and a small barn, and all but ten 
 or twelve acres was in the woods. He 
 had saved enough to pay for the land, 
 but was obliged to go into debt for the 
 farm implements, etc., which he needed 
 to clear and cultivate the place. Hcnv- 
 ever, he set to work with a determination 
 to make a comfortable home for himself 
 and family, and after much hard work 
 they succeeded in reducing the land to a 
 cultivated condition. He now owns a 
 good farm of eighty acres, the accumula- 
 tion of which had involved no small 
 amount of hard work. But he has been 
 greatly assisted by his family, and they 
 have cleared and improved the place un- 
 til it is now a fertile, well-equipped tract, 
 with a good residence and outbuildings, 
 and all free from debt. In this country Mr. 
 and Mrs. Smet had children as follows: 
 Louis, now a farmer of De Pere town- 
 ship; Mary, Alice, and Henry J. at home, 
 and Edward, who died in infancy. On 
 April II, 1877, the mother died, since 
 which time the daughters have had charge 
 of the household work. The entire family 
 are highly respected for their industry 
 and sterhng worth, and Mr. Smet is 
 everywhere known as an honest, upright 
 citizen. In politics he is a Democrat, but 
 takes little active interest in party affairs. 
 Religiously he is a member of St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church, De Pere. 
 
 ALPHONSE MARIA KERSTEN, 
 M. D. , of De Pere, Brown coun- 
 ty is of German origin, and was 
 born in 1848, at Rees-on-the- 
 Rhine, in Rhenish Prussia, the oldest of 
 five brothers, one of whom, the Very 
 Rev. Norbert U. Kersten was, for many 
 years, Vicar-General of Bishop F. X. 
 Katzer, of Green Bay, and Chancellor of 
 that diocese, and its administrator when 
 Bishop Katzer was promoted to the Arch- 
 bishopric of Milwaukee. 
 
 His parents, Edward and Anna (Rutjes) 
 Kersten, were residents of the city of Rees- 
 on-the-Rhine, in Rhenish Prussia, where 
 
242 
 
 COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 the father was a dry-goods merchant, dying 
 there January 31, 1S91, and where the 
 mother still lives. The Doctor was edu- 
 cated, classically, at the Jesuit collcfje at 
 Feldkirch, in the Province of \'orarlbcrg, 
 Austria; the college of Gaesdoiik, in 
 Khenish Prussia; and the Gymnasium of 
 Muenster, in Westphalia. Coming to 
 America in 1868, he conducted a drug 
 store in several Wisconsin cities up to the 
 year 1879. He then attended two courses 
 of lectures at the Medical Department of 
 the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 
 and then became a student at the Detroit 
 Medical College, from which he graduated 
 in 1883. He then began practice at 
 Petoskey, Mich., whence he removed to 
 De Pere, Wis., in 1885, and has here been 
 in active practice ever since, being recog- 
 nized as one of the most skillful physicians 
 of northeastern Wisconsin, On first 
 coming to the United States, the Doctor 
 located at Fredonia, Ozaukee Co., Wis., 
 where he operated a drug store, in part- 
 nership with a physician; in 1878 he 
 moved to Kaukauna, built a new store, 
 and from there moved to Ann Arbor, 
 Mich., for the purpose of pursuing his 
 medical studies, as above narrated. In 
 politics the Doctor is a Democrat, and. 
 while a resident of Ozaukee county, tilled 
 various minor offices; in 1887 he was ap- 
 pointed, under President Cleveland, as 
 pension examiner, and was re-appointed 
 under President Harrison, but resigned 
 after one month under the latter appoint- 
 ment. In 1 89 1 he was appointed, by 
 Governor Peck, State Superintendent of 
 Inspectors of Illuminating Oils for Wis- 
 consin, was re-appointed in 1892, and 
 again on April i, 1894, and is still serving 
 in that office. 
 
 The marriage of the Doctor took place 
 in 1 87 1, at Barton, Washington Co., 
 Wis., to Miss Mary Vandeboom, a native 
 of the city of Calcar, Rhenish I^russia, 
 and this felicitious union has been blessed 
 with nine children, named as follows: 
 Annie M., Clara M., Edward M., Norbert 
 M., Sylvan M., Theresa M., Leo M., 
 
 Paul Ernest M. and Hugo Henry Louis 
 M., all living at home in De Pere. The 
 Doctor is a member of the Catholic 
 Knights of Wisconsin, and vice-president 
 of the local branch of that order. He has 
 achieved a fine professional reputation, and 
 his social standing is a most enviable one. 
 
 BISHOP SEBASTIAN GEBHARD 
 MESSMEK was born August 29, 
 1847, at Goldach, Canton of St. 
 Gall, Switzerland. The ancestors 
 of Bishop Messmer were Swiss Catholics, 
 and resided in Thai, Canton of St. Gall, 
 Switzerland. At the time of the Refor- 
 mation one branch of the family became 
 adherents of the Protestant faith. Grand- 
 father Messmer also resided in the above 
 place. His son, Sebastian G. Messmer, 
 Sr. , moved to Goldach, and there resided 
 till his death in 1873, when he was aged 
 si.\ty-si.\ years. He was a man of con- 
 siderable wealth and education, and a 
 farmer by occupation. He held offices in 
 the Canton, by representing his district in 
 the General .Assembly, and in the Catholic 
 Administrative Council, and was a useful 
 and conscientious legislator. He was 
 greatly beloved in his town, and was a man 
 of influence and importance there, making 
 himself useful and beloved among his 
 friends and fellow citizens. He was a 
 strong character, noted for his rugged 
 independence and honorable social and 
 business career. A stanch Catholic, he 
 was active in church work, and was presi- 
 dent of the town council and of the board 
 of church trustees for many years. The 
 great-grandmother of our subject, on the 
 father's side, was a Miss Kalb, an Aus- 
 trian from Bregenz. The mother of 
 Bishop Messmer was Rosa Baumgartner, 
 a native of Moerschwyl, Canton of St. 
 Gall. Switzerland. Shf died in the prime 
 of life, highly esteemed for her many good 
 qualities of head and heart. 
 
 Bishop Messmer is the eldest in a 
 family of six children. He received his 
 primary education in the common schools 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUIUAL RECORD. 
 
 245 
 
 of his native town, and tiien attended 
 the High School (or Real School) in 
 Rorschach, on Lake Constance, for three 
 years, or till 1861. There he first met 
 Otto Zardetti, his life-long friend, who 
 later became Bishop of St. Cloud, Minn. 
 Following the clerical vocation, he en- 
 tered the diocesan College of St. George's, 
 near St. Gall, where he became known 
 for his devotion and close application to 
 his studies, and obedience to his superiors. 
 At that school he remained till 1866, and 
 then entered the University of Innsbruck, 
 in the Tyrol, in Austria, where he studied 
 philosophy and theology, remaining there 
 five years. Those were years of hard 
 work, yet full of pleasant recollections. 
 On July 23, 1871, he was ordained to the 
 priesthood for the American mission. 
 He remained at home only a short time, 
 and came to America, landing in New 
 York October 4, 1871. Previous to this 
 he had applied for and received an ap- 
 pointment by Bishop Bailej', of Newark, 
 N. J., as professor of theology at the 
 Seton Hall College, South Orange, N. 
 J., which is also a diocesan seminary. 
 There he remained till August, 1889, dur- 
 ing which time he made himself general- 
 ly beloved by the thoughtful and kindly 
 interest he manifested to all with whom 
 he came in contact. As teacher, chap- 
 Iain and friend, he bound many hearts to 
 him, and led them into a brighter thought 
 world and closer communion with the 
 Creator, the Savior and the Church. 
 During those eighteen years he also did a 
 great deal of pastoral work in St. Peter's 
 Church, 'Newark, N. J., which is a Ger- 
 man congregation with the largest paro- 
 chial school in the diocese, containing at 
 present fifteen hundred children. It was 
 in this church, that, at his own request, 
 he was consecrated by Bishop Zardetti, 
 March 27, 1892, because he was so well 
 known and beloved there, and because of 
 the many pleasant recollections which 
 ■clustered around St. Peter's. While act- 
 ing at the college as professor, he had 
 also charge of St. Mary's Orphan Asylum 
 
 14 
 
 as chaplain, besides doing a great deal of 
 pastoral work. He also had charge of 
 St. Leo's congregation, at Irvington, N. 
 J., for two years. 
 
 Having been called in 1889 to the 
 chair of Canon Law in the University of 
 Washington, D. C, he went to Rome to 
 prepare more fulh' for the special work 
 assigned to him. As Canon Law had 
 been one of his classes when professor at 
 Seton Hall, he now devoted himself to 
 the study of the old Roman civil law, and 
 graduated with the degree of D. C. L. 
 (Doctor of Canon Law), at the CoUegio 
 Apollinare. In September, 1890, he en- 
 tered upon his duties at the university, 
 where he taught with great credit to him- 
 self till he came to Green Bay, Wis. 
 While at Seton Hall he was selected as 
 one of eight theologians to prepare the 
 matter or decrees for the Baltimore Plen- 
 ary Council in 1 884. He was also one 
 of the Secretaries of the Council at its 
 sessions, and afterward with Dr. O'Con- 
 nell, now rector of the American College 
 at Rome. Bishop Messmer prepared for 
 publication the proceedings of that fam- 
 ous Council, which work was published 
 in 1886, and is a model of scholarship. 
 After the publication of the book he re- 
 ceived the title of Doctor of Divinity 
 from the Pope, which was remarkable 
 when we consider the rarity of such be- 
 stowal. Bishop Messmer has written a 
 few works of merit, displaying both 
 scholarship and talent as a practical 
 writer on topics concerning his noble pro- 
 fession. He was assistant secretary of 
 the Provincial council of New York in 
 1883, and wrote a little work in Latin 
 called "Praxis Synodalis," which was 
 later used at the Council of Baltimore. 
 In 1886 he edited for the American 
 clergy, an English translation of a Ger- 
 man work, entitled " Canonical Procedure 
 in Criminal Cases of Clerics, " which is 
 still an authority in clerical law. He has 
 also written articles for a German monthly 
 clerical paper published at St. Louis, Mo., 
 called "The Pastoral Blatt," and for the 
 
246 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE lilOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 "American Ecclesiastical Review," of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Bishop Messmer was appointed Bishop 
 of Green Bay, December 14, 1891, but 
 did not arrive here till April 7, 1892. 
 Here a wide and useful, but also hard 
 field of labor awaited him, which for the 
 time seemed to check his literary efforts. 
 But the strong mind that brou<(ht order 
 out of the manifold accumulations of a 
 great literary council has already made 
 him fully acquainted with work in the 
 Diocese of Green Baj'. Here his influ- 
 ence, always for good, is felt in every 
 nook and corner. The respect which he 
 inspired on his arrival has not abated, 
 but is increased as time goes on. To 
 the talents of a pastor and bishop is added 
 the learning of a scholar and literateur, 
 which (united with rare business tact and 
 ability to govern) has made him already 
 a conspicuous figure in the Church and 
 State, and has gained him the confidence, 
 good will and love of all classes, denomi- 
 nations and nationalities. 
 
 JOHN L. LAMARRE (deceased), who, 
 in his lifetime, was one of the most 
 intelligent and prosperous agricul- 
 turists of Preble township. Brown 
 county, was a native of Belgium, born 
 August 4, 1822. 
 
 He was a lifelong farmer, having been 
 reared to the plough from early life, his 
 education at the same time not being 
 neglected; and, as his parents were well- 
 to-do, they were able to give him some 
 assistance when he first commenced farm- 
 ing for his own account. In Belgium he 
 owned about five acres of land, which was 
 then considered quite a comfortable little 
 farm, and by careful cultivation he had 
 good average returns from it. He was 
 married in his native place to Miss Vir- 
 ginia Merrick, who was born in Belgium 
 in 1832, and children as follows blessed 
 their union: Joseph E., Victor, Alphonse 
 and Mary, all of Belgian birth, and all 
 yet living. In 1871, the sons growing up 
 
 around the little home, Mr. Lamarre de- 
 cided to emigrate with his family to 
 America, where he knew there was room 
 f(jr all, with plenty to spare; and on April 
 I , that year, they took passage on a ves- 
 sel bound for New York, the father having 
 previously sold all his property, goods and 
 chattels, which brought him a consider- 
 able sum. From New York they at once 
 traveled westward to Wisconsin, and in 
 Green Bay township. Brown countv, Mr. 
 Lamarre purchased some land, on which 
 the family resided until 1 884, when they 
 removed to Preble township, settling on 
 160 acres of land bought by Mr. La- 
 marre, having sold his place in Green Bay 
 township. Here he passed the rest of his 
 life, dying April 18, 1885, his remains be- 
 ing interred in Shantytown cemeter)-. 
 
 A Democrat from the time of his be- 
 coming an American citizen, he always 
 voted that ticket, but was in no sense a 
 politician, attending sedulously to his bus- 
 iness on the farm. He was a quiet, unas- 
 suming man, very domestic in his habits, 
 one who strictly minded his own business, 
 and he was respected by all. Having 
 died somewhat suddenly he left no will, 
 and no provision having been made for 
 the disposal of the property, his widow 
 and children have since conducted the 
 farm conjointly. Mrs. Lamarre, though 
 now sixty-three years old, is remarkably 
 active, and performs her share of work at 
 the homestead more like a woman of half 
 her age. The sons are a trio of indus- 
 trious, hard-working young men, whose 
 equal, it is said, is not to be found in any 
 one family in the township for progres- 
 siveness and enterprise, worthy sons of 
 worthy parents. In April, 1893. they 
 purchased the Cedar Creek Flouring Mills 
 from George B. Hess and H. A. Walter, 
 and, by the latter part of 1 894, expect to 
 have the concern in full operation. The 
 home place, now comprising 1 20 acres of 
 well-improved land, is well managed, re- 
 flecting great credit on the family, and on 
 the sons in particular, for their industry 
 and energy. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 247 
 
 JOHN LEBAL, who for the past 
 quarter of a century has been a well- 
 known farmer of Glenmore town- 
 ship, Brown county, is a native of 
 Bohemia, born April 28, 1837, son of 
 Wencel Lebal, who was a farmer in com- 
 fortable circumstances. 
 
 Wencel Lebal had four children, viz. : 
 Wencel, who is a farmer of Glenmore 
 township; John, whose name introduces 
 these lines; Joseph, of Allouez township; 
 and Mary, Mrs. Wencel Vilda, of Ne- 
 braska. In the fall of 1852 this family 
 left their native land, and crossing from 
 Hamburg to Hull, England, journeyed by 
 rail to Liverpool, where they took pas- 
 sage for New York, landing after a voy- 
 age of four weeks and three days. They 
 pushed westward at once to Milwaukee, 
 Wis. ; thence, after a halt of three days, 
 coming to Kossuth township, Manitowoc 
 county, where a friend from their town in 
 Bohemia was living, and they remained 
 with him three weeks. In the same fall 
 they came to Cooperstown, same county, 
 taking up 160 acres of government land 
 in Section 28, for which they paid seventy- 
 five cents per acre, and which at that 
 time was heavily timbered and entirely 
 unimproved. A rude shant}' was erected 
 on the place, in which the family lived 
 for ten years, and, before the land yielded 
 a support, those able to work earned a 
 small income making shingles bj' hand, 
 selling them in Manitowoc, some eighteen 
 miles distant. The mother died on this 
 farm, and was laid to rest in Kossuth 
 township; the father subsequently passed 
 from earth in Allouez township. Brown 
 county, at the home of his son Joseph, 
 and he was buried in Green Bay ceme- 
 tery. Both were members of the Reform 
 Church. 
 
 John Lebal received a fair education 
 in the common schools of his native land, 
 and was reared from boyhood to agricul- 
 tural life. He came to the United States 
 with his parents, and remained with them 
 in Manitowoc county until his enlistment, 
 August 21, 1862, in Company F, Twenty- 
 
 sixth Regiment, Wis. V. I. The com- 
 mand was sent to Milwaukee, thence, 
 after being drilled, to Washington. Their 
 first engagement was a Fredericksburg, 
 following which came the battles of Chan- 
 cellorsville and Gettysburg, where, on the 
 afternoon of July i, 1863, our subject 
 was wounded in the right knee by a 
 musket-ball. He was first taken to the 
 field hospital, and thence conveyed to 
 Baltimore, where he lay twenty-one days, 
 after which he was removed to the general 
 hospital at Washington, and here re- 
 mained until early in January, 1864. 
 Joining the Veteran Reserve Corps at 
 Alexandria, Va. , he remained there some 
 time, and then returned to Washington, 
 doing guard duty about that city. He 
 was next transferred to Syracuse, N. Y. , 
 and thence to Elmira, same State, where 
 he received an honorable discharge July 
 13, 1865, having served continuously 
 since his enlistment without furlough, and 
 he saved two hundred dollars while in the 
 service. Returning to his old home in 
 Wisconsin, he continued to work for his 
 parents three years, receiving a piece of 
 land in Cooperstown township for his 
 services. 
 
 In the fall of 1869 Mr. Lebal married, 
 in Cooperstown township. Miss Rosa 
 Rudolf, a native of Bohemia, who died 
 one year later, and was buried in Coop- 
 erstown. About 1 87 1 he was married, 
 in Kossuth township, for his second wife, 
 to Miss Eliza Krieneck, a native of Bohe- 
 mia, to which marriage came six children, 
 of whom a son and two daughters died 
 young; Emma, Annie and Joseph are liv- 
 ing at home. The mother of these passed 
 from earth April 3, 1881, and was buried 
 at Francis Creek, Manitowoc county. In 
 January, 1882, Mr. Lebal wedded in Gib- 
 son township, Manitowoc county, for his 
 third spouse. Miss Mary Holub, a native 
 of Carlton, Kewaunee Co., Wis., and 
 this union has been blessed with children 
 as follows : Wencel, Christina, Edward, 
 Helen and John, living, and Edward (i), 
 who died young. The mother of these 
 
248 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was called from earth May 17, 1894, and 
 is buried in the Lutheran fjraveyard at 
 Glenmore. 
 
 About the jear 1869 Mr. Lebal came 
 to Glenmore township, and in Section 20 
 purchased forty acres of new land, on 
 which the timber was still standing. He 
 erected a dweilinj,' on the place, at once set 
 about the work uf clearing, and, after 
 years of labor, found himself possessed 
 of a fertile farm. From time to time he 
 has added to the original tract, and owns 
 200 acres in Glenmore and Rockland 
 townships. He has been the architect of 
 his own fortune, for he started in life a 
 poor boy, and he has won the respect of 
 all who know him for his industry and 
 integrity. In political affiliation he is a 
 Republican, but not active in party- 
 affairs, and in religious connection he and 
 his family are members of the Protestant 
 Cluirch, at Francis Creek, in Kossuth 
 township, Manitowoc county. 
 
 JOHN MICHELSON, of Pittsfield 
 township. Brown county, was born 
 August 28, 1838, in Denmark, and 
 is one of a family of nine children 
 born to Michel Peterson and his wife, 
 Carrie Peterson. The father was a cabi- 
 net maker, and with him our subject re- 
 mained until fifteen years old. He then 
 worked out as a day laborer for one j'ear, 
 for sixteen dollars; then as a coachman 
 four years, at sixty-fi\e dollars per year. 
 In June, 1862, he entered the army and 
 served three years; in 1865 he sailed for 
 America, landing in New York, whence 
 he came directly to Wisconsin. For three 
 months he worked on a farm near Racine, 
 thence going to Manistee, Mich., where 
 he worked three weeks in a sawmill, and 
 then worked in the woods for twent}-si.\ 
 dollars per month during the winter. Re- 
 turning to the mill in the spring, he in the 
 fall went into the woods again, at thirty- 
 five dollars per month, and remained 
 about eighteen months. 
 
 On January 8, 1869, he married Mary 
 
 Nelson, one of a family of eleven children 
 born to Nels and Keirsten (Fredericks) 
 Anderson. Mrs. Michelson was twenty- 
 four years of age when she came to Amer- 
 ica. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Michel- 
 son remained five months in Manistee, 
 and then removed to Fort Howard, Brown 
 Co., Wis., lived there a year and a half, 
 and then settled in Pittsfield township, 
 where Mr. Michelson bought a forty-acre 
 farm, of which about twelve acres were 
 cleared, and on which stood the house in 
 which they now live. To this farm have 
 been added twenty-three acres, all cleared, 
 and in good condition. To the marriage 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Michelson have been born 
 seven children, in the following order: 
 Constance, November 8, 1869; Nellie, 
 August 3, 1871; Lena, July 12, 1873; 
 Frederick, August 7, 1875; Meta, April 
 7, 1877; Alvin, July 15, 1879, and Andy, 
 September 20, 1882. All the children 
 are living, and five still make their home 
 with their parents. Lena, who attended 
 college at Battle Creek, Mich., has been 
 a teacher since sixteen )ears of age, and 
 is still in the profession. In religious con- 
 nection the family are Seventh-Da\' Ad- 
 ventists, and in politics Mr. Michelson is 
 a Republican. He is a self-made man in 
 the full sense of the term, and well de- 
 serves the high esteem in which he is held 
 by his fellow citizens. 
 
 ELBRIDGE G. BOYDEN, a pros- 
 perous merchant and agriculturist 
 of Mills Center, Brown county, is 
 a native of the State of Wiscon- 
 sin, born December 2, 1853, in Manito- 
 woc count}'. 
 
 His father, Charles Boyden, was one 
 of five children born to Amos and Abigail 
 (Wood) Boyden, at Orange, Mass. Amos 
 was a mill-man, and died in his native 
 State at the age of seventy, preceded to 
 the grave by his wife, who onl)- reached 
 middle age. . Charles Bo3den passed his 
 early years in his father's mill, later made 
 a whaling \oyage, and afterward became 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 H9 
 
 a boatman on the Erie canal, where he 
 met his future wife, Augusta Dunham, 
 whom he married June 15, 1850. She 
 was born July 4, 1825. in Windsor coun- 
 ty, Vt. , a daughter of William and Sarah 
 (Metcalf) Dunham. Both the paternal 
 and maternal grandfathers of Mr. Boyden 
 were heroes in the war of the Revolution, 
 and did valiant service. Charles Boyden 
 was born November 14, 1804, came to 
 Wisconsin in Ma\', 1852, via the lakes to 
 Detroit, Mich., by railroad to Chicago, 
 111., and thence by lake to Manitowoc 
 county, where he was employed for some 
 years in manufacturing shingles in the 
 old-fashioned way. He died in Brown 
 county when nearly eight}-si.\ j'ears of age. 
 
 Elbridge G. Boyden is one of a family 
 of eight children, six of whom are still 
 living, for the most part engaged in busi- 
 ness. He remained with his father until 
 his marriage, April 29, 1875, to Miss 
 Henrietta Hollom, a nati\-e of Sebec, 
 Piscataquis Co., Maine, born February 
 14, 1 85 1, and a daughter of Charles F. 
 and Dorothea A. (Judkins) Hollom. 
 Charles F. Hollom was born in Sebec, 
 Maine, in 181 5, a son of Charles and 
 Lydia (Crockett) Hollom, the former of 
 whom was a native of Sweden, the latter 
 of New England. Charles F. "rounded 
 the Horn" in 1853, and died in Cali- 
 fornia at the age of sixty-one. Mrs. 
 Henrietta Boyden's mother, Dorothea 
 A. (Judkins), was born November 22, 
 18 18, in Fayette, Kennebec Co., Maine, 
 a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Bache- 
 lor) Judkins, the latter a native of Fay- 
 ette, Maine, the former of Scotland; they 
 both died in Bangor, Maine, the father at 
 the advanced age of ninety-five; the 
 mother at the comparatively early age of 
 thirty-seven. 
 
 Mrs. Elbridge G. Bojden at the age 
 of fourteen began teaching school in 
 Berwick, Maine, and for two years was 
 very successful in that vocation. She 
 then entered the composing room of the 
 Portland Transcript, held cases six weeks, 
 and went thence to Biddeford, Maine, 
 
 where she held cases in the Democrat 
 office a year and a half, thence going to 
 Boston, Mass., where she set type in a 
 book office for over eighteen months. Re- 
 turning to Biddeford she worked in the 
 Journal office on Butler's "Bible Com- 
 mentaries," thence to Great Falls, N. H., 
 and worked as a compositor in the Journal 
 office a few months; then taught school in 
 Berwick a \ear, after which she came 
 alone to Wisconsin, and, settling where 
 she now lives, taught school one year. In 
 the following year she was married to Mr. 
 Boyden, and they have had five children, 
 namely: Nettie Aimena, born February 
 II, 1876; Grace F., born August 21, 
 1877; Allen L. , born September 7, 1881; 
 Jesse, born February 12, 1884; and one 
 son that died at the age of nineteen 
 months. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Boyden settled 
 in Mill Center, working in the woods, 
 making staves, etc., for about five and a 
 half \ears, when he opened a general 
 store, of which his wife has since had full 
 charge. He also owns one hundred acres 
 of good land, from which he reaps a fair 
 income. His first dwelling here was a 
 log structure, and he now occupies a com- 
 fortable brick dwelling erected by him at 
 a cost of five thousand dollars. The total 
 capital of Mr. and Mrs. Boyden was, on 
 starting, two hundred dollars, which, 
 through their united energies, they have so 
 increased that they can claim rank with 
 the most wealthy residents of the county. 
 In politics Mr. Boyden is a Republican, 
 and cast his fir.st Presidential vote for U. S. 
 Grant, when a candidate for the second 
 term. 
 
 NIELS ERICKSON is a native of 
 Denmark, born May 8, 1833, son 
 of Erik and Lettie (Andersen) 
 Peterson, who reared a family of 
 children as follows: Rasnms, Niels, Peter, 
 Anna, Christian, Hans, and Lena. 
 
 Niels was obliged to commence assist- 
 ing his parents at an early age, and ac- 
 
250 
 
 COMMKMOIIATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cordingly had little opportunity to obtain 
 an education. He was employed princi- 
 pally by the fanners in the neighborhood 
 of his home, turning his wages over to 
 his parents until he reached his majority, 
 after which he commenced to save, in 
 order to get a start in life. In 1859 he 
 was united in marriage with Caroline 
 Christison, daughter of Christ and Martha 
 (Johnson) Oleson, all natives of Denmark, 
 and to this union were born five children 
 in Denmark, namely: Laura C Chris- 
 tian. Christ. Emil and Martha. Nine 
 3'ears after his marriage, in 1868, Mr. 
 Erickson set out with his family for 
 America, and, after landing in New York, 
 immediately proceeded westward to Brown 
 county. Wis., and took up his residence 
 in New Denmark township. He worked 
 in a sawmill for about one month, and 
 was then engaged for a few weeks peeling 
 hemlock bark, after which he entered the 
 employ of Casper Hansen, for whom he 
 worked about two years. At the expira- 
 tion of that time he invested in eighty 
 acres of land in New Denmark township, 
 which at that time was all in the woods, 
 and was still inhabited by wild animals. A 
 log house was erected on the place, in which 
 the family lived for several years, and the 
 work of transforming the wilderness into 
 a fertile farm was commenced, a task in 
 which he met with well-deserved success, 
 as his present beautiful farm well shows. 
 Their trading had to be done at Manito- 
 woc or Green Bay, and, as they had no 
 team, the journey had to be made on foot. 
 Some years later other eighty acres, ad- 
 joining the original tract, was purchased, 
 making the fine farm of 160 acres now 
 owned by our subject, which has been 
 highly improved and carefully cultivated. 
 Four children were here born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Erickson, viz. : Peter, Hans, Lettie, 
 and Edith, two of whom, Peter and Edith, 
 are still at home. Politically Mr. Erick- 
 son is a stanch Republican. At the age 
 of seventeen Peter Erickson commenced 
 to work on the railroad, and continued in 
 that vocation some years, becoming a 
 
 section foreman; but he abandoned rail- 
 roading several years ago in order to assist 
 in taking charge of the affairs of the home 
 farm. He was a stanch member of the 
 Democratic party until recently, when he 
 changed his views, and is now supporting 
 the principles of the Republicans. 
 
 TERRENCE DORAN, an energetic 
 citizen of Pittsfield township. 
 Brown county, was born in Belle- 
 ville, Canada. November 20. 1838. 
 and is the second in the family of seven 
 children of Patrick A. and Ann (Hickey) 
 Doran. the other six being named as fol- 
 lows: Mary. James. John. Hugh, Matilda 
 and Rose. 
 
 Our subject was but a year and a half 
 old when the family moved to New York 
 State, where Terrence received his edu- 
 cation. In 1855 he came west, stopping 
 for a time at Chicago, thence proceeding 
 to Dubuque, Iowa, in order to view the 
 country, returning to Chicago shortly 
 afterward. His eldest sister and her hus- 
 band, Michael Kirbey, who had been his 
 companions as far west as Chicago, con- 
 tinued their journey to Wisconsin, and 
 landed at Suamico, Brown county. On 
 returning from Dubuque to Chicago Mr. 
 Doran took passage, via the lake, for 
 Green Bay, whence he, also, came to 
 Suamico. After working here about fifteen 
 months, making shingle-bolts, etc., he 
 made a trip to Dunkirk, N. Y. , remained 
 six weeks, and then returned to Suamico, 
 Wis., and bought forty acres of land, 
 where now stands Tremble Station. In 
 the meantime his father and mother had 
 come to Wisconsin, and on this farm thej' 
 found a welcome until their decease. Mr. 
 Doran, however, only made his home 
 there until October 31, 1861, when he 
 married Margaret Page, daughter of David 
 and Margaret (Prue) Page. He then came 
 to Pittsfield township, which has since 
 been his horne. He has speculated largely 
 here in real estate, and for twenty-five 
 winters ran a lumber camp; at one time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he owned 460 acres, and now has 220 
 acres of good land, well improved. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Uoran have two chil- 
 dren: Mary Ann, at home with her parents, 
 and Andrew, married and living near by. 
 The family are Catholic in their religious 
 faith, and in politics Mr. Doran is a Dem- 
 ocrat. In his Church he is treasurer of 
 the building committee; he has served as 
 supervisor of his township twelve years, 
 and was school clerk fourteen years. He 
 has also served three terms as justice of 
 the peace, and no citizen in Pittsfield 
 township is more highly respected. 
 
 received a good 
 
 FERDINAND WITTIG, a pros- 
 perous general merchant of New 
 Denmark township. Brown coun- 
 ty, was born October 20, 1851, in 
 Denmark, son of Henry C. and Maren 
 (Peterson) Wittig, the former of whom 
 was a farmer, and also followed his trade, 
 that of cooper, to some extent. His 
 family consisted of seven children, name- 
 ly: Henry C, Mary, Peter F. , Ferdinand, 
 Anna, Jacobine, and Jacob. 
 
 Ferdinand Witti 
 common-school education in his native 
 land, and lived with his parents until he 
 reached his majority, at which time he 
 decided to emigrate to and try his fortune 
 in America. Proceeding to Liverpool, 
 England, he embarked from that port in 
 an American-bound vessel and landed in 
 New York after a voyage of thirteen da3's, 
 immediately continuing his journey west- 
 ward to Wisconsin, his destination being 
 in New Denmark township, Brown coun- 
 ty, where his aunt, Mrs. Hans Olsen, was 
 living. He reached New Denmark by 
 way of Green Bay, and commenced work- 
 ing on his aunt's farm, remaining there, 
 however, but six months, at the end of 
 which time he migrated to Negaunee, 
 Mich., where he remained two months. 
 From there he went to Marquette, Mich., 
 thence to Minneapolis, Minn., whence, 
 after a sojourn of two months, he re- 
 turned to New Denmark, and here con- 
 
 tinued a year. He next worked six 
 months in the lumber regions of Manis- 
 tee, Mich., and then again returned to 
 New Denmark township, where he has 
 ever since resided. 
 
 On -June 28, 1877, Mr. Wittig was 
 united in marriage with Mrs. Catherine 
 (Buckman) Lange, a widow, daughter of 
 Ahrend S. and Henrietta (Bartels) Buck- 
 man, residents of New Denmark town- 
 ship. She was born June 28, 1844, in 
 Germany, and came to America with her 
 parents, remaining at home until her mar- 
 riage. May 17, 1862, with August Lange. 
 At the time of his marriage Mr. Lange 
 owned eighty acres of wild land (on which 
 there were about four acres cleared), 
 whereon they moved, living in a one- 
 room log house until a more comfortable 
 dwelling could be built. They were hard- 
 working and industrious, and by their 
 united efforts succeeded in clearing and 
 improving their tract, converting it from 
 a wilderness to a productive farm. Their 
 marriage was blessed with five children, 
 viz. : Herman, Ahrend, Bernard, Henri- 
 etta, and Frederick, all of whom are liv- 
 ing but Ahrend. Mr. Lange was called 
 from earth September 14, 1872, and his 
 widow continued to manage the affairs of 
 the place alone for five years, or until her 
 marriage to Mr. Wittig. After a residence 
 of five years on the farm Mr. Wittig 
 erected his present store in New Denmark 
 township, and embarked in the general 
 mercantile and saloon business, in which 
 he has since been successfully engaged, 
 doing a thriving trade; from time to time, 
 owing to the demands of his increasing 
 business, he has been obliged to enlarge 
 the stock, and now carries a large assort- 
 ment of general merchandise. In politics 
 he is a Republican, but, though interested 
 in the success of his party, takes no act- 
 ive part in political affairs, his business re- 
 ceiving his undivided attention. In re- 
 ligious faith he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. To their 
 union have been born three children: 
 Henry, Martha and Diederich. 
 
252 
 
 COJdMEMURATlVK lUOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 REV. CLEMENT LAU. pastor of 
 St. Francis Xavier Cathedral Con- 
 gregation, Green Ba\', is a native 
 of Germany, born No\eiiiber i8, 
 1840, in the Province of W'estphalia, of 
 which locaHty his ancestry were all resi- 
 dents as far back as can be traced, all 
 bearing an honorahle reputation, their 
 life vocation, for the most part, beinj,' that 
 of farming. 
 
 He is a son of Bernard H. and Anna 
 Maria (Ross) Laii, who, shortly alter the 
 birth of our subject, removed to the city 
 of Kheine, in the same Pro\ince, where 
 he attended the city schools, later the 
 gymnasium, which latter institution he 
 entered at the age of eleven years. Here 
 he studied diligently till 1S59, in which 
 year he commenced a course of study at 
 the gymnasium of Muenster, where he 
 passed his final examination, and having 
 decided to prepare himself for the priest- 
 hood, in September, 1S61, entered the 
 university in the same cit)", studying there 
 about twelve months. In the following 
 year he proceeded to Austria, and in the 
 Priest Seminary at Linz fUpjier Austria) 
 studied theology, after which, in June, 
 1863, he was ordained a sub-deacon. On 
 June 13, 1865, he was ordained a priest, 
 by the Right Rev. Bishop Francis Joseph 
 Rudigier, after which he ser\ed in the 
 priesthood in three different Austrian 
 towns. Meanwhile, in 1877, he visited 
 Rome on the occasion of the Pope's jubi- 
 lee ("Pius IX). In August, 1878, he came 
 to the United States, and on the i2thda}- 
 of the same month was received by Bishop 
 Krautbauer in the diocese of Green Bay, 
 Wis. His hrst appointment was to the 
 church at Clark's Mills, Manitowoc coun- 
 ty, where he labored diligently for four- 
 teen months in a mixed congregation. 
 Next he was appointed, by the Bishop, 
 rector of St. Marj^'s Church in Greenville, 
 Outagamie county, the congregation of 
 which was German, and here he built a 
 school and Sisters' house; at the same 
 time he had charge of St. Patrick's (Irish) 
 Congregation at Stephensville. 
 
 In March, 1887, he was called bj- 
 Bishop Katzer to Green Bay to take 
 charge of the St. Francis Xavier Cathe- 
 dral Congregation, where he has remained 
 to the present day. He has labored faith- 
 fulK' and well, and has done much toward 
 building up the Cathedral congregation, 
 especially the school in connection, which 
 he made free himself. In September, 
 1892, he opened a high school under the 
 charge of the school Si.sters of Notre 
 Dame, and now the Cathedral congrega- 
 tion possesses a school with eight classes 
 instead of four classes before his adminis- 
 tration. No one will know the sacrifices 
 it required to put them on this footing, 
 which was the means of making the pros- 
 perity of the congregation. In January, 
 1890, at a cost of six thousaml dollars, he 
 built the priest's residence, which was 
 completed in October, i S90. He has 
 been a very useful pastor, and will long 
 be remembered for his kindly counsel and 
 advice, given always with a smile that 
 meant more than mere words. 
 
 CHRISTOPH GOLDSMITH, a 
 thrifty, enterprising farmer of 
 New Denmark township. Brown 
 count}', was born June 26, 1826, 
 in the \illage of Vollhousen, Prussia, Ger- 
 many. He is a son of Christoph and 
 Augusta Goldsmith, also natives of Ger- 
 many, the former of whom was a gar- 
 dener, a vocation he followed successfully 
 in his native land for many years. He 
 had a family of four children: Augusta. 
 Christian, Charles and Christoph. 
 
 Our subject remained at home until 
 he was fifteen years of age, when he 
 commenced to learn the blacksmith trade, 
 at which he served an apprenticeship of 
 two years, subsequently following it while 
 he lived in Germany. In September, 
 1854, he proceeded to Liverpool, and 
 embarked at that port on a vessel bound 
 for America, the voyage occupying six 
 weeks. Landing at New York, he thence 
 went to Albany, where he worked at his 
 
.J> 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 255 
 
 trade some time, afterward going to Sault 
 Ste. Marie, Mich., where he remained 
 one winter, and then removing to Apple- 
 ton, Wis. , lived there a year and a half. 
 At the end of this time he came to New 
 Denmark township, Brown county, and 
 here purchased forty acres of wild land, 
 on which he erected a log house near his 
 present comfortable dwelling, and com- 
 menced clearing the place, from which 
 not a tree had been cut, nor was there 
 any road at the time he moved here, 
 though one was opened about a j'ear 
 later. All the supplies had to be brought 
 from Green Bay, and, as he had no team, 
 he had to carry them home himself. Two 
 years after his removal to this farm Mr. 
 Goldsmith was married, July 19, 1857, 
 in New Denmark, to Miss Mary Ann 
 Nocker, daughter of Frank and Jacobine 
 (Seager) Nocker, who had a family of 
 three children, a brief record of whom is 
 as follows: Mary Ann (Mrs. Goldsmith) 
 was born November 27. 1839, in Nassau, 
 Germany ; August was born in Nassau, 
 Germany, and resides at Mishicot, Wis., 
 is married and has eight children ; Frank 
 is a resident of Franklin, Wis. , is mar- 
 ried and has five children. In 1853 Mr. 
 and Mrs. Nocker emigrated to America, 
 landing in New York after a voyage of 
 sixty-three days from Liverpool, and pro- 
 ceeding westward immediately to Me- 
 nomonee Falls, Wis., where they lived 
 three years, thence removing to Franklin, 
 where Mr. Nocker purchased 160 acres of 
 timber land, on which he passed the re- 
 mainder of his days. After his death his 
 widow removed to Mishicot, Wis., and 
 resided there until her death. The old 
 homestead, at Franklin, is now owned by 
 the son, Frank. 
 
 Mrs. Goldsmith has aided her hus- 
 band nobly in the accumulation of his 
 property, his farm now comprising ninety 
 acres of highly-improved land. As he 
 was the only blacksmith in the town for 
 twenty years he was a very busy man, 
 and, in order to carry on the farm suc- 
 cessfully at the same time, Mrs. Gold- 
 
 smith looked after it, besides attending to 
 her household duties. To their union 
 have been born six children, viz. ; Frank 
 and August, who died in infancy; Frank 
 (2), deceased ; Carl G. , who remains at 
 home with his parents ; and Catherine A. 
 and Susie, who also live at home. In 
 religious faith Mr. Goldsmith is a member 
 of the Lutheran Church, and Mrs. Gold- 
 smith and the children are members of 
 the Catholic Church. In 1865 Mr. Gold- 
 smith enlisted in the army, and served 
 six months in Company C, Eleventh Wis. 
 V. I., six weeks of which term were spent 
 in the hospital. He received an honor- 
 able discharge toward the close of the 
 struggle on account of disability, and is- 
 now receiving a pension of $22 per month 
 from the government for disability caused 
 by exposure during his service. 
 
 ALBERT VERBOORT, one of the 
 most affluent farmers and land- 
 owners of Lawrence township, 
 Brown county, was born March 
 I, 1839, in Uden, Province of North 
 Brabant, Holland, son of John and Maria 
 Verboort. 
 
 In 1848 the parents of our subject 
 came to the United States with their fam- 
 ily, sailing from Rotterdam on the 
 "Libera," and landing at Boston, Mass., 
 after a voyage of fifty-two days. At 
 this time there were four children in the 
 family, namely: John, now a resident of 
 Washington county, Ore. ; William, who 
 became a priest, and died in Washington 
 county, Ore., at the town of Verboort's 
 (named after him), where he had estab- 
 lished a church (he was a well-known 
 priest in his time; for several years he 
 lived in Brown county, Wis. , where he 
 established five churches — one in Morri- 
 son township; St. Francis Church at De- 
 Pere; St. Mary's, De Pere; St. Patrick's, 
 Fort Howard, and St. Willibrord's, Green 
 Bay); Mary, residing at Verboort's, Ore., 
 and Albert, whose name opens this sketch. 
 From Massachusetts the familj' came by 
 
'56 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 rail and water to Green Bay, Wis., later 
 removing to Little Chute, Outagamie 
 county, and thence to Holland township, 
 Brown county. They were almost desti- 
 tute, and, having lost all their baggage, 
 had practically n<jthing with which to be- 
 gin life in the New World. They also 
 had much difficulty in securing a home, 
 and tried various localities, moving about 
 from place to place along F"o.\ river; at 
 one time they even had a house partly 
 built, when it was found necessary to 
 abandon it. They endured many hard- 
 ships, and once they had nothing to eat 
 but wheat bran. But, after reverses that 
 would have discouraged almost any one, 
 their prospects began to brighten, and in 
 1854 they purchased 113 acres of land in 
 Lawrence township, the place on which 
 our subject now resides. The father and 
 two sons commenced threshing by hand, 
 receiving for their laborious work one- 
 eighth of the grain, which was hauled on 
 a hand-sled to market and traded for 
 flour. The family resided on the farm 
 from 1855 to 1875, and then removed to 
 Portland, Ore., where the parents and 
 son William died in 1876, the father on 
 July 6, the mother June 23, and William 
 July 14. They were devout Catholics, 
 and were buried in the cemetery at Ver- 
 boort, where, as before stated, William 
 had established a Catholic congregation, 
 which, at the time of his death, was in a 
 flourishing condition. With the death of 
 this priest the Catholic Church lost one 
 of its most earnest workers, and too much 
 praise can not be given him for his zeal 
 and untiring industry. 
 
 Albert Verboort attended school but a 
 short time in his native country, and only 
 one month in the United States; but his 
 natural ability has asserted itself in spite 
 of his lackof early educational advantages. 
 He has an inherent genius for mechanical 
 work, and learned readily the blacksmith's 
 and wagon-maker's trades, at which he 
 worked when about fifteen years of age. 
 In the fall of 1863 he was united in mar- 
 riage, in Brown county, by Rev. Father 
 
 Spierings, with Miss Anna Johnson, who 
 was born November i 3, i 826, in Holland, 
 near the birthplace of her husband. She 
 was a daughter of Jacob and Mary John- 
 son, and came to the United States in 
 1850 with her mother and two brothers 
 — Frank and Theodore. They sailed from 
 Antwerp, and, after an ocean voyage of 
 thirty days, landed at New York, proceed- 
 ing thence via Buffalo, N. Y. , to Green 
 Bay, Wis. After marriage Mr. Verboort 
 located on his present farm, remaining 
 thereon until 1875, when he went to 
 Oregon, and there resided three years, 
 after which he returned to Brown county. 
 Wis., and for a time lived on land along 
 Ashwaubenon creek. He then made 
 another trip to Oregon; returned again to 
 Brown county, and after a brief sojourn 
 here once more removed to the Pacific 
 coast, where he made his home until 1892, 
 when he came back to Brown county, 
 taking up his residence on his present 
 farm. 
 
 There is probably no citizen in Brown 
 county, in the ordinary walk of life, who 
 has traveled so extensively, he having 
 gone over sixty thousand miles since 1876. 
 He has been most successful in his agri- 
 cultural work, and to-day is one of the 
 wealthiest landowners in Lawrence town- 
 ship, having won success by his own 
 efforts. In his political preferences he is 
 a Democrat, though not strictly partisan, 
 and he has never aspired to office. The 
 entire family are members of the Catholic 
 Church. Mr. and Mrs. Verboort have 
 had children as follows: John and Will- 
 iam, both living; Dora, who died when 
 twelve years of age; and others that died 
 in infancy. 
 
 ARVE ARVESON. Among the 
 progressive, highly-esteemed agri- 
 culturists of New Denmark town- 
 ship. Brown county, this gentle- 
 man occupies a prominent place. He is 
 a native of Norway, born February 22, 
 1835, son of Christian (who was a miner 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ^57 
 
 in Norway) and Ingeberg (Johnson) Arve- 
 son, who reared a family of five children, 
 as follows; Arve (our subject), Mary, 
 John, Martha and Nils. 
 
 At the early age of fourteen years Arve 
 Arveson commenced to work in the mines, 
 his wages being about twelve cents a day, 
 and continued in this labor until he reached 
 the age of eighteen years, when the fam- 
 ily immigrated to America. They landed 
 in the city of Quebec, Canada, thence 
 journeyed to Green Bay, Wis., where 
 they arrived on the old steamer " Michi- 
 gan, " and thence to New Denmark town- 
 ship, Brown county, where Mr. Arveson 
 bought eighty acres of totally unimproved 
 land. Mr. Gotfredson, another early 
 settler, who owned an ox-team, assisted 
 them to bring their household goods to 
 their home in the woods, but they had to 
 be carried some distance, as there was no 
 road for the team. There were only a 
 few yoke of oxen in the township at this 
 time, and the Arvesons lived here three 
 years before they were able to buy a team 
 for themselves. For the first two years 
 they lived in a i6x i6 log house, the first 
 dwelling erected by a white man on the 
 place, which stood in the midst of the 
 forest, and then removed to another tract 
 of eighty acres just northeast of this first 
 home, where the parents passed the re- 
 mainder of their lives, both living to the 
 advanced age of eighty-two years. 
 
 Our subject was, as above related, 
 eighteen years old when he came with his 
 parents to Wisconsin, and, being the eld- 
 est, much of the farm work devolved upon 
 him. On March 28, 1858, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mariane Anderson, 
 daughter of Anders and Bertha (Ras- 
 mussen) Christensen, and, our subject 
 having purchased his present farm from 
 his father, the young couple immediately 
 took up their residence here, living in the 
 old log house during the first five years, 
 when it was supplanted by a comfortable, 
 modern residence. Their marriage has 
 been blessed with seven children, a brief 
 record of whom is as follows: Alfred C. 
 
 died of consumption at the age of twenty- 
 five (he was in Colorado when first taken 
 ill, but came home about two months be- 
 fore his death); Emma, Mrs. Christensen, 
 is living in Iowa; Millie, Mrs. Hanson, is a 
 resident of New Denmark; John remains 
 at home with his parents; Rosa, Mrs. 
 Nelson, is living in Oconto; Christ is at 
 home; Arthur is a school-teacher in 
 Antigo, Wis. Mr. Arveson is strictly a 
 self-made man; receiving in his youth but 
 meager educational advantages, he has, 
 by his own efforts, acquired a practical 
 education in the broad school of expe- 
 rience, and commencing life in the New 
 World with no capital save health and 
 energy, he has accumulated a comfortable 
 property, having a highly-improved farm 
 of 160 acres in New Denmark township. 
 He is greatly respected by all who know 
 him, and has been elected to fill various 
 positions of trust in his township, which 
 he served two years as chairman, three 
 years as treasurer, and also as assessor, to 
 the complete satisfaction of his fellow cit- 
 izens. In his political preferences he is 
 a stanch member of the Republican party. 
 He and his wife are, in religious faith, act- 
 ive members of the Lutheran Church, in 
 which he has served as deacon, and at 
 present holds the office of trustee. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Arveson was drafted into 
 the Union army, and provided a substitute; 
 but in 1865 he enlisted in Company F, 
 Fiftieth Wis. V. I., and served about a 
 year, principally in Dakota, among the 
 Indians. He received an honorable dis- 
 charge at Madison, Wis., in June, 1866, 
 and immediately returned to his home. 
 
 PHILIP M. WIRTH. The life of 
 a literary man seldom exhibits any 
 of those striking incidents that 
 seize upon public feeling and fix 
 attention upon himself. His character is, 
 for the most part, made up of the aggre- 
 gate of the qualities and qualifications he 
 may possess, as these may be elicited by 
 the exercise of the duties of his vocation 
 
258 
 
 COMMEMOIIATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 or the particular profession to which he 
 may belong; and in this, possibly, the 
 subject of this sketch presents not alto- 
 gether an exception to the general rule. 
 Mr. W'irth was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, April 25, 1823, the third son in 
 the family of seven children — six sons and 
 one daughter — of Michael J. and Theresa 
 (Rauscher) Wirth. The father was a 
 school-teacher in Germany, having quali- 
 fied for that profession by a college edu- 
 cation; and, as a natural consequence, the 
 sons received excellent scholastic training. 
 Our subject, up to the age of ten }ears, at- 
 tended the public schools of the neighbor- 
 hood of his place of birth, then for a 
 couple of years received tuition under a 
 private tutor, after which he entered the 
 Royal Gynmasium at Muennerstadt, study- 
 ing at that institution of learning six years. 
 For a year after leaving college Mr. 
 Wirth traveled through Germany and 
 Austria for pleasure and recreation, view- 
 ing in his journey many scenes not easily 
 to be effaced from his memory. In Ger- 
 many it is the custom for youths of all 
 classes to learn a trade, and our subject 
 was no exception, for on his return home 
 he apprenticed himself to a carpenter, 
 serving two years, at the end of which 
 time he answered to his call to enter the 
 army, but on account of physical de- 
 ficiency he was rejected. Turning his eyes, 
 now, in the direction of the Western 
 World, with all its grand advantages to 
 the man "who is willing to toil, and 
 where the poorest may gather the fruits 
 of the soil," he resolved to make it 
 the battleground of his future life in 
 his struggle with the world. Accord- 
 ingly, on April i, 1846, he took pas- 
 sage at Cuxhafen, the seaport of Ham- 
 burg, on the good ship ' • Perseverance " 
 (a suggestive title for the young emigrant), 
 bound for Ouebec, and after a passage of 
 fifty-eight da>s landed at that quaint old 
 Canadian city. His destinaton, however, 
 was Wisconsin, whither his brother 
 George C., had previously emigrated; so 
 from Quebec our subject proceeded to 
 
 Buffalo, N. Y. , where he boarded the 
 steamer " Oregon " for Milwaukee, from 
 which latter port he journeyed to Green 
 Bay, arriving July 11, 1846. Here he 
 unfortunately was siezed with typhoid 
 fever, but, on the other hand — ''For tuna 
 favi't fortibus" — he fortunately had the 
 home and care of his brother for the 
 two months he was ill and convalescent. 
 The first dollar he earned in the United 
 States was for work he did for Albert 
 Weise, who was putting up his first dwell- 
 ing on Walnut street, and for a mtjnth he 
 followed his trade. Preferring, however, 
 the life of a farmer to that of a trades- 
 man, he hired out to Daniel H. Whitney, 
 of Stockbridge, Calumet county, for ten 
 dollars per month, remaining with him 
 till 1 849, ofttimes, no doubt, when turn- 
 ing the sods with the plough repeating to 
 himself lines from the Georgics of Virgil, 
 or the Bucolics of Theocritus, or Xeno- 
 phon and Homer. From that time for- 
 ward he followed his trade as a house 
 and ship carpenter till October 4, 1 864, 
 when he was drafted into the Union army. 
 He was assigned to Companj- E, Twenty- 
 second Wis. V. I., and served as orderly 
 sergeant and clerk to Col. Chapman, 
 whose headquarters were at Camp Randall. 
 On May 17, 1865, he was honorably dis- 
 charged and returned home to Green 
 Bay, where he resumed his trade. 
 
 The time had now come for him to 
 buy land, and in December, 1865, he 
 purchased fifty acres in Private Claim 
 No. 43, Bellevue township. Brown coun- 
 ty, heavily timbered and without any im- 
 provements, paying for same one thous- 
 and dollars. On this tract stood a quan- 
 tity of oak timber, and some of the heavi- 
 est trees of that kind ever cut in the 
 neighborhood of Green Bay were felled on 
 this farm. By assiduous labor Mr. Wirth 
 cleared the land, converting the primeval 
 forest into a luxurious vegetable or truck 
 farm, all the improvements being made 
 by his own hand, and under his personal 
 supervision. His time, ever since com- 
 mencing in this line, has been devoted ex- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 559 
 
 clusively to the farm, varied occasionally 
 by some small job at carpentry for the 
 first two years. On P'ebruary 2, 1S49, 
 Mr. Wirth was married in Green Bay to 
 Miss Odelia Schauer, who was born Sep- 
 tember 8, 1824, in Bavaria, a daughter of 
 Henry Schauer, whose family (he l^eing 
 deceased) emigrated in 1 846 from the 
 Fatherland to the United States, arriving 
 in Green Bay, Wis., September 8, 1846. 
 After marriage Mr. Wirth continued farm- 
 ing in Calumet county until July, 1S49, 
 and then came to Green Bay, as already 
 related. For his first residence in the 
 town he built a house on Madison street, 
 which he traded later, and then erected 
 the present commodious family residence 
 on Walnut street, now owned by Leon 
 Findeisen. 1 he children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wirth were as follows : George 
 W., a marine engineer; Odelia, Mrs. 
 William Devhue, of Preble township; 
 Martha, Mrs. John Heidorf, of Manito- 
 woc, Wis. ; Philip and Jacob (twins), the 
 former of whom is a marine engineer, the 
 latter an artesian well-borer; Mary, Mrs. 
 Leonard Verdigen, of Bellevue; Frances, 
 Mrs. Mathias Anheuser, of Fort Howard; 
 Michael, a farmer of Bellevue; Theresa, 
 who died when nine months old. Our 
 subject and wife are members of the 
 Catholic Church. A Republican, though 
 at one time a Democrat, his first Presi- 
 dential vote was cast for Lincoln, and he 
 has done yeoman service in political mat- 
 ters : For nine years he served as clerk 
 of Bellevue township; was chairman of 
 the council one year, and member of the 
 school board five years. He was enu- 
 merator of the Tenth United States Cen- 
 sus; in 1883-4 served in the Legislature, 
 first biennial sessions; and in all his pub- 
 lic trusts he has given ample satisfaction 
 to his constituents, reflecting the utmost 
 credit to himself for his capacity and 
 faithfulness. He still finds time for an 
 occasional stroll in the fields of literature, 
 for, with Greek, Latin, historical, scien- 
 tific and other useful books at his com- 
 mand, he has always with him a substan- 
 
 tial world, both pure and good, round 
 which, "with tendrils strong as flesh and 
 blood, our pastime and our happiness 
 
 will grow. " 
 
 JEREMIAH BI-iENNAN, one of the 
 old pioneers of Morrison township. 
 Brown county, is a native of Ireland, 
 born in 1834, a son of Jeremiah and 
 Margaret (Foley) Brennan, who were the 
 parents of six children, viz. : Kate, Mi- 
 chael, John, Patrick, Jeremiah, and Mary: 
 Jeremiah Brennan, the father of the 
 family, was the first of its members to 
 come to this country. In 1 840 he reached 
 Glenmore, Brov^'n Co., Wis., where he 
 entered 160 acres; and about 1842 he re- 
 turned to the East in order to bring his 
 family out West. For several years the 
 fc-ther was employed in a grocery in Chic- 
 opee, Mass., while our subject worked in 
 a cotton factory. In 1854 the family 
 were prepared to come west and settle on 
 their farm, but the father was taken sick 
 and died. The mother, however, with 
 her sons, left Springfield, Mass. , some 
 little time after the sad event, and ar- 
 rived in Glenmore before the expiration 
 of the year. From De Pere they carried 
 their effects on their backs to the farm, 
 with nothing but an Indian trail to guide 
 them; but once on the land there were no 
 idle or unwilling hands, and soon a small 
 clearing was made and a small shanty of 
 scoops, 12x16 feet, erected for their shel- 
 ter, the mother doing her full share of the 
 work. Wild animals, which were numer- 
 ous and ravenous, killed the oxen in the 
 woods, while the bears would carry off 
 the hogs before the eyes of the hard-work- 
 ing settlers; and the Indians, although 
 called civilized, would enter the dwelling 
 in the absence of the inmates and carry 
 off the provisions — a serious and heavy 
 loss under the circumstances. But the 
 hardy pioneers struggled on through the 
 innumerable vicissitudes and struggles of 
 life in the wilderness, and eventually tri- 
 umphed over all difficulties — even over 
 
2 6o 
 
 COMMEMOUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the vicious, pernicious, and poisonous 
 mosquitoes, which, though small in them- 
 selves, were no small factor as an annoy- 
 ance and an irritant to the new settlers. 
 The good old mother was spared to see 
 the homestead fully developed, and died 
 in 1878, at the advanced age of eighth- 
 five years, honored and venerated by all 
 •who knew her. Her mortal remains rest 
 in the Morrison Catholic burying ground. 
 In 1859, at the age of twenty-five, 
 Jeremiah Brennan was married to Claren- 
 cy, daughter of Michael and Catherine 
 Quinn, old settlers of Morrison township, 
 having come here about the year 1855. 
 They bought 480 acres of land, and, like all 
 other pioneers, endured the hardships of 
 life in the wilderness. They were the 
 parents of three children, named Clarency, 
 John S. and Michael. After his marrige 
 Mr. Brennan settled on his farm of 160 
 acres, which he had previously purchased, 
 and on which he had erected a house 
 built of timber hewn by his own hands, at 
 that time considered the best house in the 
 township. In 1 S62 Capt. Harrison and 
 Mr. Brennan organized the first company 
 in Brown county for service in the Union 
 army during the Civil war, the company 
 consisting of sixty men; but Mr. Brennan 
 resigned his commission, and Harrison, 
 going to the front, was killed in the first 
 action in which his regiment was engaged, 
 and was succeeded by Mr. Lawton, of De- 
 Pere. On March 38, 1863, Mr. Brennan, 
 with eleven others, started from De Pere 
 across the plains to Idaho, with sixteen 
 yoke of oxen and wagons, and arrived at 
 their destination .\ugust 14. They found 
 wild Indians, a wild country, and they also 
 found gold. Mr. Brennan returned to 
 Wisconsin in i 867 and resumed farming. 
 His first wife survived about twelve years 
 after marriage, and died July 2, 1872, the 
 mother of three children, Mary, Jeremiah, 
 and Michael. In 1873 Mr. Brennan took 
 for his second wife Ellen Pool, daughter 
 of Hugh and Mary (Mehegan) Pool, who 
 were the parents of eight children, 
 viz. : Kate, John, Thomas, Mary, El- 
 
 len, Michael, William and Hannah. The 
 father was one of the pioneers of Cedar- 
 burg, having settled there in 1836; he 
 now resides in Milwaukee with a daughter, 
 and is nearly one hundred years of age. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brennan lived in the old 
 log house about fourteen years, when it 
 was replaced by the magnificent dwelling 
 in which they now reside. The farm com- 
 prises 1 20 acres of good land, and is highly 
 improved, the whole being the reward of 
 Mr. Brennan's industry, aided by his 
 children and their good mother. Mr. 
 Brennan is a strong advocate of public 
 schools, three of the children being now 
 teachers. The nine children born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Brennan were as follows: Will- 
 iam; Nellie, who is a school-teacher; 
 Anna; John, deceased; George, whose 
 death was caused by playing base-ball; 
 Kate, Grace and Celia; Michael, teaching 
 in District No. 6. The parents are mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, in which 
 Mr. Brennan is much interested, having 
 erected the first parsonage built in the 
 town. Politically he is a Democrat, and 
 has served as town supervisor and in sev- 
 eral other offices, but prefers the quietude 
 of his private life, which has been alto- 
 gether upright and industrious, and such 
 as to win for him the respect of all who 
 know him. 
 
 M 
 
 ART IN VAN DE WYN- 
 G A A R D. Among the repre- 
 sentative self-made agricultur- 
 ists of Bellevue township. Brown 
 county, none commands greater respect 
 than this gentleman. He is a native of 
 Holland, born . August 30, 1821, son of 
 Anton Van De Wyngaard. who was a 
 farmer and miller, and had eight children 
 — four sons and four daughters — of whom 
 Martin is the youngest son. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of his birthplace, 
 commencing when about sixteen years of 
 age to learn the milling trade under his 
 father. In 1 851 he sailed from Rotter- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 261 
 
 dam on the "Mozambique," and, after a 
 voyage of forty-five days, landed in New 
 York, whence, during the same year, he 
 came westward by way of Cleveland, 
 Ohio, to Green Bay, Wis. Here he re- 
 mained but a few months, and then re- 
 turned to Cleveland, where he secured 
 employment at shingle-cutting, being will- 
 ing to do anything to earn an honest dol- 
 lar. While in Cleveland he was taken 
 sick, and was sent into the country, in 
 the vicinity of Newburg, to recover, after 
 which he returned to his native land, as 
 he had learned that his father was very 
 ill. He was thirty days crossing the 
 ocean, during which passage, on August 
 15, he dreamed he was attending his 
 father's funeral, and, strange to say, he 
 found, on his arrival home that his father 
 had died and the funeral had taken place 
 that day. After spending five or six 
 months in Holland, our subject again 
 came to America, this time sailing from 
 Liverpool on a Black Star liner, and land- 
 ing in New York after a very stormy pas- 
 sage, the vessel arriving in port with one- 
 half of her mainmast standing, while the 
 other masts were gone altogether. Mr. 
 Van De W^yngaard again came to Cuya- 
 hoga county, Ohio, and in 1854 was there 
 married to Miss Catherine Ingersoll, a 
 native of same, who was born August 13, 
 1821, daughter of Levi and Derdamia In- 
 gersoll, New England people, who were 
 early pioneers of the county, having come 
 to Cleveland between the years 18 12 and 
 1815. After marriage our subject lived 
 in Cuyahoga county with his wife's parents, 
 and also on a farm of his own until 1871, 
 in which year he brought his family to 
 Green Bay, and, buying the "Camp 
 Smith" farm along the river, resided there 
 for some years. In 1877 he purchased 
 and removed upon his present place, now 
 consisting of one hundred acres of good 
 farming land, but which at that time was 
 a new farm and not all cleared; but with 
 constant care and attention to the details 
 of his work, he now has a pleasant home 
 and comfortable propert}'. He conducts 
 
 a profitable general farming business, the 
 success he has met with being all due to 
 his own unceasing efforts, and he is well 
 known and highly respected by his neigh- 
 bors and fellow citizens. 
 
 In politics our subject was originallja 
 Republican, but during the Grant cam- 
 paign he joined the ranks of the Demo- 
 cratic party, with which he has since re- 
 mained. Religiously he is a member of 
 St. John's Catholic Church, Green Bay. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Van De Wyngaard have 
 been born the following named children: 
 Augusta E. (wife of L. Ver Berkmoes, a 
 merchant of Atkinson, 111.), Christina, 
 Anton, and Alphonsos (at home), and 
 Barnardus (of Sheboygan, Mich.). 
 
 NIELS HANSON GOTFREDSEN 
 (deceased) was, during.his lifetime 
 one of the most active, promi- 
 nent citizens in New Denmark 
 township. Brown county, of which he was 
 one of the earliest settlers. 
 
 He was born, March 2, 18 14, in the 
 Kingdom of Denmark, where, on Febru- 
 ary 18, 1848, he was married to Miss 
 Laurentine Hjorth, who was born March 
 8, 1824, in Langeland, Denmark, daugh- 
 ter of Rasmus and Mary (Iverson) Hjorth, 
 who had eight children, three of whom 
 are now living, namely: Laurentine (Mrs. 
 Gotfredsen), Frederick, and Peter A. 
 Rasmus Hjorth was a schoolteacher for 
 twenty-eight years. One month after 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gotfredsen 
 sailed for America, landing in New York 
 two months later after a very rough voy- 
 age, and coming directly to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., in which city Mrs. Gotfredsen re- 
 mained while her husband went farther 
 north to look for land. He purchased 160 
 acres in New Denmark township. Brown 
 county, on which they removed at once, 
 being the second settlers in the township. 
 Mr. Cooper, the first settler of Coopers- 
 town, Wis., conveyed them to their home 
 with his ox-team, and they located in the 
 midst of the forest, which thev at once 
 
262 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 coinineiiced to clear awaj' and convert 
 into a fertile farm. The task was not a 
 light one; and, owing to the new and un- 
 settled condition of the country, these 
 pioneers suffered numerous hardships and 
 privations incident to backwoods life, as 
 well as the inconveniences to be experi- 
 enced in a new countrj"; but the\' perse- 
 vered in their noble work, and, after years 
 of toil found themselves in possession of a 
 tine pnjperty hewn from the forest. By 
 unceasing industry Mr. Gotfredsen was 
 enabled to increased the area of his farm, 
 and at the time of his death was the 
 owner of 200 acres of highl}-improved 
 land, and ranked among the most success- 
 ful men in his locality. In 1S51 Mrs. 
 Gotfredsen's parents set out from Den- 
 mark for the United States, but the father 
 died on the sea, of heart trouble, from 
 which he had suffered many years, and 
 was buried in New York; the widowed 
 mother came to \\'isconsin, and passed 
 the remainder of her life with her daugh- 
 ter, dying about 1.S61; she was interred 
 in the cemetery in New Denmark town- 
 ship, donated by Mr. Gotfredsen. 
 
 At the time Mr. Gotfredsen came to 
 New Denmark township it was included 
 in De Pere, and he was instrumental in 
 having it set apart as a separate township, 
 taking great interest in that, as well as all 
 other public improvements for the benefit 
 or advancement of his community. In 
 political connection he was a stanch Dem- 
 ocrat, and held numerous positions of 
 honor and trust in his township, serving 
 as chairman, treasurer, etc., in an able 
 and satisfactory manner. He was highly 
 esteemed by all who knew him, and his 
 death, which occurred February 22, 1894, 
 brought a loss to the entire community, 
 who felt keenly the departure of one of 
 the best and oldest citizens. Since his 
 decease his widow has continued to make 
 her home on the farm, having with her 
 her daughter ]ennic. The children born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Gotfredsen were eleven 
 in number, as follows: Mary (who was 
 the first white girl born in New Denmark 
 
 township), Hilbert, Minnie, Sophia (who 
 died at the age of twenty-six), Jennie, 
 Frederica, Augusta, Lawrence, Benjamin, 
 Laurena and Edith, most of whom are 
 living in Nebraska. In 1865 Mr. Gotfred- 
 sen revisited his native country, spending 
 a short time there among his relatives and 
 
 friends, who 
 welcome. 
 
 ^ave him a very hearty 
 
 R\l\. MICHAEL JOHN O'BRIEN 
 is pastor of St. Patrick's Church, 
 Fort Howard, one of the oldest 
 congregations in the Fox Ri\er 
 Valley, with a present membership of two 
 hundred families. 
 
 He was born February 29, i860, in 
 Granville, Milwaukee Co., Wis., a son of 
 Patrick and Margaret (O'Leary) O'Brien, 
 who were natives of Ireland, the former 
 of County Waterford, the latter of Coun- 
 ty Cork. The parents had immigated to 
 Boston, Mass. , about 1 846, were married 
 in that city in 1848, and remo\ed to Wis- 
 consin earl}- in the spring of 1855, locating 
 in Granville township, Milwaukee county, 
 where their son was born, on a farm in 
 the woods, which they cleared and im- 
 proved. In 1873 the father removed with 
 his family to Chilton, Calumet county, 
 dying on his farm there ten years later, 
 March 23, 1883. His widow now resides 
 in South Milwaukee. Of their children, 
 Ellen is the wife of John McGrath, a 
 farmer, and resides in Lebanon, W'aupaca 
 Co., Wis.; Patrick is a resident of South 
 Milwaukee; Rev. M. J. is the lo\ed pastor 
 of a large congregation at Fort Howard; 
 Margaret, now Mrs. Charles Kelley, lives 
 in Lebanon, as does also Jennie, wife of 
 Patrick Cleary; Lizzie is now Mrs. Harry 
 Kearns, of Buffalo, Wis. ; George resides 
 in South Milwaukee. 
 
 The future candidate for priestly hon- 
 ors was a farmer in his youthful days in 
 Milwaukee and Calumet counties. He 
 was a member of the first class to grad- 
 uate from the Chilton high school, in 
 June, 187S, and, for three years follow- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPIIICAL liECORD. 
 
 263 
 
 ing, was a teacher in Calumet county. 
 He then, in the fall of 1880, entered St. 
 Francis Seminary at Milwaukee, from 
 which he was graduated with the class of 
 1888; in June, of the same year, was or- 
 dained to the priesthood by Archbishop 
 Heiss, of Milwaukee, and the following 
 month was sent to St. Andrew's Church, 
 at Kingston, Wis. He was next assistant, 
 for two years, in St. Peter's Church, at 
 Oshkosh, and subsequently in charge of 
 St. Stephen's Church, at Stevens Point, 
 from which place he came to Fort How- 
 ard, in May, 1893. Here the field of his 
 labors is large, and his efforts have been 
 marked with gratifying success. On the 
 second Sunday after his arrival he took 
 steps toward the erection of the present 
 magnificent church, at the corner of 
 Cherry and Hubbard streets, in which 
 the congregation now worship, which was 
 completed in November, 1894, and is one 
 of the finest in the Fox River Valley. 
 He labored indefatigably to secure means 
 and advance the work in every possible 
 way; but a good constitution — the founda- 
 tion of which was laid on a farm — and 
 his ardent love for the work undertaken 
 enabled him to give the constant atten- 
 tion necessary during the construction of 
 the edifice, and to perform a large amount 
 of work in addition to his regular duties. 
 The church is a brick building, with trim- 
 mings of Duck Creek stone, 60 x 124 feet 
 in dimensions, with basement, costing 
 about twenty-five thousand dollars, and 
 is a monument to the zeal and devotion 
 of its earnest pastor, who has endeared 
 himself to all classes, regardless of de- 
 nomination and nationality. 
 
 FRANK CLEEREMANS, Jr., one 
 of the well-known farmer citizens 
 of Scott township, Brown county, 
 was born April 8, 1845, in Bel- 
 gium, son of Frank Cleeremans, Sr. , who 
 was a farmer in that country. 
 
 In the spring of 1867, having deter- 
 mined to try his fortune in America, Frank 
 
 15 
 
 Cleeremans, Sr. , emigrated from his na- 
 tive land, bringing his wife and family of 
 five sons — Charles, John, Frank, Jr., 
 Henry and Alex — all of whom are yet 
 living. Sailing from Antwerp on the 
 "Ottawa," they arrived in New York 
 after a voyage of sixteen days, and im- 
 mediately journeyed westward by rail to 
 Brown county. Wis. , coming via Chicago 
 to Green Bay. Mr. Cleeremans, Sr. , had 
 saved a few hundred dollars, and in Scott 
 township purchased forty acres (where his 
 son Frank now lives), for which he paid 
 fifteen dollars per acre. A one-room log 
 shanty was the only dwelling on this place, 
 and but ten acres of the land were cleared, 
 the rest being still in its primitive state. 
 The family lived in that house two years, 
 when a better one was built. The farm 
 was graduall}' cleared and made to yield 
 a good income, and here the parents 
 passed the remainder of their lives, the 
 mother dying May 20, 1871, the father 
 on January 11, 1876. They were mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, and their 
 remains now rest in Bay Settlement 
 cemetery. 
 
 Frank Cleeremans, Jr., attended the 
 common schools of his native land, where 
 he obtained all his education, receiving 
 instruction in French and Flemish, being 
 able to read both these languages. His 
 knowledge of English he has acquired 
 since coming to the United States, by 
 close application to American books and 
 papers. At the age of twenty he com- 
 menced to learn the blacksmith trade, 
 which he followed until he came to Amer- 
 ica with his parents; previously he had 
 worked in a soap factory in France. After 
 coming to Wisconsin he secured work in 
 Green Bay, and continued in the employ 
 of others, giving his earnings to his par- 
 ents, until the time of his marriage, in 
 1 87 1. In that year he wedded Miss Vir- 
 ginia Horckmans, also a native of Bel- 
 gium, who, when fifteen months old, was 
 brought to America by her parents, Will- 
 iam and Thersa (Vanderbosh)Horckmans. 
 At this time Mr. Cleeremans, Jr., bought 
 
264 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIWAL RECORD. 
 
 the interests of his brothers in the home 
 farm, and, building a shop on the place 
 (all on credit), continued his trade in con- 
 nection with farniiii<^ until 1875, when he 
 abandoned it, and has since given his at- 
 tention exclusively to agriculture. For 
 several years he was engaged in the sale 
 of nursery stock, and while in this busi- 
 ness became widely acquainted in his sec- 
 tion of the county. He is now the owner 
 of the original place, to which he has 
 added ten acres more, and has a comfort- 
 able productive farm, free of debt. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cleerenuins, Jr., were born 
 children as follows: Annie, Thersa, Odile, 
 Minnie, August, and Henry, all living, and 
 four that died in infancy. The mother of 
 these passed from earth September 14, 
 1887, and was buried in the \Vec]uiock 
 cemetery in Scott township. Mr. Cleere- 
 mans, Jr., is a stanch Republican, and an 
 ardent supporter of the principles of that 
 piarty, especially those of protective tariff. 
 He has been elected to various offices in 
 his township, serving one term as chair- 
 man, and for thirteen or fourteen years as 
 assessor, in both capacities giving satisfac- 
 tion to his constituents. He has been 
 self-made in every respect, and, though 
 begiiming life a poor man, his natural 
 ability, industrious nature and persever- 
 ance have enabled him to rise to his pres- 
 ent cn\ial)le position. 
 
 HD. VAN SEGGERN was born 
 October 9, 1849, in Oldenburg, 
 Germany, son of Henry F. and 
 Meta (Schmidt) Van Seggern, who 
 had four children, as follows: H. D., 
 Dedrick (who died when three years old), 
 and two that died in infancy. The father 
 was a sailor and carpenter, and was em- 
 ployed as such for fifteen years, after 
 which he worked for a time in the ship- 
 yards. 
 
 In 1859 the family came to America, 
 sailing from Bremen, and landing, after a 
 voyage of thirteen days, in New York, 
 
 where they sojourned three days, and 
 then continued their journey west. They 
 traveled to Milwaukee, Wis., and thence 
 by boat to Manitowoc, where they hired 
 an o.\-team to take them to their destina- 
 tion in New Denmark township. Brown 
 county; but the team collapsed near 
 where Mr. Fagan now lives, and they were 
 obliged to finish the journey as best they 
 could. In New Denmark township the 
 father purchased a tract of 160 acres, 
 only three acres of which were cleared, 
 and the family took up their residence in 
 a log hut, which stood on the place, con- 
 tinuing to live in same eight years, when 
 it was replaced by a more modern dwell- 
 ing. About two years after their arrival 
 Mr. Van Seggern disposed of eighty acres 
 of his land. The father spent the re- 
 mainder of his life clearing and improving 
 the land he had bought; later purchased 
 some more land, and at the time of his 
 death was the owner of a fine farm of 160 
 acres, now the home of our subject. He 
 passed away at the age of seventy-eight, 
 fifteen years after the death of his wife. 
 Our subject, being the only son, had 
 to commence work very early in life, 
 helping his father in the labor of clearing 
 and cultivating the pioneer farm, remain- 
 ing at home except for three winters 
 when he worked in the woods. In 
 his youth the country around his home 
 was sparsely settled and totally unim- 
 proved, and he has experienced all the 
 inconveniences incident to backwoods life 
 in those early days. Although no road 
 had yet been cut through to Green Bay, 
 he would walk there and back, carrying 
 butter and eggs to market, and bringing 
 home provisions. On account of the 
 meager educational facilities of tha time, 
 he received only eleven months' schooling; 
 but he has made the best of such oppor- 
 tunities as he had, and has acquired a 
 practical education by his own efforts. 
 He assisted his parents faithfully in the 
 laborious task of converting the forest into 
 a fertile, jirodurtive farm, and he is now 
 enjoying the fruits of those early days of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 265 
 
 hardship and incessant toil. On May 
 13, 1879, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Martha F. Daggart, a native of Two 
 Rivers, Wis. , daughter of Charles B. and 
 Naomi (Knibbs) Daggart, who were of 
 Scotch and English descent, respectively. 
 Mr. Daggart's first wife died in Two 
 Rivers, leaving two children, Thomas and 
 Mary, and he subsequently returned to 
 New York State where he married Naomi 
 Knibbs, who became the mother of five 
 children, viz.: Amanda E., Andrew, 
 Martha F. , Evaline Ann, and one that 
 died in infancy. Mr. Daggart, who fol- 
 lowed merchandising, served as postmas- 
 ter at Two Rivers, and also for one year 
 as member of the Assembly. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Van Seggern took up their residence on 
 the old homestead, which Mr. Van Seg- 
 gern inherited, and have ever since re- 
 mained here, prosperously engaged in 
 general farming. To their union have 
 been born eight children, their names and 
 dates of birth being as follows: Matie 
 N., May 22, 1880; Amanda E., Decem- 
 23, 1 88 1 ; Charles H., November 3, 1883; 
 Fred J., May 13, 1885 ; Walter M., March 
 6, 1888; Irma C. , July 10, 1889; Cora 
 A. A., February 1, 1892 ; Edna H., No- 
 vember 23, 1894. In religious faith Mr. 
 and Mrs. Van Seggern are members of 
 the Lutheran Church, in which he serves 
 as trustee and secretary. In his political 
 preferences he is a Republican, taking 
 considerable interest in the workings of 
 his party, and his fellow citizens have 
 honored him with election to various local 
 positions of trust ; he served faithfully as 
 supervisor three years, from 1880 to 1883; 
 also school director, and was recently 
 elected to the important position of chair- 
 man of his township. For the past si.\ 
 years he has been treasurer of the Farm- 
 ers' Insurance Company. As a promi- 
 nent, prosperous farmer, a public-spirited, 
 representative citizen, and a progressive, 
 self-made man, Mr. Van Seggern occu- 
 pies an enviable position among his fel- 
 low citizens in New Denmark township. 
 
 JACOB CRAANEN, postmaster and 
 merchant at Bay Settlement, is one 
 of the most prosperous young men 
 of Scott township, Brown county, 
 of which he is a native, having been born 
 in Bay Settlement May 26, 1858. 
 
 He is a son of Christian Craanen, a 
 shoemaker by trade, who was born in 
 Holland, and there married Theodora 
 Hooken, the young couple immigrating to 
 America immediately after their marriage. 
 They came to Green Bay, Brown county. 
 Wis., and arrived late in the fall of 1856, 
 the entire journey occupying eighty days. 
 For two or three weeks they remained in 
 Green Bay, and then came to Bay Set- 
 tlement, Scott township, where Mr. Craa- 
 nen purchased three or four acres of 
 land, on which he built a small log house. 
 One corner of the cabin was reserved for 
 his work-bench, and finding plenty to do 
 at his trade, he labored diligently to sup- 
 port his family. Three children came to 
 brighten his home, viz. : Antoinette, now 
 Mrs. Henry Kersten, of Chilton, Wis. ; 
 Jacob, a sketch of whom follows; and 
 John, a farmer of Scott township. Mr. 
 Craanen, in addition to working at his trade, 
 cleared his land, and, as his sons grew up 
 and commenced to assist him, he pur- 
 chased a tract of forty acres, from time to 
 time making other additions to his farm, 
 until at his death they had 350 acres, all 
 accumulated from a commencement of 
 nothing. He passed from earth May 14, 
 1893, and was buried in Bay Settlement 
 cemetery. Mrs. Theodora Craanen died 
 December 27, 1881, and was buried in 
 Bay Settlement cemetery, and he sub- 
 sequently married Elizabeth Noyman, 
 who survives him. He was a member of 
 the Democratic party, but not an active 
 politician, and in religious faith he and 
 his wife were members of the Church of 
 the Holy Cross, of which he was treas- 
 urer at the time of his death. No 
 citizen in the township stood higher in 
 the esteem of his fellowmen or better 
 deserved their respect. He was self- 
 made in the full sense of the word. 
 
266 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 and his larjje propert}' was acquired by 
 hard work. f;(K)d in;uia<;eiiient, and up- 
 right dealing,'. His powers of endurance 
 were wonderful, for, during his earlier 
 years, when struggling to obtain a fair 
 start, he would labor day and night. The 
 330-acre farm did not represent all his 
 wealth, for he owned property in Green 
 Bay and Ue Perc as well, and, from being 
 a poor man on his arrival in Brown 
 county, ho rose, b\' industry, to be one of 
 its leading citizens. 
 
 Jacob Craanen attended the common 
 schools of the home neighborhood until 
 thirteen years of age, and then entered 
 the college at Calvary, Wis. , where he 
 remained until he was si.xteen years old. 
 He connnenced to work on the farm, 
 where he labored industriously to help his 
 father. On November 19, 1889, he was 
 married to Miss Mary Beauinier. a native 
 of Scott township, and a daughter of Au- 
 gust Beauinier, who came from Canada, 
 and was of French extraction. This mar- 
 riage has been blessed by three children: 
 George, born November 21, 1890; Jacob, 
 born June 8, 1892, and Myrtle, born Jan- 
 uary 2, 1894. In December, 1893, Mr. 
 Craanen was appointed postmaster at 
 Bay Settlement, where he also conducts 
 a grocery business. He is the owner of 
 1 5 5 acres of land, a portion of which he 
 rents, and is regarded as one of Scott 
 township's substantial citizens. Politi- 
 cally he is a Democrat, and he and his 
 wifciarc members of the Catholic church. 
 
 H. WIESE, a prosperous young 
 
 agriculturist and well-known citi- 
 
 F 
 
 I zenof Lawrence township, Brown 
 
 county, was born September 6, 
 1862, in Lippe-Detmold, Westphalia, Ger- 
 many, son of William and Louisa (Hage- 
 meister) Wiese. 
 
 a William Wiese was for thirty-two years 
 foreman in a brickyard in his native place, 
 and became quite skilled in this line of 
 work, understanding it in every detail. 
 His children, all born in the old countrv. 
 
 were as follows: Amelia, now Mrs. Will- 
 iam Grimmer, of De Pere, Wis. ; Louisa, 
 now Mrs. Gustav Fleck, of Kaukauna, 
 Wis. ; Minnie, wife of Rev. Bock, a 
 Lutheran minister of West De Pere, Wis. ; 
 William, deceased in infancy; and Fred- 
 crick H., our subject. In 1867 the family 
 sailed from Bremen on the vessel "Ger- 
 many," and landed at New York after a 
 voyage of eleven days. There they re- 
 mained a short time at the "Emigrant 
 House," and then proceeded westward to 
 Chicago, thence via the Chicago & North 
 Western railway to Green Bay, Wis., 
 where they made a temporary home with 
 the well-known Hagemeister family. Mr. 
 Wiese was totally unacquainted with the 
 value of property in Brown county, and, 
 acting upon the advice of relatives, he 
 purchased one hundred acres of land in 
 Lawrence township (the farm our subject 
 now resides on), the price paid being three 
 thousand dollars. A barn and frame 
 house had been erected on the place, but 
 otherwise it was totally unimproved, and 
 it was several years before it afforded any 
 revenue to the family. Being obliged to 
 go into debt for the farm, and, being 
 anxious to own a home free of incum- 
 brance, Mr. Wiese put forth every effort 
 to clear the land and create a fertile farm; 
 but the hard work soon told upon him, 
 and, as a result of exposure, he was 
 seized with inflammation of the lungs, 
 which carried him off September 5, 1868, 
 when he was lifty-one years old. He was 
 a member of the Lutheran Church. His 
 remains now rest in Lawrence cemetery. 
 The death of the father left the widow 
 and children with the encumbered prop- 
 erty, but they courageously set to work, 
 and, although the task was no small one, 
 they proved themselves equal to it. They 
 hired a man to assist with the heavier 
 work until our subject was fifteen years of 
 age, after which he gradually assumed 
 charge of affairs; year by year they saw 
 the indebtedness diminish, and finally, 
 after working together industriousl)- for 
 many vears, found themselves owners of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 267 
 
 a well-improved farm, on which a sub- 
 stantial residence had been erected. Mrs. 
 Wiese died June 15, 1890. a member of 
 the Lutheran Church, and was buried in 
 Lawrence cemetery. 
 
 Frederick H. Wiese received but a 
 limited education, as he had to commence 
 work early in life, being the only son, and 
 he has always remained on the home farm, 
 which he now owns. Being a natural 
 mechanic, he has worked at the wagon- 
 maker's trade. On October 14, 1890, 
 he was married to Miss Ida E. Smith, 
 who was born April 27, 1867, in Wrights- 
 town township. Brown county, daughter 
 of Nicholas and Carolina (Zittlow) Smith, 
 early residents of that locality. Mr. 
 Wiese has followed general farming and 
 stock-raising, also taking an interest in 
 the dairy business. He is industrious and 
 systematic, and a leader in all movements 
 tending to benefit his township and the 
 community at large. In politics he is a 
 Democrat, and in religious connection he 
 and his wife are members of the Evangel- 
 ical Lutheran Church at West De Pere. 
 They have one child. Alma L. A., born 
 July II, 1891. 
 
 ANTHONY DWYER, one of the 
 old and highly respected residents 
 of Rockland township. Brown 
 county, is a native of the Emerald 
 Isle, born in May, 18 18, in County Tip- 
 perary. His parents, Dennis and Johanna 
 (Ryan) Dwyer, farming people, who 
 passed their entire lives in their native 
 Ireland, had a family of six children, of 
 whom Anthony, the only son, was the 
 third in order of birth. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farm life, 
 and, when a young man, married Miss 
 Johanna Ryan, and while in Ireland they 
 had the following children: Johanna, 
 Dennis, Philip, Michael, Maurice, An- 
 thony (i), John and Anthony (2). Of 
 these, Johanna is now the wife of M. 
 Scandlan, of Green Bay; Dennis is de- 
 ceased; Philip lives in Pound, Wis.; 
 
 Michael is deceased; Maurice lives in 
 Lowell, Wash.; Anthony (i) is deceased; 
 John lives in Rockland, Wis. ; Anthony 
 (2) is deceased. In the spring of 1852 
 this family went to Liverpool, and, taking 
 passage on an American-bound vessel, 
 landed at New York, their first home in 
 the New World being in Syracuse, N. Y. , 
 where they lived for three and a half 
 years, Mr. Dwyer working at anything 
 which would bring him an honest dollar. 
 Here one child, Anthony (2), died, and 
 one, Anthony (3), was born (he is now 
 living in Lowell, Wash.). In October, 
 1855, they came westward to Wisconsin, 
 and for a year had their residence in De- 
 Pere, where the father engaged in various 
 pursuits, and then in November, 1856, 
 came to the present farm in Rockland 
 township, purchasing forty acres at $1.50- 
 per acre, and then had to borrow thirty 
 dollars to make the first payment. At 
 that time there was not a single house 
 between the farm and De Pere, and the 
 road was only a path through the woods. 
 Mr. Dwyer built the first dwelling on the 
 place, and then commenced the work of 
 clearing away the forest, the dense growth 
 of oak, beech, pine, maple, etc., making 
 the task a difficult one; but he was deter- 
 mined to succeed, and, after many years 
 of hard work, had a fertile, productive 
 farm, which yielded him a good income. 
 While living in De Pere another son, 
 Jeremiah, was born (he is now living 
 in Minneapolis, Minn.), and the follow- 
 ing named children were born on the 
 farm: Patrick, living at home; Mag- 
 gie, Mrs. Edward Martin, of Florence, 
 Wis.; Mary, deceased; and Katie, living 
 at home. The mother was called from 
 earth March 26, 1876, and was buried 
 in De Pere cemetery, and since her death 
 her daughters have had charge of the 
 household affairs. Mr. Dwyer has seen 
 his present farm transformed from an un- 
 broken wilderness into a well-improved 
 farm, which represents years of arduous 
 toil, this property having all been accumu- 
 lated from a commencement of nothing. In 
 
268 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1890 his son Patrick bought the farm, and 
 Mr. Dvvyer now makes his home with 
 him, retired from active work. He is a 
 Democrat, but has never taken much inter- 
 est in pohtics, having, until recently, given 
 his undivided attention to the farm. Of 
 his large family of fourteen children, 
 eleven are now living, and he has twenty- 
 six grandchildren and six great-grand- 
 children. 
 
 NIELS NELSON, an esteemed cit- 
 izen of New Denmark township, 
 Brown county, has been identified 
 with her agricultural interests for 
 the past forty years. He is a native of 
 Norway, born March 14, 1823, son of 
 Nelson and Anna (Johnson) Nelson, who 
 were the parents of two children: Bertha, 
 now Mrs. Torkel Johnson, of Denmark, 
 and Niels, our subject. The father 
 worked in the iron factories of his native 
 country. 
 
 Niels Nelson lived with his parents 
 until he reached the age of about twenty- 
 five years, when he was married March 
 25, 1847, to Miss Anna Arveson, whose 
 parents, Aron NeiLson and Mar\' (Chris- 
 terson) Arveson, had children as follows: 
 Christian, Neils, Emma and Anna (Mrs. 
 Nelson). Immediately after their mar- 
 riage Mr. and Mrs. Nelson sailed for 
 America, and after a seven-weeks' voyage 
 landed in New York City, thence contin- 
 uing their journey westward to Buffalo, 
 N. Y. , and thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 where thej' remained nearly three years, 
 Mr. Nelson working as a day laborer. In 
 1 8 50 they emigrated to \\'isconsin, and in 
 New Denmark township, Brown county, 
 our subject invested in sixty acres of 
 timber-covered land, and, having cleared 
 a small space in the woods, erected a 
 14x16 log cabin, in which the}' lived ten 
 years, when it was replaced by a more 
 modern dwelling. Their supplies were 
 all brought from Green Bay, and as Mr. 
 Nelson did not own an ox-team until ten 
 years after his removal to this place, he 
 
 would walk the entire distance to and 
 from that town, carrying his provisions, 
 his path for the greater part of the way 
 lying through the forest; when he came to 
 New Denmark the Manitowoc road was 
 the only one leading through the town- 
 ship. By diligent toil he has succeeded 
 in converting the piece of wild land into a 
 comfortable farm, with good improve- 
 ments and all necessary outbuildings, and 
 he carries on a profitable general farming 
 business. Politically our subject is inde- 
 pendent, and not active in public affairs; 
 in religious faith he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. They have 
 had one child, Nellie. 
 
 FATHER ADOLPH SMITZ, pastor 
 of St. Boniface Church, West De- 
 Pere, is a native of Holland, born 
 October 25, 1844, at Oirschot, a 
 village of three or four thousand inhab- 
 itants in the Province of North Brabant, 
 son of Henry Bartholome and Antonia 
 Maria (Fock) Smitz, both also natives of 
 Holland. The father, who was a physi- 
 cian, is now deceased, but the mother is 
 still living in Holland at the age of eighty- 
 one years. 
 
 Adolph Smitz was educated in the 
 lower and higher seminaries of 's Herto- 
 genbosch, was ordained priest May 25, 
 1872, in the Cathedral of St. John, at that 
 place, and was afterward assistant priest 
 at Moergestel, at Diessen and at Zeelst 
 — all in Holland. On September 8, 1883, 
 he sailed from Amsterdam on the steamer 
 " Amsterdam," and landed at Hoboken, 
 N. J. (opposite New York City), soon 
 afterward coming to Wisconsin. For a 
 short time he officiated in the vicinity of 
 Green Bay, and on January i, 1884, was 
 given charge of St. Boniface Church, 
 West De Pere, a position he still fills. 
 This church is an offshoot of St. Mary's, 
 of East De Pere; the edifice was erected 
 in 1883, and. when Father Smitz took 
 charge, was composed of little more than 
 bare walls, with a room partitioned off at 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 269 
 
 the north end for a school, but since he 
 assumed charge of affairs here a pleasant 
 priests' residence has been built (1885), 
 the church edifice plastered, finished and 
 furnished (1891), and a commodious 
 schoolhouse, containing six rooms, erected 
 (1893), the land for both parsonage and 
 school having been purchased during 
 Father Smitz' administration. The reci- 
 tation rooms are 24x30 feet, some of 
 them being at present occupied by the 
 Sisters for residence purposes. The 
 school enrollment in 1894 was 212, for 
 both sexes, and 150 families are numbered 
 in the prosperous parish of St. Boniface, 
 natives chiefly of Holland, Belgium and 
 and lower Germany. The corner-stone 
 of the schoolbuilding was laid and blessed 
 by Bishop Messmer May 14, 1893, and 
 the school was blessed by the same bishop 
 September 8, in the presance of the Most 
 Rev. Francesco Sattoli, Archbishop of 
 Lepanto, I. P. I., and apostolic delegate 
 to the United States. In February, 1894, 
 the school was made free. On June 29, 
 1893, the church was blessed, by permis- 
 sion of the Bishop, by Father Martin 
 Anderegg, and on the same day he cele- 
 brated first mass. St. Boniface church 
 edifice is not yet complete, as a sanctuar}- 
 is to be added on the north end, for the 
 purpose of enlarging its seating capacity. 
 A fine bell, weighing 1,400 pounds, and 
 costing three hundred and twenty dollars, 
 blessed February 12, 1888, calls the con- 
 gregation to worship. 
 
 JOHN SMITH, prominent as an at- 
 torney of De Pere, Brown county, 
 Wis., has been a resident of that city 
 for the past twenty-five years. His 
 birth took place in a small village in Zwol- 
 gen, in the south of Holland, July 29, 1 844. 
 His education was acquired in the com- 
 mon and military schools of his native 
 country, in the army of which he served 
 eighteen months, and he also became mas- 
 ter of the bricklayer's trade before coming 
 to the United States in the earlier part of 
 
 1869. In the" summer of that year he 
 settled in De Pere, with ten cents in his 
 pocket and with an indebtedness of sev- 
 enty dollars staring him in the face; but 
 he was ambitious and skillful, and steadily 
 worked at his trade until 1873, when his 
 labors began to lighten. He now became 
 interested in insurance and real estate, 
 and to devote his spare hours to the study 
 of law with his partner, George F. Mer- 
 rill, with whom he continued to read until 
 1884, when he was admitted to the bar. 
 From that date to this he has been in 
 constant and active practice, in conjunc- 
 tion with his insurance and real-estate 
 business. He is the sole agent at De Pere 
 for the sale of steamship passenger tickets 
 to and from the old country for several 
 trans-Atlantic steamship lines. He also 
 has a Catholic book, stationery and toy 
 store, which is in charge of his daughter 
 Jennie, and he has proved himself to be a 
 shrewd and self-reliant business man. He 
 is now the owner of a large body of real 
 estate in the city, and has several build- 
 ings, including the brick block in which he 
 has his office and store. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married, one year after 
 settling in De Pere, to Miss Kate Minor- 
 ette, also a native of Holland, who has 
 borne him thirteen children, nine of whom 
 are living, named as follows: Carrie, 
 Jennie, Christian, Edward, Herbert, Frank, 
 Charles, William and Fredrick, all resid- 
 ing under the paternal roof, excepting 
 Carrie, who is married. In politics Mr. 
 Smith is a Democrat, and for eleven years 
 has served as school commissioner; he has 
 also served as mayor of De Pere two 
 terms, as alderman several times, and is 
 now filling his fourth term as city attorney. 
 He is strictly a self-made man, and enjoys 
 to the full the confidence of the public. 
 
 LEWIS KNUTH, a justice of the 
 peace, town clerk and chairman of 
 the town of Wrightsville, Brown 
 county, was born at De Pere, 
 Brown Co., Wis., February 22, 1863. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 His father, George Kmith, was born 
 October lO, 1814, ''^ Groiuienz, in west 
 Prussia, and was there married to Cathe- 
 rine Jaddaz, daughter of a prominent citi- 
 zen of the place. In 1859 they came to 
 the United States with their five children, 
 first locating in the town of Maple Grove, 
 Manitowoc Co. , Wis. , whence the)' moved 
 to De Pere, where Mr. Knuth filled various 
 positions, but was never a man to seek 
 public office. In 1870 he settled in 
 \\'rightstown, where he made farming his 
 principal occupation until his death, which 
 occurred October 26, 1877, his widow sur- 
 viving until February 13, 1893. 
 
 Lewis Knuth was educated at I)e Pere, 
 and at the little log schoolhouse of 
 Wrightstown. At the age of eighteen 
 years he entered the store of the well- 
 known firm of Mueller & Spuhler as 
 clerk, and this position he retained about 
 eight years. On May 13, 1887, he mar- 
 ried Miss Pauline Fieck, daughter of 
 Charles F"ieck, a prominent farmer of 
 Morrison township, Brown county, and 
 the same spring he was elected to the of- 
 fice of town clerk, and two years later to 
 that of justice of the peace. The former 
 office he has filled so well that his fellow 
 citizens have retained him in it for five 
 consecutive years, and he also continues 
 to hold the office of justice of the peace, 
 for which he has proved himself equally 
 well qualified. He is also chairman of 
 the town. A man of energy and of liberal 
 views, he has risen to a high position in 
 the estimation of his fellow townsmen, as 
 is fully proven by his popularity at the 
 polls. Four children make his home happy 
 —two sons and two daughters, named 
 respectively, Elma, William, Laura and 
 Arthur. 
 
 JOHN NIVEN McCUNN. The sons 
 of Scotia, whose suggestive motto, 
 " Nrmo mc ivipunc laces sit," em- 
 blazons every Scottish battle-torn 
 banner, are to be found the wide world 
 over, occupying, many of them, exalted 
 
 positions in every sphere of life — in liter- 
 ature, arts and sciences, no less than in 
 the several professions — civil and mili- 
 tary; foremost in war, first in peace. 
 
 The subject of this memoir is a native 
 of Glasgow, Scotland, born December 10, 
 1858, of time-honored ancestry. His 
 Grandfather McCunn was a sea-faring 
 man, and wag drowned off the wild and 
 rugged coast of Scotland while acting as 
 pilot on a vessel. His son, James, father 
 of our subject, was born at Gourock. 
 Lanarkshire, Scotland, and learned the 
 trade of carpenter and joiner, which he 
 successfully followed many years, in the 
 latter days of his life conducting a grocery 
 business; but, when he was only thirty-six 
 years old, death intervened and deprived 
 his wife of a loving husband, and their 
 four " weanies" of a devoted father. He 
 was a man of more than ordinary intelli- 
 gence, and of considerable enterprise, up- 
 right and conscientious, and a consistent 
 member of the Presbyterian Church. His 
 widow, Mrs. Janet McCunn, who was a 
 daughter of John and Mary (Kirkwood) 
 Niven, natives of Paisley, Scotland, 
 having decided, in her widowhood, to 
 come to America with her little family, 
 set out by the S. S. "St. David" of the 
 Allan line, in April, 1870 (our sub- 
 ject being then about eleven years old), 
 arriving at Point Levi, opposi+e Quebec, 
 Canada, on May 6. From there they 
 came direct to Wisconsin, making their 
 first home in the ^^'estern World in Port- 
 age county, whither James McCunn, the 
 oldest son (now a farmer in that county), 
 had preceded them. 
 
 John N. McCunn had received some 
 elementary education in Glasgow, and 
 after coming to Wisconsin he attended 
 district school, also the high school at 
 Waupaca, afterward teaching for a season 
 or so, at the same time keeping up his 
 studies. In 1882 he entered Milton Col- 
 lege, intending to take a full collegiate 
 course; but impaired health prevented his 
 completing it. During the summer of 
 1883 he visited his old home in Scotland, 
 
t^<^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 273 
 
 and on his return to Wisconsin he re- 
 sumed his studies, and again taught school, 
 after which he became general agent for 
 "Johnston's Encyclopedia," his territory 
 covering all northern Wisconsin, while his 
 headquarters were at Green Bay. In 
 1887 he bought a half interest in the 
 Green Bay Business College, and before 
 the expiry of a year he had complete con- 
 trol of the institution, to which he was 
 now enabled to give his exclusive atten- 
 tion. After taking charge he made a 
 complete change in the general economy 
 of the college, among other innovations 
 having added a Shorthand department, 
 and in the spring of 1888 furnished the 
 rooms with new fixtures, etc. In the spring 
 of 1893 Prof. McCunn erected the largest 
 and most expensive college building in the 
 State, exclusively for a Business College; 
 it is a three-story structure, built of red 
 pressed brick, having brown sandstone 
 facings, the entrance being adorned with 
 polished granite columns, basement being 
 of limestone. The entire building is 
 heated with steam and lighted with elec- 
 tricity — in fact the Green Bay Business 
 College is the most thoroughly equipped 
 institution of the kind in the West, and, 
 as a whole, is well worthy of the pride of 
 that ambitious city. 
 
 In 1884, after his return from his 
 visit to Scotland, above alluded to. Prof. 
 John N. McCunn was married in Wau- 
 paca to Miss Florence Ida Pipe, a native 
 of Waupaca county, Wis. , and daughter 
 of Thomas Pipe, ex-mayor of Waupaca, 
 an honored pioneer and business man. 
 To this union were born three children: 
 Ethel May, Florence Verna, and Walter 
 Thomas. The mother of these passed 
 from earth January 10, 1889, and in Oc- 
 tober, 1890, our subject married Miss 
 Ada Montgomery, daughter of John Mont- 
 gomery, an extensive farmer of Washing- 
 ton county, Penn., where she was born. 
 She was educated at the ladies' seminary 
 in Washington, Penn., after which she 
 taught school in her native county and in 
 the Green Bay Business College one year. 
 
 By this second marriage of the Professor 
 there is one child now living, Harold 
 Montgomery. 
 
 Prof. McCunn has been an active and 
 useful citizen of Green Bay ever since 
 coming to the place, and has closely 
 identified himself with its civic affairs, at 
 the present time serving as a member of 
 the city council. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of the Business Men's Association, 
 Royal Arcanum, B. P. O. E., and K. of 
 P., in which latter order he was installed 
 chancellor commander in January, 1894. 
 Politically he is a Republican, his first 
 Presidential vote having been cast for 
 Garfield. Green Bay owes much to just 
 such enterprising young men as the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, who has brought his 
 young and active life to aid in forming 
 the nucleus around which, in time, will 
 cluster the metropolis of northeastern 
 Wisconsin. In the building up of his 
 Business College, alone, he has been the 
 means of bringing to Green Bay many 
 enterprising young people, who are bene- 
 fited by the example set them by their 
 upright principal. 
 
 HENRY RHODE, M. D., one of 
 the oldest and most experienced 
 physicians and surgeons of Green 
 Bay, was born in Hanover, Ger- 
 many, in 1829, a son of Henry and 
 Catherine (Beil) Rhode. He was edu- 
 cated at the Gynmasium at Heiligenstadt, 
 Prussia, and studied medicine at the Uni- 
 versity of Goettingen, Hanover, from 
 which he graduated in 1850, and then en- 
 tered the Prussian army as surgeon, serv- 
 ing until 1854. 
 
 In that year he and his wife came to 
 America and located in Toledo, Ohio, 
 where his father and mother and two 
 sisters died of cholera the same year; they 
 had immigrated to America in 1 849. After 
 a brief practice in Toledo, the Doctor 
 moved to Chilton, Wis., in 1856; thence 
 went to Manitowoc, and in 1859 came to 
 Green Bay, where he has ever since been 
 
374 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPITWAL RECORD. 
 
 in active practice. He has achieved a 
 fine reputation professionally. He is a 
 member of the Fo.\ River Valley Medical 
 Society, also of the Brown County Medi- 
 cal Societ}', and is likewise a censor. 
 
 Dr. Rhode has been twice married: 
 first time in Germany, in 1852, to Chris- 
 tina Engelhardt, who died in Toledo, 
 Ohio, in 1856, two years after the death 
 of his parents and two sisters. His sec- 
 ond marriajje took place in Green Bay, 
 Wis., in i860, to Miss Mary Eva Becker, 
 a native of Prusssia and a daughter of 
 Bartholmaus and Eva Becker, who were 
 early settlers of Milwaukee, the former of 
 whom died in Milwaukee in 1853, the lat- 
 ter in Green Bay in 1886. To the Doc- 
 tor and his wife were born eight children, 
 of whom seven are living, as follows: 
 Kunigunda, wife of Feli.x Johannes; Caro- 
 line Matilda, wife of H. E. Bacon, Jr.; 
 Katie, now Mrs. E. A. Beaumont ; Ottilie, 
 wife of Winford Abrams; Ida; Henry P., 
 who graduated from the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons, of Chicago, 111., and 
 located at Forest Junction, Wis., in 1894, 
 and Richard A. In politics Dr. Rhode 
 is a Democrat, is serving his second term 
 as a member of the board of Pension 
 Examiners, and has been county physi- 
 cian three terms. He and his wife are 
 members of the Catholic Church, and 
 their consistent Christian walk in life has 
 gained for them the respect of all their 
 neighbors. 
 
 HANS PETER ANDERSEN, a 
 successful farmer of New Den- 
 mark township. Brown county, 
 was born February 6, 1851, in 
 Langeland, Denmark, son of Rasmus 
 and Anna (Peterson) Andersen, natives of 
 the same place, the latter of whom was a 
 daughter of Peter Christensen. 
 
 Anders Christensen, paternal grand- 
 father of our subject, had a family of six 
 children, namely: Christ, Rasmus, Hans, 
 Mary Ann, Nels, and Frederick. Rasmus 
 Andersen followed the wagon-maker's 
 
 trade, which he had learned from his 
 father, and which he in turn taught to his 
 son, our subject, who followed it about 
 two years in the old country. Seven 
 children were born to Rasmus as follows: 
 Anna, Matilda, Hans Peter, Andrew, Car- 
 oline, Mary Ann, and Christiana, all of 
 whom are now in this country; two of the 
 daughters, Mrs. Rasmus Nelson and Mrs. 
 Rasmus Rasmussen, are residents of New 
 Denmark, Brown county. In the spring 
 of 1867 the family left Denmark and 
 landed in New York after a three-weeks' 
 voyage, coming directly from that city to 
 New Denmark township. Brown count\-. 
 Wis., where the\- invested in sixt\- acres 
 of land, partly cleared. A log house 
 standing on this place was their home for 
 six years, when it was replaced by the 
 modern frame dwelling in which our sub- 
 ject now lives, and here the parents passed 
 the remainder of their lives, the father 
 passing from earth August 13, 1890, the 
 mother May 24, 1891. Their remains 
 were interred in New Denmark cemeter), 
 where a monument now marks their last 
 resting-place. 
 
 Hans Peter Andersen remained at 
 home with his parents until he was about 
 twenty-one years of age, when he engaged 
 in carpentering, continuing at same for 
 five years. At the end of that time, in 
 1877, he bought the home farm, where 
 he had been thoroughly trained to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, his father having in his 
 day been one of the most successful farm- 
 ers of the township. On April 10, 1880, 
 our subject was married to Miss Mina 
 Nelson, daughter of Niels Peter and Maria 
 (Peterson) Nelson, the latter of whom, a na- 
 tive of Denmark, married, for her first hus- 
 band, James Anderson, and after his de- 
 cease was wedded to Niels Peter Nelson. 
 The union of Mr. and Mrs. Andersen has 
 been blessed with three children, as fol- 
 lows: Mary, born December 19, 1880; 
 Alfred, born April 3, 1884, and Agnes, 
 born February 21, 1887. During his 
 youth our subject had very meager op- 
 portunities for obtaining an education. 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■/:> 
 
 but he has acquired a practical business 
 training, and by good management has 
 made a success of his chosen vocation, 
 now owning 138 acres of good land, well 
 improved and highly cultivated. A stanch 
 Republican in politics, he takes great in- 
 terest in the success of his party, and, 
 though not an aspirant for offlce, has served 
 his township as school clerk six years and 
 supervisor two years; also was treasurer 
 of the New Denmark Mutual Home Fire 
 Insurance Company eight years. In re- 
 ligious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the Lutheran Church, in 
 which he has been an officer for the past 
 fifteen years, serving as trustee, treasurer, 
 secretary, and deacon. 
 
 M 
 
 ARTIN VAN ABEL. This lead- 
 ing representative farmer citizen 
 and prosperous merchant of Hol- 
 land township. Brown county, is 
 a living link between the pioneer days of 
 half a century ago and the present ad- 
 vanced period in the history of Wiscon- 
 sin. With axe in hand he felled the first 
 tree on the spot where is now his elegant 
 home, and his eyes have beheld the trans- 
 formation of impenetrable forests into 
 bright fields of golden grain and luxuriant 
 meadows, fragrant with the perfume of 
 honey-bearing clover. 
 
 Mr. Van Abel is a native of Holland, 
 born February 13, 1827, a son of Andrew 
 Van Abel, a farmer in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances in that world-renowned dairy- 
 land, and who was the parent of five chil- 
 dren that lived to adult age, of whom 
 three are yet living, viz. : William, in 
 Holland township. Brown Co. , Wis. ; 
 Ellen, living with our subject; and Mar- 
 tin. The father of these died in 1844, 
 the mother, whose maiden name was 
 Mary Kempen, passing away in 1863. 
 They came with some of their children 
 to Wisconsin in 1851, three years after 
 Martin's emigration. 
 
 Martin Van Abel received a fair edu- 
 cation at the public schools of his native 
 
 land until thirteen years of age, when he 
 went to work on a farm, and so continued 
 till his emigration to the United States, 
 which event took place when he was 
 twenty-one years old. Having been 
 drafted into the Dutch army, he con- 
 cluded the best way to avoid service 
 would be to "take French leave," and 
 emigrate. Accordingly, on the good ship 
 ' • Liberia, " bound from Amsterdam for the 
 United States, he, in the spring of 1848, 
 set sail from his native land, arriving, after 
 a voyage of fifty-four days, at Boston. 
 Thence traveling westward via Buffalo 
 (where he took passage on the ' ■ Old 
 Michigan"), he landed in Green Bay May 
 10, same year. From there he came to 
 what is now Holland township, in com- 
 pany with the following named, who were 
 among the first settlers of the village of 
 Holland : William Kempen, Henry Van- 
 dehey, Henry Hovener, Henry Gerrits, 
 Martin Ver Kuile, Albert Vandenberg. 
 John Arts, George Vanden Heuvel, and 
 John Verboort. At this time the land was 
 all new and uncleared,, in fact, in its 
 primeval condition, totally untouched by 
 the hand of man, and here they decided 
 to form a purely Dutch colony. In order 
 that they might not only converse in their 
 mother tongue, but also worship as they 
 did in their far-away native land, they 
 brought with them their own pastor, Rev. 
 Godhart. The party came by way of 
 Wrightstown, and from there continued 
 their journey by teams, in the direction 
 of their destination ; but at the end of 
 three miles they found themselves con- 
 fronted with an impenetrable forest, de- 
 fying farther progress with anything in the 
 shape of horse and wagon; consequently 
 the teams were left behind, and all the 
 goods and chattels carried through the 
 woods on the backs of the immigrant 
 colonists. Arrived at last at their goal, 
 they made their first settlement on a piece 
 of land now owned by Martin Van Abel. 
 Shanties or huts were hurriedly built of 
 bark stripped from the basswood tree, and 
 for a long time this was their only shelter. 
 
276 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Each member of this party took up land 
 for his own account. 
 
 During the first year Martin \'an Abel, 
 being \'oung and strong, worked for some 
 of the others who liad families, and as 
 there were no roads of an)' kind, bound- 
 aries, farms or fences, he found plenty 
 to do at chopping down the giants of the 
 forest, and out of the hewn logs building 
 dwellings of a more substantial nature. 
 The first land purchased by Mr. \'an Abel 
 was forty acres, all timber-covered, in 
 Calumet county, one-half mile from the 
 village of Holland, for which land he paid 
 ten shijlings per acre, and here he cut the 
 first tree that ever fell to axe on the 
 place, all the preliminary improvements 
 on the place being made by his own 
 hand; and, as there was no means of re- 
 moving the trees as they fell, huge bon- 
 fires were made, which consumed many a 
 thousand feet of valuable timl^er. .\bout 
 I 862 our subject removed to Section 35, 
 Holland township, where for one year he 
 lived on rented land, then in Section 34 
 he bought the twelve acres whereon is 
 now his home. 
 
 But Mr. V'an Abel, since coming to 
 Holland townshij), has been more inter- 
 ested in mercantile pursuits than in farm- 
 ing. Shortl\- after his arrival in the vil- 
 lage of Holland, in partnership with his 
 brother-in-law, lohn Wassenberg. he 
 opened out a mercantile business, con- 
 ducted by them two years, at the end of 
 which time our subject bought out his part- 
 ner and afterward carried on the store alone 
 until 1880. In that year fire destroyed 
 his store and stock in trade, causing him 
 great loss, as he had but little insurance. 
 Nothing daunted, however, he rebuilt at 
 once, bought a fresh stock, later adding 
 thereto a saloon business, all of which he 
 has since conducted with eminent success, 
 the growth of his trade necessitating the 
 enlargement of his premises from time 
 to time, until now he owns quite a com- 
 modious establishment. To his land he 
 has, by purchases at different periods, 
 added until now he has 130 acres. 
 
 In October, 1861, Mr. Van Abel was 
 married, in Holland township, to Miss 
 Ellen Wassenberg, a native of Holland, 
 born May 16, 1842, a daughter of William 
 Wassenberg, who came to the United 
 States with his family in 1851 on the 
 same boat in which the mother of our sub- 
 ject and others of the family crossed the 
 Atlantic. To this union came children 
 as follows : Born in Calumet county — 
 John, now a farmer of Holland township; 
 born in the \illage of Holland — Mary, 
 now the wife of Theodore Broercn, of 
 Portland, Oregon ; Hattie, Mrs. Henry 
 Van Deuren, of Green Bay; William (i), 
 deceased at the age of two years; Minnie, 
 one of the Sisters of St. Francis, in Mani- 
 towoc, Wis. ; Michael M., at home; Henry 
 H., a graduate of Green Bay Business 
 College ; Lizzie, who died young; Annie, 
 William (2), and Anton, all three at 
 home; Bardene, deceased; and Albert, at 
 home. Mr. and Mrs. Van Abel and fam- 
 ily are prominent members of St. Francis 
 Church, at Holland. Politically he has 
 always been a stanch Democrat, and has 
 served as supervisor, although he has 
 never sought office, his many private in- 
 terests demanding and receiving all his 
 time and attention. 
 
 Mr. Van Abel is one of the four yet 
 living of the original party of pioneers 
 who came into the Holland settlement in 
 1848 — nearly half a century ago — during 
 which long period he has witnessed mar- 
 velous changes and experienced hardships 
 unknown to and not readily realized by 
 the present commercial generation. He 
 is a living type of the progressive man, 
 who from boyhood, with but little educa- 
 tion and no knowledge of the English 
 language, essays to build up a home and 
 reputation in the wilds of a new part of a 
 new countr\', and succeeds by his own 
 brawny muscle and indomitable will 
 power. He was confronted with the 
 stern forest, and he subdued it ; he en- 
 countered innumerable difficulties, and he 
 overcame them; he met with ruinous ad- 
 versity, but Phcenix-like, he built up bet- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGEAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 ter and higher. He and his amiable wife 
 had a large family to rear, and they 
 brought them up nobly in the backwoods, 
 educating them as well as if they had 
 lived in the finest city, and taught them 
 to t;now and to live up to the knowledge 
 that they are worthy children of worthy 
 pioneer parents, respected everywhere. 
 
 F 
 
 RANK FROSCH, the postmaster 
 of Wayside, Morrison township. 
 Brown county, and a prosperous 
 merchant, is a son of George 
 Frosch (a rope-maker), a native of Baden, 
 Germany, born April 23, 181 7, son of 
 Alexander Frosch, a merchant and also a 
 rope-maker. 
 
 George Frosch also served, under the 
 military laws of his country, as a soldier 
 for three years, and therefore became a 
 free citizen. At the age of twenty-six he 
 had accumulated some means by hard 
 work, and determined then to come to 
 the United States. Embarking at Havre, 
 France, he reached New York City after 
 a passage of forty days, and thence went 
 to Rochester, N. Y. , where, even at his 
 age, he began to learn coopering, at that 
 time a very lucrative trade. A year or 
 two later he moved to Ohio, worked at 
 the same trade a short time, and then 
 came to Wisconsin, landing at Milwaukee; 
 here he worked at coopering a year or 
 more, and then went to Cedarburg, Ozau- 
 kee count}', where he was employed as 
 clerk by a Mr. Honnafer, proprietor of the 
 ' ' Washington House. " It was there that 
 he met, and married, on April 6, 1853, 
 Elizabeth Hangen, who was born March 
 17, 1 83 1, in the village of Sprendlingen, 
 Province of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, 
 a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Bal- 
 ser) Hangen, who came to the United 
 States in 1843. To the marriage of Mr. 
 Frosch was born, January 20, 1854, one 
 child, Frank. Late in the fall of 1856, 
 relinquishing coopering at Cedarburg, 
 which trade he had followed since his 
 marriage, Mr. Frosch moved to Morrison 
 
 township. Brown county, and settled on 
 forty acres of land he had previously 
 bargained for in Section 18, S. E. The 
 land was new, with only a few trees felled 
 around a shanty built by the former owner. 
 No roads were in the neighborhood, ex- 
 cepting a foot-path tliat led to the shanty. 
 Bear and deer were plenty, with other 
 wild game, and wolves were yet to be 
 found to make night hideous with their 
 howling. Mr. Frosch erected a small 
 workshop on his place, and made quite a 
 comfortable living for his famil}-. On 
 this tract, on November 18, 1867. .was 
 born the second son, George. A few 
 years later Mr. George Frosch bought 
 eighty acres in Section 17, opposite his 
 first purchase, owning eventually 124 
 acres, which he converted into an excel- 
 lent farm. About 1890 he retired to 
 Wayside, where his death occurred Febru- 
 ary 24, 1892, after one week's illness 
 from la "grippe." He was a sincere Lu- 
 theran in his religious faith, and in poli- 
 tics was a Democrat, but did not aspire 
 to public office. Mr. Frosch led a virtu- 
 ous and industrious life, one worthy the 
 study of the rising generation. He in- 
 herited nothing to give him a start, and 
 yet died a comparatively wealthy man. 
 He came to America with but a few hard- 
 earned dollars in his possession; finally 
 settled in a wilderness, which he made to 
 "blossom like the rose; "worked at a trade, 
 which, in his day, was unaided by the 
 machinery of the present day, but all 
 done by manual labor; won the respect of 
 all who knew him, and left to his progeny 
 sufficient for an honorable beginning of 
 their chosen callings. His estimable 
 widow, a member of the Lutheran Church, 
 is now residing with her son George. 
 That she has always been an invaluable 
 and earnest helpmeet to her honored 
 husband it is superfluous to add. 
 
 Frank Frosch was hardly three years 
 of age when he was brought to Morrison 
 township by his parents. In this wilder- 
 ness he was reared on the farm and in- 
 ured to all the hardships of a pioneer life. 
 
27S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 His education \v;is accjuired at the district 
 school, and was sufficient for all the pur- 
 poses of a hardy but intelligent farmer. 
 At the age of twenty-one he went to De- 
 Pere and engaged in business with Jacob 
 Falck, thus increasing his store of knowl- 
 edge. In a short time, however, he re- 
 turned to Wayside, and purchased the 
 general store of Peter Axen, which was 
 then, in 1876, a small affair, but now, 
 under Mr. Frosch's management, has 
 become one of the most thriving and 
 largest business houses of the town. Mr. 
 Frosch was united in marriage, March 22, 
 1876, at De Pere, with Miss Elizabeth 
 Beattie, a native of that city, and the 
 children born to this marriage are as fol- 
 lows: Raymond G., Frank H., Estella 
 A., and Cora E. In politics Mr. Frosch 
 is a Democrat; he was the first postmas- 
 ter at Wayside, and has so efficiently per- 
 formed the duties of the position that he 
 has held the office through all the admin- 
 istrations ever since; he has also been 
 township treasurer for the past two years. 
 His business interests have grown apace, 
 and in 1892 he took into partnership his 
 brother, George, the firm now standing as 
 Frosch Bros. Mr. and Mrs. P'rank Frosch 
 are members of the Lutheran Ch,urch,and 
 are highly respected in the social circles 
 of Wayside and the entire township of 
 Morrison. 
 
 ANDREW HIBBERD, a resident 
 of Rockland township. Brown 
 count}', was born August 8, 1S46, 
 in the State of Vermont, son of 
 Lawrence and Julia (Hall) Hibberd, both 
 of whom were natives of Canada. 
 
 Lawrence Hibberd removed with his 
 parents to New York State when but a 
 child, and resided near Plattsburg for a 
 number of years. He was a shoemaker 
 by trade. In Canada he was married to 
 Miss Julia Hall, and they had a family of 
 eight children — six sons and two daugh- 
 ters — as follows: Lawrence, of Nebraska; 
 Charles, John, and Silas, all residents of 
 
 Rockland; Edmund, of Glenmore; An- 
 drew, our subject; Angeline, Mrs. Frank 
 Gennette, of Dixon, 111. ; and Mary, who 
 died in 1894 (she was first married to 
 Oliver D. Colburn, and subsequently to 
 John Pro\ost, of Fond du lac. Wis., who 
 preceded her to the grave). Of these, 
 Andrew and Angeline were born in the 
 United States, the others in Canada. The 
 father died in 1S51 in New York, and 
 was buried in Plattsburg cemetery. The 
 widowed mother and children continued 
 to reside near Plattsburg until 1855, when 
 they came westward to De Pere, Wis. ,jour- 
 ne}ing via Toronto, Canada, to Green Bay, 
 where they landed November i, 1855, and, 
 arriving in De Pere a few days later, rented 
 a house there for a time. The sons who 
 were able to work found employment in 
 the logging camps then so numerous in 
 Brown county, and thus assisted in sup- 
 porting the family. In the spring of 1857 
 they removed to Rockland township on a 
 tract of forty acres in Section 9, for which 
 they paid $335, going into debt for the 
 amount. They built the first house on 
 the place, which was still uncleared and in 
 a primitive condition, and commenced the 
 work of clearing, a difficult task with the 
 few rude implements they had to work 
 with ; and, as the land did not yield enough 
 to support the family for the first few 
 years, the boys found work with the neigh- 
 boring farmers. The mother lived on 
 this farm until her death, which occurred 
 November 8, 1880, when she was seventy- 
 two years of age; her remains now rest in 
 De Pere cemetery. In religious faith she 
 was a member of St. Francis Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
 Andrew Hibberd received in his youth 
 but limited educational advantages, being 
 obliged, after the settlement of the family 
 in Rockland township, to assist with the 
 work on the home place. He was reared 
 amid all the hardships of pioneer farm 
 life, and was also thoroughly initiated into 
 the logging business, which he followed to 
 some extent. He lived at home until 
 December 28, 1861, when he enlisted, at 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 = 79 
 
 De Pere, in Company F, Fourteenth 
 Wis. V. I., and was sent with his com- 
 mand to Fond du Lac, thence to St. 
 Loui.s, and thence to Tennessee, where 
 he first saw active service in the engage- 
 ments at Pittsburg Landing; then, with 
 the Western army, followed the engage- 
 ments at Corinth, Holly Springs, luka and 
 Vicksburg, where he was discharged De- 
 cember 28, 1863, on account of disability 
 resulting from exposure; he was wounded 
 in the foot at the battle of Corinth. Re- 
 turning to Brown county, he shipped, the 
 the following spring, with Capt. Campbell 
 on the brig ' ' Oleander, " of Buffalo, serv- 
 ing for a time before the mast and later 
 as second mate, thus continuing until the 
 end of the season. On November 20, 
 1864, he enlisted, at Chicago, in the 
 Ninth 111. V. C, joined his command at 
 Nashville, Tenn., and during his second 
 term of service participated in the second 
 fight at Nashville, thence going to Tupelo 
 Creek, where they had six weeks of hard 
 fighting. They then crossed to Eastport 
 in pursuit of Hood, and after continuing 
 the chase for some time returned to East- 
 port on garrison duty and general recruit. 
 They were next engaged in destroying 
 local gun manufactories in northern Ala- 
 bama, and later went to Decatur and 
 Montgomery, where our subject received 
 his discharge, and, returning to Brown 
 county in November, 1865, continued to 
 live on the homestead until his marriage. 
 On November 13, 1869, at De Pere, 
 Mr. Hibberd wedded Miss Philomine 
 Floury, who was born June 13, 1852, in 
 Francis Creek, Manitowoc county, daugh- 
 ter of Louis and Margaret (Boprey) 
 Floury, the former of whom was a native 
 of Canada. At the time of his marriage 
 Mr. Hibberd purchased forty acres of land 
 in Section 9, adjoining the home farm on 
 the north, and he and his wife commenced 
 housekeeping in an old log house which is 
 still standing. Only about half of this 
 tract was cleared, all the improvements 
 which have since been made on the place 
 have been placed there by Mr. Hibberd 
 
 or under his direction; he has also added 
 forty acres to the original farm, making a 
 comfortable place of eighty acres, well 
 equipped with buildings, etc. Our sub- 
 ject and wife had children as follows; 
 Andrew, Jr., Hattie J., Frank E., Wil- 
 liam E., Lavina M., Ida E. (deceased in 
 infancy), and Louis L. Politically Mr. 
 Hibberd is one of the leaders of the Re- 
 publican party in his township; in relig- 
 ious connection he and his family are 
 members of St. Joseph's Church, De 
 Pere. 
 
 M 
 
 ARTIN CURRAN, who is a 
 thrifty and prosperous farmer of 
 Glenmore township, Brown 
 county, was born, in 1S22, in 
 County Kerry, Ireland, son of Cornelius, 
 (a farmer) and Mary (Kennedy) Curran, 
 who had a family of six children — four 
 sons and two daughters — of whom Martin 
 is the third son and the fourth child in 
 order of birth. 
 
 Our subject received a meager educa- 
 tion in the schools of his native country, 
 and was reared to farming, living at home 
 with his parents. In the spring of 1847 
 he determined to seek his fortune in the 
 United States, and accordingly took pas- 
 sage at Limerick on the sailing-vessel 
 "Souvenir," bound for Quebec, where 
 he landed after a voj'age of eighteen days, 
 a stranger in a strange land, and with but 
 twelve shillings in his pocket. But he 
 was young and strong and willing to work, 
 and for several days was employed around 
 the docks, unloading vessels. He then 
 came to Burlington, Vt., and thence to 
 the village of Sharon, where he secured 
 work as a laborer on a railroad, remain- 
 ing there one season, and here he received 
 the first twenty dollars he ever earned, 
 which was at once sent home to his 
 mother. He continued to do railroad 
 work, at various places, in Bellows Falls, 
 (Vt.), New Hampshire, Springfield (Ohio), 
 and Columbus (Ohio), (where he worked 
 several years on the C, C, C. & I. rail- 
 
28o 
 
 COMMEMORATirE BIOQRAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 road, which was then in course of con- 
 structionj. and nuinafjed to save a httle. 
 At that time land was cheap in northern 
 Wisconsin, and Mr. Curran migrated 
 to this then new State, coming by rail 
 and water to Green Hay, and thence to 
 Kaukauna, where he worked one summer. 
 The preceding fall (1853) he had in- 
 vested in 1 10 acres of land in Section 6, 
 Gleninore township, on which not a tree 
 had been felled, or an improvement of any 
 kind made. He commenced to clear 
 it during the winter, doing the best he 
 could, in the meantime making his home 
 with his brother-in-law, Thomas Sullivan. 
 The entire surrounding country was yet 
 in its primitive state; wild animals were 
 still numerous: there were no roads to the 
 farm, the nearest highway being the Dixon 
 road, which led east from De Pere. The 
 task of clearing was a difficult one, and 
 proceeded slowly, for the pioneers had 
 but a few rude tools to work with. A 
 few years later a log house was erected 
 on the place, and it still stands on the 
 original site, but Mr. Curran did not make 
 a permanent residence on iiis land until 
 after his marriage. 
 
 In 1837 he married, in Green Bay, 
 Miss Mary Donahue, who was born, in 
 1833. in County Kerry, Ireland, a daugh- 
 ter of Timothy Donahue, who came to 
 the United States when Mary was a child, 
 and the family resided in Massachusetts 
 until a few years before her marriage, 
 when they came to Wisconsin. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Curran moved to the farm shortly 
 after their marriage, and here they have 
 ever since remained. He has spent his 
 best years clearing, improving and culti- 
 vating this land, and, with each succeed- 
 ing season, the farm has become more and 
 more productive, yielding a better income. 
 Since his settlement here he has devoted 
 himself to farming exclusively, and, by 
 hard work and good management, has 
 succeeded in carving a fine property from 
 the sombre forest. Our subject has won the 
 esteem of all who have come in contact 
 with him for his integrity and upright 
 
 dealing, and he is well and favorably 
 known among the citizens of Glenmore, 
 where the entire family are held in the 
 highest respect. Politicallj' he is a Dem- 
 ocrat, but has never given . any of his 
 time to party affairs, preferring to attend 
 strictly to business. In religious con- 
 nection the family are members of St. 
 Francis Church, De Pere. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Curran had ten children, 
 all born on the farm, as follows: Mary 
 (Mrs. Edward Keegan) and Ellen (Mrs. 
 Robert Miersj, both of Milwaukee; Cor- 
 nelius, of Medford, Wis. ; Thomas and 
 Catherine, at home; Daniel M., a machin- 
 ist, of Milwaukee; Margaret A. and 
 Tinioth}', at home; Patrick, deceased at 
 the age of nineteen years; and Julia, de- 
 ceased when a year and a half old. In 
 March, 1865, our subject, enlisted at 
 Green Bay, in Compan\- F, Fiftieth Regi- 
 ment Wis. V. I. ; was sent to Madison, 
 thence to St. Louis, and for a time was 
 engaged in scouting and on guard duty 
 through northern Missouri. He was next 
 located at Fort Leavenworth and Fort 
 Rice, and in May, 1866, was discharged 
 at Madison, returning home immediately. 
 
 w 
 
 ILLIAM ROBERT ENDERBY, 
 one of the wealthiest, as well as 
 one of the most highly respected 
 and prominent citizens of Preble 
 township, Brown county, is a native of 
 England, born January 30, 1841, in the 
 town of Bolinbroke, Lincolnshire. 
 
 His father, John Enderby, a native of 
 the same county, was a laborer and small 
 farmer, industrious and honest, but not 
 overburdened with an overshare of this 
 world's goods. He married Eliza Sheriff, 
 and, after the birth of our subject, con- 
 cluded to come to the United States, here 
 to select a new home for the family, and 
 at the same time endeavor to find his 
 wife's brother, Robert Sheriff, who was 
 supposed to be somewhere in Wisconsin, 
 near Green Bay. Accordingly, leaving 
 his wife and young son in England, he 
 
:^ /f . ^^-....^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2S1 
 
 took passage in December, 1852, for the 
 United States, landing after a six-weeks' 
 voyage at New York. On fiis way west- 
 ward from there he was taken sick at 
 Amsterdam, N. J., necessitating his con- 
 finement to hospital some six or eight 
 weeks, and on recovery proceeded on his 
 journey, traveling by rail and boat to 
 Milwaukee, from which point, although 
 still unwell and feeble, he walked to 
 Green Bay, leaving, in Milwaukee, his 
 trunk, which he never saw or heard of 
 again. Arrived in Green Bay, he en- 
 quired of John Day as to the whereabouts 
 of Robert Sheriff, and learned that he was 
 conducting a farm in Freedom township, 
 Outagamie county. Thither Mr. En- 
 derby went, and, renting a farm, sent 
 home to England for his wife and son, 
 who sailed October 16, 1853, from Liver- 
 pool on the ship "Continental," onboard 
 of which were over one thousand Irish 
 emigrants (in eleven days 1,024 died of 
 cholera). In twenty-six days the wife 
 and son landed in New York, and their 
 passage to Buffalo being prepaid, started 
 to continue their journey; but through 
 some rascality or glaring mistake they 
 were made to pay their fare over again, 
 which, however, was ultimately repaid, as 
 well as damages incurred, legal proceed- 
 ings having been commenced. On their 
 arrival at Sheboygan, Wis , they found 
 that, navigation having closed for the sea- 
 son, the boat they had come on would 
 proceed no further, which was most per- 
 plexing to Mrs. Enderby, as her money 
 was completely exhausted, and she and 
 her little boj' were utter strangers in a 
 strange land. In Sheboygan they went 
 to a boarding-house, where the mother 
 worked for her board, the son helping 
 around the barn; and, as soon as sleighing 
 set in, the wa\'-worn, weary travelers, leav- 
 ing their trunks as security for transpor- 
 tation to Green Bay, set out for their des- 
 tination by sleigh, via Fond du Lac. ar- 
 riving at Green Bay in January, 1854, 
 where John Day assisted them to reach 
 their future home in Freedom township, 
 
 16 
 
 Outagamie county, a niece of which said 
 John Day, to use our subject's own words, 
 "by some unknown mystery became my 
 wife. " 
 
 On this farm they lived two years, and 
 then Mr. Enderby pre-empted eighty acres 
 of land, to which the family moved and 
 thereon lived a year, their first habitation 
 being a log shanty, and the nearest market 
 town. Green Bay, distant some eighteen 
 miles. In 1857 they removed to the 
 farm of eighty acres in Preble township, 
 Brown county, which Mr. Enderby had 
 purchased, going in debt $1,800, retain- 
 ing, however, the property in Outagamie 
 county. For one year, or until 1858, 
 they made their home on this new farm, 
 but, owing to the financial depression of 
 that year, the place was lost to them, and 
 for the next two years they had to rent it. 
 In the fall of i860 Mr. Enderby purchased 
 sixty acres, also in Preble township, the 
 farm our subject now owns, at that time 
 totally unimproved, with no building 
 thereon of any kind; consequently for 
 three years the family made their home 
 on an adjoining forty-acre farm, then 
 coming to their own place, where a dwell- 
 ing and some outhouses had been put up, 
 many other improvements also being 
 made. Here the father died September 
 5, 1870, the mother on May 4, 1874, aged 
 fifty-six and sixty years respectively, and 
 they sleep their last sleep in Green Bay 
 cemetery. They were members of the 
 Episcopal Church, and in politics Mr. 
 Enderby was a stanch Democrat. 
 
 W. R. Enderby. the subject proper of 
 this memoir, was a boy of about twelve 
 summers when he accompanied his mother 
 on the tedious journey from England to 
 Wisconsin, and at the country winter 
 schools of that period he received but a 
 limited education. At the age of fifteen 
 he began to work in the lumber camps, 
 saving his earnings, which went toward 
 paying for his father's land, thereby being 
 of great service to his parents, and (with 
 the exception of the time passed in the 
 army), he so continued until his marriage, 
 
284 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 emploj'ing himself one entire winter mak- 
 ing rails to fence the farm with. 
 
 On October 19, 1861, Mr. Enderby 
 enlisted in Company H, Twelfth Wis. V. 
 I., three-years' service, and was honor- 
 ably discharged at Natchez, Miss., De- 
 cember 31, 1863, when he veteranized, 
 re-enlisting same day in the same com- 
 pany and regiment, his final discharge at 
 Louis\ille, Ky., under special order of 
 the War Department, bearing date July 
 16, 1865. He was the first man to enlist 
 from Preble township, and the first 
 veteran to re-enlist, a fact worthy of note. 
 After his first enlistment the regiment 
 rendezvoused at Madison, Wis., and be- 
 ing then sent to the front, participated in 
 all the e.xposures and discomforts incident 
 to the preliminary movements of the 
 army in an inclement season, including 
 long and wearisome marches, which oc- 
 cupied their time until the spring of 1863, 
 when at Coldwater, Miss., they experi- 
 enced their first engagement with the 
 Confederates. After this came the siege 
 of Vicksburg, where the regiment dis- 
 played great gallantry, taking thirty- 
 one thousand six hundred prisoners, one 
 hundred and seventy-two canon, and about 
 sixty thousand muskets; part of the regi- 
 ment participated in the action at Jack- 
 son. In August, same year, the bri- 
 gade to which the Twelfth was at- 
 tached was ordered to Natchez, where it 
 remained until it was re-organized, and a 
 majority of the men had veteranized. It 
 then took part in what is known as the 
 Meridian expedition, the object of which 
 was to cripple the resources of the enemy, 
 and during this important affair it did a 
 vast amount of useful work, entailing a 
 great deal of arduous duty, a march of 
 400 miles being, perhaps, not the least 
 part of it. At Jackson, Miss. , they 
 smashed forty-four locomotives, burnt 
 twelve hundred cars and destroyed a lot 
 of railroad track. 
 
 In the spring of 1863 our subject re- 
 turned home on veteran furlough, and 
 on rejoining his regiment it was assigned 
 
 to the Arm)' of the Tennessee, taking part 
 in several of the actions preceding the 
 Atlanta campaign, under Sherman. At 
 Huntsville, Ala., Mr. Enderby was taken 
 sick, and was first sent to the hospital at 
 Huntsville, Ala., later to those at Nash- 
 ville and Louisville. After recovery he 
 set out to rejoin his regiment, which was 
 still with Sherman's army, his route being 
 via New York, Pocotaligo, S. C, and 
 Wilmington, N. C, where he made con- 
 nection with the commantl. On the day 
 before Johnson's surrender, while on 
 picket duty at Pocotaligo, he was struck 
 in the throat by a spent rifie ball. The 
 hardships endured on the Meridian march 
 produced varicose veins in the right leg, 
 while the march to Washington, after the 
 close of hostilities, brought the same 
 trouble to his left leg, by all of which it 
 will be seen that as a brave and loyal sol- 
 dier our subject suffered considerably. 
 
 After his discharge from the armj' Mr. 
 Enderby returned home to Preble town- 
 ship, and, before once more settling down 
 to the pursuits of peace, was married, 
 September 8, 1865, to Miss Eliza Ann 
 Jeffrey, who was born June 8, 1845, in 
 Scott township, Brown Co., Wis., a 
 daughter of Thomas and Eliza (Day) 
 Jeffrey, natives of Lincolnshire, England. 
 To this union children, as follows, were 
 born: Anna Eliza, now wife of Joshua 
 Ritchie, of Green Bay; John T., at home; 
 May L. , now Mrs. Frederick Huetters, 
 of Green Bay; W^illiam L. , married to 
 Miss Clara A. Sawyer, also in Green Bay; 
 Carrie J., George R., Wilbert M., Albert 
 H., and Duain M., all four at home; 
 Melinda M., deceased at the age of two 
 years; and Lottie A. and Loella A., both 
 at home. After marriage our subject and 
 his young wife made their home on the 
 farm of her parents for one year, and then 
 moved to Fort Howard, where they lived 
 three years, he conducting a butcher busi- 
 ness and farm. He is now the owner of 
 seventy-nine acres of land, eight of which 
 are covered with an orchard, the finest in 
 Brown county, and he gives considerable 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 385 
 
 attention to fruit-growing, both large and 
 small, as well as the cultivation of 
 honey bees. 
 
 Politically Mr. Enderby is a Repub- 
 lican, though the son of a stanch Dem- 
 ocrat, whose vote, on the occasion of the 
 first Presidential election after the war, 
 the son nullified by voting for Grant. 
 But no more filial son breathes, as proven 
 by his many unselfish acts of generosity 
 to his parents, whom he has aided in 
 many ways, some of which have already 
 been recounted in this sketch. From 
 his pay as a soldier he saved nearly every 
 cent, in all sending home $590 to assist 
 inicancelling a si.x-hundred-dollar mort- 
 gage held over the home farm, thereby 
 purging the property of all liens. Not 
 many years ago " Bill Enderby," as he is 
 familiarly called, was struggling along 
 "in the same old rut," making a bare 
 living on his farm; but having taken up 
 fruit culture and made himself thoroughly 
 acquainted with the business by reading 
 and observation, he has attained an emi- 
 nent success, and to-day not a more pros- 
 perous farmer is to be found in all Preble 
 township, a consummation he has reached 
 solely by industry, study, hard work, and 
 untiring energy, supported by level- 
 headed, sound judgment. At the present 
 writing he is in very poor health. 
 
 A P. SAWYER, who, for the past 
 twenty years, has been a well- 
 known resident of Preble town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native of 
 New York State, born November 2, 1847, 
 in the town of Fulton, Oswego county, of 
 hardy New England stock. 
 
 Grandfather Thomas Sawyer was born 
 in the town of Orford, Grafton Co., N. 
 H., son of Jonathan Sawyer, and was 
 reared to farming pursuits. He was mar- 
 ried in New Hampshire to Miss Asenith 
 Sargent, daughter of Timothy Sargent, 
 who was a soldier in the Revolution and 
 received a pension for his services. Thomas 
 and Asenith Sawyer became the parents 
 
 of five children — two sons and three 
 daughters — of whom, Thomas, the father 
 of our subject, was the second in order of 
 birth. 
 
 Thomas Sawyer was born July 6, 
 1807, in Orford, Grafton Co., N. H., was 
 reared a farmer boy, and at the age of 
 sixteen commenced to learn the trade of 
 tanner and currier, in which he continued 
 until he reached his majority. He re- 
 mained in New Hampshire until the spring 
 of 1834, when he removed to New York 
 State, and for four months was employed 
 as steersman and bowsman on the Erie 
 canal. Then for some months he drove 
 a stage between White Hall and Rutland, 
 subsequently following the same vocation 
 at Plattsburg, N. Y. From there he came 
 to Detroit, Mich., and engaged as stage 
 driver between Detroit and Dearbornville, 
 also between Ann Arbor and Lima, and 
 for some time also acted as road agent 
 from Ann Arbor to Kalamazoo. Return- 
 ing to New York he worked in a livery 
 stable, and also as driver from Troy to 
 Sand Lake, Pittstown, Schenectady, 
 Albany, Lebanon Springs, and various 
 other places until 1836, when he came 
 westward to Lake county, Ind. In Por- 
 ter county, same State, he commenced 
 farming, also carrying mail and conducting 
 a tavern, and here, in February, 1840, he 
 was married to Miss Amanda E. Cady, who 
 was a native of Clinton county, N. Y. , 
 born in 181 5, and had come to Indiana to 
 live with her brother. After marriage 
 Mr. Sawyer removed to Crown Point, 
 Lake county, and there engaged in farm- 
 ing, later embarking in the hotel business 
 at that place, and conducting same un- 
 til 1846, when he removed to Illinois, 
 taking up his residence in Chicago. Here, 
 for seven years, he was in the employ of 
 Asahel Pierce, as agent, selling agricultural 
 implements and buying stock, subsequently 
 working one year in a wagon shop, and 
 then for another year following teaming 
 on his own account. He next removed 
 to Northfield township, also in Cook 
 county, and lived there for some time on 
 
286 
 
 COMMEyWRATIVB BIOGRAPHICAL BE CORD. 
 
 rented land, later following;' farming; sev- 
 eral jears in McHenry count}', 111. In 
 the fall of 1869 he went to Sac City, Sac 
 Co., Iowa, where his son, James A., had 
 previously located, and there resided un- 
 til Januar}', 1893, when he came to Preble 
 township, Brown Co., Wis., to pass his 
 remaining years at the home of his son, 
 A. P. He is a hearty, well-preserved 
 man. and thouf;h. over eighty-seven jears 
 old, still reads without the aid of glasses. 
 His first vote was cast for John Quincy 
 Adams, and he has never missed but one 
 Presidential election since then, and that 
 was when Gen. Scott was candidate in 
 1852, remaining a stanch member oi the 
 Whig party and its successor, the Repub- 
 hcan party. Mrs. Amanda Sawyer died 
 in Chicago in June, 1850, of cholera. 
 She was the mother of three children — two 
 sons, A. P., and James A. (of Sac City, 
 Iowa), and a daughter, who died when 
 ten months old. In January, 1852, Mr. 
 Sawyer wedded, for his second spouse, 
 Mrs. Susan E. (Montgomery) Pratt, a 
 widow, who was born in Oswego county, 
 N. Y. , daughter of Capt. Archibald Mont- 
 gomery, of the British na\y. This wife 
 passed from earth in December, 1868, in 
 Woodstock, McHenry Co., 111., without 
 issue. 
 
 A. P. Sawyer, whose name introduces 
 these lines, received his education in the 
 common schools of Cook county. 111., 
 principally after reaching his fourteenth 
 year, as previous to that time he cared 
 little or nothing for books. On February 
 19, 1864, when but a little over si.xteen 
 years of age, he enlisted, at Elgin, 111., 
 in Company G, Fifty-second 111. V. I., 
 and was sent with his command to Pulaski, 
 Tenn., where they drilled for si.\ weeks. 
 They were then sent out foraging, and 
 while climbing into a wagon, our subject 
 had his right foot crushed, for a few days 
 being obliged to remain in the convalescent 
 camp at Pulaski. After this he was sent 
 to Tunnel Hill, on railway patrol, being 
 there for about two weeks, and then going 
 to Prospect, Tenn., helping in the garri- 
 
 son fort and guarding railway bridges. At 
 this time our subject w'as ordered to 
 Atlanta, where his regiment lay, and he 
 was under fire every day during the siege of 
 that city, which lasted about one hundred 
 days, after which his regiment was ordered 
 round to Jonesboro, which they captured, 
 thereby causing Gen. Hood to evacuate 
 Atlanta and the place to capitulate. After 
 this our subject proceeded with Sherman 
 on his march to the sea, taking an active 
 part in all the engagements en route. He 
 was present at the surrender of Gen. John- 
 ston, at Raleigh, N. C. , and took part in 
 the Grand Review at Washington, D. C, 
 from that city going by rail to Parkers- 
 burg, W. Va. , thence down the Ohio river 
 to Louisville, Ky. , where he was mustered 
 out. On July 12, 1865, he received an 
 honorable discharge at Camp Douglass, 
 Chicago, then proceeding to McHenry 
 county. 111. , where his father was residing 
 at that time, remained there a few months, 
 and then went to Northfield township. 
 Cook Co., 111., where he followed farming. 
 When but a boy of fifteen Mr. Sawyer 
 had served a three-inonths' apprenticeship 
 at Woodstock, 111., under George R. Bas- 
 sett, and he followed his trade and paper- 
 hanging for some years. In July, 1869, 
 he went to Madison, Wis., to look for 
 work, and here followed his trade for 
 a while, his first work being for railroads, 
 and as he was a good workman he readily 
 found employment with the St. Paul Rail- 
 way Company in the Prairie du Chien 
 branch, painting bridges and depots. He 
 also worked on the same road as fireman 
 ten months, and then commenced the 
 study of dentistry under Norman Ellis, of 
 Madison; but this being distasteful to him 
 he returned to his trade, engaging with 
 Memhart & Robbins, painters, at Madi- 
 son. For some time he was bar-tender 
 in that city, but in 1871 removed to Osh- 
 kosh. Wis., where he worked at his trade, 
 also logging, and remained there until 
 1873, in which year he came to Green 
 Bay. In 1874 he removed to his present 
 farm in Section 25, Preble township, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2S7 
 
 Brown county, at that time a perfect wil- 
 derness, and here he has ever since made 
 his home, engaging to some extent in fruit 
 farming, in which industry he is a pioneer 
 in his section. He has not abandoned 
 his trade, however, for during the season 
 he continues to follow same in Green 
 Bay, doing paper-hanging and general 
 painting work, besides carriage painting. 
 On July 14, 1872, Mr. Sawyer was 
 married, in Oshkosh, to Miss Annie M. 
 Maus, who was born in Preble township. 
 Brown county, in 1849, and to this mar- 
 riage came three children, namely: Annie 
 C. (Mrs. W. L. Enderby), of Green Bay, 
 and James T. and Mary A., living at 
 home. The mother of these died in 
 Preble township May 13, 1879, a member 
 of the Catholic Church, and her remains 
 now rest in Bay Settlement cemetery. 
 Mr. Sawyer married, on August 19, 1883, 
 for his second wife, Mrs. Mary E. (Vieu) 
 Ballinger (widow of Albert Ballinger), who 
 was born in Lawrence township, Brown 
 county, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth 
 Vieu, French Canadians, who came to 
 Lawrence township in an early day. Mrs. 
 Sawyer is a member of the Catholic 
 Church. Politically our subject is a Re- 
 publican, but gives little time to politics; 
 socially he is a member of T. O. Howe 
 Post, No. 124, G. A. R. , of which he is 
 chaplain 
 
 JOHN COENEN, for over forty-iive 
 years an esteemed resident of De Pere 
 township. Brown county, and vicin- 
 ity, where he ranks among the pros- 
 perous self-made agriculturists, is a native 
 of Holland, born October 28, 1834. 
 
 He is a son of Theodore Coenen, a 
 farmer of that country, who had a family 
 of nine children — seven sons and two 
 daughters — of whom John was the third 
 son and the fourth child in the order of 
 birth. About 1848, seeing that his chil- 
 dren could have better opportunities in 
 the United States, Theodore Coenen sold 
 his little property and sailed with his 
 
 family from Rotterdam in a vessel bound 
 for Philadelphia. They landed in that 
 city after a voyage of forty-eight days, 
 and then, their destination being in Brown 
 county. Wis., proceeded at once by rail 
 to Albany, N. Y., thence via the Erie 
 canal to Buffalo, and from there by the 
 old steamer " Michigan " to Green Bay, 
 Wis., where they landed early in June, 
 1848. The family was one of ten who 
 made their home in a house in Shanty- 
 town, where, one week after their arrival, 
 Mr. Coenen secured work. For a short 
 time they lived in De Pere, then but a 
 small village, and ne.xt moved across the 
 river to a place along the Ashwaubenon 
 pike, where they farmed for three years. 
 They then purchased forty acres in De- 
 Pere township (where our subject now 
 lives, which at that time was government 
 land and claimed by an individual), pay- 
 ing the claimant one hundred and fifty 
 dollars for his title and ten shillings an 
 acre to the government. Twelve acres of 
 this tract had been "lumbered over," but 
 the remainder was yet in its primitive 
 state, the only improvement thereon be- 
 ing a small three-roomed log house, where 
 they lived for a time. Work was immedi- 
 ately begun on the farm, but money was 
 scarce, and, as the boys became old enough, 
 they worked for neighboring farmers, their 
 wages usually being fifty cents a day. Mr. 
 Coenen died on this farm in 1 864, and 
 was buried in Allouez township; his wife 
 survived him until October 23, 1885, 
 when she passed away at the advanced 
 age of eighty-si.x years, and was buried in 
 the Catholic cemetery at De Pere. After 
 the father's death the sons continued to 
 live on the farm, working it together. 
 The mother also had her residence there, 
 living with her son John, at whose home 
 she died. 
 
 John Coenen attended the schools of 
 his native country, where he received all 
 his education. When fourteen years old 
 he came with his parents to the United 
 States, and here he was soon put to work, 
 assisting on the farm. The land was new, 
 
iS8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DlOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 and during his boyhood he became thor- 
 oughly familiar with all the details and 
 hardships incident to pioneer farm life in 
 the opening of a new country. On Au- 
 gust 24, 1863, John Coenen was married, 
 in Little Chute, Wis. , to Miss Gertrude 
 Reynen, who is also a native of Holland, 
 born September 25, 1840, daughter of 
 John Reynen; she came with her father 
 to the United States when she was ten 
 years old, and, with the exception of a 
 six-months' residence in Green Bay, made 
 her home in Little Chute, Wis., until her 
 marriage. Immediately after their mar- 
 riage the young couple took up their home 
 on the farm with his parents, and after 
 the death of his father, and working for 
 a while in partnership with his brothers, 
 John paid off the other heirs and became 
 the owner of the old homestead. The 
 place then comprised forty acres, to which 
 he has added from time to time, until he 
 now owns 200 acres in De Pere and Rock- 
 land townships, all of which is the result 
 of years of untiring industry and toil. He 
 has been a hard worker from bojhood, 
 and from a start of nothing has accumu- 
 lated a comfortable property, and placed 
 himself in an enviable position among 
 the well-to-do farmers of his township. 
 He has never speculated, and his success 
 shows what it is possible for a man to ac- 
 complish by perseverance and honesty 
 and a determination to win. His chil- 
 dren have been of great assistance to 
 him, the sons faithfulh' remaining on the 
 home place and taking their share of the 
 farm work. The farm is equipped with 
 substantial outbuildings, all erected by 
 Mr. Coenen, and in 1883 he built a com- 
 fortable brick residence. Our subject has, 
 in his days, seen the entire surrounding 
 country transformed from the dense forest 
 to beautiful, well-cultivated farms, and 
 he himself has taken no small part in this 
 important work. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Coenen were born 
 children as follows: Theodore, a farmer 
 of Wrightstown township; Anton, assist- 
 ing in the work on the home farm ; Annie, 
 
 Mrs. Henry Verhagen, of Freedom town- 
 ship, Outagamie county; Martina, Mrs. 
 Arnold Smith, also of Freedom township; 
 John, William, Henry and Mary, all liv- 
 ing at home; and Hattie and another 
 child, who died in infancy. The entire 
 family are members of St. Mary's Catho- 
 lic Church, De Pere. In politics Mr. 
 Coenen is a Democrat, but no active party 
 worker. 
 
 CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ, lumber 
 merchant and proprietor of plan- 
 ing mill. Green Bay, is a native 
 of Germany, born in Baringau- 
 Thuringen February 7, 1834. Michael 
 Schwarz, father of our subject, was a 
 farmer (as was his father before him) and 
 dealer in lumber in Germany, and was 
 one of the most progressive and active 
 men in his part of the country. He died 
 at the age of seventy-seven years. His 
 wife, Elizabeth (Hoercher), who was a 
 native of the same part of Germany, is 
 now living at the advanced age of eighty- 
 four years ; she is the mother of three 
 children — Christian, Eline and Oscar — of 
 whom Eline is married and lives in her 
 native land. 
 
 At the age of eighteen years, in the 
 spring of 1852, the subject of this sketch, 
 along with several others from his neigh- 
 borhood, set sail from Germany for the 
 United States, the voyage to New York 
 occupj'ing forty-nine days. From there 
 he came by way of the Hudson river and 
 railroad to Buffalo, N. Y. , where he 
 passed the winter, chopping cord-wood, 
 and the following spring he shipped as 
 deck hand from Buffalo to Chicago, mak- 
 ing several trips on the lakes as a sailor, 
 eventually finding himself in Chicago. He 
 finally shipped on a steamer coming north- 
 ward; but, on arriving at Mackinac Island, 
 left the ves.sel, and from that point made 
 his way to Green Bay, which he reached 
 in May, 1853. He was first employed here 
 in a brewery a short time, but, moving to 
 Oconto, worked in a sawmill till winter 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 289 
 
 time, when he engaged at himbering in 
 the woods, resuming sawmilling the fol- 
 lowing spring. Returning to Green Bay 
 in the fall of 1854, he commenced to 
 learn the carpenter's trade, which he fol- 
 lowed until 1865, in that year, in part- 
 nership with Theodore Kemmitz, starting 
 a planing-mill in Fort Howard, a venture 
 that proved a decided success, the concern 
 continuing for about thirteen years, dur- 
 ing which time, in 1866, John Voightwas 
 received as a partner. Mr. Kemmitz sold 
 his interest in 1877, from which time our 
 subject and Mr. Voight conducted the 
 mill until 1887, when Mr. Schwarz em- 
 barked in the lumber business, his late 
 partner continuing the planing-mill. Mr. 
 Voight and Mr. Kemmitz both came from 
 Germany on the same vessel as Mr. 
 Schwarz. In 1890 our subject, at the 
 desire of several friends, erected a planing- 
 mill in Green Bay, which has since been 
 in successful operation, its owner, by his 
 popularity as a good citizen and his close 
 attention to business affairs, having earned 
 for himself and his mill a wide and envi- 
 able reputation. 
 
 On November 7, 1857, at Fort How- 
 ard, Mr. Schwarz was married to Miss 
 Caroline Freytag, daughter of Christof 
 and Christiana (Schmideknecht) Freytag, 
 natives of Herschdorf, Schwarzburg-Son- 
 ■dershausen and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, 
 Thueringen, Germany, respectively. Mrs. 
 Schwarz came from Germany across the 
 ocean in the same vessel as her future 
 husband. To this union were born four 
 children: Lina, who died at the age of 
 two years; Emma; Carrie, wife of Ernest 
 Pecker, and Louisa, wife of Philip Lucas; 
 there is also an adopted son, Herman, 
 who was educated in the Northwestern 
 University at Watertown, Wis., which is 
 connected with the Lutheran Synod of 
 Colleges in America (he is now a student 
 of pharmacy in Milwaukee). Mr. and 
 Mrs. Schwarz are active members of the 
 German Lutheran Church; in politics he 
 has been a Republican from the time he 
 became citizenized, and he gives all his 
 
 influence to whatever may tend to benefit 
 the town or county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Schwarz are honored citizens of Fort 
 Howard, respected for their personal 
 worth, and held in the highest esteem by 
 all classes for their good qualities of head 
 and heart. 
 
 FATHER JAMES GAUCHE, retir- 
 ed, was born in Belgium, in 1825, 
 in the village of Messancy, and re- 
 ceived his literary education at 
 Bastogne Seminary, and at Grand Semi- 
 nary of Namur, at the latter educa- 
 tional institution also studying theology. 
 At the age of thirty years, on June 29, 
 1855, he was ordained priest, and was a 
 member of the Capuchin Order, near Fond 
 du Lac, as priest, twelve years; served at 
 Two Rivers six years; at Cooperstown 
 three years; and at Kaukauna eighteen 
 months. He was then at West De Pere 
 nine and a half years, and at Chilton three 
 years. For the past year and a half he 
 has been retired, and now lives modestly 
 at West De Pere in a neat and comfort- 
 able home, honored alike bj' all denom- 
 inations for his piety and benign de- 
 portment. 
 
 CW. LOMAS, attorney at law. 
 Fort Howard, was born in Wau- 
 kesha county. Wis., in 1855, a 
 son of John and Emma (Jones) 
 Lomas, natives of England, who settled 
 in that county in 1848. There the father 
 was engaged in farming until his death 
 in 1887, his wife having preceded him to 
 the grave some years previously. 
 
 Our subject received his preparatory 
 education in the schools of the county, 
 and for five or six years thereafter was a 
 school teacher. He attended the Law 
 Department of the University of Wiscon- 
 sin, at Madison, graduated in 1882, and 
 was admitted to the bar the same year. 
 The next year he was in practice with 
 Sloan, Stevens & Morris, in the capital 
 
290 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 city, and in 1883 settled in Fort Howard, 
 where he formed a partnership with P. \'. 
 Cothell, now deceased, and since 1 887 
 Mr. Lomas has been alone. In his po- 
 litical affinities Mr. Lomas is an ardent 
 Prohibitionist. He was the candidate of 
 that party for Attorney-General of the 
 State in 1894; has served as city attorney 
 of Fort Howard eight years; has a good 
 practice, and has accumulated some prop- 
 erty. He is a director of the McCartney 
 National Bank of Fort Howard. In 1885 
 he was married in Crawford county, Wis. , 
 to Miss Fannie Gay, who has blessed his 
 home with three bright little daughters: 
 Cora, Emma, and Loraine. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lomas are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church, in which Mr. Lomas is superin- 
 tendent of the Sunday-school; he is presi- 
 dent of the Y. M. C. A., and was superin- 
 tendent of the Fort Howard schools two 
 years, 1891,-92. They are highly respect- 
 ed as members of society and moral factors 
 in the community. 
 
 REV. FATHER JOHN VER- 
 STEGEN, pastor of St. Mary's 
 Parish, De Pere, Brown county, 
 was born in the Province of North 
 Brabant, Holland, April 9, 1840. He 
 was educated in the classics in Holland, 
 and in philosophy and theology in the 
 Augustinean College, Belgium, finishing 
 his studies at the Seminary of St. Francis, 
 Milwaukee, Wis.. He was ordained a 
 priest at Green Bay, Wis., June 10, 
 1870, bv Bishop Joseph Melcher, D. D., 
 and August 14, 1870, was placed in 
 charge of the congregation at Freedom, 
 where, through his energy, the new 
 church edifice (St. Nicholas) was com- 
 pleted and a new parochial school-house 
 erected. Of this new church he was the 
 faithful pastor until January, 1882, on the 
 seventh day of which month he was ap- 
 pointed to St. Mary's, or the Church of 
 the Immaculate Conception, at De Pere 
 - — his present incumbency. Under his 
 wise administration the church building 
 
 has been greatly enlarged and improved, 
 and he has also largely added to the 
 church property; he has, besides, erected 
 a substantial brick school edifice with a 
 capacity for 246 scholars, and in 1893 he 
 erected a tine and roomy building for the 
 accomodation of the Reverend Fathers 
 connected with the congregation. Father 
 Verstegen is still in the prime of life, is 
 active and alert, and never tires of doing 
 irood for his beloved Hock. 
 
 CHARLES R. DENIS. This gen- 
 tleman, for so nian\- \ears favor- 
 ably known on and about the 
 lakes, especially by vessel owners, 
 is a Belgian by birth, born February 17, 
 1849, a son of Leopold and Rosalie (Noel) 
 Denis, of the same country, who were the 
 parents of eleven children — si.x sons and 
 five daughters — Charles R. being the sec- 
 ond son. 
 
 In 1855, our subject being then nearly 
 seven years old, the family came to the 
 United States, the trip across the ocean 
 being made in the " Henry Reed " sailing 
 ship, and, after landing in New York, pro- 
 ceeded to Buffalo, N. Y. , where they 
 passed their first v\inter; thence in the fol- 
 lowing spring traveled by rail to Fond du 
 Lac, Wis., and from there by team to 
 Green Bay. In Belgium the father had 
 followed agricultural pursuits, and, being 
 desirous of continuing the same vocation 
 in the New World, bought 160 acres of 
 totally uncleared timber-land in Brussells 
 township. Door Co., Wis., near Red 
 River. This, however, the family never 
 cleared, nor even lived on, though in later 
 years the father did some logging on it; 
 but in Allouez township they lived for 
 five years on Capt. Cotton's farm, where 
 is now the cemetery of that township. 
 Here he died January 22, 1892, his first 
 wife having preceded him to the grave 
 in 1866. He was a Democrat in politics, 
 and for eighteen jears was assessor of his 
 township. They were the parents of thir- 
 teen children, viz. : Joseph, a steam tug 
 
<:^k^</^^^?^^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 291 
 
 captain in Green Bay; Victoria, wife of 
 Frank Garrett, of Green Bay; Charles R., 
 subject of sketch; Louis (an engineer), 
 who died in 1891 at Appleton; Alfonso, 
 who died while en route to America; Vic- 
 tor, who died in Buffalo, N. Y. ; Leopold, 
 an engineer, with residence in Green Bay; 
 Julia, wife of X. Parmentier, city clerk 
 of Green Bay; Mary, wife of Alfonse 
 Hugot, of Allouez; Rosalie, wife of Ralph 
 Soquet, a druggist; Charles A., of West 
 De Pere; and two, whose names are not 
 given, that died while 01 route to America. 
 Leopold Denis, father of this family, for his 
 second wife married, in 1867, Honore 
 Hitas, also a native of Belgium, to which 
 union were born five children, of whom the 
 living are Victor, Frank, James, and 
 Honorius. 
 
 Charles R. Denis, the subject of these 
 lines, received his education at the com- 
 mon schools of the period in Wisconsin, 
 and at the early age of fifteen commenced 
 working on steamboats plying between 
 Escanaba and Green Bay. Securing 
 employment on the vessels of the North 
 Western Steamboat Company, his first 
 job was firing on the ' ' George L. Dun- 
 lap " for three years, later on the " Sarah 
 Van Epps, " and still later on the "Sagi- 
 naw" and the " Escanaba," all belonging 
 to the North Western Company. After 
 firing for six seasons, he, in 1870, was 
 given the position of engineer on the high- 
 pressure tug " Ida S." in Green Bay har- 
 bor, at the end of two years was trans- 
 ferred to the tug "Escanaba," after an- 
 other year rejoining the " Ida S.," and at 
 the close of two more years' service on 
 her was made engineer on the "John 
 Gregory," which was built in Green Bay. 
 He assisted in putting the engines into 
 this boat, and ran her on her maiden trip. 
 (Prior to this he served as engineer of No. 
 2 fire engine in Green Bay). The "John 
 Gregory" plied between Green Bay and 
 Chicago, and from her Mr. Denis went to 
 the "John H. Hackley," in the same 
 capacity; but at the end of his second 
 season as engineer on her, he and his 
 
 brothers, Capt. Joseph and Paul Denis, 
 bought the "Ida S. Botsford," which 
 they rebuilt and named ' ' The Denis 
 Bros. " Of her our subject was engineer 
 one season, and the following winter he 
 put the engine into the "W. L. Brown." 
 Selling out such interests as he had in 
 boats, Mr. Denis concluded to leave the 
 lakes, and in 1882 bought his present 
 farm of seventy-four acres in De Pere 
 township, moving thereon; but he can not 
 forsake his old love, the lakes, for every 
 summer he readily finds employment on 
 some steamboat or other as engineer. 
 He has sailed the lakes, either as fireman 
 or engineer, for nearly all the large vessel 
 owners in his part of the State, and has 
 in every instance proved himself as com- 
 petent as he is reliable and trustworthy, 
 qualifications in which he is second to 
 none. In addition to what has already 
 been here enumerated, he has put the 
 engines into several boats, including the 
 ' • Fannie Hart. " He has never been ship- 
 wrecked, although he has e.xperienced 
 many hairbreadth escapes, and he has 
 often worked with wrecking parties, be- 
 sides meeting with not a few pioneer ad- 
 ventures. On one occasion, while on his 
 boat, which had run ashore, word reached 
 him that his mother was dangerously ill. 
 Without a moment's delay he left the 
 boat, and with the speed of an Indian 
 made a dash through the woods for his 
 home, either running or walking for forty- 
 five miles to a certain point, which he 
 reached in twenty-four hours. Here he 
 was enabled to take boat for his destina- 
 tion, which he reached in safety. In this 
 homeward journey he passed one night in 
 the woods amid the bowlings of hungry 
 wolves, who would have made short work 
 of him had he not kept them at bay by 
 lighting occasional fires, fortunately hav- 
 ing some matches in his pocket. 
 
 On August 20, 1872, Mr. Denis was 
 married, in Green Bay, to Miss Eliza Lesses, 
 who was born September 7, 1849, in Bel- 
 gium, a daughter of August Lesses, who 
 came with his family to the United States 
 
292 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1 87 1. The children of this union 
 ■were: Joseph, Annie, George, Willie (de- 
 ceased in infancy), Laura, Lizzie, William, 
 Paul and Rosa. In politics our subject has 
 always been a stanch Republican, and he 
 and his wife are prominent members of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church, respected 
 and honored by all who know them. 
 
 JACOB JACOBSEN, a well-known 
 and prosperous citizen of Glenmore 
 township. Brown county, was born 
 June 30, 1855, in Norway. 
 His father, also named Jacob, was a 
 merchant and later a seafaring man, but 
 he met with reverses, and in 1869 con- 
 cluded to bring his family — which then 
 comprised six children — to the United 
 States, he having visited this country 
 two years previously, and purchased some 
 land in Ashwaubenon township. Brown 
 county, Wis. The family sailed from 
 Skien on the " Rukan," and after a voyage 
 of eight weeks and three days landed in 
 Quebec, thence journeying by rail and 
 water to Chicago, 111., where they lived 
 four months. They then removed to the 
 farm in Ashwaubenon township, where 
 the father passed the remainder of his life, 
 dying in 1876; he was a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, and in political affili- 
 ation a Republican. The mother is now 
 living in Allouez township. Brown county, 
 with her son Peter, who is sexton of 
 Woodlawn cemetery, near Green Bay. A 
 brief record of their children is a follows: 
 Six were born in Norway — Jacob, who is 
 mentioned further on; Christ, who died 
 in this country at the age of twenty-one 
 years; Louis, who lives in Fort Howard; 
 Inge, Mrs. Louis Christopherson, of Ash- 
 waubenon; Martin, a resident of Glen- 
 more township; and Peter, who is sexton 
 of Woodlawn cemetery, near Green Bay; 
 and three were born in Wisconsin — Hans, 
 and Andrew, both now living in Green 
 Bay; and Neils, who died when six years 
 old. 
 
 Jacob Jacobsen received a good 
 
 common-school education in his native 
 country, and, when about fifteen years of 
 age, came with his parents to the United 
 States. He commenced to learn wood- 
 carving in Chicago, but shortly afterward 
 went on the lakes as cook. When 
 his parents removed to Wisconsin he 
 accompanied them, and, after working a 
 few months on his father's farm, began to 
 work for others. In the spring of 1 870 
 he entered the employ of M. Sellers, a 
 merchant and horse dealer of Fort Howard, 
 and afterward worked seven months with 
 a surveying corps, laying out the northern 
 extension of the Milwaukee & Northern 
 railroad. He next worked as general 
 utility man for Lawyer Neville, and later 
 peddled ice for six years for Bennett & 
 Conley, after which he removed to Glen- 
 more township. On August 22, 1877, he 
 was married, at Fort Howard, to Miss 
 Augusta Siversen, who was born in Nor- 
 way, in October, 1854, daughter of Siver 
 Oleson, and in the fall of the same year 
 the young couple removed to the town of 
 De Pere, where, during the succeeding 
 winter, he chopped wood for fifty cents a 
 cord. The next spring he removed to the 
 city of Green Bay, and during the sum- 
 mer again worked for Bennett & Conley. 
 Later he purchased sixty acres of land in 
 Section 29, Glenmore township, going in 
 debt for it, as he had but twenty-five dol- 
 lars in money, and he and his wife took 
 up their residence in a small log house 
 which stood thereon. Only five acres of 
 this tract were cleared, and he immedi- 
 ately set to work to improve the rest; but 
 he only remained there one year, when he 
 was appointed sexton of the Woodlawn 
 cemetery at Green Bay, and continued in 
 that position five years. In the fall of 
 1884 he came to his present farm, for 
 which he had in the meantime traded, and 
 here he has since resided, except during 
 the summer of 1886, when he worked in 
 Sheboygan for his former employer, Mr. 
 Conley. This place originally contained 
 eighty acres, to which he subsequently 
 added eighty more, but later sold forty. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 393 
 
 Mr. Jacobsen has carefully cultivated and 
 improved his farm, has remodelled his 
 residence and built a commodious barn, all 
 of which tends to enhance the value of 
 his property. At one time he owned al- 
 together 760 acres, but he has disposed of 
 the greater part of it. In connection 
 with his farming interests he has conducted 
 a store and cheese factory, and has met 
 with unbounded success in all his ventures. 
 Our subject has been indeed a self-made 
 man; beginning life without pecuniary 
 aid, he has risen by industry to the posi- 
 tion he now occupies among the leading 
 respected citizens of Glenmore township. 
 Being steady-going and reliable he won 
 the confidence of his employers, and he 
 has won and retained the esteem of his 
 fellowmen for his honesty and square 
 dealing. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jacobsen have had eight 
 children, namel}': Emma, Jennie, Chris- 
 tina, Carl, Olena, Cigur and Clara, all 
 living, and Louisa, who died young. Mr. 
 Jacobsen has always been a Republican 
 in politics, and is one of the leaders of 
 the party in his township, where he has 
 been elected to various positions of honor 
 and trust. Since 1885 he has been school 
 clerk, and he served two terms as town- 
 ship treasurer, discharging the duties of 
 his office conscientiously and to the satis- 
 faction of all concerned. Socially he has 
 been a member of the Royal Arcanum, 
 Green Bay Lodge, since 1882, and in 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the Lutheran Church at 
 Glenmore, in which he has been trustee 
 since his residence in the township. 
 
 CASPER SCHADEN, a well-known 
 member of the farming commu- 
 nity of De Pere township. Brown 
 county, was born April 2, 1842, 
 in Prussia, son of Frank J. and Catherine 
 (Cornelius) Schaden, the latter of whom 
 died when Casper was an infant. The 
 father was subsequently married again, 
 this time to Gertrude Andre, by whom 
 
 he had four children : Mary, Gertrude, 
 Joseph and Anna Mary ; by his first wife 
 he had two children, Catherine and Cas- 
 per, and of the entire family, four children 
 are yet living. Frank J. Schaden was a 
 blacksmith, and a successful tradesman. 
 
 In 1852, his second wife having also 
 died, Frank J. Schaden concluded to 
 bring his family to America, and after an 
 ocean voyage of forty-eight days, they 
 landed in New York City, thence imme- 
 diately coming westward to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., where they visited friends. From 
 Milwaukee they came direct to De Pere, 
 Brown county, where Mr. Schaden had 
 two brothers-in-law living, and during the 
 first winter the family were scattered, the 
 father working hard to get a start. He 
 purchased twenty acres of new land, and 
 erected a log house thereon, in which the 
 family lived for some time, and, with the 
 aid of his sons, he eventually cleared the 
 farm and converted it into a cultivated 
 productive tract. He died September 23, 
 1 886, at the home of his daughter, and 
 was buried in Denmark, Brown county. 
 
 Casper Schaden attended school in 
 his native land until he came with his 
 father to the United States, after which 
 he was obliged to give up school, as his 
 help was needed on the farm, where he 
 was thoroughly trained to agricultural 
 pursuits. When he first came to De- 
 Pere township there were no roads for 
 wagons, and he had to carry flour 
 on his shoulder from Green Bay. One 
 night his sister and one of the younger 
 boys went after the cows, but dark- 
 ness coming on before she reached 
 home with them, she lost her way and was 
 compelled to remain in the woods all 
 night. Our subject remained on the farm 
 continuously until i860, in the fall of 
 which year he went to Pensaukee, Wis., 
 and commenced to work in the lumber 
 regions, where he experienced hardships 
 and -privations which only the strongest 
 constitution could withstand. In the 
 spring he would return to the farm and 
 there remain during the summer, return- 
 
294 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing to the lumber refjions in the winter. 
 He worked in Stiles, Oconto county, one 
 winter, and was also employed by a man 
 named Kaymen, in Denmark, for the Two 
 Rivers Company; for two winters he was 
 in the employ of Richie, from De Pere, 
 and together with this he also drove team 
 for sixteen winters. 
 
 On January 29, 1867, Mr. Schaden 
 was married to Miss Catherine Kohren, 
 and since then he has given his attention 
 e.\clusi\ely to farming. He first purchased 
 twenty acres of land, which he paid for 
 with the pine timber cut from the place, 
 and by the united efforts of himself and 
 wife the land was cleared and improved, 
 and later added to, until they now own 
 sixty-five acres of fertile, well-cultivated 
 land. The)' have had twelve children, as 
 follows: Casper, born October 21, 1869; 
 Joseph, born January 2, 1871 (deceased); 
 Kate, born March 18, 1872 (deceased); 
 Peter, born January 25, 1873; Joseph, 
 born May 24, 1874 (deceased); Kate, 
 born February 28, 1876; Nick, born 
 October 17, 1 877; Mary M., born Decem- 
 ber 12, 1879; Elizabeth, liorn -April 8, 
 1882; Gertrude, born March 10, 1884; 
 Ann A., born January 28, 1886; and John, 
 born October 28, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Schaden were originally members of the 
 Catholic Church in Green Bay, but now 
 belong to the church in New Denmark, in 
 which latter they celebrated their silver 
 wedding January 29, 1892, Rev. Father 
 Garus officiating. Politically our subject 
 is a Democrat, and has served his town- 
 ship as path master two years, and as 
 school director. He is an honest, upright 
 citizen, and has the esteem and respect of 
 all who know him. 
 
 PHILLIP FALCK (deceased), who, 
 in his lifetime, was one of the 
 leading pioneers and merchants 
 of Morrison township. Brown 
 county, was born August 9, i8i8, in the 
 village of Kondersheim, Hesse-Darmstadt, 
 Germany. 
 
 His father, George Falck, a tailor by 
 trade, was twice married in Germany, 
 and b}' his first wife, whose maiden name 
 was Hahn, he had three children — Phillip, 
 Margaret, and Elizabeth. In 1837 he 
 came to the United States with his family, 
 and landed in New York, whence he went 
 to Albany, N. Y. Here it was that Phil- 
 lip began business for himself by peddling 
 goods throughout the land from a pack on 
 his back. He made money in the East, 
 but finally determined to come to Wis- 
 consin, where homes were then cheap, 
 and he virtually walked from New York 
 to Milwaukee with his pack on his back 
 (excepting, of course, when he was obliged 
 to cross streams or lakes on vessels), sell- 
 ing goods on the way, and adding to his 
 stock of cash. In the early part of 1843 
 he reached his destination, and took up 
 some land at Germantown, Washington 
 county, at that time a wilderness. He 
 made a small clearing, built a log cabin, 
 and, with a comrade, Frank Snyder, kept 
 bachelor's hall until his marriage, which 
 took place in January, 1847, with Cath- 
 erine Hangen, who was born October 27, 
 1828, in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, a 
 daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Balser) 
 Hangen. Of this family four sisters — 
 Apollonia, Christina, Catherine, and Eliz- 
 abeth — came from Germany in 1843, 
 and settled in Germantown, Washington 
 county. Mr. Falck lived in Washington 
 county until the fall of 1855, when he 
 settled in Morrison township. Brown 
 county, where he had previously bar- 
 gained for 200 acres of land with Mr. 
 Morrison, after whom the township 
 was named. He cleared up twelve acres 
 of his land, and for a year he and his 
 family lived in a little log house, when a 
 larger and more commodious dwelling was 
 built. As the tilled land hardly produced 
 enough for the support of the family, Mr. 
 Falck entered into merchandising, and 
 for some years he carried on the first store 
 in Morrison township in a part of his 
 dwelling house. His trade increased, and 
 he built an addition to his home, later, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 295 
 
 another addition, and still later, a de- 
 tached store, where the business has ever 
 since been carried on by his descendants. 
 Mr. Falck lived until September 27, 1889, 
 when, after a year's suffering of helpless- 
 ness from paralysis, he passed away, and 
 was buried in the Lutheran cemetery; he 
 was a Lutheran in his religious views, and 
 in politics was a Democrat. He had fil- 
 ially provided a home for his father and 
 mother, who died in Morrison, the father 
 at eighty-five and the mother at about 
 the same age. 
 
 The children born to Phillip and Cath- 
 erine Falck are Jacob, a liquor dealer of 
 De Pere; Phillip, a sketch of whom fol- 
 lows; Frank, a farmer of Seymour, Outa- 
 gamie county; George, a hotel-keeper at 
 Seymour, all born in Washington county; 
 Peter, a hotel and saloon keeper at Bril- 
 lion. Wis. ; Marks, a farmer in Morrison 
 township; Catherine, now Mrs. August 
 Seefeldt, of Morrison; John, a farmer of 
 Morrison township; Daniel, also of Mor- 
 rison, and Louis, a cheesemaker of the 
 same place, these six being all natives of 
 Morrison township. Since the death of 
 Mr. Falck, his widow, who is still a well- 
 preserved lad}' for her time of life, has re- 
 sided at the old home in Morrison, and 
 has with her her venerable mother, now 
 at the advanced age of ninety-four years. 
 
 PHILLIP FALCK, of Morrison 
 township. Brown county, was born 
 in Washington county. Wis. , No- 
 vember 10, 1850, and was but 
 four years of age when brought by his 
 parents to Brown county. He was 
 reared to farming in Morrison township, 
 and received a very fair education at the 
 district school. When old enough he 
 was placed in his father's store — the first 
 established in Morrison — and after a short 
 service was sent to Milwaukee; where he 
 took a thorough course in the Spencerian 
 Business College. In 1876, in partner- 
 ship with his brother Frank, he purchased 
 his father's store, and carried on the 
 
 business under the firm name of Phillip 
 Falck & Bro., until the fall of 1889, when 
 he became the sole proprietor. 
 
 In April, 1875, Mr. Falck married, 
 at Morrison, Miss Alvina Lemke, who 
 was born January 28, 1853, in Germany, 
 and came to the United States when 
 about fourteen years of age. The union 
 has been blessed with three children, 
 namely: William C, Frank P., and 
 Lydia B. C, the sons both assisting in 
 their father's store. For nearly twenty 
 years Mr. Falck has carried on this busi- 
 ness so early and successfully established 
 in the wilderness by his father, Phillip 
 Falck. Having been reared under the 
 careful and watchful eye of his wise and 
 prudent father, and having been apt and 
 ready at all times to oblige his patrons 
 and customers, Phillip Falck has secured 
 a long list of friends, whom he has "grap- 
 pled to his soul with hooks of steel," and 
 no other proprietor of a country store in 
 Brown county can boast of a larger pat- 
 ronage. In politics Mr. Falck is a Demo- 
 crat, and in November, 1S93, was ap- 
 pointed postmaster of Morrison. 
 
 CHRIST HANSEN, one of the 
 well-known business men and 
 farmers of Preble township. 
 Brown county, is a native of 
 Denmark, born September 25, 1846, son 
 of Hans Hansen, who was a brickmaker 
 and wagon wright by occupation. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of his native land, 
 and when a mere youth commenced to 
 assist his father in the brickyard, continu- 
 ing thus until he reached the age of seven- 
 teen, when he commenced to learn the 
 brickmaker's trade. He served a three- 
 years' apprenticeship, during which period 
 he received only his board, his parents 
 being obliged to clothe him; subsequently 
 he worked for a time as journeyman. 
 Being a natural mechanic, he was also 
 able to do blacksmith work, and for two 
 years conducted a shop of his own for all 
 
296 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 kinds of repair work, at the end of which 
 time he sold out. Mr. Hansen was mar- 
 ried in Denmark to Miss Mary Yorgensen, 
 a native of the same locaht)', and in that 
 country one child, Hans, was born to 
 them. In 1872, concluding to seek a 
 home for himself and family in the 
 United States, our subject sailed from 
 Copenhagen on an Anchor Line steamer, 
 and on April 8 landed in New York with 
 a light purse but bright prospects. In 
 Perth Amboy, N. J., he worked a short 
 time, making fire-brick, and then com- 
 menced blacksmithing at that place, con- 
 tinuing in the same for two years; shortly 
 after his arrival he had sent for his wife 
 and child, who reached America in July, 
 1872. From Perth Amboy, N. J., the 
 family removed to Woodbridge, same 
 State, and there remained six months, 
 during which time Mr. Hansen conducted 
 a saloon; but, being dissatisfied, he discon- 
 tinued the business, and for one summer 
 worked on a farm; then, during the fol- 
 lowing winter, went back to his old home 
 in Denmark, where he remained from 
 December until March. Returning to 
 New Jersey Mr. Hansen did not remain 
 long, but came westward to Green Bay, 
 Wis., arriving April i, 1S75, and here 
 commencing to follow his trade at a saw- 
 mill, doing repair work, etc., for two 
 years. Removing thence to Humboldt 
 township. Brown county, he purchased a 
 piece of land, and here engaged in black- 
 smithing for four and a half years, at the 
 end of that time coming to Preble town- 
 ship, where he has ever since resided. 
 After settling here he followed farming 
 and blacksmith work for many years, and 
 for the last eight seasons has conducted a 
 brickyard on his farm, in which time he 
 has turned out ever one million five hun- 
 dred thousand brick, all made by hand. 
 His life has been one of constant toil, but 
 he has succeeded in making for himself a 
 comfortable home, and has won and re- 
 tained the respect of all who know him 
 for his honesty and square dealing. He 
 is well known in his township, and has 
 
 served as school clerk and treasurer with 
 credit to himself and satisfaction to his 
 constituency, being faithful and efficient 
 in the discharge of all his duties. Until 
 the office was abolished at Weisert he was 
 postmaster there, ha\ing the office in the 
 brick storeroom on his farm, where, since 
 Julj', 1892, he has carried on a saloon 
 business. In political connection he is a 
 Republican. When he landed in the 
 United States he had four dollars; but, not 
 allowing himself to become discouraged, 
 he set to work with a will, and has met 
 with well-merited success. 
 
 To Mr. Hansen's first marriage were 
 born three children: Hans, who died in 
 New Jersey; a daughter that died in in- 
 fancy in Green Bay; and Christina, now 
 living at home. The mother of these 
 died in 1890, and was buried at Green 
 Bay; in January, 1891, Mr. Hansen mar- 
 ried Miss Caroline Neilson, who is a na- 
 tive of New Denmark, Brown county, 
 and to this union has come one child, 
 Carl Christ. 
 
 JH. LEONARD, life insurance agent 
 at No. 105 North Washington street. 
 Green Bay, was born in Brooklyn, 
 N. Y. , in 1843, ^ SO" of Stephen 
 and Mary (Howard) Leonard, natives of 
 England. Stephen Leonard was a sea- 
 captain, plying between Liverpool and 
 New York, and early took up his residence 
 in the latter city, where he died in 1845, 
 his widow surviving until 1859. 
 
 J. H. Leonard was reared in that part 
 of Brooklyn then known as Williamsburg, 
 and at the age of sixteen came to Wis- 
 consin and first engaged in clerking in 
 Manitowoc. In 1860-61 he attended 
 school in Madison, W'is. , and in April, 
 1 86 1, enlisted in the Manitowoc County 
 Guards, which company was later merged 
 with Company A, Fifth Wisconsin Infan- 
 try, enlisted for three years' service. This 
 regiment was assigned to the Sixth Army 
 Corps, Army of the Potomac, and partici- 
 pated in the battles of William.sburg, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 297 
 
 Gainesville, White Oak Swamp. Malvern 
 Hill, Antietani, Fredericksburg, Chancel- 
 lorsville, Gettj'sburg, Rappahannock Sta- 
 tion; through Gen. Grant's campaign, in- 
 cluding Spottsylvania, Petersburg and Cold 
 Harbor. He was wounded by a gunshot 
 at Rappahannock Station, but happily 
 soon recovered. From private he was 
 promoted to sergeant, and for meritorious 
 and gallant conduct was offered a com- 
 mission as first lieutenant. He received 
 his discharge July 27, 1864, and returned 
 to Manitowoc, where he, for a while, was 
 engaged in teaching, and afterward at 
 Kewaunee. In July, 1874, he came to 
 Green Bay, and was employed as book- 
 keeper by the L. M. Marshall Lumber 
 Company. In politics Mr. Leonard is a 
 Republican, and for six and a half years, 
 from January, 1878, to July, 1885, was 
 city superintendent of schools; from 1889 
 to August, 1893, he was internal revenue 
 collector, since when he has been engaged 
 in his present business. The marriage of 
 Mr. Leonard took place in 1867, in Mani- 
 towoc county, Wis., to Miss Martha 
 Gould, a native of Racine, and daughter 
 of Edwin and Hester Ann (Barnes) Gould, 
 natives, respectively, of New York and 
 Massachusetts. Mr. Gould was a pioneer 
 of Racine, was a tanner by vocation, and 
 died in Green Bay; Mrs. Gould died in 
 Racine. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard had born 
 to them two children: Mattie Alice, wife 
 of F. F. Jones, of Harvey, 111. (she is a 
 graduate of the Green Bay high school, 
 and Lawrence University, Appleton), and 
 C. J., who died at the age of three years. 
 Mr. Leonard is largely associated with 
 secret societies, being a member of Wash- 
 ington Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M. ; of 
 Warren Chapter No. 8; secretary of Pales- 
 tine Commandery, No. 20; member of 
 Pochequette Lodge, No. 26, K. of P. ; 
 Navarino Lodge, No. 1384, K. of H. ; of 
 T. O. Howe Post No. 124, G. A. R., of 
 which he is post commander, and is past 
 chancellor in the K. of P., a record which 
 proves his great popularity, and the ex- 
 tent of the affectionate hold he has upon 
 
 his fellow-men. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard 
 are members of the M. E. Church at 
 Green Bay, of which he is a steward and 
 trustee; he was also formerly superintend- 
 ent of the Sunday-school, and is still a 
 teacher. He has witnessed much of the 
 substantial growth of Green Bay, and has 
 always been, since his residence in the 
 city, an eager promoter of its prosperity 
 by all means within his power. 
 
 HERBERT F. CAMM, of the in- 
 surance and real-estate firm of 
 Camm & Erbe, Fort Howard, 
 commenced business in 1891, cor- 
 ner of Main and Broadway, the firm 
 doing a general insurance business, and 
 handling city property. 
 
 Mr. Camm was born in 1866, in Fort 
 Howard. His father, Thomas M. Camm, 
 was also born in Fort Howard, in 1828, 
 in the government fort (old Fort Howard) 
 at that place, in which his father, Orderly- 
 Sergeant John Camm (grandfather of our 
 subject) was stationed as a member of 
 the detachment from the United States 
 army then garrisoning the fort, and where 
 he had been since 1826. The worthy 
 Sergeant died in Michigan of cholera, 
 during the Black Hawk war of 1S32, 
 when so many of the soldiers fell victims 
 to the same disease. He was a native of 
 England, and his wife, Martha (Campbell), 
 was a descendant of the noted Clan 
 Campell (Duke of Argyle's clan) of 
 Scotland. Their son, Thomas M., was 
 reared in the neighborhood where he first 
 saw the light, and was educated in the 
 schools of Green Bay. He is one of the 
 oldest pioneer merchants in the Green 
 Bay region, beginning as a clerk and at 
 length engaging in business for himself. 
 In 1864 he was married, at Fort Howard, 
 to Miss Caroline Gray, who was born in 
 Canada, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Gray, the former of whom was a native 
 of the North of Ireland, the latter of Penn- 
 sylvania, being descended from the early 
 Pennsylvania-Dutch settlers. Thomas M. 
 
298 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 Camm has been in acti\c business about 
 forty years. Politically a Republican, he 
 has been a member of the town board, 
 member of the school board, superin- 
 tendent of schools and postmaster at 
 Fort Howard, where he and his wife still 
 reside. Besides one son, Herbert F. , 
 they had two daughters: Edith M., who 
 resides at home, and Ethel C, who died 
 at the age of twelve years. 
 
 Herbert F. Camm, like his father, was 
 reared and educated in Fort Howard. 
 When of proper age he began clerking in 
 his father's store, leaving there to take up 
 the study of architecture, while studying 
 which he was tendered a position in the 
 McCartney National Bank, which he ac- 
 cepted, filling same for three years, and 
 then resigning to enter the line of busi- 
 ness in which he is now engaged. He is 
 in direct line from one of the oldest resi- 
 dents of Fort Howard, and, in all re- 
 spects, is '• native here and to the manner 
 born." Politically he is independent, 
 voting for what he deems the best meas- 
 ures. By profession he is an architect, 
 and has done not a little in that line, as 
 many handsome structures testify, but 
 prefers the active life of business, hence 
 his present connection. He is a member 
 of the Y. M. C. A., having been one of 
 the founders of the local branch of that 
 sterlintf institution. 
 
 CHESTER G. WILCOX, post- 
 master at De Fere, Brown county, 
 and well known as a manufac- 
 turer of harness, saddles, etc., 
 and albeit a politician of much shrewd- 
 ness and merit, was born May 29, 1848, 
 in Milford, Oakland Co., Mich., the day 
 on which the State of Wisconsin was ad- 
 mitted to the Union. 
 
 He is a son of Levi S. Wilco.x, whose 
 biography will be found in the closing 
 paragraphs of this sketch. Chester G. 
 Wilcox received an excellent literary 
 education at the Union Seminary of Cam- 
 den, N. Y. , and at Utica University, 
 
 Utica, Mich., which was supplemented 
 by a course of study in Bryant & Strat- 
 ton's Commercial College, of Utica, from 
 which he graduated in bookkeeping, and 
 later taught a class in this art at the same 
 college. While a student at Camden he 
 began to learn the trade of harness mak- 
 ing, and finished at Rome, N. Y. In 
 1865, on June 17, he arrived at Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., being at the time the happy 
 possessor of $ 1 7 in cash ; thence he went to 
 Wheeler Prairie, Dane Co., Wis., where 
 he found employment on a farm. His 
 next p>ermanent place of residence was 
 De Pere, where his uncle, E. I. \\'ilcox, 
 was principal of the high school. Here 
 he obtained a certificate as a school- 
 teacher, but never utilised it, as he found 
 a broader and more remunerative held in 
 the harness business in Green Bay, which 
 he followed three years, when he returned 
 to New York on account of the illness of 
 his father, and from there to the Utica 
 University, already alluded to. In 1870 
 he again came to De Pere, and formed a 
 partnership with John H. McDonald in 
 the harness business, their store being at 
 the corner of James street and Broad 
 way. For seventeen years the firm did a 
 prosperous business, and during that period 
 every other business house in De Pere 
 either failed, changed hands or dissolved. 
 In 1 87 I Mr. Wilcox entered into the real- 
 estate business on a small scale; but it has 
 continued to increase ever since — in fact, 
 from 1S85 to 1894 it was estimated that 
 his transactions in this line exceeded those 
 of any other dealer in Brown count}', and, 
 in the hundreds of real-estate deals he has 
 made, not a single deal or deed has been 
 questioned, nor has he ever foreclosed a 
 mortgage. He is now the owner of much 
 valuable propert\' in De Pere and the sur- 
 rounding country, including residences, 
 business houses and farms, and is also 
 owner of the " Broadway House " at Fort 
 Howard; but he nevertheless clings to the 
 harness business in De Pere. 
 
 In politics Mr. \\'ilcox is a Democrat. 
 In 1873 he was elected alderman of De- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ?oi 
 
 Pere against William P. Call, and served 
 three or four terms, resigning during his 
 last term; was elected to the school board, 
 was its president three terms, and is 
 president at the present time; was elected 
 to the county board in 1878, and, with 
 the exception of one year, served continu- 
 ously for fourteen years; in 1880 he was 
 elected to the State Assembly, and served 
 one term, being the youngest member of 
 that Legislature. He has been chairman 
 of the Brown County Central Democratic 
 Committee, and delegate time and again 
 to Democratic county and State Conven- 
 tions. Along with A. E. Decker, of 
 Fond du Lac, he was a State delegate to 
 the National Convention of the Knights of 
 Labor held at Richmond, Va., in 1886. 
 At three different times he was appointed, 
 by the circuit judges of as many districts, 
 commissioner for the equalization of 
 ta.xes, and revised the tax lists of Outa- 
 gamie, Door and Oconto counties. On 
 December 12, 1893, he was appointed 
 postmaster of De Pere, and is now filling 
 the office to the entire satisfaction of the 
 public and the department, and with 
 credit to himself. As a citizen Mr. Wil- 
 cox has been more than ordinarily active 
 and useful. He was one of the project- 
 ors and organizers of the Brown County 
 Agricultural & Mechanical Association, 
 has been a member thirteen years, and 
 for three years filled the chair as presi- 
 dent; he has also been its treasurer and 
 superintendent. In 1871 he was one of 
 the organizers of the first fire company in 
 De Pere, drew up its first by-laws, and 
 has been a member ever since. No mem- 
 ber of the company ever beat him in 
 "running with the machine." Indeed, 
 Mr. Wilcox excels as a runner, has been 
 in many running matches of one hundred 
 yards, and has made the distance in ten 
 and one-quarter seconds, when he beat 
 John Gray, ex-champion of Canada, in 
 Oneida county, N. Y. In 1876 he was 
 captain and catcher in the De Pere Base 
 Ball Club, and won the championship 
 of Brown county. He has served as 
 
 17 
 
 president of the Business Men's Associa- 
 tion of De Pere, and is now treasurer; 
 is also the treasurer of the De Pere Elec- 
 tric Light & Power Company, which he 
 originated. He helped to organize the 
 Artesian Water Supply Company, and is 
 one of the largest stockholders therein; is 
 vice-president of the State Agricultural 
 Society, and superintendent of one of its 
 seven departments; he also helped in se- 
 curing the water-power for the paper-mill 
 at De Pere, and has been quite prominent 
 in forwarding numerous other enterprises 
 of great benefit to the city. He engineered 
 the deal resulting in the purchase of 1,200 
 acres of land for $120, 000, for the Allouez 
 Land & Improvement Company, in 1893, 
 and also secured the land at Little Rapids, 
 abutting the dam, for Davis Bros., besides 
 conducting many other important real- 
 estate transactions, too numerous to be 
 mentioned within the scope of this bio- 
 graphical sketch. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Wilcox took place 
 June 15, 1 87 1, with Miss Sarah J. Miller, 
 daughter of Godfrey Miller, a wealthy 
 farmer of Brown county, who died in No- 
 vember, 1893, and whose widow, Caro- 
 line (Stuart) Miller, now resides in De- 
 Pere. To this union four children have 
 been born, two of whom: Levi S. and 
 Chester G., aged twenty years and one 
 year, respectively, are living. Frater- 
 nally, Mr. Wilcox is a Freemason. His 
 rectitude and abstemiousness are remark- 
 able. He has never used tobacco in any 
 form, has never tasted a drop of beer or 
 liquor, except as medicine, has never 
 played a game of cards or any other 
 game of chance, has never been arrested, 
 and has never had a law-suit for himself. 
 He is not connected with an}' Church. 
 
 Levi S. Wilcox, father of Chester G. 
 Wilcox, was born December 3, 1818, in 
 the town of Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. 
 Y. , and was a son of Chester Wilcox, a 
 farmer and live-stock dealer, who married 
 Lorelia Sperry.a native of Oneida county. 
 New York. 
 
 Levi S. Wilcox was reared to farming 
 
302 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 on the north side of Oneida Lake, N. Y. , 
 and at twenty-one years of age migrated 
 to Ohio, then considered to be in the 
 " Far West. " Here he worked a j'ear 
 and a half at coopering and farming, and 
 then returned to New York State and 
 worked four years for Carter Bros., 
 farmers, tanners and merchants of Oswego 
 county. On April 20, 1846, he married 
 Isabella Lambie, who was born April 3, 
 1825, in Scotland, and at the age of six 
 years was brought to this country by her 
 parents, John and Jane (Allen) Lambie. 
 The father, John Lambie, was in failing 
 health when he left Scotland, and came 
 to America with the hope of recovery, but 
 he gradually declined, and died March 
 28, 1834, his remains being interred at 
 Camden, Oneida Co., N. Y. His widow 
 died at the home of her son-in-law, Levi 
 S. Wilco.x, April 22, 1869, and her re- 
 mains now rest beside those of her hus- 
 band. She was the mother of ten chil- 
 dren, of whom two only survive — Mrs. 
 Wilco.x and Jcannette, the wife of John 
 Carter, of Pleasant Valley, Oakland Co., 
 Mich. Soon after his marriage Mr. Wil- 
 cox bought eighty acres of land in the 
 town of Highland, Oakland Co., Mich., 
 and on this land he lived five years, when 
 he returned to Camden, N. Y. , and for 
 sometime worked for a furniture company 
 as deliverer, etc. , using the identical team 
 that hauled him and his family back from 
 Michigan — going via Canada. He then 
 followed the livery and stage business for 
 eight or ten years, and also dealt in 
 horses, using New York City as a market. 
 Later, in company with John Lambie, he 
 built a gristmill, but, in a short time there- 
 after, he disposed of this property and re- 
 engaged in the livery business for three or 
 four years, and then moved to Lowville, 
 Lewis Co., N. Y., and followed the livery 
 business until the fall of 1881, when he 
 came to Brown county. Wis. , and for a 
 year resided in De Pere, undisturbed by 
 business cares. About 1S83 he purchased 
 the farm in Brown county on which he 
 now resides, and which he has converted 
 
 into one of the prettiest homes on the 
 Fox river. The children born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. L. S. Wilcox were named as 
 follows: Chester G., whose sketch ap- 
 pears above; Jane M., who was born in 
 Michigan, and is now the widow of A. S. 
 Fifield, of De Pere; John, born in Oneida 
 county, N. Y., now a harness maker at 
 Fort Howard, Wis. ; Lilly, now Mrs. 
 Dennis B. Foster, of Fairchild, Wis. ; 
 William, twin of Lilly, who died at the 
 age of eight months. Mr. Wilcox is a 
 Democrat in politics, and in religion is 
 Presbyterian. 
 
 GODFREY MILLER (deceased), 
 was born October 8, 1813, in 
 Warren county, N. Y., and was 
 married November 5, 1840, to 
 Caroline Margaret Stewart, daughter of 
 Robert D. Stewart. Mrs. Miller was 
 born June 4, 1817, and bore her husband 
 three daughters, as follows: Emma Cot- 
 ten, who was born June 25, 1843, was 
 married to Jerome Tyler, and is now a 
 widow, residing at De Pere; Anna Rose- 
 bery, born January 29, 1847, was mar- 
 ried to George Woodward, of Kaukauna, 
 in June, 1870; Sarah Jane, married to 
 Chester G. W^ilcox in June, 1870. 
 
 Godfrey Miller was a wheelwright by 
 trade, and for seven years worked at his 
 vocation in Easton, Penn., having charge 
 of the shop most of the time. In 1837 
 he came to De Pere, Brown Co., Wis., 
 and in the summer of the same year built 
 a sawmill in Fond du Lac, there being 
 but two white families in the place at 
 that time. He then returned to De Pere 
 and continued to work at his trade until 
 1839, when he bought a farm of eighty 
 acres, one mile south of West De Pere. 
 The only gristmill was then at "Cocoa- 
 low," or Little Chute, and from De Pere 
 a skiff-load of grist would be taken down 
 one da}', be ground, and returned the 
 next. In 1842 he moved into his house 
 on this farm, and there resided the re- 
 mainder of his davs. Under the direc- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 303 
 
 tion of Mr. Miller the first dam, a spar 
 dam, was built across the Fox river at De- 
 Pere. Many sawmills in the neighbor- 
 hood were also built under his direction. 
 In politics Mr. Miller was a Republican. 
 He was the first treasurer of Lawrence 
 township, which he had helped to organ- 
 ize, and filled the office many years; he 
 also served on the school board with much 
 efficiency. He was an active member of 
 the Presbyterian Church — first at Green 
 Bay; later, a member and trustee at De- 
 Pere. His death took place suddenly on 
 the night of November 2, 1893, his corpse 
 being found by his wife at seven o'clock 
 the ne.xt morning. Mr. Miller was one of 
 the most respected of the early settlers of 
 De Pere, honored for his sterling quali- 
 ties of both head and heart. He was 
 thoroughly versed in the topics of the day 
 and the affairs of the world, being a 
 studious reader. His widow now resides 
 at De Pere, aged seventy-six years, and 
 is still bright and active. 
 
 WILLIAM COOK, one of the most 
 prosperous agriculturists and 
 lumbermen of Suamico town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native 
 of New York State, born in Chazy town- 
 ship, Clinton county, October 12, 1S41, a 
 son of John and Anna Cook. 
 
 John Cook, father of our subject, was 
 born in the city of York, England, whence, 
 at the age of fifteen years, he emigrated 
 to this continent, for some five years mak- 
 ing his home in Canada, then moving to 
 New York State (probably St. Lawrence 
 county), where he met and married Miss 
 Ann Leger, a native of Canada. She is 
 a daughter of Francis and Margaret 
 (Lorette) Leger, French Canadians by 
 birth, respectable farming people, who 
 moved from Canada to New York State, 
 later to Wisconsin, where they passed 
 the remainder of their lives, dying at 
 the home of our subject's mother, he at 
 the great age of one hundred and three 
 years, she when seventy years old. 
 
 They were the parents of ten chil- 
 dren. John Cook was a day laborer until 
 coming to the United States; then, in St. 
 Lawrence county, N. Y. , he bought a 
 farm, and conducted same until 1856, 
 when he came west to Wisconsin, and 
 purchased the property still occupied by 
 his widow, in Suamico township. Brown 
 county, where he conducted a tavern. 
 Mr. Cook died on the homestead, in the 
 fall of 1890, at the ripe age of seventy- 
 eight years, and, when he was no more, 
 the community in which he had lived 
 felt that there had departed from their 
 midst a grand, good man. He and his 
 faithful wife accumulated several acres of 
 wild land, which, by honest toil and untir- 
 ing energy, they converted into fertile 
 fields, and here she is yet living, in the 
 old-time tavern that for over thirty-five 
 years has been known as one of the best 
 hostelries in this section of the country. 
 William Cook, the subject proper of 
 these lines, received a liberal education 
 at the schools of his native township, and 
 was reared to farming pursuits under the 
 tuition of his father. In 1856 he came to 
 Wisconsin with the rest of the family, 
 and in Suamico township. Brown county, 
 has since remained, actively engaged in 
 agricultural and lumbering pursuits, now 
 owning over 900 acres of prime farming 
 land. His success in life may be said to 
 have had its commencement, or at any 
 rate considerable impetus, in this way. 
 One day he set out to hunt up the cows, 
 and found them on land covered with 
 pine timber. He brought them home, 
 and that same night proceeded to Chicago, 
 where he bought two "forties" of land 
 here, paying for same the sum of two 
 thousand dollars. Attorney Robert Lin- 
 coln, son of Abraham Lincoln, making out 
 the deed. Two weeks afterward William 
 Cook sold his purchase for two thousand 
 dollars per "forty," to A. Weed, who, at 
 that time, had a sawmill three miles from 
 Flintville, on the Suamico river. William 
 Cook is considerably interested in real 
 estate, owning, in the village of Flintville^ 
 
304 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 several choice buildiiij,' lots, as well as some 
 2,800 acres of timber landelsewere; and in 
 all respects is one of the leading, progres- 
 sive and affluent citizens of Brown county. 
 He is a representative self-made man, a 
 typical American hustler, in spite of his 
 impaired eyesight. In the first winter 
 after his marriage he commenced lumber- 
 ing, and his indefatigable, clever wife did 
 all the cooking for the camp, three long 
 winters, sometimes providing for as many 
 as from twenty-five to thirty men, in ad- 
 dition to which she kept the men's time 
 and her husband's accounts. After they 
 had succeeded in making sufficient clear- 
 ing, which took two or three years, 
 they commenced cultivating their present 
 fertile farm, situated a few miles from 
 their present home. At the present time 
 he owns and operates a large sawmill 
 ninety miles north of Green Bay on the 
 Milwaukee & Northern railroad, and he 
 expects to cut three million feet this 
 winter. 
 
 On November 27, 1865, Mr. Cook 
 was married to Mrs. Eliza Douglas (^iice 
 Millington), widow of G. Stephen Doug- 
 las, an Englishman by birth, to whom 
 she was married May 3, 1856, and who 
 died, during the Civil war, at Antietam, 
 Md., September 16, 1862. Mrs. Eliza 
 Cook is a very refined and highly accom- 
 plished lady, and for some time was a 
 successful school teacher, first in the 
 academy where she was receiving instruc- 
 tion, afterward teaching in the town of 
 Vienna, Oneida Co., N. Y., in the same 
 schoolhouse she used to attend when a 
 child; and, still later, a school in the 
 village of Cleveland, Oswego county, the 
 last of her teaching in New York State. 
 In Flintville, Wis., she taught four years, 
 during which time she also tended the 
 little store that will be spoken of farther 
 on. To Mr. and Mrs. Cook came two 
 children — William E. and Jay — both 
 born in the house where the family are 
 j'et residing, the former August 15, 1872, 
 the later October 3, 1875. Of these, 
 William E. was educated at the district 
 
 schools and Green Bay Business College, 
 after which he kept books two years for 
 Cook & Boulet, merchants and lumber- 
 men. Jay was married in the fall of 
 1894 to Miss Myrtle A. Huntington, who 
 was but seventeen jears old on the 24th 
 of last September, and whom he had 
 known from childhood. The entire family 
 are identified with the Congregational 
 Church, in which Mrs. Cook is an active 
 worker; in his political proclivities our 
 subject has always been a Democrat. 
 
 Mrs. Eliza Cook is a native of New 
 York State, born in Oneida county, to 
 Thomas R. and Betsy (Hall) Millington, 
 the father also a native of Oneida county, 
 N. Y. (he has been blind for the past 
 fifty years of his life, and at the age of 
 ninety is yet living at the home of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cook), the mother born in 
 Rochester, Mass., and died in New York 
 State, at the age of thirty-two; they had 
 one son and two daughters. The first of 
 the Millington family to come to this 
 country from Wales (where, by the way, 
 the name was spelled Myllington) was 
 Peter, in 1740, accompanied by his wife 
 (who had with her a two-year-old son, 
 named Peter), and his brother Isaac. 
 Peter was an officer in the French and 
 Indian war, stationed at Fort Wang, 
 where is now the city of Albany, N. Y. ; 
 Isaac was killed by the Indians. Their 
 father, David Millington, died in Wales 
 in 1745, leaving for his heirs in America 
 an estate that is now worth half a million 
 dollars, besides a considerable sum of 
 money in the bank. His son Peter mar- 
 ried an English lady named Anna Roberts, 
 and by her had seven children — three 
 sons, Peter, H. Gates and Asa, and four 
 daughters, Polly, Hester, Betsy and Millie. 
 His home was at Bennington, \'t. , and he 
 owned a farm on the banks of the Hoosac 
 river. He served in the Revolutionary 
 war, in the Green Mountain Rangers, and, 
 though he participated in many battles, 
 was never wounded; was taken prisoner 
 twice, however, but on each occasion 
 effected his escape, the second time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 305 
 
 through the bravery and cleverness of a 
 Miss Hannah Wright, who will again be 
 referred to. After the war he sold his 
 farm in Vermont, and moving to Nevv 
 York State, located in Springfield town- 
 ship, Otsego county, near the head of 
 Lake Otsego, later making his home in 
 Vienna township, on the banks of Lake 
 Oneida, where he died in 1809, leaving 
 his widow well provided for. 
 
 H. Gates Millington, second son of 
 Peter and Anna (Roberts) Millington, was 
 Mrs. Eliza Cook's grandfather. He was 
 born June 20, 1777, and died May 26, 
 1849; married Miss Mary Roberts, who 
 was born February 25, 1782, married at 
 the age of seventeen, and died February 
 14, 1 871; she was a daughter of Samuel 
 and Hannah (Wright) Roberts (the mother 
 being the heroine who in her girlhood 
 was the means of Peter Millington's es- 
 caping from Burgoyne's soldiers, as al- 
 ready referred to). Samuel Roberts and 
 several brothers served in the war of the 
 Revolution, all escaping wounds or cap- 
 ture; he being a brother to Mrs. Peter 
 Millington, it shows that Mrs. Eliza 
 Cook's grandfather and grandmother were 
 first cousins. Samuel Roberts was killed 
 by a falling tree while he was clearing a 
 site at Crown Point, N. Y. , near the 
 Vermont border line. H. Gates Milling- 
 ton had three sons and one daughter, 
 their names and dates of birth being as 
 follows: Thomas Ransom, November 4, 
 1804; Moremus, September 10, 1806; 
 Samuel, April 16, 1808, and Julia Ann, 
 March 3, 1812. 
 
 Thomas R. Millington, the eldest of 
 these, was Mrs. Eliza Cook's father. He 
 was married March 2, 1828, at the home 
 of the bride in Hastings township, Os- 
 wego county, N. Y. , to Miss Betsy Hall, 
 who was born October 9, 1804, daughter 
 of Jonathan and Abigail Hall, the former 
 a native of Vermont, born of English an- 
 cestry who came from England in the 
 "Mayflower" in 1620 (two brothers, 
 were Jonathan and William Hall). They 
 were married October 24, 1784, and had 
 
 nine children — five sons: Heman, Hosea, 
 Hopestill, Josiah, and John ; and four 
 daughters : Irene, Betsy, Abigail, and 
 Harriet. The father died in the town of 
 Hastings, Oswego county, N. Y. , at the 
 age of seventy-two years ; in the war for 
 Independence he served as a wagon-mas- 
 ter. Mrs. Eliza Cook's grandmother, 
 Abigail (Bisbee) Hall, was born October 
 
 21, 1767, in Massachusetts, the eldest 
 child of Hopestill and Abigail (Churchill) 
 Bisbee, the latter of whom was in some 
 way related to Lord Churchill, of Lon- 
 don, England. Mrs. Jonathan Hall's 
 father was the first to erect a furnace in 
 Massachusetts for the making of pew- 
 ter and Britannia metal dishes, etc. ; it 
 was built in North Rochester, but was 
 long ago converted into a saw and grist 
 mill, and the farm on which it stood has 
 never gone out of the Bisbee family, hav- 
 ing been handed down from father to son. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Thomas 
 R. Millington commenced housekeeping 
 in a neat, comfortable log house on the 
 shore of Lake Oneida, Oneida county, N. 
 Y. , and here were born one son and 
 two daughters, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows : Marcus, Octo- 
 ber 25, 1829; Eliza (Mrs. William Cook), 
 November 6, 1834; and Betsy J., July 
 
 22, 1836. On February 19, 1838, the 
 mother died, of consumption, leaving the 
 three little children to the care of the 
 bereaved father, whose affliction was in- 
 tensified by his being nearly blind, the 
 result of an attack of measles he suffered 
 soon after marriage, on which account he 
 had subsequently to enter the Eye Infirm- 
 ary at Rochester. She was a faithful 
 wife, the kindest of mothers, and a true 
 friend to all ; in her housekeeping affairs 
 she was ever neat, tidy and industrious, 
 while no woman could be more clever 
 with the needle ; and her call from earth 
 was mourned not only by the husband, 
 children and other relatives, but also by a 
 wide circle of sorrowing friends. The 
 children, after the death of their mother, 
 were taken to the home of their grand- 
 
3o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 parents, with whom they lived five years, 
 enjoying every comfort and attention, the 
 grandfather especially, who was a devout 
 Christian man, being exceedinglj' kind to 
 them. But, alas ! the pleasant, peaceful 
 home was destined to be broken up in an 
 unexpected and dire manner, the cosy 
 house and all its contents being burned to 
 the ground in a bright afternoon in the 
 fall of 1843, while all the inmates were 
 temporarily absent. After this Mr. Mil- 
 lington again took charge of his daughter 
 Eliza, and went to housekeeping, renting 
 part of a house occupied by a Quaker 
 family, who were very kind to her, one 
 and all taking an unselfish interest in her 
 welfare. After a time she went to live 
 with a married uncle (her mother's eldest 
 brother) in Onondaga Valley, and she 
 then went to district school and acad- 
 emy several terms, intending to qual- 
 ify for the profession of school teacher, 
 which vocation she commenced at the age 
 of seventeen, continuing in same with 
 eminent success until her marriage with 
 G. S. Douglas, as already recorded. 
 
 He was a native of the cit}' of York, 
 England, born May 9, 1830, of Scotch 
 descent on his father's side. In the 
 fall of 1856 her father set out for 
 Wisconsin, bought land, then returned 
 to New York State, sold his property 
 and once more, in the fall of 1861, 
 came to Wisconsin, his daughter, Mrs. 
 Douglas (at that time), and her little 
 daughter accompanying him, Mr. Douglas 
 having gone to the war, and, having saved 
 some money, bought land in Oconto 
 county, near the Brown county line, 
 which he held several years and then sold. 
 On November 17, 1858, a little girl was 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Douglas, but was 
 carried off by scarlet fever in 1864, a most 
 interesting, lovable child, gone to mingle 
 with the angelic throng. In 1862, at this 
 place, which afterward came to be known 
 as Flintville, in Suamico township, 
 Thomas R. Millington and his daughter, 
 Mrs. Eliza Douglas, opened out a general 
 store, buying their stock of groceries in 
 
 Fort Howard, and their dry goods in Green 
 Bay, from which time, up to her marriage 
 with Mr. Cook, she assisted in her father's 
 store in Flintville, also teaching school, 
 as above stated. 
 
 When Mrs. Cook came to this part of 
 Wisconsin, she traveled by water from 
 Buffalo to Green Bay, to the place now 
 called Flintville, where she has always 
 resided since coming west, and she found 
 things in a very primitive condition. 
 There was no railroad, the nearest post- 
 office (Fort Howard) was twelve miles dis- 
 tant, and the only span of horses in the 
 township was owned by John Cook, her 
 present father-in-law, so that ox-teams 
 may be said to have been the only mode 
 of transportation. The first Sunday- 
 school in Flintville was organized in 1863 
 by a Mr. Lepard, of which school Mrs. 
 Douglas was made first superintendent. 
 Her father is well known and greatly 
 esteemed for his industry and thorough 
 business habits, and as one who has made 
 his way in the world b}' laudable ambi- 
 tion. In his political preferences he was 
 a Democrat till 1856, when he changed 
 his views, becoming a stanch Republican, 
 and has since remained a solid member 
 of that party. 
 
 JOHN GRATZA was born February 3. 
 1856, in Upper Silesia, Germany, 
 son of John and Caroline (Kuczera) 
 Gratza, the former of whom was a 
 successful farmer. They were the par- 
 ents of thirteen children: Frank, Johanna, 
 Geneva, Mary, John, Frank and Joseph, 
 and six who died in infancy. The mother 
 of this family died in Germany, February 
 17, 1872, and in 1878 the father came to 
 America, settling in Clover Bottom, Mo., 
 where he passed the remainder of his life, 
 dying March 3, 1886. At the time of his 
 decease he was the owner of 600 acres of 
 land. 
 
 John Gratza received all his education 
 in Germany, and then in 1877 entered 
 the priesthood. Three months later he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWQRAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 307 
 
 came to America, sailing from Bremen to 
 New York, and thence journeying; directly 
 to Alton, 111., where he remained until 
 July, 1893, at which time he entered 
 upon the duties of his charge in New Den- 
 mark, Brown county. This congregation 
 has been organized about ten years, and 
 now includes 120 families — one hundred 
 Polish, and twenty German. In his polit- 
 ical preferences Father Gratza is a Demo- 
 crat, and takes much interest in the suc- 
 cess of the party. 
 
 ESEIUS BEISSEL, a thoroughly 
 representative respected old set- 
 tler of New Denmark township. 
 Brown county, is a native of the 
 State of Pennsylvania, born August 27, 
 1824, in North Sunbury, Northumberland 
 county, son of Jacob and Mary (Adams) 
 Beissel, the former of whom was a farmer 
 by occupation, in which he was very suc- 
 cessful. There were ten children in his 
 family, of whom Rachel died when nine 
 years old; Hosanna, Mrs. Snavelly, died 
 at Watson, 111., in February, 1894; Eseius 
 is the subject of these lines; Levi lives in 
 Wenona, 111.; John is deceased; Priscilla 
 died at Tonica, 111. ; Aaron lives in Kansas; 
 Jacob went to Missouri; two died in in- 
 fancy. In 1838 the father of this family 
 sold his farm of 190 acres in Pennsyl- 
 vania, and removed with his family to the 
 then new State of Illinois, purchasing 360 
 acres of wild land in Roberts township, 
 Marshall Co., 111., on which place he 
 passed the remainder of his busy life. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farm life by 
 his father, and in 1838 came with the rest 
 of the family to Illinois. Here he was mar- 
 ried, January 7, 1853, to Miss Margaret 
 Kahren, who was born January 17, 1835, 
 in the village of Marsdorf, Rhein Province, 
 Prussia, the eldest of ten children born 
 to J. Peter and Margaret (Chimmer) 
 Kahren, as follows: Margaret; Jacob, who 
 was drowned in the East river, when thirty- 
 three years old; Catherine and Joseph, 
 who died in infancy; Joseph, who died at 
 
 the age of thirty-three in Oshkosh, Wis. ; 
 Elizabeth and Catherine, deceased; Anna; 
 Michael, deceased; and Catherine, now 
 Mrs. Sharky, of Green Bay, Wis. In 1852 
 this family sailed from Germany, and, 
 after a voyage of thirty-three days, landed 
 in New York, thence coming directly to 
 Milwaukee, Wis. , where they lived six 
 months, and then removed to Illinois. 
 At the time of his marriage Mr. Beissel 
 purchased eighty acres of land in Evans 
 township, Marshall Co., 111., where he 
 and his young wife commenced their mar- 
 ried life; but sometime later, owingto her 
 illness, he sold the place and worked out 
 by the month, being thus engaged two 
 years. Then, going to Wenona, 111., he 
 bought a house and lot, and they resided 
 there until 1862, when they came to New 
 Denmark township. Brown Co. , Wis. , 
 where he purchased si.xty acres of land 
 still in its primitive condition, and here 
 made a permanent home; at the time of 
 his settlement the land was still wild, but 
 with years of earnest, unremitting toil he 
 has succeeded in converting it into a well- 
 improved property. For sixteen years 
 after coming to the county he was en- 
 gaged in teaming between Green Bay and 
 Pine Grove. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Beissel were born 
 ten children, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows: Mary, February 
 14, 1854; Amelia, January 14, 1857; 
 Charles, September 15, 1859; Louis, 
 March 30, 1862; Joseph, January 28, 
 1865; Barbara, August 4, 1867; John, 
 January 21, 1870; Catherine, September 
 13, 1872; Jacob, April 25,, 1875; and 
 Henry, January 7, 1878. Those deceased 
 are Mary, who died October 2, 1885; 
 Barbara, who died September 25, 1868; 
 the rest all live at home, except Amelia, 
 Mrs. Sampson, of Fort Howard, and 
 Charles, now in Coleman, Wis. The 
 family are all adherents of Holy Trinity 
 Catholic Church, New Denmark, and in 
 his political preferences Mr. Beissel is a 
 Republican, though not a strict partisan. 
 He is well known and highly respected in 
 
3oS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the community, with whose interests he 
 has been identified so many years, and 
 has served his township as justice of the 
 peace six years and school treasurer nine 
 years, proving a most reliable, faithful 
 official. 
 
 J 
 
 AMES HOBBINS, the oldest living 
 settler in Rockland township, Brown 
 county, is a native of the Emerald 
 Isle, born in i8i6, in County Tip- 
 perary, son of Thomas Hobbins, a farmer. 
 The latter had a family of ten children — 
 seven sons and three daughters — of whom 
 James is the eldest son. 
 
 James Hobbins was reared to farming 
 pursuits, which he followed in his native 
 country until 1846, when he decided to 
 immigrate to America. He had married 
 Miss Bridget Schooley, who bore him one 
 son, John, in Ireland, and in May, 1846, 
 the family took passage for New York 
 on a Black Star liner, landing after a 
 voyage of seventeen days. They pro- 
 ceeded at once to Philadelphia, where 
 they remained a short time, Mr. Hobbins 
 working in a stone quarry, also as over- 
 seer for a farmer, and then removed to 
 Oneida county, N. Y. Here the family 
 resided about four years, Mr. Hobbins en- 
 gaging in farm labor, and here two more 
 children were added to the family: 
 Thomas, who died in De Pere, Wis., 
 where he was a justice of the peace; and 
 Patrick, who also died in De Pere, Wis., 
 of which city he was marshal for seven 
 years. In May, 1850, attracted by the 
 cheap homes offered to settlers in Wis- 
 consin at that time, they came westward, 
 taking passage at Buffalo on the "A. D. 
 Patchen," and landing in Milwaukee, 
 thence coming to Green Bay, and losing 
 no time after their arrival in looking up 
 a good location. In Holland township. 
 Brown county, Mr. Hobbins purchased 
 160 acres of new land; but, being some- 
 what dissatisfied with that part of the 
 country, he invested, in the same year, 
 in eighty acres of land lying in Section i 5, 
 
 Rockland township, and here he has 
 ever since made his home. There were 
 but three families in the township at 
 that time, no roads of an\' kind were 
 laid out, and, in order to reach his 
 home, Mr. Hobbins had to cut a path 
 through the forest. He felled the first 
 tree ever cut down by a white man on the 
 place, and built the first dwelling, a log 
 cabin, about twenty rods from the site of 
 the present family residence. Game was 
 still plentiful, and deer were frequently 
 seen in the clearing. Mr. Hobbins ex- 
 perienced all the hardships and inconve- 
 niences incident to backwoods life and 
 the clearing and improving of a farm in a 
 new country. Even after the trees were 
 felled the stumps and roots remained, and 
 having no modern appliances for remov- 
 ing them, he could not use a plow suc- 
 cessful!)', and was obliged to do the best 
 he could with a grub-hoe. Money was 
 very scarce, so, in order to obtain enough 
 for their needs, our subject worked, dur- 
 ing the winter season for several years, in 
 the lumber camps of Brown county. But, 
 in spite of the dangers and privations, he 
 remained on the farm, laboring earl\- and 
 late to hew himself a comfortable home 
 from the dense forest, and he has lived to 
 see his place transformed from a wilder- 
 ness to a beautiful productive tract of 
 land, the result of long years of unrelent- 
 ing toil. As will be seen, he has resided 
 here continuously forty-four years, during 
 which period he has watched the progress 
 and development of his section, taking no 
 small part in the work himself. He is 
 now the oldest living settler of Rockland 
 township, where he is well known and 
 highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends 
 and acquaintances. He has served his 
 township in various positions of honor and 
 trust, having held the important office of 
 chairman several years, was school di- 
 rector eighteen years, and has also been 
 assessor. In political affiliation he is a 
 stanch Democrat. In religious faith he 
 is a Catholic, and was among the first to 
 take active steps in the formation of St. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 309 
 
 Francis Church at De Pere, of which he 
 is now the oldest Hving member, and 
 which at first was the place of worship 
 for all nationalities. Mrs. Hobbins passed 
 from earth February 1 1, 1886, at the age 
 of seventy-three years, and was laid to 
 rest in De Pere cemetery; since her de- 
 cease our subject has lived a compara- 
 tively retired life, making his home with 
 his eldest son, John (the only surviving 
 member of his family), who now conducts 
 the farm. 
 
 John Hobbins was born in April, 1845, 
 in County Tipperary, Ireland, whence, 
 when a year old, he was brought by his 
 parents to the United States, and was five 
 years of age when the family settled in 
 Rockland township. Here he was reared 
 to manhood on the pioneer farm, receiv- 
 ing a thorough training to agricultural 
 pursuits, and, at the same time, obtaining 
 such an education as the early district 
 schools afforded. In July, 1867, he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Bridget 
 Ryan, who was born in County Tipperary, 
 Ireland, in 1848. She is a daughter of 
 Patrick Ryan, who died in Ireland, leav- 
 ing a widow and seven children — four sons 
 and three daughters — and in 1853 this 
 family immigrated to the United States, 
 locating first in New York State, and sub- 
 sequently coming to Wisconsin. This 
 union has been blessed with the following- 
 named children: James, Thomas, Alice, 
 Nora, Mary, Ellen, Patrick, and Flossie, 
 all living at home. Mr. Hobbins, like 
 his father, is a stanch member of the 
 Democratic party, and has served as 
 school clerk for thirteen years. In relig- 
 ious connection he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of St. Francis Church, De Pere. 
 
 DR. WILLIAM BEAUPRE, the 
 well-known oculist and aurist, 
 whose skill in his profession has 
 gained for him a wide and envi- 
 able reputation, is a native of Canada, 
 born in what is now the Province of Que- 
 bec (Canada Bas) in 1830. 
 
 As his name indicates, the Doctor is 
 of French descent, his grandfather, who 
 was a military man, having been a native 
 of "La Belle France," whence in very 
 early times he emigrated to Canada, and 
 in the lower province (now Quebec) made 
 a settlement. There his son, H. N., 
 father of subject, was born and educated, 
 in early manhood taking up the mercan- 
 tile business, which was his life work. He 
 married Mile. Argauge Bargeron, also a 
 native of Canada East, and children as 
 follows were born to this union: Mary, 
 who married Edward Pelicier, of Canada, 
 and died in 1864 ; Angeline, who became 
 the wife of Frank Pelicier, and died in 
 1878 ; Maxime, a merchant, living in St. 
 Michel's, Canada ; Joseph, a professor, 
 who was well known in Green Bay, Wis. , 
 died in 1891 in Montreal, Canada ; Philip, 
 married, living in St. Cloud, Minn., where 
 he is a judge of the Probate Court ; Eliza- 
 beth, wife of John Geer, of Ford River, 
 Mich. ; Dr. Reauseau, a physician of Ford 
 River, Mich. ; Catherine, who died in 
 Canada, unmarried ; and William. The 
 father died of cholera, in 1832, in Quebec, 
 the mother passing away in St. Michel, 
 same province, in 1853. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 and educated at his native place till the 
 age of fifteen (1845), at which time he 
 came to Wisconsin, landing in the then 
 village of Green Bay on November i. 
 Here for four years he served as clerk in 
 the store of John F. Lessey, after which 
 he sailed the lakes from the port of Green 
 Bay until the breaking out of the Civil 
 war, when his military ardor, inherited 
 from his grandfather, kindled into activity 
 by the youthful desire to "seek the bub- 
 ble reputation, e'en at the cannon's 
 mouth." In 1861 he assisted in raising 
 Company G(" French Mountaineers, " a 
 mounted company). Seventeenth Wiscon- 
 sin Infantry, which was attached to the 
 army of Tennessee. His command par- 
 ticipated in Sherman's march to the sea 
 and in the Carolina campaign. On March 
 1 1, 1862, he was commissioned first lieu- 
 
310 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tenant, and August 3 i following was pro- 
 moted to the captaincy of the same com- 
 pany. On June 6, 1864, he was wounded 
 by a grapeshot at Marietta, Ga., but de- 
 clined hospital service. At Pocotaiigo, 
 W. Va., he was honorably discharged, 
 January 19, 1865, and returned to his 
 home in Green Bay. In 1867 he com- 
 menced reading medicine under the pre- 
 ceptorship of Dr. H. A. Woodbridge, 
 studying until 1871, and making a spe- 
 cialty of the eye and ear. Immediately 
 commencing the practice of his profession, 
 he traveled a circuit, visiting, among 
 other places, in Wisconsin and Michigan, 
 Menomonee, Escanaba, Marquette, Han- 
 cock, Red Jacket, Lake Linden, Wausau, 
 Grand Rapids, Merrill, Antigo, Ironwood, 
 finally, after an absence of four years, 
 locating in Green Bay, where he has 
 since been in the continuous practice of 
 his profession, his office being established 
 on Cherry street, between Washington 
 and Adams. 
 
 Dr. Beauprc has been three times 
 married, each time in Green Bay, on first 
 occasion to Miss Jane Matilda Beaudoin, 
 a native of France, daughter of Francis 
 Beaudoin, of the same nativity, who emi- 
 grated to the United States, taking up 
 his residence in St. Ignace, Mich. ; in 
 1840 moving to Green Bay, and making 
 his final home in Shantytown, where he 
 died. This wife was called from earth in 
 185 I, the mother of two daughters: Jane, 
 wife of S. B. Cornish, of Antigo, Wis., 
 and Emily, wife of H. H. Raiche. of 
 Menominee, Mich. In 1854 the Doctor 
 married Miss I. Raiche, who was born in 
 Green Bay, a daughter of Theodore 
 Raiche, a native of Canada, whence, in 
 T840, he came to Green Bay, dying there 
 in 1886. By this union there were two 
 sons: William A., who died in St. Louis, 
 Mo., in 1888, and James, now a resident 
 of Drummond, Wis. The mother of these 
 was called from earth July 2, 1862, and 
 for his third wife, our subject, in 1866, 
 wedded Miss Olive Trudell, born in Green 
 Bay, a daughter of Theodore Trudell, of 
 
 Canadian birth, coming, in 1S45, to Green 
 Bay, where he was engaged in the grocery 
 business; he now resides in South Bend, 
 Wash. By his last marriage the Doctor 
 had six children, all girls, a brief record 
 of whom is as follows: Mary married 
 Frank Duchateau, and died October i i , 
 1892; Lydia Ann, born January 26, 1869, 
 died September 22, 1891, wife of S. W. 
 Lieblien; Rose Delenia, born January 24, 
 1871, died May 24, 1873; Lucy Martha, 
 born May 26, 1873, is the wife of Theo- 
 dore Remington, of Menominee, Mich. ; 
 Eva Lottie, born November 17, 1875, 
 resides in Menominee; Minnie Matilda, 
 born April 27, 1878, died July 2, 1S79. 
 
 Dr. Beaupre, in his political associa- 
 tions, was a Democrat till 1886, when he 
 changed his views and his colors, becom- 
 ing as zealous a Republican as he had 
 been a Democrat. He is a member of 
 the Catholic Church, and a highly re- 
 spected, useful citizen of Green Bay, 
 which, since his first arrival in the place, 
 fifty years ago, he has seen transformed 
 from a village of a few houses to a fine 
 city with a grand future yet before it, and 
 toward whose prosperity he has con- 
 tributed a goodly share. 
 
 CORNELIUS LEARY, prominent 
 among the prosperous agricultur- 
 ists and early pioneers of Glen- 
 more township. Brown county, is 
 a native of County Kerry, Ireland, born 
 in 1 8,24, a son of James and Margaret 
 (Catler) Leary, who had eight children — 
 four sons and four daughters. 
 
 When Cornelius was nine years of 
 age the family came to America, sailing 
 in the month of August from Cork on the 
 "Thomas Hanford," which arrived, after 
 a voyage of seven weeks, at St. John, New 
 Brunswick, where they lived five years. 
 They then moved to Boston, Mass., later 
 to Springfield, and resided in various parts 
 of the State until the spring of 1850, 
 when the father concluded to try his for- 
 tune in Wisconsin. In the month of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 31' 
 
 April they traveled by rail to Buffalo, and 
 one week later emtarked on a vessel 
 bound for Milwaukee, thence continuing 
 their journey by stage and boat to Green 
 Bay, via Fond du Lac, Menasha, etc. 
 In Glenmore township, Brown county, 
 Mr. Leary purchased one-half of Section 
 22, and shortly afterward a quarter of 
 Section 15. At that time but three 
 other families — the Pattons, Ryans and 
 Caseys — lived in the township; no roads 
 had been laid out, and Cornelius and his 
 brother John cut a road from their farm 
 to De Pere. Mr. Leary built the first 
 house in Section 22, a cabin of logs 
 covered with boards, which stood a short 
 distance from the present residence. Wild 
 animals were numerous, and no clearing 
 whatever had been done, the trees being 
 so thick that a space had to be made for 
 the dwelling. Mrs. Leary died shortly 
 after the location in Glenmore, and Mr. 
 Leary passed away on his farm in 1880. 
 
 Cornelius Leary received but a limited 
 education, and in early boyhood com- 
 menced to work in the cotton mills in 
 New England. He was in the very prime 
 of life when he came with his parents to 
 Wisconsin, and, being the eldest son, 
 found plenty of work ready for him on the 
 land which his father had undertaken to 
 clear. About 1854 he was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Julia Brennan, a native 
 of County Kerry, Ireland, daughter of 
 Frank Brennan. This union was blessed 
 by children as follows: Margaret, living 
 at home with her parents; James, who 
 died when five years old; Julia (Mrs. 
 James Dougherty), of Escanaba, Mich. ; 
 Catherine, deceased at the age of twenty- 
 three years; John, who died when twenty- 
 four years old; Morris, deceased when 
 one year old; Alice, of Escanaba, Mich.; 
 Annie, living at home; Hattie, Mrs. John 
 Clune, of Escanaba, Mich. ; and Theresa, 
 at home. 
 
 Mr. Leary has been a successful 
 farmer, and now owns 160 acres of good 
 land, all of which he has seen trans- 
 formed from a wilderness to a highly cul- 
 
 tivated farm, a work in which he has 
 taken no small part. He is well known 
 and highly respected throughout his sec- 
 tion, for his industry and straightforward, 
 honest methods have placed him in an 
 enviable position among his fellow citi- 
 zens. Though now past three-score and 
 ten, he is well-preserved and hearty, and 
 still continues to direct the affairs of his 
 farm, though he does little of the active 
 work. In his party affiliations he is a 
 Democrat, and has served as roadmaster; 
 but he has given little attention to poli- 
 tics, preferring to devote his time e.xclu- 
 sively to his private affairs. In religious 
 faith he is a member of St. Mary's Catho- 
 lic Church, at Glenmore. 
 
 ALBERT WILLIAMS, a promi- 
 nent and influential citizen of Fort 
 Howard, is a native of Belgium, 
 and is a son of John B. and 
 Rosalie (Vandeborne) Williams, natives 
 of the same country, where they lived 
 and died. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in his native land, where he learned the 
 trade of a bricklayer and worked at same 
 until his removal, in 1871, to the United 
 States. In that year he located at Fort 
 Howard, subsequently purchasing forty 
 acres of land in Wrightstown. After two 
 years he settled permanently at Fort 
 Howard, where he has since been engaged 
 in farming and market gardening, at 
 which occupations he has been very suc- 
 cessful. His present veneered brick resi- 
 dence was erected in 1873. Mr. Will- 
 iams, who is an independent reasoner in 
 political matters, has been the recipient 
 of certain official favors at the hands of 
 his constituents, and for a number of 
 years has served them as supervisor from 
 the Second ward of the city. He is 
 recognized as a valuable, upright citizen, 
 and commands the respect of all. In 
 1864, while yet a resident of Belgium, he 
 married Miss Rosa Vandeborne, and to 
 these worthy parents have been born six 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children: William, foreman of the Mil- 
 waukee & Northern shops; Bernard; 
 Lewis; Felix; Mary, wife of Albert 
 Brunette, of the town of Howard; Nettie, 
 wife of Jack Osterman, of Green Bay. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of 
 St. Willibrord's Church, Green Bay. 
 They came to Fort Howard at a time 
 when it lacked very much of being the 
 flourishing city it is at present, and have 
 witnessed its steady development. 
 
 JOHN SHAUGHNESSY, one of the 
 well-to-do and highly-respected old 
 citizens of Glenmore township, 
 Brown county, was born in 1824 
 in County Limerick, Ireland. His parents, 
 George and Hannah (Murphy) Shaugh- 
 nessy, were farming people, who worked 
 industriously to support their large family, 
 which consisted of fourteen children — 
 eight sons and si.\ daughters. 
 
 John Shaughnessy attended the com- 
 mon schools until fifteen years of age, and 
 then assisted his father on the farm until 
 he reached his majority. At this time, 
 receiving money from his parents to pay 
 his way to America, he bid his early home 
 and friends farewell, and took passage at 
 Cork on the "Louisiana," bound for 
 Quebec, where he landed in the month of 
 August, after a voyage of six weeks and 
 three days. He first found employment 
 with farmers, harvesting, and afterward 
 came to Milwaukee, Wis., taking the 
 water route, via Oswego, N. Y. Mr. 
 Shaughnessy purchased a horse and 
 wagon, and commenced the draying busi- 
 ness in Milwaukee, continued in that un- 
 til 1850, in the meantime saving some 
 money. Several railroads were then in 
 course of construction in New York State, 
 and he went to Buffalo, where he obtained 
 employment as a laborer on the New York 
 & Erie railway. 
 
 On May 29, 1850, Mr. Shaughnessy 
 was married in Buffalo to Miss Catherine 
 Flaherty, who was born June 24, 1828, 
 
 in County Kerry, Ireland. [These facts 
 have been taken from an authentic record 
 in the possession of Mrs. Shaughnessy]. 
 She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary 
 (Lynch) Flaherty, farming people of Ire- 
 land, and she came to the United States 
 when twenty years old, with friends, sail- 
 ing from Cork on the " Lady Elgin," and 
 landing in Quebec, after a voyage of five 
 weeks and five days. She subsequently 
 came to Milwaukee, where she met Mr. 
 Shaughnessy. After their marriage they 
 kept boarders for about two years, and 
 then returned to Milwaukee, ^^'is. , where 
 he again took up draying for two years. 
 In 1854 he came to Brown county, and 
 purchased eighty acres of wild land in 
 Section 21, Glenmore township, for eighty 
 dollars, and when they moved to their 
 new home there were still no roads to it, 
 and their nearest neighbor was three 
 miles distant. The forest was so dense 
 that a site had to be cleared for their 
 cabin, which was the first house in Sec- 
 tion 21, and, as he himself says, his hogs 
 to-day have a better house than the one 
 he first lived in. Wild animals were 
 numerous, deer were frequently seen near 
 the house, and bears and wolves played 
 havoc with the stock of the early settlers. 
 With an axe and a grub-hoe (the latter 
 made by "Old Newton," the blacksmith 
 of De Perc, who made many tools for the 
 pioneer farmers), the work of clearing was 
 begun and persevered in until a comfort- 
 able property had been taken from the 
 woods. When they had butter or eggs 
 to sell they carried them to Green Bay, 
 sixteen miles distant, making the entire 
 journey on foot. On April 14, 1865, they 
 removed to Section 32, Glenmore town- 
 ship, where he had purchased a tract of 
 forty acres, and here lived in a shanty 
 until the completion of their log cabin, in 
 the erection of which the neighbors for 
 miles around assisted. Here Mr. Shaugh- 
 nessy has since continued to reside, and 
 was actively engaged in agriculture until 
 1 89 1, when he disposed of his property 
 and retired. The farm at one time con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 313 
 
 tained 160 acres, eighty of which he gave 
 to his sons. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Shaughnes.sy have had 
 nine children, of whom three sons and 
 two daughters died young: George, born 
 in New York, is a farmer of Glenmore 
 township; Thomas, born in Milwaukee, 
 is a butcher of Escanaba, Wis. ; William, 
 born in Glenmore, is a resident of De- 
 Pere township; John, born in Glenmore, 
 lives in Milwaukee. Mr. Shaughnessy has 
 always been a stanch Democrat in poli- 
 tics, and held the office of roadmaster, 
 but has never been an aspirant for office. 
 In religious connection he and his family 
 are members of St. John's Church, in 
 Morrison township. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Shaughnessy are among the few old 
 pioneers left in Glenmore township, who 
 have seen the country converted from a 
 forest wild into smiling, productive farms. 
 They are well known and much respected 
 in their section. [Since the above was 
 written, we have been notified of the 
 death of Mr. John Shaughnessy, which 
 occurred October 3, 1894. — Ed. 
 
 ANDREW SIMONS, a thrifty, well- 
 to-do farmer of Humboldt town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native 
 of same, born April 5, 1850, on 
 the farm where he yet resides, which was 
 then included in Scott township. 
 
 His parents Christoph and Anna M. 
 (Muller) Simons, early pioneers of this 
 section, were natives of Prussia, Germany, 
 and the father was a carpenter by trade. 
 They were married in their native coun- 
 try, and three children were there born 
 to them : Catherine, and Charles and 
 Seraphim (twins), with whom, in 1 843, they 
 came to the United States. From the 
 port of landing they pushed westward at 
 once to their destination. Duck Creek, 
 Brown Co., Wis., during which journey 
 the twins, Charles and Seraphim, died of 
 small-pox. After their arrival at Duck 
 Creek the father was taken sick with the 
 ague, then so prevalent, and as soon as 
 
 possible moved to Preble township, where 
 he took up forty acres of government 
 land, on which they lived three years. 
 Owing to the dampness of that locality 
 Mrs. Simons suffered greatly from rheu- 
 matism, and accordingly they removed to 
 Humboldt township, where they took up 
 another forty acres of land and thereon 
 made a permanent home. Mr. Simons 
 died on this farm November 5, 1871, and 
 here his widow, now aged eighty years, 
 still makes her home, living with her son, 
 Andrew. 
 
 Andrew Simons was born on his pres- 
 ent farm, and here received a thorough 
 knowledge of farming, commencing work 
 early in life, faithfully remaining at home 
 and assisting his parents. After the death 
 of his father the place came into his pos- 
 session, and by hard labor and good man- 
 agement he has improved and added to it, 
 now owning ninety acres of highly culti- 
 vated land. On November 26, 1878, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Hattie 
 Heim, daughter of Lawrence and Hattie 
 Heim, which union has been blessed with 
 nine children, viz.: Andrew W. , Law- 
 rence C, Louis P., Agnes A., Mary N., 
 KillianH., Joseph (deceased), Harriet B., 
 and Lena K. (deceased). During his 
 youth Mr. Simons had rather limited edu- 
 cational opportunities, and, appreciating 
 the value of a good literary training, he is 
 endeavoring to give his children all the 
 advantages possible in that line. In re- 
 ligious connection the family are members 
 of the Catholic Church. 
 
 DR. ALBERT HAYDEN ELLS- 
 WORTH comes of one of the old 
 New England families which was 
 founded at a very early day in the 
 history of this country by three brothers 
 who settled in Connecticut. They were 
 farming people, but many of their de- 
 scendants were well-educated men, be- 
 coming prominent in professional circles 
 throughout the State. 
 
 The Doctor was born July 14, 1823, 
 
314 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., and 
 acquired his education in the public 
 schools of his native town. He also took 
 the high-school course, and afterward at- 
 tended school in Suffield, Conn., for one 
 year, and also in Ellington, Conn. He 
 then engaged in teaching school, being 
 thus employed for one year in the State 
 of his nativity, and for one year in Nfon- 
 mouth, N. J., after which betook up the 
 study of dentistry under Dr. Sherwood, a 
 prominent dentist and highly-respected 
 citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. He applied 
 himself assiduously in his new field of la- 
 bor, and, after a year of thorough and sys- 
 tematic study, located in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 in November, 1848. He was one of the 
 first dentists of that city, and met with 
 most flattering success, doing a large and 
 lucrative business, which kept constantly 
 increasing until failing health caused him 
 to retire. He was doing an excellent 
 business, having probably the best prac- 
 tice in the State, and to-day, in years of 
 continuous labor, he is the oldest prac- 
 ticing dentist in Wisconsin. 
 
 Dr. Ellsworth was a prominent mem- 
 ber of the Plymouth Congregational 
 Church of Milwaukee, knd took a very 
 active part in its work and everything 
 pertaining to its growth and upbuilding. 
 He was also an honored member of the 
 I. O. O. F. , belonging to Menomonee 
 Lodge. In social circles he and his fam- 
 ily occupied an enviable position, and he 
 is well remembered by the pioneers and 
 early settlers of MihVaukee. 
 
 In July, 1852, Dr. Ellsworth came to 
 Green Bay to spend his few remaining 
 months, as he supposed, for his life was 
 despaired of by his physicians, and he 
 thought that his days were numbered; 
 but the vigorous and bracing atmosphere 
 soon brought new life and strength to him, 
 and he is to-day one of the hale and 
 hearty old gentlemen of Green Bay, pos- 
 sessed of the vigor of many a younger 
 man, his three-score-and-ten years rest- 
 ing lightly upon him. As soon as his 
 health permitted he began the practice of 
 
 his profession in Green Bay, and his skill 
 and ability soon again won recognition in 
 a large and lucrative patronage. He has 
 ever been a thorough student along the 
 line of his profession, and as a result has 
 been very successful. As his financial re- 
 sources increased the Doctor made sev- 
 eral judicious investments, which have 
 proved to him quite profitable, and gained 
 him a comfortable competence. 
 
 Since coming to Green Bay Dr. Ells- 
 worth has been identified with the Pres- 
 byterian Church. In his political views 
 he is a Democrat, but has never sought 
 or desired official preferment, giving his 
 entire time and attention to business and 
 otlier interests. He is a warm friend of 
 the cause of education, and, when the of- 
 fice of city superintendent of schools was 
 created, he was elected to that position, 
 which he has filled fourteen years. His 
 unselfish devotion and his untiring labors 
 have been productive of much good in the 
 educational field, and the present gener- 
 ation and the young people of the future 
 will have cause to hold him in grateful 
 remembrance for his earnest labors. 
 
 CHARLES J. LUCIA, a prosper- 
 ous farmer of Suamico township. 
 Brown county, was born July 15, 
 1836, in Clinton county, N. Y., of 
 French descent on the paternal side. 
 His parents, Alexanderand Phebe (Bessie) 
 Lucia, natives of New York, had a family 
 of two sons and four daughters, of whom 
 the sons and two of the daughters are 
 still living. The family were all reared 
 on the farm, and the parents both lived 
 to advanced ages, the father dying when 
 eighty years old, and the mother when 
 seventj'-five. 
 
 Charles J. Lucia left the home place 
 when fourteen years old and worked out 
 by the month until 1854, went he came 
 west, and located first in Suamico town- 
 ship, Brovvn county, laboring in the 
 woods by the month. He also worked 
 in a sawmill in the same township, then 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 315 
 
 for a jear or more was employed in 
 Oconto, in draying, sawing, and as wood- 
 man, after whiich he returned to Suamico. 
 On April i, 1858, he married Miss Caro- 
 line Cook, who was born February 28, 
 1839, in Clinton county, N. Y., a 
 daughter of John and Ann Cook, and to 
 this union have been born six children, 
 as follows: Irving J., born May i, 1859, 
 married in August, 1883, to Miss Cora 
 Barker, and they have one son and one 
 daughter; he is now a merchant of Bes- 
 semer, Mich. William H., born Septem- 
 ber 12, i860, was married June 28, 1882, 
 to Sarah Allen, who has borne him two 
 sons; he is now a merchant at Hurley. 
 Ella J., born January 19, 1867, was mar- 
 ried July 29, 1890, to Lawrence Head, 
 of Ashland, and has two sons. AnnaE., 
 Dorn January 4, 1869, was married July 
 29, 1 891, to Ed. A. Dunham, a farmer 
 of Minnesota. Charles C, born Octo- 
 ber I, 1876, and George O. , born March 
 12, 1882. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Lucia was em- 
 ployed in logging, etc., then bought 
 seventy-seven and a half acres, of which 
 fifteen were cleared, and settled on his 
 place in 1865; to this land he has added 
 until he now owns about two hundred 
 acres, all purchased from his own earn- 
 ings, which were at the first $10 per 
 month. He is a Republican in his poli- 
 tical proclivities, but in local affairs votes 
 for the best man, regardless of party. 
 The family are all attendants of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 LARS JENSEN, prominent among 
 the agricultural citizens of New 
 Denmark township. Brown county, 
 was born August 12, 1843, in Den- 
 mark, son of Jens Hemmengson and Anna 
 (Nelson) Jensen, thrifty farming people 
 of that country. They had a family of 
 seven children: Lars, Anna (deceased), 
 Peter, Hemmeng, Anna, Margaret and 
 Nels. 
 
 Our subject remained at home with 
 
 his parents until he reached the age of 
 fourteen years, receiving in the common 
 schools a somewhat limited education. 
 The next two years he worked on a farm, 
 and then commenced to learn carpentry, 
 serving an apprenticeship of three years 
 at the trade, which he subsequently fol- 
 lowed six years. In his early manhood 
 he served two years in the army. On 
 June 28, 1868, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Ellen M. Gerhardson, daughter 
 of Gerhard Nelson and Anna M. (Jensen) 
 Gerhardson, who were the parents of 
 seven children, viz. : Karen, Ellen, Stine, 
 Margaretta, two that died in infancy un- 
 named, and Wilhelmina. Shortly after 
 marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jensen came to 
 the United States, crossing to New York 
 in sixteen days, where they landed with a 
 capital of ninety-nine dollars, with which 
 to commence life in the Western World. 
 Journeying by rail to Green Bay, Wis., 
 via Chicago, they came thence to their 
 present place in New Denmark township, 
 Mr. Jensen purchasing thirty-four acres in 
 the midst of the forest, from which they 
 have made a comfortable home. For 
 about a year they lived with an uncle of 
 our subject, who followed his trade dur- 
 ing that time, and then set about the 
 erection of a log house on his land. But, 
 while engaged in hewing the timbers, a 
 falling log struck his limb and fractured 
 the bone, making it necessary for him to 
 stop work for several weeks, and the 
 money he had saved to pay on the land 
 went to the doctor. After his recovery 
 he completed the house, and made his 
 home therein for twelve years, during 
 which time he was busily engaged in clear- 
 ing and improving his land, from time to 
 time making other purchases, his farm 
 now containing 104 acres of highly-im- 
 proved land. He is truly a self-made 
 man, his present prosperity being due 
 solely to his own unceasing labor, and he 
 has won the respect of all who know him 
 by his square, honest methods in all his 
 dealings with his fellow men. Politically 
 he is a Democrat, and has held various 
 
3i6 
 
 COMMEMOIiATIVE DIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 local offices of trust, serviog his town- 
 ship faithfiill}- as supervisor and school 
 treasurer. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Jensen have been 
 born twelve children, as follows: Gerhard 
 H., James C, Nels C, Toiirwal A., 
 Charles Edwin, Lawrence N., Anna C, 
 Toilette M., and four that died in infancy; 
 of these, Gerhard H. and Nels C., at- 
 tend the Normal School at Oshkosh; 
 James is a miner in Montana; Tourwal 
 lives in Green Ba\'; and the remaining 
 fonr live at home with their parents. 
 
 PETER JOSEPH BECKER, a 
 prosperous farmer of Green Bay 
 township. Brown county, is a 
 German by birth, born November 
 2 1, 1839, in the Kingdom of Prussia. 
 He is a son of Bartholomew and Maria 
 Eva (SchnciderjBecker, well-to-do farm- 
 ing people, who had four children, as fol- 
 lows: Peter Joseph, whose name opens 
 this sketch; Mary, Mrs. Burkhart, of 
 Green Bay; Barbara, who married, and 
 died at the age of twenty-eight years, 
 leaving a husband and two children — 
 Eva and Marj' — to mourn her early 
 death; and Eva, wife of Dr. Rhode, of 
 Green Baj'. 
 
 In 1843 Bartholomew Becker sold his 
 property in Germany and came with his 
 family to America, arriving in New York 
 after a voyage of fort\'-nine dajs, and 
 immediately pushing westward to Akron, 
 Ohio, where he found employment on 
 the canal for about a year. Part of this 
 time the family lived in a blacksmith 
 shop, but later purchasing an old log 
 house (for which they paid twelve 
 dollars) made that their home, and 
 they also cleared a small piece of 
 land near Akron. After a residence of 
 six and a half years in Ohio, they came to 
 Wisconsin, where for three years they 
 lived on a rented farm near Milwaukee. 
 Here the father died in 1852, and in the 
 spring of 1853 the widowed mother came 
 with her family to Green Bay township, 
 
 Brown county, the journey, which occu- 
 pied seven days, being made in a wagon 
 drawn by oxen. In Green Bay township 
 they purchased eighty acres of timber 
 land, all in its primitive state, but which 
 has since been cleared and improved by 
 our subject. Mrs. Becker died here in 
 1888, aged eighty-three years. 
 
 Peter J. Becker received an ordinary 
 common-school training in Germany, and 
 was reared to farming, in which vocation 
 he has been engaged the greater part of 
 his life. On June 9, 1861, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Rosaline Aussloss, daughter 
 of Xavier and Johanna (Labus) Aussloss, 
 and to this union have been born nine 
 children, namely: Peter, Henry, Eva, 
 Anton, Mary, Catherine, Joseph, Anna, 
 and John. Since his settlement in Green 
 Bay township in 1853, Mr. Becker has 
 made his home continuously on his pres- 
 ent farm, except from 1870 to 1873, dur- 
 ing which period he lived in the city of 
 Green Bay. He has added forty acres to 
 the original purchase, having at present 
 120 acres of fine land, highly improved 
 and cultivated, where he successfully con- 
 ducts a general farming business. Our 
 subject takes a lively interest in the wel- 
 fare of his township, of which he was the 
 first chairman, and he also served two 
 years as assessor, discharging the duties 
 of his office faithfully and satisfactorily. 
 In political affiliation he is a Democrat, 
 and in religious faith he and his family 
 are members of the German Catholic 
 Church at New Franken. 
 
 WILLIAM BASSETT WOOL- 
 FORD, general yardmaster for 
 the Chicago, Minneapolis & St. 
 Paul railroad, at Green Bay, 
 enjoys the enviable distinction of having 
 a record second to none as an efficient 
 railroad official, careful, faithful and 
 trustworthy. 
 
 He is a native of Ohio, born in Day- 
 ton, June 18, 1853, of English ancestry, 
 his grandfather having been a prosperous 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 319 
 
 farmer in England. William Woolford, 
 father of our subject, was one of a family 
 of six children born on the farm, and the 
 first few years of his life were divided be- 
 tween attending the parish school and 
 helping his father in his agricultural pur- 
 suits. When old enough, he learned a 
 trade, and in after years turned his 
 attention to railroad contracting, becom- 
 ing successful. But, while still young, 
 seeing a wider field in America for a man 
 of his broad caliber, he emigrated, and 
 after landing on the shores of the New 
 World at once proceeded westward to 
 Ohio, where, for a time, he assisted on the 
 construction of a railroad and the build- 
 ing of a bridge over the Susquehanna 
 river. His next venture was in Illinois, 
 where he had contracts on the North- 
 western railroad, then in course of con- 
 struction, and he proved to be one of the 
 most successful operators in his line of 
 business. Possessed of a great amount of 
 natural ability, he was a good business 
 manager and a close calculator on plans 
 and specifications. He also conducted a 
 farm in Illinois. Now, at the age of sev- 
 enty-eight years, hale and hearty, he is 
 living retired with his faithful wife, at 
 Rockford, Wright Co., Minn., in the full 
 enjoyment of the esteem of all who know 
 him. In religious faith he is a member 
 of the Methodist Church. His wife, 
 Eunice (Smithj, is a native of Point 
 Albino, and is the mother of ten children, 
 seven of whom — three sons and four 
 daughters — lived to maturity. 
 
 William B. Woolford, the subject 
 proper of these lines, received his educa- 
 tion at the schools of Palatine, 111., and 
 at the age of sixteen commenced to assist 
 his father on the farm. A year after- 
 ward, however, he took to railroading, 
 entering the service of the Chicago & 
 Northwestern Railroad Company as brake- 
 man, at which he continued four years, 
 when he was promoted to conductor. 
 In the latter capacity he served un- 
 til 1888 a period of fourteen years, 
 and then resigned in order to accept the 
 
 18 
 
 position of trainmaster for the Wisconsin 
 Central railroad. In 1890 he was ap- 
 pointed to his present incumbency, and 
 removed to Green Bay. 
 
 On July 6, 1872, Mr. Woolford was 
 united in marriage in Janesville, Wis., 
 with Miss Alice McCaffrey, daughter of 
 James and Mary (Burns) McCaffrey, na- 
 tives of County Fermanagh, Ireland, of 
 Scotch descent. Five children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Woolford, named 
 as follows: Mary A., Eunice B., William 
 B., Isabella A. and Henry E. Our sub- 
 ject has been a prominent member of the 
 F. & A. M. since uniting with the 
 fraternity in Milwaukee; he is associated 
 with Wisconsin Blue Lodge No. 13, 
 Chapter No. 7, Commandery No. i, and 
 the Consistory, having attained the thir- 
 ty-second degree. Mrs. Woolford is a 
 member of the Catholic Church. 
 
 GS. LAWRENCE, a pioneer 
 farmer of Pittsfield township, 
 Brown county, was born in Jeffer- 
 son county, N. Y., August 4, 
 1837, ^ son of Charles and Lucy (Wals- 
 worth) Lawrence, and grandson of Elijah 
 Walsworth. There were seven children 
 in the family of Charles Lawrence, viz. : 
 Charles, who died at the age of twenty- 
 four; Harriet, wife of Oliver Crumb, of 
 Marshalltown, Iowa; Alpheus, a carpen- 
 ter, of Milwaukee, Wis., now in the 
 Soldiers Home; Alvin, who died at the 
 age of twenty; G. S., our subject; John, 
 who died at the age of thirteen; and Mor- 
 timer, of Marshalltown, Iowa. The father 
 of this family died in 1841, of heart 
 disease, and was buried at Clayton, 
 New York. 
 
 At the age of twelve G. S. Lawrence 
 was given to Eber Stevens; but, before he 
 had been with him a year, his mother had 
 moved to Chicago, and had there mar- 
 ried Peltier Barter, a sailor and ship car- 
 penter, and our subject was brought to 
 his mother and stepfather. Soon after 
 his marriage Mr. Barter bought forty 
 
320 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 acres of land at Beaver Island and went 
 to farming; but had lived there only five 
 years when he was drowned. Left a 
 widow the second time, the mother sold 
 the farm a year later, and moved to Green 
 Bay, living with Mrs. Oliver Crumb two 
 years, and thence going to Oconto, where 
 she made her home with her son, Al- 
 pheus, about three years. She then re- 
 turned with her son to Chicago, and died 
 therein i860. After his mother's death, 
 our subject returned to Oconto, and 
 worked in sawmills, etc. , about two years, 
 when he came to Pittsfield and purchased 
 fort}' acres of timber land, on which he 
 had to clear a space large enough to per- 
 mit the eretion of a log cabin about 12x18 
 feet in dimensions, in which he li\ed alone 
 for about a year. On January 27, 1863, 
 he married Miss Mary Jane Tripp, daugh- 
 ter of Robert and Sarah (Ledger) Tripp, 
 who had a family of nine children, viz. : 
 Alvira, Sarah Ann, Mary Jane, Willard 
 B., Anna, Emeline, James W. , Ellen A. 
 and Harriet M., of whom seven are still 
 living. The father, who was a carpenter, 
 came from New York to Wisconsin in 
 1855, first taking up a piece of land in 
 Suamico township, where he remained 
 one year; was then taken sick, sold out 
 and bought forty acres in Pittsfield; on this 
 he lived si.\ years, sold again, went to 
 Fond du Lac county, remained there a 
 year, then came back to Pittsfield and 
 bought another piece of land, on which 
 he resided fifteen years, and finally moved 
 to Stephenson, Mich., where he and his 
 family still reside. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Lawrence set 
 himself steadily to work at clearing up 
 his land, enduring every hardship of pio- 
 neer life, but adding to its comforts every 
 year, until, at the end of five years, he be- 
 came the proud possessor of a team. He 
 had had, however, a small pony, and when 
 he was in need of provisions he would 
 fell a pine tree, shave it into shingles, and 
 set off for Green Bay to make his pur- 
 chases with the proceeds, the round trip 
 requiring two days, as the roads were 
 
 bad. When he had cleared sufficient 
 ground, potatoes and corn were the first 
 crop planted among the stumps, and the 
 first wheat was sown by Francis Ledger, 
 Mrs. Lawrence's grandfather, who was 
 ninct\'-nine years old at this time. Mr. 
 Lawrence prospered with his toil, until 
 to-day he owns 120 acres of well-im- 
 proved land. To Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence 
 have been born three children: James 
 Mortimer, born January 31, 1S64; Charles 
 Lee, born February 14, 1866; and Emme- 
 line, born October 7, 1880; Annie, an 
 adopted daughter, born January i, 1873, 
 has lived with them all her life. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lawrence are Seventh-Da\' Advent- 
 ists; politically he is a Republican, which 
 fact, however, is only made manifest by 
 his punctual atendance at the polls. [Since 
 the above was written Mr. Lawrence 
 passed from earth, and a notice of his 
 death, given at the time, is as follows: 
 "G. S. Lawrence, of the town of Pitts- 
 field, died shortly after midnight, Decem- 
 ber 10, 1894. Through his death Brown 
 county loses a man of sterling character, 
 much perseverance and loyalty to his 
 friends and country. He was one of the 
 few remaining pioneers, and will be missed 
 by a large circle of friends." 
 
 REV. WILLIAM ROWBOTHAM, 
 of West De Pere, Brown county, 
 is a native of the city of Sheffield, 
 England, and was born November 
 10, 1 8 19, a son of Amos and Lucy 
 (Hutchinson) Rowbotham. The former 
 was a cutler by trade, and when the son 
 William was nine months old, moved to 
 the village of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, 
 where he followed his trade, also keeping 
 a store for the sale of cutlery, and here 
 both he and his wife passed the remainder 
 of their lives. 
 
 At the age of twelve our subject was 
 apprenticed for six years to a tailor in 
 Horncastle, and, after serving his appren- 
 ticeship, worked for some years as a jour- 
 neyman; then, for two years, was engaged 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 321 
 
 on his own account as a merchant tailor 
 at Wrangle, in the same county. On 
 April 15, 1 84 1, he married, at Boston, 
 Lincolnshire, Mary Aisthorpe, and in 
 1844 came to America, his family then 
 consisting of his wife and two children — 
 Amos and Naomi. Landing at New 
 York City, he there worked at his trade 
 nine months, and then, in July, 1845, 
 moved to Milwaukee, Wis., where, after 
 working as a journeyman for a while, he 
 established a merchant tailor's store op- 
 posite the present site of the " Plankinton 
 House, ''in which business he continued 
 ten years. In the fall of 1855 he moved 
 to Green Bay, where for ten 3'ears he 
 conducted a clothing house, and then, for 
 nine years — 1865 to 1874 — was overseer 
 of the Brown County Poor House; next 
 he occupied the adjoining farm for sev- 
 eral years. 
 
 Mr. Rowbotham began his ministerial 
 labors when but eighteen years of age, 
 having been then licensed as a local 
 preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church at Horncastle, England, where 
 he was in constant service until his coming 
 to America; he was ordained a deacon 
 at Kenosha, Wis. (then Southport), in 
 1848, by Bishop Morris, and as an 
 elder by Bishop Wile}', at the Division 
 Street M. E. Church, Fond du Lac, 
 October i, 1882. He had served the M. 
 E. Church at Sturgeon Bay during the 
 year 1880, and in the years 1882 and 
 1883 served at West Pensaukee ; then 
 three years at Seymour, four years at 
 Amherst, and was retired in 1890. The 
 first wife of Rev. Rowbotham died at 
 Amherst April 28, 1888, having borne 
 him three children after arriving in Amer- 
 ica, viz. : Lucy Jane, Mary Sophia, and 
 Martha Elizabeth. His second marriage 
 took place December 31, 1889, to Mrs. 
 Martha Phelps, widow of Henry Phelps, 
 of De Pere, and since 1890 Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rowbotham have resided in West De- 
 Pere, highly honored and beloved by all 
 all who know them. [Since the above 
 was written we have received information 
 
 of the death of Rev. Rowbotham late in 
 the fall of 1894. — Ed.] 
 
 Henry Phelps, the deceased husband 
 of the present Mrs. Rowbotham, was a 
 native of Jefferson county, N. Y. On 
 January i, 1844, he married Martha S. 
 Wright (now Mrs. Rowbotham) at the 
 town of Henderson, in his native county. 
 This lady was born February 15, 1824, in 
 Herkimer county, N. Y., a daughter of 
 Eli and Nancy (Kellogg) Wright, but was 
 reared by an uncle, Peter N. Cushman, 
 from the age of four years to fifteen, and 
 first came to Waukesha, Wis., in 1838, 
 where Mr. Cushman ended his days. 
 When Mr. Cushman settled in Waukesha 
 there were only three buildings in the 
 place, but he purchased 600 acres one 
 mile south of the village, and lived to see 
 the village become a populous town. 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Phelps 
 located in Milwaukee, where Mr. Phelps 
 worked at his trade of ship-carpenter, and 
 later at Janesville, but permanently set- 
 tled in De Pere in 1855, where, for about 
 fourteen years he lived on his farm of 
 ninety-six acres, but still followed his 
 trade of carpenter and joiner until his 
 death, which occurred in De Pere Octo- 
 ber 11, 1888. He left no children. Mrs. 
 Rowbotham has been a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church since 1850, 
 but in youth had been reared within the 
 pale of the Congregational denomina- 
 tion. 
 
 DFLATLEY.whoisone of the most 
 obliging liverymen in Green Bay, 
 was born in County Sligo, Ireland, 
 in 1836, a son of Patrick and 
 Catherine (Flinn) Flatley, both of whom 
 died in Ireland, leaving five children: 
 Mary, D. (our subject), Anna, Ellen and 
 Sarah. Of these Mary was the first to 
 come to America, and about the year 
 1 849 was followed by our subject, who 
 landed in Quebec, being then thirteen 
 years of age. 
 
 After some experience as a coachman 
 
322 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he reached Green Baj- in 1855, and for 
 six years was employed at lumbering for 
 J. Ingalls; was next an assistant engineer 
 for a year at Fort Howard; then clerked 
 for two years for a half-brother, and was 
 next street superintendent for two years 
 untler Mayor Klaus of Green Bay. In 
 1869 he went into partnership in the liv- 
 ery business with Don Harrison, on Pine 
 street, Green Bay, but bought out his 
 partner's interest a year later. He met 
 with much success, and about the year 
 1884 built his present commodious barns, 
 where fourteen horses are stabled, for the 
 accommodation of his prosperous trade. 
 In 1862 Mr. Flatley was married to 
 Miss Anna Redmon, daughter of Edward 
 Redmon, and to this union were born five 
 children: Edward, Catherine, E. W. , 
 George, and Idah (now Mrs. Hemnitz). 
 Mrs. Flatley was called to her last resting 
 place July 4, 1884, dying in the Roman 
 Catholic faith. Mr. Flatley is a devout 
 Catholic, and is a member of the Order 
 of Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He 
 is fair and square in all his business trans- 
 actions, and has won for himself a repu- 
 tation of which any man might well feel 
 proud. 
 
 ANDREW A. EISENMAN, a pros- 
 perous young citizen of Bellevue 
 township. Brown county, is a son 
 of John and Apollonia (Barth) 
 Eisenman, early settlers of that county. 
 They had ten children who grew to ma- 
 turity- — four sons and six daughters — of 
 whom Andrew A., the second son, was 
 born in Eaton township. Brown county, 
 November 1 1, 1867. 
 
 He received a good common-school 
 training in the district .schools of the home 
 neighborhood, and intended to finish his 
 education in a college, but he was obliged 
 to abandon study on account of failing 
 eyesight. He was reared to farming pur- 
 suits, and, his father dying March i, 1882, 
 he remained on the home farm until his 
 marriage, assisting his widowed mother. 
 
 except for one winter, which he spent in 
 the lumber regions of northern Wiscon- 
 sin. For three years he and his brother 
 John also operated a steam threshing 
 machine. Mr. Eisenman was married, 
 October 18, 1888, in Green Bay, to Miss 
 Annie Peterson, who was born in New 
 Denmark township. Brown count3% daugh- 
 ter of Erasmus Peterson, who came to 
 the United States from Denmark. For 
 a short time the young couple li\ed on 
 the Eisenman homestead, and then for a 
 year made their home in Pine Grove, 
 where he had purchased a saloon busi- 
 ness. He then purchased his present 
 place in Lot 16, Bellevue township, and 
 here they have resided since May i, 1891, 
 Mr. Eisenman conducting a saloon busi- 
 ness. In his political preferences he is a 
 Republican, and now serves as treasurer 
 of School District No. 2. In religious 
 connection he and his wife are members 
 of the Lutheran Church at Pine Grove. 
 They have one child, Henrietta, born No- 
 vember 18, 1892. 
 
 JOHN C. EISENMAN, a prosperous 
 farmer of De Pere township, Brown 
 county, where he is well known and 
 highly respected as an honest, up- 
 right citizen, is a member of one of the early 
 pioneer families of the section. He was 
 born September 11, 1855, in Eaton 
 township. Brown county, eldest in the 
 family of John and Apollonia (Barth) 
 Eisenman. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common district schools of the period, 
 proving an apt scholar; but work being 
 plentiful on the farm, and he being the 
 eldest son, there was but little time to give 
 to his literary training. The home farm 
 was not yet cleared, and he spent many 
 days in the woods, faithfully assisting in 
 the arduous task of transforming the forest- 
 covered land to a fertile farm, and re- 
 ceiving a thorough training to pioneer farm 
 life. On October 25, 1879, he was mar- 
 ried in Green Bay to Miss Caroline Schoen, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 323 
 
 who was born in Humboldt township, 
 Brown county, daughter of Frederick 
 Schoen, a native of Germany, and an 
 early settler of Humboldt township. After 
 his marriage Mr. Eisenman came to the 
 farm he yet owns and resides upon, in 
 Section 25, De Pere, but five acres of 
 which were at that time cleared, the re- 
 mainder being still in its primitive state, 
 and contained no improvements of any 
 kind, and he built the first house on the 
 place. But he set to work courageously, 
 and by industry and persevering toil has 
 cultivated and developed the farm, until at 
 present he has a productive fertile tract, 
 comprising ninety broad acres. In ad- 
 dition to general agriculture, he has, for 
 the past eighteen years, been engaged in 
 threshing, in the pursuit of which occu- 
 pation he has become unusually well ac- 
 quainted throughout the county. Mr. Eisen- 
 man has been a life-long resident of his sec- 
 tion of the county, and has always done 
 everything in his power to encourage and 
 promote the advancement and improve- 
 ment of same, and, being much esteemed 
 for his sterling worth, he wields consider- 
 able influence for good. In politics he 
 was formerly a Republican, but of late 
 years he has identified himself with no 
 party, preferring to vote according to the 
 fitness of the candidate and the dictates 
 of his own conscience; he is not an aspir- 
 ant to office; but has served his town- 
 ship as path master and clerk of the 
 school board. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Eisenman have had born 
 to them children as follows: Louis, 
 Arthur, Edward, John, Jr. , Fred, George, 
 and Charles, all living. The family are 
 all members of the Lutheran Church at 
 Pine Grove. 
 
 REV. MATTHEW BONGERS, 
 rector of the Church of the Holy 
 Martyrs of Gorcum, in Preble 
 township. Brown county, is a na- 
 tive of Holland, born December 27, 1832, 
 at Arnhem, in the Province of Gelderland. 
 
 His classical studies and his philo- 
 sophical course were completed under the 
 Jesuit Fathers at the seminary in Culen- 
 burg, and he studied theology at the 
 seminary of the Archdiocese of Utrecht. 
 In May, 1861, he accompanied Bishop 
 Kistemaker to the West Indies, and was 
 ordained to the priesthood June 25, same 
 year, at St. Joseph's Church, Curacoa, 
 by the above-named bishop. He was 
 appointed the bishop's secretary, also had 
 charge of the Sisters of Charity, and at- 
 tended the lepers for one year. After- 
 ward he labored earnestly as a missionary 
 in six different islands belonging to the 
 Netherlands until 1885, when, on account 
 of failing health, he was compelled to 
 leave the tropics for a cooler and more 
 congenial climate. Accordingly he came 
 to America, ostensibly to visit his sister, 
 Mrs. A. L. de France, Oconto, Wis., ar- 
 riving there June 5. On September i, 
 same year, owing to the ill health of Rev. 
 Father Brown, our subject was appointed 
 assistant to the latter at St. Patrick's 
 Church, Fort Howard, Brown Co., Wis., 
 and in December following the death of 
 Father Brown, he received the appoint- 
 ment of rector of the same church. In 
 October, 1886, he was removed to Green 
 Bay, Wis., to take charge of St. Willi- 
 brord's Church, with which congregation 
 he continued three years and three 
 months — during which time he procured 
 a free school for 200 children — and on 
 February 6, 1890, he assumed his present 
 charge. 
 
 He had much experience during his 
 twenty-four years of missionary life, and 
 found some time for literary work as well. 
 He published a work on the education of 
 children (entitled "Virtue and Duty of 
 Parents "), in the West Indies language 
 (" Papiamentoe"). He was the first in 
 the Diocese of Green Bay to establish the 
 free-school system, and he is known as 
 an able speaker. 
 
 During the thirty-three years of his 
 priesthood Father Bongers has, by his 
 tireless industry, zeal and devotion to his 
 
324 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 work, won the love and respect of all 
 with whom he has come in contact, and 
 he still receives a pension from the Hol- 
 land Government, in recognition of the 
 good work done b}' him in the cause of 
 the Church. 
 
 AHREND S. BUCKMANN (de- 
 ceased), who, during his lifetime, 
 ranked with the most prosperous 
 and influential farmers of New 
 Denmark township. Brown county, was a 
 native of Oldenburg, Germany, born Oc- 
 tober 5, 1816. 
 
 Mr. Buckmann was married in Ger- 
 many, October 17, 1843, to Miss Henri- 
 etta Bartels, who was born there July 22, 
 18 1 3, daughter of Diedrich and Matie 
 (Maiborn) Bartels, the former of whom ) 
 was a saloonkeeper, and whose family 
 consisted of ti\e children, namely: Jo- 
 hanna, Matie, Herman, Henrietta (who 
 remained at home until her marriage), and 
 Margaret. Mr. Buckmaim carried on a 
 saloon, and was also engaged in farming, 
 on rented land, continuing thus until 
 1 860, when he came to America with his 
 wife and family of four children, all of 
 whom were born in Germany, their names 
 and dates of birth being as follows: 
 Catherine, June 28, 1844; Diedrich, De- 
 cember 13, 1846; Metta, March 2, 1853; 
 H. F. , March 24, 1855; (one son Henry, 
 born November 10, 1850, died in Ger- 
 many when one year old). They em- 
 barked at Bremen and landed at Balti- 
 more, Md., thence coming direct to New- 
 Denmark township. Brown Co., Wis., 
 where Mr. Buckmann purchased eighty 
 acres of partly improved land, whereon 
 stood a log house, in which the family 
 lived for eleven years, when it was re- 
 placed by the beautiful frame dwelling in 
 which they now reside. Mr. Buckmann 
 was one of the most industrious of men, 
 and, by giving his undivided attention to 
 his business interests, increased the area 
 of his farm to 240 acres, all of which he 
 improved and brought to a high state of 
 
 cultivation. He also took great interest 
 in the welfare and advancement of his 
 township, and tilled several positions of 
 trust, serving as supervisor (five years), 
 pathmaster, and for twenty-seven con- 
 secutive years as school-treasurer, winning 
 for himself an enviable position among 
 his fellowmen for his integrity and ster- 
 ling worth. On October 17, 1893, he and 
 his wife celebrated the golden anniversary 
 of their wedding, and three weeks later, 
 on November 6, he passed from earth, 
 aged seventy-seven years; his remains 
 now rest in New Denmark cemetery. 
 Since his decease his widow has continued 
 to reside on the farm, making her home 
 with her son H. F., who now owns the 
 place and successfully carries on the agri- 
 cultural work. 
 
 H. F. BUCKMANN was five years 
 old when he came with his parents to 
 America, and received his education in 
 the common district schools of New Den- 
 mark township. On May 25, 1881, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Adeline 
 Lange, daughter of Herman and Anna 
 (Meyer) Lange, and they immediately 
 took up their residence with his parents 
 on the farm. Like his father before him, 
 Mr. Buckmann is a stanch member of the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 CORNELIUS DOUGHERTY. 
 Prominent among the early set- 
 tlers and leading progressive citi- 
 zens of Brown county is found 
 this gentleman, who is a native of the 
 Emerald Isle, born about 1825 near the 
 town of Killarney, County Kerry, son of 
 James Dougherty, who was a weaver by 
 occupation. The mother of our subject, 
 who was a Sullivan, died when he was 
 eighteen months old, leaving a family of 
 five children — four sons and one daughter 
 — of whom Cornelius is the youngest. 
 
 Our subject was reared by the older 
 members of the family, and, during his 
 youth, received a common-school edu- 
 cation. In April, 1847, having received 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 325 
 
 money from his brother Daniel, who had 
 immigrated the year previous, he con- 
 cluded to come to America, and, bidding 
 the home of his boyhood farewell, he 
 proceeded from Cork -to Liverpool, from 
 which port he set sail April 15, and, on 
 May 15, arrived in Boston, where he was 
 obliged to remain in quarantine five da3'S. 
 A few days later his brother sent him 
 money to come to Chicopee, Mass., and 
 here he obtained employment as clerk for 
 a large merchant, John Haley, with whom 
 he remained two years. He then went 
 to Brookfield, Mass. , where he learned 
 the trade of shoemaker, but, tiring of 
 that, removed to Holyoke, and later to 
 Springfield. In the latter city he was 
 united in marriage, in 1854, with Miss 
 Ellen Wrin, also a native of County 
 Kerry, Ireland, and, shortly afterward, 
 they set out for Wisconsin, coming to 
 Green Bay on the "Old Michigan." On 
 their arrival in that cit\- they had but 
 twenty-five cents, so they walked from 
 Green Bay to De Pere, and thence to Glen- 
 more township, Brown county, where she 
 remained at the home of his brother 
 Daniel. Mr. Dougherty found work on 
 the Kaukauna canal, then in course of 
 construction, and, being strong and active, 
 he made a good workman. 
 
 Mr. Dougherty finally managed to save 
 thirty dollars from his hard-earned wages, 
 which he invested in forty acres of 
 land in Section 22, Glenmore town- 
 ship, locating thereon about 1856, and 
 here he has ever since resided. The 
 land was entirely new, the trees being 
 so thick they had to clear a space for 
 a cabin, and he was the first one to 
 do any clearing on the tract. Having 
 but few implements, the work at first 
 progressed slowly, but he persevered, 
 and soon the place began to assume a 
 cultivated appearance. For a long time, 
 however, the wolves played sad havoc with 
 his stock, and he well remembers one 
 night when these animals attacked a large 
 steer, the only one he had. The noise 
 drew him to the scene, and he succeeded 
 
 in frightening the wolves away, but the 
 animal died. However, the wild beasts 
 were gradually driven out, and, with the 
 influx of civilization, the forests gradually 
 gave way to beautiful, well-kept farms. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Dougherty were born 
 children as follows: James, now a resi- 
 dent of Ortonville, Minn. ; John, a 
 farmer, who is postmaster at Glenmore; 
 Mary, Mrs. Michael J. Clark, of Wau- 
 saukee, Wis. ; Catherine, wife of Robert 
 Wilson, a barber, of Crystal Falls, Mich. ; 
 Josephine, Mrs. Mathias Matzke, of Glen- 
 more; and three children that died young. 
 The mother of these passed from earth 
 in May, 1867, and was buried in the 
 Catholic cemetery at De Pere. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1868, Mr. Dougherty wedded, for 
 his second spouse, Mrs. Julia Murphy 
 (widow of Daniel Murphy), nee Donohue, 
 who was also a native of County Kerry, 
 Ireland, where Mr. Dougherty knew her 
 before his emigration. 
 
 Since his settlement in Glenmore town- 
 ship our subject has continued to follow 
 agriculture, and at one time had 120 
 acres under cultivation. He has given 
 each of his sons eighty acres, having 
 bought eighty acres more in Section 7, 
 Glenmore township, which he had deeded 
 to his son James. All his property has 
 been accumulated by years of toil and 
 persevering industry, and too much credit 
 can not be given to these old settlers for 
 the part they have taken in the develop- 
 ment of the country. In his dealings 
 with his fellow men he has been straight- 
 forward and honest, and he is respected 
 by all who know him for his integrit}' and 
 upright bearing. Though now nearly 
 seventy years of age, he is still active and 
 well-preserved, and few men in the vicin- 
 ity are better or more favorably known 
 than "Con Dougherty," as he is famil- 
 iarly called. He is foremost in every 
 movement of benefit and interest to his 
 community, and has been selected to fill 
 numerous offices of trust, serving for 
 thirty-two years as chairman of Glen- 
 more township, was township superin- 
 
326 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 tendent of schools, and for years a justice 
 of the peace. PoHtically he has always 
 been a Democrat and a leader of the 
 party in his section. In religious con- 
 nection he and his wife are members of 
 St. Mary's Church, Glenmore, in which 
 he served as trustee five or six years, and 
 also as treasurer. 
 
 On October 4, 1864, Mr. Dougherty 
 enlisted at Green Bay, Wis., in the 
 Twenty-second Wis. V. I., and served as 
 clerk for Col. Chapman at Camp Randall. 
 He was honorably discharged May 18, 
 1865, and returned at once to Glenmore. 
 
 JOHN BROEREN, one of the repre- 
 sentative well-to-do farmer citizens 
 and mechanics of Holland township, 
 Brown county, deserves, because of 
 the lessons presented in his busy life, more 
 than a passing notice in the pages of this 
 volume. He is a native of Holland, born 
 March 16, 1828, youngest in the family 
 of eight children — four sons and four 
 daughters — born to Peter Broeren, who 
 was by occupation a farmer and maker of 
 straw thatching. 
 
 Our subject was reared on his father's 
 farm, receiving in his boyhood a meager 
 education at the schools of the neighbor- 
 hood of his home. He also learned the 
 trades of wooden shoe and thatch making, 
 which, in company with his brother 
 Mathias, he followed after the death of 
 their father, and in this wa)' was enabled 
 to make a few dollars over and above what 
 he required for living expenses, for he was 
 always industrious and frugal. In 1856, 
 then twenty-eight years old, being de- 
 sirous of bettering himself, and casting 
 longing eyes in the direction of the West- 
 ern World, whither many of his country- 
 men had already betaken themselves, he 
 decided to emigrate and try his fortune 
 under new skies, where homes are cheaper 
 and wages higher. At Rotterdam he 
 boarded the American ship ' ' South Caro- 
 lina, " bound for New York, which port 
 she reached after a somewhat lengthy 
 
 passage of fifty-seven days, during which 
 he suffered much from sea-sickness. From 
 New York he came directly to Chicago, 
 and in some part of Illinois he found work, 
 cutting grass on the prairie. While so 
 engaged he attended church regularly each 
 Sunday, the nearest Catholic one being 
 seven miles distant. In the fall of the 
 same year he came to Green Bay by boat 
 from Chicago, and being a natural me- 
 chanic, and having with him his tools used 
 in making wooden shoes, he found some 
 carpenter work to do until winter, receiv- 
 ing in wages about ten dollars per month. 
 One day, meeting some farmers from 
 Calumet county, he was induced by them 
 to return with them to their part of the 
 State, in order that he might there 
 make wooden shoes for the country peo- 
 ple; and at this sort of employment he 
 was engaged all winter. The following 
 spring (1857) he again came to Green 
 Bay, where, for the three following years, 
 he worked at carpentry. In the fall of 
 i860, trade in his line being dull, and 
 having saved a few dollars, he thought it 
 would be a good opportunity to revisit his 
 native land; so, in company with three 
 other Hollanders, he set out on the journey 
 via New York, where the party took 
 steamer for Southampton, landing there 
 in thirteen days from time of sailing. 
 From that port they proceeded by rail to 
 London, thence down the Thames and 
 across the North Sea to Rotterdam, Hol- 
 land, and from there our subject soon 
 reached his old home and friends. In the 
 following spring he returned to the United 
 States by steamer, via Rotterdam and 
 New York, thence by rail to Chicago and 
 Appleton, at which latter point (the rail- 
 road terminating there at that time) he 
 took boat down the Fox river to Green 
 Bay, where, after a few weeks rest, he re- 
 commenced carpentry work with his old 
 employer. Soon after coming to Green 
 Bay Mr. Broeren built himself a small 
 boat — sixteen feet in length, with a wheel 
 paddle- in the rear — the craft, which was 
 propelled by a crank turned by hand, being 
 
^irmA ^^r^ti^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 329 
 
 quite a curiosity at the time and attracting 
 much attention. He passed many pleas- 
 ant hours with it on the waters of Green 
 Bay, and a perfect model of the boat — 
 wheel-paddle and all — now surmounts 
 his barn. 
 
 On February 17, 1862, Mr. Broeren 
 was united in marriage, at Little Chute, 
 Wis., with Mrs. Hannah Goerkes, («cV 
 Siemons), widow of John Goerkes, who 
 was drowned in the canal lock at Kau- 
 kauna, where he was lock-keeper at the 
 time. She is a native of Prussia, born 
 September 16, 1834, a daughter of Rine- 
 hart Siemons, a Hollander, who came to 
 the United States in 1848, and was one of 
 those who first settled Holland township. 
 Brown county, in that year. After mar- 
 riage Mr. Broeren continued to work in 
 Appleton at carpentry and pattern-making 
 until the spring of 1865, when, in com- 
 pany with Cornelius Gerrits, having pur- 
 chased of Hoel S. Wright, of Wrights- 
 town, a farm of forty acres, with a water- 
 power sawmill thereon, he moved thither 
 with his family. Soon afterward he 
 bought out his partner's interest, and in 
 about two years converted the water- 
 power of the sawmill into steam-power. 
 To these forty acres he subsequently added 
 forty more, and in Woodville township, 
 Calmuet county, he also purchased land, 
 now owning in all 140 acres. When he 
 first came to his farm it was completely 
 covered with timber and underbrush, but, 
 by indefatigable industry, heroic work, 
 and tireless energy, he has made the 
 quondam howling wilderness to blossom 
 as the rose. In connection with agricul- 
 ture, he has continued to conduct the 
 sawmill, to which he has added a plan- 
 ing-mill. 
 
 Mr. Broeren, in his political prefer- 
 ences, is a stanch Democrat, and served 
 his township as supervisor one year; he 
 and his wife are members of St. Francis 
 Catholic Church, and are held in the highest 
 esteem in the community. Their chil- 
 dren, eight in number, were: Peter, in 
 California; George, a farmer in Holland 
 
 township. Brown county; Francis W. , 
 who died December 10, 1869; Anna M., 
 organist of St. Francis Church; Cecilia 
 B., at home; Theodore, in Portland, Ore. ; 
 and Wilhelmina and William, both at 
 home. By her first husband Mrs. Broe- 
 ren had three children — Henry, John and 
 Mary — of whom the last named married 
 Martin Vandezagt, and died leaving no 
 children. Henry went to the Pacific coast 
 in 1882, soon afterward making a trip to 
 Australia; but, not liking the country, he 
 returned after a short stay, after which 
 time his home was, for the most part, in 
 Tulare county, Cal., until 1893, when he 
 removed to Alaska, and is now engaged 
 in mining along the Yukon river. John 
 went to the Pacific coast four years later 
 than Henry, and in the spring of 1894 also 
 went to Alaska, where he is now engaged 
 in mining with his brother. After Henry's 
 arrival in that country it was six months 
 before he reached the mines, being de- 
 tained on account of the snow. The 
 brothers are both practical mechanics, 
 with the ability to turn their hands to 
 almost any kind of work, a fact which 
 accounts in a great measure for their suc- 
 cess in all their undertakings. 
 
 Gifted, as he is, with more than aver- 
 age natural ability and intellect, yet de- 
 nied in his boyhood and youth aught but 
 the most limited school advantages, there 
 is to be found in the career of Mr. Broeren 
 a potent lesson to the youth of this or any 
 other land, who, commencing life as he 
 did, an uneducated, penniless lad, is 
 striving to hew out for himself an honest 
 competence and honored name. Mr. 
 Broeren is never idle; whether in the field 
 among his crops, in his mills listening to the 
 hum of the machinery, or by his domestic 
 fireside in the bosom of his family, his 
 hand and mind are ever employed — his 
 hand in labor, his mind in perusing Eng- 
 lish literature or the current events of the 
 day; and now his homestead is spoken of 
 by the newspapers of Outagamie and 
 Brown counties as the "model farm of 
 Holland township." 
 
33° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 THOMAS DUFFY, one of the pros- 
 perous farmers and representa- 
 tive citizens of Holland township, 
 Brown county, is a native of Berk- 
 shire county, Mass., born July 28, 1852, 
 son of James and Margaret (Martin) Duffy. 
 James Duffy was born in County Mon- 
 aghan, Ireland, where he learned the 
 trade of weaver, and when a young man 
 came to the United States, first locating 
 in Massachusetts. He was married in 
 that State, for his second wife, to Miss 
 Margaret Martin, a native of County Gal- 
 way, Ireland, and they remained there 
 until 1858, Mr. Duffy working in the 
 paper mills. Mr. Duffy had several chil- 
 dren by his first marriage, and in 1858, 
 with his entire family, which then con- 
 sisted of ten children, he came to Wis- 
 consin, land being cheap in that then new 
 country. They located in Brown county, 
 purchasing forty acres in Section 27, Hol- 
 land township, the tract having no im- 
 provements whatever except a small log 
 house, in which the family made their 
 home. The task of clearing was a great 
 one, for, having no improved machinery — 
 an axe and a hoe being almost the only 
 implements used — it took many years of 
 toil to make the land tillable. He passed 
 through all the vicissitudes of pioneer life, 
 and lived to see his farm converted from 
 the woods into a fertile tract. In later 
 years he purchased another forty acres. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Duffy spent the remainder 
 of their days on the farm where they first 
 located, he passing away in July, 1887, 
 and his wife following him to the grave 
 in September, same year; their remains 
 now rest in Holland cemetery. They 
 were devout members of the Catholic 
 Church, and were everywhere respected. 
 In politics Mr. Duffy was a stanch mem- 
 ber of the Democratic party, and served 
 creditably in several positions of trust; 
 in 1863-64, and again in 1874, he served 
 as township treasurer, and he also held 
 offices in his school district. 
 
 Thomas Duffy was the third son of 
 James and Margaret (Martin) Duffy. 
 
 When six years old he came with his par- 
 ents to Wisconsin, and, having never at- 
 tended school up to that time, he received 
 all his educational training in the district 
 schools of Holland township, his first 
 teachers being Martin Finnerty and 
 Michael Vandenberg. But in those earl}' 
 dajs the schools were far from thorough, 
 and the education acquired, even when 
 attending regularly, was somewhat limited. 
 But work at home was the first con- 
 sideration, and he received a thorough 
 training to agriculture under his father 
 on the home farm, which he now resides 
 upon. On November 23, 1880, he was 
 united in marriage, in East Holland, to 
 Miss Ellen Clancey, who was born in 
 Holland township, Februarj' 17, i860, a 
 daughter of \^'illiam Clancey, who came 
 from County Limerick, Ireland. The 
 }oung couple took up their, residence on 
 the homestead which he now owns, as. 
 well as eighty acres across the road, and 
 here he has always resided, excepting for 
 a few months when he lived in Kaukauna. 
 To this union children have been born as 
 follows: John, August 17, 1 881; Maggie 
 Ellen, June 16, 1883; Mamie A., Septem- 
 ber 6, 1884; James. October 8, 1886; 
 Willie, June 19, 1889; Jennie Elizabeth, 
 July 22, 1891; and Florence L., July 
 19, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Duffy is a progressive, go-ahead 
 farmer, and has, to a great degree, been 
 the architect of his own fortune, for, being 
 one of a large family, he had to do for 
 himself. He is very popular in his locality, 
 where he has many friends and is well 
 known. In political connection he is a 
 Democrat, and one of the local leaders 
 of the party, being stanch in the support 
 of its principles. He has served as treas- 
 urer of his township for a longer term 
 than an}' other one man, having held the 
 office continuously since 1881, with the 
 exception of a year, discharging the duties 
 of his position in a highly satisfactory 
 manner. In religious connection he and 
 his family are members of St. Francis 
 Church, of Holland. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 331 
 
 JOSEPH LEITERMANN, a success- 
 ful farmer of Glenmore township, 
 Brown county, was born February 
 28, 1847, in Bohemia. Austria, son 
 of Peter Leitermann, a farmer. The latter 
 had nine children — four sons and five 
 daughters — Joseph being the eighth in the 
 order of birth and the third son. 
 
 When si.\ years old our subject com- 
 menced to attend school, continuing until 
 he reached the age of twelve or thirteen 
 years. He then began the trade of 
 wagon-maker, following that about eight 
 years, or until the spring of 1867, when 
 he concluded to emigrate and seek his 
 fortune in America. His father gave 
 him money to pay the expenses of the 
 journey, and, sailing from Bremen he 
 landed in New York after a voyage of 
 nineteen days, immediately after arrival 
 proceeding to Manitowoc, Wis. Having 
 found work near that city as a farmhand, 
 he resided there a year and a half, when 
 he came to Brown county, and purchased 
 forty acres in Section 25, Glenmore town- 
 ship, going in debt for same. The only 
 improvement on this place was a log 
 shanty, which stood five or si.x rods 
 southeast of his present residence, and 
 the land was entirely new. In Novem- 
 ber, 1869, Mr. Leitermann was married, 
 in Glenmore, to Miss Mary Hebel, also a 
 native of Austria, who was born May 10, 
 1844, daughter of Mathias Hebel, and 
 the young couple at once commenced 
 housekeeping in the log house above 
 mentioned, where they made their home 
 until the erection of their present com- 
 fortable dwelling. Here their children 
 were all born, as follows: Barbara, born 
 December 20, 1870, now Mrs. Xavier 
 Rank, of Kewaunee county, Wis. ; Peter 
 J., born April 6, 1873; Joseph, born 
 April 7, 1874; Mary, born July 19, 1875; 
 John, born October 8, 1876; Annie, born 
 February 4, 1879; Louis, born June 4, 
 1884, all residing at home; and one that 
 died in infancy unnamed. 
 
 It required many years of stern toil 
 to clear and improve the farm, and Mr. 
 
 Leitermann not only did that, but from 
 time to time added to his original pur- 
 chase, and now has a fine farm of 120 
 acres, thoroughly equipped with substan- 
 tial outbuildings. His family have as- 
 sisted him greatly with the general farm 
 work, and he has also been a hard worker, 
 by good management and systematic meth- 
 ods making a success of his life work. In 
 connection with general farming he is also 
 engaged in stock-raising to some extent. 
 He has been a Democrat in politics, but 
 not an active party man, preferring to 
 give all his time to his farm. In religion 
 he and his family are members of St. 
 Mary's Catholic Church, at Glenmore, 
 and they are highly respected throughout 
 their communitv. 
 
 IVI 
 
 ATHEW RIPP, an industrious 
 young farmer of Green Bay 
 township. Brown county, is a 
 son of Peter and Christina (Van- 
 hatten) Ripp. Christina Vanhatten was 
 born February 14, 1844, in Germany, 
 and in 1853 came to America with her 
 parents, Peter and Elizabeth Vanhatten, 
 whose family at this time consisted of four 
 children: Christina, Elizabeth, Catherine 
 and Mary. One child, Margaret, was 
 born in America. The family landed in 
 New York after a remarkably pleasant 
 voyage of twenty-three days, and imme- 
 diately after arrival proceeded to a place 
 about thirty miles distant from Rochester, 
 N. Y. , where they purchased sixty-one 
 acres of wild land, which they cultivated, 
 and made their home there for thirteen 
 years. They then migrated westward to 
 Wisconsin, and took up their residence 
 about thirty miles from Milwaukee, re- 
 maining there seven years, or until 1873, 
 when they came to Brown county, settling 
 on a farm in Green Bay township, where 
 the parents passed the remainder of their 
 lives. 
 
 In 1862 Christina Vanhatten was 
 united in marriage with Peter Ripp, and 
 their union was blessed with six children. 
 
332 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 viz. : Elizabeth, Katie, Mathew (who 
 married Miss Blundy), Mary (Mrs. Blundy), 
 Anna, and Margaret (deceased). Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ripp came to Green Bay township 
 with the Vanhatten family in 1873, and 
 here he died about six weeks later. Mrs. 
 Ripp purchased a tract of eighty acres in 
 Green Bay township, which her son 
 Mathew has cleared and cultivated, and 
 on which they make their home; in ad- 
 dition to this place he owns and cultivates 
 a piece of land in Humboldt township. 
 Since his father's death he has been the 
 principal support of his widowed mother, 
 proving a faithful and devoted son in every 
 respect. 
 
 SYLVESTER BOEHM, now living 
 retired in the township of Belle- 
 vue. Brown county, with whose 
 agricultural interests he has been 
 actively identified for nearly forty years, 
 is a native of Bavaria, Germany, born De- 
 cember 30, 1828. His father, George 
 Boehm, a hard-working, thrifty farmer in 
 the Fatherland, had a family of eight 
 children — four sons and four daughters — 
 of whom our subject is the seventh in the 
 order of birth. 
 
 Sylvester Boehm attended the schools 
 of his native place, receiving a liberal 
 common-school education. When seven- 
 teen years old he commenced to learn the 
 stone-mason's trade, at which he served 
 an apprenticeship of three years, and then 
 embarked in the business for himself, his 
 earnings being all turned over to his par- 
 ents. In the spring of 1853 he proceeded 
 to Liverpool, from which port he sailed 
 for America, landing in Philadelphia after 
 a voyage of fifty days. Going at once to 
 New York he obtained employment as a 
 mechanic (his wages being fifty cents per 
 day), continuing thus but a short time, 
 however, for he went to Detroit, Mich., 
 where he worked at his trade. In 1857 
 he was married in New Baltimore, Mich., 
 to Miss Theresa Wygal, who was born 
 September 8, 1830, in Prussia, daughter 
 
 of Joseph Wygal, who came to the United 
 States in 1854, and located near Detroit. 
 Shortly after his marriage Mr. Boehm 
 came to Green Bay, Wis., and for one 
 summer followed his trade; then, in 1859, 
 purchased forty acres of heavily wooded 
 land in Bellevue township, going into 
 debt for same, and on this tract, in a 
 log cabin 12 .\ 12, he and his wife took up 
 their residence. He has since devoted 
 his attention exclusively to agriculture, in 
 which he has met with most encouraging 
 success, the just reward of industry and 
 thrift. On that farm he remained until 
 1892, in which year he came to his pres- 
 ent home, a pleasant farm of twenty-eight 
 acres, where he now lives a partly re- 
 tired life. He has been a self-made man, 
 for, when he landed in the United States, 
 he had a capital of only five dollars with 
 which to commence life in the New World, 
 and from this small beginning he has ac- 
 cumulated a comfortable property. He 
 and his wife are known as good, kind- 
 hearted neighbors, and their hospitality is 
 almost proverbial. They had seven chil- 
 dren: Louis, now a resident of Florida; 
 Catherine, Mrs. Frank Rinehart, of Duck 
 Creek, Wis. ; Margarette, Mrs. Ferdinand 
 Ellinger, of Bellevue township; Caroline, 
 Mrs. Frank Nachtwey, of Bellevue town- 
 ship; and three children — one son and two 
 daughters — that died young. Mr. Boehm 
 is an adherent of the principles of the 
 Democratic party, but in voting he usually 
 selects the best man, regardless of politics. 
 He and his wife are members of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 HUGH FINNEGAN, an influential 
 farmer-citizen of Holland town- 
 ship, Brown county, is a worthy 
 representative of one of its early 
 pioneer families. 
 
 Patrick Finnegan, his father, was born 
 in 1 8 19 in County Sligo, Ireland, where 
 he married Margaret Graham, and in 
 their native country one child was born — 
 Andrew. Mr. Finnegan was a tenant 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 333 
 
 farmer, and, though a hard-working man, 
 he could barely make a comfortable liv- 
 , ing. In the spring of 1848 he concluded 
 to immigrate to the United States, where 
 the workingman had a chance to better 
 himself, and, gathering together what 
 capital he could — a few dollars realized 
 from the sale of his effects and a small 
 sum he had saved — he left his home, and 
 proceeded with his little family, via Dub- 
 lin, to Liverpool. Here they took pas- 
 sage on a sailing vessel bound for New 
 York City, where they landed after a 
 weary voyage occupying several weeks. 
 Their first home in the New World was 
 made at Schenectady, N. Y. , where Mr. 
 Finnegan found employment as laborer 
 on the canal, and there they resided a 
 few years, or until about 1S51, when, at- 
 tracted no doubt by the cheap homes of- 
 fered to early settlers, he decided to set- 
 tle in the then new State of Wisconsin. 
 They took passage at Buffalo on the ' ' Old 
 Michigan," then plying on the lakes be- 
 tween that city and Green Bay, and, after 
 arriving at the latter city, came up the 
 Fox river to Kaukauna, where they re- 
 mained several years, Mr. Finnegan work- 
 ing as a laborer on the canal. He then 
 purchased 160 acres of new land in Sec- 
 tion 22, Holland township. Brown county, 
 totally unimproved, and he built the first 
 house thereon — a small log structure, 
 which stood a short distance east of the 
 present family residence. Not a stick 
 had been cut from the land, and, although 
 he set about the clearing of the farm at 
 once, it yielded no support for himself and 
 his family for several years, and he con- 
 tinued to work in Kaukauna during the 
 summer time. Having but a limited sup- 
 ply of farming implements, and no im- 
 proved machinery, the work of improving 
 and cultivating progressed slowly; but he 
 persevered, keeping ever before him the 
 prospect of one day having a comfortable 
 property which he could call his own. 
 With constant care and industry his quar- 
 ter-section of land finally was converted 
 into a smiling, productive farm, to which. 
 
 in later years, he added an adjoining forty 
 acres, the whole making a fine tract. The 
 log cabin was in time supplanted by a 
 substantial farm residence, in which he 
 passed the remainder of his life, dying in 
 November, 1878, and he was laid to rest 
 in Holland township. His first wife passed 
 from earth in 1858, and was buried in 
 Holland township, and Mr. Finnegan 
 subsequently married Miss Ellen McBride, 
 a native of Ireland, who survives him. 
 The children born in the United States to 
 his first marriage were: Bridget, now 
 Mrs. Joseph Redline, of Green Bay; Mi- 
 chael, a resident of Ingalls, Mich. ; Hugh, 
 a sketch of whom follows, and Thomas, 
 of Menomonee, Wis. Andrew, the eldest 
 of this family, who was born in Ireland, 
 also resides in Menomonee. To the sec- 
 ond marriage came children as follows: 
 Mary, Mrs. Peter Golden, of Wrights- 
 town; and Maggie, Mrs. John Cox, of 
 Holland township. 
 
 In politics Mr. Finnegan was a strong 
 supporter of the principles of the Demo- 
 cratic party, but he never aspired to office, 
 preferring to give all his attention to his 
 farm. In religious faith he was a mem- 
 ber of St. Francis Church, De Pere. One 
 of the earliest settlers in Holland town- 
 ship, he lived to see his farm and the sur- 
 rounding country converted from a dense 
 forest to a productive tract of land, 
 changes which those pioneers effected by 
 many years of stern toil. He was a self- 
 made man, for, though in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances at the time of his death, he 
 began life with nothing but a willing 
 heart and hands, and won success by in- 
 dustry and good business management, 
 and his honesty and fair dealing won him 
 the respect of all who knew him. 
 
 Hugh Finnegan, son of this old 
 pioneer, was born July 13, 1855, in Hol- 
 land township, on the farm where he yet 
 makes his home. He received such an 
 education as could be obtained at the 
 common district schools of his time, his 
 attendance being somewhat irregular, for 
 he was reared to farm life, and, as the 
 
334 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home place was still in its primitive con- 
 dition, there was plenty of work at home 
 to f)ccupy his time. F"rom the time of 
 his mother's death, up to the age of thir- 
 teen, he was reared by his grandmother 
 Finnegan, who then lived in Holland 
 township, after which he made his home 
 with his father. On November 9, 1887, 
 he was married in Holland township, to 
 Miss Ellen Finerty, who was born there 
 January 13, 1859, daughter of Thomas 
 and Catherine (Keaton) Finert}'. After 
 their marriage the young couple immedi- 
 ately came to the home farm, where they 
 have ever since resided, and which Mr. 
 Finnegan now owns; it comprises 200 
 acres of prime land, all in Holland town- 
 ship. This union has been blessed with 
 three children, viz.: Carrie M., born 
 September 17, 1889; Thomas A., born 
 April I, 1 891; and Robert P., born De- 
 cember 15, 1893. Mr. Finnegan has 
 been very successful in his farming opera- 
 tions, and to-day ranks among the most 
 prosperous citizens in his township. He 
 takes an interest in every movement which 
 tends to promote the welfare of his local- 
 ity, and is foremost in the rank of pro- 
 gressive farmers Politically he is a 
 Democrat, but, though stanch in his sup- 
 port of the party, gives no time to politics, 
 being fully occupied with his business af- 
 fairs. In religious connection the family 
 are members of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church, De Pere. 
 
 PETER CALLAHAN, a well- 
 known farmer citizen cf Glen- 
 more township. Brown county, 
 was born in November, 1837, in 
 County Monaghan, Ireland, son of James 
 Callahan. When Peter was but a boy 
 his ]iarents immigrated to Canada with 
 their family of eight children — four sons 
 and four daughters — and here he was 
 reared. His mother died when he was 
 about fifteen years old, and, this event 
 breaking up the home, he then com- 
 menced sailing on the lakes, a business in 
 
 which he continued, "off and on," for 
 some years. His father conducted a 
 livery stable and hack line, and during 
 the winter season Peter assisted him. 
 
 In 1863 our subject came to Brown 
 county. Wis., sailing from Buffalo to 
 Green Bay, and here obtained work as 
 wheelsman and fireman on the "Arrow" 
 and the "Van Epps. " He remained on 
 the " Arrow " until she gave out, and in- 
 tended to continue his work on the 
 " Dunlap, " to which vessel the machinery 
 from the "Arrow" was being transferred; 
 but, in the fall of 1863, he enlisted at 
 Green Bay, in Company H, Thirty-fifth 
 Wis. \'. I., and went to Camp \\'ash- 
 burn, Milwaukee. The command \Nas 
 sent to Louisiana, and they engaged in 
 various skirmishes, but their first regular 
 engagement was at Spanish Fort. Then 
 followed the engagements at Fort Blakely, 
 whence they were sent to Mobile, and 
 later to Brownsville, Texas, protecting 
 the frontier from the encroachments of 
 the Mexicans during the disturbances in 
 that country. Mr. Callahan was dis- 
 charged in Brownsville, Texas, in March, 
 1866, and returned to Madison, Wis., 
 thence to De Pere, where he made his 
 home for about a year; while in the 
 service he had suffered from exposure, 
 and returned with his health seriously 
 impaired. During his residence in De- 
 Pere he worked in the stave mills, and 
 in 1867 he came to Glenmore township, 
 where he was employed in the sawmill of 
 Bowen, Thompson & Hulburt, who were 
 getting out lumber. In i 868 he removed 
 to his present farm, in the N. W'. |, 
 Section 14, Glenmore township, which, 
 at that time, was an eighty-acre tract of 
 new land (with the timber thereon re- 
 served by others), and here he built the 
 first house, and made all the improve- 
 ments on the place. The work of clear- 
 ing this farm involved a great deal of 
 hard work, but, by continued industry, 
 he has reduced it to a fertile condition. 
 In 1892 he built a store on the northwest 
 corner of his farm, where he now con- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIIAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 335 
 
 ducts a saloon, in addition to carrying on 
 his ac;;ricultural work. In politics he is a 
 Democrat, and always supports the prin- 
 ciples of that party in State and National 
 elections, but in local affairs he votes in- 
 variably for the best man. He is a close 
 reader, and keeps himself well informed on 
 general topics and the issues of his party, j 
 
 In the fall of 1863 Mr. Callahan was 
 married, in Green Bay, to Miss Johanna 
 Dwyer, a native of County Tipperary, 
 Ireland, daughter of John Dwyer, and to 
 this union were born two children: Mary 
 E., now Mrs. Warner, of Montana, and 
 James E., of Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Callahan are members of St. Mary's 
 Catholic Church, of Glenmore. 
 
 LAMBERT WELLENS. Many of 
 the thrifty, industrious, well-to-do 
 citizens of Brown county can 
 boast of Holland birth, and promi- 
 nent among these ranks the subject of 
 these lines, who is a resident of Bellevue 
 township. He was born December 6, 
 1836, in the village of Schaijk, near the 
 city of Grave, Holland, son of John H. 
 Wellens, a farmer, and the youngest of 
 eight children — all sons — four of whom 
 grew to maturity. 
 
 Lambert Wellens received a good 
 common-school education in the schools 
 of his neighborhood, was reared a farmer 
 boy, and remained at home until he 
 reached the age of twenty, at which time 
 he decided to seek his fortune in America. 
 His father had died, and having the 
 money received from the estate to pay his 
 expenses, he set sail from Antwerp, land- 
 ing in New York after an ocean voyage 
 of twenty-one days. It was his original 
 intention to go to De Pere, Wis., but 
 being influenced by an acquaintance he 
 went instead to Grant county, that State, 
 where he arrived with but five dollars, and 
 immediately hired out as a farm hand, con- 
 tinuing to follow agricultural pursuits for 
 two years, during five months of which time 
 he worked with his two brothers, Seeman 
 
 and Albert, who had come to the United 
 States a few months after him. In the 
 spring of 1859 these three brothers were 
 seized with the "western fever," and 
 taking a team of o.xen to haul provisions, 
 they set out across the plains for Pike's 
 Peak, the journey occupying six weeks. 
 But not being satisfied with the prospects 
 there, they remained only ten days, and 
 then pushed on farther westward to Cali- 
 fornia with the same team, taking five 
 months and ten days to make the trip. 
 They prospected in Shasta county, Cal. , 
 remaining there four and a half years, and 
 then went to Idaho Territory, where they 
 sojourned four years, prospecting and 
 mining the greater part of the time, and 
 making about $5,000 apiece. In the fall 
 of 1867 they returned by stage to Sacra- 
 mento, Cal., thence by water to San 
 Francisco, and from there, via the Nicar- 
 agua canal route, to New York, where 
 they took passage for Liverpool, and in 
 October, 1867, arrived at their old home 
 in Holland. 
 
 In January, 1868, our subject was 
 married at his old home in Holland, to 
 Miss Barbara Johnson, who was born 
 October 25, 1840, in the same neighbor- 
 hood, daughter of John Johnson, a farmer, 
 and to this union have been born six chil- 
 dren, viz. : John, Mary, William, Albert, 
 Theodore and Nettie, all living but Theo- 
 dore, who died on the present farm in 
 Wisconsin in March, 1888. After return- 
 ing to his native land, Mr. Wellens took 
 up farming, and at the same time con- 
 ducted a grocery and a mercantile busi- 
 ness, continuing in this until 1883, when 
 he again concluded to come to America. 
 In the spring of that year he and his 
 family sailed from Rotterdam on the 
 " P. Caland," arriving in New York after 
 a voyage of eighteen days, and, their des- 
 tination being De Pere, Wis., they im- 
 mediately proceeded thither. In Bellevue 
 township. Brown county, Mr. Wellens 
 purchased eighty-four acres of partly im- 
 proved land, where he has ever since made 
 his home, devoting his attention pricipally 
 
336 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to the cultivation and improvement of his 
 farm. The place has undergone many 
 chanj^es since he has had charge, and it 
 is now one of the best improved farms in 
 the township; he has also added sixty 
 acres adjoining, and is engaged extensively 
 in general agriculture, his remarkable suc- 
 cess in this hne being directly due to his 
 good business management and shrewd 
 financiering, for which he is well known. 
 He is a representative self-made man, 
 active and intelligent, having accumulated 
 a goodly share of this world's goods by 
 hard work and perseverance. He has 
 traveled considerably, more than the 
 average farmer, having crossed this coun- 
 try from New York to San Francisco, 
 visited Central America, and, in 1 893, took 
 a six-weeks' pleasure trip to his native 
 country; he has crossed the Atlantic four 
 times. Politically he is a Democrat, but 
 he gives little attention to party affairs, 
 preferring to devote his time to his busi- 
 ness interests. The family are all mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church at De Pere. 
 
 JOSEPH E. DUAfME, a representa- 
 tive thorough-going agriculturist, of 
 Lawrence township. Brown county, 
 was born May 16, 1841, in St. 
 Francis, Canada, and is of French descent. 
 Our subject received the greater part 
 of his education from his mother, who 
 was a French scholar, and had been a 
 school teacher. His father, Bruno Du- 
 aime, was a ship carpenter, and among 
 other boats built the "Fanny Fisk." On 
 July 15, 1850, the family came to Green 
 Bay, Wis., and, the parents being in only 
 moderate circumstances, Joseph com- 
 menced to work at an early age, for when 
 fifteen years old we find him in the lum- 
 ber camps of northern Michigan, where 
 he earned from twelve to fifteen dollars 
 per month. At the breaking out of the 
 Civil war he was working on a farm near 
 Fond du Lac, Wis., and he enlisted at 
 once in the Union army, but his father 
 succeeded in obtaining his release. Later, 
 
 however, he went to Brown count}', and 
 in the spring of 1864 again enlisted, this 
 time in Company C, Twelfth Wis. V. I., 
 with which he went south to Cairo, 111., 
 soon afterward joining Sherman at Big 
 Shanty, Ga. Their first regular engage- 
 ment was at Kenesaw Mountain, thence 
 following the campaign to the coast. On 
 July 28, 1864, near Israel's Chapel, to 
 the right of Atlanta, Mr. Duaime was 
 wounded, receiving a ball in the neck, 
 and was sent to Marietta Hospital, where 
 he remained thirty da\s. He then came 
 home on furlough, and. Green Ba}' sur- 
 geons failing to extract the ball, he went 
 to Harvey's Hospital, at Madison, Wis. , 
 where it was removed by Dr. Culverson. 
 In March, 1865, he went by rail to New 
 York, and thence by boat to Morehead 
 City, N. C, where he joined his com- 
 mand about two weeks before Lee's sur- 
 render. He was present at the Grand 
 Review in Washington, D. C. ; was mus- 
 tered out July 15, 1865, at Louisville, 
 Ky., received an honorable discharge at 
 Madison, Wis., and immediately returned 
 to Brown county. 
 
 On September 11, 1865, Mr. Duaime 
 was married to Miss Mary Boyea, who 
 was born April 5, 1844, in New York, 
 daughter of August Boyea, who came to 
 De Pere in 1855. At this time our sub- 
 ject had saved some two hundred and fifty 
 dollars, and with this money he purchased 
 a lot in Green Bay, on which he built a 
 house, and lived there two years. He 
 obtained employment in the lumber mills 
 of Marshall, Speer & Co., at Sturgeon 
 Bay, and his former experience in this 
 line, coupled with natural ability as a 
 mechanic, which he possessed to a marked 
 degree, made him so competent a work- 
 man that for eight years he was foreman 
 and filer for this firm. Being thrifty and 
 economical, as well as a steady worker, 
 he saved a considerable sum, and in a few 
 years was able to purchase a farm in 
 Lawrence township, for which he paid 
 two thousand dollars cash. Here he made 
 his home for ten or twelve jears, follow- 
 
ef'. ^.&^Uy^ 
 
 f^^^'7'7^ZJ2,^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 339 
 
 ing fanning, and in the spring of 1882 
 purchased the tract of ninety acres, where 
 he now hves, and removed thereon. 
 Since then he has improved the tract in 
 many ways, erecting new buildings, re- 
 pairing old ones, and systematically cul- 
 tivating the land, to which he has also 
 added forty-seven and one-half acres, 
 now owning a fertile, productive farm of 
 1 37^ acres. Though not a lifelong farmer, 
 Mr. Duaime has proven himself the equal 
 of any in his township, and has made a 
 complete success of his vocation. He and 
 his wife have had five children born to 
 them, namely: Joseph E. (who is a 
 teacher, and a correspondent for the De- 
 Pere Dciiiocra t),]o?,e^\\me (a dressmaker), 
 William (a carpenter), Emma (a teacher), 
 and Sophie (also engaged in teaching). 
 In his political preferences Mr. Duaime 
 was former!}' a Republican, but since 
 1884 he has supported the principles of 
 the Democratic party, though in voting he 
 usually considers the fitness of candi- 
 dates, especially in township and county 
 elections. He has been elected to vari- 
 ous offices of trust; served with credit as 
 •chairman, and, for ten or twelve years, 
 as supervisor of the township board. He 
 was repeatedly elected to the office of 
 clerk of the school board, by which the 
 school profited by his untiring efforts to 
 make it a pleasant and progressive place. 
 After the northwestern fire of 1 871, he 
 was chosen commander of a small army 
 ■of twenty men got together to bury the 
 dead in Williamsonville, Door county. 
 The horror of the time is indescribable. 
 As a sailor he has filled the place of cap- 
 tain on a sailing vessel. In religious con- 
 nections he is a member of the Roman 
 •Catholic Church. 
 
 A 
 
 land, 
 
 NTON VAN DYKE, a respected 
 
 well-to-do farmer of Rockland 
 
 township, Brown county, was 
 
 born November 30, 1853, in Hol- 
 
 son of John Van Dyke, a farmer. 
 
 19 
 
 The latter died when Anton was twelve 
 years old, and, his mother having passed 
 from earth si.\ years before, our subject 
 lived with his older brothers until he was 
 twenty-two years of age, principally en- 
 gaged in farm work. He had received 
 his education in the common schools of 
 his birthplace, which he attended up to 
 the age of eleven years. 
 
 In the spring of 1881, having managed 
 to save a small sum from his hard-earned 
 wages, Mr. Van Dyke left his native 
 country, and, going to Liverpool, took pas- 
 sage on a vessel bound for New York, 
 arriving in that city July 4. He imme- 
 diately came westward, via Chicago and 
 Milwaukee, to De Pere, Wis., where he 
 had. a cousin, Martin Van Dyke, and 
 shortly afterward commenced to work for 
 John Coenen, with whom he remained 
 some time. He then came to Rockland 
 township to work for Martin Hubers, one 
 of the early settlers of this locality, who, 
 coming to Wisconsin from Holland a poor 
 boy, had settled on the farm our subject 
 now owns, and by industry and thrift rose 
 to an enviable position among the farmers 
 of his township, where he was highly 
 respected. He had but one child, Mary 
 Hubers, born November 28, 1861, on the 
 farm where she yet resides, and on De- 
 cember 28, 1882, she and Anton Van- 
 Dyke were united in marriage. To this 
 union have come children as follows: 
 Mary, Annie, George and Martine, living, 
 and John, who died in infancy. Since 
 his marriage Mr. Van Dyke has always 
 remained on the farm, which he now 
 owns. It comprises fifty-seven acres of 
 prime farming land, to the cultivation of 
 which he gives his exclusive attention. 
 He is a hard worker and a self-made 
 man in the strictest sense of the word, 
 and by his honesty and fairness he has 
 won for himself the respect of all who 
 know him. Politically he is a Democrat, 
 but not active in party affairs, and in 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of St. Mary's Catholic Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
34° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 THOMAS McLEAN. The " North 
 of Ireland!" What a wonderful 
 race of men has been sent to all 
 parts of the civilized world from 
 the region to the northward of a line 
 drawn through the baj's of Dublin and 
 Galway, and more especially from the 
 district embraced in the Province of Ulster. 
 How familiar are the names Donegal, 
 Londonderry, Antrim, Down, Tyrone, 
 Armagh, Fermanagh, Monaghan and 
 Cavan, counties comprising the province 
 named. The sturdy, Scotch-Irish ele- 
 ment, which has peopled numerous locali- 
 ties in the United States, has proved the 
 loyalty of its blood through many a con- 
 flict where the right was assailed, and al- 
 most without exception has arrayed itself 
 on the side which readers of its history 
 might be led to expect. The Scotch-Irish 
 are a proud race, and they have earned 
 the privilege. 
 
 Thomas McLean was born November 
 20, 1 816, in the Parish of Finway, town 
 of Darragh, County Antrim, Ireland, and 
 when not yet twelve and a half years of 
 age, sailed with the family of his father. 
 Hector McLean, for America, the party 
 consisting of the father, mother and four 
 children — Nail, Mary, Thomas and Alex- 
 ander. They started April 14, 1829, 
 from Belfast, the trip being made on the 
 ship "Helen,'' of Aberdeen, bound for 
 Quebec. John, Elizabeth and Ann, the 
 other children, had crossed the previous 
 fall. The elder McLean was a poor man, 
 and was obliged to start in the humblest 
 manner. He settled upon and cleared a 
 farm in York township, twenty miles from 
 the city of Toronto, Canada, he and his 
 wife residing there until 1842, when they 
 joined their son Thomas, at Milwaukee, 
 Wis. Here the mother died at the age of 
 sixty-eight, the father's death occurring 
 subsequently at the home of the same 
 son in Stockbridge, Calumet Co., Wis., 
 when he was aged seventy-two. 
 
 Thomas McLean, a worthy son of a 
 worthy sire, was enabled to have but six 
 month's schooling, but it may be imagined 
 
 he made the most of his opportunities 
 during that time. He continued to re- 
 side with his parents until 1841, when he 
 removed to Milwaukee, Wis., then a vil- 
 lage of but 900 people. With money he 
 had succeeded in saving from his earnings 
 in America he purchased a farm four miles 
 northwest of the place, partly cleared, 
 together with some village propert)'. The 
 fourth brick house in Milwaukee was 
 erected by Mr. McLean, at the corner of 
 Fifth and Chestnut streets. On May 25, 
 1843, in the then insignificant "Cream 
 City," Mr. McLean was united in mar- 
 ried with Catharine Flood, who was born 
 May 9, 1822, in the Parish of Killellen, 
 Pickettstown, County Meath, Ireland, 
 daughter of Patrick and Bridget (O'Keiley) 
 Flood. Mrs. McLean sailed from Liver- 
 pool for the United States in 1834, on 
 the " Chesapeake," the voyage occupying 
 about four weeks, and landed at New 
 York, proceeding thence to her destina- 
 tion, the city of Rochester, N. Y. At a 
 later date she removed with a married sis- 
 ter to Wisconsin. 
 
 For ten 3ears Mr. McLean and his 
 family resided in their brick dwelling in 
 Milwaukee, removing thence to Calumet 
 county and locating on a farm in the 
 village of Stockbridge. Twenty years 
 later, in 1873, they removed to Brown 
 county and located on a farm of 125 
 acres near Green Bay, which has since 
 been their home, the present homestead 
 consisting of twenty-five acres adjoining 
 the corporation of Green Bay; a fine 
 brick residence was erected the year of 
 their removal. The children of this 
 couple are: Catharine, now Mrs. Pat. 
 McCool, of Chilton, Wis. ; Patrick, a 
 farmer of Allouez township; Jane, who 
 married Hugh Dougherty, and died at 
 Green Bay; Harriet, now Mrs. Daniel 
 Lynch, of Oakes, S. Dak. ; Mary, de- 
 ceased in infancy; Eliza, who became 
 Mrs. Frank Robinson, and died at Chil- 
 ton; Josephine, now Mrs. James Dough- 
 erty, of Oakes, S. Dak. ; Mary, now Mrs. 
 Joseph O'Callihan, of Sagola, Mich. ; 
 
COMMEMOUATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 341 
 
 and John, residing at home. Mr. Mc- 
 Lean, during his residence in Milwaukee, 
 was engaged in merchandising on Chest- 
 nut street. He has also at different 
 periods followed the occupation of 
 a wagon-maker, a brickmason and a 
 farmer, and for a time conducted a mill 
 at Stockbridge, Wis. He has ever been 
 a citizen of undisputed public spirit, and 
 has contributed liberally of his time and 
 means toward the furtherance of various 
 enterprises. He has been able to assist 
 his children to some extent, and the 
 needy have always found in him a friend 
 and helper. That his generosity may 
 have been at times taken advantage of 
 by unscrupulous people is possible, as few 
 men of his disposition will live to old age 
 without in some instances incurring e.x- 
 pensive experiences along such lines, but 
 he has everywhere won the respect of his 
 fellow-citizens, and in his old age is able 
 to look back upon a life well spent. Politi- 
 cally he is a Democrat, and in 1864 was 
 elected by his party to the State Legis- 
 lature, as representative from Calumet 
 county, fn religious faith he and his 
 wife are earnest and consistent Catholics, 
 and the Church has more than once felt 
 its obligations to him for substantial 
 favors extended. He was a member of 
 the committee that built St. John's 
 Cathedral in Milwaukee, and is the sole 
 survivor of that committee. At one time 
 he was the owner of i, 100 acres of land 
 in Calumet county, and was interested in 
 various industries. He built a church at 
 Stockbridge and donated it to the Catho- 
 lics, presented the priest with a sleigh, 
 and boarded him for nearly a year. His 
 zeal in behalf of his church has always 
 been marked, and no enterprise tending 
 to its benefit ever lacked his support. 
 
 When a half century of wedded life had 
 been rounded out, the children at home, 
 in May, 1893, planned a golden wedding 
 for their parents. Notwithstanding the fact 
 that the latter were both sick when the 
 eventful day arrived and the festivities 
 were interrupted in consequence, the oc- 
 
 casion was not without its pleasures. 
 With the best wishes of all who know 
 them, they approach the sunset time in 
 the calm enjoyment of the fruits of a cor- 
 rect and happy life, and their people will 
 at the end rise up and call them blessed. 
 
 PATRICK BAILEY, a leading rep- 
 resentative self-made farmer of 
 Glenmore township. Brown coun- 
 ty, was born about 1821 in Coun- 
 ty Kerry, Ireland, son of John and Nellie 
 (Bresnehen) Bailey, who had three sons, 
 of whom Patrick is the only one living. 
 The mother died when he was three 
 years old, and about a year later the 
 father remarried. 
 
 Patrick Bailey had fair educational 
 advantages in his youth, and was reared 
 from boyhood to farming, remaining at 
 home until he reached the age of nine- 
 teen years. Wages were low in Ireland, 
 so when Patrick determined to come to 
 America his father supplied him with 
 means to pay his way, and in the spring 
 of 1843 he sailed from his native town, 
 Blennerville, on the "Joan." landing in 
 Quebec after a voyage of six weeks. 
 Here he was given employment helping 
 to unload the vessel and then to reload 
 her with lumber, and, after this, went to 
 Montreal, where he worked for some 
 time on the Lachine canal. He next 
 went to New York City, thence after a 
 few days to Boston, Mass., and thence to 
 Lowell, where he found employment as a 
 laborer between Lowell and Andover for 
 a few weeks, working on improvements 
 along the Merrimac river. His next move 
 was to Fitchburg, same State, where he 
 worked on the Fitchburg & Massachusetts 
 railroad, and he subsequently worked in 
 various places in Massachusetts, in almost 
 every part of the State; thence went to 
 Keene, N. H. , working there as laborer 
 on a railroad, and later engaged in the same 
 line of work at Brattleboro, Vt., after 
 which he again came to Massachusetts, 
 and worked in South Hadlev. 
 
342 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On January 8, 1848, Mr. Bailey was 
 married, in Cabotville, Mass., to Bridget 
 Moran, who was born about 1830 in 
 South Boston, daughter of John and Kate 
 (Donohue) Moran, both natives of Ire- 
 land. In the summer of 1848 our subject 
 went to Buffalo, N. Y., and there worked 
 on citj' improvements for a while; thence 
 removed to Springfield, Ohio, where he 
 was employed on a railroad to Cincin- 
 nati, then in course of construction, and 
 subsequently lived for a time in Sidney, 
 Ohio. The ague being prevalent here, 
 another move was made, this time to 
 Chillicothe, Ohio, where Mr. Bailej' also 
 worked on railroads, and he next worked 
 on the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern 
 railroad, near Marietta, Ohio, and partly 
 bargained for a farm in Washington coun- 
 t}', but hearing of the cheap land offered 
 to settlers in the then new State of Wis- 
 consin, he concluded to abandon railroad 
 work and commence farming on his own 
 account. Three children had been born 
 to them in Ohio — John, in Sidney; Ellen, 
 in Chillicothe; and Mary A., in Wash- 
 ington county; and, with his wife and 
 family, Mr. Bailey came to Wisconsin in 
 the summer of 1854, journeying via Co- 
 lumbus to Cleveland, where they took 
 the boat for Green Bay, landing in that 
 city in Jul}-. Leaving the family in Green 
 Bay, Mr. Bailey went to Kaukauna, where 
 he obtained employment on the canal 
 then building, and shortly afterward pur- 
 chased eighty acres, at $2. 50 per acre, in 
 Section 7, Glenmore township. Brown 
 county, which tract was totally unim- 
 proved, and the family li\-ed with a neigh- 
 bor, Thomas Lawlor, while their log cabin 
 Was being built. The forest was so dense 
 that a space had to be cleared even for 
 the small dwelling, into which they moved 
 October 10, 1854, and at this time there 
 was no road to this farm, only a path 
 through the woods. They had hired a 
 man to bring out their few household 
 goods, but the driver, finding it difficult to 
 proceed with the horse and wagon the 
 latter part of the way, the goods were 
 
 left in the road, where Mr. Bailey found 
 them, and it took him several days to 
 get them to the house, one of the 
 neighbors, "Con" Leary, loaning him 
 an ox-team for the purpose. The work 
 of clearing was begun at once, but it 
 was man}- jears before the farm became 
 productive, and Mr. Bailey worked at 
 lumbering during the winter season to 
 earn enough to support his family. A 
 large amount of lumber was cut, but as 
 there was scarcely any demand for it 
 then, they had to burn many thousand 
 feet of valuable beech and maple to rid 
 the land of it. Those pioneers endured 
 many trials and privations in improving 
 and cultivating their tract, but they suc- 
 ceeded in converting the dense forest into 
 a comfortable farm, and Mr. Bailej' has, 
 by his own unaided efforts, risen to a 
 position among the respected, prosperous 
 agriculturists of this section, his life show- 
 ing what may be accomplished by energy 
 and determination, coupled with perse- 
 verance and honesty. He now owns 160 
 acres of excellent land, on which he con- 
 ducts a successful farming business. He 
 has served two terms as supervisor in his 
 township, giving satisfaction to all; but 
 he prefers to give his attention to his pri- 
 vate affairs, and is not an active partisan, 
 voting for the man he considers best 
 qualified for the office. In religious faith 
 he is a member of St. Francis Church, 
 De Pere. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have had four- 
 teen children, three of whom were born 
 in Ohio, as above recorded, and the others 
 in Wisconsin, a brief record of them be- 
 ing as follows : John is a resident of 
 Minneapolis, Minn. ; Ellen is the wife of 
 Mila.n Smith, of Fond du Lac, Wis. ; 
 Mary A. is the wife of John Sloan, of 
 De Pere ; Kate is living in Ashland, Wis. ; 
 James died when eighteen months old ; 
 Bridget is the wife of James Jennings, of 
 Scott township, Brown county; Agnes is 
 the wife of John Rutnmel, of Ashland, 
 Wis. ; Lizzie is the wife of James Mills, 
 of Ashland ; Alice is living at home ; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 343 
 
 Thomas is a resident of Montana; George 
 is living in Washington; Steven lives in 
 Glenmore township; Patrick is at home; 
 and one child died in infancy. 
 
 On March 13, 1S65, Mr. Bailey en- 
 listed in Company F, Fiftieth Wis. V. I., 
 and did duty through northern Missouri, 
 at Fort Leavenworth, Kans., and Fort 
 Rice, Dak., during his service contracting 
 rheumatism, from which he has ever since 
 suffered. He was discharged in July, 
 1866, and returned at once to his home 
 and family. Our subject is well and 
 favorably known throughout his section, 
 and stands prominent among Glenmore 
 township's most respected citizens. 
 
 JOHN BARTELME. one of the prom- 
 inent, influential farmer citizens of 
 New Denmark township. Brown 
 county, was born November 25, 
 1810, in France, of German descent. His 
 parents, George and Mary (Schneider) 
 Bartelme, were well-to-do farming people 
 of Germany, who reared a family of nine 
 children (of whom our subject is the eld- 
 est), as follows: John, Peter, Johanna, 
 Nicholas, Michael, Christoph, George, 
 Frank, and Belthasar. 
 
 John Bartelme remained in his native 
 land until twenty-five years of age, work- 
 ing principally in a nail factory from early 
 boyhood. In the spring of 1836, receiv- 
 ing help from friends, he came with sev- 
 eral others to America, landing in New 
 York in July, after a weary voyage lasting 
 seven weeks. He obtained employment 
 at once in a nail factory, and worked thus 
 some time, but the factory closing, he lost 
 one hundred and two dollars, and found 
 himself with but a dollar in money. Again 
 borrowing from his friends he proceeded 
 to Albany, N. Y. , and for live years worked 
 on a farm near that city, receiving one 
 hundred dollars a year for his services, 
 out of which he managed to save and pay 
 back all the money he had borrowed. 
 Then, in company with two other men, 
 he invested three hundred dollars in a 
 
 canal-boat, but the venture proved a fail- 
 ure, and he lost all but a hundred dollars. 
 His younger brother, Belthasar, having 
 come from Germany, Mr. Bartelme now 
 went to New York to meet him, and, after 
 remaining another nine months in that 
 city, set out for the then "Far West," 
 coming first to Two Rivers, Wis., where 
 he remained about a year. At the end 
 of that time he came to De Pere and 
 purchased forty acres of new land in New 
 Denmark township, the nucleus of his 
 present fine well-improved farm of 180 
 acres, which he has acquired by unceasing" 
 labor and good management. The first 
 dwelling on this place was a rude log 
 house, which in later years was supplanted 
 by the fine stone dwelling in which the 
 family now reside, this being but one of 
 the many improvements which had been 
 made on the place. 
 
 When our subject came to this place 
 the old Manitowoc road was the only one 
 which passed through the town, and he 
 was actively interested in building the 
 roads to De Pere and Cooperstown, tak- 
 ing a prominent part in that, as well as all 
 other movements for the benefit of his 
 locality. He was the first postmaster at 
 Denmark, and held the office for thirty- 
 six years from the time of his appoinment, 
 in 1854. For twelve years he filled the 
 important office of chairman of his town- 
 ship, and for six years was township 
 treasurer, invariably giving satisfastion to 
 all concerned by his ability and efficiency 
 in every capacity. 
 
 Mr. Bartelme was married at Two 
 Rivers, Wis. , to Miss Almenia Ench, and 
 their union has been blessed with five 
 children, viz. : John (who is sheriff of 
 Brown county), Balthasar, Catherine, 
 Frank, and Michael, of whom Balthasar 
 lives on the homestead, caring for his aged 
 parents; his mother has been totally blind 
 for the last eighteen years. 
 
 Balthasar Bartelme has been twice 
 married: his first wife died leaving two 
 children, Jacob and Catherine, and he 
 wedded for his second wife. Miss Lizzie 
 
344 
 
 COMMEMORATH'E BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 Machtel, to which marriage have come 
 five children, namely: Minnie, George, 
 \J\zz\e, Nettie, and Frank. In religious 
 faith the family are all Catholics. 
 
 JOSEPH BOEHM. This getleman, 
 who is now living retired in the city 
 of De Pere, has for many years been 
 prominently identified with the agri- 
 cultural interests of Brown county, where 
 he is still an extensive landowner. 
 
 Mr. Boehm was born March 13, 1833, 
 in Bavaria, Germany, son of John George 
 Boehm, a farmer. Joseph received his 
 education in the common schools of his 
 native place, and was reared to farm life, 
 which he continued to follow in Germany- 
 till he was about twenty-four years of age, 
 working for small wages. Being hard- 
 working and economical, he had managed 
 to save a little from his hard-earned 
 wages, and, concluding he could find bet- 
 ter opportunity for advancement in the 
 United States, he bid farewell to his home 
 and friends, and in May, 1857, set sail 
 from Bremen, on the "Gungson," this 
 being her second trip. They crossed the 
 Atlantic in thirty-five days, and on June 
 30, 1857, our subject landed in New 
 York, with just seventy-five cents in his 
 pocket. His ticket carried him to De- 
 troit, Mich., where he' arrived almost 
 penniless, a total stranger, but honest and 
 willing to work. In the course of three 
 or four weeks he had earned enough to 
 bring him to Green Bay, Wis., where he 
 arrived in the latter part of July, 1857, 
 making the trip from Detroit on the old 
 steamer " Michigan." He came to De- 
 Pere, and first worked on the " Old Stone 
 Schoolhouse," which was then in course 
 of construction, after which he went to 
 Kaukauna, where he found employment 
 on the canal. We next find him in Belle- 
 vue township, chopping cordwood for 
 three shillings a cord, and boarding him- 
 self, and, although the work was hard and 
 the wages small, he did it rather than re- 
 main idle. At the age of twenty-five he 
 
 recei\ed but ten dollars a month for his 
 services as a farm hand, and found it was 
 useless to expect more. In 1859 he went 
 to the Lake Superior country, and there, 
 for three and a half years, followed 
 mining. While here he was married to 
 Miss Marcella Boyle, a native of Ireland, 
 and to this union were born six children, 
 viz. : Christ, a farmer of Bellevue town- 
 ship; Anna C, widow of Joseph Long, of 
 Green Bay; John, a farmer of Bellevue 
 township; Theresa, now Mrs. Joseph 
 Vandermost, of Rockland township; Mary, 
 who died young, and one that died in in- 
 fancy, unnamed. The mother of these 
 died in Bellevue and was buried in De- 
 Pere. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Boehm removed to Belle- 
 vue township. Brown Co., Wis., where 
 he had purchased forty acres of entirely 
 new land, upon which, at that time, there 
 was not even a house. He set to work at 
 once to clear and improve the place, and 
 by dint of incessant toil and perseverance 
 succeeded in converting it into a good 
 farm, from time to time he also making 
 additions to his first purchase, until he 
 now owns over 300 acres of prime land 
 in Bellevue and Rockland townships. He 
 continued to follow farming until 1889, 
 when he moved into the town of De Pere, 
 and here he has since lived a retired life. 
 He is strictly a self-made man, having 
 from a start of nothing accumulated a 
 comfortable property and a snug compe- 
 tence. In connection with agriculture he 
 was for many years engaged in cattle 
 dealing, and during his long experience in 
 that line became an excellent judge of 
 stock. He has seen great changes in his 
 section of the country, and has taken 
 an active part in its development and 
 progress. He has held various township 
 of fices, having served as school clerk, 
 supervisor, path-master, etc., with sat- 
 isfaction to all. In his political prefer- 
 ences he is a Democrat, and in religious 
 connection he and his wife are members 
 of St. Francis Catholic Church, De Pere. 
 On January 29, 1889, our subject was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 345 
 
 married, in De Pere, for his second wife, 
 to Mrs. Margaret Raster, widow of Peter 
 J. Raster. She was born February 2, 
 1836, in Prussia, daughter of Francis 
 George and Anna (Pies) Wentling, who 
 came to the United States in 1852, going 
 first to Liverpool, whence they sailed for 
 New York. In Utica, N. Y., Mr. Went- 
 Hng was taken sick, and the family re- 
 mained there two months, after which 
 they went to Milwaukee, Wis. , where 
 they lived two years, thence coming to 
 Green Bay, where they made a perma- 
 nent home. 
 
 EDWARD BAUMGART. This gen- 
 tleman, who is ranked among the 
 public-spirited progressive farmer 
 citizens of Bellevue township, 
 Brown county, is a native of Schlesien, 
 Germany, born July 5, 1851, son of 
 August and Gertrude Baumgart. 
 
 August Baumgart was by trade a 
 butcher, and he also owned a farm and 
 •engaged in the manufacture of bricks, 
 having often as many as fifty or sixty men in 
 his employ. He had considerable prop- 
 erty in Germany, but in 1868 he disposed 
 •of all his interests and came to America, 
 bringing his family. They sailed from 
 Bremen on the "Schiller," and, after a 
 voyage of eight weeks and three days, 
 landed at Baltimore, Md., from which city 
 they immediately proceeded to Brown 
 •county. Wis., coming over the B. & O. 
 R. R. via Columbus, Ohio, where they 
 were on July 4. Mr. Baumgart purchased 
 seventy-two acres of new land in Bellevue 
 township, on which at that time there was 
 not even a dwelling, and resided there 
 until 1883, when he removed to his 
 present farm in the same township. 
 Here he and his wife are yet living, 
 and, though now seventy-five years old, 
 he is still an active man. To them 
 were born seven children, as follows: 
 Charles, who died young, in Germany; 
 Joseph and August, of Glenmore town- 
 ship; Edward, our subject; John, of Mani- 
 
 towoc county. Wis. ; Paul, a farmer of 
 Bellevue township; and Caroline, Mrs. 
 Joseph Landmer, of Duck Creek, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Edward Baumgart attended the schools 
 of his native place until he reached the 
 age of thirteen, and was seventeen years 
 old when he came with his parents to 
 America. He remained under the pa- 
 rental roof until he was twenty-four years 
 old, doing farm work, or anything else 
 at which he could earn an honest dollar, 
 and turning his wages over to his parents. 
 On February 22, 1876, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Annie Hutter, who 
 was born August 7, 1845, '" Manitowoc 
 county, Wis., daughter of Joseph Hutter, 
 a native of Bavaria, Germany. After his 
 marriage Mr. Baumgart located on a new 
 farm, which he at once began to clear and 
 improve, and there made his home until 
 1880, when he came to his present farm 
 in Bellevue township, which contains one 
 hundred acres. Though now a well-cul- 
 tivated tract, it was then all in the woods, 
 and he has done all the clearing and made 
 all the improvements himself. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. 13aumgart have come children 
 as follows: Joseph, Edward, Caroline, 
 Annie, Henry, John, Mary, Rosa, Anton, 
 and one that died in infancy. Mr. Baum- 
 gart is not identified with any political 
 party, but votes independently, selecting 
 the man best qualified for office, regardless 
 of politics. He has served his township 
 as roadmaster, supervisor, and for two 
 years as chairman, and he is recognized 
 as a thoroughly progressive citizen, al- 
 ways ready to assist in any enterprise for 
 the benefit of his township and county. 
 He and his wife are members of the Ger- 
 man Catholic Church at Green Bay. 
 
 M 
 
 ARTIN BARTH, who, for the 
 past forty years, has been a 
 farmer of Glenmore township. 
 Brown county, is a native of 
 the Fatherland, born June 18, 1825, in 
 Wurtemberg, son of Jacob and Lena 
 
346 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (Schenauer) Barth, who were the parents 
 of nine children. The father, who was a 
 tailor by trade, died when Martin was 
 five years old. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 in the land of his birth, and there learned 
 the weaver's trade. In his early man- 
 hood he served three years and seven 
 months in the German army, and shortly 
 afterward came to America, landing in 
 New York, July i6, 1854, after an ocean 
 voyage of forty-seven days. He imme- 
 diately came to Wisconsin, arriving in 
 Green Bay, August 3, with $1 1.75 in his 
 pocket, and thence went toNew Franken, 
 where he remained with an uncle ten 
 days. For three weeks he worked for a 
 Mr. Eisenman in De Pere, and then went 
 to Oconto, where he was employed three 
 months in a mill, after which he returned 
 to New Franken. Again coming to 
 Oconto, he worked here ten months raft- 
 ing lumber, and then returned once more 
 to his uncle, with whom he made his 
 home until he bought land of his own. 
 His first purchase was eighty acres of 
 totally wild land, on which the timber 
 was so dense that a space had to be 
 cleared for the 14 .\ 18 log cabin which 
 he built himself. At this early date the 
 Indians had not all left the countrj', and 
 wild animals were numerous and trouble- 
 some, especially the wolves, who made 
 night hideous with their howling. There 
 were no roads, and Mr. Barth has made 
 many a trip on foot to Green Bay, over 
 an Indian trail through the woods. In 
 order to earn a living he had to do various 
 kinds of work, as the farm yielded no 
 support the first few years, and the work 
 of clearing progressed slowly, for he had 
 only a few rude implements, and it was 
 twelve years after his settlement here be- 
 fore he owned a yoke of oxen. One year 
 he worked forty-seven days on the road 
 for nothing. 
 
 On February 22, 1865, Mr. Barth en- 
 listed in Company F, Fiftieth Wis. V. I., 
 served sixteen months in Missouri, Kansas 
 and Dakota, and was honorably discharged 
 
 June 17, 1866, returning to his home in 
 Brown count)'. Mr. Barth was united 
 in marriage January 29, 1867, with Miss 
 Emma Kahren, daughter of Peter and 
 Maggie (Zimmer) Kahren, farming people, 
 who were the parents of ten children, 
 vi2. : Maggie, Jacob, Lizzie, Kate, Joseph, 
 Joseph, Kate, Emma, Kate and Michael. 
 When Mrs. Barth was three years old they 
 came to America, landing in New York 
 City, thence coming to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 and thence to Illinois, where they lived for 
 some time. They then returned to Mil- 
 waukee, and later, about three years after 
 their landing in this country, came to 
 New Denmark township. Brown county, 
 where they invested in i 20 acres of land. 
 Here Mr. Kahren passed the remainder 
 of his days, dying July 8, 1862; his wife 
 survived until July 19, 1880. They were 
 well-known among the early settlers in 
 their locality, and were highly respected 
 for their sterling worth. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Barth lived a year in the small log house 
 he had first built, and then moved into a 
 more commodious dwelling, also of logs, 
 in which they remained until the present 
 comfortable residence was erected. Their 
 union has been blessed with eight chil- 
 dren, named as follows: Lena, Mary, 
 Martin, Jacob, John, Louis, Andrew and 
 Henry. Mr. Barth is a Republican in his 
 political affiliations, but takes no interest 
 in politics except as a regular attendant 
 at the polls. He and his wife are, in 
 religious connection, members of the 
 Lutheran Church, in which he has been 
 director. 
 
 ANDREW ANDERSON, a repre- 
 sentative farmer of New Denmark 
 township. Brown county, is a 
 native of the Kingdom of Den- 
 mark, born May 24, 1828, son of Andrew 
 and Karen (Anderson) Hansen, farming 
 people, the former of whom died when 
 our subject was thirteen weeks old. He 
 left a family of eight children, viz. : Peter, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 347 
 
 James, Lars, Elizabeth, Kersten, Hans, 
 and Andrew and Karen (twins). 
 
 The mother, having thus to provide 
 for a large family, the children were obliged 
 to assist as soon as they were old enough, 
 and our subject commenced to work at 
 the early age of seven years, herding 
 sheep, in which occupation he engaged 
 until he reached the age of fourteen 
 years, receiving only his clothing for his 
 services. He remained in his native land 
 until he was twenty-eight years old, when, 
 having saved enough to bring him to the 
 United States, he decided to seek his 
 fortune in the New World. He sailed 
 from Hamburg, and, crossing the ocean in 
 si.\ weeks, landed at New York, coming 
 thence without delay to Brown county, 
 Wis., where in New Denmark township 
 he invested in forty acres of new land, 
 which he at once commenced to clear and 
 improve. Ten years later he purchased 
 another forty acres, which he also cleared 
 himself, and has since added sixty acres 
 more, now having a fine farm of 140 
 acres, all highh' improved and under cul- 
 tivation. This property has all been ac- 
 quired by his own honest toil, for he 
 commenced with no capital but a pair of 
 willing hands, and he is everywhere re- 
 spected for his honesty and industry. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Anderson was married, in 
 New Denmark township, to Miss Mary 
 Hansen, a daughter of Hans Paulson and 
 Karen Hansen, who reared a family of 
 five children, as follows: Maren Sophia, 
 Andrews, Mary, Anna C, and Peter. 
 When thirty-four years of age she came 
 to America with a brother and sister, and 
 ten years after her marriage her parents 
 also came to Wisconsin, making their 
 home with her as long as they lived. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been born 
 six children, namely: Aldrich, Tine (Mrs. 
 Anderson, of Marinette, Wis.), Laura, 
 Olof, Peter, and Hans, of whom Olof 
 lives at home, and has the principal care 
 of the farm work. The family are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church, in which 
 Mr. Anderson takes an active interest 
 
 and has served as treasurer and trustee; 
 in his political preferences he is a Repub- 
 lican, and he takes a deep interest in all 
 movements tending to promote the wel- 
 fare of his community. 
 
 JOHN SULLIVAN, who tor many 
 years has been well-known in Brown 
 county, and especially in Lawrence 
 township, as a prosperous, system- 
 atic agriculturist, is a native of the 
 "Emerald Isle," born December 24, 
 1830, in Kenmare, County Kerry. His 
 parents, James and Ellen Sullivan, had a 
 family of seven children — six sons and 
 one daughter — of whom John is the eldest. 
 At an early age our subject commenced 
 to attend the common schools, and at the 
 same time was reared to agricultural pur- 
 suits under his father's tuition, the latter 
 being a well-to-do landowner and farmer. 
 However, the father died when John was 
 yet a lad, and the mother subsequently 
 married, for her second husband, Jere- 
 miah Sullivan. In 1845, disposing of the 
 property, the entire family immigrated to 
 America, first taking passage on the 
 " Ajax " from Cork to Liverpool, where 
 they remained a few days at ' ' Sheflin's 
 Hotel." They then embarked on the 
 " Moses Wheeler," Capt. King, bound for 
 Boston, in which city they landed after a 
 voyage of twenty-two days, strangers in 
 a strange land. They located in the town 
 of Winchendon, Worcester Co., Mass., 
 and John commenced to learn the trade 
 of tanner and currier, at which he served 
 an apprenticeship of seven years, receiv- 
 ing at the very beginning one dollar a 
 day, which materially assisted his mother. 
 A brief record of her family is as follows: 
 John is the subject proper of this sketch; 
 Patrick is a resident of Winchendon, 
 Mass. ; Daniel lives in Melbourne, Aus- 
 tralia; Dennis lives in Winchendon, 
 Mass. ; Mortimer resides near Winchen- 
 don; Bartholomew died in this country 
 when young; Mary is the wife of William 
 Devins, of New Hampshire. By her 
 
348 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 second marriage Mrs. Sullivan had one 
 child, Patrick, now a barber of Fitchburg, 
 Mass. The mother is yet living at an 
 advanced age. Her husband died some 
 years ago. 
 
 John Sullivan remained in Winchen- 
 don, following his trade, for over fourteen 
 years, his wages, up to the time of his 
 marriage, all going to his mother, and on 
 his wedding day she gave him two hun- 
 dred dollars in gold. On October i, 
 1854, he was married in South Boston, 
 Mass., by Rev. Father Linden, to Miss 
 Ellen Harris, who was born in County 
 Kerry, Ireland, daughter of Gerald and 
 Ellen (Lynch) Harris, and came to the 
 United States when a young girl to live 
 with her sister in Boston. The young 
 couple commenced housekeeping in Win- 
 chendon, where he had purchased a home, 
 and there he continued to follow his trade 
 imtil failing health compelled him to 
 abandon it. His employer, Ephraim 
 Murdock, at one time the most extensive 
 wooden-ware manufacturer in the world, 
 was a large land-owner, and Mr. Sullivan 
 located on one of his farms, a change 
 which proved beneficial to his health, and 
 he remained three years, succeeding well 
 in agriculture. He had been correspond- 
 ing with an old school teacher of his, 
 whom he had known in Ireland, and who 
 then lived in Leavenworth, Kans. , and our 
 subject concluded to emigrate to that 
 State. His family at this time consisted 
 of three children, all of whom were born 
 in Winchendon, namely : Ellen, now Mrs. 
 Charles Davis, of Lawrence township. 
 Brown county; Mary, Mrs. Michael Eagan, 
 of De Pere, Brown county: and James, a 
 farmer of Lawrence township, who lives 
 with his father (he married Geneva Mc- 
 Abee, and they have one child, Ellen, 
 born March 3, 1892). 
 
 On August I. 1864, Mr. Sullivan and 
 his family started for the then "Far 
 West," going to Chicago, 111., via the N. 
 Y. C. &. H., and the Lake Shore rail- 
 roads, thence by the Burlington and the 
 Hannibal & St. Jo railroads to St. 
 
 Joseph, Mo., thence to Weston, Mo., 
 and thence to Leavenworth, Kans. , by 
 boat, as there was no railroad to the city 
 at that time, although it was the largest 
 in Kansas. There he conducted a hotel 
 for about a year, when he entered the em- 
 ploy of the St. Jo Railway Co., keeping 
 boarders and acting as overseer of a num- 
 ber of men. Subsequently he was em- 
 ployed on the Atchison & Pike's Peak 
 railroad, then in course of construction, 
 as overseer, his family meantime residing 
 in Weston, Mo., whither he returned 
 later, owing to a suspension of work 
 caused by an absconding paymaster. 
 One day, while talking with a Wisconsin 
 soldier in Weston, he accidental!}' heard 
 of a sister of his wife, living in Ue Pere, 
 Wis., who had come to the United States 
 many years before, and of whom they 
 had lost all trace. A correspondence was 
 at once opened, which eventually led to 
 their emigrating to Wisconsin in about 
 1866, the family taking up their home in 
 De Pere, Brown county, with Mrs. Sulli- 
 van's sister, while Mr. Sullivan went to 
 look for work. He found employment at 
 his trade in Two Rivers, Manitowoc Co., 
 Wis., with the Wisconsin Leather Co., 
 and after remaining with them ten months 
 returned to De Pere, where for a short 
 time he worked for the Chicago Tight 
 Stave Co. He then purchased eighty 
 acres of land at five dollars per acre, all 
 of which was still in the woods — not a 
 stick having been cut — and was without 
 improvements of any kind, and on the site 
 of his present residence he built a log 
 house which served as a home for the 
 family for several years, until in 1880 the 
 comfortable dwelling they now occupy 
 was erected. Under Mr. Sullivan's man- 
 agement, this place has been gradually 
 cleared and improved, and has also been 
 added to, till it now consists of 1 20 acres 
 of excellent farming land. He has met 
 with success in his farming operations; 
 but it is only the just reward of years of 
 thrift and persevering toil, for he has been 
 a hard worker, and, though now over sixty 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 349 
 
 years of age, is yet active, and able to 
 perform a good day's work. 
 
 Mr. Sullivan is well known in his com- 
 munity, and has for the past twenty-three 
 years held various offices of trust in his 
 township, invariably discharging the du- 
 ties of his position with satisfaction to all; 
 he has also served as deputy sheriff of 
 Brown county. In his political faith he 
 is a stanch adherent of the principles of 
 the Democratic party, to which he gives 
 his unfailing support. In religious con- 
 nection he and his wife are members of 
 St. Joseph's Catholic Church at Wrights- 
 town, in which he is trustee. One child 
 has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan 
 on their present farm, John M., a bright 
 intelligent lad, who was given good edu- 
 cational advantages, and intended to study 
 law, but on May, i, 1887, he passed from 
 earth, deeply mourned by the bereaved 
 family. He was buried in Snider cemetery. 
 
 M 
 
 ARK ENGLISH, who, in every 
 respect, is an admirable speci- 
 men of the self-made men of 
 whom this country is so proud, 
 often modestly declares that he owes his 
 success to the greatness of his friends, 
 but on the other hand it is confidently 
 affirmed that he owes his friends to his 
 own grit, energy and integrity. 
 
 Mr. English is an Ohioan by birth, a 
 native of Cuyahoga county, having been 
 born November 20, 1837, ^o Mark and 
 Christina C. (Collins) English, natives of 
 Connecticut and Ohio, respectively. They 
 came from Ohio to Michigan in 1839, and 
 in the town of Jackson he carried on a 
 dry-goods business for several years, dying 
 there January 28, 1854; his widow re- 
 turned to Ohio, where on September 24, 
 1873, she, too, passed away. Children 
 were born to them as follows: Dorlisca 
 Marilla, born June 22, 1832, is the wife 
 of Edson Herrington, of Ionia, Mich. ; 
 Christina Grace, born July 30, 1834, is 
 the wife of Thomas Newsom; Mark is the 
 subject of this sketch; George Q., born 
 
 March 6, 1843, is married and resides in 
 Escanaba, Michigan. 
 
 Mark English was but a small boy 
 when his parents brought him to Jackson, 
 Mich., where he was reared and educated 
 and also learned the mason's trade. In 
 the spring of 1853, being then si.xteen 
 years old, he went to Marquette, Mich. ; 
 where he first engaged in the fishery 
 business, afterward in contracting, taking 
 the contract for and erecting the Union 
 school building, which was the first brick 
 building erected in Marquette. In Octo- 
 ber, 1865, he came to Green Bay and or- 
 ganized the Lake Superior Stage Co., of 
 which he was made president and super- 
 intendent, establishing a stage route from 
 Green Bay to Escanaba (Mich.) by way 
 of Oconto, Marinette and Menomonee. 
 It was a daily line, employing 120 horses 
 in all, each Concord coach, in summer, 
 or sleigh, as the case might be, being 
 drawn by four horses, which were changed 
 every ten miles. At Escanaba the line 
 connected with the upper peninsular 
 division of the Chicago & North Western 
 railroad. In addition to the American 
 E.xpress it carried the United States mail 
 for the entire upper peninsula, the aver- 
 age weight of which alone was over 
 1 500 pounds. This important under- 
 taking Mr. English carried on from 1869 
 to 1877, at which time, the railroad hav- 
 ing been completed to Monomonee, he 
 sold out and turned his attention to other 
 affairs. He soon became one of the or- 
 ganizers of the "Green Bay Iron Co. ," 
 and was one of its board of directors for 
 a short time. In 1885 he interested him- 
 self in vessel property, becoming the 
 owner of the schooner "Cascade" and 
 afterward of the propeller "Union," 
 which vessels plied on the lakes and were 
 principally engaged in the carrying of 
 freight. He also became quite extensively 
 interested in contracting and building — a 
 vocation which still claims his attention. 
 He is also the owner of a stone quarry at 
 Kewaunee, from which he ships stone to 
 all points on the lakes. 
 
35° 
 
 COMMEMOHA TI 1 'A' BIO GRA PHICA L llECORD. 
 
 It may with propriety be said that 
 Mr. EngHsh is one of the best known men 
 in northern Wisconsin, and his entire 
 career has been one of action and enter- 
 prise. Coming to Marquette in his early 
 manhood, when but about twenty-four 
 years of age, he was from the start a 
 prominent figure and factor in its busi- 
 ness, social and political life. In 1861 
 he was made city marshal of Marquette, 
 a position that required, at that time, 
 a man of courage and resolution, as 
 the city was filled with a floating popula- 
 tion of 6,000 or 7,000, consisting princi- 
 pally of miners and sailors of an unruly 
 and roistering disposition. He held the 
 office four years, during the war also 
 serving as United States enrolling of- 
 ficer, and was a United States deputy 
 marshal four years. He was elected and 
 served two years as high sheriff of the 
 county, thus serving as a public officer 
 for eight consecutive years as incumbent 
 of some one of the above-named posi- 
 tions, during which time he made a repu- 
 tation highly honorable to himself, and 
 was an actor in many stirring scenes while 
 in the discharge of his official duties. He 
 was the first city marshal of Marquette, 
 and the only one while he resided in that 
 city, with the exception of about three 
 months when he was recovering from in- 
 juries received while discharging his duties, 
 after which he was again induced to take 
 the office for $1,000 a year and one-half 
 the fines. When the locks were built on 
 the Fox river at Appleton, Wis., he was 
 appointed United States Government In- 
 spector, and the lock at that point, known 
 as No. 2, was built under his supervision. 
 Mr. English has passed through many 
 experiences, and doubtless realizes, in a 
 keener degree than many, the vast changes 
 that have taken place in the past thirty- 
 five years in the means of transportation 
 from one distant point to another. Pre- 
 vious to his organization of the stage line, 
 during one winter in the early "sixties," 
 he conveyed the United States mail from 
 Marquette to Houghton (Mich.) on a 
 
 sled drawn by dogs. In politics Mr. 
 English is a Republican, and he and his 
 wife are members of the M. E. Church. 
 He is also a member of the Knights of 
 Honor, Navarino Lodge, No. 1,384. 
 
 On June 25, 1859, Mr. English was 
 married, at Port Sarnia, Canada, to Miss 
 Mary Amivilla Hall, a daughter of Horace 
 and Lavina (Porter) Hall, all nati\es of 
 Whitby, Canada, but at that time resi- 
 dents of Port Sarnia. The parents moved 
 to Marquette, Mich., and later to Green 
 Bay, Wis., where they both died in 
 March, 1882, and were buried the same 
 day. To Mr. and Mrs. English have 
 come two children — Nettie C. , born July 
 6, 1864, and Lester A., born March 19, 
 1877. Since 1867 Mr. English has mad^ 
 his home continuously in Green Bay, 
 where he has a commodious and pleasant 
 residence. 
 
 M 
 
 ICHAEL MARTIN (deceased), 
 who, during his lifetime, was a 
 well-known farmer of Rockland 
 township. Brown county, was a 
 native of County Carlow, Ireland. He 
 was born in 182S. son of Bernard and 
 Mary (McCabe) Martin, farming people 
 who had a family of seven children — five 
 sons and two daughters. 
 
 Our subject received a common-school 
 education and was reared to farming pur- 
 suits. In early manhood he emigrated 
 from his native land to the United States, 
 and coming to Herkimer county, N. Y. , 
 remained there four years, in the vicinity 
 of West Winfield, working for Lorenzo 
 Brown, a farmer. In 1854 he was mar- 
 ried, in Utica, N. Y. , to Miss Mary Foley, 
 a native of County Carlow, Ireland, born 
 in 1832, daughter of James Foley, who 
 died in 1840. In 1850 she left her birth- 
 place, and proceeding to Liverpool took 
 passage on the *' Columbus," bound for 
 New York, in which city she landed after 
 a voyage of six weeks, thence continuing 
 her journey to Utica, near which city she 
 worked until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPMICAL RECORD. 
 
 35' 
 
 Martin resided in Utica for two years, and 
 then, in about 1856, came westward to 
 Wisconsin, leaving their only child, Mary 
 Ann, in New York with Mr. Martin's 
 mother. They came to Milwaukee by 
 rail, thence to De Pere, and shortly after- 
 ward purchased eighty acres in Section 9, 
 Rockland township, the price of the tract 
 being two hundred and forty dollars, two 
 hundred of which he paid down. It was 
 all new land, covered with timber, and a 
 small log house, built by Mr. Martin 
 himself, was the first dwelling on the 
 place. The clearing of the place was com- 
 menced at once, but, being equipped with 
 only the rude tools of those early days, the 
 task was a long and difficult one. But 
 those years, though full of hardship and 
 privation, were hapyy ones, for the pros- 
 pect of having a comfortable home and 
 farm which they could call their own was 
 everbefore them and cheered them through 
 the hardest trials. In a few years a more 
 substantial residence supplanted the log 
 cabin, the land became productive and 
 fertile as a result of their perseverance 
 and unremitting care, and prosperity re- 
 warded their early years of toil. 
 
 On this farm the remainder of their 
 children were born, as follows: Ellen, 
 Mrs. William Michaud, of Talbot, Mich. ; 
 Edward, living on the home farm, which 
 he works; James, at home; Michael, a 
 school-teacher; John, living at home, who 
 is one of the leading Democrats in the 
 township, and has served as chairman; 
 William (twin of John), who died when 
 si.\ years old; and Bridget E. and Anna 
 C, at home. Mary Ann, the oldest child, 
 is the wife of John Milan, of Pound, 
 Wis. The father of this family was ac- 
 cidentally killed January 13, 1874, by a 
 falling limb, and his lifeless body was 
 found by his wife when she went to call 
 him to his mid-day meal. He was buried 
 in the Catholic cemetery at De Pere, and 
 his funeral, which was attended by a great 
 number of people from the surrounding 
 country, was one of the largest ever seen 
 here up to that time. He was a member 
 
 of St. Francis Church, De Pere. In his 
 party preferences he was a Democrat, 
 and, though not particularly active in 
 politics, held several offices of trust, serv- 
 ing on the school board and as pathmaster 
 of the township. A kind, indulgent 
 father and an accommodating neighbor, 
 he was very popular, and was respected 
 by all who knew him, for his industry and 
 sterling integrity. At the time of his de- 
 cease he was the owner of 160 acres of 
 good land, all of which had been accumu- 
 lated by hard work, for when he landed 
 in this country he had no capital but a 
 pair of willing hands. After his death 
 his widow took charge of the farm,- and 
 continued in the management until her 
 sons became competent to relieve her. 
 In 1 891 a comfortable residence was 
 erected, in which the family now live. 
 They are all members of St. Francis 
 Church, De Pere, and are highly esteemed 
 in the community in which they reside. 
 
 NIELS PETERSON. Among the 
 respected self-made farmer citi- 
 zens of New Denmark township, 
 Brown county, none is more de- 
 ser\-ing of mention than this gentleman. 
 He was born October 2, 1832, near Mar- 
 ibo, Denmark, a son of Peter and Mary 
 (Jensen) Peterson, the former of whom 
 was a farmer by occupation. There were 
 six children in the family, of whom two 
 are deceased ; of the others, Stine still 
 lives in Denmark, while Jens, Niels (our 
 subject), and Rasmus are in New Den- 
 mark township, Brown Co., Wisconsin. 
 Our subject lost his parents by death 
 when he was but eight years of age, and 
 from that time on was in the employ of 
 farmers in the neighborhood of his birth- 
 place. At the age of twenty-seven years 
 he immigrated to America, proceeding 
 from his native land to Hamburg, whence 
 he sailed to New York, the voyage occu- 
 pying forty-nine days. After landing he 
 came at once to Brown countv. Wis. , and 
 
35^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in New Denmark township engaged in 
 farm labor for two and a half years fol- 
 lowing, or until his enlistment, May 2, 
 1S62, in Company K, Thirty-third Wis. 
 V. I. He was in active service until the 
 close of the war, participating in many 
 important engagements, among which 
 were Cold Water, Vicksburg, Jackson, 
 Meridian, Pleasant Hill, Centerville, 
 Marksville, Yellow Bayou, Tupelo, Nash- 
 ville, Spanish Fort and Fort du Russy. 
 His record for bravery and gallantry is 
 one of which he may well feel proud, and 
 in recognition of his noble conduct the 
 government presented him with a silver 
 medal, on which are inscribed the names 
 of the battles in which he took an active 
 part. He was twice injured, on one oc- 
 casion receiving a bullet wound in the 
 left side, and at another time having his 
 hearing forever destroyed by a blow upon 
 the right ear ; he now receives a pension. 
 On August 9, 1865, Mr. Peterson was 
 honorably discharged at Vicksburg, and, 
 returning to New Denmark township, 
 once more resumed the pursuits of peace, 
 for almost ten years working at the shoe- 
 maker's trade. 
 
 On March i i , 1 867, our subject was 
 united in marriage with Miss Marline Jen- 
 sen, daughter of Hans and Maren (Ras- 
 mussen) Jensen, and about that time pur- 
 chased the forty acres of land where he 
 yet resides. He constructed a small log 
 house, in which they lived for the first 
 year, and then erected another dwelling 
 (now occupied by his nephew), which in 
 turn was supplanted by the commodious 
 residence they now occupy. The farm is 
 equipped with all necessary outbuildings, 
 put up by Mr. Peterson himself, and is 
 well improved in every way, and under a 
 high state of cultivation, yielding the 
 owner a comfortable income. His success 
 has been the result of honesty and in- 
 dustry, and he has won the esteem of all 
 who know him. by his upright methods in 
 all his dealings with his fellowmen. He 
 is a Republican in political preferences, 
 but takes no active interest in party affairs. 
 
 PETER MARCUSSEN, farmer of 
 New Denmark township, Brown 
 county, was born Jul)' 9, 1854, 
 in Denmark, son of Marks Peter- 
 son, a laborer. The latter married Mary 
 Peterson, and they reared a family of four 
 children, as follows: Peter, whose name 
 opens this sketch; Charles, now a resident 
 of New Denmark township, Brown Co., 
 Wis.; Sophia, living in Washington; and 
 August, of New Denmark township. 
 
 In 1858 this family immigrated to 
 America, embarking at Liverpool and 
 landing in New York after a voyage of 
 six weeks. From there they came to 
 Manitowoc, Wis., and thence directly to 
 New Denmark, in which township the 
 father purchased twenty acres of land 
 and cleared a space large enough for a 
 log house, wherein the family resided for 
 some time, and which is still standing, 
 near Fontenoy postoffice. There the 
 father passed the remainder of his days, 
 dying in July, 1865. The year following 
 the widow married Fred Mogland, and to 
 this union were born two children, both 
 of whom died in infancy. After a short 
 residence in New Denmark township Mr. 
 and Mrs. Mogland removed to Franklin. 
 Wis., where he owned a farm, and there 
 made their home until Mrs. Mogland's 
 death, after which her husband sold the 
 place and came again to New Denmark 
 township. Brown county, where he is 
 now living. 
 
 When about twenty years of age Peter 
 Marcussen went to Pensaukee, Wis., 
 where he was employed in a sawmill for 
 three summers. For six winters he 
 worked for the Two Rivers Company in 
 New Denmark township, logging, and 
 then, during the spring, engaged in driving 
 logs, continuing in this vocation up to 
 the time of his marriage. On October 
 16, 1875, he wedded Miss Minnie John- 
 son, daughter of John and Carrie (Nelson) 
 Peterson, and, for the first two years 
 thereafter, the young couple lived in a 
 rented house near Fontenoy, Mr. Mar- 
 cussen working for D. Benkle in the sum- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 353 
 
 mer and in the woods during the winter, 
 until he bought the farm of forty acres in 
 New Denmark township, where he now 
 makes his home. He erected the present 
 dwelHng house, and the}' immediately re- 
 moved to the farm, which was then yet 
 in its primitive condition, not a tree having 
 been cut from the place: but he has since 
 been busily engaged in clearing and im- 
 proving it, and, in addition, has worked 
 to some extent at the carpenter's trade. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Marcussen have been 
 born seven children, as follows: John, 
 Josie, Agnes, Arthur, Emma, Louis and 
 Tony, all of whom are living at home. 
 Mr. Marcussen, having been given but 
 little opportunity during his youth to ob- 
 tain a good education, is a hearty sup- 
 porter of the common schools and takes 
 great interest in their advancement and 
 improvement in his section. Politically 
 he is a Democrat, has served his township 
 faithfully as assessor for four years, 1887- 
 91, and in the spring of 1894 was elected 
 supervisor. 
 
 HE. MOWERS, of Pittsf^eld town- 
 ship. Brown count}', was born 
 January 20, 1844, in Schwarz- 
 burg-Rudolstadt, Germany. His 
 parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Rust) 
 Mowers, had but two children, H. E., 
 our subject, and Frederick, the latter of 
 whom died at the age of about six and a 
 half years. 
 
 In 1853 Henry Mowers, with his wife 
 and son, came to Wisconsin, for about 
 one year living in Green Bay, and then 
 went to Stiles, later movingback to Green 
 Bay and remaining two years. He then 
 went to Bellevue township. Brown coun- 
 ty, where he pre-empted eighty acres of 
 wild land, on which the family lived five 
 years, and had cleared about twenty acres, 
 when, ;n 1861, the land was sold for a 
 very small price, and the family moved to 
 Scott township and rented a farm for 
 two 3'ears. The father then went to work 
 in a sawmill for about three years, 
 
 next engaged in teaming for Willard 
 Lamb's mill two years, and moved into 
 a house on the mill grounds and continued 
 in its employ another year. He then 
 went to Suamico township, and worked 
 for Lamb, Watson & Co. for seven years 
 with his team, and then for five years 
 with our subject. After this he went to 
 various places, returning twice, and died 
 in 1893, at the age of seventy-six years. 
 
 On March 4, 1865, H. E. Mowers en- 
 listed in Company D, Fifty-second Wis. 
 V. L, served in Missouri and Kansas, and 
 was discharged at Fort Leavenworth 
 July 28, 1865. Returning to Green Ba}, 
 he made a neat sum in a speculation in 
 standing pine timber; then, the follow- 
 ing spring, teamed for Willard Lamb on 
 the dock, and in the fall bought a thresh- 
 ing machine for $725 in company with 
 Milo Burkert, and worked through the 
 countr}'. The winter following he bought 
 more standing timber and one team of 
 horses and one team of oxen, but did not 
 succeed well, and sold the threshing ma- 
 chine. In the spring of 1867 he worked 
 around a mill, and in the fall went to 
 Flintville and teamed two years, then 
 sold the team and worked in the mill un- 
 til 1870, when he was made foreman in a 
 sawmill on Section 23, 'n the town of 
 Pittsfield, where he had charge of forty- 
 five men, five pairs of horses and seven 
 A'oke of cattle; the next spring he had 
 charge of the drive; he then worked two 
 }-ears on the river, flooding logs : and 
 next for two years drove a supply team 
 for his old employers, Lamb, Watson & 
 Company. 
 
 On March 15, 1874, Mr. Mowers mar- 
 ried Miss Amelia, daughter of Frederick 
 and Minnie (Schultz) Gothe. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gothe were born in Germany, and 
 were the parents of eight children, viz. : 
 Hannah, Ferdinand, Amelia, Caroline, 
 Earnestine, August, Louise, and Herman. 
 The parents came to the United States 
 in 1853, lived temporarily at Duck Creek, 
 where the father worked for twenty-five 
 cents a day, and then settled in Pittsfield, 
 
354 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where he made a homestead, on which 
 he hved until 1890, when he went to 
 Marinette county, returninj^ thence in 
 1894. When Mr. Mowers married he 
 bought eighty acres of land at $4. 50 per 
 acre, and for eleven years lived in a 
 log shanty that stood on the farm, which 
 has been replaced by a fine modern frame 
 dwelling. For seven years he continued 
 working for others, and then commenced 
 to clear his own farm, now in fine con- 
 dition. Four children have been born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mowers, viz.: George W., 
 born December 18, 1874, deceased Janu- 
 ary 30, 1893; Frederick H., born June 
 20, 1876, deceased June 8, 1877; Edward 
 E. , born July i, 1878, and Lewis O., 
 born July 30, 1880. The parents are 
 members of the Methodist Church, in 
 which Mr. Mowers is class leader, trustee 
 and Sunday-school superintendent. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican. He was a 
 member of the town board in 1876, and 
 served as town clerk from 1883 to 1890, 
 inclusive, and was re-elected in 1894. 
 He is a self-made man in every respect, 
 and as such is honored and esteemed by 
 all who know him or know of him. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN W. JOHANN, 
 proprietor of an extensive sash, 
 blind and door factory in West 
 De Pere, was born June 17, 1837, 
 near the city of Homburg, Ivhenish l^a- 
 varia, on the road usually taken by trav- 
 elers through central Germany to and 
 from Prussia, and made historic by the 
 fact that the great Napoleon sent the 
 larger part of his army over it on the ad- 
 vance to Moscow, and later by the fact 
 that the first battle of the Franco-Prus- 
 sian war was fought in its vicinity. John 
 W. Johann is a son of Nicholas Johann, 
 a coal miner, who married Elizabeth 
 Nieder. On March 2, 1846, Nicholas 
 Johann, with his wife and three sons — 
 Peter, Nicholas, and John W. — left the 
 old country, landing in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 
 the following May. Of the sons, Peter 
 married Catharine Witmann, and died in 
 1889, his widow now residing in Port 
 Washington, Wis. Nicholas died, un- 
 married, in 1 866. 
 
 John W. Johann attended school in 
 Germany from the age of five until the 
 date of his leaving for America, a period 
 of three years, and this comprised the 
 whole of his scholastic studies. In the 
 year of his arrival, 1846, the father, 
 Nicholas Johann, entered eighty acres of 
 wild timbered land, near Port W'ashing- 
 ton. Wis., which land he subsequently 
 subdued and developed from it a fine 
 farm, the three sons materially assisting 
 in the work. In 1862 John W. Johann 
 enlisted in Company C, Thirty-fourth 
 Wis. V. I., and soon after was commis- 
 sioned second lieutenant. Nine months 
 later he received an honorable discharge, 
 and almost immediately re-enlisted, on 
 this occasion entering Company F, Thirt}'- 
 fifth Wis. \. I., and from the organi- 
 zation served as first lieutenant — com- 
 manding his compan}' until 1865, \\'hen 
 he was promoted to the captaincy and 
 served in that capacity until his final dis- 
 charge at Madison, Wis., April 15, 1866. 
 Of his active duty during this long period 
 of devotion to the protection of the in- 
 tegrity and freedom of his adopted coun- 
 try, we can give only this brief record: 
 After a running skirmish near Memphis, 
 Tenn., he fought near Morganza, La.; 
 then at St. Charles, Ark. ; Brownsville, 
 Ark. ; Spanish Fort, Ala. ; Whistle Sta- 
 tion, six miles from Mobile, Ala., this 
 being among the last fights of the Re- 
 bellion. On his return to Wisconsin he 
 opened a general store at Port Washing- 
 ton in 1866, but sold out in 1869 and 
 bought an interest in the woolen mill at 
 Cedarburg, Wis., and was secretary of 
 the company until 18S0, when he bought 
 an interest in the Hilgen Sash & Door 
 Manufacturing Co. At Cedarburg he also 
 served as . postmaster from 1869 until 
 1884, acting in the meanwhile as secre- 
 tar\' for the Hilgen Companj' until the 
 
5 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 357 
 
 latter part of 1883. In 1884 he moved to 
 De Pere and bought the larger part of E. 
 W. Person's sash, door antl blind mill, 
 which business he later organized as a 
 joint-stock company, denominated the 
 Nicolet Sash, Door & Blind Co., of which 
 he served as president until 1891, when 
 he bought the entire plant. The mill is 
 of brick, with a capacity of one hun- 
 dred doors per day, in addition to sash 
 and moldings, and when running on full 
 time Mr. Johann employs some thirty-five 
 hands. 
 
 On August 7, 1866, Mr. Johann was 
 united in marriage, at Cedarburg, Wis. , 
 with Miss Eliza F. Hilgen, daughter of 
 Fred Hilgen, the manufacturer, and to 
 this union three children have been born, 
 viz.: Albert H., who married Emma 
 Davis, and is living in De Pere; J. Emil 
 and Nellie, both still at home with their 
 parents. Fraternally Mr. Johann has 
 been a Freemason since 1858, having 
 joined the lodge at Port Washington in 
 that year; he is also a member of Chapter 
 No. 20, Green Bay, and Sir Knight of 
 Palestine Commandery, No. 18, at the 
 same place; also a member of the Blue 
 Lodge (Master Mason, third degree), No. 
 85, at De Pere; and of Harrison Post 
 No. 91, G. A. R., of De Pere, in which 
 he has held the offices of senior vice- 
 commander, junior vice-commander, and 
 quartermaster. In politics Mr. Johann 
 is a stanch Republican, has served as 
 delegate to State and Congressional con- 
 ventions si.x different times, and was 
 chairman of the county committee of 
 Ozaukee county for twelve years. At 
 one time he was prominently mentioned 
 for State treasurer, but declined a nomi- 
 nation. At Cedarburg, in 1880, he had 
 the pleasure of shaking the hand of Gen. 
 Grant, and also had the honor of intro- 
 ducing several of his acquaintances. 
 Prior to this he had seen all the more 
 distinguished generals of the Civil war, 
 and has met every governor of Wisconsin 
 since he has lived in the State, Gov. 
 
 Rusk having been an especial friend. 
 20 
 
 OSEPH CORMIER, one of the 
 
 prosperous, respected agriculturists 
 
 ^ f and business men of Howard town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native of 
 Wisconsin, born October 8, i 841, in Green 
 Bay. 
 
 He is a son of David and Adeline 
 (Goodchild) Cormier, the father a native 
 of Three Rivers, Canada, the mother of 
 Montreal; she died when our subject was 
 but two years of age. David Cormier 
 married, for his second wife, a Mrs. Mal- 
 let, by whom were born two children — 
 both sons, and both now deceased. David 
 Cormier was a blacksmith, and in 1837 
 located in Green Bay, where he followed 
 his trade for a considerable time, and for 
 two years was in the government employ; 
 then engaged in the fish business until 
 1850, when he moved to a place near the 
 present home of his son, Joseph, on which 
 he died in 1888, aged seventy-one years. 
 David was a son of Fabian and Geneve 
 Cormier, Canadians, who came to Wis- 
 consin and also located in Green Bay in 
 1837. but subsequently removed to near 
 our subject's home in Howard township, 
 where Fabian Cormier died at the age of 
 sixty, and his wife at about the age of 
 eighty years. They were the parents of 
 eight children — four sons and four daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 Joseph Cormier passed his years on 
 the farm of his father until his marriage 
 in 1864 with Miss Mary Lonzo, a native 
 of Fort Howard, who was born April 30, 
 1 84 1, daughter of Joseph and Judah 
 (Greenwood) Lonzo, who came to Green 
 Bay, Wis., about 1837, and in 1848 set- 
 tled on a farm in Duck Creek, where they 
 passed the remainder of their days, both 
 dying at the age of seventy-five years. 
 They had a family of five children, of 
 whom four are still living. To the mar- 
 riage of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cormier 
 have come two children, viz. : Delia, born 
 June 25, 1876, and George, born June 8, 
 1878. Joseph Cormier and his young 
 wife began their married life in a little 
 log home on a forty-acre tract belonging 
 
358 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Mr. Cormier's father, and lived in this 
 house for two years, when they built their 
 present comfortable residence and added 
 forty acres to their farm. Mr. Cormier 
 also became interested in a stone quarry 
 his father sold to the Chicago & North 
 Western Railway Company, and was en- 
 gaged in running scows on the lakes for 
 ten years; his father conducted the Bru- 
 nette quarry for ten years. Afr. Cormier 
 is a man of most generous impulses, and 
 is withal a first-class business man, al- 
 though of domestic proclivities. With 
 his wife he is a member of the Catholic 
 Church, as were his forefathers in Can- 
 ada, and he lives faithfully up to its 
 teachings. His benevolent disposition 
 has been manifested by the adoption, at 
 the age of nine years, of a lad named S. 
 E. Marcotte, who is now grown to man- 
 hood, and is employed as a commercial 
 traveler. 
 
 JOSEPH NORTON. Among the 
 leading farmers and extensive land- 
 owners of Rockland township, Brown 
 county, none holds a more enviable 
 position in the esteem of his fellow citi- 
 zens than this gentleman, who has been 
 prominently identified with the interests 
 of his section for the past forty 3ears. 
 He is a native of Ireland, born January 
 20, 1824, in County Wicklow, eldest son 
 of James and Catherine (Kelly) Norton, 
 the former of whom was an industrious 
 farmer in his native country, cultivating 
 a rented farm. There were fourteen chil- 
 dren in the family — four sons and ten 
 daughters — of whom our subject was the 
 second in order of birth. 
 
 Joseph Norton attended the common 
 schools of Ireland up to the age of fifteen 
 years, when he commenced farming, re- 
 ceiving his first instruction in this voca- 
 tion under his father. He continued farm- 
 ing there until 1850, when he concluded 
 to try his fortune in America, and, receiv- 
 ing some assistance from his father, he left 
 his home on March 17 of that year, pro- 
 
 ceeding to Liverpool, where he took pas- 
 sage on the "Kossuth," a sailing vessel 
 which had been recently fitted up and 
 was then one of the largest \essels afloat, 
 carrying 700 passengers. Mr. Norton 
 landed in New York after a voyage of 
 thirty-three days, and, finding himself 
 short of funds, abandoned his original in- 
 tention to proceed west at once and 
 commenced to work as a farm hanil in 
 Onondaga county, N. Y. His employer, 
 Caleb Brown, was one of the leading 
 farmers of that section of the State, and 
 during the five years he remained there 
 Mr. Norton gathered some very useful 
 ideas on agriculture. In October, 1855, 
 our subject came to Dc Pere, Brown Co., 
 Wis., and, with his savings, purchased 
 eighty acres of wild land in Section 15, 
 Rockland township, to which he added 
 another eighty acres the following year, 
 this being the farm of 160 acres where 
 he now makes his home. Finding that 
 he could make more money at sawmilling, 
 for the first five years he obtained em- 
 ployment with Mr. Ritchie in the sawmills 
 near De Pere, and being industrious and 
 steady was able to save considerable from 
 his earnings. 
 
 On July 24, 1858, Mr. Norton was 
 married, in Green Bay, to Miss Bridget 
 Forestal, a nati\'e of County Kilkenny, 
 Ireland, whose father, Thomas Forestal, 
 died before she was born, and she came 
 to America with her mother and two 
 brothers, Thomas and Edward; their voy- 
 age across the .Atlantic occupied six weeks 
 and three daj's. After his marriage Mr. 
 Norton settled on his farm, on which a 
 few improvements had been made, a 
 house and barn built, etc. ; bat the land 
 was still for the most part in its primitive 
 condition, and wild animals abounded. 
 After years of tireless, unremitting in- 
 dustry he found himself the possessor of 
 the highly productive, well-improved farm 
 where the family yet reside, and which 
 has supplanted the unbroken forest which 
 stood there when he first came to this 
 section. Mr. and Mrs. Norton have had 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 359 
 
 the following children: Katie C, who 
 lives at home; Mary A., Mrs. William 
 Powers, of Nahma, Mich. , who was a 
 school-teacher for some time; Sarah, 
 Mrs. John Shaughnessy, of Fort Howard; 
 James, Timothy and Anna S., at home. 
 
 Mr. Norton has given agriculture his 
 principal attention, and has few, if any, 
 equals in that line in Brown county. He 
 is now the owner of 600 acres in Wrights- 
 town and Rockland townships, which he 
 has accumulated through industry and 
 hard work, and his success in his life- 
 work shows what a young man may 
 accomplish if persevering and diligent. 
 Forty-four years ago he landed in New 
 York with but ten dollars in money, to- 
 day he is ranked among the successful 
 self-made men of his community. His 
 energy, economical habits and physical 
 strength have been important factors in 
 his success, but his business sagacity and 
 good judgment have also proved of no 
 small value. Honest and trustworthy, 
 he has always enjoyed the confidence of 
 all who have had dealings with him in 
 any way. He has li\ed to see the sur- 
 rounding country transformed from a for- 
 est, and has himself taken an active part 
 in the advancement and improvement of 
 the region, especially in his own neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 Politically he is a Democrat, and has 
 always been stanch in supporting the 
 principles of his party, invariably voting 
 that ticket in National and State af- 
 fairs, in local elections, however, giv- 
 ing his support to the candidate whom 
 he considers best fitted for the office. 
 He has never aspired to political honors 
 himself, his own extensive interests de- 
 manding the greater share of his time and 
 attention, but he served as school director 
 in his district. In religious connection 
 he and his wife are members of St. Francis 
 Catholic Church, of De Pere. Though 
 now over seventy years of age, Mr. Nor- 
 ton is in good health, and can perform a 
 a day's work that would be a credit to a 
 man many years his junior. On Febru- 
 
 ary I, 1865, Mr. Norton enlisted at Green 
 Bay in Company A, Fifty-second Wis. 
 V. I., and was sent to St. Louis, but saw 
 no service, as he was taken ill with small- 
 po.x, and received his discharge. 
 
 GEORGE W. SENSIBA, a retired 
 business man and farmer of Su- 
 amico, Brown county, was born 
 January 14, 1824, in Delaware 
 county, N. Y., a son of Alfred Sensiba, 
 who was a son of Samuel and Mary 
 (Taylor) Sensiba. Samuel was a native 
 of Germany, and died in Utica, N. Y. , 
 an exile from his native land on account 
 of his father's activity in the patriot army 
 during the German war. Mary (Taylor) 
 Sensiba was of English descent, and died 
 in Onondaga county, N. Y., at the age of 
 seventy years. 
 
 Alfred Sensiba was one of a family of 
 seven children, and was born in Massa- 
 chusetts. When a boy he hired out as a 
 farm hand, but sustained a permanent 
 injury to his health by contracting a cold, 
 and abandoned farming for canal-boating, 
 running on the Erie canal three or four 
 years. At the end of that time he went 
 to Jordan, N. Y. , and established a soap 
 and candle business, later moving to 
 Seneca Falls, N. Y. , where he engaged 
 in the same business a while; then, in 
 1842, he went to Indiana, where he con- 
 tinued to make soap and candles until his 
 removal to St. Joseph, Mich. Here he 
 bought a farm, but finally sold out and 
 came to Suamico, Brown Co., Wis., 
 where he died at the age of seventy-seven. 
 Alfred Sensiba was married, when twenty- 
 three years old, to Miss Nancy Houghtal- 
 ing, who was born in Delaware county, 
 N. Y. , and is still living at the home of 
 our subject, George W., who is her only 
 child. 
 
 George W. Sensiba worked at various 
 employments until 1844, when he came 
 West, worked in Chicago one year, and 
 then went to Lockport, N. Y., with a 
 stock of goods. The next year he re- 
 
360 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 turned to Chicago and enlisted, in 1 846, 
 in the Mexican war, but was prevented 
 from going by an attack of measels. In the 
 fall of the same year he came to Brown 
 county. Wis., and for two or three years 
 carried on a cooper shop at Green Bay, 
 following which he was engaged in the 
 fish trade on the lakes six or seven years. 
 On August 26, 1850, he wedded Miss 
 Maria Wiltsey, who was born in London, 
 Canada, and during the Mexican war 
 came to the United States with her par- 
 ents, Hiram and Susan Wiltsej", farming 
 people, vvho died in Michigan; the}' were 
 the parents of seven children. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. George W. Sensiba have been 
 born eleven children, of whom ten are 
 living, viz. : Amanda, who married and 
 had three children, two of whom are 
 married and have two children ; Georgi- 
 ana ; Arvilla, married ; Alfred, married 
 and has four children ; Frank ; William ; 
 Effie ; George C. ; Burgess ; and Irving. 
 Mr. Sensiba resumed the fish trade 
 for several years after his marriage, and 
 then went on the farm where he now 
 lives, and, after cultivating it for several 
 years, went north, again entering the fish 
 trade. For several \'ears following he 
 handled cedar posts, and about i860 re- 
 turned to his old farm. In 1864 he 
 shipped in the navy, serving until August 
 22, 1865, when he again returned to his 
 farm for a time, and next removed to 
 Fort Howard, there following the grocery 
 and fish trade until 1S70, in which vear 
 he sold out and retired to live in peace 
 and ease on his homestead in Suamico. 
 Mr. Sensiba is a Republican in his politi- 
 cal affiliations, and was originally an 
 old-line Whig, casting his first vote for 
 Gen. Zachary Taxlor. He has been 
 quite active in local politics, and is now 
 serving as a justice of the peace. He and 
 his family are consistent members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, in which 
 congregation Mrs. Sensiba is especially 
 active, and for which she acts as Sunday- 
 school superintendent. Mr. Sensiba's in- 
 dustrious business career has won for him 
 
 the admiration of his fellow citizens, 
 while his persevering economy has se- 
 cured for him a competency that enables 
 him to enjoy his declining years, bereft of 
 the cares that so long engaged his atten- 
 tion. He is regarded as an upright, char- 
 itable gentleman, at all times ready to 
 aid, with his time and purse, any move- 
 ment calculated to advance the well-being 
 of his township and county and enhance 
 the happiness of his neighbors, young and 
 old, and in consequence enjoys their un- 
 feigned esteem. 
 
 JOHN CRAANEN, farmer and stock 
 raiser, and owner of a fine farm of 
 200 acres in Scott township, Brown 
 count}', is a nati\e of same, born 
 January 30, i860, youngest child of Chris- 
 tian and Theodora (Hooken) Craanen. 
 
 Oar subject received his early educa- 
 tion in the then primiti\e log cabin schools 
 of Scott township, and subsequentl}' for 
 three years attended the parochial schools' 
 at Calvary, Wis. He was reared to agri- 
 cultural life, and, after his school days 
 were over, commenced to assist his father 
 on the home farm, where he always re- 
 mained up to the time of his marriage. 
 On April 26, 1892, he was married, at 
 Bay Settlement, to Miss Jennie Noonyen, 
 who was born in Scott township in 
 1872, daughter of Leonard Noonyen, 
 a native of Holland, and this union has 
 been blessed with one child, Frank, born 
 May II, 1893. -After marriage Mr. 
 Craanen located in his present home, and 
 here conducts a successful general farm- 
 ing and stock-raising business. As before 
 mentioned, he has a prime farm of 200 
 acres, and is without an equal in his town- 
 ship among the farmers of his age. He 
 is thoroughly conversant with every depart- 
 ment of his chosen vocation, having been 
 engaged in agriculture from his early boy- 
 hood, and to-day he ranks among the 
 most prosperous of the agriculturists of 
 his locality. Diligent and thorough, he 
 has shown himself fully competent to sue- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 361 
 
 cessfully manage his extensive interests, 
 to which he gives his undivided attention. 
 In reHgious connection he and his wife 
 are menabers of the CathoHc Church at 
 Bay Settlement, and in pohtics he is a 
 Democrat, but gives Httle time to party 
 affairs. 
 
 JARED D. MASON, farmer of Pitts- 
 field township. Brown county, was 
 born June 13, 1830, in Grafton, 
 Rensselaer Co., N. Y. , and is de- 
 scended from Revolutionary stock, his 
 great-grandfather, Capt. John Mason, an 
 Englishman, having been burned at the 
 stake by the Indians during that patriotic 
 but fearful struggle for American inde- 
 pendence. Jared D. Mason is the eldest 
 of seven children born to John and Doro- 
 thy Mason, who died on their farm of 160 
 acres in their native State, New York, 
 and were interred at Sand Lake (or Pres- 
 ton Hill), Rensselaer county. 
 
 Jared D. Mason was reared on the 
 home farm, on which he remained until 
 about twenty-three years of age, when 
 he married. May 31, 1853, Catherine 
 Lawlor, daughter of Edward and Mary 
 (Fitzpatrick) Lawlor, of Irish descent. 
 Mr. Mason now bought sixty acres of land 
 from his father at five dollars per acre, 
 on which farm some few improvements 
 had been made, and here he and his wife 
 lived until 1865, when they came to Wis- 
 consin, stopping at Green Bay, because 
 the railway stopped there, and thence 
 being drawn to the woods by Henry 
 Howard with a team of horses. Here 
 Mr. Mason rented a log cabin, 16x20 
 feet, in which he lived one year, working 
 for Brown & Evins, lumbermen, for two 
 dollars per day. He then bought 160 
 acres of timbered land, but let a brother- 
 in-law, Mr. Lynch, have eighty acres of 
 the tract. All the vicissitudes of pioneer 
 life were here gone through; the cabin of 
 18 X 26 feet is now a comfortable dwelling, 
 and the forest changed to a fertile farm, 
 but all this required years of unceasing 
 
 and patient toil by himself, his wife and 
 his sons, when the latter became old 
 enough to lend their aid. The children 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Jared D. Mason 
 were ten in number, viz. : An infant, born 
 April 8, 1854, who died unnamed; Albert 
 L. , born April 8, 1855, who died August 
 8, 1858; Marcus J., born January 11, 
 1857; Mary, born February i, 1859; 
 Sarah C, born March 17, 1861, who 
 died February 9, 1862; Martha A., born 
 April 25, 1863, who died May 3, 1865; 
 George B., born June 23, 1865; Minnie 
 J., born March 26, 1866; Cora B., born 
 April 26, 1870, and Bertie C, born Octo- 
 ber 14, 1875. Mrs. Mason is a devout 
 member of the Methodist Church. In 
 politics Mr. Mason is a Democrat, and 
 has served his fellow citizens with much 
 credit as member of the side board for 
 three years, and as town clerk for one year. 
 
 AG. KURZ, a prominent photogra- 
 pher, of Green Bay, having a fine 
 studio located at Nos. 210 and 
 212 Cherry street, is the only 
 child of G. and Minnie (Donner) Kurz, 
 both natives of Germany. The father 
 came at an early date to Ripon, Wis., 
 was later married in Chicago, and finally, 
 in 1866, settled upon a new farm in Win- 
 nebago county. About 1871 he removed 
 with his family to Green Bay, established 
 a marble yard, and engaged at his old 
 trade of marble cutting. After a number 
 of years he retired from business, and he 
 and his wife are both yet living. 
 
 Our subject was born in 1867, in Eu- 
 reka, Winnebago Co., Wis., and when 
 about four years of age came with his 
 parents to Green Bay. Here he received 
 his education in the public schools, and 
 fitted himself for commercial pursuits by 
 attending business college under Prof. J. 
 N. McCunn. At the age of fourteen years 
 he began to learn the art of photography, 
 and four years later, in the fall of 1885, 
 launched out in business at De Pere. His 
 original preceptor in the artist's line was 
 
362 
 
 COMMEMORAriVE UIOGBAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 T. W. Schneider, and the lessons were 
 ■well learned. He formed a partnership 
 with Mr. Nuss, under the firm name of 
 Kurz & Nuss, with a studio on Washing- 
 ton street, which was continued until 
 1892. Upon the dissolution of this part- 
 nership Mr. Kurz engaged in business in 
 Milwaukee, but in February, 1894, located 
 in Green Bay. At this place, in 1890, he 
 married Miss Augusta Straubel, daughter 
 of Ernest Straubel, an early settler of 
 Brown county, who now resides in Green 
 Bay. Two children have come to grace 
 their home. Mr. Kurz is a member of 
 Green Bay Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F. ; 
 Pochequette Lodge, No. 26, K. of P. ; 
 also of the Royal Arcanum and the Order 
 of the Maccabees. In politics he is an 
 earnest I^epublican. 
 
 REV. P. J. CAUTEREELS, the 
 worthy and much-belo\'ed pastor 
 of the Church of the Holy Cross, 
 in Bay Settlement, Brown count}', 
 is a native of Belgium, born in the city of 
 Antwerp, January 3, 1833. 
 
 His elementary education was received 
 at the parish schools of Antwerp, after 
 leaving which he studied the classics, 
 philosophy and theology in the seminary 
 of Malines, in which institution he was 
 appointed professor of Latin after his con- 
 secration to the priesthood, at Malines 
 •(or Mechlin), in December, 1857. In 
 1862 he resigned this incumbency, and, 
 returning to Antwerp, was given the posi- 
 tion of chaplain to Ste. Elizabeth Hos- 
 pital, which he filled with characteristic 
 diligence and Christian zeal until 1872, in 
 which year he was given charge, as priest, 
 of the church at the village of Hemi.xem, 
 Antwerp. At the end of ten years, in 1 882, 
 he resigned his charge, and having ex- 
 pressed a desire, and received permission 
 from his superiors, to engage in the labor 
 of love among his countrymen and others 
 in the Far West of America, he was 
 saluted with many a hearty ' ' bon voyage " 
 on leaving Antwerp on the 25th of June, 
 
 that year, on board the Red Star Line 
 steamship " Westerland," for New York, 
 where he arrived July 10 following. From 
 there he came direct to Wisconsin, and 
 in the township of Humboldt, Brown 
 county, he was stationed as priest, hav- 
 ing charge, in all of four congregations up 
 to the year 1892, when he came to the 
 Church of the Holy Cross, at Ba\' Settle- 
 ment, his present benefice. Mr. Caute- 
 reels is also rector of St. Francis Convent, 
 where are employed twenty-two teachers, 
 and here, as in his congregation, he is 
 held in the highest regard as a pious 
 Christian servant of the ^faster. 
 
 JOSEPH HUSSIN, farmer and hotel- 
 keeper in the village of Duck Creek, 
 Brown county, is one of eight chil- 
 dren — three sons and five daughters — 
 still living of a very large family born to 
 Joseph and Florence (Toussaint) Hussin, 
 natives of Belgium, the former of whom 
 was born in the Province of Liege in 1 8 1 2, 
 and the latter in the Province of Namur 
 in 18 16. 
 
 Joseph Hussin, our subject, was born 
 in the Province of Liege, and on June 20, 
 1856, sailed with the family from Ant- 
 werp for New York, at which port they 
 arrived after a passage of six weeks, and 
 next day proceeded on their way to Green 
 Bay, Wis. The father at once engaged 
 at his trade of stone-cutting, working at 
 same until October, when he moved to 
 Duck Creek and built a log cabin, 20 x 20 
 feet, in the dense woods which at that 
 early day still covered the country, and 
 here his family resided for two years. He 
 then rented a farm, on which he lived 
 three or four years, and then bought his 
 present farm, following his trade in the 
 meantime about five years. Joseph Hus- 
 sin, whose name opens this sketch, worked 
 on the home farm, and at intervals hired 
 out by the month until his marriage, Feb- 
 ruary 8, 1869, to Miss Octavie Lumay, 
 a native of the Province of Brabant, Bel- 
 gium, and daughter of John J. and Fran- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 363 
 
 ces Lumay. The Lumay family came to 
 the United States about the same year in 
 which the Hussin family immigrated. 
 The father was a tailor, a trade he fol- 
 lowed all his life, but on his arrival in 
 America he rented a farm in Door county, 
 Wis. , on which he died at the age of si.Kt}'- 
 six 3'ears, and his wife at the age of sixty- 
 two. The}' were the parents of several 
 children, four of whom are living; the 
 others died in infancy. 
 
 To our subject and wife have been 
 born eleven children, of whom ten are 
 yet living; the eldest son is married and 
 has three sons. After his marriage Mr. 
 Hussin settled on a farm in the vicinity of 
 his father's place; but, after a residence 
 there of four years, sold out and bought 
 his present property in the village, open- 
 ing a hotel and saloon, where his accom- 
 modating disposition and pleasing man- 
 ners have won him hosts of friends. His 
 surplus earnings have been invested in 
 farm property, and he is the owner of one 
 •or two choice tracts of land in the neigh- 
 borhood. Politically he is a Democrat, 
 and cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Samuel J. Tilden; but he is a man who 
 thinks for himself and is capable of form- 
 ing his own opinions. For four years he 
 served as township treasurer, having been 
 elected on the Independent ticket — a fact 
 which gives evidence of his great popu- 
 larity with the people — and for seven or 
 eight years he has served as assessor, be- 
 ing the present incumbent of that office. 
 He is secretary of the Grange, and is 
 recognized everywhere as a man of ability. 
 The familv are all devout Catholics. 
 
 JOHN G. FINDEISEN, who for over 
 forty years has been indentified with 
 the interests of Scott township. Brown 
 county, as a farmer and landowner, 
 is a native of Wittenberg, Germany, born 
 August s, 1814, son of Gottlieb Findeisen, 
 a farmer, who had three children — one 
 son and two daughters — of whom the son, 
 John G. , is the eldest. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the common schools of his native coun- 
 try, which he attended from the time he 
 was six years old until he reached the age 
 of fourteen, also attending the Sabbath- 
 school four years, as required by law. 
 He was reared to farm life; but his father's 
 place being a small one, he usually worked 
 for others, his earnings being very meager, 
 never exceeding twenty-five dollars a 
 year. Yet, in three years, he had saved 
 enough to pay his way to America, where 
 he hoped to find better opportunities for 
 advancement, and, leaving Germany, he 
 proceeded to England, where he em- 
 barked, at London, on the sailing vessel 
 "Maggie Evans," bound for New York, 
 the voyage lasting from May 13 to June 
 19 (1S48). His destination being Green 
 Bay, Wis., he journeyed from New York 
 to Albany by boat, thence by rail to 
 Buffalo, from there coming by water to 
 Milwaukee, where he remained a week, 
 waiting for another boat. To Peshtigo 
 he came on a lumber vessel, thence by a 
 smaller one to Green Bay, where he 
 landed July 20. Here he found work 
 cutting cordwood for a merchant, and 
 subsequently came to New Franken, 
 which at that time was included in Bay 
 Settlement. In Green Bay township he 
 purchased a tract of forty acres (for which 
 h* paid $1.25 per acre), directly opposite 
 his present farm, the place at that time 
 being all in the woods and totally un- 
 improved, not a stick having been cut 
 or a habitation of any kind erected. 
 He set to work and built a log cabin, 
 20x28, and also commenced the clear- 
 ing of the land, which for a long time 
 yielded scarcely anything; but he ob- 
 tained a small income by the manufac- 
 ture of shingles by hand, for which he re- 
 ceived one dollar a thousand. On this 
 farm he remained twenty-nine years, and 
 then removed across the road into the 
 township of Scott, erecting another log 
 house on the site of his present substan- 
 tial residence, which was built in 1885. 
 Mr. Findeisen now owns 155 acres of 
 
364 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 prime farming land, lying in Scott and 
 Green Bay townships, all accumulated 
 from the nucleus of forty acres of wilder- 
 ness and timber land that he owned in 
 1848. His success has been achieved by 
 ceaseless industry and unremitting toil. 
 He has seen his land transformed from a 
 dense forest abountling with wild animals 
 to a well-culti\ ated productive farm, 
 which he and his children now enjoy, the 
 trials, privations and hardships of those 
 early days being forever past. Mr. I'in- 
 deisen was actively engaged in general 
 farming and stock-raising until about 
 1 880, when he practically retired from 
 the work, his farm now being conducted 
 by his sons, John, Andrew and George, 
 whtj have shown themselves fully com- 
 petent to manage the affairs of the place. 
 Few farmers in the township have met 
 with more gratifying success, and Mrs. 
 Findeisen also deserves her share of 
 credit, for, by her economy and thrift, 
 she has been of no small assistance in 
 the accumulation of the property. During 
 the first winter of their marriage Mr. 
 Findeisen was employed in Green Bay, 
 cutting wood at si.\ shillings a cord (and 
 boarding himself), and during that time 
 his wife remained alone in their cabin in 
 the forest 
 
 many inconveniences endured 
 early days. 
 
 Mr. Findeisen was married in Green 
 Bay to Miss Margaret Hoffman, who was 
 born July 13, 1824, in Wittenberg, Ger- 
 many, and came to America with her 
 future husband, their marriage taking 
 place July 21, 1848. This union was 
 blessed with children as follows: Sophia 
 (now deceased), who married Henry Senn, 
 and had four children; Louis W., a 
 hardware merchant of Green Bay, who 
 is married and has two children; Leonard, 
 a member of the firm of Findeisen Bros., 
 hardware merchants of Green Bay, who 
 is married and has one child; Conrad, 
 Andrew, George and John, all living on the 
 home farm; Henry, a general merchant of 
 Antigo, Wis. ; Caroline, deceased at the age 
 
 but a single illustration cf the 
 
 those 
 
 of nine years; Edward, deceased at the age 
 of five; and ILmma, living at home. Of 
 these ANDREW, GEORGE and JOHN 
 are engaged in conducting the home farm, 
 and they are recognized as intelligent, in- 
 dustrious young men, successful in their 
 chosen vocation, in which they rank 
 second to none. Two of the other sons, 
 Louis W. and Leonard, carry on one of 
 the most extensive and profitable hard- 
 ware businesses in Green Bay. 
 
 John G. Findeisen cast his ballot for 
 .Abraham Lincoln in 1864, and since that 
 time has been a stanch Republican, taking 
 no active part in politics, however, though 
 he is deeply interested in the success of 
 his party. His seven sons are also mem- 
 bers of that party, and keep themselves 
 well informed in its movements. In re- 
 ligious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the German M. E. Church, 
 in which he has been trustee, and the 
 other members of the family at home are 
 also identified with the same society. 
 
 JACOB F.\LCK, a progressive busi- 
 ness man of De Pere, Brown coun- 
 ty, is a native of Wisconsin, born 
 December 13, 1848, in Milwaukee 
 county, Wis. , the eldest son of Philip 
 and Catherine (Hanger) Falck. 
 
 Our subject was but seven years of 
 age when his parents came to Brown 
 county, settling in Morrison township, 
 where the\- purchased 290 acres in Section 
 7, and also 160 acres in Section 22. On 
 the first-named property Jacob was reared 
 to manhood, receiving such education as 
 the meager school facilities of the day 
 afforded. As the eldest boy in the fam- 
 ily, the greater portion of the work in 
 assisting on the farm fell to his lot, and 
 he was but fifteen or sixteen years old 
 when a team was placed in his hands, 
 with which to help the hired man. He 
 labored hard and faithfully until nearly 
 twenty-six years of age, and acquired 
 those steady habits which have so much 
 benefited him in his subsequent business 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 367 
 
 career. In August, 1874, he established 
 himself in a saloon in the basement of 
 Wheeler's drug store in De Pere, where 
 he made many friends and prospered for 
 two years; his increasing trade caused his 
 removal to a building owned by C. G. 
 Wilcox in the business part of the city, 
 which building, with fort}--eight feet fron- 
 tage, he subsequently purchased, but in 
 April, 1888, these premises were de- 
 stroyed by fire. With his usual energy, 
 however, he erected at once a more sub- 
 stantial structure, which forms one of the 
 best business blocks in the city, and here 
 he is doing a better trade than ever. 
 
 On August 28, 1878, in Manitowoc 
 county. Wis., Mr. Falck married Miss 
 Mary Meyer, a native of that county, born 
 April 16, 1859, a daughter of Frederick 
 and Sophia (Kasten) Meyer. The chil- 
 dren resulting from this marriage were 
 named George E., born June 14, 1879, 
 and died July 10 of the same year; Alma 
 E. \\., born August 6, 1880; Walter R., 
 born November 6, 1882; Elsa C. S., 
 born December 17, 1884; and Erven J., 
 born February i, 1894. In National and 
 State politics Mr. Falck usually supports 
 the Democratic nominees, but in county 
 and municipal matters he votes for the 
 candidate he considers l)est fitted for 
 office. He has himself served creditably 
 two terms on the board of aldermen, but 
 has declined further nomination. He 
 and his wife are consistent members of 
 the Lutheran Church, and both stand well 
 in the esteem of the public. In 1893 Mr. 
 Falck built one of the most modern resi- 
 dences in De Pere. He has the reputation 
 of conducting "the most orderly saloon 
 in the city," and is a very popular citizen, 
 is quiet and unassuming, makes friends 
 with all who meet him, and retains them. 
 
 IVI 
 
 Erie 
 
 ILO AMES, a successful farmer 
 
 and lumberman of Pittsfield 
 
 township. Brown county, was 
 
 born January 14, 1842, in 
 
 county, Penn., son of Nathaniel 
 
 and Miranda (Madison) Ames, the former 
 a successful carpenter and farmer; he was 
 twice married, first to Miranda Madison, 
 and had eleven children. 
 
 On September 10, 1861, Milo Ames 
 enlisted in Company K, Eighty-third P. 
 V. I., in response to the call for 75,000 
 men, and served until February 2, 1863, 
 when he re-enlisted and served until July 
 3, 1864. He was in every battle in which 
 the army of the Potomac was engaged 
 during this period, and was wounded at 
 Gaines' Mills. After his recovery and 
 discharge from the hospital he was ap- 
 pointed dispatch courier, and served in 
 this capacity until his discharge at Harris- 
 burg, when he returned to his home and 
 passed some time in the oil country. On 
 Februar}' 22, 1S66, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Loisa Baker, one of the thir- 
 teen children born to William H. and 
 Loisa (Stowell) Baker, the former a native 
 of New York, and the latter of Vermont; 
 the father is a successful farmer, and is 
 still living in Erie county, Penn. , where 
 he owns 500 acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ames were school children together, and 
 were married in Erie county, where they 
 remained nearly four years after their 
 union, he being employed in lumbering on 
 the Allegheny river in the meanwhile. In 
 1869 they came b_v rail to Green Bay, 
 Wis., and thence directly to Pittsfield, 
 where for si.x years Mr. Ames was em- 
 ployed by Oscar Gray in the lumber busi- 
 ness. He then bought eighty acres of 
 timber land, on which stood a log house, 
 and he cleared this land by his own labor, 
 and added to it until he at one time owned 
 120 acres; but of this he sold forty acres, 
 leaving him a well-improved tract of eighty 
 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Ames have been 
 blessed with three children, viz. : Rose, 
 born July 11, 1869, now the wife of 
 Charles Huntington, of Pittsfield; Emma 
 M., born February 3, 1876; and Harry, 
 born April 30, 1882. The parents are 
 members of the Congregational Church, in 
 which Mr. Ames was a deacon, and of 
 which he is now trustee. Politically he 
 
368 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 was a Republican until last year, when 
 he gave his franchise to the Prohibitionists. 
 He has served as chairman of the town 
 one year, andasmernber of the sideboard 
 two terms, and is very highly respected 
 .by all who know hini. 
 
 WILLIAM CONEN. an upright 
 citizen and successful farmer, 
 of Dc Pare township. Brown 
 county, is a native of Holland, 
 born June i8, 1844, son of Theodore 
 Conen. When four years of age he was 
 brought by his parents to America, and to 
 Brown county. Wis., where, in the prim- 
 itive scho'^lsof that early day, ha received 
 all his education. Early in life he was 
 put to work on the farm, as the country 
 was new, and the farmers of that period 
 had to work hard to earn a living from 
 their land; besides, wages were low, and 
 if a boy earned his board he was doing 
 well. When William was twenty years 
 old his father died, and for some years 
 afterward he and his brothers were in 
 partnership. When the property was di- 
 vided he received fort\' acres in De Pere 
 township, part of his present farm, which 
 at that time was all new land, without- 
 a single improvement, and he himself 
 built the first house on the place. 
 
 In April. 1870, Mr. Conen was mar- 
 ried in De Pere to Anna Stylties, who was 
 bornAugust 22, 1840, in Germany, daugh- 
 ter of Anton Stylties, a farmer, and the 
 young couple immediately commenced 
 housekeeping on the new farm. To their 
 union have been born children as follows: 
 Theodore, Anton, Anna, John, Hattie, 
 and Mary, all living, and two that died 
 young. Mr. Conen has all his life been 
 a hard-working farmer, and his present 
 prosperity is all the result of toil and in- 
 dustry. He has increased the area of his 
 farm from forty to 140 acres, all in De- 
 Pere township, and has transformed it 
 from a stumpy, brush-covered piece of 
 ground to a well-cultivated and fertile 
 tract. This has only been accomplished 
 
 by years of unceasing toil, but his chil- 
 dren have been of great help to him, the 
 sons all remaining on the farm and as- 
 sisting much with the agricultural work. 
 Mr. Conen has, during his long residence 
 in the count)', acquired an enviable repu- 
 tation for honesty and fair dealing, and 
 he is universally respected for his many 
 good qualities. In religious connection 
 he and his family are members of St. 
 Mary's Catholic Church, De Pere; in po- 
 litical preferences Mr. Conen is a stanch 
 supporter of the principles of the Demo- 
 cratic part)'. 
 
 JAMES SHERLOCK, a systematic 
 progressive farmer citizen of De Pere 
 township. Brown county, is a native 
 of the same, born April i, 1854. 
 Our subject received a fair common- 
 school education, and was reared to practi- 
 cal farm life on the home place until sixteen 
 years of age, after which he commenced to 
 follow other pursuits. He spent si.xteen 
 winters in the lumber camps of northern 
 Wisconsin and Michigan, enduring all the 
 vicissitudes and hardships of camp life in 
 the winter, and also becoming familiar with 
 the hazardous work of " driving logs" in 
 the spring. On October 28, 1886, Mr. 
 Sherlock was married in St. Francis 
 Church, De Pere, by Father Rine, to Miss 
 Anna Hughes, who was born in i860, 
 along the Canadian and lower Michigan 
 line, daughter of Hugh and Margaret 
 (Dalton) Hughes, natives of Ireland, who 
 settled in 1869 in Glenmore township. 
 Brown Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Immediately after his marriage Mr. 
 Sherlock settled on his present farm, 
 where he has since continuously resided, 
 and on which he has made many improve- 
 ments. It is one of the oldest farms in 
 East River valley, and consists of 115 
 acres of excellent land. In State and 
 National affairs Mr. Sherlock votes the 
 Democratic ticket, but in local matters he 
 pays more attention to the fitness of the 
 candidate than to party connection. In 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGMAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 369 
 
 1 89 1 he was elected chairman of the 
 township, in which office he has since 
 served with credit to himself and satisfac- 
 tion to his constituents. He is a reader, 
 and well informed on general topics. In 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 both members of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church at De Pere. Thej' have had five 
 children, namely: Ralph J., Maggie V., 
 Annie V., Mary E. and Philip E. 
 
 HERMANN RAYMAKERS, than 
 whom there is no more success- 
 ful or progressive citizen in Preble 
 township, Brown county, is a na- 
 tive of Holland, born December 24, 1829, 
 in the village of Venraij, Province of Lim- 
 burg, son of Leonard Raymakers,who was 
 a laborer in his native land. 
 
 Hermann Raymakers received a com- 
 mon-school education, and then learned 
 the carpenter's trade, which he com- 
 menced to follow when eighteen years old, 
 working around at various places, and, 
 being industrious and ambitious, he pros- 
 pered. While engaged in this he invested 
 in si.K acres of land (going into debt for 
 same), the cultivation of which he carried 
 on in connection with his trade. On 
 April 2 8, 1856, he was united in mar- 
 riage, in Holland, with Miss Alliegonde 
 Vullengs, also a native of Venraij, and six 
 children were born to them in Holland, 
 as follows: Leonard, who is now a mer- 
 chant of Green Bay, Wis. ; Christian, of 
 Oakland, Cal., and Martin, Andrew, 
 Catharine, and Helena, living at home. 
 After carrying on his trade some years in 
 his native country, \[r. Raymakers con- 
 cluded he could better his condition by 
 coming to the United States, and in June, 
 1868, he and his family sailed from Liver- 
 pool on the vessel "Nestorian," landing 
 at Quebec after a voyage of nine days, 
 and thence proceeding to Green Bay, 
 Wis. , where they arrived sixteen days 
 after leaving Liverpool. In Preble town- 
 ship. Brown county, Mr. Raymakers pur- 
 vchased forty acres of new land, entirely 
 
 unimproved, on which, in a day and a 
 half afterward, a rude home had been 
 constructed, and in this house, which had 
 not even a window, his wife and six chil- 
 dren lived for a short time, until a better 
 one could be built. Mr. Raymakers 
 worked around at various kinds of labor, 
 but could get no money, the first cur- 
 rency he ever received in the United 
 States coming from the sale of three loads 
 of hay, which brought him eleven dollars. 
 Some time after locating on the forty 
 acres of land he removed to Green Bay, 
 but later came back to the farm and built 
 thereon a house from a twentj-five-dol 
 lar pile of lumber, which was the resi- 
 dence of the family until 1893, when the 
 present magnificent home, the finest farm 
 house in the township, was erected. The 
 sons, Leonard, Martin, Henry, John, 
 William, Peter, and Gerard, are all with 
 their father in the business of the firm of 
 H. Raymakers & Sons, which comprises 
 a market garden in Preble, three miles 
 from the city of Green Bay, and a gen- 
 eral produce store in the city. The store 
 is in charge of Leonard and Henry, while 
 Mr. Raymakers operates the garden. All 
 the children of our subject live at home 
 with the exception of Henry, who resides 
 in the city, being married, and Christian, 
 who is settled in California. The entire 
 farhily are members of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Raymakers lived " in the woods," 
 as he expresses it, and literally converted 
 his farm from its primitive state to its 
 present fertile condition, toiling early and 
 late for sixteen years to free his home 
 from debt, during which time he and his 
 family endured their full share of the 
 hardships incident to pioneer farm life. 
 But success has rewarded his untiring en- 
 ergy, as his beautiful farm and home now 
 testify. When Mr. Raymakers bought the 
 place the land was quite swampy, the east 
 half being covered with deep muck, and, 
 knowing this to be an excellent fertilizer, 
 he set himself to work to make the most 
 of it. Alwavs a reader, he obtained an 
 
37° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 idea from the 0/tio Farmer on the subject 
 he was so greatly interested in, and his 
 plans were no sooner formed than he pro- 
 ceeded to carr)' them out. Digging; out 
 the muck from the eastern part of the 
 farm, which rises above the western part, 
 he hauled it away to fertilize the rest of 
 the land, thus leaving a reser\oir for the 
 water to gather in, which is fed b\' springs 
 and drains, and provides irrigation for the 
 land, besides affording a constant supply 
 of running water for his house, barns, 
 hothouses, stock, etc. ; over ten thousand 
 feet of drainage and tiling have been laid 
 on the farm. The reservoir, which has 
 been well stocked with German carp, is 
 ninety feet wide and 600 feet long, and 
 the excellent arrangements make it pos- 
 sible to distribute water to the most dis- 
 tant parts of the farm, in carts or hose, 
 when necessary. With such facilities the 
 land is excepitionally well-adapted for 
 profitable gardening, and thirty acres are 
 devoted to that branch alone, supplying 
 various markets, especially Green Bay, 
 whither a load of vegetables is sent daily, 
 he and his sons conducting a prosperous 
 produce business in the city; the celery 
 beds on the farm are unusually fine. 
 
 Mr. Raymakers has spared neither 
 money nor pains to make an ideal farm 
 and home out of what was once a dense 
 wilderness, his fine residence, barn and 
 other buildings are all in keeping with the 
 other improvements, and he is regarded 
 as one of the most enterprising, substan- 
 tial farmers in Preble township. He 
 takes an active interest in political mat- 
 ters, studying carefully the leading ques- 
 tions of the day. Formerly a I^epublican 
 and Protectionist, he changed his ideas 
 after much study and thought on the sub- 
 ject, and is now an advocate of the Free- 
 trade system. He is very fond of reading, 
 keeping himself well informed on general 
 topics and public issues, and his home 
 contains a well-selected library. He is 
 an earnest advocate of thorough educa- 
 tion, and believes a country school should 
 possess the same advantages and as com- 
 
 plete an ecjuipment as a city school for 
 the instruction of the young. In 1890 
 Mr. Raymakers paid a short visit to his 
 native country, but returned convinced 
 that though Holland is good, America is 
 better. 
 
 HENRY LANCASTER, a system- 
 atic, skillful farmer of Howard 
 township. Brown county, was 
 born in January, 1832, in Man- 
 chester, England, son of Joseph and 
 Catherine (Burke) Lancaster, and was 
 a lad about twelve years of age when 
 he came alone to this country. His 
 
 ! father was the son of a coal dealer in 
 England, and was a veteran of Waterloo, 
 and a pensioner ; he died when Henry, 
 our subject, was still a mere lad of seven 
 
 I or eight years. Mrs. Catherine Lancas- 
 ter subsequently' remarried, and came 
 with her husband to the United States 
 
 j about 1841, Henry following in about 
 
 j three years. 
 
 On reaching America our subject went 
 to Oswego, N. Y. , where he passed two 
 or three years with his mother and step- 
 father, and then worked at various places 
 until 1850, when he came to Wisconsin, 
 to which State his mother had removed 
 about a year previous. Here she died 
 at an advanced age, the mother of eight 
 children, of whom but three are now liv- 
 ing. Mr. Lancaster for the first two 
 years after his arrival in W^isconsin, rent- 
 ed land from his stepfather in Pittsfield 
 township. Brown county, and then moved 
 to Duck Creek, where he worked in a 
 mill until his enlistment, on January 25, 
 1862, in the Seventeenth Wis. V. L 
 This regiment being full, however, he 
 was transferred to Company L, of an 
 Illinois Light Artillery regiment, and took 
 part in every battle in which the com- 
 mand was engaged, and in all of its 
 marches, until the close of the war, with 
 the exception of three months, during 
 which he was confined in Libby Prison as 
 a prisoner of war, and another three 
 
COMMEMORATrVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 months when he was in hospital on ac- 
 count of a wound received in the Shen- 
 andoah Valley, while fifi;htin<^ against the 
 Confederate, Gen. Early. He was hon- 
 orably discharged in April, 1865, and is 
 now receiving a pension for his services. 
 After his return to Duck Creek Mr. Lan- 
 caster again worked in the mill for a 
 time, and also cleared off forty acres of 
 his land and bought forty acres addi- 
 tional. In November, 1869, he married 
 Miss Catherine Maher, who was born 
 in Green Ba}-, a daughter of Edmund 
 and Hannah (Handerhan) Maher, natives 
 of Ireland. This union has been blessed 
 with seven children, named as follows: 
 Joseph, Ella, Maggie (wife of Louis 
 Jagers, of Kiel, Alanitowoc Co., Wis.), 
 Hannah, John, Agnes, and Nora. 
 
 Mr. Lancaster, after his marriage, 
 brought his bride to his present farm, 
 which, under his skillful management, is 
 now in a state of luxuriant cultivation, 
 and here the}' have lived ever since, with 
 the exception of one year, when they re- 
 sided in Fort Howard. He raises mixed 
 crops, and the general appearance of his 
 fields and the air of comfort and neatness 
 surrounding his dwelling and farm build- 
 ings give indication of the watchful eye and 
 trained industry of the master, and the 
 willing, tasteful and deft employment of 
 the hand of his helpmeet, who is known 
 to all as a most industrious, cheerful 
 woman, a good wife and a thoughtful 
 mother. Socially Mr. Lancaster is an 
 honored member of T. O. Howe Post, 
 No. 124, G. A. R. , and he and his family 
 are regarded as most desirable neighbors 
 in Howard township. 
 
 HENRY B O R M A N, one of the 
 leading agriculturists of De Pere 
 township, Brown county, was born 
 March 18, 1846, in Belgium, son 
 of Gregorie Borman, who was a farmer 
 in comfortable circumstances. 
 
 Conluding he could better his condi- 
 tion by coming to America, the father of 
 
 our subject in 1857 sold his property and 
 set out with his family for the United 
 States, landing in New York City. Thence 
 they at once journeyed westward to Green 
 Bay, Wis., and, shortly after their arrival, 
 located in AUouez township, where Mr. 
 Borman was for two years employed in a 
 brickyard. They then came to De Pere, 
 at that time but a small village, and for 
 seven years made their home on a farm 
 (now included in the town of De Pere) 
 which they rented from John Lace}'. 
 Then, in the fall of 1866, they purchased 
 and removed upon the farm of seventy 
 acres now owned by our subject, which 
 at that time was covered with a dense 
 forest. They immediately cleared a spot 
 for a house, and erected a frame dwelling, 
 which in later years was supplanted by a 
 neat brick cottage, and here Mr. Bor- 
 man passed the remainder of his days, 
 dying in 1883; his wife survived him eight 
 years, and their remains now rest in De- 
 Pere cemetery. They were both mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, and in poli- 
 tics he was a Democrat. 
 
 Henry Borman attended school in Bel- 
 gium until the family came to the United 
 States, after which he completed his edu- 
 cation in the then primitive schools of 
 Allouez and De Pere townships. On 
 June 21, 1873, he was married, in De- 
 Pere, to Hortense Lhost, a native of Bel- 
 gium, born March 8, 1856, daughter of 
 John Lhost, who came to the United 
 States in 1869 with his family of seven 
 children and settled in Brown county. 
 Wis. Immediately after his marriage 
 Mr. Borman took up his residence on the 
 farm where he yet lives, and here he has 
 been engaged in general farming, of which, 
 by good management and untiring energy, 
 he has made a success. His farm com- 
 prises seventy acres of excellent farming 
 land, all of which has been taken from 
 the woods, involving many years of un- 
 relenting toil before the place was reduced 
 to its present fertile condition. Mr. Bor- 
 man is one of the best-known men in 
 De Pere township, where he is highly re- 
 
.■>/- 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 spected. He is a leader in all enterprises 
 which promise to benefit his township or 
 county, and is regarded as a public-spirited, 
 progressive citizen. Politically he is a 
 Democrat, is a stanch supporter of the 
 principles ol that party, antl in 1893 was 
 elected treasurer of his township, for ten 
 or eleven years previous to which he had 
 served as supervisor, giving complete sat- 
 isfaction in that office: He and his wife 
 are members of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church at De Pere. They have had chil- 
 dren as follows: Mary, John E., Victor J., 
 Victoria, Emily, Constant, Julia, Celia, 
 Willie, living, and others who died in 
 infancy. 
 
 w 
 
 S. WHITCOMB, a long-estab- 
 lished contractor and builder of 
 Green Bay, was born in Ann 
 Arbor, Washtenaw Co., Mich., 
 August 31, 1832, a son of Levi and 
 Roxalana (Putnamj Whitcomb, the former 
 a nati\e of Pennsylvania, the latter of 
 Connecticut. The father was accident- 
 ally killed, in 1869, in Howard township. 
 Brown Co., Wis., and the mother, who 
 was a great-granddaughter of Gen. Israel 
 Putnam, the Revolutionary hero, died in 
 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Levi Whitcomb 
 were the parents of six children, namely: 
 Sarah, who died at the age of four; Joseph, 
 who died in Brown county. Wis. , in the 
 fall of 1865; Lucius, who died in Michi- 
 gan; W. S., the subject of this sketch; 
 Lucretia, wife of Christian Johnson, of 
 Graham county, Kans., and Levi, who 
 resides in McPherson count}', Michigan. 
 Our subject remained in Michigan un- 
 til May, 1844, when he came to Green 
 Bay, and here served three years at the 
 carpenter's trade, also three years at 
 coopering, working twentj'-eight years in 
 Green Bay at the latter business with D. 
 W. Britton. In 1861 he enlisted in Com- 
 pany H, Twelfth Wis. V. I., for three 
 years; was assigned to the army of the 
 West, and fought at Jackson, Tenn., 
 Port Gibson, Raymond Hill, siege of 
 
 Vicksburg, and at Natchez. He then re- 
 enlisted in the same company and regi- 
 ment for another period of three years, 
 and was with Sherman on his march to 
 the sea, was in the Carolina campaign, 
 and in the Grand Review at Washington, 
 D. C. He received an honorable dis- 
 charge at Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865, 
 and, returning to Green Bay, worked for 
 a time at laboring, and then opened up a 
 farm in Howard township. 
 
 Mr. Whitcomb was married May 12, 
 1861, to Miss Martha D. Athey, a native 
 of Green Bay, and a daughter of Charles 
 W. and Sarah (Gibson) Athey, the former 
 of whom, a native of Virginia, when 
 twenty-one years of age. or about 1839, 
 came to Green Bay, worked at lumber- 
 ing, and was married on Washington 
 street. Green Bay. He lost his wife in 
 1869, and he followed her to the grave in 
 1889. To Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb were 
 born nine children, viz. : George, of Ash- 
 land, Wis. ; Charlotte, who died at the 
 age of twelve years; Martha, wife of 
 Gustave Waters, of Fort Howard; Anna, 
 wife of Emil Ammerman, of Iron River, 
 Mich. ; Edward, residing at Pound, Wis. ; 
 Lillian, Nona and Mabel, at home, and 
 Maggie, who died at the age of four 
 years. Mr. Whitcomb is a stanch Re- 
 publican, and for nine years was town 
 clerk of Howard township. He is a 
 member of the Royal Arcanum, Iron Gate 
 Lodge, No. 546, and he and his wife are 
 consistent members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Mr. Whitcomb has ever mani- 
 fested a lively interest in the progress of 
 Brown county, and is never backward in 
 lending his aid to any project calculated 
 to advance its growth and prosperity. The 
 family enjoy the utmost respect of the 
 community. 
 
 J 
 
 ACQUES DUCAT, an energetic, 
 hard-working farmer of De Pere 
 township. Brown county, where he 
 is highly respected for his honest, 
 
 worth. 
 
 straightford methods and sterlin 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 373 
 
 is a native of Belgium, born August lo, 
 1 83 1. He is a son of Lombard Ducat, 
 a farmer, who had fifteen children, of 
 whom our subject was the eldest son, and 
 the youngest of three children by his first 
 wife. Four of this large family died in 
 Belgium, and in 1855, the parents, with 
 the remaining children, came to America, 
 sailing from Antwerp, and after a voyage 
 of forty-eight days arrived in New York, 
 thence immediately proceeding to Green 
 Bay, Wis. Here, in Green Bay town- 
 ship. Brown county, the father purchased 
 forty acres of land, and on this farm he 
 passed the remainder of his life; Mrs. 
 Ducat also died in Green Bay township, 
 and their remains now rest in Bay Set- 
 tlement cemetery. 
 
 Jacques Ducat was reared from boy- 
 hood to farm life, at which he was en- 
 gaged in his native land; but, after coming 
 to Wisconsin, he found work principally 
 in lumber camps, loading vessels with lum- 
 ber, and as a general laborer around saw- 
 mills. On August II, 1859, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Margaret Henrigillis, who 
 was born June 24, 1834, in Belgium, 
 daughter of Hubert H. Henrigillis, and 
 the young couple commenced housekeep- 
 ing in Peshtigo, Wis. For a few years 
 he continued to work in lumber mills and 
 camps, and then, in 1864, came to De- 
 Pere township. Brown county, to the 
 farm where he yet resides. He first pur- 
 chased forty-six and a half acres (on 
 which "there was not a stick amiss "), 
 and here erected a log house, which still 
 stands. During his residence of twenty- 
 eight years on this farm he has cleared 
 and improved it, and added thereto, until 
 it now comprises sixty-two and a half acres 
 of fertile land, and, in 1892, he erected 
 a new residence on the place. All this 
 has been accomplished by years of econ- 
 omy and thrift, and unceasing industry, 
 and Mr. Ducat is recognized as one of the 
 hardest workers in his section. He is 
 self-made in every respect, and from a 
 start of nothing has prospered, having 
 now a comfortable home and well-culti- 
 
 vated farm. In politics our subject is a 
 stanch Republican, and in religious con- 
 nection he and his wife are members of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Ducat have been born children 
 as follows: Alphonse J., who died at the 
 age of sixteen years; Mary, who died at 
 the age of ten years; Lucy, deceased in 
 infancy; Eugene, a cigarmaker, of Sioux 
 City, Iowa; Bernardine, now Mrs. Louis 
 Evrard, of De Pere township; John, who 
 died when five years old; Josephine, of 
 Chicago, 111.; Eliza, of Green Bay; and 
 Leona, Peter Joseph and David J., at 
 home. 
 
 PATRICK E. AND JOHN DOL- 
 LARD, well-known progressive 
 farmers of De Pere township. 
 Brown county, were born on the 
 farm where they yet make their home, 
 the former in August, 1851, the latter in 
 August, 1854. 
 
 Their father, John Dollard, was born 
 June 5, 1 80 1, in County Kilkenny, Ire- 
 land, where he married Bridget Heffer- 
 nan, and while in Ireland two children 
 were born to them, viz. : Kate, now the 
 wife of Joseph Whalen, postmaster at 
 South Milwaukee, Wis., and Ellen, Mrs. 
 Michael Murray, of St. Paul, Minn. 
 About 1850 John Dollard set out, with 
 his family, for America, and, sailing from 
 Waterford, landed at Quebec after a 
 long voyage. His brother Patrick was a 
 priest in Kingston, Canada, and there the 
 family remained while John proceeded 
 farther west, seeking a home for them. 
 After journeying over the State of Michi- 
 gan, he crossed Lake Michigan to Mani- 
 towoc, Wis., and thence came on foot to 
 Green Bay, a distance of thirty-five 
 miles, through the woods, during which 
 trip he met the first wolves he had ever 
 seen, and other wild animals were also 
 numerous. The only road was the one 
 over which the United States mail was 
 carried, and frequently there was nothing 
 to guide him and point out the way except 
 
374 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 blazed trees. After looking over the 
 land around Green Bay, Mr. Dollard 
 selected a tract of i6o acres, in Section 
 31, De Pere township, Brown county, for 
 which he paid five hundred dollars. The 
 place was uncleared and totally unim- 
 proved, and Mr. Dollard made a few rude 
 preparations for his famil}' before return- 
 ing to Canada and bringing them to their 
 new home in the initlst of the forest. 
 The first cabin stood about twenty rods 
 from the spot where the present substan- 
 tial brick residence was built in 1885. 
 The father commenced the work of clear- 
 ing the farm, an arduous task, and more 
 especially so as during the first 3'ear he 
 had no beasts of burden, and he hauled 
 100,000 feet of lumber to a point on East 
 river, with a hired team of cattle, before he 
 became the owner of a pair of oxen. The 
 first crops raised on the farm consisted of 
 oats and potatoes, and for some time 
 their only farming implement was a hoe. 
 On this place ^fr. Dollard ]:)assed the re- 
 mainder of his life, dying January 30, 
 1888; he was buried in De Pere cem- 
 etery. 
 
 In his political afliliutions he was a 
 Stanch Democrat, and he held almost 
 every office in the gift of the township. 
 He was chairman of the township, and of 
 the county board; was the first township 
 superintendent of schools elected under 
 the new school laws, and continued to 
 hold the office until it was abolished, 
 being thus the only man to serve in that 
 position in De Pere township. In what- 
 ever capacity he acted, his service was 
 ever marked by the highest ability and 
 integrity and satisfactoiy discharge of his 
 duties. He was a self-made man in the 
 strictest sense, having won abundant suc- 
 cess from a small beginning, by hard 
 work and energy and application to his 
 business. In his early life he had re- 
 ceived a thorough education, attending 
 school until he was twenty-four years old, 
 and few, if any, farmers of his time and 
 section were his equals in this respect. 
 From the time of his settlement he re- 
 
 sided continuously on the same farm, 
 and saw it transformed from a wilderness 
 abounding with wild animals to the fertile 
 and productive tract it now is, taking, also, 
 an active and prominent part in every 
 mo\'ement of interest or benefit to his 
 township generally, and was always ready 
 and willing to assist any worthy enter- 
 prise. He was widely and favorably 
 known all over the county, and had con- 
 siderable influence in his connnunitw his 
 advice being sought on many questions. 
 He also took a leading interest in Church 
 matters, and was treasurer and trustee of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church, of which he 
 and his wife were both members. Mrs. 
 Dollard survived her husband until April 
 22, i8gi, when she was laid by his side 
 in De Pere cemetery. 
 
 Patrick E. and John Dollard were 
 reared on the home farm, and received 
 an education in the common schools of 
 the home district. They have alwaj's re- 
 mained on the homestead, which they 
 now own, and where they carry on a 
 general farming and stock-rairing business, 
 in connection with the latter branch being 
 extensive breeders of sheep. In their 
 political affiliations thej' follow in the foot- 
 steps of their father, manifesting great 
 interest in the welfare of the Democratic 
 party, but having no aspirations for office, 
 as they devote their time exclusively to 
 the farm. They are systematic, indus- 
 trious and prosperous agriculturists, and 
 quiet, unassuming men. Both are un- 
 married. 
 
 FERDINAND QUATSOE, a pros- 
 perous farmer of De Pere town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native of 
 Belgium, born December 8, 1847, 
 son of Peter Quatsoe, and is the fourth 
 in a family of five children, named re- 
 spectively: Angeline, Albert, John, Ferdi- 
 nand and Deziria. 
 
 Peter Quatsoe was a farmer is his na- 
 ti\'e land, in comfortable circumstances. 
 

 XA. 
 
 ciaS^^>^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 377 
 
 About 1S55 he sold all his property, and 
 came with his family to the United 
 States, the voyage from Antwerp to New 
 York, which was made on a sailing \essel, 
 occupying sixty daj's. On his arrival in 
 New York, Peter Ouatsoe exchanged a 
 considerable amount of foreign money, 
 which he had, for x\merican gold, and, in 
 so doing, was observed by some truck- 
 men, who, it was afterward evident, im- 
 mediately planned to rob him. By mis- 
 representation they induced Mr. Quatsoe 
 to let them convey the family and their 
 baggage to the cars, which left in two 
 hours, instead of which, however, they 
 took them to an obscure hotel. The 
 family, becoming alarmed, refused to enter 
 the hotel, and the truckmen, in trying to 
 compel them, attracted the attention of a 
 Belgian gentleman who lived in New 
 York, and spoke both the English and Bel- 
 gian languages. He stopped to ask Mr. 
 Quatsoe what the trouble was, and, receiv- 
 ing an explanation of the affair, called a 
 policeman, who compelled the truckmen 
 to carry the family to the steam ferry 
 boat, which landed them at the railroad 
 station, and, boarding the cars, they once 
 more joined the party of countrymen with 
 whom they had crossed the ocean. Their 
 ■destination was Green Bay, Wis., whither 
 they came by rail and water, and shortly 
 after their arrival Mr. Quatsoe purchased, 
 in Allouez township. Brown county, forty 
 acres of land along the Fox river, the 
 greater part of which was heavily wooded, 
 and it required no small amount of hard 
 labor to clear it and reduce it to a fertile 
 ■condition. In connection with farming 
 he also engaged in lumbering until his 
 ■death, which occurred in 1871. He was 
 buried in Shantytown cemetery. Mrs. 
 Quatsoe, who has now reached the ad- 
 vanced age of eight\'-four. makes her 
 home with her son Albert, in Lawrence 
 township. She, as was also her husband, 
 is a member of the Catholic Church. 
 After the death of the father the sons 
 took his real and personal property, pav- 
 ang their sisters for their share. Several 
 
 21 
 
 j'ears previously they had embarked in 
 the threshing business, operating the first 
 horse-power threshing-machine in this 
 section of the county; and they were also 
 extensively engaged in the lumber busi- 
 ness, completing several very large con- 
 tracts in this line which had been secured 
 b\' their father. 
 
 Ferdinand Ouatsoe was but seven or 
 eight years old when he came with the 
 rest of the family to America, and such 
 education as he received was obtained in 
 the primitive schools which flourished in 
 the neighborhood at that early day. At 
 an early age he was put to work on the 
 farm, assisting in the clearing of the 
 same, and he resided at home, helping 
 his parents, until the death of his father, 
 when he commenced life on his own ac- 
 count. On January i, 1880, he was 
 united in marriage, in Duck Creek, to 
 Miss Lizzie Ver Hulst, a native of that 
 town, born July 22, 1858, daughter of 
 John B. and Catherine Ver Hulst, who 
 came to the United States from Belgium 
 in 1854, and located in Duck Creek (now 
 in Suamico township). Brown Co., Wis. 
 Their voyage consumed sixty-two days, 
 during which time the provisions of most 
 of the emigrants were exhausted, and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ver Hulst, having plenty, 
 divided with those who were less for- 
 tunate. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Ouatsoe have come 
 three children, namely: Fred, Peter, 
 and Louisa. Immediately after marriage 
 they settled on their present farm, where 
 his widowed mother made her home with 
 them for several years. The place now 
 contains i r i acres, which, by patient toil 
 and constant attention to the details of 
 his work, he has reduced to a fertile con- 
 dition. He is now fully engaged with his 
 agricultural interests, to which he gives 
 his undivided attention, and has won the 
 respect of the entire community for his in- 
 dustry, his honesty and his sterling worth. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Quatsoe are members of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church in De Pere; 
 in politics he is a Democrat. 
 
378 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 JAMES T. MORAN, register of deeds 
 at Green Bay, was born in Glen- 
 more, Brown Co. , Wis , March 20, 
 1856, a son of Michael and Cath- 
 erine (Shea) Moran, the former a native 
 of Vermont, the latter of Ireland. The 
 father came to Brown county in the year 
 1853, and settled on a farm in Glenmore 
 township, where he has ever since made 
 his home. Mr. and Mrs. Moran reared a 
 family of six children, named as follows : 
 Daniel, who resides in Athens, Wis. ; 
 James T., the subject proper of this 
 sketch; John, who lives on the old home- 
 stead; Minnie, wife of H. Asselstine, of 
 Ashland, Wis. ; Patrick, a resident of 
 Mineral Lake, Wis., and Thomas H., who 
 died December 23, 1893. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was edu- 
 cated in the sohools of Glenmore town- 
 ship and Green Bay, and for fourteen 
 years taught school in Brown county. In 
 1890 he settled in the city of Green Bay 
 and entered, as a student, the law office of 
 Hood & McGruere. He was thus en- 
 gaged in study, when, in 1892, he was 
 elected by the Democratic party, of which 
 he is a stanch member, register of deeds, 
 and entered upon the performance of his 
 duties in January, 1893. Mr. Moran is a 
 member of the Catholic Order of Fores- 
 ters, and also of the Young Men's Colum- 
 bian Club. By his upright and manly 
 bearing he has made for himself a host of 
 friends. 
 
 A A. L. ADKIAENSSEN. This 
 well-known citizen of Green Bay, 
 who was born September 10, 
 1859, in Belgium, is a son of 
 Anton and Sedonie (Gelbert) Adriaenssen, 
 also natives of Belgium, who came to 
 New York in 1872, and removed to Green 
 Bay in 1874. The father was a pattern 
 maker by trade, and followed same until 
 his death in 1876; his widow resides with 
 her son, above named, on Harvey street 
 in Green Bay. But three of her nine 
 children are now living: F. H., a car- 
 
 penter by trade, residing at Kewaunee, 
 Wis. ; Desire, now the wife of Jule 
 Polain, and still a resident of Belgium; 
 and A. A. L. , the subject of this sketch. 
 
 A. A. L. Adriaenssen, who was thirteen 
 years of age when he accompanied his 
 parents to the United States, received a 
 partial education in his native country, 
 completing it in the schools of New "\'ork 
 and Green Bay. He speaks five lan- 
 guages, a fact showing that his oppcjr- 
 tunities for learning were not neglected. 
 Upon his arrival at Green Bay in 1874 he 
 found employment as a machinist, but 
 having learned the jeweler's trade he was, 
 later, for some time engaged in that line 
 of business on Main street. In 1891 he 
 decided to change his pursuit, and ac- 
 cordingly became interested in the saloon 
 business, at No. 1347 Main street. In 
 1883 he took to himself a wife in the 
 person of Flora M. Biemeret, born at 
 Peshtigo, Wis., in 1864, and daughter of 
 Gregain and Bertime (Vander Vest) 
 Biemeret, natives of Belgium who came 
 at an early date to Wisconsin. Her 
 father, who is yet living, was a member 
 of the Green Bay police force for fourteen 
 years. Her mother is deceased. To- 
 Mr. and Mrs. Adriaenssen have been born 
 three children: Pearl Irene, Felix Chase, 
 and Alta. 
 
 Mr. Adriaenssen is a member of Po- 
 chequette Lodge, No. 126, K. of P. He 
 has always taken an active interest in 
 politics, and since attaining his majority 
 has been identified with political move- 
 ments in his county, always, to the best 
 of his judgment, for the good of his con- 
 stituents and their public affairs. An 
 ardent Republican, he has been secretary 
 of the county conventions of that party 
 for the past ten years. He was a mem- 
 ber of the city council from 1889 to 1893, 
 serving four years on the finance com- 
 mittee, also for the same period as chair- 
 man of the committee on taverns and 
 groceries, as well as for a time on the 
 committee on public buildings. As alder- 
 man from the Fifth ward his services have 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 379 
 
 been of undoubted value to the city. With 
 an earnest desire for the advancement of 
 his city in all respects, looking to its 
 welfare and prosperity, this public-spirited 
 gentleman will in the nature of things 
 continue to be a useful citizen. 
 
 ORIN S. IvITTELL. This gentle- 
 man, one of the prosperous agri- 
 culturists of De Pere township, 
 Brown county, was born Novem- 
 ber I, 1836, in Binghamton, Broome 
 Co., N. Y., and is descended from sturdy 
 New England ancestry. Grandfather Kit- 
 tell was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, 
 during which struggle he was wounded 
 and was obliged to use crutches the re- 
 mainder of his life. By trade he was a 
 weaver. 
 
 William F. I\ittell, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Massachusetts, where he 
 learned tanning and glove-making. From 
 here he removed to Binghamton, N. Y., 
 where he followed his trades until 1848 or 
 1849, when he took up his residence on a 
 farm near Colesville,for which he had trad- 
 ed. He had married, in Massachusetts, Miss 
 Eliza Collins, who was also born in that 
 State, daughter of John Collins, and to 
 their union came children as follows : 
 Juliette, who died when eleven years old; 
 Amasa D., a resident of Sheboygan Falls, 
 Wis.; John H., who died at Sheboygan 
 Falls, in 1893, aged sixty-four years; 
 Nancy A., who married Samuel Rouns- 
 ville, and died at Sheboygan Falls in 
 1892; Harriet, wife of Norman F. Pierce, 
 justice of the peace and government 
 guager at Sheboygan Falls; Edgar, who 
 died in 1859 at Meeme, Manitowoc Co., 
 Wis. ; Ethan, a mechanic, of La Crosse, 
 Wis., where he is foreman in a carriage 
 factory; Orin S.. whose name introduces 
 this sketch; Jennie, now the wife of Capt. 
 A. J. Lumsden, of Sheboygan Falls; and 
 Augusta, deceased in infancy. Mr. Kit- 
 tell resided on the farm until 1853, in the 
 early summer of which year he disposed 
 of all his property, and came west to 
 
 Wisconsin, bringing his wife and the two 
 children who were yet living at home — 
 Orin S. and Jennie. He had been per- 
 suaded to come hither by his son-in-law, 
 Samuel Rounsville, an Indian trader and 
 extensive landowner, who, with his brother 
 Albert, made the first permanent settle- 
 ment in Sheboygan Falls; Albert Rouns- 
 ville built the first sawmill in Sheboygan 
 count}-. The family journeyed by rail to 
 Buffalo, thence by boat to Sheboygan, 
 Wis., where they landed in July, 1853. 
 At Sheboygan Falls Mr. Kittell purchased 
 several lots and ten acres of improved 
 land, and here commenced to follow the 
 carpenter's trade, a knowledge oi which 
 he had acquired, though he never served 
 an apprenticeship at same; but he was a 
 natural mechanic, and for many years 
 even made his own shoes. In Sheboygan 
 Falls he followed carpentry until his death, 
 which occurred in 1882; his wife survived 
 him three years, and their remains now 
 rest in the cemetery at that place. Both 
 were members of the Baptist Church, Mr. 
 Kittell for over fifty years; in his political 
 preferences he was originallj' a Whig, 
 later a Republican, but he took little or 
 no interest in politics, giving his attention 
 exclusively to his business interests. 
 
 Orin S. Kittell received a common- 
 school education in the schools of Bing- 
 hamton, N. Y. , and later attended high 
 school. When seventeen years old he 
 came with his father to Sheboygan Falls, 
 Wis. , where he commenced to learn the 
 blacksmith trade under Mark Brainerd, 
 serving an apprenticeship of ten months. 
 He then went to Chicago with his brother 
 Amasa to work on the Chicago & North 
 Western railroad, and, through the influ- 
 ence of a relative, Orin obtained a situa- 
 tion as fireman, continuing thus for four 
 months, and then for a time worked with 
 the construction crew between Fox River 
 (111.) and Silver Lake (Wis.). Returning 
 to Sheboygan Falls, he commenced driv- 
 ing the stage running from that town to 
 Fond du Lac (a distance of forty-two 
 miles), his drive being to Plymouth (fif- 
 
38o 
 
 COMMEMOIIATIVE BIOUnAPIIICAI. UECORD. 
 
 teen miles), but healso covered the whole 
 distance by r'jlaj's. He was engaged in 
 this for two years, and next obtained em- 
 ployment in the livery stable of John De- 
 Bass, of Sheboygan, for about a year and 
 a half, after which he went to Manitowoc 
 county, and for one winter worked in the 
 lumber regions for his brother-in-law, 
 Samuel Kounsville. 
 
 On April 13, 1.S5S, Mr. Kittell was 
 married, in St. Nazianz, Wis., to Miss 
 Catherine Tracy, who was born Februar\- 
 3, 1841, in Kings county, Ireland, daugh- 
 ter of Patrick and Mary (Malloy) Tracy. 
 They came to the United States in 1851, 
 sailing from Liverpool on the " \\'illiam 
 Rathbone," a Black Star liner, and, after 
 a voyage of eight weeks, landed in New 
 York City. From there they proceeded 
 to Buffalo, N. Y. , where they remained 
 one year, and in 1854 came to Liberty 
 township, Manitowoc Co., Wis., locating 
 on an unimproved farm, where Mrs. Kit- 
 tell resided until her marriage. After 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kittell lived 
 in a log house at Meeme, Manitowoc 
 county, where he was employed in saw- 
 mills as a saw filer, and in various other 
 capacities, for several years. In 1864 he 
 enlisted at Fond du Lac in the Fourth 
 Wisconsin Cavalry, was sent to Baton 
 Rouge, La., and participated in his first 
 engagement under Col. Moore. He next 
 went to Mobile, and was present at the 
 fall of that city; marched through Ala- 
 bama and Georgia; returned to Mont- 
 gomery, Ala., thence to Vicksburg, thence 
 to Shreveport, and from there to Browns- 
 ville, Texas. He returned sick to Baton 
 Rouge, and after his recovery was de- 
 tailed as orderly to the colonel of the 
 Eighth Cavalry, carrying discharges to 
 hospitals. In 1865 he was discharged at 
 St. Louis, and came back to his home 
 with his health much impaired by ex- 
 posure and hardship. 
 
 Some time after his return from the 
 army Mr. Kittell resumed work as a saw 
 filer, and followed same until 1871, when 
 he removed to Green Ba\-, and in the fall 
 
 of the same year located on a farm in 
 Glenmore township. Brown county, in 
 addition to his agricultural work engaging 
 in saw-milling and hauling coal. In the 
 fall of 1882 he purchased and removed 
 upon his present farm in De Pere town- 
 ship (situated in Sections 32 and 33), then 
 comprising fifty-three acres, which he has 
 since added to until it now contains 
 ninety-five acres. Since Mr. Kittell has 
 resided here V.e has greatly improved the 
 home and farm, and he conducts a suc- 
 cessful general farming business. He has 
 also been engaged in charcoal-burning, 
 and has done no small amount of work in 
 this line for the National Furnace Com- 
 pany, of De Pere. In his political pref- 
 erences our subject is a staunch Repub- 
 lican, and takes great interest in the suc- 
 cess of the party, of whose movements 
 he keeps himself well informed. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Kittell have been 
 born children as follows: William O. , a 
 liveryman, of De Pere, who is married 
 and has two children; Lawrence, who is 
 an engineer on the Lake Shore & West- 
 ern railroad; Mary E. , Mrs. John Dun- 
 bar, of Liberty, Manitowoc county; Ed- 
 ward, of Kaukauna, a fireman on the 
 Lake Shore & Western railroad; Cather- 
 ine, Mrs. Albert Handeyside, of Menasha, 
 Wis. ; John E., who is attending the State 
 University at Madison, Wis. ; E. Jennie, 
 at home, who attends the De Pere high 
 school; Charles C, at home, and Daniel 
 E., who died when five years and seven 
 months old. Mrs. Kittell is a member of 
 St. Francis Catholic Church at De Pere. 
 The entire family are highly respected in 
 the community in which they reside, 
 where they are leaders in every enter- 
 prise for ad\'ancement or improvement. 
 
 FRANK SNYDER has been en- 
 gaged in the livery business in 
 Green Bay since 1886, and is one 
 of the leading men of his calling 
 in the city and county. 
 
 He was born in Washington county, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 381 
 
 N. Y. , May 2. 1852, one of the family of 
 nine children of Levi and Helner Louise 
 Snyder, the other eight being George and 
 Washington, both of Idaho; Adeline, 
 Mrs. H. Humphrey, of Iowa; Marion; 
 John; Emma; Fred, now in Minnesota, 
 and Lewis, who died in infancy. Frank 
 Snyder was but fifteen years of age when 
 he left the parental roof to seek his for- 
 tune. He first went to Michigan, and 
 was engaged in railroading until 1886, 
 when he came to Green Bay and estab- 
 lished his present livery business, in which 
 he has been so successful — owning at the 
 present moment the best stables, prob- 
 ably, to be found in the city. 
 
 Mr. Sn3'der was married, December 
 29, 1879, to Miss Mary A., daughter of 
 Barney McLaughlin, and the eldest in a 
 family of five children, who lost their 
 mother when they were little more than 
 infants. Margaret, Catherine and Eliza- 
 beth are the names of her sisters; her 
 only brother is deceased. The father of 
 Mrs. Snyder was a hotel-keeper, and for 
 years had been a railroad man. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Snyder have been born five 
 children, namely: Bernard G., Freder- 
 ick, Earl, May R. and Franklin, of whom 
 four are attending school. The family 
 are Catholic in religion, while fraternally 
 Mr. Snyder is a member of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M. ; Warren 
 Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M. ; and Palestine 
 Consistory, No. 20. The business suc- 
 cess of Mr. Snyder is a result of his own 
 individual attention to his affairs, and his 
 urbanity and straightforward treatment 
 of his patrons, who have never known 
 him to misrepresent the quality, conduct 
 or performance of his stock under any 
 circumstances. 
 
 JOHN EISENMAN, who during his 
 lifetime was one of the well-known 
 farmers and extensive land-owners 
 of De Pere township. Brown county, 
 was born April 10, 1817, in Bavaria, Ger- 
 
 many. He received an education in the 
 common schools, and learned the butch- 
 er's trade, at which he worked in Leipsic 
 for ten years. 
 
 About 1845 Mr. Eiscnman emigrated 
 from his native country to the United 
 States, and, finding employment at his 
 trade in New York, remained there one 
 winter. Having saved some money, he 
 removed farther west, but work was 
 scarce and he could earn but eight dollars 
 per month at his trade, although he was 
 an adept. However, he was willing to do 
 any honest labor, and, obtaining employ- 
 ment on a canal in western Pennsylvania, 
 then in course of construction, received 
 one dollar a day, boarding himself. He 
 ne.xt went to Illinois, and for a short 
 time worked in slaughter houses at Chi- 
 cago and Peoria. About 1847 he came to 
 Green Bay, Wis., and, with a few dollars, 
 left of his hard-earned savings, formed a 
 partnership with Frank Hagemeister in 
 the butcher business on Washington 
 street, in which he continued two years. 
 About 1850 he purchased from his brother 
 Michael 160 acres in Eaton township, 
 which the latter had received for his serv- 
 ices in the Mexican war. There was not 
 even a house on this place, which was 
 yet in its primitive state, not a tree hav- 
 ing been felled at that time, and wild 
 animals still abounded in the forests, such 
 game as bears, deer, wolves, etc., being^ 
 very plentiful. Mr. Eisenman spent two 
 summers on the place, clearing and im- 
 proving it, during the winter seasons go- 
 ing to Chicago and Peoria, 111., where he 
 followed his trade, for being a most in- 
 dustrious man, he took every opportunity 
 to earn money to pay for his land. 
 
 On April 10, 1853, he was married, in 
 Green Bav, to Miss Apollonia Barth, 
 born April 20, 1837. in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, daughter of Christoph and Mag- 
 dalena Barth, who came to the United 
 States in 1849, sailing from Havre, on the 
 "Oregon," and landing in New York 
 after a voyage of four weeks. Their 
 destination was Green Bay, Wis., so they 
 
38^ 
 
 com.^kmohativp: vioouai'hical record. 
 
 proceeded b}' way of the Erie canal 
 to Buffalo, N. v., from there by the 
 steamer " Michigan " to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 and thence by propeller to Green Bay. 
 They located in Scott township. Brown 
 count}-. Mr. and Mrs. Eiseninan first com- 
 menced housekeeping in Eaton township 
 in a log house he had built before his 
 marriage, and which is still standing. In 
 December, 1869. he removed to the farm 
 where he died March i, 1882, at which 
 time he was the owner of 270 acres of 
 land. Fur thirteen years before his death 
 he was postmaster at Pine Grove, and he 
 also conducted a hotel and saloon for the 
 accommodation of travelers along the 
 Manitowoc road. He was buried in the 
 cemetery in the southeast corner of De- 
 Pere township. In religious connection 
 he was a member of the Lutheran Church 
 at Green Bay; politically he was a Re- 
 publican, and held the office of township 
 clerk for si.xteen years. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Eisenman were born children as follows: 
 Christoph, deceased in infancy; John C. , 
 a farmer of De Pere township; Lena, now 
 Mrs. Andrew Eisenman, of North Dakota; 
 Maggie, wife of Louis Schone, of Hum- 
 boldt township; Mary, wife of Richard 
 Schone, of Humboldt; Amelia. Mrs. Otto 
 Langosch, of Glenmore; Andrew A., of 
 Bellevue; Henry E. and Fred A., at 
 home; Emma, of Chicago; and Lessetta, 
 at home. 
 
 Mr. Eisenman came to the United 
 States a poor boy, with no capital but 
 health and energy and a determination 
 to succeed. But he was honest, and ever 
 ready to work, and his success shows 
 what may be accomplished by energy and 
 perseverance. He became one of the 
 most extensive landowners in his town- 
 ship, and he was much esteemed by all 
 who knew him, becoming one of the 
 leading German citizens of his section. 
 His widow, who has continued to make 
 her home on the farm since his death, is 
 also held in high respect; her careful and 
 economical management of the household 
 affairs was no small factor in her husband'^ 
 
 success, and she deserves great credit for 
 the part she has taken in the accumulation 
 of their property. She is a member of 
 the Lutheran Church. The farm is now 
 conducted by her two youngest sons, 
 Henr\' E. and Fred A. 
 
 FRANK C. SMITH, of Green Bay, 
 was born in Fort Howard, Brown 
 Co., Wis. , in 1852,3 son of Michael 
 B. and Josephine (Forsyth) Smith, 
 the former of whom was born in Ger- 
 many, but in early life came to America 
 and took part in the war with Mexico, 
 winning a medal for meritorious service 
 on the field of Chapultepec. 
 
 Michael B. Smith married in Fort 
 Howard, and engaged in the grocery, 
 liquor and fur trade. In 1856 or 1857 
 he moved to Sugar Creek, Door Co., 
 Wis. , and embarked in general merchan- 
 dising, which he continued until 1867 or 
 1868, when he settled in Green Bay, and 
 here bought what is now the "Adams 
 Hou.se," but retired in 1872. While at 
 Sugar Creek he was postmaster and town- 
 ship trustee, also a justice of the peace 
 of Door county. His death took place at 
 Fort Howard in December, 1877, that of 
 his widow in December, 1891. Mrs. 
 Josephine (Forsyth) Smith first came to 
 Brown county in 1832, was married to 
 John Snavely, who located on the site of 
 the "Bay City House ; " after his death 
 she was married to Michael B. Smith. 
 By the first marriage there were born 
 George A., proprietor of the "Adams 
 House; " Louisa, wife of David Coffin, of 
 Gardner, Door Co., Wis. ; Lewis C, who 
 enlisted in the Seventeenth Wis. V. I., 
 and died in Memphis, Tenn. To the 
 second marriage were born Frank C. , 
 Nsllie, wife of Louis Bender, of the Red 
 Banks, Wis., and O. W. Smith, purchas- 
 ingagent for Valentine Clark Co., Chicago. 
 Frank C. Smith was reared and edu- 
 cated in Green Bay, and began business 
 in the employ of the Manufacturers' & 
 Builders' Supply Co. In 1873 he went 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 383 
 
 to Michagamme, Mich., where he en- 
 gaged in the Hquor business with George 
 A. Snavely; in 1874 he returned to Green 
 Bay, and was employed as clerk at the 
 "Adams House" until 1879; then went 
 west, and was employed as first pantry- 
 man on the "Dakota," plying between 
 Bismarck, D. T. ,and Fort Benton, Mont. 
 Returning to Green Bay he was engaged 
 by Hon. D. M. Kelly to act under T. P. 
 Bingham, private secretary for D. M. 
 Kelly, general manager of the Green Bay, 
 Winona & St. Paul railroad. After the 
 <ieath of T. P. Bingham in 1884. Mr. 
 Smith took up the liquor business in 
 Green Bay, and is now proprietor of ' ' The 
 Office," No. 123 Washington street. 
 
 AB. GONION, dealer in farming 
 implements, and one of the best- 
 known farmers of Scott township. 
 Brown county, is a native of the 
 county, born February 20, 1847, in 
 Green Bay. 
 
 John B. Gonion, his father, was born 
 in St. Francis, Canada, and was of French 
 descent, his father having been born in 
 France. He engaged in farming in his 
 native country until 1834, in which year 
 he came to Green Bay, Wis., and here 
 married Miss Mary Brunnett, who was 
 also of French extraction. To their union 
 were born children as follows: A. B., 
 who is mentioned farther on; Dominick, 
 ■of Iron Mountain, Wis. ; Samuel, of Rhine- 
 lander, Wis. ; Mary, Mrs. Theodore Cham- 
 pou, of Wallace, Mich. ; Louisa, Mrs. 
 Abraham LaClare, of Menominee, Mich. ; 
 Joseph, of Rhinelander, Wis. ; Kate, Mrs. 
 John Burkhardt, of Kaukauna, Wis. ; 
 Edward, a farmer of Scott township. 
 Brown county; and others who are de- 
 ceased. In an early day John B. Gonion 
 removed to Scott township, and he and 
 his wife are now living in Bay Settle- 
 ment, he at the age of eighty years. In 
 religion he is a Catholic, and in politics a 
 Democrat. 
 
 A. B. Gonion received a somewhat 
 
 limited education in his youth, and when 
 but nine years of age commenced to work, 
 driving team and hauling lime to Green 
 Bay, remaining at home and turning all 
 his earnings over to his parents. On May 
 20, 1864, then but little over seventeen 
 years of age, he enlisted at Bay Settle- 
 ment in Company G. Forty-first Wis. V. 
 I., was sent to Milwaukee, and thence to 
 the seat of war, the first engagement he 
 participated in being at Memphis, Tenn. 
 The command proceeded from there to 
 Old Spring, Tenn., thence to La Grange, 
 and then back to Memphis, where Mr. 
 Gonion was discharged from the service 
 January 25, 1865, being mustered out in 
 Milwaukee, and retm-ning to the parental 
 roof, where he remained until his marriage. 
 On June 9, 1866, he wedded Miss 
 Emily Champou. who was born in Bay 
 Settlement, daughter of Philip Champou, 
 a French Canadian, and to this marriage 
 were born eight children, viz. : Napoleon 
 H., Hubert, Joseph, Mary, Emily, differ, 
 Rosa, and Robert, all living. The mother 
 of these was called from earth August 6, 
 1887, and Mr. Gonion subsequently mar- 
 ried Miss Emily Crevier, who is a native 
 of Scott township, daughter of Francis 
 Crevier. To this union have come four 
 children: Mamie (living), and three that 
 died voung. After his marriage our sub- 
 ject commenced farming, and followed 
 that exclusively until 1880, when he also 
 engaged in the sale of farming imple- 
 ments, establishing his store on Main 
 street, in the city of Green Bay. He has 
 continued in this business ever since, 
 meeting with gratifying success, and is 
 now agent for the Osborne reapers and 
 other farm machinery; for fourteen years 
 he handled the "Minnesota Chief" 
 thresher, and the "Chamberlain Stump 
 Puller," as well as many other leading 
 makes in the same line. Politically a 
 Republican, Mr. Gonion has for the past 
 seven years been the efficient chairman of 
 Scott township, and he is widely and 
 favorably known throughout his section 
 of Brown county, having also an exten- 
 
3B4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sive acquaintance in other counties. So- 
 cially he is a member of the G. A. R., 
 T. O. Howe Post, No. 124, Green Ha}-. 
 In religious faith he is a member of the 
 Bay Settlement Catholic Church. 
 
 DMDKICK OTTO ANDERSEN, 
 farmer and butcher of New Den- 
 mark township. Brown county, 
 was born April 13, 1844, in the 
 Kingdom of Denmark. His parents, An- 
 drus and Paulina (Nelson) Carlsen, had 
 seven children, viz. : John, Peter, Christ, 
 Catherine, Olof, Lars and Dedrick Otto. 
 The father, who was a successful fisher- 
 man, died when our subject was but a 
 year and a half old. 
 
 Dedrick Otto Andersen engaged in 
 sailing, fishing and hunting from the time 
 he was seventeen jears old until he 
 reached the age of twenty-two, when 
 he came to America. Sailing from 
 Liverpool, he landed at Ouebec and 
 immediately came to New Denmark 
 township, Brown Co. , Wis. , after a 
 few days going to Fort Howard, where 
 he was employed in a sawmill one 
 month. From there he went to Oconto, 
 where he worked si.\ months in sawmills, 
 and then, after spending two weeks in 
 Ripon, Wis., went to Pensaukee to work 
 in the lumber woods. He remained there 
 three years, in the employ of Mr. Thomp- 
 son, and at the end of that time came to 
 New Denmark and invested in eighty acres 
 of wild land, shortly afterward disposing 
 of half of this tract. After clearing part 
 of his land he exchanged it for property 
 on the De Pere road, and opened a butcher 
 business, which he has conducted ever 
 since. In 1876 he purchased the forty 
 acres of cleared land in New Denmark 
 township, on which he has ever since re- 
 sided, engaging in farming as 'well as 
 butchering. In 1892 he slaughtered 200 
 head of cattle, besides other stock, and 
 has been very successful in all his busi- 
 ness operations. 
 
 Mr. Andersen was married in New 
 
 Denmark township, to Miss Anna C. 
 Paulsen, daughter of Paul and Sarah 
 (Olesonj Nelson, the former of whom was 
 a butcher; he had four children, Peter, 
 Ole, Anna C. and Nels, of whom Anna C. 
 crossed the ocean in 1869, landing in Que- 
 bec; she came to Green Bay, where she 
 remained about one year, and then passed a 
 year in Eaton, Brown county. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Andersen have been born seven chil- 
 dren, as follows : Sofus. Charles, Sarah, 
 Almine, Mary, Olof and Emma. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Andersen was originally a Re- 
 publican, but has supported the Prohibi- 
 tion party since its organization. Though 
 not an office seeker, he has been elected to 
 various positions of trust, has served his 
 township faithfully as supervisor, and is 
 now a member of the school board. 
 
 FH. FULLER, the popular and 
 trusted agent of the United States 
 Express Co., at Green Bay, was 
 born in Peoria, 111., in 1865. His 
 father, Marvin O. Fuller, is a native of 
 New York, and was married in Peoria, 
 111., to Miss Emma C. Evans, a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and whose father is a mem- 
 ber of the Peoria (111.) Candy Companj'. 
 Our subject, after receiving a very 
 good education in the public schools of 
 his native city, entered the emplo}' of the 
 United States Express Co. in 1880, as 
 clerk, and for thirteen years has been 
 constant in the performance of his duties 
 in various capacities, not having lost even 
 one day from illness. In December, 1887, 
 he came to Green Bay as messenger on 
 the route between this city and Winona, 
 Minn., but a few months later was ap- 
 pointed route agent for the company, and 
 then (1888), express agent at Green Bay, 
 on the lines of the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul, the Green Bay, Winona & St. 
 Paul, and the Kewaunee, Green Bay & 
 Western, winning in each position the 
 confidence of the company, and each 
 year advancing in the esteem of its patrons. 
 Mr. Fuller was married, in Mitchell, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3S5 
 
 Iowa, August 26, 1892, to Miss Emma C. 
 Vanderpool, a daughter of C. A. Vander- 
 pool, of that place. In poHtics our sub- 
 ject is a stanch Repubhcan, and frater- 
 nally he is a member of Twin City Lodge, 
 No. 25, K. O. T. M. He is universally 
 recognized as being one of the foremost 
 of the young and promising residents of 
 Green Bay, and as being made of that 
 stuff which constitutes the best materials 
 for aiding in the building up of a moral 
 and progressive community. 
 
 HM. HITTNER, M. D., the well- 
 known physician and surgeon, of 
 Green Bay, was born in Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio, in 1868, a son of Dr. 
 H. M. and Margaret (Doherty) Hittner. 
 The father was a native of Germany, 
 was educated at Munich, and at twenty 
 years of age located in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 where he began practice. Through the 
 Civil war he was assistant surgeon to 
 Prof. Kepler, and after its close resumed 
 his residence in Cincinnati, where he was 
 for several years chief clinical assistant to 
 Prof. Bartholow. He moved to Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., in 1877, whence he moved to 
 Two Rivers, Wis., where he died in 1892, 
 and where his widow, a native of Ohio, 
 still resides. They were the parents of 
 six children, as follows: Lizzie, wife of 
 H. W. Luckon, of St. Paul, Minn.; Dr. 
 James, residing in Sej'mour, Outagamie 
 Co., Wis. ; Maggie, married to J. R. Zet- 
 tleman, of Chicago, 111. ; Dr. H. M., sub- 
 ject of this sketch; Kate and Bertha. 
 
 Our subject was nine years of age 
 when taken by his parents to Milwaukee, 
 and twelve years old when the}' moved to 
 Two Rivers, in 1880. His early educa- 
 tion was received at Milwaukee, and in 
 1882 he graduated from the high school 
 at Two Rivers; he next attended Cincin- 
 nati Business College, from which he 
 graduated in 1884. He then read medi- 
 cine with his father until prepared to 
 enter Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 
 New York, in which he took one course, 
 
 1889-90, and this was followed by three 
 consecutive courses at Rush Medical 
 College, Chicago, 111. , from which he 
 was graduated with the class of 1893, im- 
 mediately after which he became the asso- 
 ciate of Dr. Minahan, devoting his fore- 
 noons to practice at St. Vincent's Hopital„ 
 and his afternoons to office practice. The 
 Doctor has built up a lucrative practice at 
 Green Bay, making a specialty of surgery 
 in connection with general routine duties. 
 He is equally popular with his fellow- 
 professionals as with the public, and is a 
 member of the Fox River Medical Society. 
 
 M 
 
 RS. ELSIE JORGENSEN was 
 born December 15, 1852, in 
 Denmark, daughter of Christ 
 and Anna (Nelson) Jensen, the 
 former of whom was a successful farmer. 
 The\' had a family of nine children, viz. : 
 Niels, James, Christ, Jens C, Dorothea, 
 Elsie, Angeline, Anna and Mary. Elsie 
 received all her education in Denmark, 
 and when seventeen years old came to 
 America, joining her parents in New Den- 
 mark township. Brown Co., Wis., whither 
 they had preceded her. About a year 
 later she was united in marriage with 
 Hans Jorgensen, a farmer of New Den- 
 mark township, and took up her resi- 
 dence on the farm where she has ever 
 since resided, consisting of 120 acres of 
 excellent land. At that time it was only 
 partly cleared, but Mr. Jorgensen labored 
 earnestly to reduce the place to a condi- 
 tion of fertilit}', and successfully con- 
 ducted a general farming business up to 
 the time of his death, which occurred 
 December 15, 1892. He left a family of 
 eight children, namely: Arthur, Walter, 
 Elsie (Mrs. Herman Lange) Emma, Dag- 
 mar, Alexander, Alvina and Jurgena, of 
 whom Arthur, the eldest, now attends to 
 the affairs on the home place. The en- 
 entire family are held in the highest es- 
 teem among their fellow citizens in New 
 Denmark township. In religious faith 
 they are Lutherans. 
 
386 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 CHARLES MEISTER has been 
 superintendent of the Park at 
 (ireen Bay since June 3, 1890, 
 but is a carpenter and contractor 
 "by occupation. He was born in Germany 
 in 1852, and is a son of Christoph and 
 Dorothea (Morlagj Meister, who came to 
 Green Bay in 1853, the father being now 
 the oldest contractor in the city. 
 
 Charles Meister was reared and edu- 
 cated in Green Bay, and here served an 
 apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, 
 which, in connection with contracting, he 
 followed until appointed to his present 
 position. This park comprises tifty-eight 
 acres, and contains an exhibition building, 
 a club house, a grand stand, and one of 
 the best half-mile tracks in the State, as 
 well as quite a number of animals; it is 
 al.so contemplated to build, in addition, a 
 $10,000 club house. Mr. Meister is a 
 Republican in politics, is a member of the 
 Royal Arcanum, Order of Tonti, German 
 Benevolent Society, and of the Turn- 
 verein. His marriage took place in Green 
 Bay, in 1881, to Miss Frances Peters, a 
 native of Kewaunee county. Wis., and a 
 daughter of John Peters. Five children 
 were born to this union, as follows: Lillie, 
 Clare, Louis and Flora, still living, and 
 Carl, deceased. As will be seen, Mr. 
 Meister is a member of one of the early 
 families of the county, and he has himself 
 seen many changes take place since his 
 childhood. He has always taken great 
 interest in the welfare of the city and 
 county, and his life has been such as to 
 win the respect of all who know him, as 
 well as a fine reputation with the general 
 public. 
 
 ARNOLD CORSTENS. Amongthe 
 many industrious, loyal citizens 
 which the little Kingdom of Hol- 
 land has given to Brown county, 
 may be mentioned this gentleman, who 
 is a thrifty, well-to-do farmer of Scott 
 township. 
 
 John Corstens, father of Arnold, was 
 
 born in Holland, September 10, 18 10, 
 and there learned the trades of shoemaker 
 and tanner. He was married in his na- 
 tive country to Dora Steegs, who was 
 born there in August, 181 5, and they be- 
 came the parents of the following named 
 children: Arnold (whose name opens this 
 sketch), Peter (a farmer of Scott town- 
 ship), Catherine (Mrs. Joseph Lernuzen, 
 of De Pere), all three born in Holland, 
 and Hendrika, born in America, now 
 Mrs. Joseph Allorn, of Door county, 
 Wis. ; there were other children, who died 
 when young. At the time of his mar- 
 riage John Corstens was engaged in a 
 prosperous business, but, in 1854, be- 
 lieving that the New World offered bet- 
 ter advantages to himself and family, he 
 disposed of his interests and emigrated. 
 They proceeded to Liverpool, England, 
 in the spring of that year, sailing from 
 that port on a vessel bound for New York, 
 where they arrived after a voyage of si.x 
 or seven weeks, and immediately after land- 
 ing came to Wisconsin, passing their first 
 winter in Milwaukee, where the father 
 found employment at his trade. They 
 then came to Green Bay, Brown countj', 
 for about a 3'ear living on rented property, 
 at the end of which time they removed 
 to Bav Settlement, Scott township, where 
 Mr. Corstens purchased six acres of land, 
 on which there was a small log dwelling. 
 In this house the family resided for some 
 time, and he also engaged in shoemaking 
 there to some extent, in connection con- 
 ducting a small tannery until within a 
 short time before his death. In later 
 years he purchased more land, and with 
 the help of his sons gathered a property 
 of eighty-three acres. He was laid to 
 rest in August, 1876, in Bay Settlement 
 cemeterv, where his wife also rests, she 
 following him to the grave December 18, 
 1889. Both were members of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and in politics he was a 
 Democrat, taking but little active interest, 
 however, in such matters. 
 
 Arnold Corstens was born January i, 
 1847, ^if^ was but a child when he came 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGHAFUWAL RECORD. 
 
 38/ 
 
 with his parents to Wisconsin. He 
 
 commenced tr 
 
 oing 
 
 to school in Scott 
 
 township, and received all his education 
 in the primitive institutions of learning in 
 vogue in those pioneer days, attending 
 until he reached the age of about fifteen 
 years, when he began to work on the 
 home farm. In addition to his agricul- 
 tural duties he learned the trade of shoe- 
 maker under his father, and also engaged 
 in tanning in the old way. Being the 
 eldest son, he had much to do, and he 
 faithfully assisted his parents, always re- 
 maining on the home farm, the manage- 
 ment of which devolved upon , him after 
 the death of his father, and he carried it 
 on for his mother during her lifetime. 
 Since her decease he and his brother 
 Peter have been working together, and 
 the present fertile condition of the place, 
 which now comprises 230 broad acres, is 
 principally due to their industry and un- 
 ceasing attention to all the details of 
 their work. 
 
 On June 19, 1876, Mr. Corstens was 
 marriei to Miss Cornelia Busch, who was 
 born in Green Bay, February 6, 1856, 
 daughter of Herman J. Busch, a native 
 of Germany. To this union have been 
 born children as follows: John, Her- 
 man, Dora, Rosa, Henry, Mary, Lena, 
 George, and Andrew, all living, and 
 Peter and Joseph, who died in infancy. 
 In his political preferences Mr. Corstens 
 is a member of the Democratic party, 
 but gives no time to politics, being fully 
 occupied with his business affairs. In 
 religion he and his wife are members of 
 the Bay Settlement Catholic Church. 
 
 REV. JACOBUS BOZMACK was 
 born May i, 1848, in Austria, son 
 of Valentine and Constantia Boz- 
 mack, who had a family of eight 
 ■children, all of whom are deceased ex- 
 cept our subject. The parents both died 
 in their native country. 
 
 Jarobus Bozmack received his early 
 education in the common-schools of the 
 
 land of his birth, and, at the age of 
 twenty-seven years, entered the priest- 
 hood. In 1893 he came to America, 
 and after a very rough voyage landed in 
 New York City, thence coming directly 
 to his charge in Eaton township. Brown 
 County, Wisconsin. 
 
 JOSEPH HEBERT, vice-president 
 and general manager of the Green 
 Bay Carriage Co., is a native of 
 Quebec, Canada, born in 1850, of 
 French ancestry. His parents, Julian 
 and Sophia (Jarard) Hebert, also natives 
 of Canada, died in Cohoes, New York. 
 
 Our subject first came to Green Bay, 
 Wis., in 1869, thence moved to Missouri 
 and learned carriage-making; in 1872 
 he went to New York, thence to Chicago; 
 then again took up his residence in New 
 York and other eastern cities, where he 
 worked in car shops, etc , until 1877, the 
 }'ear of his coming to Green Bay, with 
 which city he has been identified ever 
 since — a period now of some eighteen 
 years. In 1877 he commenced work in 
 the repair shops, and in 1879 entered the 
 manufacturing department of the firm of 
 Wagner, Chartrand & Co., on Pine street; 
 in 1883 the firm style was changed to 
 Wagner, Suavely & Co.; in 1886 Mr. 
 Snavely sold his interest to Wagner & 
 Hebert, and under this name the business 
 was conducted until the organization of 
 the Green Bay Carriage Co., which took 
 place in 1890, with A. Weise as president, 
 H. B. Baker as secretary and treasurer, 
 and Joseph Hebert as vice-president and 
 manager, the object being to manufacture 
 all kinds of carriage work. They have 
 an extraordinarily fine plant, it being a 
 two-story brick building, i 26 feet frontage 
 on Adams street and 160 feet frontage on 
 Cedar street, giving employment to fifty 
 hands. This extensive establishment is 
 considered to be one of the conspicuous 
 industrial plants of the city, and is looked 
 upon with much pride. 
 
 Mr. Hebert was married in Cohoes, 
 
38S 
 
 COMMEMOUAriVE BIOGRAPUICAL liECORD. 
 
 N. Y., in 1871, to Matilda Manviile, a 
 native of Quebec, Canada, and this uniun 
 has been blessed with six children, viz.: 
 Rosa, Henry, Lydia, Eva, Liz/ic and 
 Philemon. Fraternall)' Mr. Hebert is a 
 member of Washinfjtoii Lodge, \o. 21, 
 F. & A. M., and of the Modern Wood- 
 men; in politics he is a Republican, but 
 is by no means an office-seeker. Having 
 been for many years a resident of Green 
 Bay, he has, of course, witnessed its 
 giant strides in the march of improve- 
 ment, and not one of its citizens takes 
 greater delight than he in its progress. 
 The family is recognized for its refine- 
 ment and gracious manners, and is highly 
 esteemed. 
 
 WILLI.VM KENNEDY, chief of 
 the Fire Department of Green 
 Bay, was born, in 1862. in 
 Canada. His parents, Henry 
 and Mary fFitz Gibbons) Kennedy, also 
 natives of the Dominion, came, in 1872, 
 to Wisconsin, and settled on a farm in 
 Forestville township, Door county, the 
 tract comprising 800 acres, of which, only 
 fifteen acres were cleared. On this farm 
 the parents still reside. They had born 
 to them nine children, viz. : Ann, de- 
 ceased; Sarah, deceased; Mary; Ella; 
 Cornelius; James, deceased; William, our 
 subject; Henry, deceased; and Michael. 
 William Kennedy rendered consider- 
 able assistance to his father in making 
 the Door county farm habitable and 
 profitable, and, at about the time of his 
 majority, went to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 
 shortly afterward, in 1887, moving to 
 Menominee, Mich., where he was con- 
 nected with the Fire Department five 
 years. From that point he came to 
 Green Bay, and here organized the paid 
 Fire Department. From his exhaustive 
 report to the common coimcil for the 
 year ending December 31, 1893, the fol- 
 lowing extracts are made as showing the 
 effective equipment of the Department: 
 Twelve active members, besides the chief; 
 
 seven horses; one Amoskeag fire engine; 
 three hose carts, to be drawn by two 
 horses; one hook and ladder truck; two 
 sleighs, for winter use; one set of truck 
 bobs; two hand hose carts; 3,500 feet of 
 two and one-half inch cotton lead hose, 
 in first-class condition; 1,500 feet of two 
 and one-half inch rubber lead hose, in 
 good condition; two exercise wagons; two 
 six-gallon extinguishers; two three-gallon 
 extinguishers. 
 
 In commenting on the service ren- 
 dered by the Department, the chief re- 
 marks: "I take pleasure in congratu- 
 lating the citizens of Green Bay on the 
 fact that they have escaped serious loss 
 by fires during the past year. This goes 
 to show the value of a Paid Department, 
 by their prompt action in responding to 
 the several alarms, and the successful 
 way in which fires were handled. Al- 
 though the Department has responded to 
 thirty-se\en alarms of fire, the total loss 
 paid by insurance companies aggregate 
 only $14,855.65; a fact which shows the 
 great value of a well-equipped Depart- 
 ment." It is to be regretted that the 
 scope of this sketch affords no room for 
 further extracts from this valuable re- 
 port. 
 
 The marriage of \\'illiam Kennedy 
 took place in Menominee, Mich., in 1891, 
 to Miss Eliza Hayes, who was born in 
 Saginaw county, Mich., a daughter of 
 Martin and Mary (Waters) Hayes, natives 
 of Canada. The two children born to 
 \\'il]iain Kennedy and his wife are named 
 Gladdics and Martin Joseph. In his 
 fraternal relations Mr. Kennedy belongs 
 to the Royal Arcanum; in religion he 
 and his wife are members of St. John's 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 JOHN VAN VONDEREN, one of 
 the self-made prosperous agricultur- 
 ists of Rockland township, Brown 
 county, is a native of Holland, born 
 July 9, 1835, son of John Van Vonderen, 
 a farmer, who died when our subject was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 3S9 
 
 nine years old. He was twice married, 
 and left seven small children, two sons by 
 his first wife, and four sons and a daugh- 
 ter by his second, John being the eldest 
 chi -d born to the second marriage. 
 
 The family lived on a rented farm, and 
 the children commenced to work as soon 
 as they could be of assistance, so that 
 John had very limited opportunities for 
 an education, attending school but little 
 after his father's death. In 1862 he 
 married Miss Joanna De Groot, who was 
 born June 3, 1835, in Holland, and in 
 that country three children were born to 
 them: John, who is now a farmer of Rock- 
 land township; Barney, of De Pere, and 
 Catherine, Mrs. Peter De Hoble, of De- 
 Pere. In 1867 Mr. \'an Vonderen sold 
 what property he had in Holland, and 
 sailed with his family from Rotterdam to 
 Glasgow, where they embarked on a vessel 
 bound for New York, in which city they 
 arrived after a stormy voyage of twenty- 
 three days. They immediately set out 
 for Wisconsin, and on May 6 arrived at 
 Little Chute, Outagamie county, where 
 they rented land and made their home 
 for two years. On March 12, 1869, they 
 came to Rockland township, Brown 
 county, and purchased (on credit) a tract 
 of eighty acres, thirty of which had been 
 cleared. Here the family lived in a 
 small log house, and Mr. Van Vonderen 
 labored diligentl}' to clear and improve 
 his farm, an arduous task, but one in 
 which he has met with unbounded suc- 
 cess. He has also increased the area of 
 the place, which now comprises 120 acres 
 of prime land acquired by years of 
 earnest, unremitting toil, and he has won 
 the respect of all who know him for in- 
 dustry and honesty. On this farm chil- 
 dren as follo\\'S have been born: Chris- 
 tina, who died young; Christina (2), Mrs. 
 Henry Ver Straten; Annie, Frank and 
 Mary, at home; and Hattie. William and 
 William (2), all three deceased. One 
 child was born at Little Chute, nameh' 
 Andrew, who is now a resident of De- 
 Pere township. Our subject is a Demo- 
 
 crat in his political preferences, and has 
 served as treasurer of the school board 
 for twelve years. In religious connection 
 the family are members of St. Mary's 
 Church, at De Pere. 
 
 H 
 
 ANS HANSEN, dealer in farm 
 implements. New Denmark town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a native 
 of the Kingdom of Denmark, born 
 August 28, 1840. He is a son of Rasmus 
 and Anna C. (Olson) Hansen, who were 
 the parents of eleven children, viz.: 
 Catherine, Hans, Mary, Niels, Jens, 
 Peter, Christ and Stine, and three that 
 died in infancy. The father was a fisher- 
 man by occupation, and, as the family 
 was a large one, the children were obliged 
 to assist as soon as they were old enough 
 to work. 
 
 Hans Hansen served as a soldier in 
 his native country under Frederick VII 
 and Christian IX, and subsequently was 
 in the government employ as a stage 
 driver. He continued thus until 1867, 
 when he decided to seek his fortune in 
 America, and leaving Denmark he pro- 
 ceeded to Liverpool, England, and em- 
 barked on an outward-bound vessel, land- 
 ing in Quebec after a pleasant and com- 
 parativeh' short voyage. He came 
 thence to Green Bay, Wis. , and thence 
 to Oconto, where he commenced work in 
 a sawmill, and, after engaging in that oc- 
 cupation for two years, went to Fond du 
 Lac, where he was employed on a farm 
 for about a year. Coming from there 
 directly to New Denmark township. Brown 
 county, he purchased a tract of eighty 
 acres, totally unimproved, and commenced 
 at once to clear it and prepare the land 
 for cultivation, but as he had little ex- 
 perience in this line, the work at first 
 progressed very slowly. On June 16, 
 1870, he was united in marriage with 
 Mary (Van Seggern) Asterloh, and they 
 immediately came to the farm, where they 
 shared all the hardships and privations of 
 those early years in the wilderness. Their 
 
39° 
 
 COAtMEMORATI\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 union has been blessed with eight chil- 
 dren, as follows: Rasmus P., Henry 
 William, Herman H., Anna C, M. C, 
 Fred M., Christ H., and Charles X. T. . 
 who died in infanc}'. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hansen lived in a log 
 house on the farm for twenty-two years, 
 at the end of which time he disposed of 
 his farm and built a saloon; subsequently 
 he commenced to deal in farm imple- 
 ments, and now carries on both businesses, 
 meeting with gratifying success. In polit- 
 ical connection Mr. Hansen has always 
 been identified with the Republican party, 
 and has served in various official positions 
 in his township and county, as follows: 
 As deputy sheriff, four \ears; town as- 
 sessor, two years; constable, eight years; 
 and justice of the peace, five years, giving 
 satisfaction to all concerned, and winning 
 the respect of all who have had dealings 
 with him. In religious faith he and his 
 wife are members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 JOHN CALMAN, who, during his life- 
 time, was a well-known farmer of 
 De Pere town.ship, Brown county, 
 was a native of County Cork, Ire- 
 land, born January 7, 1822. His father, 
 Dennis Caiman, was a farmer, and for a 
 number of years rented land in County 
 Cork, but later the family took up their 
 residence in the city of Cork, where John 
 spent a portion of his boyhood da\s. 
 
 When a young man our subject came 
 to the United States, and for some time 
 worked in a type foundry in Boston, 
 Mass. His father had died, and after 
 John secured employment he sent for his 
 widowed mother, who came to the home 
 he had provided, accompanied by his 
 brother, William, and sister, Hannah. 
 In 1S52 John, with his brothers, Dennis 
 and William, came westward to Wiscon- 
 sin, and located on a farm in De Pere 
 township. Brown county, where he passed 
 the remainder of his life. \i that time it 
 was all in the woods, an Indian trail be- 
 ing the only road from De Pere, and here 
 
 they built a small log shanty for them- 
 selves, their mother and sister residing, in 
 the meanwhile, in De Pere, which was 
 then but a small village. After a resi- 
 dence of four years on this farm John 
 Caiman returned to Boston, where he was 
 shortly afterward united in marriage with 
 Miss Kate Heffernan, also a native of the 
 Emeral Isle, born in 182S in the Parish 
 of Glenmore. County Kilkenny, daughter 
 of John Heffernan, who died in Ireland. 
 Kate Heffernan came to the United 
 States in 1850 with her brother-in-law, 
 Thomas Fanning, crossing the Atlantic in 
 four weeks, and locating in Boston, where 
 she was yet living at the time of her mar- 
 riage. 
 
 After their union Mr. and Mrs. Cai- 
 man spent a j'ear and a half in Boston, 
 where he was again employed in a tj'pe 
 foundr\-, and here one child, Mary H., 
 now Mrs. Thomas Connelly, of De Pere 
 township, was born. He then brought 
 his wife and child to De Pere township, 
 Brown Co. , Wis. , and they took up their 
 home on the farm, where his mother and 
 brother, Dennis, also resided. The other 
 brother, William, had gone to California, 
 where he is jet living, and John and 
 Dennis Caiman farmed together until the 
 latter's death, when John took entire 
 charge of the place. He cleared and 
 improved it, and added thereto, until at 
 the time of his death he had a fertile, 
 highly-cultivated tract of two hundred 
 acres. This was the direct result of years 
 of patient industry and unrelenting toil, 
 for when he purchased the place it was a 
 veritable wilderness. He was a thor- 
 oughly self-made man, having, from a 
 start of nothing but a strong will and de- 
 termination to succeed, become a pros- 
 perous farmer and a highly-respected 
 citizen. He passed from earth October 
 31. 1890, and was buried in De Pere 
 cemetery. In religious connection he 
 was a member of St. Francis Catholic 
 Church, of which he was trustee for 
 years. Politically he was a strong sup- 
 porter of the principles of the Democratic 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 391 
 
 party, and as such was elected chairman 
 of the township for two years, discharg- 
 ing the duties of his office with abiHty and 
 credit and to the complete satisfaction of 
 his constituents, but he declined re-elec- 
 tion on account of failing health. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Caiman were born children 
 as follows: Dennis, now a farmer of 
 South Dakota; Ellen, now a resident of 
 Denver, Colo. ; Kate, also in Denver, 
 Colo. ; Esther, William, and John, at 
 home; and Alice, a school teacher, of 
 Seymour, Wis. Since Mr. Caiman's 
 decease his widow has continued to make 
 her home on the farm, which is now 
 conducted by the younger sons, William 
 and John. She is a member of St. 
 Francis Church, De Pere, and is highly 
 respected in the community in which she 
 resides. 
 
 GEORGE W. HAYDEN, farmer 
 and ex-soldier, of Pittsfield town- 
 ship. Brown county, was born in 
 Fitzwilliam, N. H., May i, 1839. 
 His parents were Silas and Betsey Hay- 
 den, who reared a family of thirteen chil- 
 dren, of whom, however, our subject is 
 the only one living. 
 
 George W. Hayden was but thirteen 
 years of age when his parents sold their 
 farm in the East and came to Wisconsin, 
 settling on a tract of forty acres of wild 
 woodland in Pittsfield township. Brown 
 county, among the Indians, bears and 
 wolves. They were a hardy couple, and 
 the mother, on one occasion, walked to 
 and returned from Green Bay in one day, 
 after her sixtieth birthday, bearing a bur- 
 den of twenty pounds. Of their large 
 family only four of the children lived to 
 come West to aid their parents in carving 
 out a home from the wilderness. When 
 our subject was but fourteen years old an 
 axe was placed in his hands, and from 
 that time onward he has earned his own 
 living. The first winter he worked in the 
 woods at twelve dollars per month, but 
 later on his pay was increased to twenty 
 
 dollars, the highest price then paid to 
 woodsmen. The father kept steadily at 
 work clearing up his land, and added six 
 acres to his original forty. Mrs. Hayden 
 died in 1869, and her remains are in- 
 terred in the Rural Cemetery at Flintville. 
 George W^ Hayden remained with his 
 parents until 1861, when he responded to 
 his country's call and enlisted in Company 
 H, Twelfth Wis. V. I., being assigned to 
 the army of the Tennessee, under Sher- 
 man. He obtained a furlough of thirty 
 days, however, came home and married 
 Alice E. Brown, daughter of James and 
 Abigail fTillbrook) Brown, of the State of 
 Maine, where the father had been a fish- 
 erman. They came to Wisconsin about 
 the year 1855 and settled at Mills Center, 
 Pittsfield township, on land purchased by 
 Mr. Brown, on which they lived until 
 1863, when they sold out and moved to 
 the northern part of the township, where 
 the father died, after which the mother 
 lived with her daughter, Mrs. Hayden. 
 His thirty-days' furlough having expired, 
 Mr. Hayden rejoined his regiment and 
 took part in all its marches and engage- 
 ments until his discharge, at Louisville, 
 Ky., July 16, 1865. He had fought at 
 the siege of Vicksburg, at Chattanooga 
 and at Atlanta, and had followed Sher- 
 man to the sea, experiencing hardships 
 and privations that very few could endure, 
 but during all his long service was in hos- 
 pital only two weeks. When he returned 
 home he took possession of a forty-acre 
 tract of land he had purchased from the 
 Fox River Improvement Company, on 
 which no tree had yet been felled. He 
 cleared a space large enough for the frame 
 dwelling, in which he still lives, and the 
 work of clearing was prosecuted with vigor 
 until the wilderness was conquered. He 
 has increased his possessions to 160 acres, 
 and is altogether prosperous, his elder 
 sons of late years having assisted him 
 materially. He has had born to him 
 eight children, viz. : Clare (deceased in 
 infancy), William, Charles, George, 
 Frank, Carrie, and Harvey and Harry 
 
392 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (twins). Mr. and Mrs. Hayden are mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, and 
 in pohtics Mr. Hayden is a Republican, 
 and cast his first vote for Abraham 
 Lincoln. 
 
 PETER KOLB, postmaster at Kolb, 
 and one of the well-known citizens 
 of De Pere township. Brown 
 county, is a native of the village 
 of Bruttig, Rhenish Prussia, born June 
 24, 1828. His father, Gottfried Kolb, 
 who was a boatman on the river Moselle, 
 was twice married, and became the father 
 of twenty-one children, of whom our sub- 
 ject was the third son and the sixth child 
 in order of birth. 
 
 Peter Kolb attended .school until he 
 was fourteen years of age, after which he 
 worked with his father as ferryman. 
 Peter's mother died when he was six vears 
 old. Having received some money from 
 her estate, he, in the spring of 1852, bade 
 farewell to his home and friends, and set 
 out for the United States. He first pro- 
 ceeded to Antwerp, from which port he 
 sailed, landing, after an ocean voyasre of 
 two months, in New York Citv, April 10, 
 1852. His destination was Green Bay, 
 Wis., where some of his schoolmates had 
 previously located, and thither he jour- 
 neyed, going by rail to Buffalo. N. Y., 
 where, after a delay of two or three weeks, 
 waiting for navigation to open, he took 
 passage on the steamer "Michigan," and 
 arrived in Green Bay about Mav 10. He 
 immediately went to Peshtigo, Wis., and 
 for four years was employed in the mills at 
 that place. He also spent a winter at 
 Meeme, Manitowoc county, where his 
 sister, Gertrude fwho had come to the 
 United States a short time after him), was 
 residing, and it was here he met the ladv 
 who soon afterward became his wife, Miss 
 Margaret Adolff. She was born in 1831, 
 in Munster Mayfeld, Coblentz. Germany, 
 daughter of Rhinearous Adolff, who came 
 to the United States in i8!;4 The voune 
 couple were married March 31. 1857, and 
 
 shortly afterward took up their residence 
 on Main street, in Green Bay, where Mr. 
 Kolb, having saved some money, had pur- 
 chased a home of his own. Being a skill- 
 ful mechanic, he erected his own house, 
 and they resided there one year, when he 
 sold the place and moved to Meeme, 
 Manitowoc county, where for six years 
 they lived on rented land. During this 
 time he was also engaged in clearing land. 
 In July, 1863, he came to the farm in De- 
 Pere township. Brown county, where he 
 has ever since made his home, situated in 
 Section 33, Township 23, Range 2 1- He 
 first purchased forty acres, but half of 
 which was cleared, and an old log house 
 was the only residence the place afforded; 
 but he added to the farm until at one time 
 it comprised 236 acres, and he now has 
 186 acres. In addition to his agricultural 
 labors he also conducts a saloon on the 
 farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Kolb have been 
 born children as follows: Jacob, a farmer, 
 of De Pere; Peter, residing in Green Bay; 
 Margaret, now Mrs. Michael Coregan. of 
 De Pere township; Elizabeth, living at 
 home; Anna, Mrs. Nicholas Meyer, of 
 Menasha, Wis. ; Joseph, a farmer of De- 
 Pere township; and Anton, of Seymour, 
 Outagamie county. 
 
 Mr. Kolb's life presents a striking ex- 
 ample of what maj' be accomplished b\' 
 industry, preservance and a strong, willing 
 pair of hands. On landing in Green Bay 
 in the spring of 1852, he found himself 
 four dollars in debt ; but not allowing 
 himself to become discouraged, he set to 
 work, engaging at any honest labor he 
 could find, and always working with the de- 
 termination to succeed. He was anxious to 
 have a comfortable home of his own, and 
 after purchasing his land he spent many 
 years of hard, unrelenting toil in its culti- 
 vation and impriivement. He is one of 
 the few old settlers in De Pere township, 
 now living, who have endured the trials 
 and hardships of those early times, and, 
 though now over sixty-six years of age, he 
 is still hale and hearty. He is well known 
 in his community, and is highly respected 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 395 
 
 by all who know him. In his political 
 affiliations Mr. Kolb is a stanch member 
 of the Democratic party, always support- 
 ing its principles in State and National 
 elections, but in local affairs he votes in- 
 dependently, selecting;; the best man, re- 
 gardless of politics. He has filled various 
 offices in his township; for twelve jears 
 he served satisfactorily as chairman, de- 
 clining further re-election; for five years 
 he was supervisor, an office which came to 
 him unsolicited ; and since 1887 he has 
 been postmaster at Kolb, Brown county, 
 which office was named after him. In 
 religious connection he and his wife are 
 members of the Cathedral Church at 
 ■Green Bay. 
 
 NICHOLAS WEBER, a well-known 
 resident of the township of De- 
 Pere, Brown Co. , was born in 
 1840, in Luxemburg, Germany. 
 He came with his parents to America, 
 locating with the family in New Denmark 
 township. Brown Co., Wis., where they 
 shared the hardships and privations inci- 
 dent to pioneer life. For many winters 
 our subject worked in the lumber regions, 
 and he specially remembers one winter 
 spent at Pensaukee, when he experienced 
 trials and dangers that few would be able 
 to withstand. He also worked for sev- 
 eral firms in New Denmark township, 
 and his work was invariabl)' so satisfactory 
 that he could always find employment 
 with the same c^^mpany a second time. 
 In 1865 he enlisted in Company F. Fif- 
 tieth Wis. \'. I., and served until the fall 
 of the same year, when he was discharged, 
 returning home at once. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Weber was married to 
 Miss Catherine Daniels, whose father, 
 Mathias Daniels, and mother died when 
 she was an infant. Our subject purchased 
 eighty acres of new land in De Pere town- 
 ship, which he cleared and improved, re- 
 siding thereon until 1893, when he sold it, 
 and now makes his home with his chil- 
 dren. To Mr. and Mrs. ^^'eber were 
 
 born nine children, \'\/..: Hubbard, Nich- 
 olas, Mathias, Annie, Catherine, Josie, 
 Joseph, Mary and George, all of whom 
 have received good educational advan- 
 tages. The mother of this family was 
 called from earth February 7, 1891, 
 deeply mourned by her family and friends. 
 She was a member of the Catholic Church 
 at Pine Grove, as is also her husband. 
 Politically he is a Democrat, and takes 
 much interest in the welfare of his party. 
 
 ABBOTT WILLIAM SLAUGH- 
 TER, M. D., was born December 
 1 , 1 860, at Westport, Mo. (a 
 suburb of Kansas City), son of 
 Alfred and Laura (Abbott) Slaughter. 
 
 The Slaughters come of an old Virginia 
 family of English and Scotch ancestry, 
 who came to America during Colonial 
 times. The proverbial three brothers 
 figure in the family, and the progenitor of 
 this present family settled in Virginia, 
 where they became prosperous, well-to-do 
 planters, representing one of the old aris- 
 tocratic families of that State. According 
 to the customs of the country they held 
 slaves, to whose interests they were as de- 
 voted as if they belonged to the family, 
 the slaves being well fed, well clothed, 
 housed and provided for. Grandfather Wil- 
 liam Slaughter owned 1,800 acres of land 
 in Culpeper county; his father, William, 
 lived in Rappahannock county. The 
 grandfather was a large-hearted man, hav- 
 ing a big, robust frame, and well built. 
 He was a strong believer in Democratic 
 principles and State Sovereignty, a leader 
 in his neighborhood in all matters pertain- 
 ing to literary and political matters and 
 local government, was well educated, and 
 a lawyer by profession. He was chosen 
 judge of the people, led a noble life, es- 
 teemed and beloved by all, reached a good 
 old age, and quietly passed away one day 
 while sitting in a chair. He was the 
 father of a large family, of whom on y 
 Daniel F. Slaughter, of Virginia, and A - 
 fred Slaughtc" -^f Green Bay, are yet liv- 
 
396 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing. The latter was born in Culpeper 
 county, Va., where he received his pri- 
 mary education, and, making teaching his 
 profession, taught about forty-three years, 
 during which time he was principal of 
 Lexington (Mo.) High School about nine 
 years, of the Prairie Home Institute also 
 nine years, and principal of the McCune 
 College, Louisiana, Mo., five 3'ears. He 
 also taught as principal in the Glenville 
 (Ky. ) school two years, but receiving a 
 stroke of paralysis was disabled from fol- 
 lowing his chosen profession longer. 
 Chiolly self-educated, he was at the same 
 time well educated, and was a typical gen- 
 tleman of the old Southern school of chiv- 
 alry; he now resides with his son in Green 
 Ba\'. He married Miss Laura Abbott, 
 of West Virginia, who is yet living, and 
 their marriage was blessed with three 
 children : Louisa Frances, Laura Slaugh- 
 ter, and Abbott William, our subject. 
 
 Dr. Slaughter received his literary edu- 
 cation principally from his father, and his 
 boyhood dream being to relieve pain and 
 help the sick and afflicted, he entered the 
 office of Dr. S. B. Avers, of Louisiana, 
 Mo., a prosperous, prominent physician. 
 In 1 88 1 he entered St. Louis Medical 
 College, where he studied faithfully dur- 
 ing a three-years' term, graduating in 
 1884. The young Doctor at once located 
 in Silex, Mo., where in three years he 
 built up a large practice; thence moved 
 to Whiteside, where he also practiced 
 three years, and later, in 1888, attend- 
 ed the Louisville (Ky.) Post - Graduate 
 School. That spring he returned to 
 Whiteside, where he continued practice 
 until 1892. He was then induced to come 
 to Green Bay in order to enter into part- 
 nership \\ith Dr. F. L. Louis, which part- 
 nership continued about one year. He 
 has built up a good practice and enjoys 
 the confidence and esteem of the people 
 to an eminent degree. 
 
 The Doctor was married in Carson, 
 Mo., at the old homestead of his wife's 
 grandparents, to Ruth Reeds, who was 
 educated at the Montgomery High School. 
 
 She is the mother of three children : Al- 
 fred (who died at the age of six years), 
 Laura Louisa, and Delias. Dr. and Mrs. 
 Slaughter are both active members of the 
 Baptist Church. He is affiliated with the 
 F. & A. M. and K. O. T. M., is a mem- 
 ber of the Fox River Valley Medical So- 
 ciety, and the American Medical Socie- 
 ty, the latter being a national associa- 
 tion. Politicalh' he is identified with the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 JAMES SMITH, a prominent citi/en 
 of De Pere township, Brow n county, 
 where, in partnership with his 
 brother, Alexander, he is success- 
 fully engaged in general farming, is a 
 native of Banffshire, Scotland, born Ma}' 
 I, 1855, son of George and Isabell Smith, 
 who both died in their native land. They 
 had nine children, namely: Isabella, 
 John, George, Helen, James, Adam. 
 Margaret, Alexander, and Christina. 
 
 The first of this familj- to leave Scot- 
 land was the son George, who immi- 
 grated to the United States in 1S72, and 
 coming to Wisconsin, settled in Brown 
 county, where he passed the remainder of 
 his life. He followed farming, renting 
 land in different parts of the count}-, 
 mostly in Rockland township, and died 
 March 27, 1891, in De Pere township, on 
 the farm now owned by his brothers 
 James and Alexander. George Smith 
 was for many jears a sufferer from pa- 
 ralysis, which rendered him helpless, and it 
 was principally on this account that his 
 brother James came to America. 
 
 James Smith was educated in the 
 common schools of his place of birth, 
 and lived with his parents until he reached 
 the age of fifteen, when he commenced tO' 
 work as a farm hand. When twenty 
 years old he commenced to learn garden- 
 ing, and served a three-years' apprentice- 
 ship at Hatton Castle, at the conclusion 
 of which he became head gardener for a 
 Scotch gentleman Watson, of Blackford, 
 in which position he remained one year.. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 397 
 
 In June, 1881, Mr. Smith decided to 
 come to the United States to care for his 
 invahd brother, George, and accordingly 
 took passage at Liverpool, England, on 
 the "City of Montreal," for New York, 
 whence he immediately proceeded to his 
 destination, De Pere, Wis., arriving June 
 27. He came here with money he had 
 earned and saved himself, and soon after his 
 arrival he became interested, in company 
 with his brother, in general agriculture 
 and stock-buying. In 1887 he purchased 
 his present farm of seventy-six acres, and 
 shortly afterward moved thereon. In 
 connection with this farm he now owns 
 another tract of eighty acres, and on this 
 land he and his brother Alexander conduct 
 a profitable general farming business. 
 
 Alexander Smith was born July 29, 
 1863, in Banffshire, Scotland, received a 
 public-school education, and was reared 
 to farming. In 1886 he sailed from Glas- 
 gow on the "State of Nebraska," and 
 came directly to Wisconsin, where he and 
 his brother James are now engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits. For several years 
 after coming to Wisconsin the brothers 
 spent the winter months in the lumber 
 camps, and both are thoroughly familiar 
 with the hardships and dangers of lum- 
 bering. As agriculturists they are thor- 
 oughly progressive, and, being full of de- 
 termination and energy, have made a 
 complete success. James Smith is a nat- 
 ural mechanic, and has fitted up a black- 
 smith shop on the farm, where he attends 
 to all work in that line needed by a farmer, 
 shoeing his own horses, etc. He and his 
 brother are self-made in every respect, 
 and, though they have not resided in the 
 township for any great number of years, 
 are highly esteemed for their industrious 
 habits and sterling worth. They have won 
 and kept an enviable reputation for up- 
 rightness and fair dealing, and are every- 
 where regarded as substantial business 
 men and model citizens. The brothers 
 are both members of the Republican 
 party, and ardent advocates of the prin- 
 ciples of Protection; in religious faith 
 
 they are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. They are both unmarried, Mrs. 
 George Smith, their brother's widow, 
 keeping house for them. 
 
 WILLIAM HOFFMAN. While 
 transmitting to posterity the 
 memory of such men as is the 
 subject of this sketch, it will 
 instill in the minds of our children the im- 
 portant lesson that honor and station are 
 the sure reward of continual exertion; and 
 that, compared to a good education, 
 abundant experience, coupled with habits 
 of honest industry and judicious economy, 
 the greatest fortune would be but a poor 
 inheritance. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman is a native of Germany, 
 born December 14, 1831, in Neustadt-on- 
 the-Warthe, in the Province of Posen. 
 In that town, as far back as the history 
 of the family can be traced, the Hoffmans 
 were merchants of high standing. Dr. 
 Wolf Hoffman, grandfather of our subject, 
 was an educated man and occupied a 
 prominent position among his fellow-citi- 
 zens. He died at an advanced age, leav- 
 ing an honorable record as a useful, con- 
 scientious man and a true Christian gen- 
 tleman. He had a large family, of whom 
 one son, Louis, learned mercantile busi- 
 ness, but while yet a young man he was 
 pressed into the army of Napoleon I, who 
 had just overrun Prussia on his triumph- 
 ant march on Russia. Young Louis Hoff- 
 man participated in this memorable cam- 
 paign, and marched as far as Moscow, 
 the burning of which magnificent city, by 
 the Russians themselves, he witnessed; 
 and then, in the depth of a terrible winter, 
 the French commenced that fatal and 
 fearful retreat southward that disorgan- 
 ized and destroyed the grandest army that 
 ever followed the banners of Napoleon. 
 When the Prussian contingent neared 
 their native land, they deserted the French 
 eagles, uniting with the German troops, 
 and in turn fought against Napoleon. 
 At the close of his service, Louis Hoffman 
 
398 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 returned to his home in Neustadt, and 
 became a prosperous general merchant, 
 well known and highly respected. By 
 his first wife, who was also a native of 
 Neustadt-on-theW'arthe, he had four chil- 
 dren, as follows: Michael, Augusta, Ida, 
 and Minnie. For his second wife he 
 wedded Hannah Neuman, and they had 
 eight children, viz. : Rosalie, Bertha, 
 Rebecca, Fredericka, William, Adolph, 
 Hanchen and Isidor. The father died at 
 the age of seventy-eight years, the mother 
 when eighty-two. 
 
 The ninth in the order of birth of all 
 the children above named is William, the 
 subject of this sketch. He was educated 
 at the public schools of his native town, 
 and, when in his fifteenth year, started out 
 into the world to seek his fortune on his 
 own individual merits. Proceeding to 
 London, England, he there found em- 
 ployment at various kinds of work, and, 
 after a sojourn of one year in the me- 
 tropolis of the world, journeyed to Liver- 
 pool, where he took passage for America. 
 The good ship "West Point" arrived at 
 New York in February, 184S, after a 
 pleasant voyage, and here our subject 
 found employment as clerk in a general 
 store, where he remained till Januar}-, 
 1852. At this time he turned his eyes 
 westward, and, determining to trj' his for- 
 tune in California, set out with bright 
 hopes and stern resolutions, his route 
 being via the Isthmus of Panama direct 
 to San Francisco, where, after clerking 
 about one year, he opened a clothing store 
 on his own account. In this enterprise 
 he met with well-merited success, al- 
 though he had the misfortune to be burned 
 out twice. After the first fire he engaged 
 in mining in the "gold diggings," but 
 this not being so congenial to his nature 
 as merchandising, he soon returned to 
 San Francisco, and again opened a gen- 
 eral store. In 1857 he sold out, and, 
 coming north to Chicago, 111., embarked 
 in the Hour and feed business, which in 
 turn he sold out the following year ("1858), 
 and, attracted by the promising outlook 
 
 in Wisconsin, came "with business in- 
 tent " to the town of Sharon, near where 
 he had some friends living. Here he opened 
 a store, which at the end of about a jear 
 he left in charge of his brother-in-law, 
 Henry Mitchell, and for the benefit of his 
 health took a trip to Clayborn, Ala. 
 There he clerked during the first winter 
 and following spring, selling his establish- 
 ment in Sharon, Wis. (whither he re- 
 turned for that purpose), again went south, 
 and for another winter clerked in a store 
 in Alabama. At this time, the Civil war 
 having broken out, he was pressed into 
 the Confederate army, but took the first 
 opportunity to escape, leaving behind all 
 his possessions. Coming north with com- 
 mendable speed, he arrived in Chicago, 
 111., in May, 1 86 1, and here he remained 
 until the following September, when he 
 once more turned his steps in the direc- 
 tion of Wisconsin. 
 
 At Jane.sville, on the 17th of that 
 month, he was married to Miss Malinet 
 A. Pease, daughter of Enos and Lucy 
 (Finley) Pease, of Marengo, 111. , and 
 shortly afterward the young couple came 
 to Green Bay. Here, in partnership with 
 Mr. Philip Lewin, Mr. Hoffman opened 
 a clothing store, the firm name being 
 Hoffman & Lewin, which .so continued 
 until 1 868, when Mr. Lewin sold out his 
 interest to his partner and moved to 
 Philadelphia. Since then our subject has 
 conducted the business in part alone, and 
 in part asssociated with his sons Louis 
 and George, with unbounded success — a 
 success in every sense well merited, as 
 his stock is at all times thoroughly replete 
 in all departments, whilst the proprietor 
 himself, for courteous and gentlemanly 
 bearing, consummate business tact, un- 
 flagging enterprise and tireless energy, 
 has established for himself an enviable 
 and wide popularity. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman have been 
 born six children, to wit : Bertha is the 
 wife of Frank Topliff, a merchant of 
 Oshkosh, Wis. ; Louis Wolf and George 
 P. are associated with their father in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 599 
 
 business, Louis traveling in the interest 
 of the merchant tailoring department; 
 Ada B. died in infancy ; Elmer A. died 
 in his nineteenth year; Harold W. , the 
 youngest, is at home with his parents. 
 Mr. Hoffman, in politics is a Democrat ; 
 he was elected alderman of the First 
 ward, and has served as such, in all, the 
 long period of eighteen years, a fact that 
 in itself testifies to his popularity as well 
 as the esteem in which he is held. For 
 about fifteen years he was a member, 
 and for a considerable time foreman, of 
 the old Green Bay Fire Compan\', 
 "Guardian No. 2." Socially he is a 
 member of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., 
 and K. of P., Green Bay, of which latter 
 order he is a charter member. 
 
 M 
 
 AJOR LEVI HOWLAND, real 
 estate and lumber dealer. Fort 
 Howard, and member of the 
 Vermillion Range Lumber Com- 
 pany of Minnesota, is descended from 
 sturdy New England ancestry. He is one 
 of nine children born to Thomas and 
 Elizabeth (Davis) Howland, the former 
 of whom was a native of New Bedford, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 When sixteen years of age Thomas 
 Howland came with his parents, John 
 Howland and wife, from Massachusetts, 
 and settled on a farm in Brown county, 
 Ohio, which borders on the Ohio river 
 and is also noted as having been for a 
 number of years the home of the Grant 
 family. Gen. Grant himself having been 
 appointed to West Point from that county. 
 John Howland died in that locality. His 
 son, Thomas, married a daughter of Vir- 
 ginia, who was at that time a resident of 
 Kentucky, and in 1831 removed to Cook 
 county, 111., then on the border of west- 
 ern settlements. In 1835 he took up a 
 farm in Kenosha county. Wis., and lived 
 in that State for many years. While a 
 resident of Illinois, in 1832, he served as 
 a soldier in the memorable Black Hawk 
 war, a short-lived conflict which terrorized 
 
 the few inhabitants then in the region 
 and retarded settlement greatly, but which 
 put an effectual end to Indian depreda- 
 tions east of the Mississippi. Mr. How- 
 land died at Fort Howard, Wis. , about 
 1877, his excellent wife having preceded 
 him to the shadowy land in 1862. Besides 
 our subject, they had children as follows: 
 Lewis, who was killed in Kansas in 1S56, 
 during the border ruffian warfare; Mere- 
 dith, who died at Kenosha, Wis., in 1869; 
 Lorinda S., wife of Thomas Dyke, re- 
 siding in Missouri; Seth, a resident of 
 California, whitherhe went in 1850; Ruby 
 E., wife of John Sauber, also of Cali- 
 fornia; Wiltshire, who enlisted in Cali- 
 fornia early in the war of the Rebellion, 
 in Col. Baker's regiment, and, like his 
 lamented commander, was missing and 
 supposed to be killed at Ball's Bluff; 
 Ichabod, twin brother of Levi, who en- 
 listed in April, 1861, at Kenosha, Wis., 
 for three months in Company G, First 
 Wis. V. I., re-enlisted at the expiration of 
 his term of service in the First Wisconsin 
 Cavalry, served in the army of the Cum- 
 berland, and was killed at Varnell Station, 
 Ga. , May 9, 1864; Alfred, who enlisted 
 in the same regiment with Ichabod in 
 1 86 1, for three months, re-enlisted in the 
 First Wisconsin Cavalry and served three 
 years, and now resides in California. 
 
 Levi Howland was born in 1840, in 
 Kenosha county. Wis., and was reared 
 on his father's farm, one mile from Keno- 
 sha, receiving his education in the high 
 school of that city. Like his two brothers, 
 he enlisted, in April, 1861, in Company 
 G, First Wis. V. I , for a period of three 
 months. After a lively term of service 
 in the Shenandoah Valley under Gen. 
 Patterson, the young soldier, who had 
 been a second lieutenant in the infantry, 
 re-enlisted as a private in Company A; 
 First Wisconsin Cavalry for three 3'ears, 
 on September 2, 1861, receiving a first 
 lieutenant's commission in that arm of the 
 service. He was subsequently, Novem- 
 ber 20, 1862, commissioned captain of 
 Company C, and major of his regiment 
 
400 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 January 6, 1865. He saw active and 
 arduous service, participating in the bat- 
 tles at Chickamauga, Dandridge, Tenn. ; 
 Anderson Cross Roads, Cape Girardeau. 
 Mo. ; Chalk Bluffs, and later, after trans- 
 fer to the army of the Cumberland, at 
 Resaca, Cassville, Burnt Hickory (Ga.), 
 Barnesville, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, 
 Campbelltown (Ga.j, Franklin (Tenn.j, 
 Hopkinsville, Nashville, Selma (Ala.), 
 the skirmishes between Montgomery and 
 Tuskegee, and West Point (Ga.). The 
 Major was mustered out at Nashville, 
 Tenn., in July, 1865, and returned to 
 Kenosha. He next went west, and passed 
 two years as contractor on the Kansas 
 Pacific railroad, finally, in 1867, locating 
 in Fort Howard, since when he has been 
 a continuous resident of that city. Upon 
 his arrival he entered the lumber trade 
 as a member of the firm of Clinton. Laird 
 & Co., afterward J. P. Laird & Co., 
 which relation continued a number of 
 years, and he is now the only member of 
 this old firm residing in Fort Howard. 
 
 Maj. Howland is a familiar figure in 
 political, educational and society circles. 
 By virtue of his honorable service in de- 
 fense of his country, he is a member of 
 T. O. Howe Post, 'g. A. R., and holds 
 membership also in the Loyal Legion. 
 Sociallj' he is a member of Washington 
 Lodge, No. 21, F. Sc A. M. ; Warren 
 Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M. ; Palestine 
 Commandery, No. 20, K. T. ; and Wis- 
 •consin Consistory. An active Repub- 
 lican in politics, he has served his fellow 
 citizens as county supervisor, and as a 
 member of the school board, and takes a 
 lively interest in all public affairs, exert- 
 ing his infiuence toward the furtherance 
 of all plans for the benefit of his city and 
 county. During his twenty-seven years' 
 residence in Fort Howard he has wit- 
 nessed the accomplishment of great and 
 beneficial changes, to which he has per- 
 sonally contributed in no small degree. 
 
 Recognizing the truth of the adage 
 that "it is not good for man to live 
 alone," Maj. Howland was married in 
 
 Kenosha, in 1 8C7, to Edith L. Sykes, a 
 native of New York, and daughter of 
 Byron and Antoinette (Torrey) Sykes, 
 early settlers in the county named. Mrs. 
 Howland's mother is deceased, but her 
 father is yet living, and resides with his 
 daughter at Fort Howard. Major and 
 Mrs. Howland have two living children : 
 Eben \\'., a graduate in the class of 1894 
 from the Wisconsin State University at 
 Madison, and Maud A., attending St. 
 Marguerite College at Chicago. 
 
 ROBERT JACKSON, merchant, of 
 De Pere, was born February 2, 
 1826, in Fifeshire, Scotland. His 
 father, Henrj' Jackson, who was a 
 blacksmith by trade, was married to An- 
 nie White, who bore him the following 
 children: Margaret; Henry, who died in 
 Marquette in 1S93; Robert, our subject; 
 Elspet, now Mrs. William Michie, of 
 West Superior; Walter, of Buffalo county, 
 Wis.; Thomas, of West De Pere; Alex- 
 ander, of Winona, Minn., and Peter, of 
 Milwaukee. The parents of this family 
 died in Scotland, and later all the chil- 
 dren came to America, Robert being the 
 first to make the voyage. When a lad of 
 fourteen, Robert entered upon an appren- 
 ticeship of four years to a blacksmith in 
 Scotland named David Lyle, and also 
 became a machinist, and later worked as 
 a smith for his father. 
 
 On June i, 1848, bidding farewell to 
 his native land, he sailed from Greenock 
 on the "Charlotte Harrison," and, after 
 a voyage of six weeks, landed in New York 
 with but a few dollars in his pocket. 
 From New York he proceeded to Albany, 
 and thence over the old "strap road" 
 to Buffalo, N. Y. , thence via the lakes, 
 to Kenosha, Wis., where he found work 
 and remained two years; from there he 
 went to Oconto county (then a part of 
 Brown county). Wis., where for two years 
 heactedasengineer for a sawmill. In 1852 
 he came to De Pere and bought out a 
 blacksmith shop, which he carried on for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 401 
 
 several years, and then took charge of a 
 sawmill for Ritchie, Reed & Ritchie, of 
 the same city, with whom he remained 
 fourteen years, or until the firm dissolved. 
 About this time the citizens of the East 
 side formed a stock company and erected 
 a furnace, in the construction of which 
 Mr. Jackson acted as master mechanic, 
 putting in all the machinery; he was then 
 sent to Menomonee, where he superin- 
 tended the erection of another furnace and 
 also conducted it for several years. He 
 then engaged with Ivirby, Carpenter & 
 Co., at that time the most extensive lum- 
 bermen of the Northwest, and for four 
 years was an engineer in one of their large 
 mills at Menomonee. He ne.xt contracted 
 for the building of a furnace at Charlevoix, 
 Mich. , and after its completion built a fur- 
 nace at Florence, Wis. ; then at Marcel- 
 lone, Mich., he commenced to build an- 
 other furnace, but left before its comple- 
 tion, returning to De Pere, where he was 
 instrumental in having erected, near by, a 
 large sawmill, known as the Potts mill, 
 the construction of which he superin- 
 tended. In company with Andrew Reed, 
 Mr. Jackson built the first tug-boat owned 
 in De Pere, which boat was used in the 
 towing of logs, doing good service for sev- 
 eral years, and was then rebuilt and re- 
 fitted under the superintendency of Mr. 
 Jackson, who was probably without an 
 •equal at that time in mechanical skill, and 
 who, even now, though nearing his seven- 
 tieth year, is often consulted in regard to 
 intricate portions of disabled machinery. 
 Mr. Jackson has been identified, beyond 
 •doubt, with more enterprises than any 
 other individual now living in De Pere, 
 and was especially active in the agitation 
 •of the waterworks question. He is a great 
 lover of athletics, and still indulges with 
 great zest in curling, at which he is an 
 expert. 
 
 In the spring of 1849 Mr. Jackson 
 married, in Kenosha, Wis., Miss Elizabeth 
 Heggie, a native of the same part of 
 Scotland whence he came. The result of 
 this union has been the birth of the fol- 
 
 lowing children: Henry, a machinist; 
 and Charles W. , Robert, and Frank (all 
 three merchants), all of De Pere. W^ith 
 his two sons, Charles and Robert, Mr. 
 Jackson now conducts the most extensive 
 general store in De Pere. Although at 
 one time a Democrat in his political 
 affinities, he is now a Republican, and 
 cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham 
 Lincoln. He is strong in his belief in the 
 principles of the party, and is one of its 
 most stanch supporters. Under its au- 
 spices he has, at different times, been 
 called upon to serve as alderman, and no 
 one has filled that office with greater 
 credit and ability, nor given greater satis- 
 faction to the citizens. He and his wife 
 are conscientious members of the Presby- 
 terian Church, to the support of which he 
 is a most liberal contributor, and of 
 which he is a trustee and substantial 
 pillar. Although coming to the United 
 States a poor boy, Mr. Jackson has 
 reached wealth and prominence through 
 the exercising of those sterling principles 
 of integrity, industry and perseverance, 
 which seem to be inherent in the race to 
 which he belongs. His career is worthy 
 the close study of young men who have 
 yet to make their way in the world, and 
 his nobility of character well worthy their 
 emulation. His amiable wife also de- 
 serves great credit for her share in the 
 good work that has been done toward the 
 accumulation of the worldly wealth that is 
 now making their declining years com- 
 paratively days of rest, and assuredly of 
 solid comfort; and the respect in which 
 the family is held gives evidence that 
 their many virtues are fully appreciated 
 by their fellow citizens. 
 
 AUGUST THIELE, the partner of 
 William Handeyside in the most 
 popular livery establishment of 
 the city of De Pere, was born 
 September 29, 1848, in Brandenburg, 
 near Berlin, Germany, son of Gottlieb 
 
402 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Hannah (Pfeiffer) Thiele, who both 
 died in that country. They were the 
 parents of Karl, August, Hannah, (nista 
 and WilHaui, of whom WilHani and Au- 
 gust are the only ones living in America. 
 August Thiele was reared as a day la- 
 borer, beginning at the age of nine as a 
 driver of cattle, and afterward working as 
 a farm hand. He was industrious and 
 saving, and by 1872 had accumulated 
 money sufficient to bring him to America. 
 Landing at New York, he at once took his 
 departure for Wisconsin, and here worked 
 at Waukesha, in the lime kilns and at 
 other work, until he had earned money 
 enough to take him to Morrison, Brown 
 Co., Wis., where he worked in all for ten 
 years in Morrison town and in the town 
 of Glenmorc,in Fenton's sawmill, and also 
 in Evans' sawmill. He then made a trip 
 to Dakota, worked a year, after which he 
 came to De Pere, where he worked a year 
 for his brother-in-law, Mark Snyder, then 
 engaged in the livery business. \\. the 
 end of the year he bought Mr. Snyder 
 out. .\t that time the barn contained 
 only nine horses; now the stables contain 
 sixteen. Soon after his return from Da- 
 kota Mr. Thiele was married, April 24, 
 1882, to Mrs. Christine (Snyder), widow 
 of Adam Kammern (to whom she was 
 married May 11, 1869) and daughter of 
 Frank and Appolonia (Hangan) Snyder, 
 who were the parents of si.\ children : 
 Philip, Christine, Mark, Libbie, William 
 and Mary. The father of this family was 
 a mason and also a tanner, and at the age 
 of twenty came to America, and for a 
 while lived in Jackson, Washington Co., 
 Wis.; thence he moved to Town 10, about 
 twenty miles from Milwaukee, where he 
 was married at about the age of thirty, 
 and finally came to Brown county, where 
 he owned a sawmill. Here he died after 
 a residence of thirty years in the township. 
 His widow died in De Pere, while residing 
 with Mr. Thiele. Mrs. August Thiele 
 had, by her first husband, one daughter 
 named Abbie ^[. Kammern, born in Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., June 23, 1872, who now 
 
 makes her home with her mother, but at 
 the present time is teaching school. 
 
 For five years after coming to De Pere 
 Mr. Thiele carried on the livery business 
 on his sole account, making, in the inter- 
 val, many improvements in the stock and 
 stable ; then joined .Mr. Handeyside, and 
 has since enjoyed a most successful busi- 
 ness. The children born to Mr. Thiele, 
 two in number, are Frank and Philip, who 
 are attending school at De Pere. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Thiele are members of the Ger- 
 man Evangelical Church. In politics he 
 is a Republican, and fraternally he is an 
 Odd Fellow. As a business man he is 
 recogni;;ed as one of the foremost in De- 
 Pere, all being conscious of the fact that 
 he has raised himself, by his industry and 
 enterprise, from comparative ob'scurity to 
 his present prosperit}-. 
 
 E 
 
 DWAKD FLVXX (deceased). 
 This gentleman, who, tluring his 
 lifetime, was well-known among 
 the farmers of Holland township. 
 Brown county, was a native of Ireland, 
 born in March, 1827. 
 
 His parents, Eugene and Alice (Mc- 
 Guren) Flynn, who were farming people 
 of Ireland, lived and died in their native 
 country. They had a family of three 
 children, namely: James, Bridget, and 
 Edward, of whom Edward was the only 
 one who came to America. He was 
 reared to farming, which he followed in 
 Ireland until 1848, when he came to the 
 New World, landing at Quebec. He 
 subsequently came to Wisconsin, and in 
 Holland township. Brown county, pur- 
 chased 160 acres of new land, where he 
 made a permanent home. After coming 
 to America he was married, and by this 
 union had two children, John and James. 
 The mother of these died, and on April 
 29. 1872, he wedded, for his second wife. 
 Miss Bridget Finnegan, who was born 
 in May, 1833. in Ireland, daughter of 
 Charles and Bridget (Golden) Finnegan, 
 who were the parents of the following 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BTOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 403 
 
 named nine children: Mary, Patrick, 
 John, Ceha, Sarah, Thomas, Margaret, 
 Bridget, and Hannah, of whom but two 
 are now hving, Bridget and Patrick. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Finnegan never came to the 
 United States, but three of their children 
 emigrated at different times. Mrs. Flynn 
 left Ireland in the spring of 1852, and 
 landed in New York City on the sixth of 
 May, after a rough voyage of thirty-six 
 days. She remained in the city a few 
 days and then continued her journey to 
 Schenectady, N. Y. , where her two 
 sisters. Sarah and Margaret, were living, 
 and after a three-years' residence there 
 she went to Buffalo, N. Y. , where she 
 kept house for Bishop Ryan about six- 
 teen years When she came to Holland 
 township the farm was still partly un- 
 cleared, and for a time they lived in a log 
 cabin, which was the first building erected 
 on the place, and it is still standing. Mr. 
 Flynn devoted his time exclusively to his 
 farm, and met with encouraging success 
 in his vocation, continuing to follow same 
 up to the time of his death, which oc- 
 curred November 7, 1882, the result of 
 kidney disease; his remains were interred 
 in Holland cemetery. He was a self- 
 made man in the truest sense, for he 
 had amassed a comfortable competence 
 by persevering industry, and he was re- 
 spected by all who knew him for his 
 honesty and fair dealing. His widow- 
 continues to reside upon the homestead, 
 the management of which is now in the 
 hands of the son John. 
 
 JOHN FLYNN was born November 
 25, 1864, in Holland township, Brown 
 Co., Wis., and was reared to farm life on 
 the homestead under the direction of his 
 father. At the latter's death he and his 
 brother James, who now conducts a sa- 
 loon business in Chicago, became o\\ners 
 of the farm, eighty acres of which are 
 highly cultivated. On June 26, 1891, 
 John Flynn was united in marriage with 
 Miss Catherine Finnegan, daughter of 
 Michael and Sarah Finnegan, natives of 
 Ireland, who immigrated to America in 
 
 1848, and settled in Woodville township, 
 Calumet county, where Mrs. Flynn lived 
 until her marriage. To this union has 
 come one child, Angeline, born October 
 II, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Flynn are de- 
 vout members of the Catholic Church, 
 and they are highly esteemed throughout 
 their section, Mr. Flynn -being regarded 
 as one of the substantial, progressive 
 young men in his township. In his po- 
 litical preferences he is a Democrat, but 
 he takes no part in politics except as a. 
 regular attendant at the polls. 
 
 CHARLES CLEEREMANS, gar- 
 dener and farmer. Fort Howard, 
 came to the place in 1S82 and set- 
 tled on a ten-acre tract purchased 
 on the Wolf creek road. This he sold 
 later and purchased the twenty-acre prop- 
 erty he now owns on the line between 
 Fort Howard and Ashwaubenon. He is 
 also owner of a lot on Wolf creek, and 
 has this year (1894) erected a residence. 
 Mr. Cleeremans was born in 1841, in 
 ■Belgium, and came to the Bay Settlement 
 April I, 1867, with his parents, Frank and 
 Mary (De Long) Cleeremans, the family 
 locating upon and clearing up a farm in 
 Scott township. The father died in 1877, 
 the mother in 1872. Our subject was 
 educated thoroughly in the schools of 
 Belgium, spending twehe years in those 
 educational institutions. He was mar- 
 ried in 1870, and the same year settled 
 upon a farm in Kewaunee county, Wis., 
 selling out and remo\ing to Fort Howard, 
 after clearing forty acres. His ^\•ife, Miss 
 Caroline Arkins, was born in Belgium, 
 and came, in 1856, to Kewaunee county 
 with her parents, John Bertis and Mary 
 E. (Randall) Arkins, both of whom are 
 now deceased. Twelve children ha\e been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Cleeremans: John 
 B., Jennie, Mary, Joe, Frank, Aleck, 
 Peter, Julia, Felix, Rosa, Anton, and 
 Susan. The parents are members of St. 
 \\'illibrord's Church, at Green Bay, Mr. 
 Cleeremans being also a member of the 
 
|04 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Catholic Knights at that place, and of the 
 Catholic Order of Foresters. Green Bay 
 and Fort Howard have undergone won- 
 drous changes in the thirty years since Mr. 
 Cleeremans came to the locality, and he 
 has, to a considerable degree, contributed 
 personall)' to this development. 
 
 BP. SWEENEY. This gentleman 
 ranks among the leading success- 
 ful farmers of Glenmore township, 
 Brown county, where he is highly 
 esteemed and well known, having been a 
 resident of same for almost forty years. 
 
 His father, Peter Sweeney, \\as born 
 in County Kerr\-, Ireland, and there mar- 
 ried Ellen Brennan, who bore him three 
 children in Ireland, Patrick, Catherine and 
 Ann. About 1840 they came to the. 
 United States, and for a time lived in the 
 Eastern States, where two more children 
 were born to them, B. P. (our subject) 
 and Jeremiah. In 1854 the family came 
 westward to Wisconsin, where, the coun- 
 try being then new, cheap homes could 
 be had. Mr. Sweeney found employ- 
 ment on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul railroad as a day laborer, his family 
 living along the road near Horicon, Wis., 
 for two years, where they kept boarders. 
 Then, in 1857, they came to De Pere, at 
 that time a small village, containing but 
 one store, and here the father worked 
 as a laborer until the fall of the year, when 
 he came to Section 14, Glenmore town- 
 ship, purchasing forty acres for one hun- 
 dred and twenty dollars cash. The place 
 was then literally a " howling wilderness," 
 wild animals were numerous, and the only 
 signs of civilization were the trails which 
 led through the forest. Not a tree had 
 been felled, and Mr. Sweeney erected the 
 first house on the place, a log one, and 
 commenced the task of clearing at once. 
 He was hard-working and persevering, and 
 the farm soon began to put on a cultivated 
 appearance and to afford its owner an in- 
 come. Those days of toil and hardship 
 are no more, and, as the old pioneers are 
 
 one by one rapidl}' passing awaj\ the story 
 of their lives is all that is left to coming 
 generations of the trials and hardships 
 which they endured. Mr. Sweene)- con- 
 tinued to reside on the farm in Glenmore 
 township until his death, which occurred 
 in August, 1892, when he was at the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety years. His wife 
 preceded him to the grave in March, 
 1882, and they now rest side by side in 
 Glenmore cemeter)'. Both were members 
 of St. Mary's Church, at Glenmore. For 
 several years prior to his decease Mr. 
 Sweeney led a retired life, making his 
 home with our subject. 
 
 B. P. Sweeney, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, was born August 23, 
 1849, in Springfield, Mass., came west- 
 ward with his parents to Wisconsin, and 
 is now the onl}' member of the family re- 
 maining in Brown county. Here he was 
 reared to manhood, and at the early age 
 of eight years commenced to assist his 
 father in the clearing up of the farm he 
 now owns and resides upon, where he re- 
 ceived a thorough training to agricultural 
 life. He received his literary education 
 in the common schools of the period 
 the first school he attended being in 
 District No. 2, Glenmore township, and 
 Maurice Casey was his first teacher. 
 At that time lumbering was the most 
 popular pursuit for young men in that 
 region, and he also worked in the lumber 
 camps. 
 
 On July 4, 1872, Mr. Sweeney was 
 married, in Cedarburg, Wis., to Miss 
 Johanna Sullivan, who was born in that 
 town, daughter of Michael Sullivan, and 
 the young couple took up their home on 
 their present farm, living with his parents 
 during their lifetime. Shortly after his 
 marriage he purchased eighty acres of the 
 farm, following agriculture thereon, any 
 in later years added the other eightd 
 acres to the place. In 1890 he erected 
 the comfortable dwelling in which the 
 family now live, which is the third resi- 
 dence built on the farm. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sweeney were born eight children, viz. : 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 405 
 
 Nellie, John, Mary, Catherine. Julia, 
 William, Celia and Frances, all li\ing. 
 The mother was called from earth in the 
 fall of 1894. Our subject has given his 
 farming interests the closest attention, 
 and has become one of the foremost agri- 
 culturists in his section, taking a lively 
 interest in every movement for its benefit 
 or improvement. He has held every 
 office in the gift of the township, and is 
 now serving as clerk, to which office he 
 was appointed in 1890, and has been 
 elected each time since; he was treasurer 
 five years, chairman of the township four 
 years, as well as assessor and supervisor, 
 and for years justice of the peace; and in 
 every capacity he has shown himself an 
 earnest, efficient worker, fn his party 
 preferences he is a Democrat, and he is 
 a member of St. Mary's Church, as was 
 also his wife. He is highly respected for 
 the part he has taken in the opening up 
 and development of his section, where he 
 is widely known. 
 
 OTTO N. OLDENBURG, of the 
 firm of G. Oldenburg & Co. , fur- 
 niture dealers and undertakers, 
 was born in i860, at Fort Howard, 
 where he now lives, and is a son of Ger- 
 hard and Margaret (Berner) Oldenburg. 
 The former, a native of Schleswig-Hol- 
 stein, Germany, came to Fort Howard 
 when a young man, with the family of his 
 father, Anton Oldenburg, whose wife had 
 died in Germany. Anton Oldenburg died 
 in Madison, Wis., during the war of the 
 Rebellion. 
 
 Gerhard Oldenburg, who was a cabi- 
 net-maker and millwright by trade, was 
 married at Fort Howard, in 1853, to Miss 
 Margaret Berner, who was born in Ger- 
 many, and had come in an early day to 
 Green Bay, Wis. Mr. Oldenburg fol- 
 lowed his trade until the breaking out of 
 the war, when he was appointed State 
 carpenter and stationed at Madison, where 
 he remained during the war. Returning 
 to Fort Howard in 1865, he established 
 
 himself in the furniture business. He 
 was a Republican in politics, serving as 
 supervisor from the Fifth ward. He held 
 membership in Washington Lodge, No. 
 21, F. & A. M., and was an excellent citi- 
 zen. His death occured June 9, 1890, 
 he having lived to see remarkable changes 
 and developments in the region he had 
 chosen for his home so many years before. 
 His widow yet resides in Fort Howard. 
 Their children were : Sophia, wife of 
 Rev. A. H. Kopplin, West Bend, Wis.; 
 Anton, married and residing in Fort How- 
 ard ; Henry, married and located in the 
 practice of law at Carlton, Minn. ; Otto 
 N. ; Amelia, unmarried ; Margaret, de- 
 ceased when but four years old ; and 
 Lewis. 
 
 Otto N. Oldenburg recei\ed his edu- 
 cation in the public schools of Fort How- 
 ard, and attended the Green Bay Busi- 
 ness College, under Prof. Blackman. He 
 has since been engaged in business as first 
 noted, the firm dating its establishment 
 to 1865. As a decendant of a pioneer 
 family, and himself a native of Fort How- 
 ard, Mr. Oldenburg, although yet a 
 young man, has grown up with his city 
 and seen its development. He was 
 married January 3, 1894, to Miss Joseph- 
 ine Anderson, who was born in Sturgeon 
 Bay, Wis., where her father, Charley 
 Anderson, was an early settler ; he is now 
 deceased. Politically Mr. Oldenburg is 
 a Republican, and in religious connection 
 a member of the Moravian Church. He 
 belongs also to Washington Lodge, No. 
 21, F. & A. M., and to Warren Chapter, 
 No. 8, R. A. M. 
 
 HENRY A. STRAUBEL, retired 
 citizen of Green Bay, was well 
 known in the city eighteen years 
 as the senior member of the firm 
 of Straubel & Eberling, millers. He is a 
 native of Germany, born May 11, 1841, 
 in the village of Blankenburg, Schwarz- 
 burg-Rudolstadt. 
 
 His parents, Frederick and Caroline 
 
4o6 
 
 COMMExVOUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (Lenke) Straubel, also natives of Ger- 
 many, immigrated with their family to Wis- 
 consin in 1846, settling in Green Bay, 
 where the father followed his trade, 
 biacksmithing, until retiring from active 
 work. He died in 1885, the mother in 
 
 1872. They were the parents of six chil- 
 dren, a brief record of whom is as follows: 
 Carl was drowned about the year 18 50; 
 Dorothea married Lewis Loher, and re- 
 sides at Calumet, Wis. ; Minnie married 
 A. Friedman, moved to New York, and 
 died there in 1872 ; Ernest followed black- 
 smithing for a time in Green Bay, and 
 since 1873 fias been engaged in the manu- 
 facture of brick ; Henry A. is the subject 
 of this sketch ; Adoph died in the United 
 States at the age of three and a half years. 
 
 Henry A. Straubel was five years old 
 when the family immigrated to the Western 
 World and took up their new home in the 
 town of Green Bay. Here, at the com- 
 mon schools, he received a somewhat limit- 
 ed education, and learning the trade of 
 wagon-maker, followed same from the 
 time he was twelve years of age until 
 
 1873, when he embarked in the milling 
 business, continuing therein successfully 
 for eighteen years ; he retired from active 
 business life March i, 1894. Between 
 the years 18 59 and 1861 Mr. Straubel was 
 traveling throughout the South and West, 
 and in the latter year he enlisted in Com- 
 pany H, Ninth .Wis., V. I., for three 
 years' service, being mustered in at Mil- 
 waukee. His regiment was attached to 
 the army of the \\'est, and participated 
 in the Missouri and Arkansas campaigns, 
 and at the battle of Newtonia our subject 
 was taken prisoner, remainmg in the hands 
 of the Confederates, for three months. 
 In 1863 he received an honorable dis- 
 charge, and returning to Green Bay com- 
 menced the carriage and wagon making 
 business, subsequently, in 1873, embark- 
 ing in the milling business, in which, in 
 1877, he formed a partnership with J. H. 
 Eberling, . The mill is a fine brick build- 
 ing, erected by Straubel & Eberling on 
 the site of the former's wagon shop, and 
 
 is thoroughly equipped, having a capacity 
 of 300 barrels per day. Mr. Straubel also 
 owns a half interest in "Cook's Hotel," 
 a four-storj', seventy-room brick building, 
 located on the corner of Washington and 
 Cherry streets. Green Bay ; is a stock- 
 holder in the Columbia Bakery, Green 
 Bay, in the Brown County Fair and Park 
 Association, in the Green Bay Flaning- 
 mill. Electric Light Plant, etc., and since 
 1 884 has been a director of the Citizens 
 National Bank, of which he was one of 
 the organizers. 
 
 On November 17, 1868, Henry A. 
 Straubel and Miss Minnie Altman were 
 united in marriage. She is a native of 
 Wisconsin, born in Manitowoc county, a 
 daughter of early settlers of that section, 
 now deceased. To this union two chil- 
 dren have been born, viz. : Carl, who was 
 bookkeeper for the Citizens National Bank 
 for five years, and Arthur. In politics 
 our subject is a Republican, and has served 
 as a member of the city council some six 
 years. Socially he is a member of Her- 
 man Lodge, No. Ill, I. O. O. F. (in 
 which he has passed all the chairs), and of 
 T. O. Howe Post, No. 124, G. A. R. 
 Mr. Straubel is the owner of real estate 
 in Green Bay and a productive farm of 
 seventy-eight acres in Allouez township ; 
 he has won his position in the world by 
 his own energy, industry and good man- 
 agement, and is a deservedl}' success- 
 ful man. 
 
 JAMES DRAKE, proprietor of the 
 Green Bay Nursery, and a promi- 
 nent, enterprising citizen, is by birth 
 an Englishman, born September i, 
 1826, in the village of Prelerton, War- 
 wickshire, a son of Isaac and Elizabeth 
 f Punn ) Drake, also natives of England. 
 In I 840 the family came to the United 
 States, first locating in Monroe county, N. 
 Y. , on a farm, but some time later, about 
 1855, moving to Wisconsin, opening up a 
 farm in Sheboygan county, where the 
 father died May 4, 1894, the mother about 
 
COMMEMOnATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 407 
 
 the year 1S59. They \\ere the parents of 
 eight children, of whom the following is a 
 brief record: Mary is the widow of Simeon 
 Pond, who was a member of Company F, 
 Twenty-seventh Wis. V. I., and died in 
 1864, at Helena, Ark., from disease con- 
 tracted in the service; James is the subject 
 of this sketch; George, a farmer, resides 
 in Minnesota; John enlisted in Sheboygan 
 county in Company F, Twenty-seventh 
 Wis. V. I., and died in 1864 at Memphis, 
 Tenn. ; Eliza and William both died in 
 Sheboygan county, the former in 1859, 
 the latter in 1868; Jennie died of con- 
 sumption in 18 — ; Isaac P. lives in Min- 
 nesota, where he is an extensive stock 
 raiser. 
 
 James Drake, whose name opens this 
 sketch, was fourteen years old when he 
 left his native Warwickshire — the county 
 that gave birth to the greatest of all 
 poets — and consequently received all his 
 education there. In this country he 
 worked on farms till soon after the break- 
 ing out of the Civil war, when, fired with 
 military ardor, he enlisted in August, 
 1862, in Company F, Twenty-seventh 
 Wis. V. I., for three years, and was 
 mustered in at Milwaukee the following 
 October. He participated in the battle of 
 Cape Girardeau, Mo., and the siege of 
 Vicksburg, after which he was taken sick 
 and confined to hospital at Helena, Ark. 
 In May, 1865, he was honorably dis- 
 charged at Memphis, Tenn. , for disability, 
 and returned home. In 1866 he com- 
 menced in the nursery business, in which 
 he has since continued with the most sat- 
 isfactory results, having met with un- 
 bounded success; in 1879 he permanently 
 located in Green Bay. In 1855 he was 
 married, in New York, to Miss Roxana 
 Davis, by which union there is one child, 
 James H., now a resident of Milwaukee, 
 W'is. , proprietor of a livery stable there, 
 and a dealer in horses. This wife dying, 
 Mr. Drake, in 1870, was married, in 
 Fond du Lac, Wis. , to Miss Jennie E. 
 Prink, daughter of Rev. Peter and Eu- 
 retta P. (Collins) Prink, all natives of 
 
 New York City, who came, in 1844, to 
 Oshkosh, Wis., where Mr. Prink erected 
 the third frame house. He was a Bap- 
 tist missionary, and resided there three 
 years, or until 1847, when he moved to 
 Weyauwega, Waupaca county, where he 
 passed the rest of his useful life, dying in 
 1865; his wife died in Green Bay, March 
 25, 1885. He was widely known as a 
 zealous and faithful divine, and he organ- 
 ized churches of the Baptist denomina- 
 tion in Appleton, Neenah, etc. Twelve 
 children were born to him, as follows: 
 Laura, who married Matthew Crinell, of 
 Albany, N. Y. , and died in 1886; Edwin, 
 who was one of the first settlers of Med- 
 ford. Wis., and the first judge of Taylor 
 county, died in 1885 (he served during 
 the Civil war in a New York regiment); 
 Collins, who died in Wisconsin in Feb- 
 ruary, 1874 (he served in the Civil war as 
 a member of the First Wisconsin Cav- 
 alry); Amanda, who married William 
 Graves, of New York City, and died De- 
 cember 20, 1893 (Mr. Graves served in 
 the regular army); Ruth, wife of Lindall 
 H. Crosby, of Walnut Grove, Mo. ; Sarah 
 Ermetta, residing at Oshkosh; Oscar 
 Henry, who served three years in the 
 First W'isconsin Cavalry, now residing in 
 Gilman, Iowa; Jennie E., Mrs. Drake; 
 Eugene, who also served three years in 
 the First Wisconsin Cavalry, and now re- 
 sides at Eau Claire, Wis., where he is a 
 gardener and proprietor of a meat market; 
 William, now a resident of Gilman, Iowa, 
 who served two years in the First Wis- 
 consin Cavalry; Elijah, a lumberman; 
 and Emma H., wife of E. A. Williams, a 
 survej'or, both o'' Stevens Point, Wis. 
 When the younge.:.. ' these was thirty- 
 two years old, all tiio members of the 
 family were alive. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Drake is in- 
 dependent, always supporting men and 
 measures that he considers best for the 
 general good; socially, he is a member of 
 T. O. Howe Post, No. 124, G. A. R. He 
 and Mrs. Drake are members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. She is identified with 
 
4o8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 many beneficent works; was one of the 
 organizers of the Woman's ReHef Corps, 
 was president durinj,' the first three terms, 
 and was an officer of the Department in 
 1892. She is also superintendent of the 
 Children's Home Society of Green Bay. 
 
 AUGUST F. RADOE (deceased), 
 for many years a much esteemed 
 citizen of Eaton township, Brown 
 county, was a native of the F"atiier- 
 land, born March 26, 1820, in the village 
 of Arnswalde, Prussia. His parents, Daniel 
 and Sophia (Leipsite) Radoe, had a family 
 of five children, as follows: August F., 
 the subject of this sketch; Christian F., 
 who lives in Africa, where he owns 1,020 
 acres of land; John, who died leaving a 
 wife and several children; Ernest, who 
 lives in Russia; and Henrietta, Mrs. Velse, 
 who resides in Germany. The parents 
 were only in moderate circumstances, and 
 consequenth' the children commenced to 
 earn a li\ing early in life. 
 
 When our subject was fifteen years 
 old he hired out as a shepherd boy, and 
 continued in that occupation two years, 
 receiving ten dollars a year for his services. 
 For the ne.xt two years he served as 
 coachman to a private family, and then 
 commenced to learn the trade of wagon- 
 maker, at which he served an apprentice- 
 ship of three years, and for which his 
 parents paid twentj'-five dollars. After 
 completing his apprenticeship he worked 
 as journeyman at various places in Ger- 
 many until NS43, when he married Miss 
 Henrietta Ctjldeme, who died eight years 
 after, leaving five children. In 1854 Mr. 
 Radoe wedded Miss Augusta Harder, and 
 the following year the\' emigrated to Amer- 
 ica, landing in Ouebec after an eight-weeks' 
 voyage, thence coming directly to Mil- 
 waukee by boat, and from there to Water- 
 town, Wis., where Mr. Radoe entered the 
 employ of a wagonmaker. After working 
 for his employer tw(j months, our subject 
 rented the shop and conducted it on his own 
 account two vcars, at the end of which 
 
 time he came to Eaton township, and 
 purchased eighty acres of land, where he 
 passed the rest of his days. At that early 
 date there were but four or five other set- 
 tlers in the town, and their nearest trading 
 point was Green Bay, a trip to the mill and 
 back occupying three days; and, as there 
 was but one ox-team in the town, all the 
 neighbors would arrange to send their grist 
 at the same time. Mr. Radoe cleared and 
 cultivated his land, converting it into a 
 highly improved tract, where he and his son 
 conducted a profitable farming business. 
 He died July 2, 1 894, universally respected 
 in Eaton township, where he was recog- 
 nized as a kind-hearted neighbor and loyal 
 citizen. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Radoe had a famil\- of 
 nine children, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows: Maria P., August 
 31, 1855; Albertina A., December 28. 
 1857; William D., January 19, i860; Carl 
 R. , February 9, 1862; Gustave A., March 
 6, 1864 (deceased July 28, 1865); Ann 
 R. and Herman T. (twins), April 13, 
 1866; Augusta L. , December 9, 1869; and 
 Louis M., December 22, 1873. The 
 mother of this family passed from earth 
 November 22, 1888. Mr. Radoe was a 
 Methodist in religious belief, and, though 
 there is no church of that denomination 
 in Eaton township, he was much inter- 
 ested in all church work; he donated the 
 land for the cemetery in Eaton township, 
 and gave a ready support to all beneficial 
 movements of interest to the community 
 in general. In 1891 he made a trip to 
 his native country, returning after a pleas- 
 ant visit of about four months. 
 
 JOHN MEEHAN, a well-known agri- 
 culturist of New Denmark township, 
 Brown county, is a native of Ire- 
 land, born July 19, 1836, son of 
 Thomas and Mary (Jordan) Meehan. who 
 were farming people of that country. 
 They had children as follows: John, 
 Ellen, Kate, Ann, Mary, and Christopher, 
 of whom John is the subject of this sketch ; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 409 
 
 Ellen became Mrs. John Moore, of Den- 
 mark, Brown Co., Wis.; Kate is the wife 
 of P. Fagan, of Denmark; Ann died in 
 infancy, and Mary keeps house for her 
 brother John. 
 
 In 1849 the parents disposed of their 
 belongings in Ireland, and, proceeding to 
 Liverpool, embarked on an American- 
 bound vessel, landing in New York City. 
 Going at once to Troy, N. Y. , they lived 
 in that city one year, and then removed 
 to Lanesboro, Mass., where they made 
 their home about three years, Mr. Meehan 
 finding employment at the iron works. 
 From there the family removed westward 
 to Brown county. Wis., and settled on 
 160 acres of wild land which they had 
 purchased in New Denmark township 
 (the farm now occupied by our subject), 
 making their home for several years in a 
 log house, which is still standing. The 
 surrounding country was still unimproved, 
 and wild beasts and Indians were yet 
 numerous in the neighborhood. They 
 lived here about a year before they could 
 afford to buy a team, in the meantime 
 borrowing the o.\-team that belonged to 
 their neighbor, Mr. Bradley paying for 
 its use in work. Their trading was gen- 
 erally done in Manitowoc. On this farm 
 the parents passed the remainder of their 
 days, the father dying in 1870, the 
 mother in 1892, at the ripe old age of 
 ninety-two years. 
 
 John Meehan, being the eldest in the 
 famil}', commenced to work at an early 
 age, and he had his full share of the pri- 
 vations and hardships of pioneer farm 
 life. He and his brother gave valuable 
 assistance to their father in the clearing 
 of the farm, which was no small task, as 
 the land had to be literally taken from the 
 forest. Work being so abundant at home, 
 he had but little opportunity to attend 
 even the schools that flourished in the 
 neighborhood in those early days, but he 
 has acquired a practical business training. 
 In 1862 he went to Coles county, 111., 
 where he entered the service of the gov- 
 ernment, being employed to care for 
 
 horses for the army; and after remaining 
 there three years came home. Six 
 months later he went to Winona, Minn., 
 where he commenced railroading and 
 continued in that occupation six months, 
 since which time he has lived on the 
 homestead in New Denmark township. 
 His sister Mary has also remained on the 
 farm, and, as above mentioned, keeps 
 house for him. Mr. Meehan is an indus- 
 trious, progressive farmer, and is profit- 
 ably engaged in general agriculture. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican, and takes 
 great interest in the affairs of his party; 
 he has filled several minor offices, such as 
 supervisor and school director of his 
 township, with credit to himself and sat- 
 isfaction to all concerned, and is a di- 
 rector in the Farmers Insurance Com- 
 pany, of which he also served one year 
 as president. 
 
 CHRISTIAN KUNTZ, who, for the 
 past ten years, has been living re- 
 tired in Glenmore township, Brown 
 county, was born November 14, 
 181 3, in the village of Ottweiler, Rhine 
 Province, Prussia, son of Christian and 
 Sophia (Walsinger) Kuntz. They had 
 four sons — Christian, Jacob, Lewis and 
 Conrad — all of whom are now deceased, 
 except our subject. The mother died 
 when Christian was six years old, and his 
 father subsequently remarried. He died 
 in Germany, where he was a life-long 
 farmer. 
 
 Christian Kuntz attended the schools 
 of the Fatherland, was reared to farming, 
 which he continued to follow, and in his 
 early manhood, as is the custom in Ger- 
 many, served three years in the army, 
 from 1833 to 1837. I" the latter year, 
 his father having provided him with 
 money to come to the United States, he 
 proceeded to Havre, there embarking on 
 a vessel bound for New York, where he 
 landed after a voyage of twenty-eight 
 days. For two years he worked for a 
 farmer near Rochester, N. Y., and while 
 
4IO 
 
 COMMKMOliATJVK BIOGRAl'IIICAL UECOIID. 
 
 in that State was married, in 1S38, to 
 Miss Caroline Conrad, also a native of 
 Germany. In the spring of 1843 they 
 came by water to \\'isconsin, landing at 
 Milwankee, whence Mr. Kunt;^ went to 
 Washington (now Ozaukee) county, and 
 purchased a piece of new land. The 
 county had not yet been divided into town- 
 ships, and he was the first settler in his 
 section. Clearing up his farm he resided 
 thereon until 1858, when he came to 
 Brown county, and here purchased 320 
 acres of wild land in Section 9, Morrison 
 township, on which tract he built the first 
 lu)use and made the first improvements, 
 having his home there until 1884, when 
 he came to Glenmore township. Here 
 he has since lived, retired from active 
 work, residing with his son-in-law, Adolph 
 Glawe. He was \ery successful in his 
 farming operations, being an industrious 
 worker and a good manager, and has also 
 been fortunate in his real estate invest- 
 ments. 
 
 Mrs. Caroline Knnt/; died in 1857, in 
 Ozaukee county, where she was buried, and 
 Mr. Kuntz subsequently married in that 
 county Miss Elizabeth Khigg, a native of 
 Germany, to which union have come three 
 children : Henrietta, now Mrs. Adolph 
 Glawe, of Glenmore township ; Albert, a 
 farmer of Clark county. Wis. ; and Emma, 
 Mrs. Josejih Rank, of Chippewa county. 
 Wis. By his first wife there were chil- 
 dren as follows : Philip, who died young ; 
 Charles, who died in Brown county (he 
 served in the Civil war) ; Louis, who died 
 in New York State at the age of twenty- 
 three ; Caroline, Mrs. Powell Probstfeld, 
 of Missouri ; Henry, of Chippewa Falls, 
 Wis. ; Christian, of Marshfield, Wis. ; 
 Sojihia, Mrs. Ernest Hafer, of Superior, 
 Wis. ; William, of Grand Rapids, Wis. ; 
 and Anna, also of Grand Rapids. 
 
 Mr. Kuntz has, until recent years, been 
 one of the most active men in his local- 
 ity, public-spirited, enterprising and ever 
 ready to encourage any measure of benefit 
 or interest to the community. He is an 
 adlierent of the principles of tiie Demo- 
 
 cratic party, but uses his own judgment 
 in voting, always supporting the best 
 man. He was seven times elected chair- 
 man of Morrison township, and also 
 served as supervisor, and for three terms 
 as assessor. In religious faith he is a 
 member of the Evangelical Church. He 
 has traveled more than the average 
 farmer. In 1841 he paid a visit to his 
 nati\'e land, spending a month there, and 
 again went to Europe in 1884, this time 
 remaining four months in France, Hol- 
 land and Germany ; he has also journeyed 
 extensively over Canada and the United 
 States, visiting almost every State in the 
 Union, and in all has traveled over twen- 
 ty-five thousand miles, some seventeen 
 thousand by water. Mr. Kuntz is well 
 preserved, has a good memory, and was 
 extremely robust until 1S92, when an 
 attack of "la grippe" somewhat im- 
 paired his health. [Since the above was 
 written we have received intimation of the 
 death of Mr. Christian Kuntz. — Editor. 
 
 JOHN B. HEYRMAN, senior mem- 
 ber of the popular printing firm of 
 Heyrman & Kuypers, proprietors of 
 the Brown County Democrat, and 
 the /)(■ I'olksstcvi, is one of the most 
 prominent of all the pioneers who came 
 to northern Wisconsin, conspicuous not 
 only as such, but as one of the best-known 
 and most widely respected citizens in this 
 portion of the State. 
 
 Mr. Heyrman is a native of Belgium, 
 born in the town of . Bornhem, Province 
 of Antwerpen, a son of John and Anna 
 Catherine (De Jonghe) Heyrman, also of 
 Belgian nativity, born respectively at 
 Basele, Province of East Flanders, and 
 at Bornhem, Province of Antwerpen. In 
 1856 the parents, accompanied by their 
 eldest son, Charles Louis, took second- 
 class passage on a sailing vessel for 
 America, and after an uneventful voyage 
 landed at New York — that is, the father 
 and son did, for the mother was fated 
 never to see land again, ha\ing. after a 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4'3 
 
 brief illness, died on mid-ocean, finding a 
 grave in the deep bosom of the Atlantic 
 Ocean. From New York the bereaved 
 father and motherless son proceeded by 
 rail to Detroit, Mich., where two other 
 sons, John B. and Joseph, joined them, 
 they having arrived in the country the 
 previous year, as will be presently related. 
 The quartette then at once came to Wis- 
 consin, landing in Green Bay in 1856. 
 Here, in the town of Preble, they bought 
 a half section of timberland which they 
 immediately began clearing with a view 
 to making a permanent stay. The father 
 •died on this farm in 1874. The son, 
 Charles Louis, continued to reside there- 
 on, and cultivated it, until his decease in 
 1 89 1, after a prosperous career as an 
 agriculturist; he married, and had a family 
 of three sons and three daughters; and 
 when he died he left a widow and two 
 sons and two daughters. 
 
 John B. Heyrman, the subject proper 
 of this sketch, received a liberal education 
 at the common schools of his birthplace, 
 his instruction being in both the Flemish 
 and French languages, and in 1855, ac- 
 companied by his brother, Joseph, board- 
 •ed a sailing ship as passenger for the 
 United States, landing at New York. 
 From there they traveled to Philadelphia, 
 at which city they made an arrangement 
 with an American firm, owners of a large 
 tract of land in Luzerne county, Penn.,to 
 begin the clearing up of a portion of this 
 land for a Belgian colony, our subject be- 
 ing appointed superintendent of the work. 
 Accordingly, he and his brother, Joseph, 
 assisted by two other Belgians, com- 
 menced the work of clearing up a passage 
 to said land through a densely-timbered 
 wilderness. Arrived at their destination, 
 the first thing the party did was to put 
 up a log shanty, which, thanks to the 
 kindl}^ assistance of the far-distant neigh- 
 bors, was ready to shelter them in a few 
 weeks. The nearest neighbor, an Amer- 
 ican, was a true friend to the little pioneer 
 party of foreigners, and would willingly 
 
 Tiave given his last crust of bread and 
 23 
 
 sacrificed his life in their defense; but 
 there was no danger, for there was plenty 
 of game to be had for the killing, and 
 nothing worthy of apprehension more 
 dangerous than an occasional visit from a 
 vagabond bear or wolf, themselves hunt- 
 ing for the necessaries of life. The near- 
 est tavern to this embryo colony was sit- 
 uated somewhere at the foot of the Alle- 
 ghany Mountains, on the Bloomsburg and 
 Towanda pike, the most popular hostelry 
 between these two points, and was kept 
 by a German named Keizer; while the 
 nearest store, at which they could pro- 
 cure their provisions, etc., was no less 
 than thirty-five miles distant, a good day's 
 journey for a few pounds of tea or tobac- 
 co. On this wild piece of land these 
 four intrepid Belgians continued to live, 
 keeping a sort of "Bachelor's Hall," 
 hewing down the trees and clearing away 
 the brush, until the following spring, when 
 they "broke camp." The brothers Heyr- 
 man, having learned of the arrival of their 
 parents in the country, then set out for 
 Detroit, Mich., where they awaited them; 
 and, on the reunion of the family, the 
 party came direct to Wisconsin, as above 
 related. 
 
 During the first twelve years of his 
 residence in Wisconsin, John B. Heyr- 
 man lived on the farm with his father and 
 brothers, and then, having married, he 
 kept a general store at Ba}' Settlement, 
 Brown county, but at the end of two 
 years, owing to failures and fire, he lost 
 his all. At this time he hired out as a log 
 scaler to a lumberman for one winter, and 
 during the ensuing summer worked as 
 filer in the sawmill at New Franken, in 
 the town of Scott, Brown county. In 
 the fall of 1 87 1, having removed with his 
 family to De Pere, he recommenced mer- 
 cantile business, opening a general store 
 in that city, which he successfully con- 
 ducted seven years: then selling out in 
 order to be better at liberty to give his 
 attention to journalism, for which he had 
 a natural penchant. The paper he estab- 
 lished was the De Pere Staftdani, at that 
 
4'4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 time the only Catholic newspaper in the 
 United States published in the HolJiuui 
 language, and for twelve years he and his 
 associate conducted it with eminent abil- 
 ity and careful management. Mr. Heyr- 
 man then sold out his interest in the 
 S/aiidard to his partner, and in January, 
 1890, in company with John Anton Kuy- 
 pers, purchased the Brown County Deni- 
 ocrat (established m 1877), a weekly 
 paper printed in the English language, 
 and shortly afterward they commenced 
 the publication of a new Holland weekly, 
 De I'o/ksstiiii. in connection with which 
 they conduct a general printing estab- 
 lishment, equipped with all modern im- 
 provements and facilities to be found in a 
 first-class office. The business is carried 
 on under the firm name of Heyrman & 
 Kuypers, and is steadily expanding. 
 
 On May 6, 1867, Mr. Heyrman was 
 united in marriage with Miss Barbara 
 Isabella De Both, also a native of Belgium, 
 born at Ottenburg, Province of Brabant, 
 and ten children — five sons and five 
 daughters — were born to them, of whom 
 two sons and two daughters died in in- 
 fancy; the survivors are Henry, Anna 
 Catherine, Mary Magdeline, Peter, Julia, 
 and Ale.xander, all grown to manhood 
 and womanhood. In his political sympa- 
 thies Mr. Heyrman has been a consistent 
 Democrat from the day he cast his first 
 vote, in 1856, to the present time; in 
 1875 he was elected a justice of the peace, 
 but resigned the office before the close of 
 two years. For two successive years 
 he served as alderman of De Pere, since 
 when, in 1894, he was elected a member 
 of the county board of supervisors for 
 three years. Since 1872 he has been a 
 member of St. Joseph's Catholic Society 
 in De Pere. 
 
 Daily engaged in the details of his 
 prosperous business, faithful in the dis- 
 charge of all social and other obligations, 
 Mr. Heyrman yet finds time to make a 
 cordial and practical response to the calls 
 of philanthropy, and to join with his fel- 
 low citizens in measures that tend to pro- 
 
 mote good government. He is honored 
 and respected by all who know him, and 
 enjoys a reputation for unflinching adher- 
 ence to the principles of right, justice and 
 freedom, which any man might covet. 
 
 JOHN G. GROSS, farmer, dairyman 
 and lumberman of Morrison town- 
 ship, Brown county, was born in 
 1829, in Bavaria, Germany, where 
 he was reared and received his education. 
 He immigrated to America at the age of 
 twenty-one, and after remaining three 
 years in New York came to Wisconsin, 
 first to Germantown, Washington county, 
 and thence to Morrison township. Brown 
 county, where he owns about 320 acres of 
 land, a portion of which has been cleared 
 and developed by his individual labor. In 
 1867 he commenced lumbering, a busi- 
 ness in which he met with such success that 
 in 1875 he purchased the mill which he now 
 manages. He also became a stockholder 
 in the first cheese factory established in 
 the town, an enterprise which proved 
 very profitable to the people. For twenty- 
 five years he has assisted in the local civil 
 government, serving in various count}' and 
 town offices, representing his town on the 
 county board for eight years, and has also 
 taken a lively interest in educational af- 
 fairs. In 1853 Mr. Gross married Mar- 
 garet Moschel, and to their union have 
 come nine children — four sons anrl five 
 daughters. 
 
 CHARLES PRUST, of Morrison 
 township. Brown county, was 
 born March 8, 1846, in Germany, 
 a son of John and Charlotte 
 (Combis) Prust, who were the parents of 
 nine children, viz. : Frederick, Austine, 
 William, Charles, August, Johanna, and 
 Henry, all living; and Mary and Anna, 
 deceased. Charles Prust served a three 
 years' apprenticeship at wagonmaking in 
 Germany, receiving for his last year's labor 
 fifteen dollars. The familv then came to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 41S 
 
 America, sailing from Hamburg and land- 
 ing in Quebec, whence they came to 
 Wrightstown, Brown Co., Wis., where 
 the father bought a tract of forty acres of 
 cleared land. They remained at Wrights- 
 town until 1888, then removed to Marsh- 
 field, Wis., where the father also bought 
 forty acres of land, and there lived until 
 his death. May 12, 1890. 
 
 After his arrival in Brown county our 
 subject went to Glenmore, and worked at 
 carpentering for two years, continuing to 
 work at that trade, for the most part, until 
 1887, when he started in the machine 
 business in De Pere, moving thence to 
 Morrison, where he engaged in the same 
 line of business until May, 1893; he had 
 bought eighty acres of land, mostly wild, 
 but in May, 1893, he sold his farm 
 and businesss and started a saloon. Mr. 
 Prust was united in marriage, December 
 5, 1869, with Augusta Conrad, daughter 
 of Ludwig and Caroline (Prust) Conrad, 
 and they have had nine children, as follows: 
 Minnie, Mary, Augusta, Ann, William, 
 
 Bertha, John, Harrison, and . 
 
 In religious connection they are members 
 of the Evangelical Association, of which 
 Mr. Prust has been a trustee fifteen years, 
 treasurer thirteen years, and for four years 
 he was preacher. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican, and has served as supervisor, 
 assessor, and for two years as chairman. 
 Mr. Prust has made many friends in Mor- 
 rison, is popular in his business as well as 
 in his political relationship, and his family 
 are all highly respected as honest and 
 peaceable neighbors. 
 
 JH. TAYLER, cashier of the McCart- 
 ney National Bank at Fort Howard, 
 Brown county, was born here in 
 1859, and is a descendant of a very 
 ancient English family. He is a son of 
 Joseph and M. V. (Kennan) Tayler, the 
 former of whom came from England to 
 Neenah, Wis., in 1S52, soon after remov- 
 ing to Green Bay, where he engaged in 
 
 the commission business until 1857, the 
 year of his removal to Fort Howard ; 
 here he was engaged in mercantile busi- 
 ness for some years, but is now acting as 
 insurance agent. For about twenty years 
 he was postmaster at Fort Howard, and 
 for a number of years has been city treas- 
 urer, being always recognized as a first- 
 class business man and a model gentleman. 
 
 J. H. Tayler was reared and educated 
 in Fort Howard, and after leaving school 
 began his business life as assistant post- 
 master, holding the position with credit 
 for ten years ; he was city treasurer two 
 years, and since his connection with the 
 McCartney National Bank has also held 
 the office of mayor of Fort Howard. His 
 banking experience began with the or- 
 ganization of the Exchange Bank in 1881, 
 of which David McCartney was the presi- 
 dent and Mr. Tayler the cashier ; in 1892 
 the McCartney National Bank was organ- 
 ized, with the same officials. During 
 this period of fourteen years Mr. Tayler 
 has maintained his position as cashier to 
 the entire satisfaction of the business pub- 
 lic, and his uniformly pleasant method of 
 performing his duties has made him a 
 favorite with the bank's customers and the 
 citizens generally. He is also a director 
 of the Green Bay and Fort Howard Water 
 Works Company. 
 
 Mr. Tayler was married, in 1889, to 
 Miss Eleanor J. Richardson, who was 
 born in Wisconsin, daughter of George 
 and Susan Richardson, the former a na- 
 tive of England who settled in Fort How- 
 ard about the year 1865. The only child 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Tayler, named 
 George R., was taken from them in his 
 earliest childhood, causing a void in their 
 otherwise happy home that is felt most 
 keenly. Mr. Tayler is in politics a Re- 
 publican, believing that the principles pro- 
 mulgated by that party are the best adapt- 
 ed to the good of the people of the State 
 and Nation. In the social circles of Fort 
 Howard he and his wife are shining lights 
 and recognized ornaments, and in the 
 sterner and more serious conduct of local 
 
4t6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 progress Mr. Tayler's advice is eap;erly 
 soufjht and is freely given, while he him- 
 self never fails to bear his full share of the 
 labor and cost of public improvements 
 — material, religious and educational. 
 
 M 
 
 J. CORBETT, wholesale and 
 retail grocer, Fort Howard, 
 Brown county. This gentle- 
 man, who is one of the promi- 
 nent business men and stanch citizens of 
 Fort Howard, has had an interesting and 
 varied experience. He was born in Ot- 
 tawa City, Canada, son of Lawrence 
 Corbctt, a native of Ennis, County Clare, 
 Ireland, who died in Ottawa, Canada; 
 the mother of our subject died when he 
 was an infant. 
 
 M. J. Corbett was educated in a pri- 
 vate school in his native city. At the 
 age (jf fifteen years he went to Buffalo, 
 N. Y. , where he worked in a stone-yard 
 one season, and in the fall of 1866 shipped 
 as a boat hand and came to Fort How- 
 ard, Wis., here engaging in boating on 
 Green Bay, first on the ' ' Sarah Van 
 Epps, " when she ran on the east shore, 
 later on the steamer "Ozaukee," and 
 afterward on the "Katie Reed." After a 
 few years' service on the Bay he entered 
 the boiler works of D. M. Burns, and 
 after remaining there some time served a 
 three or four years' apprenticeship as a 
 machinist in the Monitor Iron Works. 
 He next worked as a journeyman in the 
 Green Bay & Winona shops until 1877, 
 going thence to Lake City, Colo., on a 
 jirospecting tour, and later to Texas and 
 Alabama, where he followed his trade. 
 He was in the employ of the I. & G. N. 
 R. R. at Houston, Texas, as a machinist, 
 and later worked in the same capacity in 
 the H. & T. C. shops at Galveston, re- 
 maining in the South until about 1880, 
 when he returned to Fort Howard and 
 commenced business for himself in a small 
 building now occupied as a boot and shoe 
 store, buying and shipping potatoes. He 
 purchased and impro\ed his present two- 
 
 story brick veneered building in 1884, 
 and, from the small beginning made in 
 1 880, has grown the extensive business 
 which he now enjoys. Mr. Corbett is at 
 this time the leading merchant of Fort 
 Howard, carrying a complete line of 
 groceries, crockery and glassware, flour 
 and feed, giving employment to six clerks 
 and enjoying an extensive custom in 
 northeastern Wisconsin and northern 
 Michigan. The wholesale branch of this 
 business was established about 1890, 
 and his large tlouble store on Main street, 
 80 X 60 feet in dimensions, is a busy center 
 of trade. 
 
 In addition to his mercantile affairs, 
 Mr. Corbett finds time also to devote 
 to social and public matters, and is a 
 thoroughly public-spirited citizen. Po- 
 litically he votes with the Republican 
 party, and has served as alderman at large 
 for his city. He is a member of Poche- 
 quette Lodge, K. of P., of the A. O. U. 
 W. at Fort Howard, and is a director and 
 manager of the Fort Howard Building 
 and Loan Association. He is fully identi- 
 fied with the interests of the city, and in 
 all respects is a valuable citizen. 
 
 EPHRAIM CROCKER, ex-sheriff 
 of Brown county. Wis. , farmer 
 and liveryman, was born July 16, 
 1 8 19, in Colerain, Mass., a son of 
 William Crocker, who was a native of 
 Washington county, N. Y. , born near 
 Crocker's Falls, named after the grand- 
 father of our subject. 
 
 William Crocker, who was a farmer, 
 settled in 1833 in Ohio, where he died at 
 the age of forty-eight years. He had 
 married Miss Elizabeth Potter, also a 
 native of Washington county, N. Y. , who 
 became the mother of ten children, all 
 but two of whom grew to maturity, She 
 died in Ashtabula, Ohio, at the age of 
 about seventy years. As far as Mr. 
 Crocker knows, he has one brother, Will- 
 iam H., living in Australia; another, 
 Charles, in Arizona; and one, Levi, in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 417 
 
 Wisconsin, all engaged in mercantile trade. 
 Old-time war reminiscences are plen- 
 tiful in the Crocker family, and, among 
 others, it is related that Ephraim's father 
 was on Lake Champlain, September 11, 
 1 8 14, when the famous battle was raging, 
 and could distinctly hear the roar of the 
 cannon. Both grandfathers were officers 
 under Washington in the Revolution; a 
 
 granduncle. 
 
 in the same struggle, was 
 
 taken prisoner and consigned to Canada, 
 and while crossing a river was set to row- 
 ing a boat; but, pretending he could not 
 row, he fell behind, and, by diverging 
 from the proper course, escaped; after 
 reaching the shore he applied to a house 
 for something to eat; the lady told him 
 her husband was a Tory, but she was true 
 blue, and concealed him under the floor 
 in the cellar until an opportunity offered 
 for his escape, thus saving his life. 
 
 Ephraim Crocker lived on the home 
 farm until the death of his father, which 
 occurred when he was about sixteen years 
 of age. Times being hard and his mother 
 poor, he then started out in life for him- 
 self, and his meanderings were varied and 
 long. He made a start for Columbus, 
 Ohio, but before reaching his destination 
 found employment in a hotel; he next 
 drove team at Zanesville, where he re- 
 mained awhile, and then went back again 
 to his last employer and cared for horses 
 two years. Going next to Wheeling, W. 
 Va. , he engaged in teaming, and for about 
 three years was a driver on the National 
 road for Stockton, Falls & Co., after 
 which he bound himself as an apprentice 
 to a millwright in Cumberland, Md. Ac- 
 companying his employer to Harrisburg, 
 Penn., he helped to build a sawmill, and 
 worked six moths in same, thence going 
 to Smithland, Ky. , where he built a 
 steam tannery and a gristmill. His ap- 
 prenticeship expired there eighteen months 
 later, and he returned to Ashtabula, Ohio. 
 After working for a time on a vessel he 
 went to Buffalo, and then to New York 
 City, where for three years he worked at 
 shipbuilding for William Webb; then went 
 
 to St. Louis, Alo. , and worked one winter 
 on a large steamer; then reached Chicago, 
 where he worked in a shipyard, and while 
 there helped to build the Hrst boat that 
 passed through the Illinois canal. 
 
 Mr. Crocker now returned to Ohio, 
 and November 20, 1848, was married ta 
 Miss Hannah S. Hewitt, who was born in 
 New York State, a daughter of David and 
 Sally Hewitt, natives of New York, who 
 early settled in Ohio, dying in Ashta- 
 bula. To this marriage were born seven 
 children, two of whom are yet living, 
 viz. : Sarah C. , who is the wife of Rob- 
 ert Henderson, and has three sons; and 
 Frank G. , who married Miss Irwin, and 
 has a son and a daughter (he is a resident 
 of Iron Mountain, Mich., and is register 
 of deeds there). After his marriage Mr. 
 Crocker returned to Chicago for a year, 
 and in 1850 came to Fort Howard, where 
 he has ever since remained, with the ex- 
 ception of the time occupied in making a 
 trip to California. Here he first engaged 
 in general building, which he followed 
 until 1854, when he started a livery stable 
 which he has conducted, with the excep- 
 tion of two years, until the present time, 
 owning, besides, a large tract of valuable 
 land quite near the city. In 1873 and 
 1874 he was sheriff of Brown county, and 
 his career was a most exciting one in that 
 capacity; three-card monte men infested 
 the region and held officers, attorneys and 
 the populace under intimidation; but 
 Sheriff Crocker proved to be a match for 
 them. The great trouble was that indi- 
 viduals who were swindled by them were 
 terrorized and dare not appear against 
 them when arrested. But Sheriff Crock- 
 er, as it were, took the law in his own 
 hands, and on one occasion entered the 
 courtroom, took out the thief, and forced 
 him to disgorge $40 of his ill-gotten gains, 
 and on another occasion compelled the 
 culprit to surrender over $200. The 
 sheriff's name became a terror to the 
 desperadoes, and, despite all threats of 
 personal violence against himself, he 
 tenaciously clung to his duty and extermi- 
 
4iS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIWAL RECORD. 
 
 nated the evil-doers from the refjion. 
 Sheriff Crocker was possessed of j^reat 
 nerve, and at one time captured four 
 desperadoes single-handed, ' his only 
 weapon being a revolver that was utterl\- 
 unfit for use. He is a man of strict 
 honor, and one the people have always 
 implicitly relied upon for uprightness. In 
 politics he was formerly an Old-line 
 Whig, and cast his first vote for Gen. Will- 
 iam Henry Harrison; he now affiliates 
 with the Republicans, and was chairman 
 of the first Republican caucus held in 
 Fort Howard, which met in 1856 in the 
 office of his present livery barn. He and 
 his family are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, of which for seven 
 years he was Sunday-school superintend- 
 ent. His standing socially is very high, 
 and as a business man he is without 
 reproach. 
 
 WH. PETERSON, liverjinan, 
 Main street, Fort Howard, was 
 born at Stowe, Lamoille Co., 
 Vt., in 1850, and is a son of A. 
 iind Mary Ann (Somers) Peterson, na- 
 tives of the same State, in which the)' 
 lived and died. The senior Peterson was 
 a farmer by occupation, and died in 1885, 
 his wife preceding him in 1866 to the 
 mysterious beyond. Their four children 
 were : Edward, who resides in Green 
 Bay, and is engaged in the milling busi- 
 ness at Cooperstown, Wis. ; Gustie, who 
 is married, and resides at Nashua, Iowa ; 
 W. H., of Fort Howard, and Alfred, who 
 died in Stowe, Vt., about 1890. The 
 grandfather of Mr. Peterson was also a 
 native of the Green Mountain State, born 
 of Scotch ancestry, and was a soldier in 
 the Revolutionary war. 
 
 W. H. Peterson, who was reared and 
 educated among the rugged mountains of 
 his native State, early became interested 
 in the trotting-horse business in eastern 
 Vermont, and continued until his ramoval 
 to F"ort Howard in 1870. He had mar- 
 ried, the previous year, Eunice Kimball, 
 
 daughter of Luke Kimball, .both Ver- 
 monters. Death parted the youthful 
 couple in 1872, and the wife's remains 
 now rest beneath the soil of her native 
 State. Mr. Peterson was again married, 
 in 1874, at Milwaukee, this time to Mrs. 
 Anna Rice, a widow with one daughter, 
 who is now Mrs. Nellie Wheeler, of Mil- 
 waukee. Upon coming to Fort Howard 
 Mr. Peterson engaged in teaming for some 
 time. When the Milwaukee & Northern 
 railroad was constructed to this point he 
 became its transfer agent, continuing un- 
 til 1876, when he became interested in 
 milling in Eaton township. Fire destroyed 
 the property in 1880, and he again turned 
 to his first love, trotting horses, finally 
 establishing himself in the livery business. 
 He has taken pride in handling fine stock, 
 getting fancy prices when making sales. 
 In poHtics Mr. Peterson is a Republican ; 
 socially he is a member of the K. O. T. 
 M., and was one of the originators of the 
 Fair and Park Association, at whose fairs 
 he has always served as marshal. He 
 has witnessed very many changes since 
 coming to Fort Howard, and has always 
 been interested, as a true American citi- 
 zen should be, in all that would enhance 
 the prosperity of his home, city and county. 
 
 PH. CARLIN, one of the prosper- 
 ous business men of Green I^ay, 
 Brown county, where he conducts 
 a flourishing livery establishment, 
 is a native of Kingston, Canada, born 
 January 6, 1856. 
 
 William Carlin, father of subject, was 
 a native of Ireland, and by trade a mill- 
 wright, also engaging in lumbering. He 
 married Ann Nefcy, and their union was 
 blessed with fourteen children — eight sons 
 and si.\ daughters — eleven of whom are 
 yet living. In 1867 William Carlin came 
 to Green Bay, bringing his wife and 
 family, which then consisted of seven 
 children, and after a short residence here 
 removed to Oconto, Wis., living in that 
 vicinity the remainder of his life. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 419 
 
 was a man of means, and owned a good 
 farm, being also engaged to a consider- 
 able extent in lumber dealing. During 
 his youth he had received but a limited 
 education, but he acquired a practical 
 business training, and was altogether a 
 self-made man. He passed from earth 
 October 3, 1877, and was buried at 
 Oconto, at which place his widow, now 
 aged sixty-two years, still makes her 
 home. In politics he was a Democrat, 
 and in religious faith a member of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 P. H. Carlin attended the common 
 schools in Canada until his twelfth year, 
 when he came with his parents to Wis- 
 consin, and here finished his education in 
 the schools of the time. When eighteen 
 years of age he went out with a surveying 
 corps as helper and compassman, prior to 
 which he had assisted his father, at the 
 age of sixteen having charge of a camp of 
 eighty-five men in the lumber regions. 
 He continued as helper to surveyors until 
 he became competent to work for him- 
 self, and in following this business he has 
 been over a considerable portion of Lower 
 Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Min- 
 nesota, having continued in the pursuit of 
 the profession more or less for the last 
 twenty years. He has also engaged in 
 the lumber business for his own account, 
 and for five or six years was superin- 
 tendent for the Murphy Lumber Co. He 
 has also bought lumber for others, his 
 competence and sound judgment being 
 everywhere recognized and fully appreci- 
 ated, and in this capacity has probably 
 purchased over ten million dollars' worth 
 of lumber. On July 6, 1892, Mr. Carlin 
 purchased from J. A. Cusick the profit- 
 able livery business, in the conducting of 
 which he is now engaged, having one of 
 the largest and best establishments in that 
 line in Green Baj', where he is well known 
 as a substantial business man; he also 
 owns two farms in Oconto county, and 
 several tracts of timber land in northern 
 Wisconsin, which are carefully looked 
 after. He has been a self-made man in 
 
 every way, and besides making his own 
 way in the world has faithfully assisted 
 his parents, and for several years after 
 the death of his father was the head of 
 the family. 
 
 On February 4, 1894, Mr. Carlin and 
 Miss Margaret Runnel were united in 
 marriage in Green Bay, in which city she 
 was born, daughter of Adam Runnel. 
 Our subject cast his first vote for James 
 A. Garfield, and has always been a stanch 
 Republican and Protectionist; though tak- 
 ing a lively interest in the success of his 
 partv, he is no aspirant for office and 
 has declined nomination on various occa- 
 sions. In religious faith he and his wife 
 are both members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 THOMAS LAWLOR, a retired 
 farmer, now residing in De Pere, 
 Brown county, was born in No- 
 vember, 1822, in County Kerry, 
 Ireland, son of John and Ellen (Bahan) 
 Lawlor. He lost his father in 1832, 
 and his mother being thus rendered un- 
 able to keep her family together, our sub- 
 ject commenced work at the age of fif- 
 teen. His first place was with Rev. 
 Father Thomas Fitzgerald, with whom 
 he remained two years, afterward finding 
 employment with the farmers of his 
 county, where he worked hard and saved 
 all the money he earned. 
 
 In 1845 Mr. Lawlor married Mary 
 Connor, who was born in 1828 in County 
 Kerry, daughter of Timothy and Mary 
 (Murphy) Connor, and for two years 
 thereafter worked as a farm hand, at low 
 wages. To this marriage one child was 
 born in Ireland, named Patrick, who 
 died in Glenmore township. Brown Co., 
 Wis. , at the age of eighteen. Mr. Lawlor 
 having decided to come to America, he 
 set sail from Liverpool, February 12, 
 1847, embarking with his family on the 
 sailing vessel "Siddons," and arriving 
 April I, of the same year, in New York, 
 went thence to Greenfield, Franklin, 
 Co., Mass., and for five years worked for 
 
420 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the farmers of the neif^hborhood. Here 
 were born two daufjhters, Ellen and 
 Mary, the former of whom is married to 
 Robert Wilson, and the latter to William 
 Patten, a farmer. By this time our sub- 
 ject had saved $600, and in the fall of 
 1852 he came with his little family to 
 Wisconsin. Reaching Green Bay in 
 September, he located his family in West 
 De Pere and went to work on the canal 
 at Kaukauna, Outagamie county, for a 
 month or more, after which he returned 
 to Brown county and bought eight}' acres 
 of wild land in Glenmore township. Not 
 a road was on or near the place, and he 
 blazed the trees to mark his path. He 
 found shelter for his famih' in a neighbor's 
 cabin until he could clear a space for 
 building a cabin of his own, a task which 
 was soon accomplished, and here the 
 family lived very happily. Wolves were 
 numerous, their howling being heard at all 
 hours in the night, and game was also 
 plentiful, Mr. Lawlor on one occasion 
 killing a bear on his own farm, and the 
 animal served for many good meals. But 
 what was then a wilderness is now a broad 
 expanse of well-tilled fields, occupied by 
 well-to-do farmers After many years of 
 labor devoted to clearing up and develop- 
 ing his farm — now one of the finest in 
 Glenmore township — Mr. Lawlor built a 
 hewn log house and, later, a substantial 
 brick dwelling, which still stands and is 
 likely to stand for many years yet to 
 come; he also erected three fine barns. 
 After thirty-six years of good hard work 
 on this farm, he sold all his real estate, 
 and in August, uS88, came to De Pere, 
 where he has since passed his days in re- 
 tirement, respected for his many virtues 
 by all who know him. 
 
 The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lawlor in Wisconsin were named John, 
 Sarah, Thomas and Maggie (twins), Fan- 
 nie, Michael and William, of whom two 
 sons and three daughters yet survive. In 
 politics Mr. Lawlor is a stanch Democrat, 
 but has never sought office. His dealings 
 with his fellow men have always been 
 
 straightforward and honest; he owes no 
 man anything, neither has he ever bor- 
 rowed money from any man. In religious 
 connection he and his faithful wife are 
 members of St. Francis Church, De Pere, 
 and they are most sincere in their faith. 
 Few people have lived together as hap- 
 pily and contentedly as this honored 
 couple, and there are few in Brown county 
 who have made more friends. They are 
 esteemed by all who know them for their 
 many good qualities of head and heart, 
 and their lives have been an example 
 worthy of imitation by the young people 
 of the Fox River Vallev. 
 
 JASPER STEPHEN CHASE, the ex- 
 tensive lumberer and fiour-mill pro- 
 prietor, of De Pere, Brown county, 
 was born at Port Huron, Mich., Sep- 
 tember 17, 1853, a son of Nathan B. and 
 Ann M. (McClure) Chase, who were of 
 English and Scotch ancestry, respectively. 
 The paternal grandfather, Stephen Chase, 
 came from England to Woodstock, Can- 
 ada, about the year i 800, and by vocation 
 was a farmer. His son, Nathan B. 
 Chase, became a prosperous lum.ber 
 dealer and proprietor of t\\o sawmills at 
 Port Huron, which he sold out in 1854, 
 and next engaged in mercantile trade at 
 Green Bay, Wis. , where, through the 
 trickery of a partner, he lost over forty 
 thousand dollars. In 1856 he re-engaged 
 in the milling business, which for eight 
 years he carried on at Wrightstown, and 
 then moved his mill to Oconto county, 
 where he continued the business until 
 1870, when his son, Jasper S., in com- 
 pany with Isaac Dickey, purchased the 
 mill property, and Nathan B. Chase re- 
 turned to his farm in the vicinity of Green 
 Ba\', where he passed the remainder of 
 his days, dying in February, 1884. 
 
 Jasper S. Chase acquired a very good 
 education in the schools of De Pere and at 
 the Green Ba}' Business College; he next 
 clerked for L. Day, a wholesale grocer at 
 Green Bay, for three years, then bought 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 421 
 
 his interest in the milHng business in 
 Oconto county, in which he continued 
 seventeen years, during which time he 
 cut from sixty milhon to seventy milhon 
 feet of lumber. Mr. Chase became 
 very influential in the region of the mill, 
 and the township in which it was located 
 was named "Chase, " in his honor. For 
 eight years he was a member of the 
 county board of commissioners, and for 
 an equal length of time was chairman of 
 of the township board of trustees. Since 
 settling in De Pere, in 1889, he has served 
 as supervisor one year, also as county 
 treasurer one year, and is now serving as 
 city alderman. His social and business 
 relations are extensive and complex. He 
 is president of the De Pere Lumber & Fuel 
 Company, which handles all kinds of lum- 
 ber that grows in this climate, as 
 well as pine and other lumber indi- 
 genous to the south, and does a busi- 
 ness averaging fifty thousand dollars per 
 annum; he is secretary of the John P. 
 Dousman Milling Company; secretary of 
 of the De Pere Light & Power Company, 
 all of which companies he took an active 
 part in organizing, and is also a member 
 of the board of directors of the Artesian 
 Water Supply Company. His business 
 activity and enterprise are universally rec- 
 ognized, and his interest in the material 
 advancement of De Pere is equally well 
 conceded. Socially he is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias. The marriage of 
 Mr. Chase took place, in 1879, to Flora 
 Call, daughter of W. P. Call, a retired 
 business man, the result of the union 
 being three children, named Rena, Mor- 
 ris and Hazel. 
 
 THEODORE COLBURN, a well- 
 known and highly-respected citi- 
 zen of De Pere, Brown county, 
 was born December 9, 1830, near 
 the city of Quebec, Canada, son of Fran- 
 cis and Angeline (Thomas) Colburn. 
 
 Francis Colburn was a son of Jean 
 Colburn, who was a native of France. 
 
 Francis was a farmer in Canada, also near 
 Plattsburgh, N. Y., and of his fifteen chil- 
 dren ten were sons. He lost his wife in 
 New York State, and later moved to 
 Michigan, thence coming to De Pere, 
 where he passed the remainder of his 
 days. Theodore Colburn received but 
 one week's schooling, and was reared to 
 hard labor on the farm. He was married 
 at Plattsbnrgh, N. Y. , February 3, 1851, 
 to Miss Celia Demro, who was born April 
 3, 1835, i'l Canada. He was at that time 
 a poor young man, but self-reliant and 
 strong. He rented a farm eighteen miles 
 from Plattsburgh, worked hard for nearly 
 two and a half years, made some money, 
 and in the fall of 1853 disposed of his 
 personal effects and started for Wisconsin 
 with his wife and surviving child, Mar- 
 shall (now of Stiles, Wis.), having lost 
 one child in New York State. In Novem- 
 ber, 1853, he landed in Green Bay, and 
 shortly afterward came to De Pere, 
 where he rented a house, and for three 
 years worked in the woods for James 
 Ritchie. In 1854 he went in debt for 
 five acres of land at that time in the 
 woods, but now a part of the city, 
 and built the first house erected on 
 the tract, the whole costing $150. 
 He lived on this place until a short time 
 before the breaking out of the Rebellion, 
 and then bought sixty acres on the East 
 river, in De Pere township. This was 
 also a wilderness, in which he built the 
 first house. He next moved to Rockland 
 township, where he burned charcoal 
 for a time, then lived in the cityof De Pere 
 for a while, returning thence to his 
 East river farm, which he soon sold, 
 going to Black Creek, Outagamie county, 
 where he bought a steam sawmill, but 
 within a year and a half lost $10,000; 
 then bought forty acres near. De Pere; 
 next removed to Dakota, and for three 
 years and a half lived near Big Stone 
 City, where he owned 700 acres; then 
 returned to Wisconsin and built a hotel 
 at Marinette (then known as "Pound"), 
 which he conducted, and also kept a saloon ; 
 
422 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ■then moved to Green Bay, and about 
 1882 settled in De Pere, where he has 
 since made his home. 
 
 Mr. Colburn had a short war experi- 
 ence. In March. 1865, he enhsted at 
 Green Bay in a Wisconsin infantry regi- 
 ment, his avoirdupois being then 204 
 pounds; he served in Missouri, doing pa- 
 trol and guard duty until July, 1865, 
 when he was discharged on account of 
 sickness, his weight being at that time 
 I 60 pounds, and he has been an invalid 
 ever since. The children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Colburn were named as follows: 
 Louis, now of De Pere: Celia, now Mrs. 
 J. H. Kosell, of Plainfield, Wis. ; John, 
 of Ingalls. Mich. ; Sophia, at home with 
 her parents; Frank, who died at the age 
 of five years; Mary, who died at the age 
 of two and one half-years; Virginia, who 
 also died young; Ida. now Mrs. Michael 
 Lawlor, of De Pere; and Xavier and 
 Clara, who both died young. Mr. Col- 
 burn is a Democrat, and has always 
 voted with that party; he and his wife are 
 members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church 
 
 CHARLES L. DAVIS, farmer and 
 stock raiser, and one of the pro- 
 gressive, public-spirited citizens 
 of Lawrence township, Brown 
 county, was born Julv 25, 1848, in the 
 town of Royalton, Niagara county. New 
 York. 
 
 His father, E. B. Davis, was a native 
 of Schenectady county, N. Y. , where he 
 married Polly Schadd," and while living in 
 New York they had children as follows- 
 John, a member of Company I, Third 
 Wisconsin Cavalry, who died at Madison 
 Wis. ; George, who died in Elyria, Ohio'; 
 and Charles L. , whose name introduces 
 this sketch. Mr. Davis was a farmer in 
 New York State, and in 1849 he removed 
 to Lonan county, Ohio, and purchased a 
 farm in Carlisle township, where he con- 
 tinued to follow agricultural pursuits, and 
 here he also dealt extensively in lumber 
 principally the purchasing of staves for a 
 
 Buffalo firm. In Lorian county was born 
 another child, Jane C, who married 
 Bruce Lindsley, and died in Flintville 
 Brown Co., Wis. Mrs. Polly Davis died 
 m Lorian county, January 17, 1857, and 
 was buried in Elyria, same county, and 
 Mr. Davis then married Miss Susan Oak- 
 ley, who died in Lorian county July, 1 1, 
 1858. In 1859 he wedded, in Lock'port,' 
 N. Y., for his third wife. Miss Mary Bar- 
 rett. In i860, the lumber business hav- 
 ing gradually declined with the clearing 
 away of the forests, Mr. Davis concluded 
 to remove farther west, and brought his 
 family to Brown county. Wis. , traveling 
 by rail to Oshkosh, and from there by 
 stage to Wrightstown, Brown county 
 where they located. Mr. Davis again 
 engaged in the stave business, buying 
 timber from farmers, and he put consider- 
 able money into circulation here, as his 
 trade was an extensive one. He invested 
 in a large amount of land in Brown 
 county, and pre-empted over 300 acres 
 of government land. He was a well-built 
 man, of splendid physique, and was well 
 known and highly respected in his com- 
 munity. At the time of his death, which 
 occurred March u, 1S78, he was com- 
 fortably situated. In his political belief 
 he was a Democrat, and a stanch sup- 
 porter of the party, but was not an active 
 politician. He lies buried in Wrights- 
 town cemetery. 
 
 Charles L. Davis received his first 
 school training in Carlisle township, 
 Lorain Co., Ohio. After the death of 
 his mother he returned to Niagara county, 
 N. Y. , and for two years made his home 
 with his grandfather, then, in i860, com- 
 ing to Wisconsin. In October, 1864, 
 then but a little over sixteen years of 
 age, he enlisted at Green Bay, Wis., in 
 Company H, Twelfth Wisconsin In- 
 fantry, was sent South, and, joining the 
 regiment at Marietta, Ga., participated 
 in the entire campaign through the Caro- 
 linas. He took part in the Grand Review 
 at Washington, D. C. , was mustered out 
 at Louisville, Ky. ; and received an hon- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 423 
 
 orable discharge at Madison, Wis. 
 When he first came to Wisconsin, the 
 schools were very poor and he did not 
 attend much, as he assisted his father in 
 the latter's extensive lumber business, 
 becoming familiar with the details of 
 same when yet a mere boy. After the 
 war he became partner with his father in 
 the business and continued to hold an in- 
 terest in same until 1879. 
 
 On April 9, 1877, at Wrightstown, 
 Wis., by Rev. Father De Wilt, Mr. 
 Davis was united in marriage with Miss 
 Ellen Sullivan, who was born January 
 22, 1857, in Winchendon, Worcester 
 Co., Mass., eldest child of John and 
 Ellen (Harris) Sullivan. For five years 
 previous to her marriage she followed the 
 profession of school teaching, in the 
 meantime having her residence in Law- 
 rence. In 1882 Mr. Davis purchased 
 his present farm in Lawrence township, 
 and moved thereon, at the same time 
 severing completely his connection with 
 the lumber business. Since that time he 
 has been e.xclusively engaged in general 
 farming and stock-raising, and he now 
 has a fertile, well-improved farm of 
 ninety-nine acres. In politics he is one 
 of the leaders of the Democratic party in 
 his section, and for three years has been 
 chairman of the Democratic committee. 
 He is always among the foremost men in 
 the township in any enterprise tending to 
 benefit the community in general. To 
 him and his wife have come children as 
 follows: Jennie E. , born August 2, 
 1879; Mamie L. , born February 4, 1881, 
 died February 7, 1882; John E., born 
 June 18, 1882; Harriet C, born May 24, 
 1886, died May 7, 1887; and Charles F., 
 born April i, i88q. 
 
 JOHN G. GROSS, chief of the Fort 
 Howard Fire Department since Janu- 
 ary, 1S94, and for three years a 
 member of that organization, takes 
 pride in the fact that he is at the head of 
 a thoroughly equipped volunteer depart- 
 
 ment, having one engine and all the neces- 
 sary au.xiliaries. There is but one paid 
 man in the department. 
 
 John G. Gross, father of our subject, 
 was born in Bavaria, and came to New 
 York in 1850. Pushing westward in 1852 
 to Milwaukee, Wis. , he there married Mar- 
 garet Moschel, and settled, six months after 
 arriving in Milwaukee, on a farm in Mor- 
 rison township. Brown Co., Wis., which 
 he cleared and improved. Later he en- 
 gaged in the lumber and milling business, 
 and he and his wife still reside on the 
 farm on which they originally settled. 
 Their children were nine in number: 
 August resides in Morrison township, 
 where he is engaged in sawmilling and 
 conducts a cheese factory; Caroline, wife 
 of Frank Falck, resides in Seymour, Wis. ; 
 John G. is the subject of this sketch; 
 Louisa is the wife of Joseph Leonard, of 
 Medford, Taylor Co. , Wis. ; Fred P. re- 
 sides in Fort Howard; Maggie, wife of 
 Daniel Schunk, resides on the old farm; 
 Sophia is the wife of William Peters, of 
 Brillion, Calmuet Co., Wis.; Christina is 
 the wife of Charley Furstenburg, of Bril- 
 lion; Gottfried, unmarried, resides with 
 his brother, John. 
 
 Our subject was born January 21,1858, 
 on the home farm in Morrison town- 
 ship, Brown Co., Wis., and when he was 
 fourteen years of age went to work at 
 teaming, milling and farming, continuing 
 until his removal to Fort Howard in 1883. 
 In the latter year he established a saloon 
 and billiard parlor at the corner of Main 
 and Pearl streets, which he still conducts. 
 In 1S82 he was married, in Morrison 
 township, to Miss Bertha Schultz, who 
 came to the township in 1 866 from Prussia, 
 with her parents, Ferdinand and Anna 
 (Timm) Schultz, the family locating upon 
 a new farm, which -they improved. Mr. 
 Schultz died in 1890; his widow still re- 
 sides on the old homestead. Their other 
 children are: August, married and re- 
 siding on the old farm; Albert, married 
 and living in Morrison township; Hannah, 
 wife of Albert Sorwald, of Brillion, Wis. 
 
424 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gross are the parents of 
 two children, William and Clarence. Mr. 
 Gross was reared in the Lutheran faith. 
 He is a member of Green Bay Lodge, No. 
 119, I. O. O. F. , and of the American 
 Legion of Honor at Fort Howard. For- 
 merly a Democrat in politics, he has found 
 reason to change his political belief, and 
 now casts his vote with the Republican 
 party. Since his boyhood, although that 
 period is not remote, he has witnessed 
 great changes in the region around 
 his home. 
 
 M 
 
 RS. OLIVE I. SHERWOOD, 
 of Howard township, Brown 
 county, was born April 2, 1S22, 
 in Oneida county, N. Y. , and 
 is the widow of the lamented Edison 
 Sherwood, who was born May 21, 181 3, 
 in Fairfield, Conn., a son of Wakeman 
 Sherwood. 
 
 Edison Sherwood was a gentleman of 
 considerable prominence in the early days 
 of Green Bay, having migrated hither as 
 early as 1835. He had been reared a 
 farmer, and on coming here went to the 
 Mission building in the capacity of an 
 agriculturist. In 1843 he married Miss 
 Olive I. Holmes, and then engaged in 
 general stock business in partnership with 
 her brother, A. G. E. Holmes, conduct- 
 ing same for almost forty years with un- 
 varying success, and with unswerving 
 adherence to the principles of mercantile 
 integrity. His death took place January 
 25, t88o, in Green Bay, and was most 
 deeply mourned by all who had ever been 
 associated with him in any of the trans- 
 actions of life — domestic, social or com- 
 mercial. After his decease his widow 
 lived with her brother, A. G. E. Holmes, 
 until thirteen years ago, when she moved 
 to the home of her sister, Mrs. A. B. 
 Oatley, with whom she has ever since re- 
 sided. Mrs. Sherwood adopted two chil- 
 dren, whom she reared with affectionate 
 attention and care, viz. : Carrie L. , who 
 
 was born October 9, 1858, and died in 
 Milwaukee, February 17, 1893, leaving a 
 daughter thirteen years old; and Fannie 
 E., who was born December i, 1873, 
 married Dr. Gilbert, and is now a resi- 
 dent of Fond du Lac (she has one daugh- 
 ter). Mrs. Sherwood was always promi- 
 nent in social circles until her husband's 
 death, and has always been an active 
 member of Christ's Episcopal Church, 
 Green Bay, of which he was also a 
 member. Of the seven children born 
 to her parents, Alvah and Sophronia 
 (Ellis) Holmes, four sons and two daugh- 
 ters still survive. [Since the above was 
 written Mrs. Olive I. Sherwood was taken 
 sick, which sickness terminated in her 
 death, September 10, 1894, at the age of 
 seventy-two years; her remains were laid 
 to rest in Woodlawn Cemetery, beside 
 those of her beloved husband]. 
 
 Albert B. O.^ti.ev was born Octo- 
 ber 12, 1832, in Burlington, N. Y., a son 
 of Benedict and Rosanna (Green) Oat- 
 ley, the former of whom was a native of 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 His father, Benedict Oatlej-, Sr. , was 
 also a native of Rhode Island, and died 
 in Onedia county, N. Y. , at the age 
 of seventy, his wife at the age of sixty; 
 he had been a soldier in the Revolution- 
 ary war. Benedict Oatley, Jr. , who was 
 the eldest in a family of eight children — 
 five sons and three daughters — was reared 
 to farm life in Oneida county, N. Y., and 
 there died at the age of sixty-two. His 
 wife, Rosanna, who was born in New 
 York, was a daughter of Simeon and 
 Rosanna (Budlong) Green, natives of 
 Connecticut, the former of whom was a 
 soldier in the Revolution, at the close of 
 which struggle he settled in Bridgewater, 
 Oneida county, N. Y. , and built a hotel 
 or tavern, which is still standing, and 
 which he conducted many years, after- 
 ward purchasing a farm which he culti- 
 vated about five years and then retiring to 
 Bridgewater, where he died at the age of 
 eighty, his wife at about the same age. 
 They were the parents of eleven chil- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 425 
 
 dren — six sons and five daughters — of 
 whom one son and one daughter are yet 
 hving. Mrs. Rosanna (Green) Oatley 
 died in Utica, N. Y. , at the age of fifty- 
 five. 
 
 Albert B. Oatley is a member of a 
 family of ten children, seven of whom 
 are still living — farmers and business men. 
 He was reared a farmer, and has practi- 
 cally followed that vocation until the 
 present time. On January 27, 1850, he 
 married Lavantia C. Holmes, who was 
 born April 17, 1832, in Bridgewater, N. 
 Y. , a daughter of Alvah and Sophronia 
 Holmes, and to this union have come 
 five children, as follows: Ella S., born 
 March 12, 1851, who is married to Wil- 
 liam Finnegan ; Alva H. , born February 
 14, 1853, deceased when two and a half 
 years of age ; Nettie H., born September 
 6, 1859, and married to H. B. Havland, 
 now of Horton, Kans., engaged in rail- 
 roading (they have had five sons and one 
 daughter, the latter of whom died at the 
 age of two and a half years); Edison S., 
 born November 20, 1864, married to Nel- 
 lie Mead, and has charge of the old home- 
 stead; and Olive R., born September 10, 
 1869, wife of Robert Delaney. After his 
 m arriage Mr. Oatley bought a farm 
 of 1 20 acres in the town of Suamico, 
 Brown county. Wis. , and erected a block 
 or hewed-log house, 16 x 20 feet, in which 
 he lived twelve years, after which he 
 came to the town of Howard, Brown 
 county, Wis., and bought the farm where 
 he now resides, in the winter of 1874 
 erecting his present dwelling. In politics 
 Mr. Oatley is a Democrat, and voted for 
 James Buchanan. He has served as jus- 
 tice of the peace several years, and is 
 regarded with great respect in the com- 
 munity. Several members of his family 
 served through the Civil war, including 
 three brothers, one of whom was wounded 
 in battle and died in Washington. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Oatley are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church, and are among 
 the most respected people of the town- 
 ship. 
 
 REV. ELSEAR de WILT is a na- 
 tive of Holland, born July 8, 1 827, 
 at Uden, North Brabant, in which 
 province the name of de Wilt is 
 an old one, the family having resided 
 there for many generations, some being 
 farmers, others business men. 
 
 Grandfather Francis de Wilt was a 
 man of considerable ability, also a fine 
 hunter and a very courageous man. Dur- 
 ing the French revolution a party of 
 French soldiers and sympathizers at- 
 tempted to tear down a large statue of St. 
 Peter in the gable of the church at Uden, 
 and he was just returning from hunting, 
 accompanied by his dogs, when he dis- 
 covered their designs. To these vandals 
 he announced that if thej' persisted a 
 Frenchman would come to ground sooner 
 than St. Peter, and it is needless to say 
 the statue remained standing. At another 
 time he saved the same church from being 
 burned down. The steeple had been 
 struck by lightning, and, the sacristan re- 
 fusing to give up the keys, Mr. de Wilt 
 pitched him out of the window, took the 
 keys from him, and climbed the tower, 
 where already the rafters were on fire. 
 He stamped out the fire, and thus saved 
 thechurch, although himself badly burned. 
 The sacristan sued him for damages, but 
 lost the suit, and Grandfather de Wilt was 
 rewarded for his bravery by a permanent 
 seat in the church which descended to his 
 children. He was a man of commanding 
 appearance, and of great influence in his 
 town. He reached the great age of four- 
 score years, and at the age of seventy was 
 still a great hunter. He reared a family 
 of seven children, of whom the second 
 son, Martinus, afterward inherited the old 
 homestead and resided there till his death. 
 He was more of a business man, became 
 one of considerable consequence, took an 
 interest in church matters, and lived a 
 good Christian life. He was born May 
 29, 1797, and died January 28, i860. In 
 the prime of life he married Maria Anna 
 Van Den Broek, born at Uden, Holland, 
 May 9, 1 804, who became the mother of 
 
426 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 six children, of whom our subject is the 
 eldest child. 
 
 Rev. Father de Wilt received his 
 primary education in his native town, 
 and later on studied in Bruges, West 
 Flanders, Belgium, where he made his 
 noviciate in the Order of St. Francis, and 
 afterward was ordained a priest by the 
 bishop of Tournay. He soon after be- 
 came professor of philosophy, and later 
 professor of theology at Enghien; taught 
 for about eight years, and was then sent 
 to England to assist the bishop of 
 Shrewsbury, where he presided as pastor 
 of the parish at the city of Flint, Flint- 
 shire, Wales. After two and a half years 
 he was recalled to Antwerp, where a 
 monastery was erected, and from there 
 served as a missionary through Belgium, 
 Holland and France. Finally he was 
 placed in Brussels, his work remaining 
 the same, until he got permission from 
 Rome to proceed to America, which he 
 did in 1868, when the diocese of Green 
 Bay was organised by Bishop Melcher. 
 He first took charge at Duck Creek, 
 where he brought the congregation to- 
 gether, and where they have had a priest 
 ever since. In 1869 he moved to Little 
 Chute, and here resided about five years; 
 then was placed at Montcllo, where he 
 remained till he came to Wrightstown, in 
 1876, and began the erection of a resi- 
 dence. He changed the church into a 
 parochial school, and in 1885, with his 
 own money, began a new church edifice 
 in the name of the congregation. It is a 
 large brick structure, and is as fine a 
 church building as can be found in the 
 Fox River \'alley; the interior of it was 
 recently (1894) finely painted and decor- 
 ated at an expense of about six hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 AUGUST HOCHGREVE, 
 ("deceased), was born October it;, 
 1832, in Herzberg, Hanover, Ger- 
 many, the eldest in a family of 
 eight children — three sons and five daugh- 
 
 ters- -and, like his father, who bore the 
 same name, became in his younger years 
 a proficient brewer and cooper, trades 
 which he learned in his father's establish- 
 ment in Germany. 
 
 Having received an excellent educa- 
 tion, learned his trades, and fitted him- 
 self for the struggles of life, Mr. Hoch- 
 greve left his German home at the age of 
 twenty years, and, sailing from Hamburg, 
 arrived at length at New York City. Af- 
 ter remaining there for one year, working 
 as a cooper, he removed to Manitowoc, 
 Wis., and engaged in the same business. 
 In the summer of 1861 he located in 
 Allouez township. Brown county, and in 
 company with Henry Rahr, who had 
 worked in the same establishment with 
 him at Manitowoc, founded the brewery 
 which is now conducted by his familj-, 
 and which has become one of the princi- 
 pal institutions of Brown county. After 
 eight or nine years, the firm having 
 greatly prospered, they built another 
 plant, now the H. Rahr's Sons' Brewery, 
 and for some time conducted both estab- 
 lishments; but the partnership was finally 
 dissolved, Mr. Hochgreve taking the orig- 
 inal plant and Mr. Rahr the one on East 
 River, Green Bay. The former's business 
 increased to such proportions that in 1874 
 he built the present substantial brick 
 structure, where the business is now car- 
 ried on by Mrs. Hochgreve and her sons. 
 A new and handsome dwelling has also 
 been erected, and prosperity continues to 
 smile upon the family. 
 
 On October 20, 1862, Mr. Hochgreve 
 was married at Manitowoc, to Caroline 
 Kiel, who was born June 18. 1842, in 
 Lippe-Detmold, Germany. Her father. 
 Christian Kiel, was a farmer, who came 
 with his family to the United States in 
 the spring of 1851, landing at New York 
 at the end of a seven-weeks' voyage from 
 Bremen, and removing thence to Manito- 
 woc. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hochgreve are: August, residing in Green 
 Bay, Wis. ; Lena, widow of Henry Freck- 
 man, now residing in Milwaukee; Augusta, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 V-1 
 
 Adolph, Louisa, Etta, Christian and 
 Mamie, at home; of these, Adolph is 
 superintendent of the brewery, Christian 
 being bookkeeper. Mr. Hochgreve died 
 February 23, 1877, and his remains rest 
 in Woodland cemetery. During life he 
 was an upright citizen, a stanch Republi- 
 can in politics, and a prominent Odd 
 Fellow. His widow is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church. The family is num- 
 bered among the leading ones of Brown 
 county, and the memory of its founder is 
 respected by all who knew him. 
 
 ANDREW C. MAILER, M. D., 
 one of the leading practitioners of 
 medicine of Brown county, Wis., 
 was born April 4, 1853, at De- 
 Pere. His parents, Andrew and Barbara 
 (Caldwell) Mailer, were natives, respect- 
 ively, of Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scot- 
 land, and in 1849, came to the United 
 States, locating first in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 whence they shortly afterward removed to 
 De Pere, same State. The father engaged 
 in various business enterprises in the city 
 up to the time of his death, which occurred 
 in 1878; Mrs. Barbara Mailer now resides 
 with a daughter in Portland, Oregon. 
 
 Dr. A. C. Mailer was educated in the 
 public schools of his native city, at Law- 
 rence University, Appleton, Wis. , and in 
 the University of Michigan, after which 
 he taught school for a few terms and then 
 engaged in the drug business at De Pere 
 for four or five years, reading medicine 
 while thus employed. He next attended 
 medical lectures at the University of 
 Michigan at Ann Arbor during the ses- 
 sions of 1874 and 1875. In 1877 and 
 1878 he took a course at Rush Medical 
 College, Chicago, from which he gradu- 
 ated in the spring of 1878, and soon after 
 began practice at De Pere in partnership 
 with his former preceptor. Dr. Fisk, a 
 connection which lasted eleven years, 
 since the expiration of which time he has 
 been in business on his own account. 
 After his first three years' practice the 
 
 Doctor supplemented his studies by a 
 course at Bellevue Hospital Medical Col- 
 lege, New York, receiving an ad ciindoii 
 degree from this institution in the spring 
 of 1S82. 
 
 In politics Dr. Mailer is an ardent Re- 
 publican, and has served in different ca- 
 pacities under the auspices of that party. 
 He has been for six years a member of 
 the board of education, of which he acted 
 as president for two years. He has twice 
 been elected mayor of the city, a position 
 he still holds. The Doctor is a member 
 of the American Medical Association, 
 State Medical Societ}', and Fox River 
 Valley Medical Society, and is surgeon to 
 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- 
 road. He is associated with several fra- 
 ternal and social societies, among which 
 are the Masons, Knights of Pythias, etc. 
 His professional standing is of the high- 
 est. 
 
 Dr. Mailer was united in matrimony, 
 at De Pere, on June i, 1887, to Miss 
 Alice Belle Winegard, a native of De- 
 Pere and a daughter of a Union soldier 
 who died in the army during the war for 
 the preservation of the Union. One child, 
 Katharine, adds sunshine to their pleasant 
 home. The Doctor is by birthright a 
 Presbyterian, and Mrs. Mailer is an Epis- 
 copalian, and their walk through life has 
 won for them the respect of all their neigh- 
 bors and the citizens in general. 
 
 REV. FATHER CHARLES J.GAL- 
 LAGHER, of St. Francis Xavier 
 Church, De Pere, Brown county, 
 was born July 8, 1851, at No. 74 
 Sands street, Brooklyn, N. Y., within two 
 blocks of the site of the present renowned 
 Brooklyn bridge. His parents were Mi- 
 chael and Jane (Stephens) Gallagher, and 
 were natives, respectively, of Sligo and 
 Ballyshannon, Ireland. Michael Galla- 
 gher was a journalist, and some of his 
 sons followed the same profession — one, 
 especially, Barclay Gallagher, having been 
 city editor of the New York Tribune un- 
 
428 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 der Horace Greeley, and being connected 
 with the Associated Press down to the 
 present time. 
 
 Father Gallagher received his prepar- 
 atory education at the Jesuit College, 
 of Fordham, N. Y., from which he 
 graduated in 1870, taking a collegiate 
 course at that institution, and afterward 
 taking a theological course at Mount St. 
 Mary's, Eiiiniittsburg, Md. In I1S75 he 
 was ordained priest at St. James' Cathe- 
 dral, Brookljn, N. Y. , by Bishop Laugh- 
 lin, and for twelve years was assistant to 
 the vicar general of the diocese of Brook- 
 lyn. In 1888 he was given charge of St. 
 Thomas Church at Poygan, Wis., the 
 church property at which place was much 
 improved under his earnest efforts; at 
 Omro, Wis., he entirely rebuilt St. Mary's 
 Church, and also rebuilt the church at 
 Winncconne, Wis. In June, 1893, Father 
 Gallagher was given charge of St. Francis 
 Xavier Church at De Fere — the first 
 Catholic Church erected in the place. The 
 congregation of this Church comprised 
 175 families, and its parish school has 
 accommodation for 200 scholars. Father 
 Gallagher is very popular with and is 
 greatly beloved by his people, and his 
 well-known energy and wisdom will doubt- 
 less soon result in greater improvement to 
 his flock and to the parish. 
 
 JOHN ANTON KUYPERS. It would 
 be hard to find a better illustration 
 of the facility with which, under the 
 liberal institutions of this great coun- 
 try — be they Republican or be they Dem- 
 ocratic — a man of ability and integrity, 
 whether native-born or of foreign birth 
 and impressions, may rise to any station, 
 perhaps among the most e.xalted, than 
 is afforded in the history of the gentle- 
 man whose name here appears, and who 
 is fast ascending the ladder of public 
 fame. 
 
 Mr. Kuypers is a native of Holland, 
 born in the village of Oeffelt, North Bra- 
 
 bant, March 2, 1869, a son of Michael 
 and Joanna (Emons) Kujpers, both also 
 of North Brabant nativity, the father 
 born in Oeffelt, the mother in St. Hubert. 
 Until the age of eleven years he attended 
 the common school of his native village, 
 and then took a regular high-school course 
 at Bo.xmeer, at the same time studying 
 French and German, as well as, for a 
 few months, the English language. At 
 the age of fourteen he entered the Nor- 
 mal School in the same town, in order to 
 prepare himself for the profession of 
 teacher; but his plans in this regard were 
 interrupted, before he had finished his 
 course, by the emigration of the famil)'^ 
 his parents and their children (two broth- 
 ers and three sisters — Theodore, Arnold, 
 Algonda, Antonia and Bertha, the hitter 
 now dead) — to the United States. Land- 
 ing, after an ocean voyage of three weeks, 
 at New York, January 25, 1886, they at 
 once proceeded westward to Wisconsin, 
 settling in the thriving city of De Pere, 
 Brown county, and here stoically com- 
 menced a new home in a new country, 
 with but little knowledge, if any, of its 
 language, laws and customs. 
 
 On the first day of Februar}', 1886, the 
 subject of these lines, with a determination 
 to succeed, a determination not to be ob- 
 structed by any obstacle, precipitated him- 
 self into the arena of journalism by 
 entering the employ of the Standard 
 Printing Co., in the role of "devil." 
 From this Arcadian, though somewhat 
 nondescript position, he soon rose to the 
 more dignified one of "typo," his natural 
 ability and perseverance soon manifesting 
 itself, quickly observed by his employers 
 and his associates. With this firm our 
 subject remained till December, 1889; 
 and so rapidl)' had he mastered the de- 
 tails of the profession and fathomed its 
 mysteries, that, during the last two years 
 he was in the emplo\" of the Standard 
 Printing Co., he acted in the capacity of 
 one of the editors of the De Pere Stand- 
 ard, a newspaper published by them in 
 the Holland language. In January, 1890, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 431 
 
 in company with Jolm B. Heyrman, lie 
 purcliased the Brown County Democrat 
 (established in 1877), a weekly paper 
 printed in the English language, and 
 shortly afterward they commenced the 
 publication of a new Holland weekly, 
 Dc Volksstcui, conducting, in connection, 
 a general printing establishment, equipped 
 with all modern improxements and facili- 
 ties for turning out good work. The 
 business is carried on under the firm 
 name of Heyrman & Kuypers. The 
 Democrat has a circulation of i , 300, the 
 Volksstciii, of 1,250, and both are influ- 
 ential papers. The Democrat, true to its 
 name, is an able exponent of Democratic 
 principles, while the I'olksstcin is more of 
 a newspaper in the literal sense of the 
 word, being confined to religious and 
 secular matters of interest, and is read by 
 Holland and Flemish Catholics in every 
 State of the Union. Both are eight-page 
 papers, 15x22, and are both edited by 
 Mr. Kuypers, whose untiring efforts and 
 hard work have largely contributed to the 
 bringing of them to their present standard 
 of excellence. He is a charter member 
 of Columbus Court, No. 315, Catholic 
 Order of Foresters, and its recording sec- 
 retary'; is also a member of Branch No. 
 46, Catholic Knights of Wisconsin; direc- 
 tor of the De Pere Business Men's Asso- 
 ciation; member of the city council; and 
 secretary of the Fire Department. 
 
 When Mr. Kuypers came to this coun- 
 try nine years ago, a rosy-cheeked lad of 
 seventeen summers, he knew but little of 
 the English language — merely the rudi- 
 ments — and never attended school here; 
 yet, by assiduous and most persevering 
 home study, he has succeeded in making 
 himself master of it in a comparatively 
 short time. By attending strictly to 
 business, and using all his leisure time to 
 advantage, he has succeeded in attaining 
 his present position, and securing a well- 
 earned popularity with all classes. He 
 takes an active part in public matters, 
 and is recognized as one of De Pere's 
 most enterprising young men. 
 
 24 
 
 PHILIP SHERLOCK. This gen- 
 tleman, an influential well-to-do 
 farmer citizen of De Pere town- 
 ship. Brown county, is a member 
 of one of the oldest pioneer families of 
 same. 
 
 Andrew Sherlock (father of Philip) 
 was a native of County Wexford, Ireland, 
 where he was born in 18 13, son of Philip 
 Sherlock. Andrew learned the carpen- 
 ter's trade, and also engaged in merchan- 
 dising, dealing in coal, etc. He was mar- 
 ried in 1843 to Anne Sinnot, who was 
 born in Count}- Wexford in December, 
 1 8 16, daughter of James and Catherine 
 fBrown) Sinnot, and two children were 
 born to this union in Ireland, namely: 
 Margaret, who died unmarried in De Pere 
 township, when aged twenty-nine; and 
 Anne, who died in De Pere at the age of 
 eighteen years. In 1849, Mr. Sherlock 
 having managed to save a small sum of 
 money, the family left Ireland, sailing 
 from New Ross in " The Jane," and after 
 a voyage of ten weeks and three days 
 landing at Quebec, where they were de- 
 tained ten days in quarantine, as cholera 
 had broken out on board the vessel and 
 many died. From Quebec they pro- 
 ceeded westward, coming via Buffalo and 
 Detroit to Milwaukee, Wis., where they 
 resided for about a twelvemonth, during 
 which time Mr. Sherlock followed his 
 trade, carpentry. Here one child, Philip 
 (subject proper of this sketch), was born 
 to them December 15, 1850. In May, 
 1 85 1, they came to De Pere, Brown 
 county, at that time but a small village, 
 making the trip from Milwaukee by water, 
 via Sturgeon Bay to Green Bay, thence 
 by wagon to their destination, and shortly 
 after his arrival here Mr. Sherlock pur- 
 chased a house and lot. In the summer 
 of 1850 he took up a tract of 200 acres 
 in De Pere township, along the East river 
 (the tract whereon his sons Philip and 
 James now reside), removing his family 
 thither in the fall of 1852. The previous 
 spring he had erected a temporary abode, 
 which later was replaced by a frame 
 
432 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 house. The land was all in the woods, 
 and although some of the timber was cut, 
 no clearing had been done, and the stumps 
 and brush remained. Here the following 
 children were added to the family: An- 
 drew, a farmer of Dakota; James, a farmer 
 of De Pere township; Catherine, who died 
 when ten years, two months and eleven days 
 old; John, residing in the State of Wash- 
 ington; Ambrose, who died at the age of 
 thirty-one years in Colorado; and Raphael, 
 of Dakota. After locating on this land 
 Mr. Sherlock labored diligently to clear 
 and improve it, and by the time of his 
 death had transformed it into a fertile 
 farm. He was a self-made man in every 
 way, and was much respected for his in- 
 dustry and sterling worth. On January 
 27, 1885, he passed from earth, and was 
 buried in De Pere cemetery. After his 
 decease his widow resided on the home 
 farm with her son Philip until December, 
 1893. when she took up her residence at 
 the Home of the Sisters of the Good 
 Shepherd, in Green Bay, where she yet 
 remains. 
 
 Philip Sherlock received his elemen- 
 tary education in the early schools of De- 
 Pere township, and afterward attended 
 the "Old Stone School" in De Pere a 
 short time, the first school in that city. 
 He was reared to farm life, and being the 
 eldest son was put to work as soon as he 
 was old enough, remaining on the farm 
 altogether until he was about seventeen 
 years old. He then commenced to fol- 
 low lumbering in the winter seasons in 
 the lumber regions of northern Wisconsin 
 and Michigan, and continued therein for 
 sixteen or seventeen winters, enduring all 
 the vicissitudes and hardships of camp 
 life. He was engaged during the spring 
 for fifteen years in the hazardous work of 
 driving logs. In thore days lumbering, 
 though arduous and dangerous work, was 
 very profitable, and during his long ex- 
 perience in the business our subject be- 
 came familiar with all its details. 
 
 On July 7, 1892, Mr. Sherlock was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Ann 
 
 Hughes, daughter of Hugh and Margaret 
 (Dalton) Hughes, who came to the United 
 States when Mary A. was an infant. Mr. 
 Sherlock has resided on his present farm 
 ever since coming to Brown county, with 
 the exception of the time he was away 
 lumbering. He has taken several pleasure 
 trips, and in 1S91 made a tour of the 
 Northwest, going over the Canadian 
 Pacific railroad and returning over the 
 Northern Pacific railroad, and during his 
 trip he visited the leading cities in the 
 Northwest along the Pacific coast and in 
 the State of Washington, and also Vic- 
 toria, British Columbia. Mr. Sherlock, 
 having come here when the country was 
 almost entirely new, has seen his entire 
 neighborhood transformed from its primi- 
 tive condition into productive farms. His 
 own place now consists of 145 acres of 
 fertile land, on which he conducts a profit- 
 able farming business. In local political 
 affairs our subject votes independently, 
 caring more for the fitness of a candidate 
 than for party lines, but in state and na- 
 tional elections he supports the principles 
 of the Democratic party. He is no 
 aspirant for office, his time being fully 
 occupied in looking after his private in- 
 terests. In religious connection he and 
 his wife are members of St. Francis 
 Catholic Church at De Pere. 
 
 FLORENTINE FRISQUE. the 
 well-known enterprising merchant 
 tailor of Green Bay, is a native 
 of Belgium, born August 27, 1849, 
 in the town of Grez-Doiceau, Province of 
 Brabant. 
 
 He comes of a long line of talented 
 musicians, performers upon various in- 
 struments, including the church organ, his 
 grandfather being an especially highly 
 educated musician, and excelling as a 
 teacher. He, the grandfather, led an 
 honorable, temperate life to a good old 
 age, dying in his ninety-third year, and 
 retaining his faculties to the last. In 
 Belgium, his native country, he married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 433 
 
 Miss Marie Delvaux, a lady of education 
 and culture, who lived to be seventy-five 
 years old, and their family numbered five 
 sons and three daughters, of whom one 
 daughter, Mrs. Bernardine Maireese, is 
 yet living, her age being eighty-nine 
 years. 
 
 One of the sons, by name Florentine, 
 father of our subject, was a graduate of 
 the Conservatory of Music at Brussels, on 
 church organ, and was an exceptionally 
 able musician, master of several instru- 
 ments. He died in Belgium of typhoid 
 fever at the age of thirty-seven years, and 
 his early taking away with all the brilliant 
 prospects before him was a source of the 
 very deepest regret to his manj' relatives, 
 friends and admirers. His wife was Miss 
 Rosalie Van Drisse, a Belgian lady, daugh- 
 ter of Joseph Van Drisse, a well-known 
 surgeon who had a diploma from Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte for valuable services ren- 
 dered on the field of Waterloo. After 
 the death of Mr. Frisque she married, in 
 1856, George La Marre, of Grez-Doi- 
 ceau, farmer at Bay Settlement, Brown 
 county, by whom she has four children, 
 as follows: Jule, Desire, Matilda and Mary. 
 By her first husband, Mr. Frisque, Mrs. 
 La Marre had also four children, viz. : 
 Rosalie, Florentine (our subject), Leo- 
 cadie and Zelia. They are all living ex- 
 cept Zelia (the youngest of the first fami- 
 ly), are all married, and have families. 
 
 Florentine Frisque, whose name in- 
 troduces this sketch, received his educa- 
 tion in his native land, and learned the 
 trade of tailor, which he followed there 
 till February, 1871, when, in company 
 with his mother and the rest of the family, 
 he emigrated to the United States, and 
 made a settlement in Brown county. Wis. 
 In 1876 he came to Green Bay, 
 and established his present prosperous 
 business. In 1873 Mr. Frisque was mar- 
 ried in Brown county to ^liss Josephine 
 Grossell, daughter of Louis Grossell, a 
 native of Belgium, and seven children 
 have been born to them, viz. : Zelie, John, 
 George, William, Mary, Louis and Charles. 
 
 In his political preferences our subject has 
 been identified with the Republican party. 
 In social affairs he is a member of the I. 
 O. O. F. , Order of Tonti, and Knights of 
 Honor. In 1889 he took an extended 
 trip to Europe, visiting England, Scot- 
 land, Ireland, Belgium, Germany and 
 France, visiting the Paris Exposition of 
 that j-ear. In 1893, along with his family, 
 he visited the World's Fair at Chicago. 
 Painstaking, and honorable in all his deal- 
 ings, Mr. Frisque well merits the esteem 
 in which he is held by the community at 
 large. 
 
 DANIEL H. MARTIN, the genial 
 and courteous county clerk of 
 Brown county, is a n£.tive of 
 Waukesha county. Wis., born 
 June 10, 1846. 
 
 Patrick and Bridget (Cain) Martin, 
 parents of our subject, were natives of 
 Ireland, born in County Meath, whence 
 in 1844 they migrated to this country and 
 to Wisconsin, making their first home, in 
 the Western World, in Milwaukee. From 
 there shortly afterward they proceeded to 
 Waukesha county, where the father, who 
 was an agriculturist, conducted a farm 
 during the remainder of his days. He 
 died there in 1845; his widow now resides 
 in Fond du Lac county. Wis. Their 
 family numbered two children: T. C, 
 county judge of Waukesha county. Wis., 
 and Daniel H., the subject proper of this 
 sketch. 
 
 Daniel H. Martin received his educa- 
 tion at the schools of Waukesha county 
 and Carroll College. In 186S he came 
 to Brown county, locating in Morrison 
 township, where he was engaged in the 
 dual vocations of farming and teaching, 
 in which he continued until January, 1 893, 
 when he took office as county clerk, hav- 
 ing been elected in 1892. In 1873 he was 
 married in Morrison township. Brown 
 county, to Miss Mary Josephine Gibbons, 
 a native of the county, daughter of Pat- 
 rick and Hannah (Clancy) Gibbons, early 
 
434 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 settlers of Morrison township, where they 
 yet reside. Three children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin, viz. : Mary, 
 Tessie and John. The family are mem- 
 bers of St. John's Catholic Church, 
 Green Bay. 
 
 In his political predilections our sub- 
 ject is a Democrat. In 1878 he was 
 elected a member of the county board, 
 and was a member of same at the time of 
 his election to the county clerkship. He 
 served as a justice of the peace many 
 years, and, taking him all in all he is one 
 of the most popular and useful of Brown 
 county's much esteemed citizens. 
 
 WE. FAIRFIELD. M. D., has 
 been identified with Brown 
 county for the past seven years, 
 as one of the ablest and most 
 successful physicians and surgeons in 
 northern Wisconsin, though one of the 
 youngest. 
 
 The Doctor is a native of Clarence- 
 ville. Province of Quebec, Canada, born 
 in 1 86 1, a son of David and Eliza 
 (Mosher) Fairfield, also natives of Can- 
 ada. James Fairfield, grandfather of 
 subject, was a native of England, whence 
 in an early day he emigrated to Canada, 
 being among the first settlers in Missisquoi 
 county, Lower Canada ("Canada Bas"), 
 now known as the Province of Quebec. 
 The subject of these lines received his 
 elementary education at the public schools 
 of the neighborhood of his place of birth, 
 and in 1882, having matriculated in arts 
 in Ontario, commenced reading medicine 
 at Montreal, Canada. In the same year 
 he entered the University of Bishop's 
 College, Faculty of Medicine, where he 
 graduated with the class of '86. He was 
 then appointed house surgeon to the 
 Woman's Hospital in Montreal, serving 
 in that capacity some eighteen months. 
 At the end of that time, in 1887, he came 
 to Wisconsin, taking up his residence in 
 Scott township, Brown county, where he 
 commenced the practice of his profession. 
 
 In July, 1893, he moved to Green Bay, 
 and here has since continued in the prac- 
 tice of medicine and surgery, having met 
 with eminent success. 
 
 In 1889 Dr. Fairfield was married in 
 Noyan, Canada, to Miss Winifred Der- 
 rick, a native of that country, and a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church. The Doctor 
 is a "gold medalist" of the University of 
 Bishop's College, Montreal, having re- 
 ceived two medals — one for having passed 
 the best examination in surgery, the other 
 for having passed the highest examination 
 in all the subjects of examination. He is 
 a licentiate of the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons of the Province of Quebec; 
 a member of the Fox River Valley Medi- 
 cal Society, and of the Brown County Medi- 
 cal Society; also a member of the Board 
 of Pension Examiners. Socially he is a 
 member and noble grand of Green Bay 
 Lodge No. 19, I. O. O. F. ; politically he 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 ALBERT WEISE is a son of Mar- 
 tin and Caroline (Lincke) Weise, 
 natives of Blankenburg, Schwarz- 
 burg-Rudolstadt, Germany. Mar- 
 tin Weise, who was a cooper by occupa- 
 tion, died of typhoid fever October 15, 
 1822, in Blankenburg, when his son, John 
 Henry William Albert Weise, our subject, 
 was not quite two years old. His widow 
 subsequently married Christoph Frederick 
 Straubel, of Blankenburg, a blacksmith, 
 and in September, 1846, they came to 
 Green Bay, Wis., where Mr. Straubel 
 followed his trade till his death; Mrs. 
 Straubel also died in Green V>a.y. She 
 was the mother of seven children by her 
 last husband, viz. : Dorothea, Wilhel- 
 mina and Charley (deceased), a son that 
 died in Germany, Ernest, Adolph (de- 
 ceased), and August H., who is a wide- 
 awake business man of Green Baj', a 
 miller by occupation. 
 
 Albert Weise. our subject, received a 
 good common-school education in his 
 native country. Before reaching the age 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 435 
 
 of fourteen he was apprenticed to learn 
 wagonmaking, and after serving a three- 
 years' apprenticeship traveled three years 
 in Germany, perfecting himself in his 
 trade, and visiting the cities of Dresden, 
 Leipsic, Hamburg and Bremen. Return- 
 ing to his native town in 1840, he was 
 sent to the army, and the next year, on 
 June 3, 1 84 1, left his German home and 
 embarked on a sailing vessel for New 
 York, where he arrived August 9. He 
 tried to get work in New York City, but, 
 failing, went to Newark, N. J., where he 
 obtained employment in a carriage fac- 
 tory, making carriage wheels, and was 
 paid six shillings per day (a "shilling" 
 being twelve-and-a-half cents in the East 
 in those days), two-thirds of which 
 amount he was obliged to spend in the 
 company's store, and his board cost 
 him eighteen shillings per week. The 
 foreman of the factory received but eight 
 shillings a day. However, small as these 
 wages may seem, they were much bet- 
 ter than what was paid in Germany, where 
 he received but forty cents a week and 
 his board, the best wages he could earn 
 there, working fourteen hours a day. 
 What a lesson this is to the workingnien 
 of to-day, with their eight hours a day 
 and good wages! But these stern exper- 
 iences only served to bring out the better 
 qualities of the young German lad, who 
 steadily worked on, and saved money from 
 his meager earnings. In the spring of 
 1842, a machine for making spokes hav- 
 ing been manufactured, he and five others 
 were thrown out of employment. Later 
 he made a dollar a day, and saved money 
 enough to come to Green Bay (also giving 
 ten dollars to another man to come here), 
 arriving October 4, 1842. In that spring 
 the citizens of the town had raised one 
 thousand dollars, with which, and another 
 thousand contributed by the Astor Com- 
 pany of New York, they sent Hamil- 
 ton Arndt to New York to secure emi- 
 grants for Green Bay. He advertised 
 in the German papers of that city, 
 one of which fell into Mr. Weise's 
 
 hands, and being promised ten to 
 twelve shillings a day and a shop to go to 
 work in, he was persuaded to come hither. 
 He found neither, but was induced by John 
 B. Arndt to commence for himself, and 
 Mr. Arndt furnishing the shop and lumber 
 Mr. Weise, having his own tools, went to 
 work. He paid $2.25 for board and shop 
 rent, which was taken out in work. Mon- 
 ey was not to be seen every day, but 
 nevertheless Mr. Weise prospered, taking 
 his pay in store goods and lumber. Part 
 of the time he worked as ship and house 
 carpenter at ten shillings a day, store pay or 
 trade, working twelve hours a day. He also 
 made cradles and other implements, and 
 was in all respects a useful man to the 
 new community. He was connected with 
 railroad enterprises, the first being the 
 Lake Shore from Manitowoc to Green 
 Bay. The sum of three hundred thousand 
 dollars was voted, and grants for depot 
 secured. In addition to this enterprise, 
 he always took an active part in getting 
 a railroad to Green Bay. He assisted in 
 starting the Green Bay & Madison rail- 
 road, for which the city voted seventy- 
 five thousand dollars. The citizens of 
 Green Bay held a " v^'orking bee" to as- 
 sist in the building of the road between 
 that city and De Pere, and he became a 
 director of the road, taking two thousand 
 dollars worth of stock; and his enthusiasm 
 in the scheme was so great that he was 
 very nearly induced to morgage his farm, 
 but did not. He worked hard for the 
 Green Bay and Minnesota road. 
 
 On July 9, 1844, Mr. Weise married 
 Maria Holtzknecht, a native of Ellar, 
 Prussia, on the Mosel, born August 12, 
 1823. She was a true type of the thrifty 
 German housewife, who could turn her 
 attention to almost any kind of housework 
 successfully, and the young couple com- 
 menced keeping house immediately. 
 Green Bay being the land office, they 
 concluded to keep boarders, charging a 
 shilling a meal, and one-half a shilling for 
 lodging, thus making some money. Mr. 
 Weise, who had his wagon shop and a 
 
436 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 number of men workinj^ for him, soon be- 
 gan to manufacture finer grades of work, 
 and called his shop " Weise's Carriage 
 Factory." He conducted the business un- 
 til 1876, meeting with great success, and 
 then gave it over to his son, George 
 Albert Weise. Much of his work he 
 traded for lumber, brick and stone. In 
 1846 he built a house, which is still stand- 
 ing, on which a half dozen carpenters 
 labored, each working out a score they 
 owed Mr. Weise for work done. Since 
 then he has put up many buildings in 
 Green Bay. He also owns a table fact- 
 ory in Green Bay, which gives employ- 
 ment to fifty hands. To Albert and 
 Maria Weise were born children as fol- 
 lows: Peter E. ; George A. ; Mary, wife 
 of Rev. G. C. Reim, of La Crosse, Wis. ; 
 Carrie, wife of William Snelflohn, of 
 Marinette, Wis. ; Herman F. ; Charles 
 W. ; Augusta, wife of F. A. Hollman; 
 Dorothea, who died at the age of two 
 years; Lena, wife of F. F. Jeffrey, of 
 Leadville, Colo. ; and Amanda, wife of 
 F. H. Straubel; all yet li\ing except Doro- 
 thea. The mother of these died Decem- 
 ber 3, 1887, at the age of si.xty-three 
 years, four months, and for his second 
 wife Mr. Weise married, February 16, 
 1888, Mrs. Amelia Miller, mother of 
 Frank Miller. 
 
 Mr. Weise got his first good start in 
 
 1845, at which time he inherited three 
 hundred dollars which was sent him from 
 Germany. He bought a lot on Cherry 
 street on which he built a shop, and from 
 this small beginning his large business 
 grew. In 1849 he bought another lot, on 
 which he moved his old shop, adding 
 thereto a blacksmith and paint shop. His 
 stepfather, who came to Green Bay in 
 
 1846, carried on the blacksmithing until 
 1849, when he too engaged in the wagon 
 business. In 1870 our subject, in part- 
 nership with James Poole, embarked in 
 the china and crockery business, after one 
 year becoming sole proprietor of same, 
 which he and his son, Herman F. con- 
 ducted for many years, or until the latter 
 
 moved to Winona, Minn., where he also 
 carried on a crockery store; he is now in 
 the State of Washington. At present Mr. 
 Weise's partners are his two sons-in-law, 
 F. A. Hollman and Frederick H. Strau- 
 bel, the firm, which is known as Weise, 
 Hollman & Co. .doing an extensive whole- 
 sale and retail business through the north- 
 ern part of Wisconsin and Michigan. Mr. 
 Weise is president of the Green Bay Carri- 
 age Company. He was formerly president 
 of the Green Bay Savings Bank, and he has 
 identified himself with almost every in- 
 terest tending to benefit the town; has 
 been one of the leading spirits in various 
 enterprises, some disastrous to him finan- 
 cially, but many of which benefited the 
 town, as they furnished employment for 
 several men and brought comfort to not a 
 few homes. He has been interested in 
 starting a furnace, was in the oil business 
 in Pennsyhania, and in the iron-mining 
 business in northern Michigan. He has 
 always been enterprising, and even at the 
 opening of the Kaukauna plank road, poor 
 as he then was, he donated a new wagon, 
 thereby showing his public spirit. 
 
 In religious faith he is a member of 
 the German Lutheran Church, in which 
 he has always taken an active interest. 
 He assisted in the organization of the 
 Moravian Society, and helped to erect the 
 church building; later on, when a Luth- 
 eran missionary came to Green Bay, he 
 assisted in the building of the German 
 Lutheran Church, and has ever since 
 contributed liberall}' toward its support. 
 He was also actively interested in the or- 
 ganization, January i, 1850, of the Ger- 
 man Benevolent Socie*^y of Green Bay, 
 he being one of the original thirteen char- 
 ter members, and to-day, with the ex- 
 ception of one other, is the only survivor. 
 This society, which has been of vast ben- 
 efit in German circles, was started by Mr. 
 Weise and George Oldenburg, the latter 
 of whom was its first treasurer, Mr. \\'^eise 
 being its president for twenty years from 
 its incipiency. In his political prefer- 
 ments he has alwajs been a strong pro- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 437 
 
 tective-tariff Republican in national af- 
 fairs, but in civic matters he usually casts 
 his ballot for the man he considers best 
 adapted to the office, whatever it may be. 
 He has served on the city council board, 
 and as chairman of the same, as well as 
 alderman, having been elected against his 
 will. In fact, there is no more useful 
 citizen in Green Bay than Albert Weise, 
 and he is held in the highest esteem by all 
 who know him. 
 
 DH. GRIGNON, justice of the 
 peace at Green Bay, is a native 
 of that city, born Februarj- 17, 
 1843, a son of Peter Bernard and 
 Rachel (Lawe) Grignon. 
 
 Peter Grignon was born in Green 
 Bay, Wis., June 12, 1806, a son of Pierre 
 Antoine Grignon, also a native of Wis- 
 consin. He was a son of Pierre Grignon, 
 in the long ago a merchant in Montreal, 
 Canada, who married a daughter of 
 Charles DeLanglade. Together they — 
 Mr. and Mrs. Grignon and Mr. DeLang- 
 lade — came in an early day to Green Bay, 
 being among the first settlers of the place. 
 Pierre Grignon was engaged in the Green 
 Bay fur trade, as well as in merchandis- 
 ing, and passed the rest of his days in 
 that place. Pierre Antoine Grignon, 
 grandfather of our subject, and the eldest 
 son of Pierre Grignon, by his marriage 
 with Domitille DeLanglade, continued 
 the store business, established by his 
 father, for twenty-eight years, that being 
 the only store at Green Bay prior to the 
 war of 18 12. Peter Bernard Grignon, 
 son of Pierre Antoine, received his edu- 
 cation in Green Bay, and in after life 
 filled various public positions of trust, such 
 as clerk of the district court; first sheriff of 
 Brown county; deputy United States mar- 
 shal; contractor for carrying the mail 
 both on foot and on horseback to Mani- 
 towoc, Sheboygan, Milwaukee, Chicago 
 and Fort Snelling. Politically he was a 
 Democrat. He married Miss Rachel 
 Lawe, a daughter of Judge John Lawe, 
 
 an early pioneer of Brown county, who 
 with his wife died in Green Bay. To 
 this union were born four children, as 
 follows: D. H., subject of this sketch; 
 Maria Jane, who died single; Cynthia 
 Anna, wife of Jerome G. Vieau; and 
 Martin L. , who died in 1870. The 
 father was called from earth in June, 1888, 
 the mother February 16, 1876. Pierre 
 A. Grignon owned a considerable amount 
 of real estate in Wisconsin, a portion of 
 it being whereon the city of Green Bay 
 now stands. 
 
 D. H. Grignon, the subject proper of 
 these lines, received a liberal education 
 at the schools of Green Bay. After leav- 
 ing school he read law, and in 1866 was 
 admitted to the bar. In 1875 he was in- 
 stalled in his present position as justice of 
 the peace. 
 
 On October 15, 1870, Mr. Grignon 
 was united in marriage with Miss Louise 
 C. Hamilton, a native of Green Bay, 
 daughter of Finley Fisher and Catherine 
 (Boyd) Hamilton, early settlers of Green 
 Bay (both now deceased), the latter of 
 whom was the daughter of Col. George 
 Boyd, Indian agent. To this union have 
 been born three children, viz. : Rachel 
 Maria and Catherine A. (twins), and 
 Quincy, who died November 13, 1S93. 
 Rachel M. is a teacher in Freedom, Wis. 
 Politically Mr. Grignon is a Democrat; in 
 religious faith he is a member of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 WILLIAM GOW, one of the re- 
 spected citizens of De Pere, 
 Wis., was born at Cairney Hill, 
 F"ifeshire, Scotland, September 
 10, 1 8 19. 
 
 His father, William Gow, Sr., was a 
 native of the city of Perth, and his mother, 
 Martha (Brough) Gow, was born in the 
 village of Pittencrief, Fifeshire. William 
 Gow, Sr. , was a plasterer by trade, and 
 expired in the city of Glasgow. William 
 Gow, the subject proper of this sketch, 
 was educated in the parochial schools of 
 
438 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his native place, and at the age of sixteen 
 began an apprenticeship at wagon mak- 
 ing, which apprenticeship was completed 
 after a service of four years. The fol- 
 lowing three years he acted as foreman of 
 the shop, and then for three and a half 
 years was employed in a foundry at Ren- 
 frew in the manufacture of derricks and 
 their erection through Scotland and En- 
 gland. On March 12, 1847, at Dumbar- 
 ton, near Glasgow, Mr. Gow married Miss 
 Mary McKinley, daughter of Duncan and 
 Agnes (Irving) McKinley. The McKin- 
 leys were an ancient clan of Highlanders 
 from Argyleshire, and the Irvings were of 
 an equally ancient family from near Car- 
 lisle, on the border of England, where 
 numerous members of the family still re- 
 side. Three years, three months and 
 three days after marriage Mr. Gow set 
 sail on the "Three Bells" for Canada, 
 and after a voyage of nine weeks arrived 
 at Quebec, whence he soon after went 
 about two hundred miles southwest, to the 
 village of Metis, Canada, where he pur- 
 chased eighty acres of wild land and en- 
 gaged in farming; but the farm not 
 proving to be a profitable in\estment, he 
 relinquished its cultivation at the end of 
 that period and came to De Pere, Wis., 
 arriving the Saturday before the Fourth 
 of July, 1853. The first work in which 
 he here engaged was on a dam across the 
 Fox river, but subsequently was employed 
 at wagon making by O. W. Kingsley. On 
 October i, 1855, Mr. Gow bought out 
 the business of Mr. Kingsley, and the 
 same day his wife, Mrs. Mary (McKinley) 
 Gow, reached De Pere from Scotland, 
 having landed at New York after a pass- 
 age of six weeks from Liverpool on a 
 sailing vessel. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gow have been devout 
 members of the First Presbyterian Church 
 of De Pere for the past twenty-five years, 
 and enjoy the respect of the entire com- 
 munity. Mrs. Gow has been a faithful 
 member of the denomination for fifty-five 
 years, having originally united with the 
 Wall Park Presbyterian Church, on Lady 
 
 Well street, Glasgow, Scotland, in Oc- 
 tober, 1839. Mrs. Gow has always taken 
 an active part in Church work and Church 
 societies. In politics, Mr. Gow is a Re- 
 publican, and has served as member of 
 the city council of De Pere for two terms 
 and as city assessor for two years. He 
 is a member of Lodge No. 85, F. & A. M. 
 at De Pere. and also of Brown County 
 St. Andrew's Society. Although Mr. 
 Gow did not bear arms in the Civil war 
 for the integrity of the Union, his sympa- 
 thies were strongly in favor (jf the govern- 
 ment, which he aided by e\ery means in 
 his power, being particularly active in rais- 
 ing supplies for the sanitary commission 
 and for the support of the army hospitals. 
 
 CHARLES A. COTTON, engineer 
 of the Chicago & North Western 
 railway, and stationed at Fort 
 Howard, was born in Green Bay, 
 I \\'is. (then known as Astoria), in 1845, a 
 I son of John Winslovv and Mary B. (Arndt) 
 Cotton, who were among the early set- 
 tlers of Brown county. 
 1 John Winslow Cotton was born in 
 
 I 1800, in Plymouth, Mass., of old Puritan 
 I stock. He was graduated from the 
 United States Military Academy at West 
 Point, N. Y., July 4, 1823; commissioned 
 second lieutenant Third Infantry, July 
 I, 1823, commission signed by James 
 Monroe; promoted to first lieutenant 
 same regiment, October 4, 1827, signed 
 by J. O. Adams; promoted to captain 
 November 15, 1836, signed by Andrew 
 Jackson. As early as 1S24 he was 
 stationed at Fort Howard, being after- 
 ward transferred to Jefferson Barracks, 
 Mo. He was married in Green Bay, in 
 1825, to Mary B. Arndt, and on his 
 resignation from the regular service lo- 
 cated on a farm in Allouez township, 
 Brown county, where he became a promi- 
 nent citizen, serving as town clerk and 
 school superintendent of the township. 
 He was a Mason, and for a number of 
 years was a leader of the choir in the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 439 
 
 Episcopal Church. On the loth day of 
 September, 1878, he passed from life, 
 leaving behind an honored and respected 
 name. 
 
 Mrs. Mary B. Cotton was born in the 
 Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania, and was 
 a daughter of John P. and Elizabeth (Car- 
 penter) Arndt. The father was a native 
 of the Keystone State, of German descent, 
 was a ship carpenter by trade, and early 
 came to Green Bay, where he built the 
 first vessel on Fox river. He was a much 
 respected gentleman, and for some time 
 filled the position of judge. He lost his 
 wife in i860, and followed her to the 
 grave in 1S61. The children born to 
 John P. and Elizabeth Arndt were: Mary 
 B. (Mrs. Cotton); John Wallace, of De- 
 Pere; Mrs. Elizabeth Eastman, of Benton 
 Harbor, Mich. ; Charles, who was shot 
 and killed by James R. Vineyard, of 
 Grant county, in the Senate chamber at 
 Madison, Wis., February 11, 1842, and 
 Hamilton. To John Winslow and Mary 
 B. Cotton were born five children, as fol- 
 lows: John R., a native of Plymouth, 
 Mass. , and now a resident of Chicago, 
 111. ; Elizabeth, wife of Charles R. Tyler, 
 died in 188S; Priscilla, the wife of Hon. 
 J. H. Howe, died in Allouez township. 
 Brown Co., Wis., July 4, 1857; Mary 
 Gordon, also married to Hon. J. H. Howe, 
 died in I\enosha, Wis.,in September 1887, 
 and Charles A., our subject. On July 6, 
 1 86 1, Mrs. Mary B. Cotton was mustered 
 into the service as nurse, at Racine, Wis., 
 and served one year, during which time 
 she was stationed in Baltimore, Md. (the 
 old ' ' Relay House " ), and Newport News, 
 Va. , until the regiment was ordered to 
 New Orleans. 
 
 Charles A. Cotton was educated in 
 the public schools of Green Bay, and at 
 the early age of sixteen, July 6, 1861, en- 
 listed in Company H, Fourth Wis. V. C, 
 for three years or during the war. He 
 was mustered into the service at Racine, 
 Wis., and assigned to duty, at first, in 
 the Army of the Potomac, and later saw 
 active service at New Orleans, Baton 
 
 Rouge and Port Hudson, La., Vicksburg, 
 Miss., and in the Red River campaign. 
 On February 9, 1865, he received an 
 honorable discharge at Baton Rouge, and 
 on his return to Green Bay was employed 
 by the Chicago & North Western Railway 
 Company, with \\'hich he has been ever 
 since. At Chicago, December 25, 1867, 
 he was married to Miss Mary J. Whit- 
 field; his second marriage in 1877, also 
 at Chicago, was to Miss Alline Ivennedy, 
 a native of Ireland, who bore him four 
 children, to wit. : Elizabeth S. ; John 
 Rossiter and James K. , both of whom 
 were drowned No\'ember 25, 1892, at the 
 respective ages of twelve and ten years, 
 and Priscilla Augusta. In politics Mr. 
 Cotton is a stanch Republican, and soci- 
 ally he is a member of Washington Lodge, 
 No. 21, F. & A. M., at Green Bay. Mrs. 
 Cotton is a pious lady, a faithful adher- 
 ent of the Church of Rome, and is a 
 member of St. John's Congregation of 
 Green Bav. 
 
 JAMES KERR, editor and proprietor 
 of the Fort Howard Rcviczl', was 
 born in Montrose, Forfarshire, Scot- 
 land, November 4, 1830, and when 
 five years of age came to this country 
 with his parents and two brothers, Rob- 
 ert and Andrew, arriving in Charleston, 
 S. C. The family remained only about 
 two years in that city, when they returned 
 to Montrose, Scotland. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received a 
 common education. During many of his 
 spare hours he was fond of visiting one of 
 the printing offices in the city of his birth, 
 and gained the esteem of the foreman. 
 He was a studious lad, and a great reader, 
 and his ambition was to be a printer. To 
 this his father was a little opposed, but 
 found favor with his mother, consequently, 
 on February 8, 1844, he entered the 
 Standard printing office as an appren- 
 tice. He proved to be such an excellent 
 "devil" that he was promoted over two 
 apprentices who were in the office before 
 
44° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 him, and "got a case" on the newspaper. 
 He became a good compositor, not a fast 
 one, but accurate, and always had a 
 "clean proof." Not having a great 
 liking for newspaper work at setting type, 
 he during spare hours would be in the 
 border case, and even changing lines in 
 standing jobs and advertisements. This 
 attracted the attention of the foreman, 
 and he was promoted to hold the "Adv. 
 Case " — -or rather he got all the adver- 
 tisements to "set up." From this he 
 was placed in the job-room, and long be- 
 fore his seven-years' apprenticeship was 
 finished had charge of the job depart- 
 ment. 
 
 During the term of his apprenticeship 
 he attended night school, and was also a 
 pupil of Isaac Pitman, who was then 
 traveling through Scotland, giving lessons 
 in /lis "Shorthand." Although not in 
 love with newspaper work at the case, he 
 nevertheless was local correspondent for 
 two outside newspapers, as well as doing 
 a little home work, and ultimately be- 
 came connected in the management of the 
 Montrose Citizen. 
 
 After entering on the last year of his 
 apprenticeship, he was offered a position, 
 to take charge of a new printing office to 
 be started in the city by a Mr. Rodgers. 
 The position to a young man not out of 
 his apprenticeship was a flattering one, 
 as well as a lucrative one, compared to 
 the wages of an apprentice in the last 
 year of his "time," and as a matter of 
 course James accepted the position. 
 From Mr. Rodger's office was issued The 
 Montrose Citizen, previously spoken of, 
 and Mr. Kerr held his position in that 
 office up to the time he left for the United 
 States. 
 
 The writer of this sketch obtained his 
 information from Mr. Kerr, in conversa- 
 tion, he not dreaming that it would ever 
 appear in "cold type" or printed. He 
 also gave some facts in regard to ' ' patent 
 insides " now in so general use by news- 
 papers in this country. "They talk 
 about these ' patent insides ' being first 
 
 used in this country; they were in use in 
 the old country many years before they 
 appeared here. Why, the Montrose Citi- 
 zen, with which I was connected," said 
 Mr. Kerr, "was printed on so-called 
 ' patent insides,' a.r\.d full j' illustrated, too; 
 and what is more, news plates were fur- 
 nished, similar to those now in use — but 
 not to such perfection, I allow. I have a 
 file of the Montrose Citizen, and proofs 
 of the plates in my possession, so you see 
 that the bottom is knocked out of the 
 claim that the so-called 'patent insides' 
 and plates were first used in this coun- 
 try." Speaking, also, of all-brass galleys, 
 on which Hoe, of New York, claimed a 
 patent, Mr. Kerr says: " All-brass gallejs 
 were in use when I was a boy serving my 
 apprenticeship." 
 
 Mr. Kerr left the "land of heather" 
 August 26, 1854, leaving Montrose on 
 the sailing vessel "Helen," bound for 
 Quebec, Canada. Two days before his 
 departure, August 24, he was married by 
 Rev. Colin McCulloch, of the Estab- 
 lished Church of Scotland, to Miss Eliza- 
 beth Birnie Dickie, daughter of George 
 Dickie, shipbuilder, Mfjntrose, and before 
 leaving they were the recipients of valua- 
 ble gifts from their many friends. The 
 voyage was a tedious and stormy one, 
 and their travel by rail was greatly de- 
 layed, so that it was the 20th of October 
 before they reached the point of their 
 destination — Milwaukee, Wis. Here they 
 met Andrew Murison, formerly of Mont- 
 rose, a schoolmate and a "chum" 
 printer of Mr. Kerr's, and who had left 
 Scotland some few years before. Mr. 
 Kerr's youngest brother, Andrew Brand 
 I\err, was also one of the party which 
 left with them August 26, 1854. He 
 died (at Milwaukee) April 23, 1886. He 
 was married to Miss Harriet Travers, 
 daughter of an early partner of the late 
 John Flankinton, of Milwaukee. He 
 left a widow, two sons and a daughter. 
 Robert, the eldest son, is a widower 
 with one daughter, who resides with her 
 grandmother in New York Cit}-; Andrew, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 441 
 
 the other son, is unmarried; the daughter, 
 Henrietta, is married, and resides in Aber- 
 deen, Washington. 
 
 Mr. Murison, then in Milwaukee, was 
 a member of the firm of Chapman & 
 Murison, job printers. Mr. Cfiapman, 
 the well-known map publisher, being de- 
 sirous of selling out his interest in the 
 printing office, an arrangement was made 
 by which James Kerr purchased his inter- 
 est on November 4, his anniversary birth- 
 day, and the business firm became Muri- 
 son & Kerr. On the following year they 
 sold out their printing office, and both 
 entered the Daily News office in the job 
 department. A short time after Mr. Kerr 
 had taken a position in the A^cws office, 
 he was offered a situation in Port Wash- 
 ington, Ozaukee Co., Wis., to take charge 
 of the 0::aiikcc Comity Advertiser office, 
 which he accepted. C. F. Huntsman, 
 who was superintendent of the Nczvs, 
 greatly regretted the step he had taken, 
 as he desired his services in the job de- 
 partment; but Mr. Huntsman informed 
 Mr. Kerr that if the position did not suit 
 him, or if he desired to return to Mil- 
 waukee at any time, he would find a situ- 
 ation open for him in the Ncivs office — 
 which was very flattering to Mr. Kerr, as 
 well as evidence of Mr. Huntsman's ap- 
 preciation of his services. 
 
 Tlie Ozaukee County Advertiser was 
 owned by R. L. Gove, who was post- 
 master, and Mr. Kerr attended to the 
 
 management of the office. 
 
 During that 
 
 year Seymour G. Wait and Mr. Kerr pur- 
 chased the office, and enlarged and other- 
 wise improved the paper, greatly to the 
 satisfaction of the business community. 
 But Mr. Gove was ill at ease; the paper 
 was not run according to his political 
 standard; his editorials were rejected; and 
 he found his influence fading. He held 
 a chattel mortgage on the office, with an 
 "iron-clad" condition, which he ulti- 
 mately foreclosed without an hour's warn- 
 ing. This as a matter of course led to a 
 lawsuit. Sheriff Luetfringtook possession, 
 and Kerr & Wait employed Mr. Blair, an 
 
 able attorney, to look after their interest. 
 Many of the business men were indignant 
 at the course Mr. Gove had taken, and 
 agreed to secure funds enough to start a 
 new office and newspaper; but as Mr. 
 Wait preferred to go East and Mr. Kerr 
 returning to Milwaukee, nothing was done 
 toward starting a new paper. Suit was 
 commenced in the circuit court, but a 
 change of venue was taken to Racine 
 county. About one year afterward the 
 case of Kerr & Wait vs. R. L. Gove came 
 for trial at the city of Racine, and it was 
 settled by Mr. Gove paying a certain 
 amount of damages. 
 
 After leaving Port Washington Mr. 
 Kerr again held a position in the Alil- 
 tuaukee Nezus office, and remained on that 
 paper nearly seven years. During these 
 years many were the changes which took 
 place in the business and editorial man- 
 agement of that paper — Benton, Clason, 
 Huntsman, Hon. Beriah Brown, Joseph 
 Lathrop, Hon. John R. Sharpstein, Dr. 
 Orton, J. Lyon, Hon. George H. Paul, 
 etc. "I must relate to you, Sir," said 
 Mr. Kerr, as the writer was making his 
 notes, ' ' a circumstance which occurred, 
 and which elevated me considerablj'. It 
 was during the Buchanan campaign. Mil- 
 waukee was the headquarters, and the 
 election tickets were printed in the iVeit's 
 office, from where the different points 
 were supplied, especially north. These 
 tickets were being printed in several dif- 
 ferent languages, and there was a small 
 room almost filled with tickets, all cut 
 and packed ready for shipment. I spoke 
 to Mr. Huntsman one day about them, 
 stating that they would be worthless, and 
 that only tickets printed in the English 
 language could be used, no matter where 
 the election was held. He said I was a 
 good job printer, but a "greenhorn" in 
 these matters. However, Mr. Huntsman 
 spoke to one or two of the committee 
 about what the " green " Scotchman had 
 said in a sort of derision; the matter to 
 them had a more serious aspect; a com- 
 mittee meeting was called at once, and 
 
442 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the result was that all the "foreign" 
 tickets were consigned to the flames and 
 the presses had to run night and da)' on 
 ' Buck and Breck ' tickets in order to 
 get them out in time for election. " "To 
 this circumstance,"' continued Mr. Kerr, 
 "I owe my clcvatiun — in the AVrci office ; 
 for, a few weeks afterward, I was given 
 the position of foreman of the office and 
 my wages considerably increased." 
 
 In the spring of 1856 Mr. Kerr's 
 brother, Robert Laing Kerr, and wife 
 came to Milwaukee from Montrose, Scot- 
 land, and in the fall of the same year his 
 parents with three sisters also arrived 
 from Scotland in Milwaukee. Robert L. 
 Kerr now resides in Monmouth, 111. He 
 married Elizabeth Reoch at Brechin, 
 Scotland, and has a family of sons and 
 daughters — one son and daughter mar- 
 ried — Mrs. Frank Foster, tjf Beloit, Wis., 
 and Andrew Kerr, of Duiuth, Minnesota. 
 
 On Augu.st 9. 1S57, George Dickie 
 Kerr, a son of James Kerr, died; and on 
 December 25, same year, his sister, Mary, 
 died; in the following year, on February 
 21, his infant daughter, Margaret Jane 
 Kerr, died; and on May 26, i860, his 
 mother, Margaret Taylor-Kerr, died. All 
 these deaths occurred in Milwaukee, and 
 the remains interred in the family grounds 
 in Forest Home Cemetery. 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Kerr's father and his two 
 sisters, Georgianna .\llarclice Kerr and 
 Elizabeth Clark Kerr, returned to Scot- 
 land and their native home. 
 
 In the same year Mr. Kerr left the 
 Nc'MS office, and for a time was in the 
 Wisconsin office. In the fall he made 
 his mind up to enlist in the army, with 
 which intent he went to the mustering and 
 disbursing office, desiring, however, to 
 enlist in the Twenty-fourth Wis. V. I., 
 as many of his friends were members of 
 that regiment, and they were at that time 
 filling up the old regiments with new men 
 to keep the companies full. The Twenty- 
 fourth had been filled up; Mr. Kerr had a 
 friend in the mustering office, a Mr. Leach, 
 who was chief clerk, and he gave him a 
 
 position in the office. In the fall of the 
 following year Gen. Grant issued an order 
 for all men who had "soft snaps" at 
 home offices to get to the front, and Mr. 
 Kerr had "to get." The Forty-sixth 
 Wisconsin Regiment was then being 
 formed, and a recruiting officer was get- 
 ting up a company in Milwaukee. This 
 company — Company F — Mr. Kerr joined, 
 and was appointed first sergeant. The 
 regiment rendezvoused at Camp Randall, 
 Madison, and was organized under Col. 
 Fred S. Lovell. Henry B. Williams was 
 captain of Company F. The regiment 
 did not leave the State until the begin- 
 ning of March, when it proceeded to 
 Louisville, Ky., and thence to Athens, 
 Ala., where it was assigned to guard duty 
 against bushwhackers and guerrillas. The 
 regiment remained at Athens until called 
 to Wisconsin, being mustered out at 
 Nashville, Tenn., paid off in Madison, 
 and disbanded early in October. 
 
 When the regiment reached Chicago 
 Mr. Kerr received the sad intelligence of 
 the death of his four-year-old son, Albert 
 Edward Kerr, on the 24th of September, 
 but a few days before, and after the regi- 
 ment disbanded at Madison he made all 
 haste to his home of mourning at Milwau- 
 kee, which he had left less than a year 
 before, with hopes of returning joy and 
 happiness. "At the time I enlisted," said 
 Mr. Kerr, ' ' I was robust and hearty, and 
 weighed 198 pounds; but on my return 
 home I only weighed 1 14 pounds! " Dur- 
 ing the time Mr. Kerr was in the army he 
 wrote some very interesting letters for the 
 Wisconsiti. 
 
 After remaining at home a short time 
 Mr. Kerr accepted a position in Horton 
 & Leonard's office in Chicago. He re- 
 mained in Chicago about a year, when he 
 returned to Milwaukee to accept the 
 management of the book department in 
 Starr's printing establishment; he also 
 became foreman of the job department. 
 In Starr's office he remained for several 
 years. Mr. Kerr was offered a lucrative 
 position in the journal of Commerce 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 443 
 
 printing establishment, which he ac- 
 cepted. This was a new office, and he 
 had the entire management of the con- 
 cern until it changed hands in 1874. Mr. 
 Kerr was interested with Mr. Bailey in 
 the publishing of directories in Milwau- 
 kee, as well as engaged in publishing sev- 
 eral meritorious advertising literature, 
 etc. During his long residence in Mil- 
 waukee — from 1854 to 1874 — he was 
 considered a first-class printer in all de- 
 tails, and authority in the settlement of 
 any disputes among the craft. He was a 
 valuable member of the Typographical 
 Union, and for many years president of 
 the organization, is a member of the In- 
 ternational Typographical Union, and 
 represented Milwaukee at its convention 
 in the city of Albany, N. Y. ; was a mem- 
 of the I. O. O. F., No. 20; was a charter 
 member of Sheridan Post No. 6, G. A. 
 R., and was adjutant of the post for sev- 
 eral terms and also vice-commander. 
 
 In 1 874 the proprietors of the foiirnai 
 of Commerce sold out their establishment 
 to practical printers, and Mr. Kerr being 
 offered a position in Green Bay, to take 
 charge of the job department of the State 
 Gazette, he at once accepted, and the 
 early days of the month of March, 1874, 
 found him on duty with Hoskinson 
 & Follett, the then proprietors. 
 Shortly afterward he assumed the 
 duties of local editor, and held that 
 position until April, 1884. During the 
 time he was "localizing" on the Daily 
 Ga::ette, he published and managed the 
 Fort Howard Rez'ie-io. The history of the 
 ups and downs of the lives of newspapers 
 in Fort Howard is so remarkable that the 
 city was named, by neighboring contem- 
 poraries, as the "newspaper cemetery," 
 and from an article published on "The 
 Press of Brown County — past and pres- 
 ent," which appeared in August, 1886, 
 we glean the following facts: 
 
 The first paper published was the Ej-a, 
 on 20th April, 1855; the second number 
 was never published; the Fort Howard 
 Times was the next paper, but the office 
 
 was destroyed by fire October 22, 1872, 
 and publication was never resumed. In 
 the same year the Fort Howard Monitor 
 was started, and after going through many 
 changes in its management suspended in 
 March, 1877. The i'l/tiw/Zi;'/- had the con- 
 tract for city printing, and the proprietor 
 turned over the contract to the RcvieiK.'. 
 The Reviezu was then printed in Green 
 Bay, and ordinances, etc., had to be pub- 
 lished in a paper printed in the city. The 
 Fort Howard Herald was then printed in 
 Fort Howard, and the proprietor claimed 
 the contract ; but Mr. Kerr was sufficient 
 for the emergency. J. H. Tayler had an 
 amateur press, and Mr. Kerr had the or- 
 dinances and other official matter "set 
 up " in Green Bay and printed the matter 
 on the small press in P'ort Howard, which 
 covered the provision of the city charter, 
 and satisfied the city council, much to the 
 chagrin of the proprietor of the Herald. 
 The Herald was established in 1872, but 
 had a checkered life; it passed into other 
 hands in 1 877, and changed hands in 1878, 
 when the name was also changed to the 
 Broivit County Herald, and published but 
 a short time. In 1879 the Fort Howard 
 Journal appeared, but lived only a short 
 time ; then followed the Morning Journal, 
 and after its demise came the Broicii 
 County Democrat, which followed the 
 /;?//;-«rt/after a short life. In June, 1882, 
 the Fort Howard Sentinel made its ap- 
 pearance, and continued publication until 
 February, 1890, when it followed the fate 
 of those gone before. The Fort Howard 
 Reviezu was started by David M. Burns 
 as an advertising sheet for his own busi- 
 ness in September, 1875, and published 
 monthly. It was a small three-column 
 four-page publication. In November, 
 1876, Mr. Burns turned over the Rcviezv 
 to James Kerr, who enlarged the paper to 
 a five-column folio, and gave attention to 
 local matters. It was received by the 
 public with so much favor that on the 
 following January he commenced publish- 
 ing the Revieiv weekly, and enlarged it to 
 a six-column folio. 
 
444 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BI06RAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 When Mr. Kerr left the Green Bay 
 Gazette to commence business in Fort 
 Howard, his son, Charles Stuart, became 
 partner, and shortly afterward the AV- 
 vieix.' was enlarged to a six-column quarto 
 — the standard size — and has been printed 
 and published continuously under their 
 management up to the present day. The 
 article on "The Press of Brown County," 
 previously mentioned, in speaking of the 
 Review and its proprietors, says: "Con- 
 sidering the sad fate of so many attempts 
 at journalism in Fort Howard, and the 
 many disadvantages the Review has had 
 to contend with, its present position is 
 both a matter of pride and gratification to 
 its proprietors and originators." 
 
 In September, 1880, Mr. Kerr's 
 mother-in-law, Mrs. George Dickie, died, 
 and was consigned to the grave on the 
 memorable day of the Great Fire in Green 
 Bay. After her husband's death in Mil- 
 waukee, in i860, Mrs. Dickie became one 
 of the family circle, and resided at Mr. 
 Kerr's home for nearly twenty years. She 
 was a kind-hearted, cheerful and affec- 
 tionate woman, and her loss was keenly 
 felt by the entire family. 
 
 Mr. Kerr's father died on March 18, 
 1 88 1, at Montrose, in his native land, 
 after a long illness, where he was attended 
 with constant care and devotion, which 
 only two loving daughters could give. 
 After his death, all tender ties being 
 broken — lie being the last of the family 
 race in Scot/and — they left for America, 
 coming to Fort Howard in the fall of 
 1 88 1, and resided with their brother, 
 James Kerr, for over a year, when they 
 removed to Milwaukee to make that city 
 their home. 
 
 In the same \ear, and but little over 
 three months after the death of Mr. 
 Kerr's father, he lost a son. James Tay- 
 lor Kerr was aged about seventeen years 
 at the time of his death. He was a 
 bright and intelligent young lad, far above 
 his years, and gave promise of a brilliant 
 and useful life. His death was a heavy 
 blow to the parents, and a sorrowful one 
 
 to all his acquaintances and those who 
 came in close contact with him. The 
 Green Bay Globe of July 13, 1881, in 
 speaking of his death, said: 
 
 The unlooked-for death of Jjtnniie Kerr is 
 the occasion of profound sorrow in the printing' 
 offices, where he was well known, as it is among 
 all who knew him. He was one of the most g^en- 
 tlemanly unobtrusive and intelligent little fel- 
 lows we ever met with. It seemed to us, when- 
 ever he came to our sanctum, that his kind, 
 earnest, serious face was itself a prophecj- of a 
 life that would expand to greatness and useful- 
 ness as the years grew. But God plucks his 
 choicest flowers first. The prophecy may not 
 reach its fulfillment, unless the influence of his 
 life and aspirations shall inspire his compan- 
 ions with higher aims and better purposes. Jim- 
 mie was in his seventeenth year. He had been 
 suffering since the Fourth with an attack of 
 cholera morbus, which was not considered dan- 
 gerous; but it took an unfavorable turn on Mon- 
 day evening, and he died before midnight. 
 
 On the evening of October 21, 1884, 
 Death seemed for a time to hover o'er the 
 the family circle, but through the mercy 
 of Divine Providence took wings, and the 
 threshhold was not passed. But that 
 night was a sad and melancholy one with- 
 in their home, as well as a dark and dreary 
 one outside; the parents frantic with grief 
 and sorrowing and kind friends bestowing 
 all assistance and sympathy that bleeding 
 hearts could offer — when the almost life- 
 less body of their son, William Lowe 
 Kerr, of but fourteen years of age, was 
 carried to his home; and as Dr. Brett 
 stated to a friend — "it was one of the 
 most pitiful sights he ever saw." The 
 boy had met with an accident, and been 
 run over by the cars on the North West- 
 ern road. The accident was one which 
 aroused the sympathy of every one, for 
 the lad was well known, and was a favor- 
 ite with all who knew him. Of the sad 
 accident the local papers spoke in the 
 most feeling terms, and we make an ex- 
 tract from an extended account which ap- 
 peared in the Fort Howard Sentinel. 
 
 The unfortunate lad was the carrier of the 
 Milirniikii Journal for this citj'. He had gone to 
 the Milwaukee & Northern station, in Green 
 Bay. as was his custom, and returning boarded 
 the C. & N. W. incoming train to ride to the 
 lower part of the city, which was not customary 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 445 
 
 with him. It is supposed that he jumped from 
 the train when opposite the fire engine house, 
 as his hat and bundle of papers were subse- 
 quently found at that point, and had fallen in 
 such a manner as to cause one arm and one 
 hand to cross the track, and it is probable that 
 several wheels passed over them. He bore his 
 injuries with remarkable fortitude; after re- 
 ceiving- them, he rose and walked to the spot 
 where he was afterward discovered lying, and 
 where it is evident he tripped over a projecting- 
 board and fell to the ground, he seemingly 
 unconscious of the terrible character of his 
 injuries. 
 
 Doctors Bartran and Brett were summoned, 
 and it was found that it would be necessary to 
 amputate the right arm near the shoulder, and 
 the whole of the left hand, save the upper por- 
 tion and the thumb, and the operation was suc- 
 cessfully performed. The unfortunate lad is 
 doing as well as possible under the circum- 
 stances, but he will, of course, be helpless for 
 life, which is more particularly regretful since 
 he was a boy of much energy and activity, and 
 gave good promise of a life of much usefulness. 
 
 Contrary to expectation, and not- 
 withstanding the severity of his injuries, 
 the young man rapidly recovered, and in 
 the course of a few weeks was out again 
 and attending school as usual, the rapid- 
 ity of his recovery from such fearful injur- 
 ies being a matter of wonder to the com- 
 munity and the medical fraternity. He 
 soon learned to hold a pen or pencil with 
 his thumb and mutilated left hand, and 
 in a short time was enabled to write leg- 
 ibly in a flowing back-handed style of pen- 
 manship, which admitted of his keeping 
 books, and attending to ordinary matters 
 of business apparently without trouble or 
 inconvenience. He continued his studies 
 until he graduated from the High School, 
 with honors heaped upon him, and at the 
 " Commencement " was the recipient of 
 many valuable gifts from friends. Since 
 his graduation he has taught in the public 
 schools with satisfactory results to the 
 school board and pupils. He has twice 
 been elected city clerk, at present hold- 
 ing that position; is also secretary-treas- 
 urer of the local lodge of the K. O. T. M. 
 He is now twenty-four years of age, in 
 full and perfect enjoyment of health, and 
 every indication points to many years of 
 usefulness to the community and prosper- 
 ity for himself. 
 
 Again the Grim Reaper enters the 
 family, and cuts off Mr. Kerr's youngest 
 sister. Just as the city bells in Milwau- 
 kee were ringing out the hour of noon on 
 the 5th day of January, 1895, with a soft 
 and almost silent sigh, life departed — her 
 soul went out to meet the Maker — a ling- 
 ering and painful illness of nearly three 
 years was ended, endured with true Chris- 
 tian patience and fortitude, often deceiving 
 her friends by her cheery smile and jocular 
 remarks which were assumed to hide her 
 intense suffering. Elizabeth Clark Kerr at 
 the time of her death was fifty-two years 
 of age. She was a true tender-hearted wo- 
 man, naturally of a cheerful disposition, 
 which served her well during her long sick- 
 ness. Her remains were laid to rest along- 
 side the grave of her mother, in the family 
 grounds at Forest Home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. James Kerr reside in an 
 unpretentious residence on the corner of 
 Broadway and Hubbard streets, one of 
 the most prominent and pleasant street 
 corners in the city; he also owns some 
 valuable residence and business property, 
 has the most extensive private library in 
 the city, and is the possessor of many 
 rare and valuable articles of virtu. Their 
 surviving family consists of two sons and 
 one daughter. 
 
 Charles Stuart, their eldest son, is as- 
 sociated with his father in the steam job- 
 printing business, and the publishing of the 
 Fort Howard Rc7'icii.'. He is a member 
 of the Sons of Veterans, Modern Wood- 
 men of America, the Knights of the Mac- 
 cabees, the Green Lake Quartette — a lo- 
 cal musical organization of considerable 
 note — besides several social clubs in Fort 
 Howard and Green Bay. He is a young 
 man of good principle, and a hustler in 
 a business way. Socially, he is very 
 popular. 
 
 Their daughter, Harriet Ann Taylor, 
 is married to D. M. Hagerty, district 
 illuminating oil inspector, and an influen- 
 tial and prominent citizen of Green Bay. 
 She is an accomplished lady and a favorite 
 in society. She can set type or take 
 
446 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 charge of the editorial department of a 
 newspaper, both of which she has done in 
 her father's office. Thej' have one child, 
 Mildred. 
 
 William Lowe, the youngest son of 
 the family, I have alread\- spoken of in 
 detail. , 
 
 Mrs. Kerr is a model wife and mother, 
 and possesses an exemplary Christian 
 character. She is a member of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, taking an active interest 
 in all that pertains to that society. In 
 appearance she is petite, of a pleasant 
 disposition, extremely social, making 
 friends easily, and holding their regard 
 and esteem. She has three sisters — Mrs. 
 Martin Durward (Isabella, twin sister), of 
 Milwaukee; Mrs. William S. Lowe (Mary), 
 of Spottsylvania, \'a. ; and Mrs. David 
 Dickie (Annj, of Dunedin, New Zealand. 
 Mrs. Lowe and Miss Isabella Dickie were 
 of the party that accompanied Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kerr to this countr\' in August, 
 
 1854. 
 
 James Kerr is in his sixty-fifth }ear, 
 and though the frosts of many winters have 
 limned his head as with a halo, he is still 
 as hale and hearty, genial and pleasant, 
 as when, forty years ago, he first left the 
 land of brown heath and shaggy woods. 
 Time has dealt gently with him, his portly 
 form and jovial, expressive face indicat- 
 ing a life well spent and the possession of 
 a contented mind. He has during his 
 residence in Fort Howard been a member 
 of the county board of supervisors, and 
 an officer in Green Bay Lodge, I. O. O. 
 F. , No. 19; is an active and valuable 
 member of Howard Lodge, A. O. U. W. , 
 No. 72 ; and a member of the Grand Lodge 
 of the State, having been elected for three 
 terms to represent No. 72 in that body, 
 and is D. G. M. W. for the district. He 
 is also a member of T. O. Howe Post, G. 
 A. R. , an influential citizen and highly 
 respected in the community. He has one 
 brother and one sister living, namely: 
 Robert Laing Kerr, of Monmouth, 111., 
 and Georgianna AUardice Kerr, of Mil- 
 waukee. 
 
 Mr. Kerr has resided in Fort Howard 
 since the first day of his arrival, and The 
 Rcvicii' has been continuously printed and 
 published under his charge. The paper 
 is Republican in politics, and being al- 
 ways watchful for the best interests of the 
 city, and enjoying a large circulation, it 
 has naturally a wide influence. The office 
 is well equipped with power presses run 
 by steam, and all modern material, 
 being one of the best appointed in north- 
 eastern Wisconsin. — J. W. S. 
 
 WELLINGTON B. COFFEEN, 
 M. D. Ever}' profession has its 
 prominent men, some made such 
 by long membership, others by 
 their proficiency in their calling. The 
 subject of this sketch is made conspicuous 
 among the ph\sicians of Brown county, 
 not so much by the length of time he has 
 devoted to the calling — for he is as yet a 
 young man — as by the eminent success 
 he has already made of it. 
 
 He is a native of Wisconsin, born 
 August 26, 1858, in Taycheedah, Fond 
 du Lac county. The progenitor of the 
 famil)' of which he is a member was a 
 young Irish lad who boarded a vessel in 
 Ireland and worked his passage across the 
 ocean, his labor being subsequently sold 
 out in Boston to pay the rest of his pass- 
 age. He prospered, married, and had 
 several sons who settled in different 
 States, one in New York State, probably 
 in Watertown, Jefferson county, where 
 his decendants became well-to-do farmers. 
 Grandfather David Coffeen, who was a 
 farmer of Watertown, N. Y., was a very 
 active man, and in middle life removed 
 with his family to Calumet county, Wis., 
 where he resided till he was seventy-two 
 years of age, when, having always ex- 
 pressed a desire to die in his old home at 
 Watertown, he removed thither and died 
 a few weeks afterward. He was a stanch 
 Republican, taking a deep interest in 
 local and State politics, was a man of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGMAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 447 
 
 most positive character, and possessed of 
 great will power.- He married in Water- 
 town, and had a family of children named 
 respecti\ely: Curtis, David, Louis, Por- 
 ter and Emma. Of these, Louis was born 
 in Watertown, and was a young man 
 of about sixteen when he came to Wis- 
 consin, where he worked for eight dol- 
 lars per month until he was enabled to 
 buy a piece of land in Fond du Lac 
 county, afterward accumulating there con- 
 siderable property, including several fine 
 farms. He now resides in Vassar, Mich. 
 His wife, Lucy (Abner), died at the 
 age of forty-nine years, the mother of 
 five children, of whom our subject is the 
 second. 
 
 Dr. Coffeen is principally a self-made 
 and self-educated man, his earlier educa- 
 tion having been limited to the district 
 schools of Fond du Lac count}-, Wis. At 
 the age of eighteen years he entered the 
 State Normal School at Oshkosh, paying 
 his own waj' there, and also through the 
 medical course, later on. After a two- 
 years' course at the Normal, he entered 
 the office of Dr. Louis Grasnmck, a well- 
 known and successful physician of Men- 
 asha, who subsequently removed to Colo- 
 rado. .At an early age, even in childhood, 
 our subject had a great desire to become 
 a physician, which desire was probably 
 inherited from his mother, who was a 
 splendid nurse and a great blessing to the 
 sick in her family and neighborhood. She 
 had the gentle ways of the Sister of 
 Charity, and the hope that springs from 
 affection. After studying in the of^ce for 
 two years he proceeded to Ann Arbor, 
 Mich., and entered the Homeopathic 
 Medical Department of the University of 
 Michigan, where he labored diligently at 
 his books, and took his Freshman and 
 Junior studies in one year. From there 
 he went to the Homeopathic Medical 
 College, Chicae:o, 111., from which insti- 
 tution he graduated March 4, 1884, and 
 immediately located at Fort Howard and 
 Green Bay, where he has continued to 
 practice ever since. In 1889 he removed 
 
 25 
 
 his residence to Green Bay, and has built 
 up a good practice. 
 
 Dr. Coffeen was married, in Fort 
 Howard, September 29, 1886, to Miss 
 Nellie Camm, a native of that place, 
 daughter of Capt. James M. Camm and 
 Dr. Mary Bass Camm, the former of 
 whom was an officer in the Florida war, 
 Mexican war and the war of the Rebellion. 
 In the Mexican war Capt. Camm was 
 shot through the neck, the vocal cords 
 being severed, but is a hale and hearty 
 man to-day, now residing in Valentine, 
 Neb. The mother of Mrs. Dr. Coffeen 
 was a well-known Homeopathic physician, 
 with a lucrative practice in Fort Howard 
 and Green Bay, where she is held in 
 loving and kindly remembrance for her 
 many acts of charity and devotion to the 
 sick and afflicted. She died of pneumonia, 
 in March, 1889, at the house of her 
 daughter, at the age of fifty-five years. 
 Dr. Coffeen has two sons: James How- 
 ard and Lew Wallace. The Doctor has 
 been a member of the Royal Arcanum for 
 nine years, and was examining physician 
 of same for many years; is a past Regent, 
 having filled all the offices, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Grand Council of the State of 
 Wisconsin. He is also a member of the 
 Modern Woodmen of America, Green Bay 
 Lodge, and is its examining physician; is 
 also a member of the Knights of the Mac- 
 cabees of the World, is its examining 
 physician, and is now its commander. At 
 the last biennial session of the State con- 
 vention, held in Green Bay, April 3, 1895, 
 he was also elected representative to the 
 Supreme Tent from this State. He is a 
 member of the Brown County Medical 
 Association, the State Homeopathic Medi- 
 cal Association, and the American Insti- 
 tute of Homeopathy. 
 
 Dr. Coffeen is one of those men who 
 ma)' be said to have chosen well. Pos- 
 sessed of a kind, sympathetic nature, a 
 keen sense of discrimination, a natural 
 taste for the various branches of the medi- 
 cal profession, he has made a signal 
 success. 
 
448 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 This gentleman 
 
 CA. NEWELL 
 has been a resident of Green Bay 
 for the past quarter of a century, 
 during which time he has earned 
 the respect of the community, both as a 
 private citizen and as a tradesman. 
 
 He is a native of New York State, 
 born in Delaware county, in 1825, a son 
 of Harry and Jerusha (Foot) Newell, both 
 of New York birth. The father was a 
 farmer in Delaware county, and on re- 
 tiring from active work made his home in 
 New York, dying there in 18 — ; his wife 
 passed away in 1S48. Grandfather Rob- 
 ert Newell was a native of New York, a 
 sea captain by occupation, and partici- 
 pated in the war of the Revolution. 
 
 After his school days were over, 
 which were passed in his native county, 
 our subject commenced to learn the trade 
 of carpenter, completing same in Wiscon- 
 sin, whither he came in 1845, arriving in 
 Milwaukee, and locating first in Dodge 
 county. After remaining there some 
 years engaged closely at his trade, he 
 moved to Waupun, Fond du Lac county, 
 and from there came in 1869 to Green Bay 
 which has since been his home. This 
 was not his first visit, however, to the 
 town, for in 1854 we find him working here 
 in the shipyards. He was also engaged 
 in shipbuilding in Pensaukee and Little 
 Sturgeon, and among the vessels he 
 helped to build may be mentioned the 
 schooner "Fannie Gardner," steamer 
 "Union," brig " F. B. Gardner," and 
 others, A. Gilson, of Oshkosh, Wis., his 
 brother-in-law, being the master ship- 
 builder. Our subject is now engaged chiefly 
 in contracting for residence buildings, and 
 in Green Bay, alone, there are to be seen 
 many evidences of his skill, such as the 
 " Kellogg House," the Orphan Asylum, 
 the "Albright House," the Pierce resi- 
 dence and many others, besides the Court 
 House for Ontonagon county, Mich. He 
 also owns three lots in Green Bay, and 
 has built thereon two residences. In ad- 
 dition to his other interests, he carries on 
 a cabinet shop, doing desk and fine cabi- 
 
 net work of all kinds, chiefly expert 
 work. 
 
 On November 11, 1851, Mr. Newell 
 was married in Winneconne, Winnebago 
 Co., Wis , to Miss Isabella Hall, daugh- 
 ter of Thomas and Isabella Hall, all na- 
 tives of Canada, whence they came to 
 Wisconsin in 1849. One child, a daugh- 
 ter, Imogene, was the result of this union, 
 born October 11, 1854, died No^\ember 
 7, 1855. On February 26, 1858, Mr. 
 Newell was married in Door county, 
 Wis., to Miss Mary Howlett, a school 
 teacher of Sturgeon Bay, daughter of 
 James and Alice (Finch) Howlett, all na- 
 tives of England, who about the year 1848 
 came to Wisconsin, settling on a farm in 
 Fond du Lac county, where the mother 
 died, the father subsequently remo\ing 
 into the town of \\'aupaca, where he died 
 in 1888. In his political preferences Mr. 
 Newell is a Republican, a zealous sup- 
 porter of the principles of the part}'. He 
 and his amiable life partner enjo\' the 
 highest esteem on the part of their many 
 friends, and they are useful members of 
 society. 
 
 REV. CHRISTIAN ANTON 
 FREDERICK POPP. Among 
 the pioneer ministers of Wiscon- 
 sin, who faithfully represented the 
 German Lutheran Church, we must men- 
 tion Rev. Popp, who was born August 5, 
 1825, in Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany. 
 
 He comes from an old German family 
 who, in the time of the Duchess of Bran- 
 denburg, resided in Bayreuth, Anspach, 
 which was the home of his ancestors for 
 many generations. A great many of the 
 progenitors of Rev. Popp were teachers. 
 His grandfather, Stephen Popp, was a 
 soldier in Germany, and musical director 
 of the regimental band. In June, 1777, 
 he and three thousand fellow soldiers 
 were sold by the Markgrave Casimir of 
 Brandenburg, and when preparations were 
 made to ship them to America the regi- 
 ment rose in mutiny, at Marktbreit-on- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 449 
 
 the-Main. Markgrave Casimir, however, 
 had received an enormous sum for the 
 use of the troops, and he was bound to 
 fulfill his contract. He surrounded the 
 regiment with his body-guard, disarmed 
 the soldiers and put them in chains, nine 
 of the leaders being hanged. This inhu- 
 man act was witnessed by the remaining 
 soldiers of the regiment, who were then 
 taken to boats and shipped to Rotterdam, 
 Holland, where English frigates were in 
 readiness to receive them and bear them to 
 America, to swell the army of Lord Corn- 
 wallis. Stephen Popp participated in the 
 Revolutionary war, and was taken pris- 
 oner at Yorktown. After peace was de- 
 clared he settled in York, Penn., where 
 he married the daughter of a German 
 farmer by the name of Baumann, and by 
 .her had six children, all of whom they 
 lost by death. After the war he turned 
 his musical talents to account, and, be- 
 coming quite a prosperous man, in course 
 of time set out to return to Germany 
 with a small fortune, but the ship in 
 which he took passage was lost together 
 with all his valuables, he and his wife 
 barely escaping with their lives; and thus 
 they reached their home, poor in worldly 
 possessions, but rich in faith in God. 
 Soon after they settled in Neustadt-on- 
 the-Aesch, where a son, Johann George, 
 was born November 27, 1796. Thus, 
 after many adventures and much tribula- 
 tion, a life as varied as a romance, a 
 blessing in the birth of a son came to 
 them in the evening of life. The mother, 
 however, gave up her life in giving birth 
 to the son. The father of this child was 
 afflicted with blindness during the last 
 twenty years of his life, and died in 
 Neustadt in 1821, at the age of sixty-two. 
 The son, Johann George Popp, was 
 educated in Neustadt, and become a 
 teacher in the public schools in Bayreuth, 
 where he taught about twenty-five years. 
 He died. May 28, 1845, of grief at the 
 loss of his beloved wife, Johanna Kather- 
 ine (Kroher), whose death occurred Jan- 
 uary 22, 1838; she was born April 27, 
 
 1804. The couple were much devoted to 
 one another, and lived an ideal married 
 life. The marriage was blessed with six 
 children, viz: Christian Anton Frederick 
 Popp (our subject); a brother, now super- 
 intendent of the Lutheran church at 
 Wiesenbroun, Germany; Henrietta, who 
 died of croup at the age of four years; 
 Franz, deceased, who was procurist (con- 
 fidential clerk) in the Rothschild Bank at 
 Vienna; Carl, who became a wanderer, 
 led an adventurous life, and fought with 
 Kossuth in the Turkish service against 
 Russia (after peace was declared, he went 
 to England, where he married a banker's 
 daughter in Birmingham; he served a 
 number of years as Imperial German 
 Consul); andElenore, married to a teacher 
 named Lindner. 
 
 Rev. C. A. F. Popp studied first in 
 Bayreuth, and later in the University of 
 Erlangen, where he made a specialty of 
 theology from 1841 to 1845. He after- 
 ward became a private teacher in the 
 family of Baron Reinhardt, of Bavaria, 
 in which capacity he served for a year 
 and a half, at the end of which time he 
 received a call from the Consistory to the 
 ministry, which he obeyed. He was or- 
 dained May 5, 1848, and took charge as 
 administrator of the church Parochy at 
 Marktbenten, at the end of one year be- 
 coming assistant pastor at Mistlegau, 
 near Bayreuth. Later in the year 1849, 
 he emigrated to America (where many of 
 his friends and fellow students had pre- 
 ceded him), taking with him letters of 
 recommendation to the Lutheran Synod 
 of Pennsylvania, of which he became a 
 member, his membership continuing from 
 1850 to i860, during which time he had 
 charge of the Lutheran Church at Bir- 
 mingham, Penn. In 1855 he moved to 
 Quincy, 111., where he preached six years, 
 and then went to Warsaw, 111., remain- 
 ing six years as pastor of a Lutheran 
 Church of that place, and his next pas- 
 torage was in Bethlehem, III, where he 
 served two years. As a means of build- 
 ing up his health which, by reason of his 
 
450 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 many years hard work liad become im- 
 paired, he in 1868 left Bethlehem for 
 Oshkosh, Wis., and in 1870 removed to 
 Kenosha. In 1881 he took up his abode 
 in Wrightstown, where he assumed charge 
 of the Lutheran Church. He has be- 
 come well known as an earnest and valu- 
 able worker, both in the Church and in 
 the parochial schools, which latter, under 
 his supervision, are scattered over four 
 townships and thirteen school districts, 
 and are limited to children from thirteen 
 to si.\teen years of aj,'e. He is held in 
 high esteem bj" his people, who value him 
 as a friend, and wherever he has been he 
 is remembered as a pastor who has the 
 welfare of his parishioners at heart. He 
 is a preacher of the old school, and has 
 the mien of a patriarch, his influence over 
 the people of his congregation being 
 abundantly felt throughout life. Rev. 
 Popp was married in Mistlegau, Germany, 
 June 16, 1849, to Miss Emeline Wilhcl- 
 niina Christiana Hagen, who was born 
 May 18, 1830, in Neudrossenfeld, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. Christian Hagen, a Lutheran 
 minister, and fourteen children were born 
 to this union, of whom the following are 
 now living: Anna Margaretha, Franz 
 Johannes, Sophia Maria E., Fred Peter 
 August, Godfrey George Ludwig, Rosa- 
 linda F. J. A. and Carl Jacob F. A. Of 
 these, 
 
 GonFRKV G. L. Popr was born May 
 28, 186S, in Bethlehem, 111., was edu- 
 cated in Kenosha and W'rightstown, stud- 
 ied pharmacy at Racine and Baraboo, 
 Wis. , and in September, 1 890, received a 
 license from the State of Wisconsin. He 
 opened a drug store in Wrightstown in 
 the fall of 1889, and has continued in 
 same ever since with eminent success. 
 He was married November 20, 1890, to 
 Miss Emma Rather, a native of W'rights- 
 town, daughter of Albert Rather, a hard- 
 ware merchant. Two children have 
 blessed this union, Viola Caroline E. and 
 Ida Nellie. Mr. and Mrs. Popp are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church; politically he 
 is identified with the Democratic party. 
 
 CAPTAIN H. W. WEBSTER, ply- 
 ing on the lakes between Green 
 Bay and Chicago and intervening 
 ports, was born in De Pere, Wis., 
 in 1847, and is a son of Levi and Mary 
 P. (Smith) Webster. 
 
 Levi Webster was a native of Ver- 
 mont, and in 1833 or 1834 came to Wis- 
 consin, locating in Green Bay, and then 
 settled at De Pere, and assisted in putting 
 in the locks. He later purchased and 
 moved to a farm near the city, and made 
 it his home till his death, which occurred 
 in October, 1862, being followed by his 
 wife in February, 1863; both were mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church at De- 
 Pere, of which she was a charter member. 
 They reared a family of four sons, viz. : 
 Lewis B., who resides in Rutland, Vt., 
 was a three-years' volunteer in the Fifty- 
 eighth 111. V. I., but was discharged on 
 account of disability in 1862, probably 
 within a year after enlisting; he is now 
 employed at the Howe Scale Works. 
 Levi H., the second son, enlisted in the 
 Twentieth Wis. V. I. for three years; 
 took part in the battle of Pittsburg Land- 
 ing, and in the fights on the Gulf; he is 
 now a farmer in Minnesota. Edgar E. , 
 the third son, served his full three years, 
 in the Civil war, in the Fourteenth Wis- 
 consin Infantry. 
 
 Capt. H. W. Webster, the fourth son, 
 was reared on his father's farm, and edu- 
 cated in Lawrence township, Brown 
 county. In 1869 he entered on his lake 
 life as a fireman on a steamer, and in 1871 
 reached a captaincy. He was married, 
 at Green Bay, to Miss Sarah N. Lewis, a 
 native of Montello, Marquette Co., Wis., 
 and a daughter of Thomas and Asenath 
 (Buck) Lewis, natives of Ohio. This 
 union has been blessed with one child, 
 Herbert Lewis Webster. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Webster are conscientious members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church ; in poli- 
 tics the Captain is a Prohibitionist; social- 
 ly he is a member of the Royal Arcanum, 
 Lodge No. 546. Grandfather Smith was 
 a native of Vermont, and one of the pio- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 451 
 
 neers of Green Bay. Of Green Bay the 
 Captain has witnessed much of the re- 
 markable development, as well as of the 
 complete growth of Lawrence township. 
 His temperate and upright life has won 
 for him many sincere friends, as well as 
 the respect of his fellow citizens of Brown 
 county. 
 
 CHARLES L. DAVIS, farmer and 
 stock raiser, and one of the pro- 
 gressive, public-spirited citizens 
 of Lawrence township. Brown 
 county, was born July 25, 1848, in the 
 town of Rovalton, Niagara count}-, New 
 York. 
 
 His father, E. B. Davis, was a native 
 of Schenectady county, N. Y., where he 
 married Polly Schadd, and while living in 
 New York thev had children as follows: 
 John, a member of Company I, Third 
 Wisconsin Cavalr\-, who died at Madison, 
 Wis.; George, who died in Elyria, Ohio; 
 and Charles L. , whose name introduces 
 this sketch. Mr. Davis was a farmer in 
 New York State, and, in 1849, he removed 
 to Lorain county, Ohio, and purchased a 
 farm in Carlisle township, where he con- 
 tinued to follow agricultural pursuits, and 
 here he also dealt extensively in lumber, 
 principall}- the purchasing of staves for a 
 Buffalo firm. In Lorain county was born 
 another child, Jane C, who married 
 Bruce Lindsle}', and died in Flintville, 
 Brown Co., Wis. Mrs. Polly Davis died 
 in Lorain county January 17, 1857, and 
 was buried in Elyria, same county, and 
 Mr. Davis then married Miss Susan Oak- 
 ley, who died in Lorain county July 11, 
 1858. In 1859 he wedded, in Lockport, 
 N. Y., for his third wife. Miss Mary Bar- 
 rett. In i860, the lumber business hav- 
 ing gradually declined with the clearing 
 away of the forests, Mr. Davis concluded 
 to remove farther west, and brought his 
 family to Brown county, Wis. , traveling 
 by rail to Oshkosh, and from there by 
 stage to Wrightstown, Brown county, 
 where they located. Mr. Davis again 
 
 engaged in the stave business, buying 
 timber from farmers, and he put consid- 
 erable money into circulation here, as his 
 trade was an extensive one. He invested 
 in a large amount of land in Brown county, 
 and pre-empted over three hundred 
 acres of government land. He was a 
 well-built man, of splendid physique, and 
 was well-known and highly respected in 
 his community. At the time of his 
 death, which occurred March 11, 1878, 
 he was comfortably situated. In his polit- 
 ical belief he was a Democrat, and a 
 stanch supporter of the party, but was 
 not an active politician. He lies buried 
 in Wrightstown cemetery. 
 
 Charles L. Davis received his first 
 school training in Carlisle township, Lo- 
 rain Co., Ohio. After the death of his 
 mother he returned to Niagara county, 
 N. Y. , and for two years made his home 
 with his grandfather, then, in i860, com- 
 ing to Wisconsin. In October, 1864, 
 then but little over sixteen years of age, 
 he enlisted, at Green Bay, Wis., in Com- 
 pany H, Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry, 
 was sent South, and, joining the regiment 
 at Marietta, Ga. , participated in the en- 
 tire campaign through the Carolinas. He 
 took part in the Grand Review at Wash- 
 ington, D. C, was mustered out at 
 Louisville, Ky. , and received an honorable 
 discharge at Madison, Wis. When he 
 first came to W'isconsin, the schools were 
 very poor, and he did not attend much, 
 as he assisted his father in the latter's 
 extensive lumber business, becoming 
 familiar with the details of same when 
 j'et a mere boy. After the war he be- 
 came partner with his father in the 
 business, and continued to hold an inter- 
 est in same until 1879. 
 
 On April 9, 1877, at Wrightstown, 
 Wis. , by Rev. Father De Wilt, Mr. Davis 
 was united in marriage to Miss Ellen 
 Sullivan, who was born January 22, 1857, 
 in Winchendon, Worcester Co., Mass., 
 eldest child of John and Ellen (Harris) 
 Sullivan. For five years previous to her 
 marriage, she followed the profession of 
 
» 
 452 
 
 COMyrEMOIiATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 school teaching, in the meantime having 
 her residence in Lawrence. In 1882 Mr. 
 Davis purchased his present farm, in 
 Lawrence township, and moved thereon, 
 at the same time severing completely his 
 connection with the lumber business. 
 Since that time he has been exclusively 
 engaged in general farming and stock 
 raising, and he now has a fertile, well- 
 improved farm of ninety-nine acres. In 
 politics he is one of the leaders of the 
 Democratic party in his section, and for 
 three years has been chairman of the 
 Democratic committee. He is always 
 among the foremost men in the township 
 in any enterprise tending to benefit the 
 community in general. To him and his 
 wife have come children as follows: Jen- 
 nie E., born August 2, 1879; Mamie L. , 
 born February 4, 1881, died February 7, 
 
 1882; John E., born June 18, 1882; Har- 
 riet C, born May 24, 1886, died May 7, 
 
 1887; and Charles F., born April i, 1889. 
 
 OJ. B. BKICE. The Kingdom of 
 Belgium has given to the United 
 States man}- of her industrious, 
 loyal and prosperous citizens, 
 among whom may be justly numbered the 
 gentleman whose name here appears — a 
 name in northern Wisconsin as "familiar 
 as household words." 
 
 Mr. Brice has the distinguished honor 
 of representing his native land as consul 
 for Wisconsin, Minnesota and the two 
 Dakotas, his appointment, over the sign- 
 manual of the King of the Belgians, dating 
 June 16, 1880, the United States being 
 at the time under the administration of 
 Gen. K. B. Hayes. In addition to his 
 consular duties Mr. Brice carries on exten- 
 sive real-estate and insurance businesses, 
 and is ticket agent for Ocean steamship 
 lines. He was born April 6, 1837, in the 
 city of Jodoigne, Province of Brabant, 
 Belgium, a son of John Louis and Mary 
 J. (Straele) Brice, also of Belgian nativ- 
 ity. They had a family of nine children, 
 
 of whom five died in infancy, and the 
 others (four brothers) came to Brown 
 county. Wis., viz.: Joseph, who settled 
 in the town of Scott, Brown county, in 
 1856; Louis and Albert, both house and 
 sign painters, and residing in Green Bay; 
 and our subject. The father died in Bel- 
 gium in 1849; the mother came to Green 
 Bay in 1859, and died here in 1861. 
 
 The subject proper of this memoir was 
 reared and educated in his native country 
 up to the age of eighteen years, at which 
 time, in the spring of 1855, he immi- 
 grated to the United States, locating at 
 first in Milwaukee, where he worked at 
 the trade of house and sign painter (which 
 he had learned in Belgium). In the fall 
 of the same year, he moved to West Troy, 
 Walworth Co., Wis., where he worked as 
 wagon and carriage painter, and whence, 
 in the early part of 1856, he moved to 
 Green Bay. His first work, after arriv- 
 ing at Green Bay, was on a farm in the 
 town of Green Bay, in said county, but 
 at the end of nine months he aban- 
 doned the plough (the a.xe and hoe, 
 rather) for the counter, engaging as 
 clerk in a grocery and provision store in 
 Green Bay. For some years thereafter 
 he followed his trade of house and sign 
 painter. In 1863 he was appointed dep- 
 uty sheriff under George Longton; in 1868 
 he was elected sheriff, and served in that 
 capacity till 1871. In 1871-72 he was 
 jailer, and in the fall of 1872 he engaged 
 in mercantile business, but on account of 
 ill-health sold out the same in 1874. In 
 1875 he was elected chief of police. In 
 1877 he was elected justice of the peace 
 for the term of two 3'ears; in 1879 he 
 was elected police justice, ser\'ing two 
 years, at the end of which time he was 
 again elected police justice, and again in 
 1883, an incumbency he filled up to the 
 spring of 1885. The capabilities of Mr. 
 Brice were now further substantially rec- 
 ognized by his election to the office of 
 citj' clerk, in which he served two years, 
 and was immediately re-elected to his old 
 position of police justice, holding same 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 453 
 
 this time for four years, or up to the spring 
 of 1893. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Brice was united in mar- 
 riage in Green Bay with Miss Odile Fon- 
 taine, a native of Belgium, daughter of 
 John Remy and EHzabeth Fontaine, who 
 came to Brown county in 1855, where 
 they died. To Mr. and Mrs. Brice were 
 born four children, of whom one died in 
 infancy; the following is a brief record of 
 the other three: Jules R. is married, 
 and is a stenographer and typewriter in 
 the general freight offices of the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad at Chi- 
 cago; Alfred L. , married, is an attorney- 
 at-law'in Minneapolis, Minn.; Ella D. is 
 the wife of Louis Schimel, of Chicago, 
 111. The mother of these died in 1876, 
 and in 1879 Mr. Brice married Miss Mary 
 Rebecca Gray, a Philadelphia lady. They 
 attend the services of the Presbyterian 
 Church, in the choir of which Mr. Brice's 
 fine bass voice is heard each Sabbath of 
 the year. Socially he is a member and 
 past chancellor of Pochequette Lodge No. 
 26, Knights of Pythias; politically he is a 
 pronounced Republican. 
 
 H PORTER CAMPBELL, the well- 
 known nurseryman, and the pres- 
 ent city treasurer of Green Bay, 
 was born in Scott township. Bay 
 Settlement, Brown county, Wis., in 1840, 
 and is the son of John and Elizabeth 
 (Davenport) Campbell. 
 
 John Campbell, the father, was born 
 and reared in Scotland, whence when a 
 young man he emigrated to America, lo- 
 cating at Mackinac, Mich., later coming 
 to Brown county. Wis., where he settled 
 on a farm. About the year 1842 he re- 
 ceived the appointment of government 
 blacksmith at Grande Traverse, remain- 
 ing there about nineteen years, and then 
 returning to Brown county, where his 
 death occurred in July, 1864, his wife 
 surviving him until 1871. They were the 
 parents of eleven children, as follows: 
 Hiram, drowned at Green Bay; Robert, 
 
 died on the old homestead in Scott town- 
 ship in 1S69; John, still living at Bay 
 Settlement, Wis. ; Samuel, died in Michi- 
 gan; Sylvester, died at the age of seven; 
 William, who enlisted, in 1864, in the 
 Thirteenth Wis. V. I., and died in a hos- 
 pital in Te.xas; Hannah, died in Michigan; 
 Elizabeth and an infant unnamed, also 
 died in Michigan; Henry, of Two Rivers, 
 Wis., and H. Porter, the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 H. Porter Campbell was reared among 
 the Indians at Grande Traverse, and 
 learned the language of the Ottawa tribe, 
 living with them when there was only one 
 other white family among them, until 
 1845. In i860 he returned to Scott 
 township. Brown county, and settled on 
 a farm. In August, 1864, he enlisted in 
 Company B, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I., and 
 was assigned to the Western army. He 
 took part in the battle of Nashville, Tenn. , 
 and was then placed on garrison duty at 
 Paducah, Ky. ; served as acting sergeant 
 until July 4, 1865, when he was promoted 
 to orderly sergeant and was honorably 
 discharged at Paducah in September of 
 the same }'ear. Returning home, he re- 
 sumed farming, which he followed until 
 1880, when he removed to Green Bay 
 and engaged in the dairy business; later 
 opened a restaurant, and finally engaged 
 in handling nursery stock. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was married in 1866, in 
 Winnebago county. Wis., to Miss Eliza- 
 beth Townsend, a native of that county, 
 and a daughter of Lucius B. and Lucy 
 (Bowker) Townsend, who came from Ver- 
 mont to Racine, Wis., at an early day, 
 and in 1846 to Winnebago county. The 
 father was a farmer, and 1867 removed 
 to Minnesota, then came to Bay Settle- 
 ment, Brown county. Wis., but again 
 went to Minnesota, and there died in 
 1892; the mother passed away in Winne- 
 bago county. Wis., in 1874. To the mar- 
 riage of H. P. Campbell and wife have 
 been born eight children, viz. : Lucius 
 T., of Fort Howard; Maud, living in 
 Green Bay; John, of Chicago; Nora, who 
 
454 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 died in infancy; Samuel, in Chicago; 
 Frank, in Green Bay; Charles, died at 
 the ape of one year, and Harry, attend- 
 ing school. In politics Mr. Campbell is 
 a Republican; while on his farm he was 
 school district clerk in 1878; was also 
 elected chairman of the town of Scott, 
 and in the spring of 1894 was elected to 
 his 'present position of city treasurer of 
 Green Bay. Fraternally, he is a mem- 
 ber of F. b. Howe Post No. 1 24, G. A. 
 R., being its adjutant. 
 
 FJ. B. DUCHATEAU. This gen- 
 tleman, who is one of the most 
 enterprising business men of 
 Green Bay, is a native of that 
 city, born, in 1867, of French and Belgian 
 ancestry. 
 
 His father, Abelard Duchateau, by 
 birth a typical son of " La Belle France," 
 came to the United States in 1856, and 
 for some years was engaged in the wine 
 and liquor trade as a traveling salesman. 
 About 1867 he came to Green Bay, and 
 at Shoemaker's Point established a grocery 
 and trading business, which he carried on 
 until 1870, when he opened in Green Baj' 
 a wholesale liquor concern. In 1874 he 
 and his brother, L. A. K. Duchateau, 
 built a commodious business block, two 
 stories high with basement. In 1888 
 the father died, and his widow and son, 
 F. J. B., have since conducted the busi- 
 ness. Abelard Duchateau was married 
 in Green Bay to Miss Felicite Delwiche, 
 a lady of Belgian birth, and five children 
 have blessed their union, viz.: Heloise, 
 wife of W. E. Duncan, of Westboro, 
 Wis. ; Arthur H. ; Lizzie, wife of C. D. 
 Brower, of Milwaukee, Wis.; F. J. B.. 
 subject of sketch; and Rose, wife of 
 William Hope, with her mother, who is 
 still living in Green Bay. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 and educated in his native town, and was 
 brought up to the business he is engaged 
 in. In 1890 he was married in Green 
 Bay to Miss Mar}' Beaupre, who was born 
 
 in that city, a daughter of Dr. William 
 Beaupre, who now resides at Merrill, 
 Wis. To this union were born two chil- 
 dren, one of whom, Olive Felicite, is liv- 
 ing. The mother of these died in 1892, 
 and in 1893 .Mr. Duchateau wedded Mrs. 
 Julia (Lucas) O'Leary, daughter of Abe 
 Lucas, an early settler of Green- Bay. 
 In politics our subject is a Republican; 
 has served as a member of the council 
 two years, and has been elected for two 
 more terms. He is associated with the 
 K. of P., \'igilant Lodge No. 120, Kewau- 
 nee, Wiscon.-^in. 
 
 M 
 
 J. McCORMICK,agent at Green 
 Hay for the Lackawanna and the 
 Goodrich Transportation lines, 
 is a natixe of Brown coimt)', 
 \\'is., born in 1 854. 
 
 His parents, John and Mar}- (Earley) 
 McCormick. who were born in Ireland, 
 came in 1850 to the United States, hrst 
 locating in New Jersey, but in 1852 moved 
 to Wisconsin and settled in Suamico 
 township. Brown county, where they 
 hewed a farm out of the wilderness. 
 John McCormick died in 1865 on the 
 home place, and his widow now resides 
 in Green Ba\'. They had born to their 
 marriage three children, viz. : Sarah, 
 Amelia and M. J., the two sisters now 
 making their home with our subject. 
 
 M. J. McCormick was reared in his 
 native township until 1870, when he came 
 to live in Green Hay. The two years of 
 1872 and 1873, however, he passed in 
 Escanaba, in the employ of Day & Mc- 
 Kenna, a grocery firm, and at the close 
 of 1873 returned to Green Bay, where he 
 became bookkeeper for the Monitor Iron 
 Works, of Fort Howard; later was book- 
 keeper with Pres. N. C. Foster, in a lum- 
 ber yard until 1876, when he engaged in 
 the grain and feed business, which in 
 1885 he relinquished. In 1878 he be- 
 came the agent for the Goodrich Trans- 
 portation Co., and in 1886 the agent for 
 the Lackawanna Co. In the winter of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPSICAL RECORD. 
 
 455' 
 
 1892 he erected the large warehouse, 
 84 X 140 feet, at the foot of Pine street, 
 and here he conducts his present business. 
 Since 1885 he has also been agent for the 
 Northwestern Fuel Company. 
 
 In politics Mr. McCormick is a Demo- 
 crat, in religion he is a Catholic. He is 
 secretary of the Business Men's Associa- 
 tion, and has always been alive to and 
 identified with the promotion of the best 
 interests of Green Bay, of which he has 
 so long been a resident, and in which he 
 has seen so many changes for the better. 
 
 P.\TRicK Mccormick, of the 
 firm of McCormick & Flatley, 
 dealers in hay, oats, wood and 
 coal. Green Bay, was born April 3, 
 1848, in Ireland, and is a son of John and 
 Ann (Dunn) McCormick, who came to 
 America about 185 1, and located in Fond 
 du Lac county. Wis. , where they opened 
 up a farm in the woods, on which the 
 father still resides, and where the mother 
 died in 1863. They reared a family of 
 eight children, of whom the following six 
 still survive: Patrick, whose name opens 
 this sketch; Thomas, of Oregon, Wis.; 
 William, of Wausau, Wis. ; Bridget, wife 
 of John Mullin, of Fond du Lac county; 
 Anna, now Mrs. McCuUen, of the same 
 county, and Jane, married to Milton Kerr, 
 of St. Paul, Minnesota. 
 
 Patrick McCormick was reared in 
 Fond du Lac county until sixteen years 
 old, at which early age he enlisted, in 
 May, 1864, at Madison, Wis., in Com- 
 pany K, Thirty-seventh Wis. V. I., for 
 three years or during the war. He was 
 assigned to the army of Virginia, first met 
 the enemy at the battle of Mine Run, 
 and from that time on was with his regi- 
 ment in all its marches and engagements 
 until the close of the war; after passing 
 through the Grand Review at Washing- 
 ton, D. C, May 23-24, 1865, he was 
 honorably discharged at Madison, Wis. , 
 in September, 1865, and returned to 
 Fond du Lac county. In 1867 he came 
 
 to Green Bay and worked for P. Flatley, 
 for four years. His marriage took place 
 in Green Bay, in 1872, to Mary Harram, 
 a native of Liverpool, England, and 
 daughter of John and Sarah (Flatley) 
 Harram, natives of Ireland and pioneers 
 of Green Bay. To this union have been 
 born eleven children, viz: John, William 
 (clerk in the Citizens Bank), Mary, Anna, 
 Sadie, Edward, Thomas, Jennie, James, 
 Charley and Rosaline. Mr. McCormick 
 started his present business in 1886 — first 
 in Paul Fox's block, Washington street, 
 Green Bay; in 1890 he bought the 
 George Cook dock, and in 1891 built an 
 elevator with a capacity of i 5,000 bushels, 
 besides several .storage sheds, and has 
 been successful from the start. Mr. and 
 Mrs. McCormick are devout members 
 of the Catholic Church. In his politics 
 he is independent, and gives his vote to 
 the best men and for the best measures, 
 as his judgment may dictate. He was 
 one of the promoters of the Brown 
 County Fair & Park Association, and is 
 one of the board of directors. 
 
 CAPT. GEORGE A. GAYLORD, 
 keeper of the Tail Point Light- 
 house, distant some seven miles 
 from Green Bay, Wisconsin, is a 
 shrewd, careful, weather-beaten, life-long 
 sea-faring man, having commenced sail- 
 ing the lakes in boyhood. 
 
 He. is a native of Ohio, born in Dela- 
 ware county in 1826, a son of Eleazer 
 and Anna (Earl) Gaylord, the mother 
 born in Clinton county, N. Y. , but reared 
 in Ohio. The father was born, in 1790, 
 in Luzerne county, Penn., a son of 
 Eleazer Gaylord, of Connecticut birth, 
 who came to Pennsylvania, and in 1800 
 moved to Delaware county, Ohio, where 
 he passed the rest of his days. Our sub- 
 ject's father was by trade a miller, which 
 he followed in Delaware county, in later 
 life moving to Sandusky, Erie county, 
 where he died in 1890, his wife in 18S7. 
 They had a family of seven children. 
 
456 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 namely: George A., subject of sketch; 
 Earl, a resident of Livingston county, 
 111. (he was a sailor, spending four years 
 of his life at sea); William, drowned at 
 the age of three years; James, who died 
 in Delaware county, Ohio, when six 
 years old; Edwin; William, a physician 
 and surgeon, and Catherine, wife of Solon 
 Stanley, all three residents of Sandusky, 
 Ohio. 
 
 The subject of these lines was reared 
 and educated in Delaware county, Ohio, 
 and at the age of sixteen years commenced 
 the life of a sailor, making his first trips 
 between Sandusky and Buffalo. By close 
 application to his duties, and rapidly 
 making himself acquainted with the 
 science of navigation, he found speedy 
 promotion through the various grades up 
 to captain in 1852, from which time for- 
 ward he had command of vessels till re- 
 tiring from the vocation. In 1866 he 
 brought his family to Green Bay, between 
 which port and Buffalo he had captained 
 the steamer " Rocket" since 1862. In 
 1878 he made his last trip, retiring into 
 private life after a successful career of 
 thirty-five years on the lakes. In the 
 spring of 1 880 he was appointed to his 
 present position, in which, it is almost un- 
 necessary to say, he exercises the same 
 care and vigilance as he did while a 
 mariner, whose motto might well be 
 "eternal vigilance is the price of safety." 
 
 In 1855 Capt. Gaylord was married 
 to Miss Deborah Landsdowne, who was 
 born in Sandusky, Ohio, a daughter of 
 Samuel Landsdowne, a native of En- 
 gland, who with his wife Rachel emi- 
 grated to this countrj-, settling in 
 Sandusky, Ohio, where they died. To 
 our subject and wife were born four chil- 
 dren, viz. : George, single, in the cattle 
 business at Folsom, N. Mcx. ; Catherine, 
 a teacher in the public schools of Green 
 Baj'; Marion, at home with her parents; 
 and Edith, who died at the age of twenty- 
 three years. In his political preferences 
 Capt. Gaylord is a standi Republican; 
 socially he is a member of Washington 
 
 Lodge No. 21, F. & A. M., and of War- 
 ren Chapter No. 50; he received his 
 initiation in Science Lodge No. 30, San- 
 dusky. During the thirty-two years from 
 the first day he set foot in Green Bay he 
 has seen some marvelous changes in the 
 place, and has been identified with it as 
 an honored, upright citizen, well-known 
 and highly respected. 
 
 WILLIAM PERRY WAGNER. 
 This well-known gentleman, the 
 popular and esteemed cashier 
 of the Citizens National Bank 
 of Green Ba)', by virtue of his prominent 
 position in the commercial as well as 
 social world of northern Wisconsin, is de- 
 serving of more than a passing notice in 
 the pages of this \olume. 
 
 He was born March 5, 1859, in Mount 
 Morris, Ogle Co., 111., a son of Reuben 
 and Leah (Brubakcr) Wagner, natives 
 respecti\ely of ^^'ashington county, Md. , 
 and Huntington county, Penn., and de- 
 scendants of the earl}' German settlers of 
 those States. Reuben Wagner is at pres- 
 ent in the stock business in Chicago, a 
 member of the firm of Wagner Bros. & 
 Co. The mother of our subject died in 
 Ogle county. 111., in 1876, aged forty- 
 three years. 
 
 William P. Wagner received his edu- 
 cation at the schools of Polo, Ogle Co., 
 111., and having completed his studies, it 
 became necessary for him to select a pro- 
 fession, or to decide what occupation he 
 would pursue in future life. He was suc- 
 cessful in securing employment in the 
 Exchange National Bank of Polo, and 
 from that time pursued the even tenor of 
 his way, confidently anticipating the ar- 
 rival of the turning point which always 
 attends the promotion due to industry 
 and integrity. In this and other banking 
 institutions in that county he remained 
 until 1886, when he went to Chicago, and 
 for a short time was employed in the pri- 
 vate bank of S. A. Kean & Co., of that 
 city. In the summer of the same year, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 457 
 
 his services being sought by R. B. Kel- 
 logg, he came to Green Bay, and for the 
 following two years was employed in the 
 Kellogg National Bank, at the end of 
 which time he organized the Citizens 
 National Bank of Green Bay with a capi- 
 tal of $100,000. That this institution 
 has proven a financial success goes with- 
 out saying, and the deposit accounts now 
 average from $350,000 to $500,000, rep- 
 resenting about half of the business de- 
 posits of the city. A dividend of six per 
 cent, was declared in 1890, and seven per 
 cent, annual dividends have been de- 
 clared each year since then, besides accu- 
 mulating a surplus of over $20, 000, which 
 in itself speaks more than well of the 
 financial management of the concern. 
 
 In January, 1881, Mr. Wagner was 
 married to Miss Emma Whitcomb, of 
 Minneapolis, who died in December of 
 the same year in Ogle county. 111., leav- 
 ing an infant son, named Paul W. On 
 October 17, 18S8, Mr. Wagner, for his 
 second wife, was married in Polo, 111., to 
 Miss Anna Shumwaj', a daughter of R. G. 
 Shumwa}', a banker at that place, and to 
 this union have come two children: Perry, 
 born April 5, 1890, and Eugenia, born 
 August 9, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner 
 are members of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and of the choir. In social organizations 
 he is a member of the Knights of Pythias. 
 Still young, and with all the buoyancy of 
 )'outh, a host of friends and deserved 
 prosperity, he is certainly a man to be 
 contented — and to be envied. Politically 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 M 
 
 AGNUS JOHNSON. The 
 Scandinavian peninsula has sent 
 thousands of its sons and 
 daughters to the United States, 
 where they have become substantial, 
 thrifty and public-spirited citizens. The 
 gentleman for whom this sketch has been 
 prepared was born in 1837 in Gotten- 
 borg, Sweden, being one of a family of 
 four children reared by Johan Magnuson 
 
 and Angeline (Nelson), both natives of 
 the same country. The father died in 
 1868, the mother in 1872. Of their chil- 
 dren, Andrew yet resides in Sweden; John 
 lives in Colorado, and Loue in Minne- 
 sota. 
 
 Magnus Johnson was educated in the 
 schools of his native country, relying up- 
 on his own efforts to store his mind with 
 practical knowledge, of usefulness to a 
 man battling with the grave problems of 
 life. He early learned the trade of ship 
 carpenter, and was so proficient as to be 
 made foreman at the age of nineteen. 
 For twelve years he sailed the Atlantic, 
 between Sweden and the West Indies, 
 the Cape of Good Hope, Brazil and the 
 principal European ports, his knowledge 
 of ship carpentry more than once being 
 the means of saving his vessel. In 
 1858 his fortunes were united with those 
 of Miss Anna Helen Johnson, also of 
 Swedish parentage and nativity. Her 
 parents, John Bergenson and wife, lived 
 and died among the scenes of their nativ- 
 ity. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the par- 
 ents of children as follows: Angeline, 
 who died at Green Bay aged twenty 
 years; Charlotte, residing in Green Bay; 
 Maly, who married AUie Britton, and 
 died in Green Bay when but nineteen 
 years of age; John, a resident also of 
 Green Bay; Tene, now Mrs. Williams, of 
 Milwaukee; Henry, Laura and Jennie, at 
 home; another child, named Charlotte, 
 died young. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Johnson immigrated with 
 his family to Green Bay, and for about 
 sixteen years was employed at the blast 
 furnace, working also for some years at 
 his old trade of ship carpenter. For the 
 past eight years he has been engaged in 
 the line of contracting and building, and 
 at the present time employs about twenty 
 men. Many of the city's residences and 
 business houses have been erected under 
 his supervision. He holds the position of 
 city plumber and inspector, and is super- 
 visor of the Fourth ward, which he also 
 represented one term in the city council. 
 
458 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In politics Mr. Johnson is a Kepnblican. 
 Both he and his wife are members of 
 Christ Church. He is a prominent Odd 
 Fellow, having passed through the chairs 
 of both the Subordinate Lodge and En- 
 campment. For several years he has 
 been chairman of the board of trustees of 
 Green Bay Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., 
 and has also served the local branch of 
 the Royal Arcanum as a trustee. That 
 such a man should be ranked among the 
 stanch citizens of Green Bay is but just 
 in the lit:ht of his honorable record. 
 
 H.\. W OTTER, M. D. This 
 gentleuian, one of the leading 
 physicians and surgeons of north- 
 ern \\'isconsin, is a native of the 
 State, born August 21, 1855, in Green- 
 ville township, Outagamie county. 
 
 Frederick and Helen (Schaefer) Wot- 
 ter, parents of our subject, natives of 
 Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, immi- 
 grated to the United States in 1855, set- 
 ling on a farm in Greenville township, 
 Outagamie Co., Wis. Here the father 
 died in 1891; he was a Democrat in his 
 political associations, and held various 
 township oilfices. The mother is now a 
 resident of Appleton, Wis. Their family 
 numbered eight children, all residents of 
 Appleton e.xcept the Doctor, as follows: 
 B. C. is a dealer in farm machinery, 
 hardware, etc. ; H. A. is the subject of 
 this sketch; Frederick; Henry is a cigar 
 manufacturer; Otto; Dora is the wife of 
 J. L. Pringle: Lotta is the wife of Julius 
 Waite, and Helen is the wife of George 
 Hanchett. 
 
 H. A. Wotter was reared on his fath- 
 er's farm up to the age of sixteen, receiv- 
 ing his earlier education at the common 
 schools of the neighborhood, after which 
 he attended the high school at Appleton. 
 He then for a time taught school in Outa- 
 gamie county, in the evenings reading 
 medicine with Dr. Charles \'on Hiddeson, 
 of Appleton, after which, in 1878, he en- 
 tered Rush Medical College, Chicago, 
 
 where he graduated in the class of '81. 
 Dr. \\'otter commenced the practice of his 
 profession in Fountain City, W'is. ; from 
 there moved to Oconto, same State, thence 
 in 1891 coming to Green Bay, where he 
 has since been engaged in regular practice, 
 meeting with the most gratifying success. 
 In 1 884 he took a post-graduate course at 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 New York. 
 
 Dr. Wotter is a member of the Fox 
 River Medical Society ; socially he is 
 affiliated with the I. O. O. F., and of the 
 Iron Gate Council, Royal Arcanum. He 
 is interested in the G. B. Hess Co. flour- 
 ing-mill, built in 1893, having a capacity 
 of 200 barrels per day, and he is recog- 
 nized as a useful, wide-awake, loyal 
 citizen. 
 
 REV. WILLIAM FRANCIS VAN- 
 ROOS.MALEN, pastor of St. Wil- 
 librord's Catholic Church at Green 
 Bay, is a native of Holland, born 
 February 13, 1857, in 's Hertogenbosch, 
 where his paternal ancestry had resided 
 for many generations. 
 
 The city of 's Hertogenbosch was 
 built in 1 1 13, and the old house erected 
 by the Duke of Brabant is still standing. 
 As far back as 1600 mention is made in 
 the Church records of the Van Roosmalen 
 family, who were then residents of that 
 city; they were descendants of a noble 
 house, and held offices of trust in 's 
 Hertogenbosch. Christianus Van Roos- 
 malen, paternal great-grandfather of the 
 subject of this sketch, was a merchant, 
 as was also the grandfather, whose busi- 
 ness is known to have been that of a 
 grocer. James Van Roosmalen, son of 
 the latter, and who still resides in Hol- 
 land, is an architect and contractor, 
 highly esteemed and beloved by many. 
 He married Miss Adriana Van de Ven, 
 who was born at Cromvoirt, Holland, 
 and is still living, the mother of two chil- 
 dren, William Francis four subject), and 
 Mary fwife of Henry Kitzlaar). 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 459 
 
 Belgium 
 Oil finishing 
 
 The subject proper of these Hnes at- 
 tended the schools of his native town, 
 later the gymnasium at Gemert, whence 
 after two years he proceeded to Bruges, 
 Belgium, where for four j'ears he read in 
 the classical course; the main object of 
 his going there, however, being to be- 
 come more familiar with the French lan- 
 guage, which the citizens of 
 speak almost exclusively 
 his course he returned to Holland, and 
 from there, after a sojourn of ten months, 
 emigrated to the United States with the 
 view of preparing himself for the priest- 
 hood in this country. Arriving in New 
 York December i, 1881, he proceeded to 
 Notre Dame, Ind. , where he studied 
 philosophy under Rev. Father Fitt until 
 June 16, 18S3, during which time he also 
 acted as assistant professor of the Latin 
 and French languages in the university. 
 On September 7, 1883, he moved to Mil- 
 waukee, and at St. Francis Theological 
 Seminary completed his course in 
 theology. On June 24, 1886, he was or- 
 dained a priest by the late Archbishop 
 Michael Heiss, and immediately after- 
 ward was appointed pastor of the Holy 
 Cross Church in Mishicot, Manitowoc 
 Co., Wis., of which he had charge three 
 years and five months. The congrega- 
 tion being composed of Germans and 
 French, and the children having no op- 
 portunity to learn those languages, he 
 found himself obliged to preach in three 
 different languages — German, French and 
 English. On P'ebruary 12, 1890, he was 
 appointed, by Bishop Katzer, to his pres- 
 ent charge of St. Willibrord's Church, 
 Green Bay, where he has ever since been 
 a faithful and earnest pastor, all his tem- 
 poral as well as spiritual relations having 
 been conducted in a meritorious manner. 
 The old church was presided over by the 
 Rev. Father Bongers, who laid the 
 foundation stone of the new church 
 building, the completion of which Bishop 
 Katzer entrusted to Father Van Roos- 
 malen. On May i, 1891, the first brick 
 was laid, and the church was completed 
 
 December 12, 1893; its dimensions are 
 136x50 feet, the steeple being 240 feet 
 high and containing one of the Howard 
 clocks and bell weighing 4,000 pounds. 
 The entire building will forever be a 
 monument to Father Roosmalen's in- 
 tegrity, and will speak of him when he is 
 no longer numbered among the living. 
 His people have come to understand his 
 good intentions, and are aiding him in 
 every way possible. His life is like a 
 poem in its far-reaching benefits. He 
 has a spmpathy for all afflictions and a 
 kind and encouraging word for those who 
 are downcast and careworn — in a word, 
 he represents the true shepherd that 
 guards well his tiock. 
 
 DR. COLONEL ORMAN GAGE, 
 who is successfully engaged in the 
 practice of dentistry in Green Bay, 
 is one of the natix'e sons of Wis- 
 consin, having been born near Fond du 
 Lac, June 11, 1861. 
 
 The Gage family is one of English 
 origin. The Doctor's father, Capt. 
 Nathaniel Gage, who was a native of 
 Rome, N. Y. , was one of a family of nine 
 children. He there obtained his educa- 
 tion, and afterward owned a packet and 
 passenger boat on the Erie canal, con- 
 tinuing his residence in the Empire State 
 until 1840, when with his famil}' he emi- 
 grated westward, taking up his residence 
 in Dodge county. Wis. There he en- 
 gaged in dealing in real estate, also buy- 
 ing and selling fine horses. He became 
 a well-known and prominent citizen of 
 Dodge county, a leader in political circles, 
 and was frequently called to positions of 
 honor and trust, serving for many years 
 as chairman of the board of supervisors 
 and in various other offices. He was an 
 active and earnest Republican, and dur- 
 ing the Rebellion strongly supported all 
 war measures; but on account of impaired 
 health was unable to enter service in the 
 field, so had to content himself with his 
 
460 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 labors at home in behalf of the army. He 
 induced many to enter the service, acted 
 as enrolHng master in Dodge county, and 
 helped to raise the quota of troops. 
 He became well and favorably known 
 throughout this part of the State, and 
 wherever he went won friends who held 
 him in high regard. His death occurred 
 in October, 1866. Capt. Gage was mar- 
 ried in Utica, N. Y., to Miss Lodoska 
 Rose, daughter of Elisha Rose, and she 
 still survives her husband. In the family 
 were twelve children, five of whom are 
 yet living: Walter M., who is now a 
 resident of California; Jasper D., a dental 
 surgeon; Colonel Orman, subject of this 
 sketch; Mrs. Hattie Jones, of Seattle, 
 Wash. ; and Mrs. Nellie Gage, of De- 
 Pere, Wisconsin. 
 
 Dr. C. O. Gage, whose name opens 
 this sketch, obtained his primary ed- 
 ucation in the schools of his native 
 city, later pursuing his studies in De- 
 lavan. Wis. , and subsequently in the 
 Episcopal Parish School of Fond du Lac. 
 His first independent effort in life was in 
 the line oi railroad work, he entering the 
 employ of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
 road Company; but his active mind soon 
 tiring of this, he sought a wider field of 
 usefulness. At the age of twenty he took 
 up the study of medicine in the office of 
 Dr. R. L. Moore, of Spring Valley, Minn., 
 and after a year's preparation, went to 
 Austin, Minn., where he began the study 
 of dentistry in the office of Dr. H. A. 
 Avery, a well-known dentist of that place. 
 Having fitted himself for practice, he then 
 opened an office in Waupun, Wis., in the 
 spring of i<S83, and soon had all the busi- 
 ness that he could well attend to, for his 
 merit and abilit}' were recognized. Com- 
 ing to Green Bay, he was alike successful 
 in this place, in a very short period build- 
 ing up a fine business. He is especially 
 qualified to take up the constitutional 
 treatment of his patients, and has been 
 very successful in that line. The fine 
 quality of his work is indicated by his 
 constantly increasing patronage, and in 
 
 the high reputation which he bears among 
 his professional brethren. 
 
 On the i6th of June. 1886, at Oak- 
 field, Wis., Dr. Gage was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Hattie R. Smith, daugh- 
 ter of L. S. Smith, and their union has 
 been blessed with one child, Bessie Ruth. 
 The Doctor and his wife are members of 
 the First Presbyterian Church; fraternally 
 he is connected with the Knights of P\th- 
 ias, in politics, with the Republican party, 
 the principles of which he warmly advo- 
 cates. In social circles he and his wife 
 hold an enviable position, and their home 
 is noted for its hospitality. 
 
 PJ. VAN DEUREN, engaged as a 
 general merchant at Green Bay, 
 \\'is. , was born in the Province of 
 Brabant, Belgium, in 1850, a son 
 of G. J. and Mary (Avant) Van Deuren, 
 also natives of Belgium, who left that 
 country in 1857, locating for a year in 
 Bellevue township. Brown county, and 
 then settled in Green Bay. 
 
 Here the father followed his trade of 
 tailoring until 1865, when he engaged in 
 the clothing business in partnership with 
 H. J. Bush until 1869, at which time the 
 latter sold his interest to H. Watermolen, 
 the style of the firm being changed to 
 Van Deuren & Watermolen, the firm 
 name so continuing until 1871, when Mr. 
 Van Deuren bought the entire interest, 
 and conducted the establishment under 
 his exclusive name until 1880, in which 
 3'ear his son, P. J. , was admitted to a part- 
 nership. Van Deuren & Son carried on 
 the business until January i, 1894, when 
 the son assumed the entire charge, the 
 father retiring in comfort. G. J. Van- 
 Deuren was twice married, first time to 
 Miss Mary Avant, by whom he had chil- 
 dren as follows: Elizabeth, widow of 
 Joseph Heyrman; P. J., our subject; 
 Henry, city treasurer; John B., a cigar 
 manufacturer, and August. The mother 
 of these died in 1866, and in 1868 Mr. 
 Van Deuren married Miss Caroline De- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 461 
 
 Graff, a native of Belgium (daughter of 
 Anton DeGraff), wtio came to Brown 
 county, Wis., in 1852, and died some 
 years ago. 
 
 P. J. Van Deuren, who was but seven 
 years of age when he came to America, 
 received his education in Green Bay, and 
 his first employment was one year at the 
 tailoring business. He then carried a 
 general stock of goods on Adams street, 
 in 1873 erecting a two-story brick build- 
 ing, 22 X 80 feet, which he carried on until 
 he united in business with his father; in ad- 
 dition to this he also carries on an insur- 
 ance business. He was married in Green 
 Bay in 1875, to Adeline Motto, a native 
 of France, whose father was a pioneer of 
 Brown county. Wis., and an early hard- 
 ware merchant. The union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Van Deuren has been blessed with 
 seven children, vi^. : W. L. , Caroline, 
 Emma, Mary, Lizzie, Mark and Lenore. 
 The family are devout members of St. 
 Willibrord's Catholic Church, and their 
 position in society is a most enviable one. 
 In politics Mr. Van Deuren is a thorough- 
 going Democrat, and has three times 
 served as alderman from the Third ward; 
 fraternally he is a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen. He is one of the old-time 
 business men of Green Bay, one worthy 
 of being intrusted with the management 
 of the city's public affairs 
 
 EDWARD ENGELS, of the firm 
 of Engels & Mohr, boot and shoe 
 dealers of Green Bay, was born 
 in the Province of Liege, Belgium, 
 September 28, 1839, a son of John B. 
 and Gertrude (Serron) Engels. 
 
 John B. Engels, who was a tailor, 
 brought his family to America in 1856, 
 sailing from Antwerp, and after a voyage 
 of forty-six days landed at Quebec, from 
 which point they reached Green Bay, 
 having in their possession only eighteen 
 Belgian francs. In the fall of 1856 Mr. 
 Engels purchased 120 acres in Humboldt 
 township, Brown county, of which twenty 
 
 acres were cleared, and began the manu- 
 facture of shingles. Here the mother 
 died April 26, 1878, and the husband in 
 
 1887, having cleared sixty acres of the 
 original one hundred and twenty, and 
 left a well-improved farm to his heirs. 
 The parents were pious Catholics, and 
 contributed to the erection of four differ- 
 ent church edifices in Brown county. 
 They reared a family of seven children, 
 viz.: Edward, subject of sketch; Peter, 
 who was in the lumber business in Brown 
 and Oconto counties, but went to Wash- 
 ington in 1874; Henry, on the homestead 
 in Humboldt township; William, proprie- 
 tor of the " Champion Hotel," Green Bay; 
 Rosa, who was married to a Mr. Koenen 
 in Belgium, but became a widow and re- 
 married, coming to the United States in 
 1882, the wife of Gerhart Schuurmans, 
 and now residing in Oconto county. Wis. ; 
 Julius, still in Belgium, on the maternal 
 homestead; and Nicholas, born in the 
 town of Humboldt, in 1859, and now re- 
 siding in Fort Howard, Wisconsin. 
 
 Edward Engels was educated in Bel- 
 gium, and on coming to Wisconsin assist- 
 ed in clearing up the farm, etc., until 
 1S67, and in cutting timber in Brown and 
 Oconto counties. In 1867 he married, 
 in Brown county, Mary V. Vincent, a 
 native of Belgium and daughter of John 
 B. and Anna (Bredaal) Vincent, who set- 
 tled in Humboldt township. Brown 
 county, in 1856, on a farm, but in 1869 
 moved to Green Bay and engaged in the 
 furniture business — owning two stores on 
 Main street. His death occurred in 
 
 1888. In 1867 Mr. Engels came to 
 Green Bay, erected a brick building on 
 Main street, carried on a grocery and 
 saloon business until 1889, and then en- 
 gaged in the boot and shoe trade on 
 Washington street, in which he has be- 
 come most popular and prosperous. In 
 politics he is a stanch Democrat, and in 
 1882 was a member of the city council; 
 he was city weighmaster for five or six 
 years, and in 1 890 was city treasurer. 
 
 In 1885 Mr. Engels was deprived by 
 
462 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 death of his wife, who had borne him ten 
 children, viz.: Jolin H. ; Henry; W'iUiam, 
 a tailor of Ashland, Wis., of the firm of 
 Welch & Engels; Louis, a clerk; Edward 
 and August, attending school; Louis J., 
 who died in 1874; Angeline, who died in 
 1884; Rosa, who died in 1883; and Anna, 
 who died in 1885 at the age of ten 
 months. Mr. Engels is a member of St. 
 Willibrord's Church, of which he was 
 treasurer nine y^ars. He is a member of 
 the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, and 
 in 1894 a delegate to the State conven- 
 tion of that Order; he is also a member 
 of the St. Joseph Society. He is a self- 
 made man, having begun business on a very 
 small capital, but he has never ceased his 
 contributions to the worthy public aid of 
 Green Bay and Brown county. 
 
 FRANK B. SEYMOUR, superin- 
 tendent of the Green Bay, Winona 
 & St. Paul, and the Kewaunee, 
 Green Baj' & Western railroads, 
 has a reputation second to none as a care- 
 ful, painstaking and vigilant railroad of- 
 ficial. He came to Green Bay in 1872, 
 and was engaged as brakeman on the 
 Green Bay & Lake Pepin railroad, first 
 on freights, later on passenger trains, and 
 from May, 1874, to August, 1878, as 
 freight conductor. At the latter date he 
 was promoted to passenger conductor, run- 
 ning passenger trains till January 1 8, 1 887, 
 when he was appointed assistant superin- 
 tendent of the roads of which he has been 
 superintendent since November i, 1890. 
 Born in Jefferson county, N. Y. , in 
 1856, Mr. Seymour is yet young, and has 
 in all human probability the best and 
 most important years of his life yet to 
 come. He is a son of Gilbert and Mary 
 (McDonald) Seymour, natives, the father 
 of France, the mother of County Clare, 
 Ireland. Gilbert Seymour immigrated to 
 this country with his father, who was also 
 of French birth, and about 1832 they 
 located in Plattsburg, N. Y. , where grand- 
 father Seymour died. Gilbert there mar- 
 
 ried Miss Mary McDonald, and in the fall 
 of 1863 they came to New London, Outa- 
 gamie Co., Wis. In August, 1864, he 
 joined Company A, Forty-second Regi- 
 ment Wis. V. I., and after the close of 
 the war worked at the carpenter trade 
 until 1883, when the family moved to 
 Green Bay to make their home with their 
 son, Frank B. Here the father died 
 July 23, 1892, and here the mother yet 
 resides. They had a family of five child- 
 ren, of whom the following is a brief 
 record: Frederick is a clerk in a railroad 
 freight ofBce at Ft. Howard; Frank B. is 
 the subject of this sketch; William H. 
 and Albert were both killed while in the 
 employ of the Chicago & Northwestern 
 railroad, William in December, 1879, at 
 St. Peter, Minn., and Albert in August, 
 1883, at Utica, Minn.; John J. is a pass- 
 enger conductor on the Green Bay, Win- 
 ona & St. Paul railroad, with residence 
 at Ft. Howard. 
 
 Frank B. Seymour, the subject proper 
 of these lines, was about seven jears of 
 age when the family moved to New Lon- 
 don, and he here received his education. 
 In May, 1S71, he commenced work, as a 
 day laborer, grading on the Green Bay, 
 Winona & St. Paul railroad, then laying 
 iron, after which he was a brakeman on 
 a construction train, e.\tra conductor on 
 freight, and finally as conductor on way 
 freight and passenger train until January 
 iS, 1887, the date of promotion, as al- 
 ready related. Mr. Seymour was mar- 
 ried at La Crosse. Wis., to Miss Delia 
 M. Vincent, a nati\e of that town, daugh- 
 ter of James Vincent, an early pioneer of 
 La Crosse and well-known lumber dealer. 
 By this union there is one child, Ida M. 
 A Republican in politics, our subject is 
 active in the interests of that party. He 
 is a member of Washington Lodge No. 
 21, F. & A. M., of Warren Chapter No. 
 8, of Palestine Commandery No. 20, and 
 of the \\'isconsin Consistory; is also a 
 member of the K. of P., No. 26, Green 
 Bay, and is a charter member of the 
 Lodge at La Crosse. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIVAL RECORD. 
 
 463 
 
 D BRADLEY, proprietor of the 
 "Bradley House," Green Bay, 
 was born in the city of Brooklyn, 
 N. v., December 18, 1846, a son 
 of John and Mar\' (McKelver) Bradlej', 
 natives of Ireland, but who, when young, 
 came to America and located in New 
 York. 
 
 After marriage the elder Bradley 
 brought his family to the town of Lake, 
 near Milwaukee, Wis., and engaged in 
 farming until his death; his wife had died 
 in Brooklyn. He reared the following 
 family, born to this marriage: John, who 
 enlisted in Company E, First Wis. V. I., 
 was appointed color bearer, served through 
 the war, and died in Chicago in 1S73; 
 Hugh, who joined the navy at New York, 
 and is now a barber in Chicago; William, 
 who enlisted in Beloit in the First Wis- 
 consin Heavy Artillery, served two and a 
 half years, and now lives in Chicago, and 
 D. Bradley, the subject of this sketch. 
 The children of John Bradley, b}' a sec- 
 ond marriage, are Burney, a farmer of 
 Oak Creek, Wis. ; James, born in the 
 town of Lake, and now in the mail ser- 
 vice at Milwaukee; Michael, also born in 
 the town of Lake, and also in the mail 
 service; Mary, wife of James Monohan, 
 of Lake county, 111. ; Ellen, wife of J. 
 Monohan, also in Lake county. 111., and 
 Catherine, who resides in Milwaukee. 
 
 D. Bradley was educated in the town 
 of Lake, Milwaukee Co, . Wis. , and was 
 reared a farmer. For a time he worked 
 at the "Nevvhall House" in Milwaukee, 
 and in 187 1 came to Green Bay as stew- 
 ard for the "Beaumont House"; from 
 1872 to 1883 he worked for Joannes 
 Bros., and in September, 1883, opened 
 the "Bradley House." In 1890 he 
 erected the building at the corner of 
 Crooks and Washington streets, where 
 he has since also run a saloon. In 1874 
 lie was married, at Menasha, Wis., to 
 Elizabeth Boyle, a native of New York, 
 whose parents, Michael and Mary (Mc- 
 Laughlin) Boyle, came to Green Bay in 
 1S82; here her father died in 1886, and 
 
 26-.^ 
 
 here the mother resides with our subject. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Bradley was born one 
 son that died when but one year old. 
 Mr. Bradley is a stanch Democrat; he is 
 supervisor from the Second ward of 
 Green Bay, and is also deputy collector 
 for the port of Green Bay. He is a 
 member of the French Catholic Church, 
 and is vice-president of the Catholic 
 Knights of Wisconsin, No. 21. He is a 
 self-made man, takes much interest in the 
 well-being of his adopted city and county, 
 and is respected both as a citizen and as 
 a business man. 
 
 JAMES BLACK, one of the most in- 
 telligent farmers of Suamico town- 
 ship, Brown county, was born Octo- 
 ber 14, 1826, in Kingston, Canada, 
 a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Kerr) 
 Black, natives of near Dundee, Scotland. 
 The father, who was a general trader, 
 came to America about the 3'ear 181 5, and 
 he and his wife died at Kingston, Canada, 
 he at the early age of thirty-eight, she 
 when sixty-six years old. They were the 
 parents of two children, James and 
 Matthew, the latter of whom served two 
 years in Company E, Twelfth Wis. V. I., 
 was discharged for disability, and died, 
 unmarried, at the home of our subject, 
 when aged fifty-eight. The parents of 
 Adam Black were James and Elizabeth 
 Black, natives of Scotland, who came to 
 Canada about 1827, at advanced ages, 
 and settled on a farm near Toronto; they 
 had two sons and three daughters. Eliz- 
 abeth (Kerr) Black's parents were Scotch 
 people, and had a family of three chil- 
 dren — two sons and one daughter. 
 
 James Black was practically a resi- 
 dent of the home farm up to the age of sev- 
 enteen, when he began life as a lumber- 
 man on the Ottawa river. On May 21, 
 1861, at the call for 75,000 men, he en- 
 listed in a Pennsylvania regiment of vol- 
 unteers, but that State having filled her 
 quota, he was assigned to Company A, 
 Second W. Va. V. I. At the front he 
 
464 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 was appointed sergeant, and soon after- 
 ward — in the early part of 1 862 — was 
 commissioned second lieutenant, serving 
 as such with his company in all its en- 
 gagements till May, 18C3. He was then 
 detailed to the quartermaster's depart- 
 ment in Nashville, Tenn., serving in this 
 department until the close of the war; 
 was never off duty except once, when he 
 lay in Libby Prison forty-six days, until 
 exchanged. While on scout duty one 
 day he was thrown over a precipice, by 
 which accident he lost an eye, sustained 
 a rupture, and received several flesh 
 wounds; but, being granted a furlough and 
 transportation to Pittsburg, Penn., he 
 soon afterward reached his home. It is 
 recorded of Mr. Black that he was among 
 the first to draw blood in the great war in 
 the West. After the war was over Mr. 
 Black, in 1865, came to Wisconsin and 
 settled where he now lives in Suamico 
 township, Brown county. For fourteen 
 years he was foreman in the logging camp 
 of Martin E. Trimble; then bought forty 
 acres of wild land, to which he subse- 
 quently added ninety-three acres, and is 
 now carrying on general farming, being 
 largely interested in dairying, at which he 
 is as successful as he formerly was at 
 logging, for which he was famous all over 
 the section, at one time receiving as much 
 as $10 per day for his services. 
 
 James Black was united in marriage 
 April I, 1873, with Mrs. Rhoda Salter, 
 widow of George H. Salter, who was 
 born in Dorchester, England, and died in 
 Chicago, 111., at the age of forty-six 
 years, leaving three children, two of 
 whom are still living: George H., and 
 Rosalind, wife of Thomas Gillingham, of 
 Oshkosh. Mrs. Rhoda Black is a native 
 of Somersetshire, England, and in her 
 earlier days passed nine years in a dry- 
 goods store in London, with her cousin, 
 Robert Cornish, coming to .the United 
 States when twenty-four j'ears old. She 
 is a highly accomplished lady, being a 
 graduate of one of the most fashionable 
 boarding schools of England, and is de- 
 
 scended from a very ancient family, the 
 Wyatts, who trace their lineage to King 
 Henry VIII, of which fact she holds his- 
 torical documents in proof. She is one 
 of nine children born to William and 
 Susanna (Gillett) Wyatt, the former of 
 whom was a builder by occupation in 
 early life, later becoming a lawyer of 
 note; he died in Somersetshire, England; 
 his wife also passed away in England, 
 aged fifty-two years. 0ne of Mrs. Black's 
 brothers was well known as a leading 
 barrister in Great Britian. After her first 
 husband's death Mrs. Black came to Wis- 
 consin and bought the farm on which she 
 was residing at the time of her union 
 with Mr. Black, enjoying to the full the 
 love and respect of all who knew her. 
 
 In politics Mr. Black is a thorough 
 Republican, and first voted for Abraham 
 Lincoln for President. He has filled sev- 
 eral local offices, is a member of T. O. 
 Howe Post No. 124, G. A. R., at Green 
 Bay, and is in receipt of a pension for his 
 gallant services during the Civil war. 
 He is a churchwarden in the Episcopal 
 Church, of which he and his first em- 
 ployer in Suamico were the founders, and 
 builders of the edifice; Mrs. Black is also 
 an Episcopalian, adhering to the faith of 
 her ancestors. She and her husband are 
 most sincere in their religious professions, 
 and their daily walk through life, their 
 works of charity and unswerving devotion 
 to duty, give full evidence of that sincer- 
 ity coming directly from the heart. No 
 family in the county is more highly re- 
 spected, and none fills a more prominent 
 position within its social circles. 
 
 ABRAUNS, insurance agent, civil 
 engineer for Green Bay, and 
 county surveyor for Brown county. 
 Wis., was born in the Province 
 of Hanover, Germany, August 4, 1842, a 
 son of Henry and Dora (Hotop) Brauns, 
 both af whom died in their native land, 
 the father in 1881, the mother in 1884. 
 They reared a family of four children: 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 465 
 
 Dora and Henry, still living in Hanover; 
 A., the subject of this sketch, and Caro- 
 line, wife of Henry Mueller, a furniture 
 manufacturer of Berlin, Germany. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the city 
 of Gifhorn, and later in the engineer's 
 department of the Military school at 
 Hanover, and then took a course in the 
 Polytechnic Institute. For five and a 
 half years he was in the army as a mem- 
 ber of the corps of engineers, and was in 
 the Danish and German war in 1863, and 
 in the Prussian and Austrian war of 1866. 
 In the fall of the latter year he came to 
 Green Bay, and engaged as clerk, then 
 as bookkeeper for A. Klaus; next he en- 
 tered upon the profession of architecture, 
 and while thus engaged furnished the 
 specifications for the Bishop's and other 
 buildings. He then opened a wholesale 
 grocery under the firm name of Klaus, 
 Lenz & Brauns, and, later, that of Lenz 
 & Brauns, which was continued until 
 1877, when he established himself in in- 
 surance, architecture and civil engineer- 
 ing, which have been his vocations ever 
 since. In politics Mr. Brauns is inde- 
 pendent; he has served as alderman, and 
 while filling that office introduced the 
 system of bookkeeping at present used 
 by the city; he was city treasurer from 
 1876 to 1877, and was elected county 
 surveyor in 1886. He is a member of 
 Navarino Lodge No. 1384, K. of H. ; 
 member of the Royal Arcanum, Iron 
 Gate Lodge No. 546; of the American 
 Legion of Honor, Northern Council No. 
 1170; of the Modern Woodmen, Navarino 
 Camp No. 534; and of the Turn Verein. 
 In religion he is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Brauns was married in Green Bay, 
 in 1867, to Miss Magdalena Maria Barth, 
 of Bavaria, a daughter of Christopher 
 Barth, and who came to Green Bay in 
 1 85 1. To this union were born four 
 children: August E. ; Otto Henry, who 
 died May 20, 1874; Lydia, principal of 
 the high school of Edgerton, Wis. ; and 
 Otto Fred, who is studying dentistry. 
 
 Mr. Brauns is thoroughly acquainted with 
 the topography of Brown county, while 
 his residence of over twenty-seven years 
 in Green Bay has made him fully familiar 
 with the city, and he is equally identified 
 with the phenomenal growth of both. His 
 standing, socially and professionally, is 
 with the highest. 
 
 ARCHIBALD M. DUNCAN, of 
 Fort Howard, Brown county, is 
 of Scottish descent, as his name 
 indicates, but is a native of the 
 State of Wisconsin, having been born in 
 Milwaukee January 23, 1853. Hisparents, 
 John and Margaret (McCune) Duncan, 
 were natives of the land of Duncan of old, 
 of Bruce and Wallace, and were the 
 immediate founders of the famil)- in this 
 State. 
 
 John Duncan learned the trade of ma- 
 chinist and iron-founder in the old coun- 
 try, and learned it well, as his after 
 career in America gave full proof. He 
 there married Miss Margaret McCune, a 
 native of Glasgow, and when about 
 twenty-five years of age came to the 
 United States, sailing from Glasgow and 
 landing in New York after a voyage of 
 six weeks. Thence coming directly to 
 Milwaukee, Wis., Mr. Duncan followed 
 his trade in that city, working in the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul machine 
 shops for nearly fourteen years, and con- 
 structing the first locomotive ever turned 
 out of a machine shop in Wisconsin. 
 After leaving these shops Mr. Duncan 
 came, in about 1868, to Fort Howard, 
 and bought the foundry and machine shop 
 formerly operated by John Whitney in a 
 somewhat primitive manner, managing 
 this so successfully that, when burned 
 out, in 1878, he was able to erect a far 
 better frame structure, one and a half 
 stories high, 55 feet front, and 190 feet 
 deep. In this shop he employed from 
 ten to fifteen men, until it was burned 
 down in 1888; when, with unflagging 
 energy, he erected his present brick 
 
466 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 foundry and machine shop, 55 x 190 feet, 
 complete with all modern improvements. 
 In the winter of 1890-91 he built two 
 steam barges for freigjht traffic on the 
 lakes, for the accommodation of his own 
 trade, but later sold one. At one time 
 Mr. Duncan made a specialty of saw- 
 milling, and in 1875-76 built a mill at 
 ^^'estboro, Wis., which is now in charge 
 of his three sons. Being strictly a busi- 
 ness man, he has never mingled much in 
 politics, but has served his fellow citizens 
 more than once as alderman, feeling it to 
 be his duty to answer at their call. He 
 has been absorbed in his business, and 
 has invested at least $200,000 in his 
 foundry and boat-building in Fort Howard 
 alone, to say nothing of the mill at West- 
 boro, where he has a son as manager of 
 the store in connection with the same, 
 and another employed as bookkeeper. 
 His four sons are all married and have 
 families, and all learned their trade of 
 their father. John Duncan is to-day 
 worth a quarter of a million, every cent 
 of which he has made by his own labor, 
 and no man stands higher in the esteem 
 of the community, or is a more hofiored 
 member of the Presbyterian Church. He 
 has now withdrawn from the cares of 
 business and retired for the remainder of 
 his days, to live in ease and comfort on 
 his well-earned competency. 
 
 Archibald M. Duncan began his busi- 
 ness life, at the age of eleven, as a cash 
 boy in a dry -goods store, and was one of 
 the first to engage in this kind of employ- 
 ment. After two years' experience in this 
 line, he entered the railroad shops at 
 Watertown, Jefferson Co., Wis., of which 
 his father was then superintendent, and 
 since that time he has been identified with 
 his father's business. On October 6, 1876, 
 he married Miss Katie Eisman, a native 
 of Washington county. Wis., daughter of 
 John and Katie (Imig) Eisman, who had 
 a family of six children— two sons and 
 four daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Eisman 
 were born in Germany, and came to the 
 United States when quite young, Mr. 
 
 Eisman becoming a merchant of Fort 
 Howard, where he and his wife ended 
 their days, honored by all who knew them. 
 To the union of Archibald M. and Katie 
 (Eisman) Duncan have been born four 
 children, two of whom are deceased. The 
 survivors, Kate ^f. and Jessie, are receiv- 
 ing the best educations that money can 
 provide. Mr. Duncan has manifested ex- 
 traordinarj- capacity for business, to which 
 he has added diligence, which indeed may 
 be considered a component of business 
 capacity. He has risen from the position 
 of a cash boy to that of proprietor of one 
 of the most important foundries and ma- 
 chine shops of northern Wisconsin, hav- 
 ing had entire charge of his father's im- 
 mense plant for two years, and now, in 
 1894, succeeded to the ownership on the 
 virtual retirement of his honored father. 
 
 GEORGE O. SPEAR, a citizen of 
 whom any State might be proud, 
 a man whose presence would 
 benefit any community, and 
 whose name would reflect honor upon 
 any office or station, is one of the many 
 loyal and industrious men New England 
 has sent to the Western States. 
 
 He was born in Sagadahoc county, 
 Maine, in 1840, a son of Thomas and 
 Amanda (Preble) Spear, also natives of 
 Maine. The father, who was a ship- 
 builder by occupation, came in 1857 to 
 Wisconsin, bringing his family, and locat- 
 ing in Fort Howard, Brown county, con- 
 tinued his trade there with much success. 
 He built the "Permelia Flood," a fine 
 full-rigged barque, which was sent to the 
 Atlantic laden with oak staves. In i860 
 he went to St. Louis, Mo., but in 1861 
 returned to Wisconsin, and for two j'ears 
 resided at Peshtigo, Marinette county, 
 where he built lake vessels; thence pro- 
 ceeded to Red River, and there erected a 
 sawmill, which in 1S65 was destroyed by 
 fire, entailing a heavy loss. From Red 
 River he moved to Little Sturgeon, Door 
 county, where he rebuilt the " F. B. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 467 
 
 Gardner" and the "Union." In 1866 
 he built the vessel now known as the 
 "James G. Blaine," also the tug "John 
 Spry," the schooners "Halsted." "Ellen 
 Spry," and "Doane," and in all these in- 
 dustries he was assisted by his son George 
 O. In 1887 the father returned to Green 
 Bay, and lived a retired life the remainder 
 of his davs, dying in 1891 ; his wife passed 
 awa}' in 1883, while residing at Sturgeon 
 Bay. They were the parents of two 
 children, George O., subject of sketch, 
 and Marshall, in Maryland. Great-grand- 
 father Robert Spear, who was an officer 
 in the Revolutionary army, built the first 
 house erected in Brunswick, Maine. 
 Grandfather Thomas Spear passed his 
 entire life in Maine, his native State. 
 
 George O. Spear received his educa- 
 tion at the public schools of the vicinity 
 of his place of birth, and at the age of 
 seventeen came to Green Bay, Wis., 
 where he assisted his father in the ship- 
 yard. He accompanied him to Missouri, 
 Peshtigo, Red River and Little Sturgeon, 
 and in all these places was closely identi- 
 fied with him in the various enterprises 
 in which he was engaged. In 1879 our 
 subject removed to Sturgeon Bay, where 
 he purchased the McMaster property, 
 consisting of a complete sawmill plant, 
 besides about two thousand acres of land, 
 and immediately went into the manufac- 
 ture of lumber. He also operated a line 
 of tugs and several scows, known as the 
 "Dummy Line," employed in carrying 
 lumber to Chicago. This Mr. Spear con- 
 tinued in until 1885, when he commenced 
 the banking and brokerage business in 
 Sturgeon Bay, which in 1891 he trans- 
 ferred to Green Bay, where he now 
 resides. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Spear was married to 
 Miss Louise Graves, who was born in 
 Green Bay, of which place her parents, 
 Orlo B. and Lucy Lessey Graves, were 
 early settlers. Mr. Graves, who was an 
 Indian trader, and for many years served 
 as sheriff and district attorney, died in 
 1 88 1, at Green Bay, where his widow is 
 
 yet living. To Mr. and Mrs. Spear were 
 born four children, only one of whom is 
 now living, Clara; the deceased are 
 Thomas, who died at the age of six 
 months; Cordelia, in early infancy, and 
 Frank, when two years old. Mr. Spear 
 is prominent in social orders; he is a mem- 
 ber of Washington Lodge No. 21, F. & 
 A. M. ; Warren Chapter No. 8, and is a 
 Knight Templar of Palestine Commandery 
 No. 20; he is also a member of the I. O. 
 O. F. and Encampment; of the Order of 
 Rebekah, of the K. of P. and of the Elks. 
 In politics he is a Republican, but his 
 wife is a Democrat. 
 
 CAPTAIN CHARLES A. GRAVES, 
 commander of the propeller, 
 " Fountain City," ph'ing between 
 Chicago and lake ports, is a son 
 of Orlo and Lucy Ann (Lessey) Graves, 
 and was born in Green Bay in 1862. 
 
 Orlo Graves was born at Chagrin 
 Falls, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, October 23, 
 1819, and some time in the "thirties" 
 came to Green Ba}', where he was first 
 employed as a mechanic. Later he served 
 as deputy sheriff, and then as sheriff of 
 Brown county, Wis. ; later still, studied 
 law at Green Bay, was admitted to the 
 bar, and became prosecuting attorney, 
 which office he held for twenty years, and 
 also cit\- attorney for si.x or seven years. 
 He was married at Green Bay, March 14, 
 1 84 1, to Miss Lucy Ann Lesse}', who was 
 born in Litchfield, Conn., but reared in 
 New York; her father died in New York, 
 her mother in Green Bay. Orlo Graves 
 was a prominent Odd Fellow, being vice- 
 grand of Wisconsin; he died February 19, 
 1 879; his widow now resides with her son, 
 Capt. Graves. To Orlo Graves and his 
 wife were born five children, as follows: 
 Cornelia H., wife of A. M. Spear, of 
 Marshall Hall, Charles Co., Md. ; Orlo 
 J., who died at the age of thirty-seven, at 
 Fort Howard: Chester F., of Green Bay, 
 who died when forty-one; Louise, wife of 
 
46S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 George O. Spear, a capitalist of Green 
 Bay, and Charles A., our subject. 
 
 Capt. Charles A. Graves was reared 
 and educated in his native city, and com- 
 menced life on the lakes at the age of 
 twenty as linesman, but soon worked his 
 way upward, receiving his commission as 
 captain in 1883, and as such has served 
 on the Bay and lakes ever since. He was 
 at one time foreman of Company No. 3, 
 of the Fire Department of Green Bay. In 
 politics he is a Democrat. His mother 
 had two brothers who were Indian traders 
 in the early history of Brown county, viz. : 
 John F. , who was a marble cutter by 
 trade, and also clerk of courts in an early 
 day, but who later kept a store and was a 
 successful trader (he died November 20, 
 1879), and Henry, who was also a trader, 
 and died in 1S50. The father of- Capt. 
 Graves also had an experience as an In- 
 dian trader in the early days. Our sub- 
 ject being a descendant of one of the 
 earliest families to locate in the county, 
 and having led an industrious and useful 
 life, enjoys to the full the esteem and con- 
 fidence of the inhabitants of Green Bay 
 and all the points to which he trades. 
 
 Mary 
 born 
 
 FW. BASCHE, the well-known and 
 gentlemanly merchant of Green 
 Bay, is a native of that city, born 
 June 8, 1844, son of Jacob and 
 (Smith) Basche, who were both 
 near the ancient and historic city 
 of Frankfort, Germany. 
 
 Jacob learned the trade of shoemak- 
 ing in his native country, remaining there 
 until 1 841, when he came with his wife 
 and family to America, and settling in 
 Green Bay, Wis., followed his trade there 
 until his decease, in 1846. He left five 
 children, as follows: Kate, who became 
 the wife of Jacob Juker, sergeant-major 
 at Ft. Howard, who went thence to Cali- 
 fornia, and died at Dallas, Oreg. ; An- 
 thon}', who has for the past twenty-five 
 years been a member of the firm of Du- 
 ville & Basche; Michael, a carpenter of 
 
 Green Bay; Peter, a resident of Baker 
 City, Oreg., where he has been engaged 
 in the hardware and agricultural imple- 
 ment business since 1868 or 1869; and F. 
 W. , subject of sketch. Mrs. Basche was 
 an honored resident of Green Baj' for 
 many years, surviving until June, 1894, 
 when she was called to her last resting- 
 place. 
 
 F. W. Basche was reared and edu- 
 cated in Green Bay. In i S64 he enlisted 
 at Green Bay in Company C, Forty- 
 seventh Wis. \'. I., for three years or 
 during the war, and for some time was 
 post quartermaster's clerk at Tullahoma, 
 Tenn., afterward serving as parole clerk, 
 signing thousands of passes. He was 
 stationed in Tennessee, on garrison duty, 
 and when peace was declared received an 
 honorable discharge at Nashville in 1865. 
 On returning to Green Bay he became a 
 traveling salesman, selling notions, sta- 
 tionery, etc., through northern Wisconsin 
 and Michigan, until 1868, when he com- 
 menced business in Green Bay, at the cor- 
 ner of Cherry and Adams streets. In Au- 
 gust, 1889, he bought his present place, at 
 No. 22 1 North Washington street, where he 
 has a large stock of wallpaper, toys, fancy 
 goods, etc. ; he has met with unusual suc- 
 cess, having always commanded a liberal 
 share of the public patronage through his 
 affability, fair dealing and moderate prices. 
 Mr. Basche in his business career has won 
 for himself the proud distinction of being 
 one of the few merchants of the city who 
 have pursued a continuous course of hon- 
 orable trade so many years without defal- 
 cation or failure or compromise. He is 
 entirely self-made in a business point of 
 view, having earned all he possesses by 
 his frugality, strict attention to the wants 
 of his customers, and the exercise of a 
 sense of strict justice in all his dealings. 
 Having continued in his line of trade for 
 so long a period, he has necessarily been 
 a witness of the great changes that have 
 taken place in his native city during the 
 interval, and he has ever taken an active 
 and ardent part in every change that has 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 469 
 
 tended to its moral and material progress. 
 He is fully recognized as one of the sub- 
 stantial citizens of Green Bay and Brown 
 county, and is deservedly entitled to the 
 high esteem in which he is held. 
 
 On October 4, 1871, Mr. Basche was 
 united in marriage, in Green Bay, with 
 Miss Elizabeth Moger, a native of New 
 York and daughter of Ezra Moger, an 
 honored pioneer of Green Bay and a 
 practical cooper. To this union have 
 been born four children, two of whom 
 died in infancy, of diphtheria, and two 
 are still living: Maud, now twenty years 
 of age, and Douglass, sixteen years old. 
 Politically Mr. Basche is a Republican; 
 fraternally he, is a member of the K. of 
 P., Uniform Rank; he was for some years 
 an Odd Fellow, is a member of the K. of 
 H., Lodge No. 1384, and was one of its 
 financial reporters. In religion Mr. and 
 Mrs. Basche are Presbyterians, and both 
 are consistent members of the Green Bay 
 Congregation. 
 
 THE LAU FAMILY have ever been 
 counted among the most indus- 
 trious and substantial citizens of 
 Preble township, Brown county. 
 Jacob Lau was born in Alsace (now a 
 portion of Germany), and in 1850 came 
 to the United States and to Green Bay, 
 Wis. Here, on July 28, 1853, he mar- 
 ried Miss Caroline Meister, who was born 
 February iS, 1834, in Sachsen-Meiningen, 
 Germany, daughter of George Henry 
 Meister, who came to the United States 
 in 1853 with his wife and three daugh- 
 ters. The family crossed the ocean in a 
 three-masted schooner, the voyage occu- 
 pying seven weeks, during which time the 
 masts were blown away, and it seemed at 
 times as if they would never reach port 
 safely. But their troubles did not end 
 here. Mr. Meister's circumstances were 
 limited, and by the time the family 
 reached Buffalo, N. Y. , on their way 
 westward, the funds gave out, and they 
 were obliged to remain in that city four 
 
 weeks, in order to earn the money to en- 
 able them to continue their journey to 
 Green Bay, Wis., their destination. 
 
 Soon after coming to Green Bay Jacob 
 Lau set out for Manitowoc, to look for 
 work, but he lost his way in the woods, 
 and had his feet so badly frozen that am- 
 putation of one-third of each foot was 
 found necessary, which proved a serious 
 drawback to him. In the spring of 1851 
 he embarked in the dairy business, begin- 
 ning at first with three cows, and carry- 
 ing the milk, but later he was able to 
 purchase a horse, and as his business in- 
 creased he became still better equipped. 
 Shortly after his marriage he located in 
 the east end of Green Bay, where he re- 
 mained until 1867, when he located on a 
 farm in the town of Preble, one mile east 
 of the city limits, which the family still 
 owns, and which is part of the present 
 farm. Here, in a log house, they resided 
 two years, or until 1870, when they re- 
 moved to their present place, on which 
 they have erected a very comfortable 
 home. Mr. and Mrs. Lau became the 
 parents of seven children, four of whom — 
 two sons and two daughters^died young. 
 Those living are (i) H. J., who married 
 Miss Annie Heller, and has two children, 
 Elmer and Benjamin H. ; he is a Repub- 
 lican in politics, and has been a member 
 of the school board in his township, at 
 present holding the office of director. 
 (2) Andrew H., who resides at home ; he 
 is a Republican in politics. (3) Lena, 
 also living at home. 
 
 The dairy business, in which they 
 have met with well-merited success, has 
 been the principal business of the family, 
 who are the pioneers in that industry 
 here. They have stood the test where 
 others failed, and by working together, 
 father and sons have made the business a 
 profitable one. The sons have assisted 
 ever since they were old enough, and no 
 small measure of the general success may 
 be attributed to their energy and good 
 management. They received in their 
 youth the education afforded by the com- 
 
470 
 
 COMMEMORATIVh: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 moil schools of the time, but their enter- i 
 prise and business sagacity fully make up 
 for any lack of educational advantages. 
 They have shown themselves capable of 
 conducting their affairs in a systematic 
 manner, and are owners of 200 acres of 
 land, nearly all under cultivation. The 
 farm of ninety acres, on which the family 
 now reside, while a very productive one, 
 has only been made so by a great deal of 
 labor and expense, having been practi- 
 cally redeemed from a swamp. Over 
 five miles of drain tile have been put in, 
 their outbuildings are equalled by none in 
 the township, and all the other details of 
 the farm work are equally well attended 
 to. They now have about thirty cows, 
 and own some of the finest Devon stock 
 in the county, to the rearing of which 
 strain they give no little attention; their 
 first stock was secured from A. E. liaker, 
 of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. 
 
 In the economical management of the 
 household, and in the general success of 
 the family, Mrs. Lau has taken an im- 
 portant part. During her fort}" years of 
 married life she has ever been read}- and 
 willing to do anything to improve their 
 circumstances; and, though now nearh" 
 si.xty years of age, she is still an active 
 woman, notwithstanding the many years 
 of hard work through which she has 
 passed. In religious connection she is a 
 member of the Moravian Church, and is 
 highly respected and well-known in the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 JOSEPH KALB, retired, was born in 
 Hessia, Germany, in 1826, a son of 
 Melchor and Elizabeth (Schumm) 
 Kalb, of the same part of the country, 
 where they married. Melchor, who was 
 a merchant of prominence in his day, died 
 in 1828, his wife in 1838; they had but 
 one child by their marriage, Joseph, the 
 subject of this sketch, who has a half- 
 brother yet living. 
 
 Joseph Kalb received all his education 
 and learned his trade, that of butcher, in 
 
 Germany, being twent\-one years old 
 when he came to the United States and 
 to Wisconsin. He first located, in 1849, 
 in Manitowoc county, where he carried 
 on a harcfware business for some years, at 
 the end of which time he took up his res- 
 idence in the town of Two Rivers, and 
 here conducted a meat market till 1864, 
 the year of his coming to Green Bay, in 
 which city he carried on a butchering 
 business with considerable success, until 
 retiring from same in 1880, having sold 
 out to his son Louis. 
 
 During the Civil war, he assisted State- 
 officer Bates in raising Company F, T\\ en- 
 ty-sixth \Ms. \'. 1., and went with the 
 compan}- as sutler, his commission as such 
 dating from 1861 to 1864, three months 
 of which time he was in active service as 
 a regular soldier. He participated in the 
 battles of Chancellorsville and Gettys- 
 burg, at which latter all the officers of his 
 regiment were killed or wounded except 
 two. At the close of the war he returned 
 to Two Rivers, and same fall moved into 
 Green Bay. In 1852 he married Miss 
 Mary Hauser, a daughter of Frederic and 
 Mary (Dedenon) Hauser, the father a na- 
 tive of Germany, the mother and daugh- 
 ter natives of France, the latter educated 
 and reared in Germany. In 1845 they 
 came to ^^'isconsin, settling on a farm in 
 Manitowoc county, but in later years the 
 parents moved into the town of Two 
 Rivers, where they died, the father in 
 1866, the mother in 1884. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Joseph Kalb were born five children, 
 to wit: William, married, and residing 
 in Idaho; Louis, a sketch of whom fol- 
 lows; Otto, who lives in Manitowoc; 
 Emma, who married Robert Kusterman, 
 and died in 18S9; and Nora, wife of Will- 
 iam Collett, of Menominee, Michigan. 
 
 In politics Mr. Kalb is a stanch Re- 
 publican, and he has served in various 
 offices of honor and trust with ability and 
 fidelity, among which may be mentioned: 
 County treasurer, two years, from 1887 
 to 1 889 (elected in a strongly Democratic 
 county); member of the council; mem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 471 
 
 ber of the County Agricultural Society. 
 Of the Turn Verein in Green Bay he has 
 been a member ever since corning- to the 
 city, and for twelve years of the Society 
 in Two Rivers, their hall there being 
 built by him. He has done a large 
 amount of real-estate business, and for 
 the past fifteen years has given consider- 
 able attention to the cultivation of the 
 grape — making specialities of the Dela- 
 ware, Concord and Muscatel. After sup- 
 plying the home market, the balance of 
 fruit on hand he makes into choice wine, 
 pronounced by connoiseurs to be excel- 
 lent. In the summer of 1893 Mr. Kalb 
 visited Europe in order to see his old 
 home and such of his old acquaintances 
 and friends as were still living there. 
 
 Louis Kalb, proprietor of a meat- 
 market in Green Bay, and a leading en- 
 terprising citizen, is a native of Wiscon- 
 sin, born in the town of Two Rivers in 
 1862. 
 
 He received a liberal education at the 
 schools of Green Bay, whither the fam- 
 ily had come when he was about five 
 3'ears old, and then commenced to work 
 for his father in the butchering and meat- 
 market business, continuing with him 
 until buying him out in 1884. Since 
 then Mr. I-ialb has conducted the busi- 
 ness alone with eminent success, proving 
 himself in all his undertakings a worthy 
 son of a worthy father. He has two 
 places of business in Green Bay, one on 
 Washington street, which was opened in 
 1866, the other on the corner of Pine and 
 Adams streets, established about twenty 
 years ago. The Kalb meat-markets are 
 known as the oldest establishments of the 
 kind in Green Bay, and enjoy a high rep- 
 utation in all respects. Employment is 
 given to ten hands, besides the proprietor. 
 As a Republican Mr. Kalb takes a lively 
 interest in politics. He is a member of 
 the Royal Arcanum, also of the Brown 
 County Fair and Park Association, and 
 he is a wide-awake, liberal and loyal citi- 
 zen, enjoying the respect of all who 
 know him. 
 
 ERNST W. SERVOTTE, of the 
 firm of E. W. & J. H. Servotte, 
 the well-known contractors and 
 builders, Green Bay, is a native 
 of Belgium, and was born November 25, 
 1850. 
 
 His parents, Guillaume and Victoria 
 (Demaiffe) Servotte, were also natives of 
 Belgium, where the father followed the 
 trade of carpenter until 1856, in which 
 year he brought his family to America, 
 settling in Brussels township. Door county, 
 Wis., in the wild woods, and having for 
 his neighbors the Indians of the then un- 
 settled region. Here the family resided 
 until 1864, and then moved to Green 
 Bay, where the mother died October 25, 
 1865. The father, while living in Door 
 county, was a very popular citizen, and 
 was honored by election on the Repub- 
 lican ticket to several offices of trust. In 
 Green Bay he followed his trade until his 
 death, which occurred July 21, 1887. His 
 four children, who were brought by him 
 to Green Bay, were Ernst W. , whose 
 name opens this sketch; Julia, widow of 
 Emil Brosteau; Joseph H., partner of 
 Ernst W. , and Desire, who died at the 
 age of five years. One son, Frank, died 
 in Door county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Ernst W. Servotte had the advantages 
 of the schools of Door county and of 
 Green Bay until competent to enter an 
 apprenticeship under his father. Having 
 fully mastered his trade, he engaged in 
 partnership with his brother under the 
 title given above, and the young men 
 have been very successful. In 1875 our 
 subject was married in Green Ba}', to 
 Flora Piraux, a native of Belgium and 
 daughter of Peter and Angeline (Bradie) 
 Piraux, who came from Belgium to 
 America in 1856, locating in Milwaukee, 
 W'is., same year. In 1877 Mr. Servotte 
 built his present handsome residence in 
 Green Bay, and has here had born to 
 him three children, viz. : Frank, now at- 
 tending business college; Emily A. and 
 Edward J. In politics Mr. Servotte is a 
 Republican, but has never been an office- 
 
472 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 seeker, although he has filled one or two 
 official positions, when he has felt it to be 
 his duty to do so as a good and faithful 
 citizen. Mr. Servotte is a devout Catholic, 
 and has reared his family in the same 
 faith. He has depicted in his daily walk 
 through life his earnestness in his religious 
 belief, and has always manifested a de- 
 cided interest in the progress of the city 
 which he has chosen as his home, and in 
 which he has seen many and rapid 
 changes for the better since he has been 
 a resident thereof. His business has been 
 profitable and consquently satisfactory, 
 and his social position is all that could be 
 desired. 
 
 JOSEPH H. SERVOTTE, member 
 of the widely-known firm of E. W. 
 & J. H. Servotte, contractors and 
 builders. Green Bay, is a native of 
 Wisconsin, born in Door county on March 
 17, 1862. 
 
 Guillaume Servotte, father of subject, 
 was a native of Belgium, where he mar- 
 ried Miss Victoria Demaiffe, of the same 
 country, and in 1856 they emigrated to 
 the United States, locating in Green Bay, 
 Wis., where the father followed his trade, 
 that of carpenter, until 1858, in which 
 3'ear the family moved to Door county, 
 same State, settling on a farm for eight 
 years, in 1864 returning to Green Bay, 
 where Mr. Servotte resumed his trade. 
 Here he died July 21. 1887, the mother 
 October 25, 1865. Five children were 
 born to them, viz: Frank, deceased in 
 Door county; Ernst W., in business 
 with our subject; Julia, widow of E. 
 Brosteau a resident of Green Bay; Desire, 
 who died in Green Bay at the age of five 
 years, and Joseph H. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received a 
 liberal education at the schools of Green 
 Bay, and afterward learned carpentry, a 
 trade he followed exclusively till 1888, 
 when he commenced contracting and 
 building in both Green Bay and Fort 
 Howard, in partnership with his brother 
 
 Ernst W., the firm confining themselves 
 chiefly to residence building, in which 
 they have met with well-merited success. 
 In 1 89 1 Mr. Servotte was united in mar- 
 riage, in Green Bay, with Miss Mary 
 Theresa Lefebvre, who was born in Brown 
 county. Wis. , January 21,1 867, a daughter 
 of John B. Lefebvre, an early settler of 
 Green Ba}-, who for several years owned 
 and operated a saw and grist mill com- 
 bined in the town of Green Bay. To 
 this union was born July 28, 1894, one 
 child, Agnes Albertina. Our subject, as 
 was his father before him, is a Republican, 
 and from 1889 to 1892 he served the 
 city as alderman from the First ward;- 
 in 1892 was elected supervisor, in 1893 
 re-elected, and is serving in that office at 
 the present time. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of the Royal Arcanum, and enjoys the 
 respect, confidence and esteem of a wide 
 circle of friends and acquaintances. 
 
 REV. H. W. THOMPSON. The 
 experiences of a minister of the 
 Gospel in a comparatively unset- 
 tled region must of necessity be 
 full of interest, and the reverend gentle- 
 man whose name introduces this article 
 could furnish many chapters of such na- 
 ture from his years of life in the work of 
 his Master in the northern country. But, 
 more than this, the entire span of his ex- 
 istence has been within an atmosphere 
 out of which the thrilling events of his- 
 tory have come forth, and to an unusual 
 degree is he qualified to entertain those 
 who seek after substantial facts in the 
 history of a nation's progress. 
 
 Mr. Thompson conies of a pioneer 
 family. His parents, William and Ellen 
 M. (Browne) Thompson, natives respec- 
 tively of Seneca and Niagara counties, N. 
 Y. , removed in an early day to Michigan, 
 in which State they were united in mar- 
 riage. They originally located in Hills- 
 dale county, but later settled upon a farm 
 in Livingston county. The elder Thomp- 
 son died October 2, 1894, his wife having 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOGBAPIllCAL RECORD. 
 
 473 
 
 preceded him to the grave in iS88. This 
 worthy couple reared a family of five 
 children: H. W. , the subject of this 
 sketch; Frederick William, of Fenton, 
 Mich. ; Frank Howard, of Rockford, 111. ; 
 Nellie, now Mrs. Fisher, of Reeseville, 
 Wis. ; and Charley, who resides at Sault 
 Ste. Marie. 
 
 H. W. Thompson, the eldest child, 
 was born in Brooklyn township, Jackson 
 Co., Mich., in 1847, and grew to young 
 manhood in Tyrone, Livingston county, 
 receiving his early education in the schools 
 of that period. His youthful blood was 
 stirred by patriotic impulses when the 
 tremendous wave of rebellion broke upon 
 the land, and in 1863 he tendered his 
 services to the government, enlisting in a 
 cavalry regiment. In the spring of 1864 
 he became a member of Company F, 
 Tenth Michigan Infantry, which formed 
 part of the First Brigade, Second 
 Division, Fourteenth Army Corps, and 
 served with great distinction under Gen. 
 W. T. Sherman. Mr. Thompson took 
 part with his command in the battles of 
 Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Kenesaw 
 Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Rome and 
 the two-days' fight with Thomas at Nash- 
 ville, being wounded during the second 
 day's engagement at the latter place. He 
 was present at the memorable grand 
 review of the army at Washington in 
 May, 1865; was honorably discharged 
 soon after at Louisville, Ky., and finally 
 mustered out of the service at Jackson, 
 Mich. Returning to Livingston county 
 he engaged in farming until 1871, when 
 he entered the ministry of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, Detroit Conference. 
 In 1876 he was transferred to North 
 Michigan, laboring on the Manistique cir- 
 cuit, thirty-nine miles in extent, and 
 having few settlements. During two 
 terms of three years each he was sta- 
 tioned at Escanaba, and later one year 
 at De Pere, from which latter point he 
 came to Green Bay in 1890. He is now 
 pastor of the First M. E. Church in the 
 last named place. During his seventeen 
 
 years service in pastoral labor in this 
 northern country many changes have 
 come under his notice, and his experience 
 has been of a nature to ripen his judg- 
 ment and qualify him for even more effi- 
 cient work in the future. 
 
 The soldier who successfully with- 
 stood the ordeal of severe service in the 
 field during the great Civil war, and re- 
 turned to his home to pursue the voca- 
 tions of peace, was strongly impressed 
 with the necessity for being well-equipped 
 for the struggles of life, and the first act 
 of many a "boy in blue" was to take to 
 himself a helpmeet for the years to come. 
 Young Thompson, not yet of age when 
 the war closed, only awaited the year of 
 his majority to take the next great step 
 of his life. On May 24, 1868, in Oak- 
 land county, Mich., he married Miss Mary 
 J. House, a native of Hartland township, 
 Livingston county, and daughter of 
 Amasa and Cynthia (Durfee) House, na- 
 tives of New York and early pioneers of 
 Michigan, both now deceased. Three 
 children have been given these parents: 
 Minnie L. , wife of John Symmons, of 
 Escanaba, Mich.; Harry A., now freight 
 and ticket auditor of the Wisconsin & 
 Michigan railroad, with offices at 418 and 
 419 Western Union Building, Chicago, 
 111., and Berenice M. 
 
 Mr. Thompson has met the reward of 
 preferment at the hands of his fellows in 
 other lines than those of the ministry. 
 As a Republican in politics, he served 
 from the Delta District in the Michigan 
 Legislature in 1887. In Grand Army 
 circles he is also well known, having 
 served as chaplain of the Department of 
 Michigan in 1887, and been elected to a 
 similar position for the Department of 
 Wisconsin, April 28, 1894. He is a mem- 
 ber of T. O. Howe Post No. 124, G. A. 
 R. , and a past commander of the T. O. 
 Howe Post in the order. He is also 
 chaplain in Washington Lodge No. 21, 
 F. & A. M. ; Scribe in Warren Chapter 
 No. 8, R. A. M., and Prelate in Palestine 
 Commandery No. 20, K. T. 
 
474 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 WW. NUSS, a photographic art- 
 ist of much merit and ability, 
 having his studio at No. 215 
 North Washington street. Green 
 Bay, was born in 1858 in Bucks county, 
 Penn., son of Michael and Matilda 
 (Wiedner) Nuss, natives of the same 
 county and State, where they were mar- 
 ried. 
 
 The father enlisted, in 1863, in a 
 Pennsylvania regiment, and served in the 
 Civil war as a snare drummer, and in 
 1865 came to Wisconsin and located in 
 De Pere, where he worked at his trade as 
 a mason until 1869, when he purchased a 
 farm of 140 acres; but in a short time re- 
 turned to De Pere, where he is now en- 
 gaged in tailoring, having learned that 
 among several other trades in his earlier 
 years. He was also a minister of the 
 Evangelical Association, and preached for 
 a long time after his arrival in Brown 
 county, \\'is. His wife left her earthly 
 cares in August, 1882, her remains find- 
 ing their last resting place in De Pere. 
 She had borne her husband fifteen chil- 
 dren, of whom eight sons and three 
 daughters still survive, viz. : Amelia, 
 living with her father; Elniina, w'ife of F. 
 W. Schneider, of Green Bay; M. W., of 
 St. Paul, Minn.; W. W. , our subject; P. 
 W. , of Minnesota; A. O., preaching at 
 Montello, ^^"is. ; James Franklin, of Ana- 
 conda, Mont. ; Edwin Michael, of Chilton, 
 Wis. ; Anderson K. , bookkeeper at Dous- 
 man's Mill, De Pere; Charles H., in the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad 
 office, De Pere; and Carrie, wife of Jules 
 Roels, of the same city. 
 
 W. W. Nuss, the accomplished pho- 
 tographer of whom this sketch pertains, 
 reached De Pere about 1865, and was 
 here reared, but learned his art in Green 
 Bay, where he has now the best gallerj' 
 in the city, and is also recognized as being 
 one of the city's best artists. In October, 
 1890, he married Miss Clara Rathman, a 
 native of Green Bay and a daughter of 
 one of its early pioneers. One child, 
 Verna W. , now adds sunshine to the 
 
 happy household. Mr. Nuss is a member 
 of Pochequette Lodge No. 26, K. P., and 
 also a member of the Koyal Arcanum at 
 Green Bay; in politics he is a Republican, 
 and socially fills a high position. 
 
 ASPRAGUE, veterinary surgeon. 
 Green Bay, also conducting a 
 horse infirmary and boarding barn, 
 is a native of Broome county, N. 
 Y. , born November 25, 1856, a son of 
 Milton and Jerusha E. (Elwood) Sprague, 
 natives of Delaware county, New York. 
 
 Milton Sprague when a young man 
 served in the United States Navy during 
 the Mexican war, being stationed along 
 the Pacific coast, and at the close of the 
 struggle returned to Delaware county, 
 where he married, shortly afterward 
 bringing his young wife to Wisconsin, for 
 a time settling in Calumet county, where 
 he carried on blacksmithing, later moving 
 to the town of Shawano, Shawanc county, 
 making their home with their son, our 
 subject. The mother died in 1881 at 
 Brothertown, Wis., and the father is now 
 living in Green Bay, with his son. They 
 were the parents of eleven children, four 
 of whom are j'et living, to wit: Milton, 
 married, in business with his brother A. ; 
 Catherine, wife of Andrew Moyes, of 
 Brothertown, Wis ; Dr. A. Sprague and 
 Mary, wife of Needham Richmond, of 
 Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Great-grandfather 
 Abram Sprague, and Grandfather Daniel 
 Sprague. were both natives of Delaware 
 county, N. Y. , and were in the Revolu- 
 tion and war of 181 2, respectively. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received his 
 elementary education at the common 
 schools of Calumet county, and learned 
 the trade of blacksmith. Being desirous 
 of following the profession of veterinary 
 surgeon, he attended Indiana College, In- 
 dianapolis, where he received a diploma, 
 and he also studied under Dr. R. W. Ea- 
 ton, of Fond du Lac. In 1881 he com- 
 menced practice in Calumet county, re- 
 maining there till November, 1890, when 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 475 
 
 he came to Green Bay and opened an of- 
 fice on Cherry street, later moving to his 
 present place on the corner of Washing- 
 ton and Stuart streets. 
 
 In 1876 Dr. Sprague married Miss 
 Victoria Keliher, who was born in Calu- 
 met county, a daughter of John C. and 
 Bridget (Morrissey) I\eliher, the father a 
 native of London, England the latter of 
 Ireland, who emigrated many years ago 
 to America, settling in Wisconsin. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sprague have been born 
 five children, viz. : Walton, married and 
 living at Lake Geneva; and Ralph, Harry, 
 Olive and Lottie. Mr. Sprague in his 
 political associations is independent; he 
 is a member and past grand of Green 
 Bay Lodge No. 19, I. O. O. F. ; was 
 grand representative of Shawano Lodge 
 in June, 1890, and was noble grand of 
 Shawano Lodge at Eau Claire, Wis. 
 The Doctor, by his widely-known skill, 
 has succeeded in securing an excellent 
 practice, and he is now the city veterina- 
 rian of Green Bay. 
 
 IVI 
 
 y. CLAREY, an engineer of 
 some considerable note in the 
 employ of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul Railway 
 Company, was born at Menasha, W^inne- 
 bago county. Wis., June i, 1857. 
 
 Maurice and Catherine (Scanlan) 
 Clarey, his parents, were natives of Ire- 
 land, but were married in America. 
 Maurice Clarey first located in Worcester, 
 Mass., and was there married. After fol- 
 lowing railroading at Worcester several 
 years he came to Menasha, Wis. , where 
 his death took place a few years after his 
 arrival; his widow still has her residence in 
 Menasha, and is venerated by all who 
 know her. She has reared a family of 
 five sons, the first of whom, Michael, an 
 engineer on the Milwaukee & Northern 
 railroad, died at Marinette; Garrett re- 
 sides in Everett, Wash; M. J. is the sub- 
 ject of this sketch; John is an engineer 
 at Menominee, Mich., in the employ of 
 
 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
 way Company, and T. L. , passenger con- 
 ductor for the same company from Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., to Champion, Michigan. 
 
 M. J. Clarey was educated in the 
 schools of Menasha, began his railroad 
 life by firing on the Wisconsin Central, 
 working up to the position of engineer, 
 and is now the oldest engineer on the 
 Lake Superior Division of the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul railway. Since 
 1 878 his residence has been in Green Bay. 
 His marriage took place, in 1877, to Miss 
 Delia Scott, daughter of John Scott, a 
 native of Canada, and one of the oldest 
 settlers of Stevens Point, Portage county, 
 Wis., but now deceased. Two children 
 have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Clarey, and are named Katherine and 
 Willie G. Mr. Clarey and wife are mem- 
 bers of St. John's Catholic Church, and he 
 is affiliated with the Brotherhood of Loco- 
 motive Engineers, No. 297, at Green 
 Bay. In politics he is a Democrat, but 
 has never been an office seeker, his strict 
 attention to his duties having placed him 
 beyond the seeking of extraneous public 
 aid. 
 
 FE. DUBOIS, the congenial and 
 accommodating conductor on the 
 Chicago, Milw^aukee & St. Paul 
 railway, having his run between 
 Green Bay and Milwaukee, has punched 
 checks and tickets from 1882 until the 
 present time, and is now the oldest and 
 most popular passenger conductor running 
 into Green Bay. As a railroad man, his 
 apprenticeship began on the Wisconsin 
 Central, in 1873, as brakeman, and by 
 his faithful attendance to his duties he 
 has been advanced, degree by degree, to 
 his present responsible position. 
 
 Our subject first saw the light in 1856 
 in Fort Howard, Wis., and is a son of C. 
 E. and Augusta (Alexander) Dubois, who 
 were born in the State of New York, 
 were married there, and in 1855 came to 
 Wisconsin, stopping for a time at Kau- 
 
476 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 kauna and settlinfj, within a year, at Fort 
 Howard. The father was one of the 
 early school-teachers at this point, follow- 
 ing the profession until 1866, when he 
 went to Menasha, Wis., and taught until 
 1883, the year he and his family came to 
 Green Bay. Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Dubois 
 reared four children, viz. : Charles, of 
 Chicago; F. E. ; Carrie, wife of W. E. 
 Smith, district carpenter on the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad; and J. 
 W. , engineer of a passenger train on the 
 same railroad, and residing in Green Bay. 
 Mr. Dubois is a Freemason of promi- 
 nence, being a member of Palestine Com- 
 mandery No. 20, having, of course, 
 passed through the various degrees; he is 
 also a member of Island City Chapter 
 No. 23, of Wisconsin Consistory, of 
 Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and 
 still is an active member of the Blue 
 Lodge, Chilton No. 1 54. He is also a 
 member of the Benevolent and Protective 
 Order of Elks; socially he enjoys the ad- 
 miration of a large and influential circle 
 of acquaintances. 
 
 CHARLES THEODORE KIM- 
 BALL, manager of the A. Kim- 
 ball wholesale and retail hardware 
 store. Green Bay, was born Oc- 
 tober 10, 1847, in Dalton, Berkshire 
 county, Mass., son of Alonzo and Sarah 
 (Weston) Kimball, who came to Green 
 Bay in 1849. The father was a highly- 
 educated gentleman, and in early life was 
 a school-teacher. These parents had a 
 family of six children, viz.: Mary C, 
 who is married to M. H. Walker, of 
 Green Bay; A. Weston, general agent 
 for the State of Illinois of the Northwest- 
 ern Life Insurance Company, of Milwau- 
 kee, and located at Chicago; Charles T. , 
 the subject proper of this sketch; Mather 
 D., the literary manager of the North- 
 western Life Insurance Company, at Mil- 
 waukee; Sarah, widow of L. B. Sale, 
 who with his two sons, Richard and 
 Robert, was drowned in the Fox river; 
 
 and William Dwight, who died at the age 
 of two years. 
 
 Charles T. Kimball received his 
 primary education in the city schools of 
 Green Bay, and his commercial training 
 at a Milwaukee business college. Some 
 time after his graduation from the latter 
 (now over thirty years ago), he became 
 associated with his father in the hardware 
 trade — in 1870 — and is now general man- 
 ager of the business, his father having 
 retired some \ears since. The business 
 has always been a successful one, having 
 been at the start based on principles of 
 strict integrity and square dealing. On 
 September 5, 1872, C. T. Kimball was 
 united in the bonds of matrimony, in 
 Green Bay, with Miss Hannah Elizabeth 
 Cawthorne, a native of Canada, of English 
 descent, and daughter of \\'illiam B. and 
 Jane (Bell) Cawthorne, who came to 
 Green Bay about the year 1868. Here 
 Mrs. Cawthorne passed the remainder of 
 her life; William B. Cawthorne is a 
 jeweler by vocation, and is now a resi- 
 dent of Henry, S. D. To the happy 
 marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. 
 Kimball have been born three children — 
 Mary Bell, Myra Weston and Charles 
 Theodore — and there are few families in 
 the city more highly respected. 
 
 Mr. Kimball is an active member of 
 the K. of P., affiliated with Pochequette 
 Lodge No. 26, and C. T. Kimball Di- 
 vision, Uniform Rank, and he is Past 
 Grand Chancellor of the State of Wis- 
 consin. He is an accomplished musician 
 and composer, and in connection with 
 Mr. Dorn has published a number of 
 meritorious and popular compositions, in- 
 cluding well-known church music and 
 temperance songs and band publications. 
 For many \'ears he was leader of Kim- 
 ball's Silver Cornet Band of Green Bay, 
 comprising eighteen pieces, and also for 
 a number of years choir leader and or- 
 ganist for the First Presbyterian Church. 
 He is highly respected as a business man, 
 and his social standing is equally high. 
 In all enterprises having a tendency to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 477 
 
 improve the intellectual advancement of 
 his fellow citizens he has taken an active 
 part, and he has freely given of his means 
 to promote the material progress of the 
 city in which he has been reared, and of 
 the population of which he is so promi- 
 nent a factor. 
 
 FRANK B. DESNOYERS. This 
 gentleman, who is a member of 
 the well-known tirni of Desnoyers 
 & Duchateau, breeders of horses. 
 Green Bay, is a native of that city, born 
 in 1859. 
 
 Francis Desnoyers, father of our sub- 
 ject, was a native of Michigan, and came 
 from Detroit to Green Baj', where he was 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits some 
 years. On retiring from same he took 
 up the real-estate business, and among 
 other buildings he, about the year 1865, 
 erected what is known as " Uncle Frank's 
 Block," besides six stores on the west 
 side of Washington (which belong to the 
 family) and four on the east side. At 
 Green Bay he married Miss Louisa A. 
 Beard, a native of Philadelphia, and 
 daughter of Capt. Beard, who at one 
 time was a captain in the regular army, 
 and died in Pennsylvania; he was a 
 brother of judge Beard, of Green Bay. 
 She came to Green Bay with Mrs. Law- 
 ton. Three children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Francis Desnoj'ers, viz. : Marie 
 L. , Elizabeth and Frank B. The father 
 died in 1868; he was a Republican, and 
 at different times served as alderman and 
 mayor of Green Bay. His widow was 
 subsequently married to Dr. C. E. Crane, 
 and died in 1888. 
 
 Frank B. Desnoj'ers, the subject 
 proper of this sketch, received a liberal 
 education in the schools of Green Bay, 
 after which he proceeded to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., where for a time he clerked in the 
 dry-goods store of Skeeles cS: Best, and 
 returning to Green Bay continued clerk- 
 ing about two and one-half years in that 
 town. He then opened out for his own 
 
 account a gents' furnishing-goods estab- 
 lishment, which he successfully conducted 
 until 1 890, in which year he embarked in 
 his present line of business, in partner- 
 ship with Mr. Duchateau. In the same 
 year they built a commodious and well- 
 equipped barn on Monroe avenue, be- 
 tween Main and Pine streets. 
 
 In 1883, at Green Bay, Wis., Mr. 
 Desnoyers was united in marriage with 
 Felia A. Lindsley, a native of that city, 
 daughter of Myron P. and Frances F. 
 (Ingalls) Lindsley, who in an early day 
 came to Brown county from Lockport, 
 N. Y. Mr. Lindsley was an attorney at 
 law and dealer in real estate, and a promi- 
 nent member of the I. O. O. F., in which 
 Order he held the office of State Lec- 
 turer. He died in Madison, Wis., in 
 1882. To our subject and wife have 
 been born three children, viz. : Frank 
 L. , Mary Elizabeth and Henry B. In 
 politics Mr. Desnoyers is a Republican, 
 and for the past four years he has repre- 
 sented the Second ward in the council as 
 alderman, and was chairman of the 
 finance committee two years. 
 
 JULES C. NEVILLE. This wide- 
 awake young hustling business man 
 of Green Bay, member of the firm 
 of Delaporte & Neville, proprietors 
 of "The Hub," a leading clothing and 
 gents' furnishing store, is descended from 
 an upright, honored Belgian family. 
 
 Julian Neville, his father, was born in 
 May, 1842, in Belgium, a son of Josef 
 Neville, who had a family of four sons 
 and one daughter, and died in Belgium 
 when Julian was three }'ears old. His 
 widow and her little son, then, in 1855, 
 came to the United States, and from New 
 York, their port of debarkation, came 
 westward to Wisconsin, making their first 
 Western home in Green Bay. The de- 
 voted mother died at the home of her 
 son in Scott township. Brown county, 
 Wisconsin. Julian received a fair educa- 
 tion at the schools of Green Bay, and 
 
478 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 then took up agricultural pursuits for his 
 life vocation. In Door county he cleared 
 a farm, also one near Sturgeon Bay, on 
 which he resided some seventeen j'ears. 
 In 1874 he came to his present home in 
 Green Bay, where in i>S83 he built a fine 
 brick residence and business room com- 
 bined, which latter he carries on, as well 
 as a hotel. In every sense of the word 
 he is a self-made man, a hard worker, 
 progressive and public-spirited, honest 
 and upright, one who has brought up his 
 family well, giving them all a good educa- 
 tion, and a fair start in life. He is a Re- 
 publican in politics; in religious faith a 
 member of the Holy Cross Church at Bay 
 Settlement, and enjoys-the respect of the 
 community as a well-to-do loyal citizen. 
 He has been twice married; first time at 
 Sturgeon Bay. Wis., to Miss Mary V. 
 Erlache, who bore him five children, viz. : 
 Josef E. (died when young), Jules C. 
 (subject proper of this sketch), and Henry, 
 Mary and Vina. The mother of these 
 died in 1880, and Mr. Neville subsequent- 
 ly married Miss Philomena Brice, by 
 whom there are six children: Josef, 
 Octavian, Louis. Vina, John and Albert. 
 Jules C. Neville, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, was born March 25, 
 1 87 1, in Door county, Wisconsin, where, 
 at the common schools, he received his 
 literary education, which was supple- 
 mented with an eighteen-months' course 
 at a business college, after which he en- 
 tered the employ of J. P. C. Schmidt, 
 wholesale liquor dealers, remaining with 
 them three years, part of the time having 
 charge of the government books. Later 
 he engaged as traveling salesman, and on 
 leaving the road he entered into a partner- 
 ship with C. H. E. Delaporte, at Fort 
 Howard; but after conducting the business 
 one year and four months, they opened 
 up their present place of business, "The 
 Hub," in Green Bay. In October, 1893, 
 Mr. Neville was married to Miss Bertha 
 Zerrener, daughter of Frederick Zerrener. 
 It his political proclivities our subject is 
 a straight Republican. 
 
 LOUIS C. VAN DYCKE (deceased), 
 for many years a prominent citi- 
 zen of Green Bay, was born in 
 Antwerp, Belgium, April 12, 1829, 
 and died in Green Bay, Wis., January 9, 
 1 88 1 . 
 
 The family were originally Holland- 
 Dutch, and were of noble origin, as is 
 shown by their coat of arms, now owned 
 by the Van Dyckes of Green Bay. 
 Grandfather Constante Van Dycke was a 
 seafaring man for many years as captain 
 of his own ship, and was remarkably 
 handsome and attractive. He married 
 MissCoUette Blankeman, a beautiful Bel- 
 gian girl, truly called "the rose of Ant- 
 werp," who lived to a ripe old age, re- 
 taining to the last much of her beaut}', 
 as proven by a portrait of her taken in 
 Paris, France, when she was sixty-five 
 years of age, and which is now in the 
 possession of her daughter-in-law, Mrs. 
 Louis Van Dycke; her husband died in 
 Ostend, Belgium. 
 
 Their only son, Louis C, was edu- 
 cated in Antwerp, and in his younger days 
 was a sea captain; he was a great linguist, 
 being able to read and write seven dif- 
 ferent languages. At the age of twenty- 
 seven, in 1855, he immigrated to the 
 United States, and for nearly one year 
 was a merchant in New York City. In 
 1857 he came to Wisconsin, making his 
 first Western home in Brown county, but 
 two years later moved Kewaunee county, 
 where he established a general store at a 
 point in Red River township, on Green 
 Bay, which came to be known as Dyckes- 
 ville, being named in his honor. He was 
 also postmaster there, and first district 
 attorney, and township treasurer ten 
 years. In 1868 he returned to Green 
 Bay, and was here engaged in mercantile 
 business, brewing, etc., up to his death. 
 In 1875, in connection with John M. 
 Shoemaker, he established the dry-goods 
 house of Shoemaker & Van Dycke, and 
 in all his enterprises he made a success, 
 becoming a man of great influence 
 throughout the country. On May 11, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHIOAL RECORD. 
 
 479 
 
 1857, Mr. Van Dycke was married to 
 Miss Octavia Cesar, a daughter of Lam- 
 bert Cesar, a native of Belgium, as is also 
 Mrs. Van Dycke, who was born August 
 4, 1840, in Bouvechen, near Louvain, 
 Belgium. Si.x children came to the union 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Van Dycke, 
 namely: Erma (wife of Dr. H. M. Beck), 
 Emil C, Julius J., Constance F. , Alice 
 C. and Louis Paul. The mother is still 
 making her home in Green Bay. 
 
 Julius J. Van Dvcke, son of Louis 
 C. and Octavia Van Dycke, was born 
 August 14, 1868, in Red River township, 
 Kewaunee Co., Wis. His elementary 
 education was received at the public 
 schools of Green Bay, after which he 
 attended the Business College in that 
 cit}', graduating there in 1887. Becom- 
 ing interested in pharmac)-, he studied 
 the science t\\'o j'ears under the pre- 
 ceptorship of his brother-in-law. Dr. H. 
 M. Beck, and then attended the uni- 
 versity at Madison. Returning to Green 
 Bay, and having passed his examination 
 in Milwaukee before the State Iioard 
 of Pharmacy, in 1890, he, in part- 
 nership with Charles LeComte, opened a 
 drug store, the firm continuing about 
 three years, at the end of which time Mr. 
 Van Dycke sold out his interest, and be- 
 came associated in business with the O. 
 Van Dycke Brewing Company, of which 
 he is now the bookkeeper and financial 
 agent. As a druggist he was a pronounced 
 success, and he still maintains close re- 
 lations with the profession. In social 
 circles he holds prominent place, being 
 bright and intellectual, and in fraternal 
 associations he is a member of the Ro\'al 
 Arcanum. 
 
 GEORGE GROESSL, foreman of 
 the Van Dycke Brewery, Green 
 Bay, was born November 22, 
 185 I, near Furth, Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, on the confines of Bohemia, in the 
 Bohmer Wald. His ancestry for the 
 
 most part were industrious, plodding 
 27— .\ 
 
 farming people in that part of the world, 
 living uneventful lives. 
 
 Ignatz Groessl, also a native of near 
 Furth, a farmer by occupation, came to 
 America some time after his son George, 
 the subject of sketch, had emigrated, and 
 making a settlement in Manitowoc county, 
 Wis., resumed agricultural pursuits. He 
 is now seventy-five years old, and is living 
 a retired life at Ahnapee, Kewaunee 
 county, hale and hearty, as is also his be- 
 loved wife, a German by birth, whose 
 maiden name was Barbara Pry. They 
 had a family of eight children. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was seven- 
 teen years old when he immigrated to 
 America, and on landing at New York 
 immediately came west to Indiana, where, 
 in the town of La Porte, he had relatives. 
 After a six-months' sojourn there he pro- 
 ceeded to Ahnapee, Wis. , and from there, 
 after a short stay, to Green Bay, where 
 he secured work in the brewery of Henry 
 Rahr, remaining some three years; then 
 went to Milwaukee, and in the brewery 
 of Frank Falk found employment for sev- 
 eral months. From the " Cream City " 
 he took a run up to Chicago, where in the 
 brewery of M. Gottfried he worked for a 
 time; from the "World's Fair City" he 
 went to Naperville, 111. , and in the brew- 
 ery of F. Stenger passed a few more 
 months — in all his experiences in these 
 various localities never losing sight of the 
 main object he had in view, namely, 
 making himself thoroughly acquainted 
 with all the details of the brewing busi- 
 ness, and perfecting himself in them. 
 Being recalled to Green Bay, he secured 
 the position of foreman in Rahr's brew- 
 ery, but at the end of two years he once 
 more moved to La Porte, Ind. , where he 
 served in a similar capacity another two 
 years, or until 1877, when he returned to 
 Green Bay and connected himself with 
 the Van Dycke brewery, since when he 
 has been mainly identified with the con- 
 cern as foreman; for five years he was 
 partner in the business with Mrs. O. Van- 
 Dvcke, widow of Louis Van Dycke, at 
 
4^0 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 one tiine proprietor of the brewery. Mr. 
 Groessl is widely known as a thorough, 
 practical brewer, second to none in the 
 State, and no one has had better training 
 to the business or knows more about it. 
 Our subject was married in Green 
 Bay, Wis., to Miss Antonia Hollub, a 
 native of Wisconsin, and to this union 
 have been born six children, named, re- 
 spectively, Frank, George, Josephine, 
 Jacob, Clara and Lena. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Groessl are members of the Catholic 
 Church, aud are highly respected in the 
 community in which they live. 
 
 ERNEST BECKER, a well-known 
 citizen of F"ort Howard, Brown 
 county, is a son of Peter and 
 Elizabeth (Newfield) Becker, na- 
 tives of Germany, in which country they 
 were reared and married. They emi- 
 grated to New York in 1852, thence 
 moved to Savannah and finall}' to Oconto, 
 Wis., the same year, in which latter city 
 they are yet living. Their children were 
 Charley, now deceased; Mary, wife of A. 
 Watternich, of Oconto; Ernest, of Fort 
 Howard, and Anna, who died at the age 
 of four years. 
 
 Our subject was born at Oconto, W^is., 
 in 1864, and in that place received his ed- 
 ucation. He learned the machinist's trade 
 in the shops of A. Halbach, working later 
 for D. C. Prescott, at Marinette; in the 
 shops at Florence; afterward for the Green 
 Bay, Winona & St. Paul Railroad Com- 
 pany two years, and in 1887 he located 
 at Fort Howard, where he has been in 
 in the employ of the Milwaukee & North- 
 ern Railroad Company six years and three 
 months. He was at one time engaged in 
 the hardware business on Broadway 
 street. 
 
 Mr. Becker was married January 31, 
 1888, at Fort Howard, to Miss Carrie 
 Schwarz, daughter of C. Schwarz, and 
 they had four children, of whom three 
 are now living: Erna, Carl Arthur and 
 Mark Harry; Walter died when but eight 
 
 months old. Socially Mr. Becker is a 
 member of the Modern W'oodmen at Fort 
 Howard, and like his wife belongs to St. 
 Paul's Lutheran Church. He is super- 
 visor from the Fourth ward. Fort Howard, 
 was elected to that position in 1893, and 
 has made a useful officer, serving on the 
 extra committee on printing and tax cer- 
 tificates. He is a substantial citizen, des- 
 tined to become prominent in his city 
 and count\'. 
 
 CE. CRANE, M. D. In this 
 gentleman the most noble, the 
 most humane and the most phil- 
 anthropic of all professions finds 
 an honored and worthy representative. 
 For fortj-three years he was in the active 
 practice of physic and surgery, in earlier 
 days making a specialty of the latter, but 
 for the past few years he has been living 
 retired. 
 
 Dr. Crane was born November 27, 
 1827, in that part of Huron county, Ohio, 
 that is now embodied in Erie county. 
 He is a son of Simeon and Eliza (In- 
 graham) Crane, natives of Connecticut 
 and Massachusetts, respectively, who in 
 181 5 came to Huron (now Erie) county, 
 Ohio, locating near the town of Florence, 
 later moving to Oberlin, same State. 
 Here the father, who was a farmer by 
 occupation, died in 1877; the mother 
 passed from earth when the subject of 
 this sketch was seven years old. They 
 were the parents of three children, all 
 sons, as follows: C. E. ; Samuel I., who 
 died in Erie county, Ohio, in 1868; and 
 George M., who during the Civil war 
 enlisted in the Eighth Missouri Infantry, 
 was wounded at Jonesboro, and died 
 three days after reaching his home in 
 Erie county, Ohio. Simeon married a 
 second time, and by this union had one 
 son, Joel, who joined the Union army in 
 Ohio. 
 
 C. E. Crane was reared and educated 
 in Erie county to the age of thirteen 
 years, at which time he moved to Nor- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 48 1 
 
 walk, where he remained until he was 
 twenty-one 3'ears old, receiving the chief 
 part of his education at the schools of 
 that town, including the reading of 
 medicine. In 1848-49 he attended the 
 Western Reserve College, where he 
 graduated in 1849, immediately there- 
 after, in May, same year, coming to 
 Green Bay, then but a small place with 
 bright prospects, and here continued in 
 the successful practice of his profession 
 until 1S92, a period of over forty years 
 (with the exception of the time, three 
 years, he served in the army), when he 
 retired. Dr. Crane was commissioned, 
 in 1 86 1, assistant-surgeon of the Fifth 
 Wisconsin Infantry, joining the regiment 
 in June of that year at Madison, Wis. 
 The Fifth was attached to the army of 
 the East, and participated in the battle 
 of Williamsburg; the Peninsular cam- 
 paign of 1862; the second battle of Bull 
 Run; the battles of Fredericksburg (under 
 Gen. Burnside), Chancellorsville (1863), 
 Gettysburg, Rappahannock Bridge (No- 
 vember, 1S63), and finally in the Wilder- 
 ness campaign. In 1S63 the Doctor was 
 promoted to surgeon. In 1864 the regi- 
 ment was mustered out and August 2, 
 same year, our subject was discharged at 
 Madison, Wis. He was recommissioned, 
 but on account of impaired health de- 
 clined the honor, and returned home, 
 resuming practice at Green Bay. He is 
 a member of the Brown County Medical 
 Society (of which he was one of the 
 organizers and president from 1868 to 
 1880), and of the Fox River Valley Medi- 
 cal Society. 
 
 In 1872 Dr. C. E. Crane was married 
 in Green Bay to Mrs. Louise Desnoyers, 
 a native of Penn.sylvania, daughter of 
 Capt. Beard, formerly of the United 
 States army, who died many years ago. 
 Mrs. Crane has three children by her first 
 husband, viz.: Marie L. , Catherine and 
 Frank B. In his political preferences he 
 is a Republican, and he served his town 
 as mayor five years, 1874-75-77-78 and 
 '79; as president of the school board six 
 
 years, and on the board of public health. 
 Socially he is a member of T. O. Howe 
 Post No. 124, G. A. R., Green Bay; of 
 Washington Lodge No. 21, F. & A. M., 
 Warren Chapter No. 8, and of Philistine 
 Commandery No. 20, Green Bay. 
 
 JOHN L. McABEE, one of the well- 
 known successful agriculturists of 
 Lawrence township, is a native of 
 Brown county, born November i, 
 1842, in Fort Howard, son of Lambert 
 McAbee, an early resident of the county. 
 Lambert McAbee was born, about 
 1 8 18, in Detroit, Mich., of French and 
 Scotch extraction, and was a member of 
 one of the early families of his section of 
 Michigan. In an early day he came to 
 Green Bay, Wis., to trade with the In- 
 dians, with whose language he was quite 
 familiar, and this business, in which he 
 was very successful, was his principal vo- 
 cation. In about 1840 he married, in 
 Green Bay, Miss Sophia La Vigue, who 
 was born in that city in 1820, daughter of 
 John La Vigue, a native of Canada, of 
 French extraction. John La Vigue came 
 to Green Bay in early manhood, and there 
 married Elizabeth Huldrick, who was 
 born in Fort Howard, daughter of Peter 
 Huldrick, a native of Germany, who came 
 to the United States about the beginning 
 of the present century, arriving at Fort 
 Howard with the first English troops that 
 ever landed there. 
 
 To Lambert and Sophia McAbee were 
 born five children, namely: John L. , 
 whose name introduces this memoir; 
 Catherine, Mrs. Augustus Gerarden, of 
 Outagamie county. Wis. ; Mary, unmar- 
 ried, of Lawrence township; Angeline, de- 
 ceased; and Josephine, unmarried, of 
 Lawrence township. In the spring of 
 1850 the father of this family died, and 
 was buried in Allouez cemetery, and the 
 widow was thus left with five small chil- 
 dren, our subject, the eldest, being not 
 yet eight years of age. The family at 
 that time were living on a small piece of 
 
482 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 land along the Fox river, which Mr. Mc- 
 Abee had purchased of the Government; 
 but they were defrauded of this, and the 
 only home left to them was an old sugar- 
 house on Section 22, Lawrence township, 
 where Mr. McAbee had operated a sugar 
 camp. Never having been intended for 
 a dwelling-house, it was but a rude con- 
 struction, without even a floor; but with 
 the assistance of willing and kind-hearted 
 neighbors it was improved and made hab- 
 itable, and here they lived until 1861, 
 when a substantial log house was erected, 
 which is yet standing. They squatted 
 eighty acres of land, which they subse- 
 quently purchased from the Fox River 
 Land Company at $1.25 per acre, selling 
 the only horse they had to pay for it. 
 But one path led to or from their loca- 
 tion, and that was a "winter road " lead- 
 ing to the F"ox river, at a point one mile 
 from Little Kaukauna. The first space 
 cleared on the land was planted to corn 
 and potatoes, and each year, as the land 
 improved, and the children grew old 
 enough to help, the farm became more 
 and more productive, till it yielded them 
 a comfortable support. 
 
 John L. McAbee was about nineteen 
 years old at the breaking out of the Civil 
 war, and, like many other young men, 
 longed to take part in the suppression of 
 the Rebellion. Accordingly, in Decem- 
 ber, 1 86 1, he enlisted in Company K, 
 Seventeenth Wis. V. I., being sent to 
 Madison, Wis., whence, after a short 
 stay at Camp Randall, he was sent to 
 Camp Benton, St. Louis, and thence to 
 Tennessee, arriving at Shiloh shortly after 
 the engagement at that place. He partici- 
 pated in the fight at Corinth (his first 
 battle), and next in the engagement at 
 Holly Springs, from there going to Mem- 
 phis, where, in January, 1863, he was 
 discharged on account of illness, the 
 result of a cold he had contracted at 
 Madison, Wis. Mr. McAbee returned to 
 his home in Brown county. Wis., and 
 after recuperating his health re-enlisted, 
 in January, 1864, this time in Company 
 
 F, Fourteenth Wis. V. I., proceeding 
 with the command to \'icksburg, Miss., 
 and thence to Eastport. He took part in 
 the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, and in 
 the march to Atlanta, participating in 
 seventeen engagements around that city, 
 and after its fall he was among those 
 who returned to Nashville with Hood. 
 From Nashville they were conveyed by 
 transports to New Orleans, near where 
 tiiey camped for three weeks, on Uauphin 
 Island. He was in the engagement that 
 followed at Spanish Fort, and in the land 
 forces around Mobile, and at the time of 
 Lee's surrender was on the march to 
 Montgomery, Ala. Mr. McAbee was 
 mustered out of the service at Mobile, 
 and October 29, 1865, received an hon- 
 orable discharge at Madison, Wis. ; during 
 his long term of service he was never 
 injured. 
 
 Immediately after receiving his dis- 
 charge our subject returned to Brown 
 county, and on November 14, 1865, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Abigail 
 Garity, who was born October 7, 1848, 
 in Milwaukee, Wis. She was the daugh- 
 ter of George and Abigail (Childs) Garity, 
 natives, respective!}', of Ireland and New 
 York State, who came in an early day to 
 Milwaukee, and subsequently to Kau- 
 kauna, Outagamie county, where they 
 were residing at the time of Mrs. Mc- 
 Abee's marriage. Mr. Garity was at one 
 time an extensive landowner in Outaga- 
 mie county, where he ranked among the 
 leading men of his section. He died in 
 Kaukauna, and his widow now makes 
 her home in Wausau, Wisconsin. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. McAbee built 
 a log house on his present farm, and here 
 he and his family resided until the erec- 
 tion of the pleasant home they now oc- 
 cupy. They have had children as fol- 
 lows: Angeline, deceased in infancy; 
 Amos and Lambert, at home; Geneva, 
 Mrs. James Sullivan, of Lawrence town- 
 ship; Martha, deceased when two years 
 old; James, at home; Sophia, a well edu- 
 cated young lady, who has held a teach- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4S3 
 
 er's certificate since her fifteenth year; 
 Henry, deceased in infancy; Henry, Hving 
 at home; Mary, deceased in infancy; 
 Gertrude, at home; Ellen, deceased in 
 infancy, and Louis and Maggie, at home. 
 Mr. McAbee has ninety-two acres of ex- 
 cellent farm land, all of which he himself 
 has taken from its primitive st:ite. He 
 has been successful in his chosen voca- 
 tion, and deserves great credit for what 
 he has accomplished, especially as it is 
 all the result of his own efTorts. By 
 reading and observation he has accjuired 
 a good practical education, in spite of his 
 lack of early literary training. In poli- 
 tics he is a stanch Republican, and has 
 served his township as supervisor, at 
 present holding the position of health 
 officer, and for fourteen consecutive years 
 he has been school director. He was se- 
 lected to act as juryman three times, and 
 served each time. In religious connec- 
 tion he and his wife are members of St. 
 Paul's Catholic Church at Wrightstown. 
 
 M 
 
 WEBER, a leading well-known 
 citizen of New Denmark town- 
 ship. Brown count}-, is a native 
 of Germany, born September 
 12, 1850, in Luxemburg, son of Hubbard 
 and Mary (Dewald) Weber, the former of 
 whom was a mason by trade. They had 
 five children, namely: William (deceased), 
 Anna (deceased), Nicholas, Paulina and 
 our subject. 
 
 In 1853 this family embarked at Ham- 
 burg in a sailing vessel bound for America, 
 landing in New York City after a long, 
 weary voyage of 146 days. Coming 
 directly to Milwaukee, Wis., they re- 
 mained in that city two weeks, and then 
 proceeded, via Green Bay, to New Den- 
 mark township, Brown county, where Mr. 
 Weber invested in eighty acres of wild 
 land, which at that time was all in the 
 woods and inhabited by wild beasts. 
 They commenced life on this place with 
 almost nothing, and soon commenced to 
 clear the land, Mr. Weber also working 
 
 27-B 
 
 in mills, as the farm at first did not yield 
 enough to support the family. By inces- 
 sant toil the whole tract was finally cleared 
 and cultivated, as well as an additional 
 forty acres, and at the time of his death 
 Mr. Weber was the owner of a highly im- 
 proved farm of 1 20 acres all acquired by 
 his own earnest labor. He was called 
 from earth November 5, 1888, since 
 which time his widow has made her home 
 with her son, Mathie, who now owns and 
 conducts the home farm. She has reached 
 the advanced age of ninety-one years. 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood 
 on the pioneer farm, where he was 
 thoroughly trained by his father to agri- 
 cultural pursuits. On May 22, 1877, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Catherine 
 Bartelme, and to their union have been 
 born eight children, viz. : Josephine, 
 John, Minnie, Mary, Lizzie, TiUie, Henry, 
 and one that died in infancy. On the 
 death of his father, Mr. Weber bought 
 the old homestead, where he carries on a 
 profitable farming business, and since 
 1890 he has also conducted a saloon. In 
 politics he has been actively identified 
 with the Democratic party, taking great 
 interest in its success, and he has held 
 various offices in his township, having 
 served as supervisor (two years), con- 
 stable (nine years), pathmaster and 
 school director nine years, discharging all 
 the duties connected with these offices in 
 a creditable and highly satisfactory man- 
 ner. Socially he is a member of the 
 Catholic Knights, Branch No. 10 1, 
 Cooperstown, and in religious connection 
 he and his wife are members of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 WILLIAM CASHMAN (deceased), 
 who in his lifetime was one of 
 the leading farmers of Rockland 
 township, Brown county, of 
 which he was a resident some forty years, 
 was a native of County Cork, Ireland, 
 born in November, 1818. His parents, 
 William and Mary (Leary) Cashman, who 
 
484 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were farming people, had a family of ten 
 children — six sons and four daughters. 
 
 Our subject was reared to agricultural 
 life, and during his youth received a 
 somewhat limited education in the com- 
 mon schools. In April, 1840, his father 
 having provided him with means to emi- 
 grate, he sailed from Cork on the brig 
 " John Wesle}-," and after a passage of 
 five weeks and three days landed in Bos- 
 ton, where his brother John resided. 
 Here he obtained employment, working 
 as deck-hand on boats plying along the 
 Atlantic coast between Boston and 
 Charleston, continuing in this until his 
 marriage, after which he worked in lum- 
 ber yards. But as he never received 
 more than si.xty cents a day, and had to 
 board himself, he could save nothing, 
 and finally concluded to come westward 
 to Wisconsin, where cheap homes were 
 then offered to settlers. In February, 
 1843, he was married, in Boston, to Miss 
 Hannah Corcoran, who was born in 
 County Cork, Ireland, in 1823, daughter 
 of William Corcoran, who brought his 
 family to the United States in 1836. 
 They sailed from Cork on the ship 
 "Palace," and after a six-weeks' voyage 
 landed at Bangor, Maine, thence in a 
 short time coming to Boston, where Mr. 
 Corcoran died the following year, when 
 his daughter Hannah was but fourteen 
 years old. Two children, Mary and 
 Ellen, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cash- 
 man in Boston, and in the fall of 1849 
 this little family migrated westward, going 
 by rail to Buffalo, thence by water to 
 Sheboygan, and thence to Menomonce. 
 At that time there was but one saw- 
 mill in that region, and Mr. Cash- 
 man, after remaining there a month in 
 the employ of Dr. Hall, came to Green 
 Bay, which city at that early day did not 
 contain a single brick house. Later he 
 removed to De Pere, and from there to 
 Kaukauna, where he remained six j'ears, 
 working on the canal then in course of 
 construction, during which time he dug 
 many of the lock-pits for the Fox River 
 
 Improvement Co. In those days Mr. 
 Cashman was capable of performing a 
 great deal of hard labor, and never "took 
 a back seat" for any of his fellow work- 
 men. Few of them could lift greater 
 weights than he could, for at one time he 
 was able to lift 1,080 pounds! In the six 
 years of hard work at Kaukauna he saved 
 four hundred dollars, and about 1852 he 
 invested in forty acres of totally unim- 
 proved land in Section 16, Rockland 
 township, shortly afterward removing 
 thereon, and making their home in the 
 frame shanty then standing. A few 
 years later he commenced to devote his 
 time exclusively to the cultivation and 
 improvement of his land, on which a vast 
 amount of clearing needed to be done, 
 and he labored early and late to reduce 
 it to a fertile condition, a task which he 
 saw accomplished after years of perse- 
 vering toil. In addition to clearing and 
 improving the original purchase, he added 
 to it from time to time, ultimately be- 
 coming owner of 200 acres of prime land, 
 all accumulated from the four hundred 
 dollars he saved while working as a day 
 laborer. Having risen by his own exer- 
 tions to such enviable position among 
 the leading farmers in Rockland town- 
 ship, he was trul}' a self-made man, and 
 one of the few remaining pioneers of this 
 section, who did so much toward opening 
 up and improving the country. During 
 their half century or more of wedded life 
 Mrs. Cashman had, by her thrifty man- 
 agement of the household affairs, assisted 
 her husband greatly in the gathering to- 
 gether of his property. Mr. Cashman 
 died October 12, 1894, aged seventy-six 
 years. 
 
 Politically William Cashman was for- 
 merly a Democrat, but though never a 
 strict partisan, he in the later years of 
 his life was altogether independent, in- 
 variably selecting the best man regard- 
 less of part}'. Though not a politician, 
 he was called upon to serve his township 
 as chairman, an office in which he gave 
 complete satisfaction. In religious connec- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 485 
 
 tion he was a member of St. Francis Cath- 
 olic Church, De Pere, as is his widow, and 
 was highly respected wherever known. 
 After their removal to Wisconsin their 
 family was increased bj^ children as fol- 
 lows: William, who is now a resident of 
 Colorado; Thomas, deceased when six 
 years of age; Julia, Mrs. Patrick Curley, 
 of Stiles, Mich. ; Kate, Mrs. Martin Mc- 
 Donough, of Wausaukee, Wis. ; Edward, 
 a farmer of Rockland township; John, of 
 Washington, and Celia, who died at the 
 age of si.x years. Mary and Ellen, who 
 were born in Boston, are now deceased. 
 
 M 
 
 GAGNON, Green I^ay, Wis- 
 consin. This gentleman was 
 born in Louisville, Canada, 
 December 6, 1841, and leaving 
 his home before he was ten years old 
 went to Montreal with the intention of 
 attending school, instead of which he was 
 put to work. On discovering that he 
 was placed on his own responsibility, he 
 hired out to learn the trade of baker, at 
 which he worked eleven months, at the 
 end of which time he commenced to 
 learn the art of wig-making, and for 
 three months worked with a man who, 
 unfortunately, then died. Mr. Gagnon 
 then hired out as porter on the ' ' Riche- 
 lieu," of the mail boat line, which boat 
 ran between Montreal and Toronto. 
 When he got to the latter city he found 
 he liked the place so well that he hired 
 out as a bell-boy in the "Rossin House," 
 and after working there some time got 
 acquainted with William Osborn, a wig- 
 maker and barber, with whom he re- 
 mained five years, part of the time 
 finishing his trade and part of the time in 
 partnership. From there he went to 
 Buffalo, N. Y. , thence to New York 
 City, where he worked in a wig establish- 
 ment about six months, and then pro- 
 ceeded to Boston, thence to Troy, from 
 the latter place returning to New York, 
 thence back to Toronto, Canada, where 
 he sojourned a few months. From 
 
 Toronto he went east as far as Quebec, 
 from there returned west to Montreal, 
 thence journeyed to Ottawa, and from 
 there to Peterboro. From Peterboro he 
 journeyed to Lindsay, thence to Port 
 Hope, from there to Belleville, then 
 northwest to Owen Sound, and from 
 there to Penetanguishene, thence to 
 Guelph, thence to London, and thence 
 to Hamilton — all in Ontario. From 
 Hamilton he once more went to Buffalo, 
 N. Y. , from there to Toledo, thence to 
 Detroit, thence to Muskegon, Mich., from 
 there to White Lake, thence to Chicago, 
 where he engaged in wig-making three 
 months. From Chicago he once more 
 went to Montreal, after which he viewed 
 a little of the country, and then, con- 
 cluding to embark in business for himself, 
 he bought out a place in Montreal and 
 remained there two months. Finding, 
 however, that it was too much of a 
 French city for him, he left there and 
 came back to Oconto, Wis., with fifty 
 cents in his pocket, which had to be 
 divided between three brothers, the price 
 of the cheapest meal that could be got 
 being fifty cents ! And he says he never 
 knew the value of a dollar until he struck 
 Oconto. After spending a year in this 
 town Mr. Gagnon moved to Muskegon, 
 Mich., but did not remain there any 
 length of time, as he came back to Wis- 
 consin, and locating in Green Bay has 
 lived here ever since. In the course of 
 his travels he was twice shipwrecked: 
 Once in 1863, on LakeErie, and again 
 in 1864 on the Georgian Bay, on which 
 latter occasion he was on the "Moun- 
 taineer," a three-masted sailing vessel. 
 
 In October, 1870, Mr. Gagnon was 
 married to Miss Emily Porier, who died 
 March 4, 1873, leaving two children: 
 Archie, who died in 1880, and Emily, 
 now Mrs. Harry Donville, of Green Bay. 
 On June 2, 1875, our subject married 
 Kate Malt, a native of County Kildare, 
 Ireland, who died July 29, 1884, leaving 
 no children; she had long been an invalid. 
 Since her death Mr. Gagnon has lived 
 
486 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 alone. Politically he is a Democrat; in 
 rclif^ious connection a member of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 Joseph Gagntjn, grandfather of our 
 subject, was by occupation a farmer, and 
 a man of remarkable physical strength, 
 never knowing what sickness was until a 
 few hours before his death, which oc- 
 curred when he reached the great age of 
 one hundred and one years. He was 
 married when eighteen years of age, and 
 his wife lived ncarl)' as long a life as he, 
 lacking but two or three weeks of being 
 one hundred 3'ears old when she died. 
 They had a family of sixteen children. 
 
 George Gagnon, their son, father of 
 our subject, was born in France, and 
 when but a boy came with his parents to 
 America, the family residing at Wolf 
 River, Canada. During his youth he 
 learned the miller's trade, which he fol- 
 lowed all his life. In 1839 he married 
 Harriet Hibbard, who was a native of 
 England and daughter of Enis and Elsie 
 (Armstrong) Hibbard, at that time living 
 in Louisville, Canada, where Mr. Hibbard 
 was engagetl in the millwright business, 
 in which he met with gratifj'ing success, 
 continuing that line of work until his 
 death. In i iS69 George Gagnon came 
 with his family to Oconto, Wis., where 
 he remained until 1877, thence removing 
 to Marinette, where he yet resides, having 
 retired from business. The children of 
 this worthy couple were M. (our subject), 
 George, Edward, Amelia, Enis (deceased 
 at the age of twenty years), Elsie and 
 Alfred. George now lives with his father 
 in Marinette, the mother having died 
 December 29, 1886, at that place, where 
 her remains now rest. 
 
 WILHELM PAMPERIN, resident 
 of Howard township. Brown 
 county, was born November 4, 
 1835, in Mecklenburg, Germany, 
 a son of Henry and Margaret (Hallis) 
 Pamperin, who both died in Germany, the 
 mother at the age of forty and the father 
 
 at the age of sixty. They were the par- 
 ents of four sons. 
 
 Wilhelm Pamperin was taught the 
 trades of tailor and shoemaker, and in 
 1848 came to the United States in the 
 sailing vessel '"Howard," landing in New 
 York after a passage of forty days, a few 
 days later starting lor the West, via Buf- 
 falo and the lakes, and arriving at Mil- 
 waukee. For five months he was em- 
 ployed in clearing land in the vicinity, and 
 then went to Calumet, where he worked 
 as a shoemaker six months, and then, in 
 August, 1849, located in Green Bay, 
 where he worked at shoemaking until 
 1851. He was married, June 6, 1850, to 
 Miss Anna Klasson, who was born August 
 24, 1828, in Holland, daughter of John 
 and Christine Klasson, the former of 
 whom came to the United States in 1848 
 in the sailing vessel ' ' Liebenough," being 
 seven weeks on the voyage. He died in 
 Fort Howard, Wis., at the age of si.xt}- 
 eight years; his wife had died in Holland 
 at the age of fifty-two. He had been an 
 officer in the great Napoleon's army, and 
 the family was well connected. Anna 
 was the only daughter in his fainil\- of 
 three children. 
 
 To the union of Wilhelm and Anna 
 Pamperin have been born fourteen chil- 
 dren, of whom nine are still living, as 
 follows: Anna C. , who is married, and 
 has three children; William C, a farmer 
 of Howard township; Louisa, who is mar- 
 ried, and has seven children; Josephine, 
 who is married and has two children; 
 Theodore A. , who is married and has two 
 children; Fred, married; Rosa, a school 
 teacher; Emily, also a school teacher, 
 and Sophia, bookkeeper for her brother 
 at Oconto; they have all been highly ed- 
 ucated, either at Milwaukee or Green 
 Bay, or in the best schools of Oshkosh; 
 some of the sons are quite prominent as 
 business men or farmers. 
 
 In 1 85 1 Wilhelm Pamperin left Green 
 Bay and opened the first shoe shop in 
 Fort Howard, carrying it on with great 
 success until 1857, when he bought his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL HE CORD. 
 
 487 
 
 present propert\-, li\ing for a number of 
 years in an old frame house and later 
 erecting his present handsome residence. 
 During the inteivai, however, he bought 
 several farms, which he disposed of at a 
 profit, and has been quite prosperous in 
 all his undertakings. He owes much of 
 his prosperity to his amiable helpmeet, 
 for together they have earned every cent 
 of their present fortune, on which they 
 are now living in peaceful retirement, in 
 the full enjoyment of the esteem of their 
 neighbors. In politics Mr. Pamperin has 
 always been a Democrat, having cast his 
 first Presidential vote for Franklin Pierce, 
 and he has been faithful in his party afiil- 
 iations ever since. The family ae up- 
 right in all their transactions, and Mr. 
 Pamperin is universally regarded as a use- 
 ful and valuable citizen. 
 
 M 
 
 ATTHIAS THORNTON (de- 
 ceased) was a son of Michael 
 and Mary (Conway) Thornton, 
 natives of Ireland, who came 
 to America in 1848, and for seven years 
 resided in Canada, thence coming to the 
 United States and settling in Cato, Mani- 
 towoc Co,, \\'is. Here they purchased 
 a farm in the wilderness, which they 
 cleared up, having gone through the 
 same tedious process in Canada. There 
 were five children in the family, viz.: 
 Thomas, Matthias (deceased), Mary (de- 
 ceased), Sarah (deceased) and John. The 
 parents died in Cato, and Thomas now 
 lives on part of the old homestead; 
 John is practicing medicine in Lansing, 
 Iowa. 
 
 On the marriage of Matthias Thornton 
 to Miss Catherine A. Peppard, May 9, 
 1859, his father gave him 120 acres of 
 good land, containing some improve- 
 ments. Matthias lived here until 1882, 
 when the entire estate was sold and di- 
 vided among the heirs, 240 acres being 
 bought in by Matthias, on which tract 
 his widow now makes her home. Mr. 
 Thornton passed through all the priva- 
 
 tions, vicissitudes and hardships of pio- 
 neer life, and had succeeded in bringing 
 his farm to a high state of cultivation 
 when he met his untimely death while 
 going to Church, December 5, 1890, 
 caused by a runaway horse. His remains 
 were interred at Duck Creek, and were 
 followed to their last resting-place by a 
 large number of friends. He died m the 
 Catholic faith, in which Church he had 
 held lay offices of trust and honor. In 
 politics he was a Democrat, and while 
 a resident of Cato held several public 
 offices, but declined public service after 
 becoming a citizen of Brown county. 
 The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Mat- 
 thias Thornton were thirteen in number, 
 as follows: Mary Ann, born February 27, 
 i860; Michael, born February 14, 1862; 
 JohnH., born January i i, 1864; Thomas, 
 born February 19, 1866; Catherine, born 
 May 16, 1868; Walter, born June 5, 
 1S70; Matthias, born January 18, 1872; 
 Celia, born January 24, 1874; Alice, 
 born October 19, 1876; Ellen, born Jan- 
 uary 15, 1878; William, born November 
 10, 1880; Francis, born July 21, 1882; 
 and Edward, born February 22, 1884. 
 Of the above Michael died November 12, 
 1893, and left a widow with four children 
 — Sophia, Frederick. Daniel and Mary. 
 
 Catherine Anna Peppard, daughter of 
 John and Mary (Madigan) Peppard, was 
 born August 3, 1840, in County Clare, 
 Ireland. There were eight children in 
 this family, named as follows: Cath- 
 erine A., Patrick H., Michael (deceased), 
 Mary, John, Bridget (deceased), Thomas 
 and Daniel (the last named also deceased). 
 Of the survivors, Catherine A. will be 
 mentioned farther on; Patrick H. is a car- 
 penter in Chicago. 111., and has a family; 
 John is a farmer of Cato, Manitowoc coun- 
 ty. Wis. ; Thomas is a miner of Deadwood, 
 Dak., and Mary is the wife of John O'Con- 
 ner, a farmer. 
 
 Miss Catherine A. Peppard was about 
 nine years of age when she was brought 
 to America by her parents, who landed 
 in New Orleans; a few days later the fam- 
 
488 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ily went to Louisville, Ky., where the 
 father was employed on a railwa\^ train 
 for some time; they then went to Jeffer- 
 sonville, Ind., and in 1854 came to Wis- 
 consin, where the father bought eighty 
 acres of land in a dense forest, inhabited 
 only by Indians and wild beasts. A clear- 
 ing was made, and a 14x16 cabin put 
 up, in which the family lived until a fine 
 farm was developed and better accommo- 
 dations afforded. There the father died 
 July I, T<S9i, and was buried; the mother 
 passed from earth October 28, 1892, 
 while on a visit to her daughter, Mrs. 
 Thornton, in Pittsfield township, Hrown 
 count)', being stricken with paralysis at 
 the age of seventy-six. Since the death of 
 her husband, Mrs. C. A.Thornton has most 
 successfully conducted the farm, and few 
 persons could have manifested a business 
 talent superior to that exhibited by her 
 since she has had the management of the 
 place. 
 
 HII^AM P. HAYDEN, one of the 
 oldest settlers of Pittsfield town- 
 ship, Brown county, was born in 
 Fitzwilliam, N. H., August i, 
 1 8 18, a son of Ezra and Elizabeth (Par- 
 mity) Hayden, who were the parents of 
 eight children, viz.: Sally, Caroline, 
 Israel, Otis, Ruth, Hiram P., Eli/a and 
 Harriet, of whom Hiram P. is the only 
 survivor. 
 
 At the age of seven years our subject 
 was bound out to a man named James 
 Blodget for eight years; but as he was 
 given nothing to eat, save bread and milk, 
 for five consecutive years, he ran away. 
 From that time on he worked at various 
 places and at different employments until 
 nearly twenty-four years of age, when he 
 returned to the home farm, and had con- 
 ducted the place for his father a year and 
 a half when the latter died. A short time 
 after that sad event the farm was sold 
 under foreclosure, and for two years more 
 Hiram worked the place on shares, caring 
 for his aged mother until 1852, when he 
 
 came to Flintville, Brown Co., Wis., his 
 mother remaining in the East with a 
 daughter. Here he found a half acre 
 cleared on the tract on which he settled, 
 occupied by a mill, but there was not a 
 dwelling for six miles back toward Green 
 Bay. He worked through the winter in 
 the mill, nntil January 4, and with others 
 was sleeping in the structure when it was 
 destroyed by fire, and all hands were 
 thrown out into the cold, without cloth- 
 ing, Mr. Hayden saving an overcoat only. 
 He worked all through the remainder of 
 the winter without even a pair of mittens. 
 At last he obtained an order from \^'illiam 
 Lamb on a man in Chicago for money 
 enough to go East. He had been mar- 
 ried there to Mary Prescott, daughter 
 of Eli and Rhoda (Record) Prescott, 
 and to this union had been born 
 three children — Amelia, Myra and Caro- 
 line. On his return West he brought 
 this family with him, and also W. D. Rice, 
 George Holden and his brother Silas. 
 On his arrival at Green Bay he had twelve 
 cents in his pocket and eight persons to 
 care for. But he had a friend, John 
 Tiernan, who settled the bill at the 
 "United States Hotel," and with him 
 they sta3'ed one day at his place across 
 the river. Mr. Hayden walked to Pitts- 
 field, secured an ox-team and returned 
 for his family next day. He went to 
 work at milling, and by the next winter 
 owned a yoke of oxen; in 1855 he bought 
 eighty acres of land, on which were a 
 small clearing and a frame dwelling, and 
 by hard and continuous work he suc- 
 ceeded in making a fortune. 
 
 David Page, Sr.. about the year 1855 
 or 1856, came to Pittsfield, Wis., from 
 Lower Canada. He was a widower, and 
 the father of seven children, viz. : Sam- 
 uel, George, Levi, Martha, Eliza, David 
 and John. He brought with him his son, 
 David, Jr., and for some time they lived 
 with Mr. Hayden. David Page, Jr., 
 married a daughter of Mr. Hayden, and 
 there came to this unioii three children: 
 Hiram David, born March 4, 1859; James, 
 
COMMEMORAtlVE BlOGMAPSlCAL UECORD. 
 
 4S9 
 
 who died in infancy, and Charles, who 
 died at the age of three years. David 
 Page, Jr., had purchased from Mr. Hay- 
 den sixty acres of wild land, but in 1863 
 he enlisted in the Thirty-second Wis. V. 
 I., and started for the front, only reach- 
 ing Oakland, however, when he was taken 
 sick, and on his return homeward died at 
 Green Bay. Mrs. Page and her son, 
 Hiram D., made their home with Mr. 
 Hayden about a year, when Mrs. Page 
 married Solomon Dean, and a few 
 months after this marriage She, too, was 
 called from earth, thus leaving her son, 
 Hiram D., an orphan. From that time 
 forward he lived with his grandfather, 
 Hiram P. Hayden, who was appointed 
 his guardian, until he became of age. He 
 then worked in the woods and on the 
 river through twelve winters. On Sep- 
 tember 6, 1887, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Cora Handeyside, daughter of 
 John and Amelia (Packard) Handeyside. 
 He was then the owner of fifty acres left 
 him by his father, and bought, besides, 
 thirty-si.\ acres from his grandfather, and 
 he is now the owner of i 39.^ acres. The 
 four children born to Hiram D. Page and 
 his wife are named Edith Blanche, Lola 
 B., Cathline B., and one whose name is 
 not given. In politics Mr. Page is a 
 stanch Republican. 
 
 WALTER E. GARDNER, editor 
 and proprietor of the Daily, 
 Sunday and Weekly Gazette, 
 Green Bay, is a native of New 
 York State, born August 7, 1 849, in 
 Watertown. 
 
 The first of the Gardner family, of 
 which Walter E. Gardner is an honored 
 member, came in 1680 from the shores 
 of Old England to those of New England, 
 settling in Rhode Island, where they re- 
 mained for many years, multiph'ing and 
 prospering. From there the immediate 
 progenitors of the subject of these lines 
 moved to New York State, where was 
 born at Saratoga Springs, Henry S. 
 
 Gardner, his father, and who was married 
 to Martha McCully, whose father, Robert 
 McCull}', was of New York nativity, and 
 a son of a well-to-do Scotch farmer who 
 emigrated from the land of shaggy heath 
 and mountain flood to America, settling 
 in New York State. When Walter E. 
 Gardner was a two-year-old child his 
 parents moved from Watertown, N. Y., 
 to Oswego, in the same State, and he 
 was there reared, receiving a liberal edu- 
 cation at the public schools of that city, 
 afterward attending Rochester (N. Y.) 
 University, paying his way through that 
 institution with his boyhood earnings, for 
 at the early age of twelve years we 
 find him self-supporting, commencing his 
 future bright journalistic career in the 
 office of the Oswego Palladiuiii. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Gardner, attracted by 
 the glowing accounts of the marvelous 
 growth and prosperity of Wisconsin, 
 turned his steps hitherward, and in the 
 city of Milwaukee accepted a position as 
 reporter on the Evening Wisconsin, his 
 salary at first being but eight dollars per 
 week; and with the exception of the four 
 years he was serving, under the adminis- 
 tration of President Harrison, in the 
 capacity of United States Consul for the 
 Netherlands (his residence during that 
 period being at Rotterdam), continued 
 with that newspaper some eighteen years, 
 serving at every desk on the editorial 
 floor, including those of city editor, tele- 
 graph editor, managing editor, associate 
 editor, and editor-in-charge during the 
 absence in Europe at various times of the 
 senior proprietor of the paper. As above 
 stated, Mr. Gardner himself was absent 
 in Europe four years on official business, 
 and on his return to Milwaukee in 
 October, 1893, he resumed his old posi- 
 tion on the E7<ening Wiseonsin, retaining 
 his connection therewith until August i, 
 1S94, when he bought the Green Bay 
 Gazette * which has since become one of 
 the newsiest and most readable of the 
 
 * A brief account of the e.irly history of this journal will 
 be found in the sketch o£ Mrs. Rosamond Follett, at Page 17. 
 
490 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 daily papers in tiie State. He has re- 
 modeled the building, doubled the cajxic- 
 ity of the plant, placed the paper on the 
 list of members of the Associated Press, 
 and now receives and publishes daily (in- 
 cludin-^ Sunday, for a Sunday edition was 
 commenced at Easter, 1895) the admira- 
 ble reports of that organization — in fact 
 he has established the paper on thorough- 
 ly metropolitan lines, and not only the 
 city of Green Bay, but the entire county 
 and the State of Wisconsin at large, has 
 reason for congratulation that the (Jti:;ith- 
 is in such safe, sagacious and thoroughly 
 clean hands. In each of twelve towns 
 surrounding Green Bay Mr. Gardner has 
 placed carrier boys, thereby securing for 
 his patrons at these several points the 
 same service as is enjojed in metropoli- 
 tan cities, such as Chicago and New York. 
 The proprietor in his prospectus sa3s: 
 ' ' The publisher of The Gazette is per- 
 suaded that this great north country is 
 entitled to have and will support a li\e, 
 clean, nji-to-date metropolitan paper of 
 its own. It is his purpose to furnish 
 such a paper, which shall give all the 
 news, all the time, and give it prompth' 
 and reliably. " The Gazette is abl}- edited 
 in every department; and is a credit alike 
 to its enterprising editor and proprietor, 
 and to the thriving prosperous city where 
 it now "sings its daily song," and under 
 Mr. Gardner's administration has easily 
 taken front rank among the leading news- 
 papers of the State of Wisconsin. Its 
 editor dedicates the influence of his paper 
 to the building up of the business inter- 
 ests of the city of his adoption, by all 
 proper methods, in which connection, at 
 this period of the history of both Green 
 Bay and Fort Howard, it is not inappro- 
 priate to record that Mr. Gardner was 
 prominently active in securing the recent 
 amalgamation of those two cities. 
 
 On January 20, 1874, Walter E. 
 Gardner and Miss Mary Dunbar, of Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y. , were imited in marriage, and 
 they live in a pleasant home in Green 
 Bay. In religious faith they are mem- 
 
 bers of Plymouth Congregational Church, 
 of Milwaukee; socially he is a member of 
 the F. & A. M., an(l in politics he is a 
 sterling Republican. .Mr. Gardner, in 
 addition to his ability as an editor, pos- 
 sesses the executive skill requisite to the 
 safe conducting of a first-class daily paper, 
 and with such men at the helm of the 
 ship of journalism we can not fail to find 
 that there is jet something in store for 
 our country ami the world even better 
 than aught they have seen, and that 
 there is a bright future before us that 
 will as far surpass the present as this 
 present itself rises above the meanest and 
 most distant past. 
 
 DR. CHARLES WACHEN- 
 REITER, of Pittsiield town- 
 ship. Brown county, a most ex- 
 perienced physician and surgeon, 
 was born in Paris, France, August 25, 
 1842. He is a son of Lawrence and 
 Dorothea Wachenreiter. the former of 
 whom was a ph\sician in the Bavarian 
 army, as well as a prominent citizen in 
 private life. 
 
 Our subject began his studies at the 
 age of nine, and followed them eight years 
 before he entered a university, in which 
 he remained six years; he then had two 
 years of hospital practice, after which he 
 practiced at home until 1872, when he 
 came to America, landing at Baltimore, 
 Md. Thence he went south as far as 
 Georgia; then northward to New York, 
 through Philadelphia and westward to St. 
 Louis; then through nearly all the cities 
 east of the Mississippi river to Chicago, 
 and thence to Menominee, Mich., and 
 throughout the Northwest, stopping for 
 some time at Stephenson, Mich. He 
 finally settled at Bagley, Mich., where he 
 opened a drug store and also engaged in 
 the practice of his profession. Three 
 years later he was burned out. He then 
 went to Daggett, Mich., and thence came 
 to Pittsfield, Wisconsin. 
 
 Dr. Wachenreiter was married Sep- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 491 
 
 tember 2, 1886, to the widow of Charles 
 White, who had died of consumption 
 three years previously. Mr. and Mrs. 
 White came to Pittsfield in 1874, where 
 he bougflit forty acres of land, now the 
 property of Mrs. Wachenreiter. He left 
 one child, Amanda May, now at home 
 and attending school. In 1889 the Doc- 
 tor and his wife settled in Flintville, 
 where he has ever since enjoyed a large 
 and increasing practice. In his politics 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 c 
 
 ONSTANT DAIX. Many of the 
 thrifty well-to-do citizens of 
 Brown county are natives of the 
 Kingdom of Belgium, and among 
 these we find the subject of this sketch, 
 who was born in that country February 
 19, 1838. His father, Anton Daix, who 
 was a farmer, died in 1847, leaving a 
 widow with nine children — six sons and 
 three daughters — and as soon as they 
 were old enough the children were obliged 
 to assist their mother, finding employ- 
 ment principally in the thread mill and 
 coal mines in the vicinity of their home. 
 In 1865 the entire family sailed from 
 Antwerp, and after a voyage of thirteen 
 days landed in New York, from where 
 they immediately came to Wisconsin, ar- 
 riving in Green Bay on the first of June. 
 A few weeks later they purchased forty 
 acres of wild land in Bellevue township, 
 and here the mother passed the remainder 
 of her life, dying in 1879. She was 
 buried in Shantytown cemetery. In re- 
 ligion she was a member of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 Constant Daix was but a small boy 
 when his father died, and being put to 
 work when very young, had but little op- 
 portunity for an education. In 1865 he 
 came with the rest of his family to Wis- 
 consin, and here in 1868 he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Desire Goffard, also 
 a native of Belgium, who bore him five 
 children, only one of whom is living, 
 
 28 
 
 namely: May, born January 21, 1869, 
 now at home. The mother died Decem- 
 ber 25, 1879, and was buried in Shanty- 
 town cemetery. On May 18, 1880, Mr. 
 Daix married, for his second wife. Miss 
 Mary L. Friepond, who was born April 
 17, 1848, in Belgium, daughter of Pros- 
 per Friepond, a farmer of that country. 
 They came to the United States in 1856, 
 sailing from Antwerp, and after an ocean 
 voyage of six weeks arrived in this coun- 
 try. On landing they came at once to 
 Green Bay, Wis., reaching here August 
 3, ahd shortly afterward settled in Kewau- 
 nee county. 
 
 Mr. Daix has always followed farming, 
 and has met with no small degree of suc- 
 cess in his chosen pursuit; he owns 140 
 acres of excellent land in Bellevue town- 
 ship. He is also the owner of seven 
 houses in Green Bay, which he rents, and 
 in 1893 he built a brick block where he 
 now makes his home. This property has 
 all been acquired by industry and econ- 
 omy, and Mr. Daix is respected through- 
 out the township for his honest, upright 
 methods. He and his wife are Spiritual- 
 ists in religious belief. In politics he is 
 independent, voting invariably for the 
 best man, regardless of party connection. 
 
 WING. The Wing family was 
 founded in America by one John 
 Wing, who came from England 
 and settled at Sandwich, Mass., 
 in the year 1632. The family is one of 
 the oldest and largest which trace their 
 lineage to early Colonial settlements, and 
 have always preserved an elaborate gene- 
 alogical record which from time to time 
 has been rewritten and enlarged upon. 
 The family took a conspicuous part in the 
 war of the Revolution, no less than thir- 
 ty-two of its members bearing the name 
 of Wing serving actively in the field in 
 Massachusetts regiments alone, while two 
 members of the family served from Con- 
 necticut, two from New York and others 
 
492 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE niOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 from Rhode Island. The original farm, 
 located at Sandwich by old John Wing 
 two hundred and sixtj-throe years ago, 
 is still in the possession of the family, and 
 it is said that over five hundred <if his 
 descendants are buried upon it. 
 
 The Wing family has furnished sev- 
 eral distinguished names to the history of 
 the country, among whom may be men- 
 tioned Asa S. Wing, the friend and co- 
 laborer of Gerret Smith in the cause of 
 freeing the slaves, and to whose memory 
 the friends of Freedom erected a momi- 
 ment at Mexico, N. Y., in 1854, the ded- 
 ication address being delivered by Fred- 
 erick Douglas. Asa S. Wing was the 
 uncle of the late I^ufus I.. Wing, of Ke- 
 waunee county. Wis. .\nother distin- 
 guished member of the family was K. 
 Rumsey Wing, who at the age of twenty- 
 four years was made a foreign minister of 
 the United States to Ecuador, where he 
 died, and his remains were brought back 
 to his native land by a government war 
 vessel sent there for that purpose. 
 
 The ^^'ings of Kewaunee county are 
 descended directh' from one Josejih W ing, 
 who settled in l3artmonth, Mass., about 
 the year 1 720. Among his children was one 
 son named Jabez, who also lived at Dart- 
 mouth (now I'^air Haven), and reared a 
 large family of children. He had one son 
 named John, who married Margaret 
 Buffam, and removed from Massachusetts 
 to White Creek, Washington Co.. N. Y., 
 about the the year 1770. jnlin \\'ing had 
 a large family of children, among whom 
 was William, who married Esther Follett, 
 and also lived at White Creek. He had 
 one son named James, who married Mary 
 Sweet, and about 1825 removed to Mar- 
 shall, Oneida Co., N. Y., later, in 1848, 
 to Brcthertown, Calumet Co., Wis., thus 
 founding the Wisconsin branch of the 
 family. He was the father of the late 
 Ixufus L. Wing, of Kewaunee, and the 
 grandfather of Judge Geo. W. \\'ing, 
 now residing at Kewaunee. 
 
 Ri'Fis I^. Wing. Perhaps no man 
 was more widely known throughout the 
 
 peninsular counties from the year of i860 
 up to the time of his death than the late 
 Rufus L. Wing, of Kewaunee. Mr. Wing 
 played a ver\' prominent part in every 
 movement for the betterment of the sec- 
 tion in which he lived, and his memory is 
 still held in great esteem by the people of 
 the two counties of Door and Kewaunee. 
 He came of hardy, sterling Quaker an- 
 cestry, not given much to show, liut im- 
 bued with the hard connnon sense of New 
 England logic 
 
 I'iufus E. \\'ing was born at Marshall, 
 Oneida Co., N. Y., August 20, 1832. 
 His early life was spent upon a farm, and 
 his education was such only as was pro- 
 vided by the public schools of the day. 
 Ill 1848 he came with his parents to W'is- 
 consin and located at Chilton, Calumet 
 county, where he learned the carpenter's 
 trade, which he followed for a number of 
 years. In September, 1855, he was mar- 
 ried at Gravesville, Wis., to Miss Mary 
 E., the eldest daughter of Hon. Geo. W. 
 Elliott, one of the pioneer settlers of 
 Fond du Lac county. 
 
 About this time Mr. Wing began the 
 study of law in the office of his cousin, 
 the late Gen. H. J. Sweet, at Chilton, 
 was admitted to the practice of law at 
 Chilton, December 21, i860, and imme- 
 diately thereafter took up his residence at 
 Ahnapee, where he had been preceded by 
 his father-in-law, Elliott, in 1857. Be- 
 fore his removal to Kewaunee county he 
 had served a term as ileputy county 
 clerk of Calumet county. In the sum- 
 mer of 1862 he first enlisted in the Twen- 
 ty-first Wis. \'. I., and raised part of a 
 company at Ahnapee for that regiment; 
 but before the regiment went to the front 
 he received a commission to raise a com- 
 pany for a lake-shore regiment which was 
 recruiting at Sheboygan under Judge 
 David Taylor. He was very^ active in 
 recruiting soldiers up to the sunnner of 
 1 864, when he finall\- went to the front 
 as first sergeant of Company I, Forty- 
 third Wis. \ . I. He was honorably dis- 
 charged with his regiment in July, 1865, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 493 
 
 and returned to his home in Ahnapee, 
 where he resumed the practice of his pro- 
 fession. On January i, i S69, he was ap- 
 pointed deputy county clerk of Kewaunee 
 county, and in March following removed 
 with his family to Kewaunee, where he 
 continued to reside up to his death, which 
 occurred March i, 1889. During the 
 period of his life at Kewaunee he held 
 many offices of public trust, having been 
 county clerk, district attorney and the 
 first president of the vilhige of Kewaunee, 
 when it was organized. He was a prom- 
 inent member of the F. & A. M., I. O. 
 O. F. , G. A. I\. and Temple of Honor, 
 and held the position of senior vice-com- 
 mander of the department of \\'isconsin 
 up to within five days of his decease. In 
 politics, he was a Republican, a vigorous 
 advocate of the cause of Temperance, and 
 in the fall of 1883 was nominated for 
 member of Congress by the Prohibition- 
 ists of the District. He died at Kewau- 
 nee, March i, 1889, after a brief illness 
 of three days. The funeral services held 
 over his remains brought together from 
 all parts of the peninsula one of the 
 largest assemblages of people ever con- 
 vened in these parts. No more striking 
 testimony to his zeal, honesty of purpose, 
 and worth as a man could be offered 
 than the fact that on the day of his 
 funeral, although he was known far and 
 wide as an advocate of the cause of Tem- 
 perance, every saloon in the city of Ke- 
 waunee was closed in honor of his mem- 
 ory. A special memorial service was 
 held by the bar of the county in open 
 court. The camp of Sons of \'eterans 
 at Kewaunee is named the I^. L. 
 Wing Camp, a tribute to his record as a 
 patriotic and worthy soldier of the Re- 
 public. His widow and only son. Judge 
 George W. Wing, are still living at Ke- 
 waunee. 
 
 Georgk W. Wing was born September 
 I, 1856, in Chilton, Calumet Co., Wis., 
 and was consequently about four years 
 old when the family moved to Ahnapee, 
 at the common schools of which place he 
 
 received a liberal education, afterward, in 
 1 87 1, commencing a full literary and 
 classical course at Lawrence University, 
 Appleton. In 1873 he returned to 
 Ahnapee, and, although but a youth of 
 sixteen summers, he, in partnership, with 
 Charles W. Borgman, founded the A/ina- 
 /<iY Riron/. the first paper published in 
 that village, which they conducted about 
 two years and then sold to W. H. Sey- 
 mour. Mr. ^^'ing at this time entered his 
 father's law office, where he diligently ap- 
 plied all his energies to the study of 
 " Blackstone," "Coke upon Lyttleton,"- 
 and other eciually learned legal author- 
 ities, and was duly admitted to the bar 
 October 27, 1877, a few weeks after at- 
 taining his majority. He at once com- 
 menced the practice of his chosen pro- 
 fession in partnershij) with his father at 
 Kewaunee, and has pro\en himself in all 
 things a worthy successor to a worthy 
 father. His clientele is now one of the 
 largest in Kewaunee county, and repre- 
 sents the best class in the community. 
 Fr)r three years, from July i, 1881, to 
 July I, 1884, he was cashier of the Ke- 
 waunee Exchange Bank, at the same time 
 keeping up his law practice. 
 
 On June 20, 1883, Mr. Wing was 
 married at Kewaunee, to Miss Belle E. 
 Dikeman, daughter of C. W. Dikeman, of 
 West Kewaunee, now of Racine, Wis., 
 and two children ha\e come to them: 
 George D., born January 8, 1887, and 
 GrSce W., born February 22. 1892. In 
 his political associations Mr. Wing has 
 always been a stanch Republican, and ii> 
 1888 he served as a delegate to the 
 National Republican Convention, held at 
 Chicago. On December \.[, 1885. he 
 was appointed county judge, an incumb- 
 ency he filled with acknowledged ability 
 till January i, 1890. From June. 1891, 
 till |une, 1893. he served as colonel of 
 the Division of ^^'isconsin Sons of Vet- 
 erans, and in all public enterprises he has 
 shown a spirit of progressiveness char- 
 acteristic of himself and worthy of the 
 honored name he bears. 
 
494 
 
 COJ/MEMOBATirf; BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 THOMAS REYNOLDS. This gen- 
 tleman is a well-known and promi- 
 nent farmer citizen of Jacksonport 
 township, Door county, and none 
 enjo3s to a greater extent the confidence 
 and esteem of the community at large 
 than he, in whom is found one of the 
 best examples of safe conservative enter- 
 prise and indomitable perseverance. 
 
 He is a native of County Longford, 
 Ireland, born in 1841, a son of Michael 
 and Mary Ann Reynolds, respectable 
 farming people of that county, who were 
 the parents of nine children — seven sons 
 and two daughters. The mother died 
 in Ireland in 1855, and in the fall of 
 1865, six weeks after our subject's immi- 
 gration, the father came to Wiscon- 
 sin, settling on a farm in Dane county, 
 where he died in 1880. After leaving 
 school Thomas Reynolds worked on his 
 father's farm till he was twenty-four 
 years old, at which time (fall of 1865) he 
 emigrated to the United States, sailing 
 from Queenstown, Ireland, in company 
 with his sister Catherine, on the steam- 
 ship " Scotland " (which went to the bot- 
 tom of the ocean two months later), and 
 after a voyage of ten days and four hours 
 they landed at New York. From there, 
 after a six-weeks' visit among friends and 
 relatives in that city and Brooklyn, they 
 proceeded to their destination, Wisconsin, 
 and, locating in Dane county, Thomas 
 worked on a rented farm, whither his 
 father came as already recorded. Af the 
 end of a year, however, our subject 
 moved to Jacksonport township, Door 
 county, where his brother John was es- 
 tablished in an extensive lumber and 
 shipping business, in partnership with a 
 Mr. Harris, the style of the firm being 
 Reynolds & Harris Co. With them he 
 worked about twelve months, after which, 
 for four or five years, he was engaged in 
 getting out cedar and other lumber, for 
 railroad, telegraph and other purposes. 
 In the meanwhile, about two years after 
 commencing this industrj', he purchased 
 the estate of Harris, Reynolds & Co., 
 
 who had failed, and continued the busi- 
 ness, which included mercantile, dock 
 and lumber traffic, until 1873, when the 
 financial panic of that year, and the ac- 
 companying crash, overwhelmed him. At 
 the time of his failure he was head of the 
 firm of Reynolds Bros., composed of 
 Thomas, Henry and Michael, and half 
 owner of the business. The creditors he 
 satisfied to the best of his ability, and in 
 an honorable manner. Having now to 
 commence business life again, Mr. Rey- 
 nolds purchased eighty acres of land in 
 Section 27, from which the timber had 
 been cut, but no improvements made, and 
 this he set to work to clear and cultivate, 
 struggling along with his customary 
 energy and perseverance until he once 
 more "got on top." All the improve- 
 ments (and it will be readily seen they 
 were not a few) were made by him, and 
 the transformation of a wild and to many 
 people discouraging scene into a fertile 
 farm equipped with all modern conven- 
 iences, buildings, etc., is due to his indi- 
 vidual care, industry and sound judg- 
 ment. To the original eighty acres he 
 has from time to time added until now he 
 is the owner of 180 acres, half of which 
 has been cleared and improved mainly 
 under his personal supervision, and it will 
 be seen that his natural ability and deter- 
 mination have fully asserted themselves. 
 In April, 1872, Mr. Reynolds was 
 married in Milwaukee, Wis., to Miss Jen- 
 nie Foley, daughter of John Foley, who 
 came frorn Ireland to this country in an 
 early day, and to this union have been 
 born children as follows: Anna, Mabel, 
 John and Thomas, all school teachers, 
 Anna in Oshkosh schools, and Mabel in 
 Sturgeon Bay high school; Paul, attend- 
 ing school, and Edith, Sydney, Lucille, 
 Jennie and Helen, all at home. The en- 
 tire family are members of the Catholic 
 Church; in politics Mr. Reynolds is a 
 stanch Republican, and although a strictly 
 anti-office-seeker was without his knowl- 
 edge elected to the position of chairman 
 of Jacksonport township, in which he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 495 
 
 served two years with credit to himself 
 and satisfaction of his constituents. His 
 family are remarkable for their brightness 
 and intelligence, and are all enjoying the 
 benefits of a first-class education. 
 
 THOMAS H. SMITH, who has been 
 a resident of Wisconsin some 
 thirty years, and whose career has 
 been a most honorable one, well 
 worthy of emulation, is a native of Con- 
 necticut, born in the city of Norwich, June 
 21, 1842. 
 
 His grandfather, Thomas Smith, was 
 a native of England, whence, when a 
 young man, he came to this country, 
 making a settlement in Massachusetts, 
 where he followed his trade, that of dyer, 
 for many years, finally coming to New 
 York State, where he died. He was 
 married in Massachusetts to Miss Mary 
 Bidwell, a native of same, and by her had 
 three sons — John, Samuel and Thomas — 
 and one daughter — Marietta — the latter 
 of whom died young. The sons all learned 
 their father's trade, but during the gold 
 fever of 1849 Samuel and Thomas set 
 out for the new El Dorado, in search of 
 fortunes. 
 
 John Smith, father of our subject, 
 was born in 181 7, at Utica, N. Y. , where 
 he was reared and educated. Moving to 
 Connecticut he continued at his trade 
 there up to his death, which occurred in 
 1852. His wife, Mary B. (Whitney), 
 bore him three children, as follows: 
 Thomas H., Caroline (deceased at the 
 age of three years) and Marietta (wife of 
 George B. Merrick, of Madison, Wis.). 
 The mother of these died in 1856. She 
 
 was a daughter of George and ■ ■ 
 
 (Brooks) Whitney, well-to-do farming 
 people, who had three children: Nathan, 
 Henry and Mary B. John W. Brooks (son 
 of Henr}'), who was a civil engineer, built 
 the first State lock on the Sault Ste. 
 Marie canal, and took a grant of land in 
 payment therefor. Another son, John, 
 
 was superintendent of the Chantucket 
 Company, manufacturers of cloth, which 
 is still in existence. 
 
 Thomas H. Smith, whose name ap- 
 pears at the opening of this sketch, was 
 ten years old when his father died, and 
 fourteen when his mother was called from 
 earth, so that at the very threshold of life 
 he was left an orphan. At Norwich, 
 Conn., he received the advantages of a 
 common-school education, no more, for 
 the lad had now to face the world with 
 no father's affection and no mother's love 
 to cheer his heart. On reaching his 
 seventeenth year he was bound out to the 
 trade of machinist at Norwich, at which 
 he continued until 1864, with the excep- 
 tion of the time he served in the Federal 
 army, which was in 1861, he having en- 
 listed, in response to the first call for 
 troops, in the Second Connecticut Vol- 
 unteer Infantry, ninety-days' service; he 
 participated in the first battle of Bull Run, 
 which was fought July 21, 1861. At the 
 expiration of his term of enlistment he 
 was honorably discharged and returned 
 home. In 1864 he turned his face toward 
 the setting sun, and coming to Wisconsin 
 made his first halt in Green Bay, where, 
 in partnership with John Leathern, he 
 embarked in the lumber business, in a 
 limited way at the start, their first saw- 
 mill, which was erected in Brown county, 
 being but a comparatively small affair. 
 But the days of small things are not to be 
 despised, and from this modest beginning 
 the members of the firm expanded their 
 business till they owned and still own 
 large mills in various places, besides vast 
 pine lands in Wisconsin and Michigan, 
 and a thirty-thousand-acre tract in Louis- 
 iana. In 1873, to their already fast- 
 growing interests, they added water- 
 transportation, at first building a steam 
 tug, and from time to time turning out 
 new vessels and increasing their traffic 
 until now they have a fleet of twelve 
 boats, consisting of tugs and steam-barges, 
 plying between Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay 
 and Chicago, and one wrecking tug. In 
 
496 
 
 COMMEMOUATIVE BIOORAPUICAL liECORD. 
 
 1890 the firm organized a wrecking com- 
 pany with acapitalof $100,000, the busi- 
 ness being known as the Leathern & Smith 
 Towing (S: Wrecking Co., and in thespring 
 of 1894 was organized the Leathern & 
 Smith Lumber Co., their interests in this 
 connection being largely in pine and other 
 lands, as already spoken of. In 1886 
 they applied for and received a charter 
 from the United States Government to 
 construct a toll bridge across the bay at 
 Sturgeon Bay. In 1877 they built a mill 
 at Sturgeon Bay, to which city Mr. Smith 
 at once removed, and has since been a 
 prominent resident of the place. 
 
 In December, 1875, Mr. Smith was 
 married to Miss Anna Daley, who was 
 born at Peterborough, Ontario, daughter 
 of John and Anna Armstrong Daley, the 
 former a native of Canada, where he died, 
 the latter of the North of Ireland, coining 
 to Canada when eight years old. They 
 had a famil)' of five children, nainel}': 
 Mary, Margaret, Ellen, Anna and Denis. 
 The mother is now living with her daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Smith. To our subject and wife 
 were born seven children, named, re- 
 spectively: Sidney T. , Leathern D., 
 Maud, Winnifred, Marietta, Theresa and 
 Leoline, the last mentioned dying when 
 eight years old. In his political jirefer- 
 ences Mr. Smith is a Republican, and has 
 served as a member of the city council of 
 Sturgeon Bay. At his regular trade, that 
 of machinist, he is an expert, and has 
 found his e.xperience in this respect of 
 great assistance to him in his regular bus- 
 iness. He has also always been largely 
 interested in mercantile pursuits, having 
 a store at each of his mills, which are un- 
 der his personal superintendence. Mr. 
 Smith is known as one of the most suc- 
 cessful men of the peninsula. His excel- 
 lent and far-seeing judgment, added to 
 many years of practical experience in con- 
 nection with extensive financial enter- 
 prises, has made him one of the most 
 prominent citizens of the northern part 
 of Wisconsin. Being the architect of his 
 own success, having little or no assistance 
 
 at the beginning, his career may well be 
 emulated by the young men of the pres- 
 ent generation. 
 
 JUDGE FRANK KWAPIL, of the 
 county court, Kewaunee, is a native 
 of Bohemia, born August 15, 1839, 
 in the village of Zales, son of Joseph 
 Kwapil and Mary (Fikejs), his wife. Of 
 the four children in this family the Judge 
 is the only son and the youngest child; 
 one died in infancy; Mrs. \'. Mashek, of 
 Kewaunee, and Mrs. Mary Lenoch, of 
 Marion, Iowa, are his sisters. 
 
 Joseph Kwapil, who was a miller by 
 trade, came to Ameiica with his family in 
 1855, and landing at Quebec, Canada, 
 from there traveled by water to Montreal, 
 thence by rail to Windsor, Ontario, and 
 from there b\- the steamer " Lady Elgin" 
 to Milwaukee, Wis. From that point 
 they drove to Racine, and after remain- 
 ing there one year moved to Darien, 
 Walworth Co., Wis., where the father 
 died in 1856; the mother was called from 
 earth in 1887, while on a visit to her 
 daughter in Iowa. On the death of the 
 father the responsibilities of the family 
 fell upon F'rank, our subject, at that 
 time only a seventeen-year-old lad, he 
 being the only son, and the family re- 
 turned to Racine. Frank here con- 
 tracted to serve an apprenticeship of 
 three years with Huggins & W'ashburn at 
 the stone cutter's trade; but at the close 
 of two 3'ears and four months was seized 
 with a severe illness that compelled him 
 to relinquish the business. He then 
 learned the cigar maker's trade, and es- 
 tablished a factor}- of his own in Racine, 
 which he successfully managed until 1 862, 
 in which year he sold out and enlisted in 
 Company D, Twenty-sixth Wis. V. I., 
 ser\ing as private until the close of the 
 war. He was wounded at the battle of 
 Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863, was 
 sent to the. hospital at Washington, I). C, 
 and then, being unable to endure field 
 service, was transferred to Company A, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 497 
 
 Eighteenth Regiment \'eteran Reserve 
 Corps, receiving his discharge in 1865. 
 He then came to Kewaunee county, and 
 engaged in business at Alaska under the 
 firm name of Hitchcock, Mashek & Kwapil, 
 dealers in general merchandise, wood, 
 railroad ties, tan bark, etc., so continu- 
 ing until 1876, when the firm dissolved 
 and Mr. Kwapil moved to Ahnapee, and 
 here established his present general store. 
 
 In 1892, after the death of Judge P. 
 J. Rooney, Mr. Kwapil was appointed by 
 Gov. Peck to fill the unexpired term, and 
 in the spring of 1893 was re-elected by 
 the people to the same office for the full 
 term of four years. He had always been 
 active as a Republican until the nomina- 
 tion of Greeley, when he became a Dem- 
 ocrat, and while in Alaska continually 
 held some office, such as postmaster, 
 chairman of his town, and other minor 
 offices; and at Ahnapee he was mayor and 
 court commissioner, and still holds his 
 appointment papers to the last office. On 
 July 7, 1868, the Judge was united in 
 marriage with Miss Fannie Jenista, daugh- 
 ter of George Jenista, who was one of 
 the early settlers of Racine county, hav- 
 ing taken up his abode there when Mrs. 
 Kwapil was an infant. To this congenial 
 union have been born five children — four 
 sons and one daughter — named respect- 
 ively: Frank, Milek, Vojta, Joseph and 
 Bozena. Of these, Frank and Milek 
 have charge of the business at Ahnapee, 
 Vojta is a druggist, while Joseph is still 
 at school. In his fraternal affiliations 
 the Judge is a Mason of high standing, 
 being Master of Key Lodge No. 1 74, 
 and a member of Warren Chapter No. 
 8, Palestine Commandery No. 20, and 
 Wisconsin Consistory, thirty-second de- 
 gree. 
 
 That Judge Kwapil is fully qualified 
 for the exalted office which he holds may 
 be deduced from the fact that when he 
 graduated in his earl}' days from the Bo- 
 hemian high school he stood second in a 
 class that numbered over four hundred, 
 and from the fact, also, that besides be- 
 
 ing a classical scholar he speaks fluently 
 three of the living languages — German, 
 Bohemian and English. His official con- 
 duct has never been impugned, and his 
 mercantile career has never been tar- 
 nished with even the breath of suspicion. 
 His social life has always been chaste, 
 and his standing before his fellow men is 
 an evidence that he possesses all those 
 sterling qualities that constitute the born 
 leader. 
 
 JUDGE FITZ JAMES HAMILTON. 
 As an able jurist, clear-headed law- 
 yer, one possessed of a cool, calm, 
 judicial mind, to which is added 
 sterling patriotism, the gentleman, whose 
 name here appears, is entitled to more 
 than a passing notice within the pages 
 of this volume. 
 
 He is a native of Genesee county, N. 
 Y. , born March 1 1, 1842, in the town of 
 Oakfield, at the common schools of which 
 place, and at the Gary Collegiate Insti- 
 tute, also in Oakfield, he was educated 
 up to the time he was nineteen years old, 
 when he commenced school teaching, a 
 vocation he followed some sixteen years 
 in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois, finally in 
 Wisconsin. From 1871 to 1878 he was 
 principal of the schools at Sturgeon Bay, 
 having come to the then village in May, 
 1871. While teaching he formed the 
 resolution of studying for the legal pro- 
 fession, and during his spare time he ap- 
 plied himself so sedulously that in Febru- 
 ary, 1876, he was admitted to the bar. 
 In 1879 he was appointed county judge of 
 Door county by the governor of the State, 
 William E. Smith, and served in that 
 capacity seven years. In the spring of 
 1 88 1 he was elected to this office, receiv- 
 ing the largest majority of votes of any 
 competitor. A Republican in politics, he 
 has from time to time been elected to 
 various civic offices of trust and honor, 
 among which may be mentioned those of 
 president of Sturgeon Bay while it was 
 yet a village; city attorney and city clerk, 
 
498 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 several times, and is now serving in both 
 offices; president of the school board, as 
 well as clerk of the same. In Free- 
 masonry he has taken a very active part, 
 and it was he with others who organized 
 Henry S. Baird Lodge No. 211, Sturgeon 
 Ba}', becoming its first and present master; 
 is a member of Warren Chapter and 
 Palestine Commandery, at Green Bay. 
 He is also affiliated with the I. O. O. F., 
 Peninsula Lodge, Sturgeon Bay. In 1869 
 Judge Hamilton was married at Sharon, 
 Walworth Co., Wis., to Miss Ellen A. 
 Raymond, a native of that county, born in 
 Spring Prairie township in 1843, a daugh- 
 ter of Isaac and Aurelia Raymond, Ohio- 
 ans by birth, who came to Walworth 
 county, Wis., in an early day. Five 
 children were born to this union, to wit: 
 One that died in infancy; Ami Leroy, de- 
 ceased when si.\ months old; and Flor- 
 ence, when four years old; and Carrie 
 Belle and Eva Maud, living. 
 
 Joseph Hamilton, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born, in 1796, in Weathersfield, 
 Vt., a son of Thomas Hamilton, who, 
 in company with two brothers, came from 
 their native country, the North of Ire- 
 land, to America, where Thomas fought all 
 through the Revolutionary war. Joseph, 
 father of the Judge, was by trade a mill- 
 wright, and during the war of 18 12 was a 
 soldier from Vermont. In his native town 
 he married Miss Miranda Grout, born in 
 the same town in 1797, daughter of Eiihu 
 and Judith (Spafford) Grout, the former 
 of whom was one of the first three set- 
 tlers of Vermont. Judith Spafford was a 
 daughter of Joseph Spafford, Sr. , and 
 they trace their ancestry back to one 
 John Spafford, who came to America 
 from England in 1638, and died in 1678. 
 The Grouts and Spaffords were very 
 prominent families in the settlement of 
 Vermont, whence in later years they 
 migrated to Massachusetts. To Joseph 
 and Miranda (Grout) Hamilton were born 
 twelve children, namely: Alonzo, Lorinda, 
 Adelaide, Maria, Caroline. George, Joseph 
 N., Cyren S., Fitz James, and three 
 
 that died in infancy. Of these, George 
 and Joseph N. served in the Union army 
 during the Civil war. The father of this 
 family moved from Vermont to New York 
 State in 1836, thence, in 1848, to Wal- 
 worth county, Wisconsin, but in 1851 re- 
 turned to New York, from there moving 
 to Ohio, and thence to Allegan county, 
 Michigan, where he died in 1873, as also 
 his wife, in 1874. 
 
 SAMUEL PERRY, one of the most 
 prosperous and influential citizens 
 of Kewaunee county, and for the 
 past forty years a resident of the 
 thriving city of Ahnapee, is a native of 
 Ireland, born April 12, 1835, at Rilbuy 
 Abbey, County Tipperary, where for many 
 generations, as far back as can be traced, 
 the family have resided. 
 
 The Perrys belonged to the better 
 class of the Irish gentry, and the old 
 Perry estate is yet in the possession of 
 the family, two brothers and one sister 
 of our subject yet residing on the prop- 
 erty. For generations the family have 
 borne a spotless reputation, and their 
 honor has never been challenged, their 
 good name being as sacred to them as 
 their lives. They held many high posi- 
 tions of honor and trust in County Tip- 
 perary, which they invariably filled with 
 credit and ability, and a granduncle of 
 our subject, Samuel Perry of Woodruff, 
 was high sheriff of the county, and al- 
 though a strict man in his official duties 
 was beloved by rich and poor alike — 
 moreover as a public officer he gave the 
 utmost satisfaction to both the local au- 
 thorities and the government-in-chief. 
 Grandfather Henr}^ Perry was an estated 
 man, a true type of the fine old Irish 
 gentleman, a man of commanding pres- 
 ence, and a strict Churchman of the 
 Episcopal denomination. He died at the 
 age of eightj-five years, his wife when 
 over seventy years of age. They had 
 eight children, ail of whom reached ma- 
 
^-^^Z^.CX^'^ c/X 
 
 y 
 
COMMEMOKATIVB BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 50 r 
 
 turity, of whom, two sons — Richard and 
 Thomas — and one daughter — Mrs. Mary 
 Thompson — crossed the Atlantic to Can- 
 ada. 
 
 John Perry, father of our subject, was 
 a cavalry officer in the British service, a 
 splendid looking cavalryman, six feet 
 in height, and broad in proportion, a 
 scion of the house of Perry who knew 
 how to uphold the dignity and honor 
 of the family name. He passed his 
 declining years at the old homestead in 
 Ireland, dying there at the age of eighty- 
 seven years. He managed the estate 
 with ability, and had hosts of friends all 
 over the country, where he and his wife 
 were held in high esteem by even the 
 Catholic portion of the community, who 
 as a rule were not inclined to be friendly 
 toward the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 element. John Perry married Miss Susan 
 Mintion, daughter of Col. Edward Min- 
 tion, of the British army, whose estates, 
 Foyle and Fanner, were only a short 
 distance from the Perry homestead. 
 Capt. William Mintion, son of Col. Min- 
 tion, fought at the battle of Waterloo in 
 the Thirteenth Light Dragoons. The 
 Mintions, like the Perrys, were an old and 
 honorable family, peers in all respects of 
 the Perrys, and as high-minded and jeal- 
 ous of their good name. Mrs. Susan 
 (Mintion) Perry died at the age of seven- 
 ty-five years, leaving behind the impress 
 of a woman of strong convictions and 
 beauty of mind and character. She was 
 well-born, and a true mother — at once 
 the foundation and keystone of all home 
 joys. Small tribute, unfortunately, has 
 been bestowed upon beautiful woman- 
 hood and noble motherhood, in the an- 
 nals of our histories; but the subject of 
 this biography, who has made much of 
 his opportunites, desires here to acknowl- 
 edge to the world, and to posterity, his 
 mother's good influence on his whole life. 
 Mr. and J Irs. John Perry were the 
 parents of eight sons and two daughters, 
 namely: Edward, Henry, Thomas, Will- 
 iam, John, Samuel, Mathew, Richard, 
 
 Anna (wife of Henry Sutliff), and Eliza- 
 beth; of these, John, Samuel, Mathew, 
 and Richard came to the United States, 
 settling, about the year 1856, inAhnapee, 
 Wis., where they have since remained, 
 Samuel traveling extensively in New 
 York, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky prior 
 to coming here. He joined his brothers 
 in Kewaunee, and they at first worked to- 
 gether in getting out all kinds of ties, 
 posts, poles and logs, cutting them chief- 
 ly on the banks of the Ahnapee river, 
 and floating them down to its mouth 
 formed them into rafts; later they were 
 put on scows and sent to Milwaukee and 
 Chicago markets. The brothers were 
 prosperous, even in this business, which 
 called for much exposure and hard work, 
 and each of them deserves credit for his 
 courage and will power in overcoming all 
 obstacles. They possessed stout hearts 
 as well as strong limbs, and no task ap- 
 peared too difficult for them to overcome. 
 Two of the brothers — Mathew and Rich- 
 ard — are now living in Forestville, Door 
 Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Samuel Perry, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, received a good public- 
 school education in his native country, 
 and at the age of seventeen came to 
 America, settling in Ahnapee. Here, 
 about the year 1861, he opened a small 
 store wherein he soon built up a good 
 trade, and by perseverance, energy, hon- 
 esty and good business ability amassed an 
 honorable fortune. Eventually he be- 
 came the heaviest buyer, at that time, in 
 the lumber trade, dressing the rough ma- 
 terial and shipping it mostly to Chicago 
 and Milwaukee. From time to time he 
 expanded his business in Ahnapee until, 
 to-day, he is proprietor of the largest store 
 in the county. He is also heavily inter- 
 ested in real-estate business in and around 
 Ahnapee, where, like few other business 
 men, he is acquainted with the value of 
 every foot of ground; is also interested in 
 both the factories located at Ahnapee — 
 the Veneer & Seating Factory and the 
 Furniture Factory — in each of which he 
 
502 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is a stockholder, and president of the first 
 named, his son Joiin heinj,' president of 
 the other. He has erected many hand- 
 some buildings in Ahnapee, and in every 
 \va\- has given his influence for the good 
 of the town and advancement of its in- 
 terests. 
 
 In January. 1 860, Samuel Perry was 
 married in Forestville, Door Co., Wis., 
 to Miss Elizabeth McCormick, a lady of 
 Scotch descent, but whose immediate an- 
 cestry moved to County Antrim, Ireland, 
 and lived and died near the "Giants' 
 Causeway " in that county. Joseph Mc- 
 Cormick, her great-great-grandfather, died 
 there, and about the year \jCiO his widow 
 came to .America with her family of chil- 
 dren, settling in Chester county, Penn. 
 Their children were Henry, Alexander, 
 David, Margaret, Hannah and John; 
 of these, Henry died March 10, 181 2, at 
 Painted Post, N. Y., the father of John, 
 Abraham, David, Joseph, Euphias, Henry, 
 Jacob M., and Hannah; of these, Joseph 
 had five children, to-wit: Guy, John H., 
 Marcus, Elizabeth M. and Hiram; of 
 whom, Marcus had two children: Eliza- 
 beth (Mrs. Samuel Perry) and Mary Vir- 
 ginia, and the former of these two, by her 
 marriage with Mr. Perry, became the 
 mother of two chiUhen; John (who will 
 be more fully spoken of presently) and 
 Alice (Mrs. Birdsel), of Ahnapee. In 
 1874 Mr. Perry, our subject, married, for 
 his second wife. Miss Bertha Klatt, who 
 has borne him six children, viz. : Lydia, 
 Clara, Jennie, Minnie, William and Maude. 
 Mr. Perry is a prominent member of the 
 Episcopal Church at Ahnapee, and is a 
 liberal contributor toward its support, 
 while his wife is prominently identified 
 with the Lutheran Church. In political 
 preferences he has for the most part been 
 a supporter of the principles of the Demo- 
 cratic party, in both State and local 
 issues, and he had the honor of being 
 elected the first mayor of Ahnapee, a 
 position he held for years, finally posi- 
 tively declining to serve longer. A most 
 successful man in every way, he to-day 
 
 occupies a position of influence and 
 honor in the community, which in 
 itself stands as a monument to his 
 character for all future generations. A 
 " chip of the old block," he has borne out 
 all the family tradition, and fulfilled all 
 the requirements of a useful career. In- 
 deed, the world is the better for such men 
 as Samuel Perry having lived, whose blame- 
 less life and business enterprise and activ- 
 ity leave valuable lessons, not onlj' to their 
 posterity, but to any and every youth of 
 a new and progressive generation. In 
 physical appearance Mr. Perry has in- 
 herited his father's stature and manly 
 bearing, which make him a conspicuous 
 personage in an}' gathering. He is pos- 
 sessed of a clear eye indicative of a keen 
 intelligence, and a clean conscience. His 
 kindness of heart is well known to every 
 inhabitant of his town and count}-, and 
 his entire life reflects credit on the hon- 
 orable name of Perry. 
 
 John Perry, eldest son of Samuel 
 Perry by his first wife, Elizabeth (McCor- 
 mick), was born April 12, 1863, at For- 
 estville, Door Co. , Wis. , and received his 
 education at the schools of Ahnapee. At 
 the age of eighteen years he commenced 
 a mercantile career in his father's store, 
 of which he has become, practically, the 
 general manager, as well as the book- 
 keeper. He has also been identified with 
 various business movements, and during 
 one year was secretary for the Ahnapee 
 Furniture Co., of which he is a stock- 
 holder, and at the present time president, 
 having been elected to that position in 
 July. 1893. 
 
 In April, 1884, he was married, in 
 Ahnapee, to Miss Frances Estella Ross, 
 a native of that town, daughter of Charles 
 Ross, for many years a resident of Ahna- 
 pee, where he held many offices of trust; 
 he is now sheriff of Santa Barbara county, 
 Cal., his present home; he is a veteran of 
 the Civil war, losing an arm in the service 
 of his country. Three children were born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. John Perry, named re- 
 spectively, Lottie E. , John and Howard. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 503 
 
 r""^REDERICK POSER (deceased) 
 1-^ was a native of Saxony, German}', 
 I born April 2, 1824, and was the 
 
 son of a blacksmith. His mother 
 passed away when he was quite young, 
 and he was but fourteen years old when 
 his father died. He was the youngest in 
 a family of five children — two sons and 
 three daughters — and after his father's 
 death learned the blacksmith trade, 
 worked in different European cities, came 
 to America in 1853, worked at his trade 
 in Milwaukee until 1855, and in May ville, 
 Dodge Co., Wis., until 1856, and then 
 settled on a farm two miles west of Ke- 
 waunee village. Here he left his family 
 and worked for Dean, Taylor & Borlin, 
 at Carlton, Kewaunee county, until 1865, 
 in which year he sold his farm and moved 
 to Kewaunee city, where he carried on 
 business for himself until 1882, when his 
 eldest son, John, joined him as partner 
 and they carried on the business together 
 until 1890. Then Charles, another son, 
 bought out the father's interest, and the 
 two brothers continued the trade under the 
 firm name of Poser Bros., adding wagon- 
 making to blacksmithing. In politics 
 Frederick Poser was a Democrat, and has 
 served as alderman and in a few minor 
 offices. He died July 4, 1891, lamented 
 by a large circle of friends, who recog- 
 nized in him an upright man, a useful citi- 
 zen, an affectionate husband and indul- 
 gent parent, and a warm friend. 
 
 The marriage of Frederick Poser took 
 place in Milwaukee, April 24, 1854, to 
 Miss Mary Anna Dishmaker, daughter of 
 Anton Dishmaker, a native of Bavaria, 
 where Mary Anna was born in 1835, the 
 family coming to America in 1853. To 
 this union were born eight children, of 
 whom Maggie died at the age of nine 
 years; John, Anna, Fred, Mary, Augusta, 
 and Charles are married; Edward, who is 
 still single, is a physician in Columbus, 
 Wis., and has an extensive practice. Of 
 the above, John and Charles have a large 
 blacksmith and wagon-making shop in 
 Kewaunee, and have been alluded to as 
 
 partners of their late father; Fred is a 
 member of the firmof Bach, Keiwig & Poser 
 Co., general merchants and owners of one 
 of the finest stores in Kewaunee; Anna is 
 married to Mr. J. Scheuerell, of Milwau- 
 kee; Mary is the wife of John M. Borg- 
 man, one of the leading citizens of Ke- 
 waunee, and Augusta is now the wife of 
 Prof. R. J. O. Hanlan, principal of the 
 Thirteenth Ward School in the city of 
 Milwaukee. 
 
 VOYTA MASHEK, who for many 
 years has been a leader among 
 and thinker for his countrymen, 
 is a native (?f Bohemia, born April 
 18. 1839, in Pohorovic, where for a period 
 of over two centuries the family have re- 
 sided, and in the same homestead have 
 religiously kept up their old-time tradi- 
 tions and customs. This estate, at first 
 known as the " Safranek " estate, came 
 into the possession of the Mashek family 
 either before or during the Thirty Years 
 War, conditional that they should keep it 
 in good repair, pay the taxes, etc., and 
 after a time, by the edict of the Emperor, 
 the entire estate reverted to the Masheks 
 as absolute owners thereof. 
 
 Martin Mashek, father of the subject 
 of this sketch, was also born in the old 
 homestead just referred to, and became a 
 man of considerable ability and literary 
 inclinations, well-read, especially in his- 
 tory. During his lifetime he composed 
 many songs commemorative of past and 
 passing events, chiefly of a religious and 
 patriotic character — songs that to this day 
 are sung in the sunny land of the Czechs. 
 He was twice married: first time to Miss 
 Mary Shema, who died leaving one child, 
 Mary, now living in Bohemia. Martin 
 Mashek subsequently married Miss Anna 
 Bisek, daughter of a well-to-do farmer in 
 Bohemia, and she became the mother of 
 children as follows: Mathias (now owner 
 of the old homestead at Pohorovic), John, 
 Joseph, Wentzel, Voyta, Anna and Katha- 
 rine, all of whom subsequently came to 
 
504 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 America except Mathias, Anna and John. 
 The last named was head teacher and 
 director of the high school for girls in 
 Smichow, a suburb of the city of Prague; 
 was also editor of educational papers and 
 periodicals, wrote articles on Slavic litera- 
 ture, and edited a monthly containing ex- 
 tracts in both the Slavic and Bohemian 
 dialects. In addition to all this he edited 
 a weekly paper for children, and pub- 
 lished books for schools in both the Ger- 
 man and Bohemian languages, as well as 
 drawing books. He died in 1886, highly 
 esteemed and honored by the people, who 
 erected to his memory, as a champion of 
 education and enlightenment, a handsome 
 monument. His son Charles and Jarosh 
 were brought to America, and are now 
 living in Kewaunee, Wis., the former 
 being a business partner with our subject, 
 the latter a machinist. The father of this 
 family died in 1847, aged sixty years. 
 Two of his brothers, Albert and Joseph, 
 participated in the Napoleonic wars, serv- 
 ing as officers in one of the allied armies 
 that fought against the " Corsican ogre," 
 and marched into Paris with the victorious 
 troops after the battle of Waterloo in 
 1815. 
 
 Voyta Mashek, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, secured a thorough education 
 in the city of Prague, Bohemia, in high 
 school (Realshnle), and at the Polytechnic 
 School. When attending school he was 
 employed on two local papers of that city 
 as writer and instructor. At the age of 
 twenty-one he secured an engagement as 
 private secretary to Prince Malinowsky, a 
 Russian nobleman, accompanying him on 
 his travels throughout Europe and else- 
 where. In August, 1 86 1, they visited the 
 United States, landing in Boston, whence 
 they proceeded to New York, the object 
 of the Prince being to view the first im- 
 migrant settlements, and by personal ob- 
 servation ascertain for himself what the 
 United States Government did for the im- 
 migrant, how colonies were organized, 
 etc., in order to report to the Russian 
 government, who were desirous of estab- 
 
 lishing similar colonies on the Amoor and 
 Ousuri rivers in Northeastern Asia. An- 
 other object of the Prince's mission was 
 also to inquire into the practicability or 
 advisability of getting a couple of hundred 
 Bohemian settlers in this country — who 
 had already some experience in coloniza- 
 tion — to move to the Russian territory in 
 Asia and form a colony there. Accord- 
 ingly meetings were organized among the 
 Bohemians in Wisconsin (Racine), Mis- 
 souri and Iowa, the result being that two 
 delegates were appointed to proceed to 
 Russian Asia, make enquiries, take ob- 
 servations, and report their experiences. 
 These delegates traveled to St. Peters- 
 burg, thence to and through Siberia and 
 eastern China, returning to the United 
 States by the way they had gone. In the 
 meantime the officers of the central Rus- 
 sian government had changed, the main 
 supporter (Prof. Hilferding) of the scheme 
 died, and the ^\■hole project collapsed, 
 Prince Malinowsky returning to his own 
 country, while Mr. Mashek remained in 
 Wisconsin, making his home for a time in 
 Racine. Here he established a Bohemian 
 newspaper called the " Slavic," which is 
 still in existence, for the past two \ears 
 edited and published by Lieut. -Gov. 
 Charles Jonas, an old schoolmate of Mr. 
 Mashek, who for a time was a resident of 
 London, England, where he was a corre- 
 spondent for Bohemian newspapers, and 
 Mr. Mashek brought him from there to 
 Racine to take charge of the "Slavic." 
 Our subject then came, in 1863, to Ke- 
 waunee, where for one year he kept 
 hotel, after which he purchased his pres- 
 ent general store, which includes dry 
 goods, groceries, drugs, etc., and in 
 course of time bought and rebuilt vessels 
 for lake navigation and trade, also pur- 
 chased timber lands and built sawmills in 
 Door count}', going extensively into the 
 lumber business in Mackinac (Mich.) 
 county, in all his undertakings prospering 
 and progressing. In 1886 he established 
 the Bank of Kewaunee, of which he was 
 president till January 4, 1894, when he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 505 
 
 resigned preparatory to taking a six- 
 months' trip to California. In the sum- 
 mer of 1892, accompanied by his son, 
 George M., he traveled considerably in 
 Europe and northern Africa, visiting the 
 Desert of Sahara, Sicily, southern and 
 northern Italy, etc., an account of his 
 travels being given by him to Bohemian 
 papers in both Europe and America. 
 
 On October 13, 1863, Voyta Mashek 
 and Miss Anna Kwapil, sister of Frank 
 Kvvapil, county judge of Kewaunee county, 
 were united in marriage, and to them 
 were born two sons and one daughter: 
 Voyta F. and George M., both graduates 
 of Cornell University, and Anna, attend- 
 ing a select school in Detroit, Mich., pre- 
 paring herself to enter the Madison State 
 University. Politically our subject has 
 been a promment Democrat for many 
 years, wielding a wide-felt influence, and 
 was a delegate to the Democratic Con- 
 vention that nominated General Hancock 
 for President. He was the first mayor of 
 Kewaunee, to which office he was elected 
 without opposition, and has been a busy, 
 useful and exemplary citizen, one who, 
 while engaged in the never-ceasing round 
 of cares that are incident to the carrying 
 on of immense extensive businesses, has 
 always found time in which to serve his 
 fellow citizens in public matters. 
 
 GEORGE PINNEY (deceased), who 
 was owner of one of the most ex- 
 tensive nursuries in this part of 
 Wisconsin, and who had been a 
 resident for some thirt}' years or more of 
 Sturgeon Bay township. Door county, 
 was in his lifetime a potent example of 
 what patient purpose, resolute working, 
 earnest endeavor and, withal, natural 
 ability of a high order can accomplish. 
 
 He was a native of Ohio, born August 
 23, 1834, in Mantua, Portage county, a 
 son of Silas and Olive (Jewett) Pinney, of 
 the same nativity, who were the parents 
 of nine children — five sons and four daugh- 
 ters — all of whom grew to maturity, our 
 
 subject being the eldest. When he was 
 three years old the family moved to 
 Geauga county, same State, where his 
 father and uncles built what was known 
 as "Pinney's Mills." Here in early boy- 
 hood he entered the common schools, 
 where he evinced wonderful precocious- 
 ness, particularly in mathematics, in 
 which science he manifested a mental 
 capability far in advance of his years, and 
 which remained to him all his life, for 
 there never was any straight mathemati- 
 cal problem he could not solve. He 
 finished his education at Hiram College, 
 Portage county, Ohio, and was a class- 
 mate of James A. Garfield, and also of 
 Miss Lucretia Randolph, afterward the 
 wife of Mr. Garfield. His parents being 
 poor, Mr. Pinney had to push his educa- 
 tion alone, and pay his own board, his 
 college expenses being defrayed chiefly 
 out of what money he received for work 
 done about the institution and elsewhere. 
 At the same time his bright intellectuality 
 and pronounced ability found him many 
 friends who willingly assisted him in his 
 efforts to secure a good education. At the 
 age of seventeen he compiled a calendar 
 which attracted much attention at the 
 time, and which was published by a 
 firm in Hudson, Ohio, who gave him 
 the sum of forty dollars by way of com- 
 pensation. At that same age he com- 
 menced teaching school, a profession he 
 followed in the winter months with ad- 
 mirable success for twenty-two terms in 
 Indiana, Lorain, Medina and Portage 
 counties, Ohio. After his marriage in 
 1857 he resided in Spencer, Medina Co., 
 Ohio, till i860, and being a good stump 
 speaker took an active part in Lincoln's 
 campaign in that county, later removing 
 to Mantua, Portage county. Prior to 
 this Mr. Pinney, when a boy, having de- 
 veloped considerable mechanical ability, 
 and having a taste for mechanics, was put 
 to work in a rake factory, though he did 
 not continue there long; but years after- 
 ward, while living in Mantua, he, in 
 company with a brother (after trying 
 
5o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fanning operations which proved unsuc- 
 cessful), opened out a machine shop 
 there, which in 18G3 they closed up, and 
 our subject came in that year to Wiscon- 
 sin, where, in \\'rif^htstown. Brown coimty, 
 his father was located, and in Cireen Bay 
 lived an uncle fhalf-brother of his mother 1. 
 The first work he was engaged in was to 
 act as foreman in a shinj^de mill in Hum- 
 boldt township, l^rown count}', for Whit- 
 ney Bros., which required some skill, and 
 although it was the first thing of the kind 
 he had put his hand to, he proved thor- 
 oughly equal to the task. An accident, 
 however, which happened to him nearly 
 proving fatal, he returned to Green Bay, 
 where on recovery he applied himself to 
 some work of a light nature, and after 
 about one year he came to Door county, 
 the circumstances that brought him here 
 being as follows: While a resident of 
 Ohio his natural ability and elocutionary 
 powers attracted no little attention, es- 
 pecially in Methodist circles, in which 
 Church he was all but licensed to preach, 
 and his fame in this respect was soon 
 conveyed to Wisconsin, by means of a let- 
 ter from the minister in Ohio to the one 
 in Green Bay, which authorized or en- 
 titled the family to membership of the 
 Church there. Accordingly Mr. Pinney 
 was prevailed upon to come to Door 
 county, which he accordingly did, jour- 
 neying overland from I)e Pere, where at 
 the time he was engaged in the construc- 
 tion of a flax factory. This was in the 
 fall of 1864, and after looking about him 
 for a suitable spot whereon to settle, he 
 selected Sturgeon Bay, then returned to 
 Green Bay for his family, consisting of 
 his wife and three children, whom he 
 brought to their new home by sailing ves- 
 sel, the trip being made by way of the 
 Fox river and Green Ba\'. The first time 
 the vessel, which was a small one, started 
 with them, a violent gale drove her back 
 to Green Bay, but the second effort was 
 more successful. In Portage county. 
 Wis., with some little means he had 
 saved prior to closing up his machine 
 
 shop in Mantua, Ohio, he bought a |)iece 
 of land he never as nmch as cast his eyes 
 on, and after coming to Door county he 
 traded it to Dr. Taylor, of Cleveland, 
 Ohio, for a quantity of fruit trees which 
 were shipped to him. These he sold to 
 different parties in Door county, Joseph 
 Zettel, the extensive fruit-grower of Se- 
 vastopol township, purchasing his first 
 trees from this lot sent to Mr. Pinney. 
 They were the first trees sold in the 
 county, and the greater part of them 
 died, certain varieties thriving. I'rom 
 that day forth he bought consign- 
 ments of trees into the county, and as 
 he was from early youth a cripple 
 from rheumatism, and not able to per- 
 form arduous labor, that line of busi- 
 ness well suited him. For three years 
 after coming to Door county he followed 
 the life of a pioneer preacher, enduring 
 all the hardships and sufferings incident 
 to pioneer life, for which he received but 
 small compensation, and having a family 
 to support he was reluctantly compelled 
 to resign and confine himself exclusively 
 to horticulture. In 1875 he purchased in 
 Section 11, Sturgeon Bay township. 160 
 acres of wild land, which he intended to 
 clear and convert into a nursery, known 
 far and wide as the " Evergreen Nursery," 
 and of this there were at the time of his 
 death one hundred acres under cultiva- 
 tion, half being devoted to his nursery, 
 where he chiefly reared evergreens. Prior 
 to this he had purchased land at various 
 times on speculation, but found none 
 suited to the purpose. He did a large 
 business, some seasons having sold as 
 high as six million trees, employed many 
 hands, himself superintending the entire 
 industry, and the magnitude of the con- 
 cern can be more full}' appreciated when 
 it is considered that he found a market 
 for his seeds, plants, etc., in everj- part 
 of the civilized globe. His beautiful dis- 
 play at the World's Fair held in Chicago, 
 1893, attracted great attention from not 
 only horticulturists, botanists and nur- 
 serymen, but also from the public at large. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 507 
 
 On June 16, 1857, at Wellington, 
 Lorain Co., Ohio, Mr. Finney was mar- 
 ried to Charity C. Steadnian, who was 
 born August 26, 1834, in Charleston, 
 Portage Co. , Ohio, daughter of Rev. E. 
 P. Steadnian. To this union have been 
 born children as follows: Olive, who was 
 twice married, first time to Henry Young, 
 of Sturgeon Bay township, after whose 
 death she wedded Walter Scott ("they are 
 now living on the old homestead); Flora, 
 at home; John J., proprietor of the Door 
 County Dcjiiocrat, published at Sturgeon 
 Bay; Bessie, now Mrs. George Green- 
 wood, at home; and Silas E, on the home- 
 stead. Of these, Olive, Flora and John 
 J., were born in Ohio, Bessie and Silas 
 E. in Sturgeon Ba}'. Since 1875 the 
 famii}' have lived on the farm bought in 
 Sturgeon Bay township. In his political 
 predilections Mr. Pinney was a I^epubli- 
 can till 1872, then taking part in the Hor- 
 ace Greeley campaign, from which time he 
 was an equally zealous Democrat. For 
 many years he was school clerk of Stur- 
 geon Bay, giving unqualified satisfaction. 
 In 1887 he was appointed, by President 
 Cleveland, postmaster at E\'ergreen, Door 
 county, which office was opened on account 
 of the mass of correspondence his own 
 business produced — nineteen-twentieths 
 of the gross amount. In 1873 he founded 
 the Expositor at Sturgeon Bay, the first 
 Democratic newspaper issued in the 
 county, and he conducted same three and 
 one-half years, during which time he fear- 
 lessl}- upheld the principles of the party, 
 at the same time jealously guarding the 
 interests of the public at large, independ- 
 ent of party. He was the prime mover 
 of the investigation into the alleged cor- 
 ruption in county offices, whereby a deficit 
 was said to have been unearthed — six 
 thousand dollars in one office, and three 
 thousand dollars in another — for the ex- 
 posure of which he was assaulted and 
 even fired upon. He was a pioneer 
 preacher, and brought about the erection 
 of the first Methodist church building at 
 Sturgeon Bay. 
 
 Mr. Pinney was remarkably success- 
 ful in his business, which year by year in- 
 creased, and no one in the county was 
 more deserving of tlie prosperity he en- 
 joyed. He died at the homestead No- 
 vember 2, 1894, of cancer in the stomach, 
 only a few weeks prior to vvtiich sad event 
 his business was organized into a joint- 
 stock compan\', which was incorporated, 
 and went into effect December 11, 1894. 
 It was capitalized at one hundred thous- 
 and dollars, and its present officers are as 
 follows: John |. Pinne}', Pres. ; Silas E. 
 Pinney, Supt. ; Flora C. Pinney, Sec. and 
 Treas. The stock is nearly all held by 
 the family. 
 
 DE WAYNE STEBBINS, cashier 
 of the Bank of Ahnapee, Kewau- 
 nee county, is a native of New 
 "York State, born .\pril 5, 1835, 
 in the city of Clinton, of Enghsh and 
 Scotch ancestry. 
 
 Great-grandfather Stebbins, who was 
 a resident of Massachusetts, was a soldier 
 in the Revolutionary war, and his son, 
 William Stebbins, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was a native of the same State, 
 but from the time he was a young man, 
 resided in Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y., 
 near Utica. He there became a man of 
 consequence, and being industrious and 
 frugal soon amassed a comfortable com- 
 petence, dying at the advanced age of 
 eighty years, honored and beloved by his 
 neighbors for his many good qualities of 
 head and heart, anti for his temperate 
 life. In politics he was a life-long Demo- 
 crat. He married in Massachusetts, and 
 had a large family of children, the mother 
 of whom also reached a good old age. 
 
 Amaziah Stebbins, son of William 
 Stebbins, and father of our subject, was 
 born in Pompey Hill, near Clinton, N. Y. 
 There he received his education, and 
 in early life learned the trade of tanner 
 and currier, an occupation he followed 
 some years, but later in life became a 
 contractor. He was an active, energetic 
 
5oS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOGRAPRICAL RECORD. 
 
 man, and did a great deal of heavy work 
 on the Chenango canal, which runs from 
 Utica to Clinton. Being less fortunate in 
 his last occupation, he came west in June, 
 1S34, settling in Racine, Wis., Novem- 
 ber 21, 1835, where he followed various 
 occupations, kept the first hotel in the 
 place, and later was appointed the first 
 lighthouse keeper by the United States 
 Government. In his old age he was in- 
 duced to come to Ahnapee, where he pass- 
 ed the rest of his days at the home of 
 his son, De Wayne, dying at the age 
 of seventy-nine years, September 5, 1874, 
 the daj' after the decease of his wife, 
 Amanda (Anderson). She was a native 
 of Westfield, Mass. , daughter of a promi- 
 nent and prosperous New England farmer; 
 a woman of strong traits of character, 
 a great reader and very intelligent, one of 
 the most patient of sufferers during the 
 twelve years she was an invalid; and 
 many of her best traits of character, de- 
 cision and will-power were inherited dy 
 her son De Wayne. She and her hus- 
 band were a verj' devoted, loving couple, 
 each respecting the qualitiesof the other, 
 and they lived a blameless life, leaving a 
 spotless name and record to posterity. 
 They died within twenty-two hours of 
 each other, and were buried together at 
 Racine, Wis., where they had lived hap- 
 pily for thirty years surrounded by hosts 
 of friends. Their family numbered nine 
 children, named as follows: Wealthy A., 
 Jane M., John A., Alexander H., Emery 
 E., Albert C, Elizabeth E., William and 
 De Wayne. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines re- 
 ceived his elementary education at Racine, 
 Wis., after which he took rather more 
 than a three-years' course at the Naval 
 Academy, Annapolis, Md., which institu- 
 tion he entered at the age of sixteen 
 years, through the influence of Senator 
 Charles Durkee, of Wisconsin. On his 
 return to Wisconsin in 1856, he settled 
 in Ahnapee, where at first he found em- 
 ployment in the pier, mercantile and for- 
 warding business, chiefly for the firm 
 
 of D. Young. Soon, however, he became 
 a member of the firm of Boalt & Steb- 
 bins, in the conducting of a forwarding 
 business, in which they continued some 
 fifteen years, meeting with encouraging 
 success. 
 
 During this time Mr. Stebbins enlist- 
 ed, August 13, 1862, at Ahnapee, Wis. , in 
 Company A, Twenty-first Wis. V. I.,Capt. 
 C. H. Walker, which regiment was sent to 
 Louisville, Ky., and then, on account 
 of his having been educated at the 
 Naval Academy, Annapolis, Mr. Steb- 
 bins was given a commission in the United 
 States navy as master's mate. He was 
 first attached to the United States steam- 
 ship " Corondolet," of the Mississippi 
 squadron, and participated in all the fight- 
 ing on the river around Island No. 10, 
 besides in many other engagements. 
 Some time afterward he was transferred 
 to the United States steamer " Mound 
 City," and with her proceeded to Vicks- 
 burg where she joined the fleet in the 
 siege of that city, having previously cap- 
 tured Arkansas Post, after which latter 
 engagement he was promoted to ensign. 
 On the night of April 17, 1863, the 
 " Mound City " ran the gauntlet past the 
 batteries at Vicksburg, and proceeding 
 down the river engaged the Grand Gulf, 
 and participated in several attacks on that 
 post. After running the batteries, Mr. 
 Stebbins helped to transfer Gen. Grant's 
 army across the river. Returning once 
 more to Vicksburg, he assisted in the 
 siege of that Confederate stronghold until 
 it surrendered, and then participated in 
 the Red River expedition (1864) under 
 Gen. Banks, ascending the river a dis- 
 tance of 450 miles, a trip that occupied 
 four months, during which they expe- 
 rienced continual fighting. After this 
 expedition Mr. Stebbins was promoted to 
 master and transferred to the United 
 States steamer " Kickapoo," a double- 
 turreted monitor, which was ordered to 
 Mound City and New Orleans, after 
 which she was sent to join Farragut's 
 fleet stationed at Mobile. After some 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 509 
 
 service there Mr. Stebbins was retrans- 
 ferred, this time to the "Portsmouth," 
 stationed at New Orleans. On July 4, 
 1865, he was transferred to the United 
 States steamer "Michigan," stationed at 
 Buffalo, N. Y. , where he remained till 
 January 6, 1866, when he received an 
 honorable discharge from the United 
 States service. Returning to Ahnapee, 
 he again entered upon the duties of his 
 old calling — forwarding and shipping — 
 and so remained until 1881, when he re- 
 ceived the appointment as cashier of the 
 Bank of Ahnapee, which he has since 
 filled with great ability. In this capacity he 
 soon became well known for his careful, 
 conscientious and safe business methods, 
 qualities that have brought him to the 
 notice of the able financiers all over the 
 State. He has been closely identified 
 with all enterprises tending to promote 
 the prosperity of his adopted city, where 
 he is held in such high esteem as seldom 
 falls to the lot of man. He is one of the 
 promoters of and a stockholder in the 
 Ahnapee Veneer & Seating Co., and has 
 been its treasurer from its inception. 
 
 On September 5, 1862, Mr. Stebbins 
 was married in Oshkosh, Wis., to a 
 daughter of Hon. G. W. Elliott, of Ahna- 
 pee, a brief sketch of whom follows. 
 Politically our subject is a pronounced 
 Republican, and in 1873 was nominated 
 by that party and elected by the people 
 to the office of assemblj'man; was ap- 
 pointed postmaster, at Ahnapee, and 
 served twelve years in succession, or until 
 a change of administration caused a change 
 of postmastership. He made an envia- 
 ble record as a public officer, discharging 
 his duties with great fidelity to the public. 
 Socially he is a F. & A. M., and has been 
 master of the Lodge at Ahnapee twelve 
 years; also a member of the Loyal Legion 
 and the G. A. R., and has been com- 
 mander of the Post at Ahnapee. He has 
 an honorable war record, and served his 
 country to the best of his ability. In 
 physical appearance Mr. Stebbins retains 
 the fine soldierly bearing so seldom seen 
 
 29 
 
 by men of his age in the United States, 
 and which attracts attention in any gath- 
 ering. Though naturall}- one of the most 
 peaceful of men, he yet impresses all by a 
 decided presence of nerve force that com- 
 mands respect everywhere. Such men 
 are rare in any community, and their 
 lives are lessons of usefulness to a new 
 and thinking generation. In November, 
 1894, he was elected State senator as a 
 Republican in a Democratic District by a 
 majority of 1800. 
 
 HON. GEORGE W. ELLIOTT, 
 one of the prominent and hon- 
 ored pioneers of Ahnapee and the 
 State of Wisconsin, is a native of 
 New York State, born February 13, 1804, 
 in Martinsburg, Lewis county. 
 
 His grandfather, Joseph Elliott, who 
 was a native of Massachusetts, born of 
 English parentage, became a Baptist 
 preacher of no little renown. He died 
 near Utica, N. Y. , when over eighty years 
 of age, the father of a large family by his 
 wife whom he married in Massachusetts. 
 Of his sons, Chester, the eldest, was born 
 in that State, whence he came to Lewis 
 county, N. Y. , where he followed farm- 
 ing, and was highly honored and esteem- 
 ed; he died of cholera, in 1832, at the 
 home of his son Joseph in Canada. His 
 wife, Betsy, who was a daughter of Jesse 
 Benjamin, died at the residence of her 
 son George W. , in Fond du Lac, Wis., 
 aged sixty-five years, the mother of nine 
 children — four sons and five daughters — 
 eight of whom reached maturity, and of 
 the four sons three came to Fond du Lac, 
 Wis., George W. being one of them. 
 
 The subject of these lines in early life 
 was a surveyor, his first work being on a 
 public road running from Martinsburg, his 
 native town, in a direct line to Albany, 
 receiving his appointment from Anson 
 Beach; his next surveying work was on 
 the old "John Brown tract," in New 
 York State. In 1836 he came to Wis- 
 consin, and engaged in the dairy business 
 
5>o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 for a sh(jrt time in Foiul dii Lac (being 
 induced to go there by (iov. Dot\'), but 
 he soon returned to his old business, sur- 
 veying. Even in 1 836 he surveyed the 
 ground wheie now the State capitol 
 stands, which he did at the solicitation of 
 Judge Doty, and the governor of Michi- 
 gan, \vh(j at the time was interested in 
 real estate at Madison, Wis. Mr. lilliott 
 also surveyed much timber hind for vari- 
 ous lumbermen, including Philetus Saw- 
 yer. In ii^^SS he moved to .\hnapee, 
 where he surveyed some lands for Judge 
 Doty, and being pleased with the appear- 
 ance of the surroimdings decided to re- 
 main, and make the place his future 
 home. 
 
 On October 11, iS,:;j. Mr. Mlliottwas 
 married in New York State to Miss Juli- 
 ana Crofoot. who died in I'onti du Lac, 
 Wisconsin, the mother (jf se\en children, 
 as follows: Mrs. Mary E. Wing, Mrs. 
 De Wavne Stebbins, David, Charles, 
 Park, Irvin and Mrs. Ella McDonald. On 
 June 22, 1862, our subject was married 
 at Madison, Wis., while sor\ing as a 
 member of the State Legislature, to Miss 
 Charlotte, daughter of John and Char- 
 lotte (Rowley) Torrey, and born in Mar- 
 cellus, N. Y., by which union there is one 
 child: Carrie Eva. A Democrat in poli- 
 tics, Mr. Elliott has tilled many positions 
 of honor and trust, including all the town 
 offices; for fifty-seven years he served as 
 justice of the peace, but on the occasion 
 of the last election he positively declined 
 to qualify. He is one of the most hon- 
 ored and respected men in the county, 
 and all public offices with which he has 
 been entrusted he has filled with tact and 
 ability. 
 
 CHARLES BRANDES. bank presi- 
 dent and financier, of Kewaunee, 
 was born in Kewaunee village 
 May 10, 1864, and is the eldest 
 son of Charles Brandes, Sr. , a sketch of 
 whom will be found in another part of 
 this work. 
 
 Mr. Brandes has passed his entire life 
 within the limits of Kewaunee, with the ex- 
 ception, only, of two years spent at school 
 in Milwaukee — one year in the high school 
 and one year at a business college. Here 
 his scholastic course terminated, and here 
 he had his first business experience, 
 which consisted of six months' service in 
 a wholesale drug house in the same city. 
 On his return to Kewaunee he engaged as 
 clerk to Mr. Mashck, in the Bank of Ke- 
 waunee, and since then he has filled all 
 the official positions, seeming to possess 
 a natural aptitude for finance. At the 
 age of twenty he had become assistant 
 cashier, then filled all the duties of cash- 
 ier, and now, before reaching his thirtieth 
 \ear, stands at the head of the institution 
 as its president. But the interests of Mr. 
 Brandes are not altogether confined to 
 banking: He is the secretary and man- 
 ager of the Ivcwaunee Milling Co., which 
 was organized some four years ago, and 
 in which he holds considerable stock. He 
 has always taken an active part in aiding 
 the various industrial enterprises of Ke- 
 waunee, whether or no he had any pe- 
 cuniary interest in them, and has shown 
 his public spirit and liberal it}' on all 
 proper occasions whenever questions 
 touching the building up and the improve- 
 ment of the rit\' lia\c been brought to 
 the front. 
 
 Mr. Brantles was most propitiously 
 united in marriage, Octol)er 21, 1890, 
 with Miss Kate Hoadley, of Niles, Mich., 
 the accomplished daughter of Jerad Hoad- 
 ley, who was one of the early and most 
 prominent business men of Niles, al- 
 though for the past twenty years he has 
 devoted himself to farming. In politics 
 Mr. Brandes has always voted with the 
 Demcjcratic party, but has never taken 
 any great interest in office-holding or 
 office-seekers. He has held one or two 
 minor offices, perhaps, but with the con- 
 viction that he was of more use to the 
 office than the office was to him. So- 
 cially, he is a member of the Royal Ar- 
 canum; in religious faith, he was reared 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5" 
 
 under the influences of the Lutheran 
 Church, but is Hberal in his views in that 
 respect. 
 
 GEORGE SENFT, Sr., who has 
 been a resident of Nasewaupee 
 township, Door county, for near- 
 ly forty years, was born in Hesse, 
 Germany, February 22, 1823, a son of 
 Caspar and Margaret (Gottleman) Senft, 
 natives of the same place. The father 
 was a farmer in Germany, and died there 
 in 1874 at the age of seventy-six years; 
 the mother died at the same age in 1 876. 
 They had a famih' of thirteen children, 
 of whom four are now living: George, 
 subject of this sketch; Caspar, who re- 
 sides in Germany; I\atie, wife of George 
 Barwind, of Washington Co., Wis., and 
 Elizabeth, wife of Henrj- Heinbel, also of 
 Washington Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Our subject recived a common-school 
 education in the public schools of Ger- 
 many, and remained with his father on 
 the farm until he was twenty-four years 
 old. He then worked for others as a 
 common laborer for si.x years, hence he 
 was thirt)- \-ears old when, in 1853, he 
 set sail for the United States, reaching 
 New York after a voyage of forty-si.x 
 days, and coming west at once to Wash- 
 ington Co. . Wis. , he here hired out for 
 seven dollars per month. During the 
 year he was married to Miss Philomena 
 Heilmann, who was born in Germany, 
 daughter of Michael and Wilhelmina 
 (Goettleman) Heilmann, who came to 
 Washington county from Germany at an 
 early daj', both dying there, the mother 
 at the age of eighty-six years, in Septem- 
 ber, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Senft have 
 three cliildren: Ivatie, wife of Jacob 
 Senft, a farmer in Xasewaupee township; 
 George, who is married anci lives in the 
 same township; and John, who also re- 
 sides in Nasewaupee township. Mrs. 
 Senft died in 1865, and the following 
 year Mr. Senft was married to Miss Mary 
 Knuth, daughter of John and Anna 
 
 Knuth, who were early pioneers in New 
 Denmark township. Brown county; both 
 parents are dead. Nine children came to 
 Mr. Senft from this union, only two of 
 whom survive: Charley, and Willie, the 
 latter married and making his home in 
 Iowa; during the diphtheria epidemic in 
 1878, the other seven children by this 
 marriage were taken away, their names 
 being as follows: .\ugust (at thirteen 
 years of age), Mary (at twelve years of 
 age), Amelia, Freddie, Lizzie, Minnie, 
 and Henry. 
 
 In T855 Mr. Senft moved from Wash- 
 ington county to Door county, making 
 the trip with an ox team, and located on 
 160 acres which he bought in Nasewaupee 
 township. Later he sold this property 
 and purchased 120 acres of forest, which 
 he now has all cleared and under cultiva- 
 tion. When it came into his possession 
 not a tree had been cut, and he was 
 obliged to make a road through to where 
 he subsequently built a log house. He 
 has witnessed the rapid growth of this 
 portion of the countr_\', and has experi- 
 enced all the hardships and privations 
 which the new comers in those early days 
 were obliged to bear. Thrift and industry 
 combined with careful management pro- 
 duce success in the end, although few 
 men %\ould be willing to work so hard in 
 order to secure the same results. In ad- 
 dition to the arduous labor, Mr. Senft 
 has had many other burdens to bear, 
 some of which are already related in this 
 sketch: His first wife died in 1865; he 
 was burned out in 1871, losing nearly all 
 of his household furniture and clothing, 
 and the following year seven children 
 died of diphtheria within a few weeks of 
 each other. He is now (1895) seventy- 
 two years old, and despite his bitter ex- 
 periences, is a well-preserved man. He 
 and his wife are honored members of the 
 M. E. Church, of which he has served as 
 trustee, and he has done much to build 
 up the society, and keep up the interest 
 of the Sunday-school, of which he is 
 superintendent. In politics he is a stanch 
 
512 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Republican, taking much interest in the 
 elections. For many years he held the 
 office of supervisor, performing the duties 
 of the office in an impartial and satisfac- 
 tory manner. 
 
 HENRY CHEEVER SIBREE, M. 
 D., is a medical practitioner of 
 considerable prominence in Stur- 
 geon Bay, Door county, one who, 
 outside of the esteem in which he is held 
 for his scientific attainments, enjoys the 
 admiration and respect of all for his'kind- 
 liness of disposition and amiability of 
 heart. 
 
 The Sibree family, of which the sub- 
 ject of these lines is a descendant, sprang 
 from the Danes who in early dajs in- 
 vaded both England and Scotland, and in 
 the latter country originated the Sibree 
 family under consideration, the first of 
 whom to come to America being Charles 
 Sibree, grandfather of Dr. H. C. Sibree. 
 This Charles was born on the Clyde, 
 about three miles from Dumbarton Cas- 
 tle, Scotland, where he married. Leav- 
 ing his family behind, to follow him when 
 he was settled, he emigrated to America, 
 a brother at the same time locating in 
 England, where he died leaving a large 
 estate. Charles was by vocation a block 
 printer, a trade he followed many years, 
 and, when far advanced in life, died in 
 Kossuth township, Manitowoc Co. , Wis. , 
 where at the time he was staying with 
 his daughter, Mrs. Gilbert W. Burnett. 
 His wife and children in course of time 
 had rejoined him, and the mother pre- 
 ceded him to the grave. Of their family 
 of three sons and three daughters, Henry, 
 who was born on the old homestead near 
 Dumbarton, in Scotland, was a block 
 printer and dyer, trades he followed after 
 coming to this country, first in Paterson, 
 N. J., later in New York, where after- 
 ward he was engaged in the City Express 
 business. From there he came to Wis- 
 consin, and in Kossuth township, Mani- 
 towoc county, was engaged in farming 
 
 four years, after which he commenced 
 the study of law in Manitowoc under the 
 preceptorship of J. D. Markham, an 
 able law\er of that place. Being ad- 
 mitted to the bar, Mr. Sibree commenced 
 the practice of his profession in Mani- 
 towoc, which he continued until his death 
 m 1881. In addition to his law practice, 
 which was an excellent one, he unfor- 
 tunately embarked in wheat speculations 
 that proved disastrous, he losing every- 
 thmg. In political associations he was 
 first a Whig, afterward a Republican, and 
 at one time was elected district attorney. 
 He was a lawyer of considerable ability, 
 and was highly respected both as an at- 
 torney and as a private citizen; a man of 
 deep humanity and generous impulses — 
 generous even to a fault— he surrounded 
 himself with hosts of warm and sincere 
 friends. He was married in Paterson, 
 N. J., to Miss Maria Vreeland, who was 
 of Holland descent, a woman of strong 
 character and loving disposition, whose 
 home was her kingdom. The children 
 born to this union were Henry Cheever, 
 Gertrude (who died aged twenty-five)i 
 Sarah, Lottie C, Anna (wife of Henry 
 Bush, of Fond du Lac), and three daugh- 
 ters that died in infancy. The parents 
 attended the services of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 Henry C. Sibree, the subject proper 
 of this sketch, received his literary edu- 
 cation at the schools of Manitowoc, and, 
 having decided on the medical profession 
 for his life work, commenced the study of 
 medicine in the office of Dr. Oakley, at 
 Manitowoc; then proceeded to Chicago, 
 and, taking a course at the Chicago Med- 
 ical College, graduated from there March 
 5, 1878. The Doctor first commenced 
 the practice of his profession in Peshtigo, 
 Wis. , whence at the end of five years he 
 came to Sturgeon Bay, and has since re- 
 mained in the enjoyment of a first-class 
 practice. So wide spread has his reputa- 
 tion as a skillful and successful physician 
 and surgeon become that he has been 
 offered many inducements to change his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 513 
 
 location, one of which came in 1883 
 (while he was residing in Peshtigo) from 
 Tacoma, Wash., an offer being made to 
 him to take charge of a railroad corpora- 
 tion hospital there, his salary to be $3000 
 per annum; but sickness in the family 
 prevented him from accepting, and it was 
 then that he came to Sturgeon Bay. The 
 Doctor's professional career, especially in 
 surgery, has been signalized by almost 
 phenomenal success, due in a great meas- 
 ure to his unceasing study of the science 
 and prompt adaptation of modern im- 
 provements in both branches, his pro- 
 gressiveness ever keeping up with the en- 
 lightenment of the age. 
 
 On November 27, 1878, at Dover, 
 Ohio, Dr. Sibree was married to Miss 
 Cora A. French, daughter of A. L. and 
 Anna French, and three children were 
 born to them: two daughters, Gertrude 
 and Lucy, and one son, Harry, the latter 
 of whom died at the age of seventeen 
 months. Socially the Doctor is a mem- 
 ber of the F. & A. M., and is a charter 
 member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge organ- 
 ized at Peshtigo. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican, and while a resident of Marin- 
 ette county was appointed superintendent 
 of the county schools; on the organization 
 of the county he was nominated and 
 elected to the same position, without any 
 effort on his part, but at the end of one 
 year resigned. 
 
 PHILIP JACOB DEHOS, city treas- 
 urer of the city of Sturgeon Bay, 
 and notary public at Sturgeon 
 Bay, Door county, first saw the 
 light August 1, 1 848, in Flonheim, Province 
 of Rhein-Hessen, Grand Duchy of Hessen- 
 Darmstadt, where, as far back as can be 
 traced, were born his ancestors before 
 him. 
 
 Philip Jacob Dehos, his father, was a 
 stone cutter by trade, which he followed 
 all his life in the Fatherland. In 1845 he 
 married Miss Philopena Schaefer, who 
 bore him seven children, named respect- 
 
 ively: Elizabeth, Philip Jacob, Mary, 
 Philip, Andrew Martin, Adam and John. 
 The father died in Germany January 28, 
 1 86 1, and in 1864 the widowed mother 
 came to the United States with her chil- 
 dren, landing in New York August 13, 
 same year. From that point they pro- 
 ceeded by rail westward, their destination 
 being Wisconsin, but at Salamanca, N. 
 Y. , an accident happened to their train 
 which delayed them four days; ultimately, 
 however, they arrived in safety in Door 
 county, where an uncle of our subject was 
 living. On their settling in Nasewaupee 
 township they bought forty acres of wild 
 land, which they succeeded in clearing 
 and converting into a fertile farm. In 
 1868 the mother married Christopher 
 Stephan, by whom she had one child, 
 named John, and she is again a widow. 
 
 Philip Jacob Dehos, of whom this 
 sketch more particularly relates, was six- 
 teen years old when he accompanied his 
 mother to this country, and consequently 
 received all his education in Germany. 
 He learned the trade of shoemaker, and 
 at the time of his mother's second mar- 
 riage commenced business for his own ac- 
 count in Sturgeon Bay, continuing in 
 same until 1871, when he went to Kan- 
 sas City with his family (he having mar- 
 ried in 1869), and there worked at his 
 trade as a journeyman till 1873, when he 
 opened a shop of his own; but in July of 
 the same year he returned to Sturgeon 
 Bay, in the ensuing fall opening out a 
 well-equipped boot and shoe shop, which 
 he conducted some twelve years, or until 
 1886. 
 
 In November, 1869, Mr. Dehos was 
 united in marriage with Miss Anna C. M. 
 Bottelson, who was born in the city of 
 Bergen, Norway, daughter of Arne and 
 Elizabeth Bottelson, the latter of whom 
 died in Norway in 1861. In 1864 the 
 bereaved father came to the United States 
 and to Wisconsin, making his New-World 
 home in Sturgeon Bay; he is a shoemaker 
 by trade, and is now residing with Mr. 
 and Mrs. Philip Jacob Dehos. He had 
 
514 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 three children: Anna C. M. (Mrs. Dehos), 
 Oliif and Bernhard. To our subject and 
 wife were born ten children, as follows: 
 Eva E., Agatha, John, Celia, Mary and 
 Edith, living, and Augusta, Louisa, Philip 
 and Celia, who died in childhood. In 
 his political predilections Mr. Dehos is an 
 ardent Republican, and has been honored 
 by election to various offices of responsi- 
 bility and trust: In 1S75 he was elected 
 supervisor of the town, ser\ing one jear, 
 and when Sturgeon Bay was incorporated 
 as a village served one year as a member 
 of the village board: in 1 880 he was elected 
 a justice of the peace, which office he 
 held eight years, when he resigned; was 
 again elected justice in 1893, re-elected, 
 and is still serving in that office; in 1886 
 he was elected city clerk (Sturgeon Bay 
 having become acit\'), serving three years; 
 in the fall of 1888 he was elected register 
 of deeds, which incunibencj- he held for 
 six years, having been re-elected in 1890, 
 and again in 1893. Socially he is affili- 
 ated with the Royal Arcanum, was first 
 regent of that society in Sturgeon Bay, 
 and its secretary three years; has been a 
 member of the Sons of Hermann since 
 1877, and was the first secretary of Stur- 
 geon Bay Lodge, No. 3, which office he 
 held for nine years in succession. Mr. 
 Dehos is now doing a general real-estate 
 business, the handling of city lots and 
 county real estate being a specialty. 
 
 FRANK J. STANGEL, sheriff of 
 Kewaunee county, was born in 
 Manitowoc county. Wis., Janu- 
 ary 8, 1866. His father, John 
 Stangel, a native of Bohemia, a merchant 
 by occupation, was born in 1831, and in 
 1853 married Dorothea Pelnar, who bore 
 him eight children, the eldest of whom 
 was born in Bohemia. The father of 
 John Stangel, who was of Bavarian de- 
 scent, and also a merchant, came to 
 America in 1852, settling in Manitowoc 
 county, Wis. , where his days were ended 
 
 in 1869, the mother dying in 1872. John 
 Stangel, on coming to America, re- 
 linquished mercantile pursuits, and in 1854 
 settled on his present farm in Manitowoc 
 county, becoming one of the most suc- 
 cessful farmers of the count}'. 
 
 The early life of Frank J. Stangel was 
 passed on the farm where he was born, 
 and where he was inured to the toil that 
 fills up the farm-boy's earlier years, work- 
 ing industriously in the summer seasons. 
 He had the advantage of good schooling, 
 however, during the winters, attending 
 the district educational institution until 
 prepared for the high school at Mani- 
 towoc, which he entered in 1880. At 
 the age of si.xteen he began teaching, in 
 which he continued until 1888, but in 
 this interval he further improved himself 
 by attending, in 1886 and 1887, the Nor- 
 mal Universit}' at \'alparaiso, Ind. The 
 marriage of Mr. Stangel took place in 
 September, 1889, to Miss Josephine Fichta, 
 daughter of Matthias Fichta. and the re- 
 sult of this happy union has been the 
 birth of three children, of whom two are 
 living — Caroline and \'ictor — the eldest, 
 Benjamin, having died in October, 1891. 
 Mr. Stangel is a thorough Democrat, and 
 has always been active in his services 
 toward advancing the interests of his 
 part}-. In 18SS Stangelvillc postoffice 
 was established, he being appointed post- 
 master, and the same year, in company 
 with his brother, John J., he opened a 
 general store at Stangelvillc, but, on be- 
 coming sheriff, sold his interest to his 
 brother. In 1890 he was elected chair- 
 man of the Democratic Senatorial Com- 
 mittee of the Fifteenth Senatorial District 
 of Wisconsin, and in 1891 and 1892 was 
 chairman of the town board of the town 
 of Franklin. 
 
 In August, 1893, Mr. Stangel united 
 with J. Bitzen in the wholesale liquor 
 business in Kewaunee, but, owing to his 
 duties as sheriff, he can devote but little 
 attention to it. He is a faithful officer, 
 well deserving the approbation of his 
 constituents, which is freel}' accorded him, 
 
aOMMEMORATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 515 
 
 and his scholarly accomplishments fully 
 qualify him for any office within the gift 
 of his fellow citizens. 
 
 JOHN FRANK MULLEN, M. D., 
 although one among the compara- 
 tively young men in professional life, 
 has reached an eminence for scien- 
 tific attainments as well as thorough 
 scholarship that is attained by few even 
 of those who have devoted a long life of 
 patient toil in the work of their profes- 
 sion. 
 
 The Doctor is a nati\e of New York 
 State, born July 2, 1848, in Lansingburg, 
 Rensselaer county, of good old Irish stock, 
 his grandfather, Brian Mullen, a drover 
 and cattle dealer by occupation, having 
 been born in the city of Sligo, Province 
 of Connaught, Ireland, where he was 
 also engaged in farming, and where he 
 died. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Hannah Mullaney, after her husband's 
 death came to America with her family 
 of six children, and settled in Lansing- 
 burg, N. Y. , where she died at the age of 
 one hundred and four years. Thomas 
 Mullen, father of our subject, on account 
 of his prominent connection with the 
 "Ribbonmen," a revolutionary element 
 in Ireland, had to flee to America along 
 with other refugees. Settling in Troy, 
 N. Y. , he there embarked in the grain 
 business, chiefly as buyer, and having re- 
 ceived a good education in his native land 
 soon made a success of life in the New 
 World, becoming a useful and progressive 
 citizen. He had married Miss Hannah 
 Burke (a niece of Father Tom Burke, the 
 celebrated temperance orator, for whom 
 she at one time kept house in Ireland), 
 and to this marriage were born children 
 as follows: Anna, James, William, Mich- 
 ael, Thomas, John Frank, Mary and 
 Minnie. The parents both died in Lan- 
 singburg, the father when ninety-four and 
 the mother when fifty-two years old. Of 
 the children, Anna went to California in 
 1S49 with a family of friends, and there 
 
 married William McNeil, a wealthy 
 Scotchman, whose home in this country 
 was St. Louis, Mo., but who was 
 drowned on the Pacific coast, while at 
 route from San Francisco to New York 
 on the steamer " Centra) America," many 
 others also being lost, the vessel having 
 been wrecked (his widow then returned to 
 her old home, and being well off was en- 
 abled to give her brothers and sisters good 
 educational advantages); James and Will- 
 iam were both educated for the bar, grad- 
 uating at Williams College, and the latter 
 is now an attorney in New York City; 
 Michael graduated from the Christian 
 Brothers University, of Troy, N. Y., and 
 is also practicing in New York; Thomas 
 is a lawyer in California. The three eld- 
 est sons served to the close of the Civil 
 war in the United States navy, on board 
 the frigate " Powhattan. " 
 
 John F. Mullen, whose name mtro- 
 duces this sketch, was born July 2, 1848, 
 in Lansingburg, N. Y. , received his ele- 
 mentar\' education at the public schools 
 of his native place, and commenced a 
 course at the Christian Brothers Univer- 
 sity', Troy. At the age of si.xteen, how- 
 ever, in 1864, being fired with the spirit 
 of patriotism, he left his studies to take 
 up the rifle in defense of the Union, en- 
 listing in Company K, Third Battalion, 
 Thirteenth United States Infantry (Sher- 
 man's old regiment), which was attached 
 to the Army of the West, Department of 
 the Missouri, under Gen. Hancock; dur- 
 ing the last two years of his service he 
 was acting hospital steward. From the 
 fall of 1865 to summer of 1867 he served 
 at Fort Leavenworth, Kans., and Fort 
 Totten, Dak., and on the expiration of 
 his term of service, July 18, 1867, was 
 honorably discharged at Fort Stephenson, 
 on the Upper Missouri river. Mr. Mul- 
 len for the next two years carried the 
 mail between Devil's Lake and the Mis- 
 souri river, in Dakota; afterward from 
 Fort Stephenson to Fort Rice, and from 
 Fort Stephenson to Fort Beauford, dur- 
 ing which time he learned to speak five 
 
5i6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPUICAL liECOIiD. 
 
 different Indian dialects. On one of his 
 trips he met with Carleton, the poet, and 
 presented him with many Indian reHcs, 
 which are now on exhibition in some 
 museum in Boston. As his services as 
 U. S. mail carrier were required only 
 about twice a month, he employed the in- 
 tervals with others in escorting trains, 
 and in other frontier work. In 1869 he 
 served all through the Red River Rebel- 
 lion in British America as a patriot, as- 
 sisting in the capture of Fort Garry, and 
 after the suppression of this rising in the 
 spring of 1870, he, in partnership with 
 George Folsom, went into the hardware 
 and fur business with headquarters at 
 Redwood Falls, Minn., which was con- 
 tinued one and one half years, and then 
 abandoned, owing to hailstorms and grass- 
 hoppers, which had destroyed the crops 
 and nearly ruined the farmers of that sec- 
 tion. Mr. Mullen then, in 1872, returned 
 to Wisconsin, locating at Appleton (where 
 his relatives now reside), and took up an 
 altogether new line — canvassing for books, 
 chiefly Mark Twain's works and the 
 "American Encyclopedia," in which it is 
 safe to say he met with eminent success. 
 In the meantime, commencing with the 
 year 1868, he had been studying medicine 
 as opportunity offered, intending to make 
 it his life profession. 
 
 On February 14, 1873, the Doctor 
 married Miss Mary E. Parker, of Steph- 
 ensville, Outagamie Co., Wis., and the 
 young couple at once made their home in 
 Amherst, Portage county, same State, 
 where the Doctor practiced medicine till 
 1876, in which year he came to Sturgeon 
 Bay, where he continued the practice till 
 entering, in 1877, Keokuk (Iowa) College, 
 where he graduated in 1878. He then 
 resumed his profession in Sturgeon Bay, 
 successfully practicing till 1883, at which 
 time he was appointed assistant-surgeon 
 in the Chamber Street Hospital, New 
 York, it being the accident department of 
 the New York Hospital. The summer of 
 1883 he spent there, and he also attended 
 the Polyclinic, deriving incalculable ad- 
 
 vantages from his experiences and studies 
 in both these institutions. Returning to 
 Sturgeon Bay, he resumed his practice, 
 which has grown to be one of the most 
 extensive and lucrative in the peninsula. 
 To Dr. and Mrs. Mullen were born eight 
 children, four of whom are yet living, 
 named respectively: Alice E., May F., 
 Patricia A. and Bernard; Willie died at 
 the age of seven, and Blanche, John and 
 Thomas when infants. The entire family 
 are active members of St. Joseph's Roman 
 Catholic Church, Sturgeon Bay. In 
 politics the Doctor is a leading and in- 
 fluential Democrat; has served as chair- 
 man of the county committee five terms; 
 as member of the Democratic State Cen- 
 tral Committee two years, including the 
 last Cleveland campaign, and as an altern- 
 ate to the National Convention held at Chi- 
 cago when Grover Cleveland was second 
 time nominated. He has twice served as 
 mayor of the city of Sturgeon Bay. 
 Socially he is chief ranger of Columbus 
 Court, No. 341, Catholic Order of For- 
 esters; is president of the Door County 
 Medical Society, and for four years United 
 States pension examiner. 
 
 JOHN ELLIS was born in the County 
 of Kent, England, February 19, iSig, 
 and is a son of John Ellis, a farmer 
 by occupation, who married Sarah 
 Adams, by whom he had children, as fol- 
 lows: William, Jane, Robert, John, Amy, 
 Elizabeth, Jabez, Sarah and Thomas. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was a lad 
 of only seven summers, when with the 
 family he came to the United States. 
 They sailed from London, and after a 
 voyage of seven weeks and three days 
 they landed on American soil. Thence 
 they proceeded to Schenectady, N. Y., 
 where the father worked as a day laborer 
 for $1. 50 per day until a year had passed, 
 when he rented a farm, continuing its cul- 
 tivation four years. He then removed to 
 Saratoga, N. Y., where he again oper- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 517 
 
 ated a rented farm, and at the end of five 
 years sought a home in Chautauqua coun- 
 ty, N. Y. There he purchased land, 
 making it his place of residence some six 
 years, when he cast his lot with the early 
 settlers of Grant county. Wis. , and en- 
 gaged in mining four years, when death 
 ended his labors in 1834. 
 
 John Ellis accompanied his parents on 
 their various removals, and when quite 
 young began work, for the limited cir- 
 cumstances of the family forced him to 
 provide for his own support. On May 
 23, 1S42, he married Miss Louise Rachel, 
 daughter of William and Sophia (Boor- 
 man) Carpenter, people of English de- 
 scent. The young couple remained in 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y. , for about two 
 years, and then removed with his father 
 to Grant county. Wis., where our subject 
 also embarked in mining; but that enter- 
 prise proving unsuccessful, he after seven 
 years returned to the Empire State. Not 
 having money enough wherewith to pur- 
 chase a farm, he rented land and there 
 carried on agricultural pursuits until t 866, 
 which year witnessed his arrival in Clay 
 Banks township, Door county. Here he 
 became owner of a wild and uncultivated 
 tract of 160 acres, and in a log cabin, 14 
 X 20 feet, they began life in true pioneer 
 style, which home about three years later 
 was replaced with a more commodious 
 frame residence, and the other accessories 
 and conveniences of a model farm were 
 added. After twenty years, Mr. Ellis 
 sold his first purchase to his sons, and 
 became the owner of his present farm, a 
 tract of eighty acres, on which stands a 
 comfortable brick residence. His land is 
 operated by his sons. In the family were 
 ten children: Elizabeth, Amy, Norman, 
 Adelaide, Frank, Fred, Helen, Mary, 
 Ellsworth G. and George. The parents 
 are members of the Baptist Church, and 
 have lived consistent lives, which have 
 won them the confidence and high regard 
 of all with whom they have been brought 
 in contact. Mr. Ellis votes with the Re- 
 publican party, and has ever been a pro- 
 
 gressive and public-spirited citizen, a val- 
 ued addition to any community. 
 
 On September 22, 1861, he man- 
 ifested his loyalty by offering his services 
 to the government in defense of the 
 Union, and was assigned to Company E, 
 Ninth N. Y. V. C. The regiment was 
 sent to Washington, and for one month 
 participated in the siege of Yorktown, 
 after which Mr. Ellis spent two weeks on 
 an ammunition vessel, returning then to 
 his company. He later received an hon- 
 orable discharge on account of sickness, 
 and his case was pronounced incurable; 
 but in a great measure he regained his 
 health, although he is still a sufferer, and 
 in consequence receives a pension. One 
 of the faithful "boys in blue," the coun- 
 try owes to him a debt of gratitude for 
 valiant service. 
 
 RICHARD ASH (deceased) was 
 born in Devonshire, England, July 
 22, 1 82 1, and was a son of Will- 
 iam Ash, a gardener, whose em- 
 ployer was a member of Parliament. 
 
 In his native land our subject was 
 reared and educated, though his school 
 privileges were somewhat limited. After 
 he had reached mature years he was mar- 
 ried, February 7, 1848, in Devonshire, 
 the lady of his choice being Miss Mary 
 Veal, who was born in that county Janu- 
 ary 23, 1828. They began their domes- 
 tic life in England, where Mr. Ash fol- 
 lowed farming and teaming for about five 
 years, and then, in 1853, emigrated alone 
 to the New World. Landing in Canada in 
 the month of August, he located about a 
 mile and three quarters from St. Thomas, 
 Ontario, where he operated a farm on 
 shares, and in the following spring was 
 joined by his wife and their daughter, 
 Mary J., who died August 2, 1854. Five 
 children had been born to them in Eng- 
 land, but three died ere the emigration of 
 the father, and one after he had left the 
 old home. Mrs. Ash had joined her hus- 
 band at St. Thomas, Canada, and they 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 remained in tliat ]ilace until tiie autumn 
 of 1859, when they came to ^^'isconsin. 
 The severe winter weather caused them to 
 pause temporarily near Fond du Lac, al- 
 though their destination was Door county, 
 they being in search of some of the land 
 of this locality of which they had heard 
 from fishermen who lived near them in 
 Canada, and who spent the summer sea- 
 sons fishing in White Fish Bay, Door 
 county. During the winter of 1859-60, 
 Mr. Ash chopped wood at twenty-five 
 •cents per cord, and in the spring of the 
 latter year came to Door county, where 
 he purchased from the government eighty 
 acres of land in Section 7, Sevastopol 
 township. It was all new land, entirely 
 unimpro\ed, and he erected thereon the 
 first house and turned the first furrow, he 
 and his family living with a neighbor until 
 a cabin was built. (lamc of all kinds was 
 plenty, including deer, while wolves were 
 often heard howling at night, and only a 
 trail led from Sturgeon Bay to this part 
 of the county, no public roads having 
 been made. Mr. Ash at once begaii to 
 clear his land, and also had to work else- 
 where in order to get money to support 
 his family, being employed by Mr. Clark 
 of Detroit, Mich., who conducted fishing 
 along the lake. 
 
 On August 16, 1862, Mr. Ash en- 
 listed in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., in defense 
 of the Union, was assigned to Compan}' 
 F, Thirty-secontl Wis. \'. I., and served 
 until the close of the war. He was never 
 wounded, but was sick for some time in 
 hospital and during his absence the wife 
 and children passed through untold hard- 
 ships, Mrs. Ash supporting her family by 
 her own labor for one year and two 
 months. In the fall of 1865, in order to 
 give their children better school privi- 
 leges, Mr. and Mrs. Ash removed to a 
 farm on Section 4, Sevastopol township, 
 he securing eighty acres of land under the 
 Homestead Act. This was also an un- 
 developed tract; but under his able man- 
 agement it did not continue in that 
 condition long, being transformed into 
 
 rich and fertile fields. Mr. Ash's health 
 was never the same after he left the army, 
 and on April 16, 1891, he departed this 
 life, and he was laid to rest in Bay Side 
 Cemetery. He attended the Methodist 
 Church, in politics was a stalwart Repub- 
 lican, and served both as justice of the 
 peace and supervisor, in which positions 
 he proved a capable official, although he 
 accepted them against his will. 
 
 After coming to the New World, the 
 following children came to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ash, all born in the United States, save 
 Charlotte E. , whose birth occurred in 
 Canada: Charlotte E., now the wife of 
 William Bassford, of Rapid River, Mich. ; 
 Eliza Ann, who died at the age of nine 
 years and eleven months; Richard, a 
 farmer, living near White Fish bay; 
 Mary J., wife of Martin Simons, a resi- 
 dent of Sevastopol township; Hannah, 
 wife of John Walker, who operates the 
 Ash homestead; and William, who carried 
 on agricultural pursuits in Sevastopol 
 township. After her husband's death, 
 Mrs. Ash conducted the farm of eighty 
 acres and successfully managed her busi- 
 ness interests until 1893, when she leased 
 her land. She is a member of the Wo- 
 man's Relief Corps; an earnest worker in 
 its ranks, and is a most estimable lady, 
 one who has won many warm friends in 
 the community. 
 
 HON. JOHN FETZER. of Forest- 
 ville. Door county, is not only a 
 leading and influential citizen of 
 the county, but is widely and 
 favorably known throughout the entire 
 Slate as one of her most distinguished 
 men, and is now serving in the General 
 Assembly as State Senator from the 
 First District of Wisconsin. The com- 
 mercial interests of the community in 
 which he lives find in him a worthy rep- 
 resentative, and the history of his adopted 
 county would be incomplete without the 
 record of his life. 
 
 Mr. Fetzer was born in Hesse-Darm- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 519 
 
 stadt, Germany, July 8, 1840, and is a 
 son of Peter and Margaret fPitz) Fetzer, 
 natives of the same country, who in 1850 
 took passage on a sailing vessel at Ant- 
 werp — the " Edwina " — which after a 
 voyage of twenty-one days dropped an- 
 chor in the harbor of New York. Our 
 travelers thence proceeded to Albany, N. 
 Y. , from there by rail to Buffalo, and by 
 boat from that lake port to Manitowoc, 
 Wis., where they arrived in June, 1850, 
 just one month after landing on the 
 shores of the New World. They located 
 upon a farm, and the father, who was in 
 well-to-do circumstances, brought from 
 Germany four men and one woman. He 
 built the first frame residence and barn 
 in Manitowoc county, and si.K weeks after 
 reaching his destination he had forty 
 acres of his land cleared. He brought 
 from Milwaukee on two different occasions 
 seventy-five cows, which he sold to the 
 settlers, who paid him in farm labor, and 
 in this way he improved his land, making 
 of it a valuable farm. On the ist of April, 
 I 85 I, he had an opportunity of becoming 
 an American citizen; but as this was not 
 in accordance with the laws of the land 
 he declined to accept the ofTer, and on 
 the 22d of September, 1856, he legally 
 obtained the right of franchise, and from 
 that time on was a true and loyal citizen 
 of the United States. His death oc- 
 curred in Forestville, Wis., in 1878, while 
 visiting his son John, and his wife died 
 on the old homested farm in 1882. Our 
 subject is the eldest of their living chil- 
 dren; Frank, the second, was reared in 
 Manitowoc county, and in 1863, removed 
 to Cleveland, Ohio, where he now re- 
 sides; Jacob remained in Manitowoc 
 county until sixteen years of age, when 
 he enlisted in Company B, First Heavy 
 Artillery, for three years, and did service 
 in Tennessee and Kentucky, after which 
 he acted as a scout for four years in the 
 M'est, and then went to Louisiana, where 
 his death occurred; Anna is the wife of 
 Conrad Jackel, proprietor of the "Co- 
 lumbian House," one of the leading hotels 
 
 I 
 
 of Manitowoc, Wis. ; Emma became the 
 wife of John Stundt, proprietor of the 
 "Stundt House," also of Manitowoc, and 
 died in 1890 at the age of thirty years. 
 
 John Fetzer was a lad of nine sum- 
 mers when he came with his parents to 
 America. He was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of Manitowoc county, and 
 for one year attended the high school 
 in Manitowoc, after which he worked 
 upon a farm until the breaking out of the 
 Civil war. In June, 1861, he responded 
 to the country's call for 300,000 volun- 
 teers by enlisting in the Ninth Wis. V. I., 
 three-years' service, was mustered in at 
 Milwaukee, Wis., October 9, and with 
 his regiment, which was assigned to the 
 Western army, under command of Gen. 
 Sigel, went to Missouri, where they re- 
 ceived their arms in January, 1S62. 
 They then proceeded to Leavenworth, 
 I-vansas City and Fort Scott, Kans; thence 
 on the Indian e.xpedition, returning to 
 Fort Scott, in July, 1862. They met 
 the enemy in battle at Newtonia, Sep- 
 tember 29, 1862, subsequently took part 
 in the Price campaign; then went to Ten- 
 nessee and Mississippi, and, later, to 
 Arkansas, participating in the battle of 
 Camden. At the battle of Saline Bot- 
 tom, Mr. Fetzer was wounded by a gun 
 shot in the right breast and arm, and 
 when he had sufficiently recovered re- 
 turned to his home in Manitowoc county, 
 being honorably discharged in Milwaukee 
 in December, 1864. He had been pro- 
 moted on the battle field at Sabine Cross 
 Roads to captain, and in April, 1866, re- 
 ceived his commission, signed by Gov. 
 Lucius Fairchild, and given for meritori- 
 ous conduct on the field of battle. 
 
 In Manitowoc county, in 1866, Mr. 
 Fetzer married Miss Anna Fetzer, who 
 was born in Hesse-Darmstadt as were 
 also her parents, Frank and Eliza (Fifer) 
 Fetzer, who in March, 1866, became res- 
 idents of Manitowoc county. Wis. , where 
 they spent their remaining days, the father 
 dying in 1888, the mother in 1893. They 
 reared a family of three children, namely: 
 
520 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Henry, who is married and resides in 
 Sturfjeon Bay, where he is serving as 
 cashier in a bank; Laura, and Anna. In 
 April, 1867, Mr. Fetzer removed with his 
 wife to Ahnapee, Wis., where he estab- 
 lished a foundry and machine shop, but in 
 August of the same year he sold out and 
 came to Forestville, locating on the farm 
 which has since been his home. Here he 
 embarked in general merchandising and 
 soon built up a ^ood business. He also 
 engaged in buying posts and ties, and in 
 1872 established a sawmill which proved 
 a very profitable investment. The busi- 
 ness steadily increased, employment was 
 furnished to some fifty men, and the daily 
 output rose to 25,000 feet of lumber and 
 150,000 shingles. He carried on that 
 business until 1878, and is now interested 
 in the lumber business, as a member of 
 the firm of Young & Fetzer, engaged in 
 the manufacture of lumber at Jackson- 
 port, Egg Harbor and Horse Shoe Bay, 
 Wis. In T877 he built a flouring-mill on 
 Wolf river, which he enlarged in 1887, 
 supplying it with all modern machinery. 
 The main building is 28 .\ 64, 35 feet high; 
 the anne.x is 26 x 26 feet, 16 feet in 
 height, and the mill has a capacity of 
 about 75 barrels per day. The flour is 
 made bj' the roller process, and being of 
 a most excellent quality finds a ready sale 
 on the market. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Fetzer is 
 a prominent member of the Democratic 
 party. With exception of one year he 
 served as chairman of the town board of 
 Forestville township twenty-seven years; 
 was chairman of the county board three 
 years, and has been school clerk for a 
 quarter of a century. He is also justice 
 of the peace, an incumbency he has filled 
 twenty-seven years, and in 1 880 he was 
 appointed postmaster of Forestville, which 
 office he held continuously until July, 
 1889, when he resigned; in July, 1894, 
 however, he was re-established in the 
 office, and is now filling the position. In 
 1884 he was elected to the Legislature by 
 a vote of fifty-two when the Republican 
 
 majority was Soo, and in 1 890 he was 
 elected to the State Senate by a vote of 
 120, a fact which indicates his personal 
 popularity, and the confidence which was 
 reposed in him by his fellow townsmen 
 and all who know him. 
 
 Socially Mr. Fetzer is a member, and 
 for ten years served as commander, of 
 William A. Nelson Post, No. 97, G. .\. 
 R., Forestville, and was a member of the 
 staff of National Commander Warner, of 
 Missouri. He belongs to Key Lodge, 
 No. 272, A. F. & A. M., of Ahnapee. 
 Wis. ; is a member of the Sons of Her- 
 mann, and served as grand president of 
 that order for two years. He is a director 
 of the Ahnapee & W'estern railroad; sec- 
 retary and director of the Frankfort Land 
 Company of Frankfort, Tcnn., of which 
 G. W. Young, of Ahnapee, is president, 
 Victor Schlitz, of Milwaukee, Wis., vice- 
 president, and F. S. Anderson, of Chi- 
 cago, treasurer. Mr. Fetzer is one of the 
 representative men of Door county, promi- 
 nent in all public affairs, and his political 
 career and private life are alike above re- 
 proach. He has been an important fac- 
 tor in the upbuilding of his locality, and 
 the life and success of Forestville is due 
 in no small degree to his efforts. 
 
 CHARLES H. BRANDES (de- 
 ceased). Among the best known 
 citizens of Kewaunee county none, 
 perhaps, enjoyed more populari- 
 ty, or was more highly esteemed for his 
 kindness of heart and genuine unselfish 
 benevolence, than the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 Mr. Brandes was born December 19, 
 1830, in Kleinhofen, Hanover, Prussia, 
 near the Braunschweig line, a son of 
 Herman Brandes, a gardener of Klein- 
 hofen. Our subject being left an orphan 
 at the early age of ten years, he was 
 reared at the home of an uncle, after- 
 ward proceeding to Berlin, Germany, 
 whence, in 1847, at the age of sixteen 
 years, he came to the United States along 
 
COJdMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 521 
 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Carl Lorenz, with 
 whom he was intimately acquainted. 
 Landing in New York, the little party 
 journeyed to Albany, where Mr. Brandes 
 learned the trade of engineer, which he 
 subsequently followed for some years on 
 the Hudson river and, later, on the great 
 lakes, passing his unemployed time, es- 
 pecially winters, at the home of the Lor- 
 enzes, in Albany, In 1856 he came to 
 Kewaunee, Wis., and built the "Steam- 
 boat Hotel," now known as the "Erich- 
 sen Hotel," conducting same about ten 
 years, at the end of which time he sold 
 out, and, engaging in the brewing busi- 
 ness, carried on a brewery in Kewaunee 
 until 1880, when, on account of impaired 
 health, he sold out and retired to his farm 
 of forty acres, within the city limits. 
 Having always led an active life, how- 
 ever, he was not long content to remain 
 passive; so purchasing the " Read Hotel " 
 property in Kewaunee, he improved it at 
 a considerable outlay, making it a first- 
 class hostelry, and conducted same up to 
 his death, which occurred May 16, 1893. 
 He was an honest, upright citizen, ever a 
 friend to the poor and needy, and those 
 who were in his employ always felt that 
 he had their interest at heart as well as 
 his own, and he was recognized by all as 
 in every sense a man whose thoughts and 
 actions were for others, not for himself 
 alone. 
 
 In October, 1858, at Kewaunee, Mr. 
 Brandes was married to Miss Augusta 
 Lorenz, the younger of the two daugh- 
 ters born to his old friends Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lorenz, whose elder daughter, Bertha, 
 was married in i860 to George Grimmer, 
 the capitalist, of Kewaunee. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Brandes were born five chil- 
 dren, as follows: Bertha, now Mrs. Mc- 
 Mahon; Augusta, now Mrs. Cowell ; 
 Charles; Edward; and Martha, who was 
 summoned from earth in the heydey of 
 her girlhood, but nineteen summers hav- 
 ing passed lightly over her head. Mr. 
 Brandes was an active member of the 
 I. O. O. P., and assisted in the organiza- 
 
 tion of the lodge at Kewaunee. Politically 
 he was a Democrat, but never a partisan, 
 and for many years was a member of 
 the city council, which position he was 
 holding at the time of his death. His 
 widow is still a resident of Kewaunee, en- 
 joying in an eminent degree the highest 
 esteem and respect of the entire com- 
 munity, among whom she has lived so 
 many years, well-known for her many 
 virtues and acts of charity. 
 
 EDWARD BRANDES (deceased), 
 late proprietor of the "Read 
 House," Kewaunee, was born in 
 that city Pebruary 12, 1866, son 
 of Charles Brandes, Senior. 
 
 In 1883, in the month of June, he 
 graduated from the city high school, and 
 the excellent education there acquired 
 was supplemented by a course in the 
 Spencerian College at Milwaukee. On 
 his return to Kewaunee he went into the 
 drug business, in which he prospered for 
 about five years, taking, during this per- 
 iod, a course in pharmacy at the State 
 University at Madison. When he re- 
 linquished the drug trade it was for the 
 purpose of assisting his father in his hotel, 
 a very popular hostelry of Kewaunee, in 
 which he became as popular as the house 
 itself was. In this capacity he remained 
 until the death of his father, in May, 
 1893, when the entire management of the 
 house fell to his hands, and he remained 
 the congenial, affable and accommodating 
 proprietor up to the time of his decease, 
 March 3, 1895. Pleasant and obliging 
 as he was as a druggist, he excelled as a 
 host. No comfort for his guests was 
 overlooked, and, once lodged in his house, 
 the visitor felt himself at home, and his 
 appetite provoked by the excellence of 
 the viands. In fact. Nature made him a 
 host. Mr. Brandes found time, however, 
 to aid in the industrial progress of his 
 native city, and became vice-president of 
 and a director in the Kewaunee Purni- 
 ture Co. In politics he was a Democrat, 
 
522 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 though not at all a bitter partisan, and 
 fraternally he was a member of the Royal 
 Arcanum. 
 
 On November i8, 1890, Mr. Brandes 
 was married to Miss Frances Flentje, a 
 natixe of Manitowoc count}-. Wis., and 
 a daughter of one of its earliest settlers, 
 and she still resides at Kewaunee, though 
 she does not conduct the hotel. 
 
 M 
 
 A Y N AND T I L L O T S O N 
 
 P A R K E R, senior member of 
 the distinguished law firm of 
 Parker & Decker, Ahnapee, and 
 the genial mayor of that wide-awake city, 
 is a native of New Hampshire, born in the 
 village of Roxbury, Cheshire county, 
 October 30, 1850. 
 
 James M. L. Parker, father of our 
 subject, was of Massachusetts birth, in 
 that State being educated and taught the 
 trade of carpenter and joiner, which he 
 followed there successfully, later in New 
 Hampshire. He was married in the 
 East to Miss Polly H. Kidder, by whom 
 he had five children, namely: James A. ; 
 Amine C, living, wife of George Fowler, 
 of Forestville fshe taught the first school 
 in Ahnapee, and her marriage was the 
 first one celebrated in that then village); 
 Nancy; Roselle, and Maynard T.. our 
 subject being the only member of the 
 family now living, except his sister 
 Amine C. James A., the eldest, was lost 
 in a whaling expedition to the Arctic seas, 
 the vessel on which he set out never hav- 
 ing been heard of since. About the year 
 1854, James M. L. Parker, accompanied 
 by his wife and children, came to Wiscon- 
 sin, and locating in Racine, during the 
 following winter worked as machinist. In 
 the spring of 1855 he moved to Wolf River 
 (now in the city of Ahnapeej, Kewau- 
 nee county, and here for some years fol- 
 lowed his regular trade, that of carpenter 
 and builder, among other works of im- 
 jirovement constructing the bridge pier. 
 Jn 1 86 1 he removed to Forestville, Door 
 county, where he became interested in a 
 
 sawmill, forming a partnership with David 
 Youngs, an old settler, in this industrw 
 and conducting same successfully until 
 1873, in which year Mr. Parker sold 
 his interest in the mill, and retired 
 into private life in Ahnapee. He died in 
 Forestville, Wis., at the home of his 
 daughter Amine C, in the fall of 1879 at 
 the age of sixty-seven years, esteemed 
 and respected by all who knew him, as 
 an honorable and trustworthy man, quiet 
 and unassuming, yet one who made him- 
 self felt in the community, and did much 
 toward the upbuilding of the city of his 
 adoption. He was one of the first harbor 
 commissioners of Ahnapee, to which body 
 the city is indebted for its fine harbor, 
 the si in- qtia iioii of any lake port; while 
 a resident of Forestville, Door count}-, 
 he served as town clerk. In religious 
 faith he and his wife were members of 
 the Baptish Church. She was a true 
 type oi a noble New England woman, 
 with an influence for good over all she 
 came in contact with. She was called to 
 her long home in 1867 at the age of fift\- 
 seven years, leaving the impress of her 
 beautiful character on her sur\-iving chil- 
 dren, her youngest son, Maynard, espec- 
 ially, having in a marked degree inher- 
 ited many of her amiable traits. 
 
 The subject proper of 'these lines was 
 about four years old when the family 
 came from New Hamjishire to Wisconsin, 
 and his boyhood years were necessarily 
 passed at Ahnapee and Forestville, at the 
 public schools of which then villages he 
 received a fairh- liberal literary education, 
 enjoying also the advantage of being 
 strongly encouraged in his efforts at school 
 by a well-read, thinking father, in addition 
 to which he was abl\- assisted in his stud- 
 ies by his highlj'-educated sister Amine. 
 To her he was indebted in a great meas- 
 ure for his ability to enter the arena of 
 school teaching, which he did at an early 
 age, teaching some thirteen terms in all 
 in various districts in Kewaunee and Door 
 counties, at the same time finding an op- 
 portunity of attending Ripon College a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 523- 
 
 couple of terms. While engaged at his 
 scholastic duties he commenced the study 
 of law, borrowing some books on the sub- 
 ject, and from time to time receiving wise 
 counsel from his friend Judge Rufus L. 
 Wing, of Kewaunee. In October, 1879, 
 he was admitted to the bar, his examina- 
 tion being held by Judge McLean, at Ke- 
 waunee, and he has since practiced his 
 chosen profession. 
 
 In I 88 1 Mr. Parker, being induced to 
 take an interest in the Ahnapee Record, a 
 Republican weekly newspaper published 
 in that city, he became its editor and 
 proprietor, and as such conducted same 
 until 1884, when he sold out to D. W. 
 Stebbins, and has since then exclusively 
 devoted himself to his law practice, in 
 which he enjoys a lucrative clientage. In 
 1890 the present firm of Parker & Decker 
 was established, and in addition to their 
 regular law business they are solicitors 
 for the Ahnapee & Western Railway 
 Compan}'. Mr. Parker is also identified 
 with several business enterprises, among 
 which may be mentioned the Ahnapee 
 Veneer & Seating Co. , of which he is a 
 stockholder and present secretary; is also 
 engaged in insurance and real-estate busi- 
 ness, his many and diverse interests all 
 reflecting the highest credit on his ad- 
 ministrative ability, acumen and sound 
 judgment. He has been a \ery impor- 
 tant factor in the building up of the 
 thriving and bustling little city where he 
 has established his home, and has held 
 several offices of trust and honor; for 
 many years he was clerk of Ahnapee 
 while it was a village and city, I'espec- 
 tively; was also a justice of the peace, 
 and has been chief of the Ahnapee Fire 
 Department ever since the present organ- 
 ization was effected, in which he materi- 
 ally assisted, and was a member of the 
 first fire company of the place. For two 
 terms he served as city attorney; also 
 held the office of district attorney by ap- 
 pointment from Gov. Rusk, and he is 
 now serving his seventh term as mayor of 
 the city of Ahnapee. In his political pref- 
 
 erences he is a stanch Republican, socially 
 a member of the F. & A. M., and K. of P. 
 
 On July I, 1880, Maynard T. Parker 
 was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 A. Overbeck, daughter of Rev. H. Over- 
 beck, Sr. , of Ahnapee, an honored pio- 
 neer minister of the Gospel. To this 
 union have been born three children, to 
 wit; Mabel C. , Edgar J. and lone L. 
 
 The branch of the Parker family to 
 which the subject of this sketch belongs 
 is lineally descended from Capt. John 
 Parker, who was a Minute man in com- 
 mand of a company of militia at the bat- 
 tle of Lexington, the first battle of the 
 Revolutionary war. It is recorded in his- 
 torv that in his company a cousin, also 
 named Parker, was killed in this battle, 
 and that his was the first life lost and first 
 blood shed in that struggle. 
 
 HENRY B. STEPHENSON, one 
 of the enterprising and progressive 
 citizens of Door county, and who 
 is also numbered among her hon- 
 ored pioneer settlers, was born September 
 28, 1830, in Hull, England, a son of 
 Henry and Mary Ann (Sanderson) Steph- 
 enson. When onl\' four years of age he 
 was brought to America by his parents, 
 who first located in Canada, subsequently 
 removing to Ontario county, N. Y. , 
 where our subject made his home until 
 1856. In the meantime, in September, 
 1852. in Canandaigua, N. Y. , he married 
 Jane Orr, who was born in Londonderry, 
 Ireland, a daughter of Andrew and Jane 
 (Mason) Orr. When a bright maiden 
 of fifteen she crossed the Atlantic alone, 
 and went to make her home with relatives 
 in Canandaigua, N. Y., where she met 
 and married Mr. Stephenson. 
 
 At the time our subject owned a small 
 tract of land in the Empire State, but 
 worked most of the time for others. In 
 the fall of 1856, with his family, consist- 
 ing of his wife and their two daughters, 
 Mary and Ellen, he came to the West, lo- 
 cating in Wisconsin, then a new State 
 
524 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 offering many opportunities to a man of 
 limited means. Histiiree brothers, John, 
 Robert and Septimus, were located in 
 Sturgeon Bay, Door county. He came 
 by steamer from Collingwood to Sheboy- 
 gan, Wis., thence by stage to Fond du 
 Lac, then by steamer to Menasha, where 
 he hired a team and drove to Green Bay, 
 and then took a sailing vessel for Sturgeon 
 Bay, this circuitous route consuming 
 nearly two weeks. Mr. Stephenson ar- 
 rived in Sturgeon Bay with no capital 
 save a strong determination to succeed, 
 and he at once secured work with Robert 
 Graham in getting out pine lumber 
 through the winter, and in the following 
 spring found employment in a sawmill. 
 His wife during that winter kept a board- 
 ing house for the lumbermen, and thus 
 aided in the support of the family. In the 
 fall of 1857 Mr. Stephenson purchased 
 eighty acres of land in Section 26, Sevas- 
 topol township — a wild tract, upon which 
 not a furrow had been turned or an im- 
 provement made, but with characteristic 
 energy he began its development, and 
 soon transformed it into rich and fertile 
 fields. He erected the first abode on the 
 farm occupied by a white man, the struc- 
 ture, however, being little more than a 
 shanty. He worked his farm as he could, 
 but during much of the time in tho.se 
 early da3s he was abliged to be away 
 from home to earn money to provide for 
 the maintenance of his family. In 1865 
 the first house was replaced by a more 
 substantial one and the work of improve- 
 ment and development was carried on, so 
 that in course of time the richly cul- 
 tivated farm bore little resemblance to 
 the timbered tract he had pre-empted. 
 One-half of it is under cultivation, and 
 the buildings upon the place are monu- 
 ments to his own thrift and enterprise. 
 In 1 892 he erected a new residence, doing 
 most all of the work himself, and the 
 other buildings are in keeping with the 
 pleasant home. To Mr. and Mrs. Steph- 
 enson have been born children as follows, 
 Ellen, who became the wife of Frank 
 
 Kimber, and died in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. ; 
 Mary, wife of Ole Faulk, who died in 
 Sturgeon Bay; Lewis, a farmer of Sevas- 
 topol township; May, wife or John Daly, 
 of Menominee, Mich. ; Effie, who became 
 the wife of Herman Landon, and died at 
 Thompson, Mich. ; and Herbert and Dora, 
 both at home. 
 
 Mr. Stephenson supported the Re- 
 publican party until 1876, since which 
 time he has been bound b}' no party ties, 
 although he is now in hearty sympathy 
 with the Populist movement. He has 
 served as chairman of the town board of 
 supervisors, was town treasurer, served 
 for twelve years as town clerk, and is 
 now school clerk, a position he filled 
 for some time, and then resigned; but the 
 people again called him to that office. 
 He is now serving his second year as 
 treasurer of the Mutual Insurance Com- 
 pan}' of Sevastopol, and for several years 
 has acted as agent for that company. 
 He has a wide acquaintance throughout 
 the town and county, for he has not only 
 held the offices above mentioned, but for 
 twenty years was justice of the peace, 
 and for ten years was postmaster in 
 charge of Malakoff postoffice, which was 
 in his own home. He and his wife are 
 highly respected people, holding an envi- 
 able position in social circles, and in the 
 historj' of their adopted county they well 
 deserve mention. 
 
 ON. JOHN WATTAWA. In look- 
 
 ing around for men of vigorous 
 
 u 
 
 I I and forcible caliber who have taken 
 important and prominent part in 
 the affairs of men. the biographer is not 
 expected to deal only with valiant and 
 martial heroes, for in the world of science 
 and arts, the professions and politics of 
 the present day, are found men of action, 
 capable and earnest, whose talents, enter- 
 prise and energy command the respect of 
 their fellow men, and whose lives are 
 worthy examples and objects^ of emula- 
 tion. That the life of such a person 
 
ui/^2l-c/dZ.4^^^n^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 527 
 
 should have its pubhc record is pecuHarly 
 proper, because a knowledge of men 
 whose substantial fame rests upon their 
 attainments, character and success, must 
 necessarily exert a wholesome influence 
 on the rising generation of the American 
 people. In this connection it is appro- 
 priate to review in this volume the cir- 
 cumstances of the life of John Wattawa, 
 of Kewaunee. 
 
 A native of Wisconsin, he was born 
 April 3, i860, in the city of Milwaukee, 
 a son of Matthias and Josephine (Havra- 
 nek) Wattawa, natives of Bohemia, the 
 father born in Milin, in 1818, the mother 
 in the village of Postezof, in 1820. They 
 were married in Bohemia in 1837, and 
 came to the United States about the year 
 1855, making their first New-World home 
 in Milwaukee. In i860, just after the 
 birth of their son John, they moved to 
 Kewaunee, where the family have since 
 made their home, the only death being 
 that of the much-beloved wife and mother, 
 who passed from earth in 1892, leaving 
 eight children: two sons — John, our sub- 
 ject, and Charles Wattawa, an attorney 
 at Kewaunee — and six daughters. 
 
 John Wattawa is pre-eminently a self- 
 made man, one who in early boyhood 
 commenced life at the bottom round of 
 the ladder, and, unaided, worked his way 
 step by step to his present enviable posi- 
 tion. At the age of ten j^ears we find 
 him working in saw and shingle mills in 
 the summer seasons, and investing his 
 earnings and savings in an education at 
 the common schools of the locality. His 
 taste for reading in spare hours also 
 proved a strong motor in his after ac- 
 quirements, and at this day he stands 
 securely in the ranks of men whose hearts 
 are their books, events their tutors, and 
 great actions their eloquence. At the 
 age of sixteen years he succeeded in ac- 
 quiring an academic education, at which 
 time he commenced teaching, and for 
 several years thereafter he was principal 
 of the Ahnapee High School. When 
 twenty-one vears old he was elected 
 
 30 
 
 county superintendent of the schools of 
 Kewaunee county, a position he filled 
 with eminent ability five years, during 
 which time he studied law, and in 1887 
 he was admitted to the bar, at once com- 
 mencing the practice of his profession 
 in Kewaunee, where he soon became 
 prominent in the annals of the legal pro- 
 fession of the county. His legal business 
 has grown steadily, and he now enjoys the 
 most lucrative practice of any in the 
 county. Having come to Kewaunee in his 
 very infancy, Mr. Wattaw-a has grown up 
 with the city, and delights and prides him- 
 self in her growth and prosperit}'. As a 
 Democrat he has also always taken a deep 
 interest in the politics of both city and 
 county, each of which he has served in 
 various capacities, such as mayor of Ke- 
 waunee (1893-94), city attorney, member 
 of the council, county board (of which he 
 was chairman), etc. In the last Presi- 
 dential election he was a Presidential 
 elector, and, same election, was most 
 favorably considered before the conven- 
 tion, nominating the candidate for sena- 
 tor from his District, only lacking one 
 vote of securing the nomination. He 
 was president of the Young Mens' Dem- 
 ocratic Club of Kewaunee during the 
 campaign of 1888; was chairman of 
 the Democratic County Committee in 
 1886; a delegate to the State Con- 
 vention in 1888, and member of the 
 Democratic State Central Committee in 
 1 894. He is recognized as an astute and 
 able leader of his party in Kewaunee 
 county, working faithfully for its success, 
 and, gifted as he is with a more than or- 
 dinary degree of energy and vigor, both 
 of mind and body, instinctive sagacity, 
 indomitable perseverance, great mental 
 resources and entire self command, he is 
 admirably constituted by nature to be a 
 leader of men, as is well exemplified by 
 his eminent success as a lawyer, public 
 speaker, legislator, and public official. 
 Of a generous, social and affable dispo- 
 sition, possessed of marked ability, and 
 physically of goodly proportions and com- 
 
528 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 nmnding presence, he is one of the most 
 popular men in his part of tlie State, one 
 for whom, being yet a comparatively 
 young man, the future holds high honors 
 in store. His career in Kewaunee has 
 brought him in close contact and intimate 
 relations with the leading men of this 
 State, and it is safe to say that but few 
 men in I-Cewaunee retain the respect and 
 confidence of his fellow citizens in an 
 equal degree. 
 
 In the advancement of the commercial 
 and industrial interests of Kewaunee our 
 svibject has been an earnest worker, and 
 was one of the organizers and the first 
 president of the Advancement Association, 
 the Kewaunee I""urniture Company, and 
 Bohemian Printing Company. In Sep- 
 teml)er, 1893, l^^' ^\'<i^ appointed deputy 
 collector of United States Customs, and 
 is still serving in that office. Socially he 
 is a member of the I. O. O. F.. Covenant 
 Lodge, No. 26^, Kewaunee, and of the 
 C. S. P. s. 
 
 On January S, 1887, at Manitowoc, 
 Wis., Hon. John Wattawa and Miss 
 Catherine Walsh, an amiable, talented 
 and highly educated lady, were united in 
 marriage. She was lH)rn April 24. 1861, 
 at Two Rivers, Manitowoc, Co., Wis., 
 daughter of Feli.v and IJridget (Comer) 
 \\'alsh, nati\es of Ireland, the father 
 born in County .\rmagh, the mother at 
 Castlebar, Count}- Mayo; they were mar- 
 ried, in 1853, at Manitowoc Kapids.Wis. , 
 and had a family of nine children, eight 
 of whom were educated to become teach- 
 ers — in which jirofession Mrs. Wattawa, 
 as an educator of great superiorit\', held 
 prominent place some five years — three of 
 the sons subse(iuentl\' taking uj) law: 
 Henry C, now practicing in Kedfield, S. 
 Dak.; Thomas J. in Helena, Mont., and 
 John in Kewaunee. I'-eli.x Walsh was one 
 of the earliest settlers of Two Rivers, hav- 
 ing removed thither about the \ear 1845, 
 then but a bo)-, becoming a prominent 
 business man and one of the most influ- 
 ential and highlv honored citizens of the 
 place, and dying there in 1891. He was 
 
 a strong advocate of the public-school 
 system, and did nnich toward the building 
 up of Two Rivers, and the furthering of 
 all enterprises tending to the advance- 
 ment and prosperity of the community at 
 large. His widow is still residing at Two 
 Rivers. To Mr. and Mrs. Wattawa have 
 come four children, to wit: Virginia, born 
 August 12, 1888; John H.,born May 31, 
 1 891; Katherine 1*2., born December 21, 
 1892, and Esther, born December 29, 
 I 894. 
 
 In 1894 Mr. Wattawa built his ele- 
 gant and commodious modern residence 
 in Kewaunee, which in its entirety, to- 
 gether with the surroundings, presents a 
 most pleasing and fascinating scene to the 
 eye. It is a model of good taste, both 
 within and without, and is situated on one 
 of the most picturesque locations in the 
 city, connnanding as it does an enchant- 
 ing view of the harbor and Lake Michi- 
 gan — without doubt one of the grandest 
 sites on the lake shore for a home. The 
 grounds, which extend to the very edge 
 of the lake, are tastefully kept and orna- 
 mented with lawns, pathways and shrub- 
 ber)', in every respect presenting the re- 
 flex of the cultivated minds of the owners. 
 Here, released from the cares of business, 
 Mr. Wattawa retires to find a solace in 
 the companionship of his amiable and ac- 
 complished wife and four interesting little 
 oli\e branches. True to his family, faith- 
 ful to his friends, generous to his oppo- 
 nents, Hon. John Wattawa justly enjo\s 
 the distinction of being esteemed by all 
 alike as an honorable, upright citizen. 
 
 CHARLES GRISWOLD BOALT. 
 Among the prominent representa- 
 tive citiziMis of Kewaunee c(Hnity, 
 who by their activity and influence 
 have done so much to aiivance the inter- 
 ests of the city of Ahnapee, is the gentle- 
 man whose name we here record. He 
 was born .\pril 19. 1835, in Korwalk, 
 Ohio. The flrst ancestors of the family 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 529 
 
 in America came from England and set- 
 tled in Norwalk, Conn. , before the Revo- 
 lutionary war. 
 
 Grandfather John Boalt was born in 
 Norwalk, Conn., where he was a farmer 
 by occupation. In 1817 he moved to 
 Huron county, Ohio, where with other 
 families from Norwalk, Conn. , he made a 
 settlement, they naming the town Nor- 
 walk in honor of their native town in 
 Connecticut. A few years later he re- 
 moved to Sandusky, Ohio, where he 
 opened a hotel and made a permanent 
 home, dying there. His wife passed away 
 a few years before him. They had twelve 
 children, most of whom reached maturity. 
 Of these, Charles I^eicester Boalt was born 
 in 1803 in Norwalk, Conn., and removed 
 with his parents to Norwalk, Ohio, where 
 he experienced the numerous hardships 
 and inconveniences of pioneer life, among 
 other things being obliged to go for the 
 family's milling to Cleveland, a distance 
 of sixty miles. He was a man of great 
 perseverance, and of studious habits, fol- 
 lowed the profession of a teacher for a 
 time, and eventually studied law with 
 Ebene^er (later Chief Justice) Lane, of 
 Ohio. He was admitted to the bar in 
 Ohio, and practiced law a number of 
 )'ears, his circuit comprising the northern 
 part of the State, and he was connected 
 with man\- cases of importance. From 
 1830 till 1845 he was actively en- 
 gaged in the duties of his profession, and 
 then busied himself in settling up his own 
 real-estate business and that of his clients. 
 In 1850 he became one of the promoters 
 of the Cleveland, Toledo & Norwalk rail- 
 way, was made president, and was the 
 leading spirit in the l)uilding of the road, 
 negotiating its bonds in England and buy- 
 ing the iron in Wales. An opposition 
 road was built by the Sandusky City con- 
 tingent, headed by Judge Lane; but the 
 two roads were after\\ard consolidated. 
 When the road passed into the hands of 
 Wall street he resigned. Later on he 
 was president of the Sandusky, Mansfield 
 & Newark railroad, which he also man- 
 
 aged several years. This was one of the 
 first railroads in the United States, and 
 the first section was built about 1832. At 
 first the cars were hauled by horses, but 
 later on the company procured engines, 
 one of which, called the "Sandusky," 
 was among the Baltimore & Ohio railroad 
 exhibits at the World's Columbian Ex- 
 position, Chicago, 1893; the first car on 
 the road was fashioned after the Concord 
 stages, hung on thorough-braces. The 
 road was eventually leased to the Balti- 
 more & Ohio railroad. 
 
 Mr. Boalt died August 10, 1870, in 
 Sandusky, Ohio, aged sixty-eight years, 
 leaving an unsullied reputation, and a 
 record in the ainials of railroad historj' 
 which is a credit to his name and an 
 honor to his posteritj-. He was a practi- 
 cal business man, thoroughly competent 
 to manipulate large business concerns, 
 and was very successful in every vvay. 
 In politics he was originally a Whig, later 
 a Republican; he was very active during 
 the Civil war in raising troops, and had 
 two sons in the army. His wife, Eliza- 
 beth Woodbridge Griswold, was a daugh- 
 ter of Roger Griswold, governor of Con- 
 necticut, whose father, Mathew Griswold, 
 was governor of Connecticut in Colonial 
 times. Esquire CTris\\'old was the first 
 of the Griswold family to come over and 
 settle in Connecticut, and he was the 
 progenitor of the family in America. His 
 ancestral home was near Oxford, En- 
 gland. Coming to America about the 
 year 1630, he settled at Black Hall, 
 opposite Saybrook, at the mouth of the 
 Connecticut river; Black Hall was so 
 named because of being in charge of 
 a black man; it is still in the possession of 
 the Griswold family. Mrs. Elizabeth Boalt 
 was educated in Hartford, Conn., and 
 in New York City, and was a woman 
 of great ability and high literary at- 
 tainment. She was the mother of 
 seven children: Cornelia E. , Charles G., 
 John Henry (a prominent attorney in San 
 Francisco), Mrs. Frances Lane, Moss, 
 Frederick Harper (deceased), and Dr. 
 
530 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOORAPEWAL RECORD. 
 
 William Leicester (now of Gratz, Austria, 
 a student of medicine). 
 
 Charles Griswold Boalt received his 
 early education in Farmington, Conn., 
 and later attended Kenyon College. In 
 1850, at the age of fifteen years, he en- 
 tered the employ of the Illinois Central 
 railroad, as civil engineer, on preliminary 
 survey through the State, being stationed 
 at Champaign City, and surveying north 
 and south. He was with the survey for 
 two and a half years, and drove the stakes 
 that started the first grading. For about 
 eighteen months he was engaged as civil 
 engineer on the Fremont & Indiana rail- 
 road, in Ohio, now a part of the Lake 
 Erie & Western railroad, and was also an 
 engineer for a new road which was never 
 built. In 1854 he came to Mayville, 
 Dodge Co. , Wis. , where he and his father 
 bought an interest in an iron company, of 
 which the father was made president, and 
 the son afterward became secretary, fill- 
 ing that position until 1859, when he 
 came to Ahnapee, Wis. Having a large 
 business experience, he was a welcome 
 addition to the young city, of which he 
 soon became one of the leading and pros- 
 perous business men. He was one of the 
 first general merchants in the town, meet- 
 ing with success from the beginning, and 
 he continued in this business up to 1868. 
 In 1864 he bought one-half of the town 
 plat and other real-estate property ad- 
 jacent, and also an undivided half of the 
 pier extending into the lake, purchasing 
 this from George Steele & Co., of Chi- 
 cago, who with David Young had built 
 the pier and laid out the town. Mr. Boalt 
 was associated with Mr. Young in the for- 
 warding business until 1872, in which 
 year he bought his partner's interest, and 
 then conducted the business alone until 
 January i, 1892, when he sold out to 
 Edward Decker. Mr. Boalt has been 
 identified with nearly every interest for 
 the advancement and prosperity of Ahna- 
 pee: He was instrumental in organiz- 
 ing the Veneer & Seating Co., and the 
 Ahnapee Furniture Co., of which he is 
 
 now secretary and financial manager, and 
 under his able management it has become 
 a prosperous institution, which, by giving 
 employment to many hands, brings cheer 
 and comfort to many homes. 
 
 On August 10, 1857, at Painesville, 
 Ohio, Mr. Boalt was married to Miss 
 Agnes Gillet, daughter of Isaac Gillet, 
 for many years a pioneer and prosperous 
 merchant of Painesville. The union was 
 blessed with three children, two of whom 
 are now living: Elizabeth G., and 
 Charles G., now connected with the Cal- 
 umet Iron & Steel Co., at Irondale, near 
 Chicago. Mrs. Boalt was educated in. 
 the young ladies' seminaries at Willough- 
 by, Ohio, and Pittsfield, Mass. Mr. 
 Boalt is a Republican in politics, and dur- 
 ing the war of the Rebellion performed 
 much valuable work for the North by en- 
 couraging the cause of the Union at 
 home. 
 
 GEORGE BEYER. That a review 
 of the life of such an energetic 
 and enterprising individual, as the 
 subject of this sketch undoubtedly 
 is, should have prominent place in the 
 pages of a work of this kind is peculiarly 
 proper; because a knowledge of men, 
 whose substantial record rests upon their 
 attainments, character and success, must 
 at all times exert a wholesome influence 
 on the rising generation of the American 
 people, and can not fail to be more or 
 less interesting to those of maturer years. 
 Mr. Beyer is a native of Bavaria, 
 Germany, born December 19, 1830, a 
 son of John and Margaret Beyer, who 
 in 1846 came to this country with their 
 family (consisting of one son, George, and 
 two daughters) settling in Washington 
 county. Wis., on a piece of nearly all 
 wild land, which they cleared and culti- 
 vated. The parents, who had brought 
 some money from Europe with them, 
 were honest and industrious, and when 
 they were called from earth in the midst 
 of their labors on this farm they left a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 531 
 
 goodly name as an heritage to their chil- 
 dren. The mother died in 1863, the 
 father in 1864. As will be seen, our sub- 
 ject was a lad of sixteen summers when 
 the family crossed the ocean to the New 
 World, and he consequently well remem- 
 bers the voyage, which occupied fifty- 
 three days, and the subsequent overland 
 journey to Buffalo, thence by boat to 
 Milwaukee, and from there by wagon to 
 Washington county. All his education had 
 been received in Germany, so the first 
 thing he applied himself to in this coun- 
 try was the felling of trees on his father's 
 farm, and otherwise assisting in the con- 
 verting of a wilderness into fields of wav- 
 ing grain. In 1854 he married Miss Mar- 
 garet Flasch, also a native of Germany, 
 who immigrated to the United States in 
 the spring of 1847, making her first New- 
 World home in Fond du Lac county. Wis. 
 After marriage Mr. Beyer conducted a 
 farm in Germantown township, Washing- 
 ton county, nineteen years, at the same 
 time for fourteen years operated a thresh- 
 ing machine, dealing also in agricultural 
 implements, such as reapers and mowers, 
 and for si.x years he kept a store in the 
 village of Richfield, same county. 
 
 In 1879, his family having considera- 
 bly increased, and being desirous of mak- 
 ing a settlement in an even newer coun- 
 tr\^ than what he found in Washington 
 county, he came to Door county, arriving 
 August 31, that year, and in Section 34, 
 Sevastopol township, took up a tract of 
 nearly all wild land, whereon there was 
 no building whatever save a small shanty 
 so leaky that the first night the family 
 slept in it, the wind came through the 
 cracks in the walls strong enough to blow 
 out the light. But that was a small affair 
 to fearless pioneers, and it was not loijg 
 before all such inconveniences were reme- 
 died, and all obstacles toward having a 
 comfortable home removed, vast im- 
 provements of all kinds being made on the 
 homestead. In 1880 Mr. Beyer erected 
 his present comfortable and substantial 
 residence, also commodious outhouses, 
 
 and he has still 400 acres of land left after 
 disposing of 120 acres. 
 
 A brief record of the children born to 
 our subject and wife is as follows: Mar- 
 garet is a school teacher in A'linncsota; 
 George K. is a Roman Catholic priest at 
 La Crosse, Wis. ; John is a carpenter, 
 and lives in Sturgeon Bay; Lconhardt has 
 his home in Fond du Lac county; Theo- 
 dore and Alois are at home; Otilia P. is a 
 school teacher in Chicago; George is at 
 home; Anton J. is a carpenter, and now 
 works in a machine shop in Menominee, 
 Mich. ; Josephine P. is a school teacher in 
 W^aterloo county, Ontario (Canada) ; 
 Frank G. is in Menominee, Mich. ; Mar}' 
 died at the age of eight years; Kunigunda 
 Mary lives at home; Adam E. is a student 
 at St. Francis Seminar)', near Milwaukee. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beyer and all the fainilj' are 
 members of the Roman Catholic Church, 
 and for eight years he was secretary of 
 St. Joseph's congregation at Sturgeon 
 Bay. Politically he is a sound Demo- 
 crat, and while a resident of Germantown 
 township, Washington county, he served 
 as chairman of the township eight con- 
 secutive years, and as justice of the peace 
 and notary public, ten years each; was 
 postmaster of Richfield postoffice five 
 years, or until the time of his leaving for 
 Sevastopol township, when he resigned; 
 of the latter township he was chairman 
 eight consecutive years. Although when 
 starting in life for himself he received 
 some assistance from his father, Mr. 
 Beyer is deservedly classified among the 
 self-made pioneer citizens of our country, 
 who by virtue of their occupations are 
 ever in the van of civilization, just as in a 
 regiment of foot the pioneer company 
 maches in advance of the main body. As 
 success never fails to attend industry, per- 
 severance and judicious thrift, so success 
 has been his cheery and cheerful com- 
 panion through the many years of ard- 
 uous toil which ha\-e brought him a well- 
 earned, comfortable competence. In point 
 of intelligence and keeping abreast of the 
 times, he is above the average farmer. 
 
532 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and the superior class of buildings he has 
 placed on his pnjperty are in themselves 
 witnesses to the progressiveness, industry 
 and skill of the owner. By nature he is 
 quiet and unobtrusive, honorable almost 
 to a fault, and is able to say triumphantly 
 that in all his forty-years' experience in 
 various lines of business he has never had 
 a lawsuit, and never sought one. 
 
 WfLLI.\M HELMHOLZ, a pros- 
 perous farmer and well-known 
 citizen of Claybanks township. 
 Door county, has been a resi- 
 dent of this section of Wisconsin since 
 1.S55, having come hither from his native 
 land, Germany, where he was born Au- 
 gust 26, 1827, in the Duchy of Braun- 
 schweig. 
 
 Fred W. Helmholz, father of the gen- 
 tleman whose name opens this sketch, 
 was also born in Germany, receiving his 
 education in the common schools, and 
 when a boy served an apprenticeship at 
 the tailor's trade, which he followed a 
 short time. Afterward engaging in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, he continued to farm 
 until about se\en years previous to his 
 death, when he retired. He married 
 Hannah Gerlock, who bore him five chil- 
 dren, as follows; Henry, the eldest, be- 
 came quite a prominent man, serving the 
 German Government as a soldier, and 
 later as secretary of a railroad until sev- 
 enty years of age; he died December 7, 
 1 893, at the advanced age of seventy-five. 
 Fred is engaged in mercantile business in 
 Hanover, Germany. William is the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. The two daughters 
 died in infancy. The entire family were 
 Lutherans in religious sentiment. Mr. 
 Helmhol.^ died in 1 870 at the age of seven- 
 ty-five j-ears, preceded to the grave by his 
 wife, who passed away at the age of fifty- 
 two. In early manhood he was a soldier 
 in the German army, and during his serv- 
 ice participated in the famous battle of 
 Waterloo. 
 
 William Helmholz obtained a good 
 
 education in the schools of his native 
 land, attending up to his seventeenth 
 year, when he entered the army, serving 
 ten years and six months, during which 
 time he was promoted from the ranks to 
 corporal (1848J, and in 1832 to orderlj- 
 sergeant. On August 24, 1854, at his 
 own request, he was honorably discharged 
 from the service, and on September 4, fol- 
 lowing, he embarked on a \essel bound 
 from Hamburg to New York, arriving at 
 that city after a voyage of thirty-three 
 days. Coming to Two Rivers, Manito- 
 woc Co., Wis., he remained here one 
 year, working in a mill, receiving nothing 
 but his board for his services, and in 
 1855 removed to Ahnapee, where he 
 worked in the woods a short time. The 
 following spring, in partnership with Ru- 
 dolph Klcinsmith, he purchased 120 
 acres of land, on which he built a log 
 cabin, and then commenced to fell the 
 timber and clear the place for cultivation, 
 engaging in farming as soon as the land 
 was ready. He also took up 1 20 acres 
 just south of this, but lost it as it had 
 been previously homesteaded. After re- 
 maining on his first purchase for about 
 two years, he sold his interest to his part- 
 ner and removed to the town of Clay- 
 banks, where he worked for about one 
 year in the mill, later making posts and 
 working in the woods until i860, when 
 he purchased and settled upon an eighty- 
 acre tract of land in Claybanks township, 
 which forms part of his present farm. 
 Cioing to work with his usual industry, he 
 soon saw the forest give way to well-cul- 
 tivated fields, and also bought more land, 
 now owning 170 acres, the greater part 
 of which is cleared and well-improved. 
 Mr. Helmholz is one of the pioneers of 
 this section, and as such has taken an ac- 
 tive part in the opening up and develop- 
 ment of the country, especially its agri- 
 cultural resources. A stanch member of 
 the Republican party, he has taken a 
 prominent part in local politics, and 
 has been honored with election to 
 several positions of trust, holding the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 533 
 
 treasurership for some seven years, and 
 serving a number of years as member of 
 the school board. 
 
 Before leaving Germany Mr. Helm- 
 ho!^ married Matilda Lohmann, a native 
 of that country, and their union was 
 blessed wfth eight children, as follows: 
 Otto, of Sturgeon Bay; Annie, who mar- 
 ried Albert Trust, and lives in the town 
 of Pierce, Kewaunee county; Matilda, 
 living in Chicago; Helen, married, resid- 
 ing in the State of Washington; William, 
 Frank and Henry, of Chicago; and Gus- 
 tav, at home. The mother of these died 
 in Claybanks February i8, 1872, at the 
 age of forty-five. In November, 1872, 
 Mr. Helmholz married, for his second 
 wife, Mrs. Louisa (Breitgam) Guht, a 
 widow, who was born in 1840 in East 
 Prussia, and to this marriage have been 
 born five children, namely: Louisa (who 
 is married to Harry Bradford, and lives in 
 Chicago), Ida, Emit, Charles and John. 
 
 On August 26, 1 864, Mr. Helmholz 
 enlisted, for one year, in the Union 
 army, and served eleven months in Com- 
 pany I, Forty-third Wis. V. I., under 
 Capt. Jackson, receiving an honorable 
 discharge at Nashville June 27, 1865. 
 He now receives a pension for his serv- 
 ices. He is a member of Henry Schuy- 
 ler Post No. 126, G. A. R. , of Sturgeon 
 Bay, and in religious connection is a 
 member of the M. E. Church. 
 
 GEORGE BASSFORD. This gen- 
 tleman, by efficient labor, dili- 
 gence and ability, coupled with 
 tireless energy and assiduous toil, 
 has well earned the enviable distinction 
 of being regarded as one of the leading 
 agriculturists, ablest financiers and most 
 thorough business men uf Sevastopol 
 township, Door county. 
 
 He is a native of England, born Feb- 
 ruary 8, 1828, in Nottinghamshire, j-oung- 
 est in the family of six children — two 
 sons and four daughters — born to Will- 
 iam Bassford, who was by trade a stock- 
 
 ing manufacturer. Our subject received 
 but a very meager education at the 
 schools of his native place, which 
 he was enabled to attend but six 
 months in all, the sum total of his boy- 
 hood training in that line, unless, per- 
 haps, we except such instruction as he 
 received at the parish church Sunday- 
 school — good and sound and of lasting 
 influence; but the lad possessed great 
 energy, vitality and resolution, and was 
 beyond his years in intelligence. At the 
 age of fourteen he began life in earnest, 
 his first work being on railroad construc- 
 tion, in which line he rapidly obtained a 
 thorough knowledge and insight, so much 
 so that at the age of seventeen years he 
 became foreman of a working gang. In 
 this line he continued in his native coun- 
 try until 1852, in which year, accompan- 
 ied by his wife and child, he emigrated to 
 the United States, they coming as second- 
 class passengers on a sailing vessel bound 
 from Liverpool to New York, the sum 
 paid for their passage being ^"3. 10 (about 
 $17.00), they furnishing their own pro- 
 visions. After a voyage of six weeks 
 they landed at New York, where, or, 
 rather, in Brooklyn, resided Thomas Cox, 
 a friend of Mr. Bassford. After a sojourn 
 of six weeks here, occupied in looking 
 about him, our subject took a run up to 
 Albany, N. Y. , where he found temporary 
 employment in superintending the build- 
 ing of a railway turntable, something he 
 already had some experience in. From 
 there he proceeded to Hamilton, Canada, 
 at which time the construction of the 
 Great Western railway was in progress, 
 and here Mr. Bassford secured employ- 
 ment with Case & Fairwell, contractors, 
 his duties being to lay track between 
 Dundas and Copetown. In the mean- 
 time he was joined by his wife and child, 
 whom he had left behind in Brooklyn at 
 the time of his going to Albany. From 
 Case & Fairwell's employ he entered that 
 of Flowers & Jackson, contractors on the 
 Grand Trunk railway, in Canada, also in 
 course of construction, being hired by a 
 
534 
 
 COMMEMORA TI VE BIOGRA PHICA L RECORD. 
 
 construction superintendent, who was 
 afterward removed, our subject taking his 
 place. For this firm he worked three 
 j'ears and three months, meetinj; with 
 considerable success. His work on the 
 Grand Trunk, under Flowers & Jackson, 
 lay between Berlin and Stratford, on the 
 main line, and, near New Hamburj^, his 
 predecessor and others had a good deal 
 of trouble with the 1 500 laborers em- 
 ployed, who for some cause or another 
 became dissatisfied and threatening in 
 their attitude. Mr. Bassford, however, 
 took charge of the section, carrj'ing the 
 work through to completion without any 
 trouble, and this closed his railroad build- 
 ing experiences. 
 
 Coming to Wisconsin, making a tem- 
 porary home in the then village of Fond 
 du Lac, and leaving his wife and child 
 there, he in company with others set out 
 on a prospecting tour through the west- 
 ern part of the State. They went on foot 
 from Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay, the 
 journey through the woods occupying 
 three days and three nights, and in Sevas- 
 topol township Mr. Bassford was so well 
 pleased with the appearance of the coun- 
 try that he bought a tract of 240 acres of 
 wild woodland, paying cash for same. 
 About this time he passed the nights in 
 the woods, sleeping near where now stands 
 his fine residence. Bringing his family on 
 from Fond du Lac, they made their tem- 
 porary home near the shore on Sturgeon 
 Bay inlet, and bravely he set to work to 
 clear a spot somewhere in his new pur- 
 chase whereon to make his future perma- 
 nent home. He had not only to do this, 
 but had to hew out a road to the nearest 
 county highway, and it was not long be- 
 fore he had a substantial log shanty erect- 
 ed, and a clearing commenced. Now he 
 has one of the finest farms in Sevastopol 
 township, if not the finest, well-equipped 
 with all modern impro\ements, the old 
 log shanty supplanted by a palatial resi- 
 dence furnished with every requisite for 
 comfort and contentment. For over 
 thirtj' years he was extensively engaged 
 
 in the lumber business, at one time own- 
 ing thousands of acres of land, now re- 
 duced by sales to some 500 acres; at one 
 time he was two-thirds owner of a steam- 
 boat ferry at Sturgeon Bay; and at pres- 
 ent he is operating a cheese factor}'. 
 
 Mr. Bassford has been twice married: 
 first time, in England, in September, 1849, 
 to Miss Sarah Seton, a native of Hunt- 
 ingdonshire, and to this union were born 
 in the Mother country, one child, named 
 William (now a lumber contractor of 
 Rapid River, Mich.), and in this country 
 two children: John, a merchant of Stur- 
 geon Bay; and Eliza, wife of Charles 
 Mann, of Baileys Harbor, Door county. 
 The mother of these died December 8, 
 1857, and in 1858 Mr. Bassford wedded, 
 in Door county. Miss Elida Joanna Res- 
 sing, a native of Prussia, whence after 
 her mother's death she came to the United 
 States with her father when she was thir- 
 teen j'ears old. The children of this mar- 
 riage were as follows: George, deceased 
 at the age of twenty-nine years; Henry, a 
 merchant in Greeley, Neb. ; Charles, at 
 home; Emma, deceased wife of John Mc- 
 Donald; Amelia, who died at the age of 
 sixteen years; and Augusta, wife of By- 
 ron Baker, of Rapid River, Mich. In 
 religious faith our subject and wife are 
 Episcopalians, and he was foremost in 
 the building of the church of that denom- 
 ination in Sturgeon Bay that was burned. 
 Politically he is a leading Republican in 
 the county and township, and he has 
 served in numerous offices of honor and 
 trust. At present he is chairman of Se- 
 vastopol township, and, in fact, has filled 
 every public position excepting that of 
 justice of the peace; for six years he was 
 county commissioner, and all the incum- 
 bencies held by him he has proven him- 
 self pre-eminently well qualified to fill. 
 He has all the attributes of a good Eng- 
 lishman and a good American. His man- 
 ner inspires full confidence in the integri- 
 ty of his heart; and an acquaintance at 
 once desires to become a friend. When 
 that relation is e^ablished, he compre- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 535 
 
 hends its duties in the largest extent, and 
 satisfies its demands with a ready, per- 
 haps unnecessary, generosity. 
 
 SIMON THIBAUDEAU. The 
 sturdy French-Canadian element 
 which has peopled numerous lo- 
 calities in the United States, either 
 as farmers, merchants or mechanics, has 
 proved the loyalty of its blood through 
 many a conflict where the right was 
 assailed, and almost without exception 
 has arrayed itself on the side which readers 
 of its history might be led to expect. Of 
 such class the subject of this sketch is an 
 honored and respected representative. 
 
 Mr. Thibaudeau was born January 6, 
 1830, in the Three Rivers District, Prov- 
 ince of Quebec, Canada, and is a son of 
 Alexander H. and Margaret (Dupuri) Thi- 
 baudeau, and grandson of Frank Thibau- 
 deau, all French-Canadians by birth. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Alexander H. Thilbaudeau 
 were born nine children, viz.: Margaret, 
 Mack, Torsul, Matilda, Simon, Louise, 
 John B., Adelle, and one that died in in- 
 fancy. Of these, our subject received but a 
 very limited education, as in his part of the 
 country where his boyhood was passed 
 there were no regular schools; the farmers, 
 or "habitans," would club together, rent 
 a room in some commodious house, hire 
 a teacher, and in such a way joung 
 Simon received about eight months' tui- 
 tion. The family being numerous, and 
 the homestead farm a large one of 200 
 acres, he was, at the early age of eleven 
 years, put to work to assist in its cultiva- 
 tion. His father dying of dropsy in 1 85 i , 
 our subject conducted the farm for about 
 a year afterward, and then commenced 
 learning the trade of shoemaker, serving 
 a regular apprenticeship. This com- 
 pleted, he followed the trade in Canada, 
 eleven years, or until 1851, when he emi- 
 grated to the United States, sojourning 
 for a time in Chicago. 111., whence he 
 came to Wisconsin, and, at the town of 
 Two Rivers, Manitowoc county, found a 
 
 livelihood at fishing; but at the end of a 
 3'ear moved to Kewaunee. Here for a 
 couple of years he continued the vocation 
 of St. Peter, and then for the next two 
 3'ears worked in the lumber woods. In 
 1856 he came to Kewaunee county, 
 where, in Luxemburg township, he bought 
 160 acres of land covered with primeval 
 forest in which roamed bears, panthers 
 and wolves, seeking after their prey, 
 while game of all kinds, including deer, 
 turkeys, partridge, etc., was numerous. 
 Our subject had many an encounter with 
 fierce and hungry animals, at one time 
 being chased three miles by five ravenous 
 wolves, who would have made short work 
 of him had they succeeded in running 
 him down. In course of time he estab- 
 lished a lumber camp on his place, erected 
 a log building, employment being given 
 to as many as thirty hands, and as soon 
 as a clearing was effected he set to work 
 to cultivate the soil, planting oats, pota- 
 toes and corn, all the tools or implements 
 he had being an axe, a grub hoe and an 
 old drag. The yield, nevertheless, from 
 his crops was good, the first bushel of 
 wheat he sowed producing thirty-two 
 bushels; it was cut with a cradle, then 
 threshed with a flail and the grain carried 
 to the nearest mill, which was at De 
 Pere, the journey, which was made with 
 an ox-team, occupying two days, the road 
 through the bush to the township line be- 
 ing made by himself and assistants. 
 Everything prospered and flourished, and 
 to such an extent had his farm grown 
 that he had to keep a force of help both 
 summer and winter. Of course, everj'- 
 thing was high, feed for stock in itself 
 costing no little by the end of a year; hay, 
 alone, being as high as forty dollars per 
 ton. From time to time he added to 
 his original purchase of 160 acres till he 
 owned 320 acres, 200 of which are cleared 
 and for the most part under cultivation. 
 On September 13, 1857, Mr. Thi- 
 baudeau was married to Miss Adella 
 Fontaine, daughter of Raymond and 
 Elizabeth (Van Des Ras) Fontaine, of 
 
536 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL liECORD. 
 
 Robinson, Brown Co., Wis., who had 
 thirteen children born to them, named 
 respectively, Aiif^ust, Alphonse, \'irginia, 
 Hubert, Victoire, Cordelia, Apauline, 
 Leopold, Theresa, Benjamin, Anthony, 
 Adella and Delia. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thibaudeau have been born fifteen chil- 
 dren, their names and dates of birth be- 
 ing as follows: Raphael, October 28, 
 1858; Simon, December 31, 1859; Alex- 
 ander, November 6, 1861; Mary, October 
 2, 1863; Oswald, August 9, 1865; Joseph, 
 March 21, 1867; Cordelia, October 30, 
 1868; Emil, October 11, 
 phile, December 10, 1872 
 tember 7, 1874; Joseph, 
 1876; Ella, December 24, 
 and Angeline (twins). May 5 
 May 
 ried. 
 
 1S70; Theo- 
 Albina, Sep- 
 October 14, 
 1878; Albert 
 1881 ; Leo, 
 I, 1884. (^f these, three are mar- 
 viz. : Raphael to Miss Addie Tru- 
 
 dell on November 24, 1886; Mary to 
 Richard Schinnick on November 27, 1889; 
 and Oswald, to Miss Anna Pokorny on 
 June 25, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Thibaudeau 
 and all the family are members of the 
 Roman Catholic Church. Politically he 
 is a stanch Democrat, and has served his 
 township as chairman, two years; assessor, 
 one year; and as treasurer of the school 
 board, giving eminent satisfaction to all 
 concerned. 
 
 HENRY MARTIN. To the North 
 of Ireland this country is in- 
 debted for a great number of her 
 most solid, stalwart, industrious 
 and loyal citi.zens, many of them being 
 represented in the agricultural class, of 
 which our subject is a worthy and promi- 
 nent member. 
 
 He was born August 18, 1830, in 
 County Down, Ireland, the seventh child 
 and fourth son in the family of eight chil- 
 dren of Henry and Nancy Martin, the 
 former of whom was a laborer by voca- 
 tion. He was reared a farmer boy, re- 
 ceiving but a meager education, and re- 
 mained about his boyhood home until 
 1851, being then twenty-one years old. 
 
 when he decided to come to the United 
 States, here to try his fortune. Having 
 succeeded in saving sufficient money out 
 of his meager wages, some thirty dollars 
 per annum, he bade farewell to his rela- 
 tives, friends and native country, crossed 
 from Belfast, in Ireland, to Troon, a sea- 
 port town in Ayrshire, Scotland, and 
 there took passage on the sailing vessel 
 ' ' Tay, " of Glasgow, bound for New York. 
 This was in May, 185 1, and after a voy- 
 age of nine weeks the good ship arrived 
 at her destination. Philadelphia being 
 his objective point, Mr. Martin, suppos- 
 ing he had a sister living there, imme- 
 diately proceeded thither to be doomed, 
 however, to disappointment, as he found 
 on arrival that she had removed to New 
 York. Retracing his steps, he again 
 found himself in New York, his return 
 journey being varied with some work he 
 secured cii route at unloading limestone. 
 In Long Island he secured employment 
 with a Scotchman named David McCrea, 
 a farmer, and from there after a time he 
 moved to Williamsburg, same State, but 
 finding nothing to do in that city he 
 migrated to northern Michigan, having 
 an acquaintance living in the town of 
 Cedar River, Menominee comity. Here he 
 at once found work in sawmills, in which 
 line of business he continued from March, 
 1855, till July 5, 1857, when he came to 
 Sturgeon Bay, and in Bradley's " Island 
 Mills" immediately went to work. Here 
 for two years he remained, industriously 
 toiling and saving money, which he in- 
 vested in eighty acres of totally unim- 
 proved land in Town 28, Section 21, 
 Range 26 (Sevastopol township), where 
 he at once commenced to effect a clear- 
 ing and build a log cabin which in after 
 years gave place to his present commo- 
 dious and comfortable brick residence, of 
 which kind of dwelling there are only two 
 in the township. He has now one of the 
 finest and best cultivated farms in this 
 part of Door county, brought to its pres- 
 ent state of perfection by his indomitable 
 perseverance, untiring industr\' and sound 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 537 
 
 judgment. In addition to his farming 
 operations he was considerably interested, 
 up to 1862, in hnnbering, getting out logs 
 at various times. 
 
 On November 12, 1.S62, Mr. Martin 
 was united in marriage, at Sturgeon Bay, 
 with Mrs. Eliza (Hutchinson) Peters, 
 widow of Martin Peters, and a native of 
 Niagara county, Ontario, Canada, and 
 children as follows were born to them; 
 Henry L., at home; David W., now in 
 Marinette, Wis.; Eliphalet, at home; and 
 Mary A. , James W. and Ann J. , deceased, 
 the first named at the age of three 
 months, the other two when twenty years 
 old. The mother of these died iu Sep- 
 tember, 1884, and was buried in the Bay- 
 side Cemetery. In his political sympa- 
 thies our subject is a Republican, his first 
 Presidential vote being cast for Lincoln 
 in 1S60, and has served his township in 
 various offices of trust and honor: Was 
 the first treasurer, and is filling that in- 
 cumbency at the present time; is also a 
 justice of the peace, and in 1890 he was 
 census taker. In Church affiliations he 
 was reared in the Presbyterian faith, but 
 attends different churches. 
 
 HERMANN SCHMAH, principal of 
 the German Lutheran schools at 
 Stanton, Neb., and late principal 
 of the German Lutheran schools 
 of Kewaunee, Wis. , was born in Ger- 
 many September 16, 1864. The father 
 of our subject, William Schrnah, died in 
 April, 1883. The mother, whose maiden 
 name was Henrietta Lerfelt, died in 
 October, 1881. They had a family of 
 ten children, of whom Hermann is the 
 youngest, and of whom seven are still 
 living — three dying when quite young. 
 One son has for twenty years been a 
 merchant in South Africa. 
 
 (3ur subject attended school under his 
 father until nine years of age, and then 
 for three years the high school at Berlin, 
 which was followed by an attendance at 
 
 the Berlin Gymnasium until he reached 
 his seventeenth year. After leaving 
 school Mr. Schmah worked in a seed 
 store three years, when he joined the army 
 in which he served one year; then worked 
 another year in the seed store, till he 
 came to America, landing in New York 
 City. Thence he proceeded directly to 
 Pueblo, Colo. , where he passed a year 
 and a half. In January, 1892, he en- 
 tered the Northwestern University at 
 Watertown, Wis. , and a year and a half 
 were devoted to study; three months 
 were then spent in a visit to his brothers 
 and sisters in Germany, at the end of 
 which time he returned to America and 
 assumed charge of the German Lutheran 
 schools of Kewaunee. The professor is 
 a faithful member of the German Luth- 
 eran Church, and in politics is a Demo- 
 crat. Since the first preparing of this 
 sketch he has received a call to Stanton, 
 Neb., by the German Lutheran congre- 
 gation of that place, and he is now prin- 
 cipal of the schools of that denomination 
 in Stanton. 
 
 CHARLES REYNOLDS. In 
 transmitting to posterity the 
 memory of such men as is the 
 subject of this sketch, it will in- 
 still into the minds of the youth of our 
 land the important lessons that success is 
 the sure reward of tireless energy and 
 honorable dealing; and that, compared to 
 a good education, abundant experience, 
 coupled with habits of honest industry 
 and judicious thrift, the greatest fortune 
 would be but a poor inheritance. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds is a native of Ireland, 
 born November 15, 1839, in County 
 Longford, a son of Michael and Mary 
 Ann Reynolds, respectable farming peo- 
 ple of that county, who were the parents 
 of nine children — seven sons and two 
 daughters. The mother died in Ireland 
 in 1858, and in the fall of 1865 the 
 father came to Wisconsin, settling on a 
 farm in Dane countv where he died in 
 
538 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1878. After leaving school, and while 
 yet in early youth, our subject com- 
 menced gaining an insight into mercan- 
 tile business as clerk in a store where he 
 remained until he was twenty- one years 
 of age, at which time he concluded to 
 emigrate to the United States. Accord- 
 ingly, in the spring of i860, he set sail 
 from the port of Galway, Ireland, on the 
 steamship "Circassian " bound for New 
 York, which city was reached after a voy- 
 age of fourteen days, and from there he 
 journeyed to Wisconsin, where, in the 
 city of Madison, his brother John was en- 
 gaged in commercial pursuits, and with 
 him he clerked one year. In Septem- 
 ber, 1 86 1, our subject enlisted in the 
 Twelfth Regiment Wis. V. I., of which 
 he was elected sergeant-major, and which 
 was sent to Milwaukee, thence to the 
 front in Missouri, Kansas and Tennessee, 
 successively, afterward accompanying 
 Sherman in his march to the sea. At the 
 close of the war Mr. Reynolds was pres- 
 ent at the Grand Review held at Wash- 
 ington, was mustered out at Louisville, 
 and received an honorable discharge as 
 captain of Company A, same regiment, 
 proud in the consciousness of having 
 served through the entire war with brav- 
 ery and loyalty second to no other soldier 
 in the army. Returning to Madison, 
 Wis., he served a short time in the 
 School Land office, and then moved to 
 Green Bay, where he conducted a mer- 
 cantile business. He then came to Door 
 county, and in Jacksonport township, at 
 the harbor of that name, commenced a 
 similar business at the stand which had 
 formerly been occupied by the Harris & 
 Reynolds Co. (this Reynolds being our 
 subject's brother John), and here has 
 since been successfully engaged in that 
 line, to-day rating high in commercial cir- 
 cles. At Jacksonport he is proprietor of 
 a dock, where he receives and ships rail- 
 road ties and telegraph poles, paying out 
 for these alone as high as $25,000 an- 
 nually, for material, and he is also largely 
 interested in timber lands, owning at the 
 
 present time from two thousand to three 
 thousand acres. 
 
 On April 9, 1870, Mr. Reynolds was 
 united in marriage, at Madison, Wis., 
 with Miss Mary Mahan, a native of Ober- 
 lin, Ohio, and daughter of Pres. .\sa 
 Mahan, an eminent divine and the first 
 president of Oberlin College. Of the 
 children born to Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds 
 four died in infancy — Mary, Charles, 
 Dwight, and Ruth — and the eldest, 
 Michael, at the age of twenty-one years. 
 Politically our subject is a Republican, 
 and under Grant's administration he was 
 appointed postmaster at Jacksonport, 
 serving twenty years. He and his wife 
 are prominent and influential members of 
 the Catholic Church. He is a thorough 
 business man "from the crown of his 
 head to the sole of his foot," enjoying a 
 large and lucrative trade which is much 
 enhanced by his wide acquaintance in 
 marine circles, from his ownership of the 
 pier at Jacksonport, and by his well- 
 known honorable dealings. 
 
 OLIVER HARRISON MARTIN, 
 M. D., one of the most successful 
 physicians in this portion of the 
 State, than whom no one is more 
 popular or more widely known and high- 
 ly esteemed, is a native of New Hamp- 
 shire, born at Sandwich, December 22, 
 
 1834. 
 
 Grandfather Martin, who was a life- 
 long agriculturist of the same locality in 
 New Hampshire, reared a family of five 
 sons and one daughter, of whom, William, 
 father of our subject, was also a farmer 
 in that State, thence, in 1836, moving to 
 Lee county. 111., where he died in 1844. 
 He was married in New Hampshire to 
 Miss Elizabeth H. Hill, who after his 
 death married again, in Illinois, and 
 moved to Pennsylvania, where she passed 
 away at an advanced age. Oliver Harri- 
 son Martin, the son. secured his primary 
 education at the common .schools of Lee 
 county. 111., afterward attending Erie, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 539 
 
 (Penn.) Academy, where he graduated, 
 and subsequently studying one year at 
 Randolph (N. Y.) Academy, in which he 
 also taught the higher English branches 
 and mathematics, at the same time pre- 
 paring himself for college. In 1854 he 
 entered Dartmouth College, where as fel- 
 low students he had young men who in 
 after years attained high repute in the 
 various professions. After two years at- 
 tendance there he again came West, and 
 in Lee county. 111. , taught public school, 
 a portion of the time at Prairieville, until 
 January i, 1866, the date of his coming 
 to Wisconsin, his first home in the Badger 
 State being in Manitowoc. Here he 
 taught the city schools some few years, 
 two and a half as principal, and then en- 
 gaged in the drug business in the same 
 place two and one. half years, at the end 
 of which time he commenced the study of 
 medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. 
 J. F. Pritchard, a well-known physician 
 and surgeon at Manitowoc. In 1871-72 
 he entered Rush Medical College, Chi- 
 cago, where he graduated in the class of 
 1S74, immediately after which, March 2, 
 same 3'ear, he came to Kewaunee and 
 commenced the practice of his profession, 
 in which he has met with well-merited 
 success, having built up a large and lucra- 
 tive clientele. His sympathetic kindness 
 in the sick-room has endeared him to 
 hundreds who revere him for his human- 
 ity as highly as they honor him for his 
 ability. 
 
 Dr. Martin has been twice married: 
 first time, in Ohio, February 3, 1858, to 
 Miss Kate T. Whipple, daughter of Rev. 
 Roswell P. and Elizabeth T. (Thorn) 
 Whipple, of Hinsdale, Mass., the result 
 of their union being six children, their 
 names and dates of birth being as follows: 
 Jessie Grace, December 27, 1858; Ros- 
 well Whipple, June 23, i860; Gertrude 
 Elizabeth, April 12, 1862; Harry Alexan- 
 der, September 19, 1864, died October 
 24, 1865; Oliver Herbert, February 23, 
 1866, and Frank Fellows, December 4, 
 1875. The mother of these died in Wis- 
 
 consin, December 4, 1885, and on June 
 I, 1887, the Doctor married Miss Caro- 
 line C. Hubbell, of New York. Politic- 
 ally he has been identified with the Re- 
 publican party since casting his first vote; 
 socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
 Knights of Pythias, and Royal Arcanum. 
 In his profession he is not only progress- 
 ive but aggressive, keeping well abreast 
 of the times and thoroughly posted in all 
 the modern advancements in both medi- 
 cine and surgery. 
 
 REV. ANDREW A. ANDRIDGE, 
 pastor of the Congregational 
 Church, Sturgeon Bay, comes 
 from a line of stewards in the 
 Lord's vineyard, his grandfather and 
 great-grandfather before him having both 
 for years proclaimed the Gospel, one of 
 them suffering the death of a martyr. 
 
 Our subject is a native of Michigan, 
 born July 20, 1863, in Hillsdale county, 
 the eldest in the family of three children 
 of Charles W. and Harriet (Booth) And- 
 ridge, both also natives of that locality. 
 The family are of German descent, our 
 subject's great-grandfather Andridge hav- 
 ing been born in Germany, whence he 
 was sent as a missionary among the 
 North American Indians in Canada, by 
 whom he was murdered, in 18 12. A 
 short time afterward his wife was acci- 
 dentally killed, and their two children — a 
 boy and a girl — were thus left orphans. 
 The son, John J. Andridge, was born in 
 Little York (now Toronto), Canada, in 
 1 800, and after the death of his parents 
 he was bound out to a family living near 
 Buffalo, N. Y., never again seeing his 
 sister. About the year 18 19 he married, 
 and moving to Michigan settled on a farm 
 near the present city of Hillsdale, being 
 one of the first three men to settle in 
 Hillsdale county. For many years he was 
 a Methodist Episcopal minister, though 
 he retained the farm, and he died in 1887 
 while visiting in the West; his wife had 
 preceded him to the grave in 1868, dying 
 
540 
 
 COMMKMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Michigan. The}' had a family <>{ ten 
 children — five sons and five daiif,'hters — 
 of whom Charles \V. and three daughters 
 — Mrs. Mary Crawford, wife of a minis- 
 ter; Mrs. Martha W'ood, whose husband 
 is in the milling business; and Mrs. Arties 
 Snider, living on a farm — are now living. 
 
 Charles W. Andridge, father of our 
 subject, was married July 20, 1862, to 
 Harriet Booth, daughter of Silas anil 
 Amanda Booth, well-to-do farming peo- 
 ple of English descent, who were early 
 settlers of Hillsdale county, Mich., and 
 three children — Schuyler, Grace and 
 Andrew A.— were born to this union. 
 The mother died in iSS^in Iowa, whither 
 the family had removed in 1874, and 
 where the father is yet living, engaged in 
 milling, his life vocation. In 1865, the 
 last year of the Civil war. he enlisted in a 
 Michigan regiment, but did not reach the 
 scene of active hostilities. 
 
 Andrew A. Andridge received his ele- 
 mentary education at the conunon schools 
 of his native place, finishing his literary 
 studies at the high school ui Storm Lake. 
 Iowa, where he graduated in 1880. He 
 then took the Iowa law course under the 
 preceptorship of Hon. G. S. Robinson, 
 now United States senator from Iowa, 
 spending about two \ears, part of the 
 time teaching school. In 1882, however, 
 he decided on changing the course of his 
 life, and, resolving to become a minister 
 of the Gospel, entered Chicago Theolog- 
 ical Seminary, from which institution he 
 graduated in the class of 1885. He was 
 ordained at Storm Lake. Iowa, May 12. 
 1 88 5, in the same church he used to at- 
 tend when a boy, and was consequently 
 well known by all the members of the 
 large council. His first pastorate was at 
 Hawarden, Iowa, near his old home, and 
 there he remained two years: thence re- 
 moved to Prairie du Chien, Wis., and 
 from there, after four years and a half, 
 to Sturgeon Bay, where he is still pastor, 
 now a period of nearly four years, he hav- 
 ing come in 1S91. Although his mani- 
 fold Church duties claim the most of his 
 
 time, still Mr. Andricfge has been enabled 
 to do a considerable amotmt of literary 
 work which has gained for him consider- 
 popularity: he edited the history of the 
 Congregational Church in Prairie du 
 Chien, the oldest Church in Wisconsin; 
 for some years was correspondent for the 
 American Magazine, published in New 
 York; corresponding member of the Wis- 
 consin Historical Society, also editor of 
 •■The Pilot," a paper published in Stur- 
 geon Bay in the interests of the Christian 
 thought in \\'isconsin; is a member of a 
 society organized in Philadelphia for the 
 promotion of science, and has written 
 \ery able articles for their magazine. 
 Mr. Andridge has also lectured in all the 
 large cities from Boston to Omaha. He 
 is now preparing himself for the degree of 
 Ph. U.. which honor he receives from the 
 Illinois L'niversity. 
 
 Ur. Andridge was married in 1883. at 
 Storm Lake. Iowa, to Miss Belle C. 
 Melius, who was born at Independence, 
 Iowa, a daughter of William and Bessie 
 (Saunders) Melius, natives of Pennsyl- 
 vania and New York, respectively, who 
 about the year 1854 canie to Iowa, where 
 they followed agricultural pursuits; they 
 are the parents of si.x children namely: 
 Mrs. Ella Hamilton, in Lincoln, N. C. ; 
 Mrs. Carrie Wood, in Hawarden, Iowa; 
 James, in .\kron, Iowa. ; Mrs. Belle .\nd- 
 ridge, in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; Mrs. Grace 
 Woodside, in Hawarden, Iowa; and Miss 
 Inez, in Akron, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Melius 
 are yet living in Akron, Iowa. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. .\ndridge have been born si.x 
 children, named, respectively: Maud, 
 Mabel. Florence, Fred, Gladys and Ger- 
 trude. In national politics our subject is 
 a Republican, in State piilitics a Prohi- 
 bitionist. 
 
 ROBERT LAURIE. Scotland, the 
 home of Wallace and Bruce, of 
 Scott and Burns, and of Carlyle 
 and Chalmers, has sent to the 
 Western World an army of sturdy, in- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 54' 
 
 dustrious and lo3'al citizens, wiio in their 
 (juiet, ploddinf^, yet resolute way, have 
 done much toward the openinj,' up and 
 development of new Territories and 
 States. The placing on record the fact 
 that Mr. Laurie was one of these pro- 
 gressive Scotch pioneers is simply a duty 
 due to the memory of one who has left a 
 lasting impress for good on that portion 
 of Door county which for so many years 
 was the scene of his honest labors. 
 
 Mr. Laurie was born in August, 1825, 
 in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, the 
 youngest in the familj- of seven children — 
 all sons — of James Laurie, who was by 
 occupation a tailor and merchant, a man 
 of limited means it is true, but descended 
 from a line of Scotchmen prominent in 
 Scottish history. Five of his sons lived 
 to manhood, and were all skilled drafts- 
 men, Robert at the remarkably early age 
 of eleven years developing considerable 
 talent in that direction. At his native 
 place he learned ship carpentry, becoming 
 a skilled mechanic, and followed his trade 
 in the mother country up to the time of 
 his emigration to the United States. 
 
 On December 5, 1X49, he was mar- 
 ried in Liverpool, England (at which 
 time he was working at his trade), to Miss 
 Catherine Monroe, who was born in June, 
 1832, also in Glasgow, where she and her 
 future husband were playmates in child- 
 hood's sunny days. Two children were here 
 born to them, viz. ; James, who is now a 
 farmer of Marshall county, Minn. ; and 
 Alexander M., business manager of the 
 Laurie Stone Company. In April, 1852, 
 accompanied by his wife and two chil- 
 dren, and also his aged parents, he set sail 
 from Galsgi3w for the New World on the 
 good ship "Susan," bound for Canada, and 
 after an uneventful voyage of five weeks 
 and three da\s they landed at Montreal, 
 whence they at once proceeded to lUiffalo, 
 N. Y., where our subject had two broth- 
 ers living — James and Alexander. By 
 this time Mr. Laurie's funds were about 
 exhausted, the expense of bringing the 
 party of six such a distance being any- 
 
 thing but light; so at Buffalo he at once 
 sought and secured work at his trade, and 
 it was not long before he owned a com- 
 fortable home, where he and his family 
 lived till coming to Wisconsin. One of 
 the periodical "hard-times" epidemics 
 befalling the country, and Mr. Laurie 
 having a strong desire to settle on a farm, 
 he gave up his position in the Buffalo 
 ship\ards, sold his property, and along 
 with his brother Alexander sailed up the 
 lakes in quest of some desirable spot, 
 "where there was no fe\er and ague," 
 whereon to settle; and although they 
 viewed many places rii route they found 
 nothing to suit them till they touched on 
 the west side of the Door county penin- 
 sula, Wisconsin, their trip having taken 
 them into four lakes — Erie, St. Clair, 
 Huron and Michigan. Our subject's first 
 purchase was a claim in Sevastopol town- 
 ship, Door county, which an old sea cap- 
 tain had commenced to convert into a 
 home, but died before his cabin was fin- 
 ished; Mr. Laurie then purchased, at the 
 land office, Green Bay, the property in 
 Sevastopol township where the family 
 have since resided. This was in July, 
 1854, and after making some improve- 
 I ments, including the erection of a log 
 I house, he returned to Buffalo to bring out 
 the family, which he found increased by 
 one more "responsibility " in the infant 
 person of Catherine, now Mrs. William 
 Snyder, of Sevastopol township. The 
 journev was made by water on the old 
 steamship "Michigan," bound for the 
 town of Green Bay, but when they en- 
 tered the bay of that name a strong 
 gale sprung up which compelled the 
 vessel to put in at Sturgeon Bay in- 
 let, a fortunate e\ent for the fam- 
 ily, as they were landed at Gar- 
 land's pier, but a short distance from 
 their new home. Mr. Laurie found work 
 building vessels and docks in the vicinity 
 until the following season, when he and 
 his brother returned to Buffalo, where 
 they built themselves a very small vessel 
 which early in the following spring they 
 
542 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 sailed to Sturgeon Bay, it being the first 
 craft of any kind to matce its way tinrough 
 the lakes. The Laurie Brothers (for 
 the}' had in the meanwhile formed a part- 
 nership) successfully continued their trade 
 for several years, constructing several 
 vessels at Sturgeon Bay and elsewhere, 
 including the " Katie Laurie " and " Belle 
 Laurie," and the first sail boat built on 
 the peninsula, named "The Peninsula, " 
 which vessel plied between Green Bay 
 and Sturgeon Bay; on her Mr. Laurie 
 conveyed free, during the Civil war, from 
 Sturgeon Bay to Green Bay, part of the 
 Twelfth Wis. V. I. The "Peninsula," 
 which was a fast sailer, was subsequently 
 sold in Chicago. But fate had decreed 
 that the partnership between Robert and 
 Alexander Laurie should be dissolved, 
 and death carried off one of the brothers 
 in the full vigor of manhood. In Octo- 
 ber, 1862, while Ale.x. Laurie and David 
 Sawyer, who had been out in the bay 
 with a boat, were entering Green Bay 
 harbor, the vessel capsized and Alexan- 
 der Laurie and the man Sawyer were 
 both drowned, after which our subject 
 continued in business alone. At his Door 
 county home his family was increased by 
 five more children, as follows: John, 
 now captain of the tug, "J. Everson"; 
 Christina, at home; Isabella, now Mrs. 
 W. A. Drumb, of Sturgeon Bay; Eliza- 
 beth, a school teacher, and residing at 
 home; and Robert, who died in infancy. 
 The parents of Mr. Laurie died under 
 his roof in Sevastopol township, each at 
 the extremely advanced age of ninety-five 
 years. Alexander and Catherine (Brown) 
 Monroe, parents of Mrs. Laurie, came 
 from Scotland to this country, and to the 
 home of their daughter, intending to pass 
 the rest of their days here; but not liking 
 the country returned to their native land, 
 where they died, the father in Aberdeen, 
 the mother in Liverpool. 
 
 Mr. Monroe, while visiting the Laur- 
 ies, was struck with the appearance of a 
 limestone deposit on the farm, and strong- 
 ly urged Mr. Laurie to develop it; but it 
 
 was some years before he followed the 
 advice. For a long time the stone was 
 burned for lime, but, later, a good deal of 
 it was cut into building material and 
 shipped to various lake towns, where it has 
 proved exceedingly well adapted for the 
 purposes for which it was intended. The 
 quarry has now been in operation some 
 years, and the product finds a ready mar- 
 ket all along the lakes. On November 
 15, 1889, after an industrious, useful lifei, 
 Robert Laurie passed away in Sturgeon 
 Bay, while being operated on for rheu- 
 matism, and his remains were deposited 
 in Baj' Side cemetery by the side of his 
 mother. He was an ardent Republican 
 in his political preferences, and held some 
 civic offices, such as justice of the peace 
 and treasurer of the school board; in re- 
 ligious faith he was a consistent adherent 
 of the Presbyterian Church, as is also his 
 widow, the rest of the family being Epis- 
 copalians. Since his death the family 
 have continued to conduct the farm and 
 stone quarry. In November, 1892, Mrs. 
 Laurie, accompanied by her daughters, 
 Christina and Elizabeth, took a trip to 
 the "Old Country," spending the winter 
 in Scotland, and visiting various scenes 
 of Mrs. Laurie's childhood and young 
 womanhood. "Pleasure is marked by 
 ileetness, to those whoever roam, while 
 grief itself has sweetness at home, sweet 
 home." 
 
 AUGUST C. VOSHARDT. editor 
 and proprietor of the Kewaunee 
 /Enterprise. It is one of the most 
 encouraging facts which can any- 
 where exist that, in this country, a large 
 proportion of those individuals, who by 
 professional acquirements and talents 
 have attained a greater or less degree of 
 prosperity, have risen by their own exer- 
 tions. In the lives of such men as the 
 subject of this sketch there is always to 
 be found something to encourage the ex- 
 ertions of those youths who, without for- 
 tune or infiuential friends, are struggling 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 545 
 
 to overcome obstacles in the acquire- 
 ment of position and independence. 
 
 Mr. Voshardt was born February 14, 
 1859, at Robden, near Minden, Germany, 
 son of Henry and Louisa (Buschmann) 
 Voshardt, who had a family of nine chil- 
 dren — six sons and three daughters — si.\ 
 of whom are yet living, our subject being 
 the eldest son. In 1861 the family emi- 
 grated to America, arriving at New York 
 May I, whence they immediately journeyed 
 farther westward till they reached Wis- 
 consin, where, at Two Rivers, Manito- 
 woc county, they made their new western 
 home. August C. was at that time two 
 years old, so all his education, which was 
 limited to but a few years' attendance at 
 the common schools, was received in this 
 country, substantially backed by his ex- 
 perience in the printing office. At the 
 age of thirteen he moved to Kewaunee, 
 and commenced learning the printing 
 business in the office of the Enterprise, 
 published at that town and then owned 
 by the late John M. Read. After serving 
 an apprenticeship of three years he re- 
 turned to Two Rivers, and again attended 
 public school, but after six months en- 
 tered the office of the Manitoivoc County 
 Chronicle, at Two Rivers, where, with 
 the exception of one year, he worked un- 
 til the close of 1882. 
 
 On January 5, 1883, he again came 
 to Kewaunee, and purchased the Enter- 
 prise printing plant and newspaper of E. 
 Decker and \'. Mashek, who had secured 
 possession of the paper a few months 
 after the death of the previous owner, 
 Mr. Read. Mr. Voshardt continued to 
 publish the paper as an eight-column 
 folio until August 14, 1 891, at which time 
 it was enlarged to a six-column quarto. 
 In March, same year, a new latest-im- 
 proved cylinder press was purchased to 
 supplant the old Washington hand press, 
 steam power being also added to the 
 plant, and the Enterprise, under the able 
 management and editorship of its propri- 
 etor, has taken prominent rank among the 
 ambitious newspapers of northern Wis- 
 
 31 
 
 consin. It is one of the oldest papers in 
 the State, the first issue having been pub- 
 lished June 22, 1859, and has been con- 
 stantly increasing in circulation. It man- 
 fully supports the principles of the Demo- 
 cratic party, and moreover is a bright, 
 newsy all-round home journal. 
 
 On September 22, 1883, Mr. Vos- 
 hardt was married to Miss Katie L. Apel, 
 who was born at Two Rivers, Wisconsin, 
 and one son, Orme, was born to them 
 Januarys, 1885. Socially our subject is 
 a member of Key Lodge, F. & A. M., 
 Covenant Lodge, No. 263, I. O. O. F., 
 and Kewaunee Valley Council, No. 981, 
 Royal Arcanum. As will be seen, Mr. 
 Voshardt is a typical self-made man, one 
 who by his own ability, perseverance and 
 acumen has risen from a comparatively 
 obscure and poor boyhood to his present 
 condition of independence, being now, 
 apart from his business, the owner of an 
 elegant and comfortable modern home, 
 overlooking the lake. For years he has 
 been looked up to as one of the city 
 fathers of Kewaunee, having served for 
 several terms as member of the city coun- 
 cil, and he enjoys to an enviable degree 
 the respect and esteem of the community. 
 
 FRANK WELLEVER, chairman 
 and justice of the peace in Egg 
 Harbor township. Door county, is 
 one of the leading citizens of this 
 section. He was born June 28, 1856, in 
 Hornellsville, N. Y., son of Michael and 
 Mary A. (Amiden) Wellever, farming peo- 
 ple, the former of whom was a native of 
 Pennsylvania, the latter of Connecticut. 
 Their family consisted of four children, 
 viz. : Phoebe, now Mrs. John Doty, of 
 Egg Harbor township. Door county; 
 Frank, whose name opens this sketch; 
 Nellie, Mrs. Ed. Le Roy, of Washington; 
 and Ida, Mrs. Joseph Eichinger, of Little 
 Sturgeon, Wis. The father of this fam- 
 ily died in New York State, where the 
 mother subsequently married E. C. Tru- 
 man, and in 1870 the entire family mi- 
 
h6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 grated westward to Wisconsin, making 
 their first location in Rock county, where 
 they Hved for two and a half jears. They 
 next resided in Seymour, Outagamie 
 county, where they remained two years, 
 in 1875 removing to Door county and 
 shortly afterward took up their residence 
 in Egg Harbor, where the mother of our 
 subject died. 
 
 Frank \\'elle\er received all his edu- 
 cation at the common schools, and was 
 reared to farming, also obtaining a knowl- 
 edge of the stave business, in which his 
 stepfather was engaged. In 1 879 he was 
 married, in Egg Harbor, to Miss Sarah 
 Le Roy, a native of that place, and 
 (laughter of William Le Ro\', a Canadian, 
 and this union has been blessed with six 
 children, namely: Mary L., Katie E., 
 Frank L. , Georgina, Cora L. and Truman 
 D. After his marriage Mr. Wellever lo- 
 cated in Egg Harbor, and later at Stur- 
 geon Bay, where he was engaged in buy- 
 ing fish for E. S. Minor. In 1884 he re- 
 turned to Egg Harbor township and rent- 
 ed land in Section 34, which he later, in 
 1 89 1, purchased, now owning a comfort- 
 able farm of 108 acres. Mr. Wellever 
 has dealt in staves and engaged in lum- 
 bering to some extent, in addition to his 
 agricultural work, which has, however, 
 received the principal share of his atten- 
 tion. He is one of the leading men of his 
 township in many ways, taking a deep in- 
 terest in the welfare and advancement of 
 his section, and has been prominentl}' 
 identified with the local civil government. 
 having served for the past fourteen years 
 as justice of the peace with eminent sat- 
 isfaction to his fellow citizens, and he 
 has held the office of chairman in the 
 township for eight years, showing himself 
 well (|ualified for that responsible position. 
 
 JOHN KEOGH is one of the honored 
 pioneers of Door county, having 
 here made his home since 1856, at 
 which time the county was an al- 
 most unbroken wilderness, inhabited to 
 
 some extent by Indians, and just opening 
 up to the white race whose efforts were 
 soon to transform it into one of the lead- 
 ing counties of this commonwealth. In 
 all the work of development and improve- 
 ment our subject has borne his part, and, 
 among the founders of the county is well 
 deserving of mention. 
 
 Mr. Keogh was born June 13, 1841, 
 in County Dublin, Ireland, which county 
 was also the birthplace of his parents, 
 James and Mary (Moore) Keogh. In the 
 Emerald Isle the father was overseer of a 
 large estate, but in 1852 he gave up his 
 position in order to try his fortune in the 
 New World, took passage on the sailing 
 vessel " Perseverance," which left the 
 harbor of Dublin. Ireland, and after 
 thirteen weeks she dropped anchor in the 
 harbor of Quebec. From that city Mr. 
 Keogh proceeded to Toronto, where he 
 worked at farm labor until 1855. when he 
 came to \\'isconsin. making the journey 
 from Buffalo to Chicago on the "Lady 
 Elgin." On the same boat he sailed to 
 Manitowoc county, \\'is. , where he re- 
 mained until coming to Door county in 
 1855. He was the first justice of the 
 peace of Forestville township, elected in 
 1857; served as township superintendent 
 of schools, and was actively interested in 
 everything pertaining to the welfare of 
 the community and its upbuilding. His 
 death occurred in 1 890, and he was 
 mourned by man}' friends. His first wife 
 died in 1861, after which he wedded Mrs. 
 Matilda Machia, who is now living in 
 Sturgeon Bay, Wis. In the Keogh family 
 were four sons — John, of this sketch; 
 Edward, who is married and is living in 
 Forest\ille to\\nshi]i; Luke, a farmer of 
 Forestville township: and James, a banker 
 of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 
 
 Our subject spent the first eleven 
 years of his life in the land of his birth, 
 and then came with his parents to Amer- 
 ica. His education was acquired partly 
 in Ireland, partly ii- Toronto, Canada, 
 and in 1855 he came to Door county. 
 Wis., where he aided in opening up the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 547 
 
 home farm, placing the entire i6o acres 
 under cultivation. He now owns one- 
 half of the old homestead, and is num- 
 bered among the substantial farmers of 
 the community. He went through all 
 the experiences and trials of frontier life 
 and went to market in Manitowoc county 
 by boat, for there were no roads cut 
 through at that time. In 1866, in For- 
 estville township, he wedded Eliza 
 Ahrens, who was born on the Emerald 
 Isle, as were her parents, William and 
 Mary (Condlonj Ahrens, who emigrated 
 to New York in the fall of 1865. Soon 
 afterward the mother came to Wisconsin, 
 and is now the wife of Bartley Dunlon, 
 of Nasewaupee township. Door county. 
 Mr. and ^Irs. Keogh now have five 
 children, namely: Mary, wife of William 
 Mulvihill, of Nasewaupee township; 
 Lucy; Alice, who is engaged in teaching; 
 William and Martha. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Keogh is a Republican, 
 and has been honored with several public 
 offices, the duties of which he has ever 
 discharged with promptness and fidelity. 
 He was elected sheriff of Door county in 
 1889, for a term of two years; was chair- 
 man of Forestville township from 1880 
 till 1885; was several times assessor of 
 the township, and has also served as town 
 treasurer. He was justice of the peace 
 many years, and aided in organizing the 
 school district in which he lives. 
 
 JOSEPH ZETTEL, one of the most 
 successful agriculturists and the 
 largest fruit grower in Door county, 
 is a native of Switzerland, born at 
 Gross Dietwyl, Canton Luzerne, Novem- 
 ber 26, 1832, a son of Joseph and Mary 
 Josepha (Rosly; Zettel, the former of 
 whom was an innkeeper, a judge of the 
 Second Court, and a captain in the reserve 
 army; the grandfather was judge of the 
 Second Court for twenty years. 
 
 When our subject was seventeen years 
 old his mother died, and, his father mar- 
 rying again soon after, home to the lad 
 
 became different to what it had been; 
 consequently, at the age of nineteen, he 
 resolved to try his fortune in the New 
 World, where there was ample room for 
 aspiring young men of good all-round ed- 
 ucation such as it was his fortune to re- 
 ceive. Making known his resolution to 
 his father, the latter provided him with 
 sufficient means to take him to the United 
 States, and on March 27, 1853, he left 
 his native town, traveling by rail to 
 Antwerp, Belgium, where he took pas- 
 sage on the sailing vessel "Roger Stew- 
 art," bound for New York, which port 
 was reached after a passage of fifty-three 
 days. From there our subject proceeded 
 to Cleveland, Ohio, where he readily 
 found temporary employment on a farm; 
 but his real destination being the citv of 
 New Philadelphia, in the same State, he 
 set out for that point by way of the canal. 
 Discovering, while on the trip, a conspir- 
 acy to rob and, perhaps, murder him, he 
 determined to baffle the conspirators, 
 which he did by first throwing his trunk 
 overboard into the canal, and then jump- 
 ing after it. Swimming ashore, he suc- 
 ceeded in fishing his trunk onto dry land, 
 and shouldering it carried it into the adja- 
 cent woods, no small task, considering 
 his burden weighed not less than 1 50 
 pounds. Here, fortunately, he met a 
 fellow countryman who secured for 
 him work with a farmer, named Clark 
 Gates, at $8.00 per month and his 
 keep, which suited him well at the 
 time, for he was young and strong, 
 full of courage and alwas happy. At the 
 end of a year he left Mr. Gates, and for 
 a time worked on the Cle\'eland & Pitts- 
 burg railroad, then in course of construc- 
 tion, afterward going on a farm again. 
 About this time he was taken sick, and 
 for two months la}' a stranger among 
 strangers, and but for having some money 
 saved, and finding kind people who in- 
 terested themselves in his behalf, he 
 would have fared badly. On his recov- 
 ery he returned to his old friend, Mr. 
 Gates, who gave him a job chopping lum- 
 
54^^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ber for building purposes, and he so con- 
 tinued two years, at the end of which 
 time he hired with a Cleveland firm to 
 come to Washington Island, Door Co., 
 Wis. Accordingly on May i, 1855, he 
 set out for the new country, and during 
 the ensuing summer was engaged in build- 
 ing mills and limekilns at $16.00 per 
 month. In the fall of the same year he 
 moved to Green Bay and, later, to 
 Oconto, during the winter of 1855-56 
 working in the pine woods there till the 
 spring when he came to Sturgeon Bay, 
 thence moving to Sevastopol township. 
 Here he was the owner of some land in 
 Section 22 which he had never yei seen, 
 having bought it from map or plat at 
 Menasha, and he at once commenced 
 making a small clearing thereon. Later, 
 however, he sold this property, and 
 bought of A. W. Lawrence his present 
 farm in Section 27, prior to which, in 
 the meantime, he worked in the sawmills 
 at Sturgeon Bay. At the time of his 
 coming on this land, only a small clear- 
 ing had been made, on which stood a 
 rickety shanty used for making sugar in, 
 and this was the first home of the family, 
 for by this time Mr. Zettel had married, 
 an event that will be presently spoken of. 
 Everything was as wild as nature could 
 make it, there being but one road, 
 almost impossible to get through with 
 a wagon, more like a "trail," that led 
 to his farm, while wild animals, in- 
 cluding bears, deer, wolves, etc., were 
 still numerous, and the only link be- 
 tween this little settlement and the 
 outer world was the old steamboat ' ' Mich- 
 igan," which at long intervals passed the 
 Sturgeon Bay, but they had generally to 
 go to Green Bay for the necessaries of life. 
 This " Old Michigan" was the same ves- 
 sel that brought Mr. Zettel from Cleve- 
 land to Washington Island. As time 
 wore on the farm became cleared, and in 
 lieu of timber and underbrush, were seen 
 fertile fields of grain, pasture or root 
 crops, and in place of the old shanty, the 
 present comfortable dwelling. Mr. Zettel 
 
 now owns in all 160 acres of well culti- 
 vated land, and 100 acres of timber, after 
 giving 200 acres to his sons. It did not 
 take him long to discover that the soil 
 was well adapted for fruit culture, and in 
 1862 he commenced to plant apple, pear 
 and other trees which flourished under 
 his scientific care so well that in the long 
 period of twenty-five years he had not a 
 single crop failure, and in 1892 his or- 
 chard yielded 3000 bushels of apples ! At 
 the World's Fair, held in Chicago, 1893, 
 his fruit displa\- attracted great attention, 
 especially his apples, one of which, the 
 "Wolf River Seedling," measured four- 
 teen inches in circumference ! His ex- 
 hibit included over twenty varieties of 
 apples which kept their flavor and size 
 longer than those of any other exhibitor. 
 His orchard, which is the largest in the 
 State, comprises fortj'-five acres, in var- 
 ious places, besides thirty-two acres on 
 the homestead farm, and pears, cherries, 
 plums, apricots, besides many kinds of 
 small fruit are produced in abundance. 
 
 On July 28, 1861, Mr. Zettel was 
 married in Nasewaupee township. Door 
 county, to Miss Christma Lorch, a native 
 of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, born 
 December 9, 1842, daughter of Christof 
 and Margaretha (Leonhardt) Lorch, the 
 former of whom died in the Fatherland, 
 the latter coming, in 1855, to Wisconsin 
 with her four fatherless children — two 
 sons and two daughters. To this union 
 were born eleven children, as follows: 
 Christina, deceased wife of James Asnow; 
 Philip, Joseph and Alfred, farmers in 
 Sevastapol township; and Henrj', Jacob, 
 Julius, Catherine, Louise, Mina and Lil- 
 lie, all at home with their parents. In 
 his political preferences Mr. Zettel is a 
 stanch Democrat, and has held various 
 township offices, such as treasurer, five 
 years; chairman, three years; supervisor, 
 one year; and treasurer of the school 
 board. He is one of the most successful 
 men of the county, his success being in a 
 great measure due to his faithful life 
 partner, who herself is a thorough busi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 549 
 
 ness woman; and among the men of m.ark 
 in the noble army of pioneers of this sec- 
 tion of the State, there is no name more 
 deserving of being perpetuated in the 
 pages of this Biographical Record than 
 that of Joseph Zettel. 
 
 HARLES GRAF. In enumerat- 
 
 ing the successful farmers of Nase- 
 
 r 
 
 \_ ^ waupee township, Door county, 
 the list would be incomplete with- 
 out prominent mention of the gentleman 
 whose name is here recorded. 
 
 He was born in Saxony, Germany, in 
 1835, and is a son of Adolph and Amalia 
 (Shroth) Graf, who had three children, 
 namely: Matilda, deceased in Ozaukee 
 county, Wis. ; Herman, who served in the 
 Twenty-seventh Wisconsin Regiment dur- 
 ing the war of the Rebellion, and died in 
 1867, and Charles. The mother died in 
 1844, and two years later the father mar- 
 ried Miss Hannah Upleman, by whom he 
 had two daughters: Theresa, who died in 
 Washington county. Wis. , and Henrietta, 
 married and living in Indiana. In 1852 Mr. 
 Graf and his family set sail from Hamburg, 
 Germany, and after a voyage of ninety- 
 six days reached New York, whence they 
 came to Wisconsin, landing in Milwau- 
 kee, from there journeying to Port Wash- 
 ington, Ozaukee county, where Mr. Graf 
 took up a claim three miles from town. 
 Here he died in 1888, his wife in 1887. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines at- 
 tended the public schools in Germany 
 until he reached his sixteenth year, at 
 which time he accompanied his parents 
 to America, where he remained with his 
 father for some time, helping in the clear- 
 ing up of the new home. In i860 he 
 bought a team, and commenced farming 
 for his own account, and same year was 
 married to Miss Jacobina Werthwein, 
 who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, 
 a daughter of Jacobina Machtlle, whose 
 second husband was Frederick Werth- 
 wein. They came to Ozaukee county in 
 1856, and in the city of Port Washington 
 
 made their home till 1880, when they re- 
 moved to Nasewaupee township, Door 
 county, where the father died in 1888, 
 the mother in 1889. After marriage Mr. 
 Graf took his 3'oung wife to his home in 
 Port Washington where they lived sev- 
 eral years highly respected, and where he 
 held several offices of trust, including 
 church offices; he was supervisor three 
 years; was foreman for the United States 
 harbor contractor, Mr. Tunham, and also 
 for the city when building the harbor in 
 Egremont with the government for fifteen 
 thousand dollars; was supervisor in a 
 lawsuit against the railroad compan\,and 
 saved the city some thirty thousand dol- 
 lars; was also foreman for the harbor 
 contractor. He speculated in real estate 
 and personal property, till he lost all his 
 wealth, but not his health, and then in 
 the spring of 1879 came to Door county, 
 where he bought 160 acres of land in 
 Nasewaupee township, adjoining the farm 
 of his father-in-law. He had nine dol- 
 lars in cash, and was fifteen hundred dol- 
 lars in debt when he came to the place — 
 but he was not discouraged. He built 
 a log house and went cheerfully to work 
 to clear his land, and cancel his indebt- 
 edness. He now owns 280 acres of land, 
 140 of which are cleared and being culti- 
 vated; in 1884 he built a one-and-one- 
 half story frame house which is neat and 
 comfortable. His crops became so large 
 that he found it necessary, in 1890, to 
 build another barn, which he did, the 
 size being 74x42 feet. He has made a 
 great success of stock raising, making a 
 specialty of Holstein cattle; his horses, 
 sheep and hogs are also of a good grade. 
 Mr. Graf is an adherent of the Repub- 
 lican party, takes an active interest in 
 elections, and has served as supervisor of 
 the township. Sixteen children were 
 born to him and his wife, of whom twelve 
 are still living, to wit: Charley; Adolph, 
 married, and living in West Superior, 
 Wis. ; Leonard, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; 
 Mary, wife of Henry Blasser, also of Min- 
 neapo'is; Louisa Schneider, of Winona, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 Minn.; Adelia; Jacob; Gusta; Frank; 
 George; John, and Amelia. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Graf are working members of the 
 Evangelical Church, of which he is a 
 deacon, and he was instrumental in se- 
 curing an edifice for that society. He or- 
 ganized the school district in which he 
 lives, and has taken an active part in all 
 the movements tending to the benefit of 
 the communitv. 
 
 AMES McARDLE, a leading citizen 
 
 J of Baileys Harbor township. Door 
 county, for the past four years has 
 served as a member of the town 
 board of supervisors, and has been other- 
 wise identified with public interests. 
 
 He was born in Count\' Louth, Ire- 
 land, in 1826, and was reared to man- 
 hood in the usual manner of farmer lads, 
 giving his father the benefit of iiis services 
 during his minority. In 1865 he was 
 married to Ann Fegan, a year later came 
 to America, and during the first five years 
 he resided at Troy, X. Y. In 1871 he 
 brought his family to Baileys Harbor 
 where he purchased forty acres of cleared 
 land, and built thereon a frame house 
 which still stands as part of their present 
 residence. He has untiringly devoted 
 himself to the development of the farm- 
 ing interests of his town, and is now the 
 , possessor of one of the best farms in the 
 vicinity. To his first purchase he has 
 added others, until he now has in the 
 neighborhood of 350 acres of timber and 
 farm land. In all his labors he has been 
 ably assisted by his wife, who is a most 
 estimable lady. Their marriage has been 
 blessed with eight children, the two eldest 
 of whom are married; the others are as- 
 sisting their parents on the farm. 
 
 In public life Mr. McArdle has dis- 
 charged his duties with much credit to 
 himself andsatisfaction to his constituents. 
 It was a fortunate day for him when he 
 determined to seek a home in the New 
 World, for here he has not only pros- 
 pered in business, but has also secured a 
 
 pleasant home and gained many warm 
 friends, for his life has been a straight- 
 forward one, deserving of the esteem of 
 those wha know him. 
 
 JOHN J. PIXNEY, owner and editor 
 of the Door County Democrat, 
 Sturgeon Bay, one of the best edited, 
 newsiest and liveliest newspapers of 
 northern Wisconsin, is a native of Ohio, 
 born March 19, 1862, in Mantua, Port- 
 age count)', son of George and Charit)' 
 C. (Steadman) Pinne\'. 
 
 In 1863, at that time a one-year-old 
 boy, our subject was brought by his par- 
 ents from the East to Wisconsin. He 
 learned the printer's trade in the office of 
 the Expositor, in Sturgeon Bay, at that 
 time owmed and edited by his father. 
 From "devil" to "jour" he found rapid 
 promotion, and he continued in the print- 
 ing business about eleven years, or until 
 the fall of 1885, when his father's largely 
 increasing nursery business demanded his 
 assistance at home. During the last two 
 years of his incumbency there (which 
 terminated in 1892) he conducted a print- 
 ing office at the nursery, where all the 
 literature of his father's vast business was 
 turned out. Since December 11, 1894, 
 he has been president of "The Ever- 
 green Nursery Co.," established by his 
 father, and the nurserj' is said to be the 
 most important one in the United States 
 devoted to the growth of shrubs and 
 evergreens. 
 
 In Januarj', 1893, our subject bought 
 a complete printing plant, and estab- 
 lished the Door County Democrat, the 
 office of which he supplied, complete, 
 with all modern appliances used in print- 
 ing offices, including cylinder press and job 
 press; wire stitching machine for pamph- 
 lets, etc. — everything, in fact, pertaining 
 to the equipment of a well-appointed office 
 — the whole being operated by steam- 
 power. The Door County Democrat is an 
 eight-page quarto, and its politics are 
 purely and prima facie Democratic, true 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 551 
 
 to the principles of the partj-, which are 
 upheld with jealous care. The paper has a 
 large and constantly increasing circula- 
 tion, while the job-room is ever busy with 
 work for both home and outside trade. 
 In a word, as a paying investment, it is 
 no vain boast to say that the Door County 
 Democrat is not excelled by any journal 
 published on the peninsula. Its columns 
 are found complete in both local and gen- 
 eral county news, besides presenting its 
 readers with the gist of the outside tele- 
 graphic reports, including trans-Atlantic 
 and other foreign cablegrams; while 
 through the judicious collection of in- 
 structive and edifying matter, its columns 
 are replete with the current National and 
 State affairs, and literary and domestic 
 pabulum. In March, 1895, Mr. Pinney 
 associated himself with others, formed 
 the J. J. Pinney Printing Company, and 
 bought out a rival newspaper in the same 
 city, and of the same political faith, 
 thereby giving the Door County Democrat 
 a clear and largely-increased held. 
 
 In April, 1892, at Caldwell, Wis., Mr. 
 Pinney was united in marriage with Miss 
 Martha Kingston, and one child, George 
 K. , has come to brighten their home, 
 born March 7, 1894. 
 
 ALBERT G. WARREN. It is not 
 often the privilege of the biogra- 
 pher to have the writing of the 
 life history of one who is more 
 than an octogenarian in years, and who 
 has not yet entirely released his hand 
 from labor, as in the case of the gentle- 
 man whose name here appears. Born in 
 New London count}'. Conn., Jul}' 26, 
 I Si 2, Mr. Warren, hale and hearty, is 
 now in his eighty-third year, with facul- 
 ties unimpaired, cheerful, happy and con- 
 tented. 
 
 Lewis Warren, his father — a son of 
 Moses Warren, who was of English de- 
 scent, by vocation a manufacturer of 
 woolen cloth — was born in Canada, where 
 he learned the trade of weaver. In 1806, 
 
 in early manhood, he was desirous of 
 going into business in his native country, 
 but being required, before doing so, to 
 take the oath of allegiance to the British 
 Government, he declined, and conse- 
 quently had to move to the United States, 
 which he did, settling in Connecticut, 
 where he married Miss Sophronia Adams, 
 who was born in that State, in 1 79 1, a 
 daughter of Daniel and Alice (Ainsworth) 
 Adams, the former of whom was a tanner 
 by trade, and served in the Revolutionary 
 war. He traced his ancestry to Miles 
 Standish, who came over in the "May- 
 flower," and was a captain in the early 
 militia. Daniel and Alice Adams had 
 four children, two sons — Elihu and Guy 
 Fitch — and two daughters — Sophronia 
 and Alice — both the sons becoming sea 
 captains. After marriage Lewis Warren 
 abandoned cloth weaving and embarked 
 in the milling business, but not long after- 
 ward, in 1815, was drowned while repair- 
 ing the dam of his mill on a branch of the 
 Genesee river in New York State. He 
 was a well-educated man, and a close as- 
 sociate of Gen. W. H. Harrison. After 
 his death his widow and her three young 
 children — Guy Lewis, Albert G. , and 
 William Harrison — returned to Connecti- 
 cut from where they had been living in 
 New York State, the entire journey of 
 450 miles being made in a wagon, and 
 for a time lived at the home of her father. 
 Long afterward, in 1855, she came to 
 Wisconsin, in order to make her home 
 with her sons Albert G. and William H., 
 and here died in December, 1881, aged 
 ninety-one years, nine months and nine 
 days. 
 
 Albert G. Warren, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, was three years old 
 when his father died, and at the common 
 schools of Connecticut he secured all the 
 school training he was destined to re- 
 ceive. At the age of ten he went to live 
 with a farmer, with whom he remained 
 two years, and then clerked in a store at 
 Canterbury, Windham county, and at 
 Sterling Hill, same county and State, till 
 
552 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 he was fifteen years old, when, having 
 moved to Norwich, he learned the trade 
 of carriage trimmer. The firm he was 
 apprenticed to failing, however, at the 
 end of a year, young Warren took up 
 harness making, serving an apprenticeship 
 of four years, and afterward following 
 same several years, a portion of the time 
 for his own account, at Norwich; but 
 about the year 1844 he abandoned this, 
 and embarking in the upholstery and dry- 
 goods business continued in that line in 
 the same town until 1855. In that same 
 year, accompanied by his brother William 
 H , he came west to Wisconsin, on a pros- 
 pective tour, and being induced to come to 
 Sturgeon Bay, Door county, while tarry- 
 ing at Fond du Lac, they made the jour- 
 ney northward and from Bay Settlement 
 on the ice, arriving at their destination 
 April 3, same year, their families follow- 
 ing in July of that year. Their intention 
 being to commence farming operations, 
 they took up 400 acres of land in the 
 vicinity of Sturgeon Bay, built a log 
 house 30 X 40 feet, cleared a farm, and 
 for thirteen years, or until 1868, w-ere act- 
 ively engaged in agriculture. For the 
 next seven years our subject had charge 
 of the books for A. W. Lawrence cS: Co. , 
 proprietors af a general store in Sturgeon 
 Bay, since when he has more or less been 
 dealing in real estate, and devoting his 
 spare time to working on an abstract of 
 land titles to real estate in Door county. 
 In July, 1836, at Norwich, Conn., 
 Mr. Warren was married to Miss Sophia 
 Davenport, who was born, in 18 13, in 
 Connecticut, a daughter of William and 
 Eleanor (Green) Davenport, respectable 
 farming people, who had a family of chil- 
 dren named, respectively, Jared, Russell, 
 William, Charles, Mary, Sophia and 
 Francis, of whom two survive, William 
 and Francis. The mother of these died 
 at the patriarchal age of ninety-six years 
 six months. Mr. and Mrs. Warren have 
 two daughters, both born in Norwich, 
 Conn., namely: Sophia, now Mrs. E. C. 
 Daniels, of Pasadena, Cal., and Emily, 
 
 a resident of Sturgeon Bay, W'is. In relig- 
 ious faith our subject is a member of the 
 M. E. Church. In his political predi- 
 lections he is a stanch Republican, but 
 his first presidential vote was cast for 
 Martin V'anBuren on the Free-soil ticket. 
 At Sturgeon Ba\-, in the July, 1855, elec- 
 tion, he was elected supervisor; in 1856 
 was chairman of Sturgeon Bay town- 
 ship, which included all the people of 
 Door county who could get to Sturgeon 
 Bay to poll their votes. In 1859 he 
 was appointed county clerk, in which 
 capacity he served two years; was deputy 
 treasurer and clerk, many years; assessor 
 several times, and town clerk for a long 
 period of time. In all the various offices 
 that have been held by him he has ever 
 been an active worker, and at all times 
 has done his duty to his constituents in a 
 manner that has won him great applause 
 and honor. In his earlier days Mr. War- 
 ren taught school many dreary winters, 
 and it is remembered that he had charge 
 of the first district school in Sturgeon 
 Bay, which was held in the upper part 
 of a store. In 1871 he built a com- 
 modious and comfortable residence on 
 Cedar street, and resides in another of 
 his houses, also on Cedar street, where 
 the honored old pioneer and his faith- 
 ful helpmeet, who is now eighty-two 
 years old, calmly and reverently await 
 the summons that must come to all, 
 happy in the consciousness that they have 
 the fullest esteem and regards of the 
 entire community who one and all wish 
 them continued health and fullness of 
 years. 
 
 HERMAN REINHART PAUTZ, 
 the oldest insurance agent in the 
 city of I\ewaunee, is a native of 
 the Province of Pommcrn, Prus- 
 sia, and was born January 8, 1839. His 
 father, Charles Pautz, was born in i S02, 
 was a blacksmith by trade, and was a 
 son of Martin Pautz, a shepherd. The 
 mother of our subject, wh( > bore the maiden 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 553 
 
 name of Frederica Rohleder, was born in 
 1800, and was married in 1826. Of her 
 eight children, two only are living. In 
 1856 the father brought his family to 
 America and located near Watertowri, 
 Jefferson Co. ,Wis. , but died three months 
 after his arrival. The mother kept the 
 family together for a year, when her 
 daughter was married, and with her Mrs. 
 Pautz made her home until her death in 
 1863. 
 
 Our subject had learned blacksmith- 
 ing in the old country, and at this trade 
 and as a farm hand he worked for others 
 until he was twenty-three years of age. 
 He then rented a farm near Portland, 
 Wis., for three years, after which he 
 bought a farm at Golden Lake, Wis. , but 
 had lived there one year only, when he 
 lost his first wife, Minnie (Marguard) 
 Pautz, a native of Germany. He at once 
 sold his place, and in 1866 came to Ke- 
 waunee county, locating on a farm, three 
 and a half miles northwest of Kewaunee 
 city. In 1884 he sold this farm, having 
 previously secured fourteen acres where 
 he now resides, to which he has since 
 added five acres. All this tract he has 
 laid out in town lots, known as " Pautz 
 Plat." About 1876 Mr. Pautz married 
 Miss Minnie Born, a native of his own 
 province, who, at the age of nine years, 
 came to America with her parents, who 
 settled at Watertown, Wis., where her 
 father died a month later. The mother, 
 marrying Aug. Brown, and keeping the 
 family together, is now a resident of Ke- 
 waunee. To this second marriage of our 
 subject have been born eight children, 
 four of whom are living, viz. : Emma, 
 married to William Hoeft, of Ixonia, Jef- 
 ferson Co., Wis.; Emil, now nineteen 
 years old, is a clerk in Duvall's store; 
 Louise and Alma are still at home. 
 
 In politics Mr. Pautz is a strong Re- 
 publican, has filled a number of minor 
 offices, and has several times been nomi- 
 nated for county positions, but his party 
 being in the minority he has of course 
 shared its fate. He has always taken 
 
 much interest in the public schools, and 
 when on the farm was clerk of the dis- 
 trict. In the city he has served as 
 assessor, and has also been township 
 assessor. In 1890 he was appointed 
 enumerator, and took the census of West 
 Kewaunee. For the past twenty-two 
 years he has been in the insurance busi- 
 ness, representing some of the best com- 
 panies in the country, and traveling 
 through Door and Kewaunee counties and 
 part of Brown, in all of which he has 
 made many friends. He is a stockholder 
 in, and one of the managers of, the Ke- 
 waunee Printing Co., and has always 
 taken an active interest in everything 
 tending to the advancement and improve- 
 ment of the city and county. He and 
 his wife are members of the German 
 Lutheran Church, and are much re- 
 spected. 
 
 HENRY C. KNUDSON, who for 
 forty years has been a resident of 
 Door county, a pioneer of the 
 truest type, and a thoroughly 
 representative self-made man, is a de- 
 scendant of those sturdy, bold adventur- 
 ers, the hardy Norsemen of olden time 
 whose footprints were seen on the sea- 
 shore sands of this continent — not deep 
 impressions, perhaps, but certain and sig- 
 nificant — many years before Christopher 
 Columbus opened his wondering eyes to 
 the light in the city of Genoa, Italy. 
 
 Mr. Knudson, was born February iS, 
 1823, in Norway, a son of Knute Am- 
 brosium Knudson, an honorable and in- 
 dustrious farming man, who honestly 
 labored to provide for his large family of 
 five sons and five daughters, and gi\e 
 them the benefits of as good an education 
 as could be had at the schools of the lo- 
 cality. Our subject until he was twenty- 
 five years old remained on his father's 
 farm, occasionally taking a run out to sea 
 in the capacity of sailor-boy, and then 
 commenced learning the trade of ship car- 
 penter, which he followed several jears. 
 
554 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the vessel he belonged to in his native 
 land plying between Norway, England, 
 Holland and France. In 1853 he came 
 to the United States in the barge •' Chris- 
 tiana," which he had assisted in the build- 
 ing of, in Norway. After a voyage of six 
 weeks he landed at yuebec, Canada, 
 where he sojourned for a short time and 
 then proceeded-to Chicago, 111., in which 
 city he worked at his trade for a couple of 
 years, at the end of which time, in 1855, 
 he came to Door county, landing in Stur- 
 geon Bay. Here he bought thirteen acres 
 of timber land, all his limited means 
 would at that time permit him to invest 
 in, cut the cedar timber from it, which he 
 sold, built a log house and commenced a 
 settlement in earnest. On October 29, 
 1857, he was married in Chicago, 111. 
 (there being nc minister in or about Stur- 
 geon Bay at that time), to Miss Mary 
 Hansen, to whom he had been engaged 
 in Norway, where she was born October 
 25, 1825, coming to the United States in 
 1854, where up to the time of her mar- 
 riage she was employed as a domestic. 
 To his newly-built modest log house he 
 brought his young bride, and for some 
 eighteen months they lived there in su- 
 preme contentment; but a farm of thirteen 
 acres was too small for an ambitious Nor- 
 wegian, so, selling it, he pre-empted forty 
 acres of wild land in Section 2, Sturgeon 
 Bay township, going in debt for same, 
 and this is the property he now owns and 
 lives on. At the time of his coming to it 
 there was no clearing of any kind, the 
 timber was very heavy, and there was no 
 road nearer than the township line, while 
 his "next-door neighbor," James Gilles- 
 pie, was a mile awaj-, and he had to walk 
 through the woods, along a trail, to Stur- 
 geon Bay, four miles distant, for the fam- 
 ily provisions. But as faint heart never 
 won a fair home or anything else, our 
 hero bravely set to work to make a clear- 
 ing, and on a portion of it erected a sub- 
 stantial one-story log house, 14 x 18 feet 
 in size, in which the family lived till 1884, 
 when Mr. Knudson built the present ele- 
 
 gant and commodious brick dwelling. 
 From time to time he has added to his 
 possessions until now he is the owner of 
 a fine property, consisting of 160 acres of 
 land, fifty of which he has cleared. 
 
 On August 15, 1862, Mr. Knudson, 
 leaving his wife and four children to care 
 for the homestead, enlisted at Sturgeon 
 Bay in Company F, Thirty-second Regi- 
 ment. Wis. V. I., which was mustered in 
 at Oshkosh, from there ordered to Mem- 
 phis, Tenn., where for some time it did 
 guard duty; it was the first regiment to 
 enter Holly Springs, Miss., after it was 
 burned by the Confederates; was engaged 
 in many skirmishes through Tennessee 
 and Kentuck}'; and while at Memphis, 
 Tenn., was ordered to proceed to Chick- 
 amauga in order to participate in the 
 memorable battle at that place; but the 
 order for some reason was countermanded. 
 While lying at Memphis our subject was 
 taken sick, and for two months was con- 
 fined to hospital, during which time the 
 regiment was placed under Sherman's 
 command. When able to be moved he 
 was sent to Nashville, Tenn., thence to 
 Jeffersonville, Ind., where he was received 
 into the convalescent hospital and his 
 ultimate recovery effected, which was in 
 the fall of 1864, when he at once rejoined 
 his regiment at Atlanta, Ga., which city 
 it was guarding. The "Thirty-second" 
 was now attached to the Seventeenth 
 Army Corps, was sent to Savannah, con- 
 tinuing to the close of the campaign in 
 those parts which ended in the Grand 
 Review at Washington, where Mr. Knud- 
 son received an honorable discharge, and 
 returned to his home by way of Mil- 
 waukee. In his three-years' service he 
 was never wounded, and at no time was 
 absent from his regiment except during 
 his illness; but the healthy, robust man 
 he was when he set out for the wars came 
 home emaciated and broken in health and 
 strength. As already related, he had 
 left behind him his wife and four chil- 
 dren, and they had " a hard row to hoe" 
 in his absence, as may be well imagined. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 
 
 555 
 
 having no neighbor nearer than Mr. Gil- 
 lespie (if we except the wild animals); 
 but Mrs. Knudson was brave as she was 
 good, and she kept the home well and 
 secure, caring for her children with all 
 the devotedness of a mother's love, while 
 the ravenous wolves were continually 
 hovering about in the neighborhood, mak- 
 ing both day and night hideous with their 
 discordant howls and savage yells. One 
 time, when out in the bush hunting her 
 cows, she lost her way for two nights and 
 a day, during which time she had to sub- 
 sist on wild berries, etc. In the winter 
 time, there being no feed for the cows, 
 she chopped down trees so that they could 
 get at the moss and young branches, and 
 this they subsisted on. The children 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Knudson were as 
 follows: Guned M., deceased wife of 
 Charles Swenson; Mary, married to Au- 
 gust Simpson, of Sturgeon Bay township; 
 Henry C., at home; Hans M. , a resident 
 ■of Sturgeon Bay; and a daughter that 
 died in infanc}'. The entire family are 
 members of the Lutheran Church, and in 
 his political views our subject is an ardent 
 Republican. He is now semi-retired from 
 acti\e life, the son, Henry C, attending 
 to the work on the farm which the father 
 has, from a wilderness in which roamed 
 howling wolves, besides deer and other 
 game, converted into a peaceful, prosper- 
 ous, fertile and happy home, the labor of 
 a lifetime of ceaseless toil and undying 
 energy in which he has been nobly assist- 
 ed by his faithful, patient and frugal help- 
 meet, and family of children from the 
 time they were able to gather up the chips 
 as they fell to his inexorable axe. 
 
 ADOLPH M. C. JORNS has long 
 been a resident of Door county, 
 and is numbered among its hon- 
 ored pioneers. He settled here 
 when wild game, including deer, was 
 found in the forest, and when the greater 
 part of the land was still in its primitive 
 condition. He has aided in its develop- 
 
 ment, and has ever manifested a com- 
 mendable interest in those enterprises 
 pertaining to the growth and progress of 
 the county. 
 
 Mr. Jorns was born November 27, 
 1833, in Holstein, Germany, and is a son 
 of August and Elizabeth (Moore) Jorns, 
 the former a ship carpenter b}' trade and 
 a successful and wide-awake businessman. 
 In the family were seven children, as fol- 
 lows: Augusta, widow of Henry Bag- 
 hum; Louie, who was drowned; Maria, 
 widow of Carl Schwann; Adolph; August, 
 who died at the age of six years; Ferdi- 
 nand, who is now living in Egg Harbor, 
 Wis. , and Caroline, wife of Sovus V. 
 Scheeb. 
 
 Our subject is truly a self-made man, 
 and whatever success he has achieved in 
 life is due entirely to his own efforts. He 
 received but limited educational privileges, 
 for at the early age of eight years he be- 
 gan working in a woolen factory where he 
 was employed during the summer time 
 from six in the morning until ten at night, 
 save between five and seven in the eve- 
 ning, at which time he attended school. 
 He was thus employed until fourteen 
 years of age, when he was apprenticed to 
 a ship carpenter, Anse Dryer, with whom 
 he served a term of five 3'ears, after 
 which he went to sea. His father also 
 followed the sea until sixty-eight years of 
 age, when his death occurred from heart 
 failure; his wife departed this life in 1854. 
 Mr. Jorns was a sailor until thirty-five 
 years of age, and during that time spent 
 five years on the coast of Africa, also 
 visited various other ports, in which way 
 he gained the wide knowledge and experi- 
 ence that have made him a well-informed 
 man. About 1858 he was united in mar- 
 riage with Johanna Ruchhaas, daughter 
 of Henry and Johanna (Hesse) Ruchhaas, 
 and during the two succeeding years was 
 engaged as a private boatman. In 1871, 
 he sailed from Hamburg to New York, 
 where he arrived after a vo\age of ten 
 days and twenty-two hours, made his way 
 to Chicago, 111. , whence he came direct 
 
556 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Baileys Harbor. In connection with 
 his brother Ferdinand, he worked in the 
 lumber woods and in loading vessels for 
 a year, when, with the capital which he 
 had acquired, he purchased eighty acres 
 of land on which not a furrow had been 
 turned or an improvement made. Hav- 
 ing built a log cabin, i6x 12 feet, he be- 
 gan clearing his land, and had fifty-five 
 acres under a high state of cultivation 
 when he sold in 1892, since which time 
 he has lived at Baileys Harbor. While on 
 the farm he suffered many misfortunes, 
 endured much hardship, and is now in a 
 crippled condition, the result of having 
 both legs broken. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jorns have had a family 
 of nine children, namely: Johnny J. and 
 Ferdinand, who were born in Germany; 
 William; Dora; Louise, who died at the 
 age of thirteen \ears; Freda; August; 
 Johanna, and Charlie. The eldest is the 
 only one married. In his political affiH- 
 ations, Mr. Jorns is a Republican, takes 
 a deep interest in the success of his party 
 and has served as path master, where, as 
 in all the relations of life, he was found 
 true and faithful to the trust reposed in 
 him. 
 
 REV. FATHER JOSEPH KIR- 
 PAL, pastor of the Holy Rosary 
 Church, Kewaunee, was born in 
 Hohcnstein, Bohemia, December 
 30, 1844. His father, also named Jos- 
 eph, who was for forty years financial in- 
 spector for the government, is now a pen- 
 sioner, and is about seventy years of age. 
 He has three children: Rev. Joseph; a 
 son who is a captain in the army; and a 
 married daughter. 
 
 Rev. Joseph Kirpal completed his 
 literary education at the gymnasium in 
 Prague in 1863; then pursued his philo- 
 sophical studies at the Jesuit College of 
 Pressburg for three years, from which in- 
 stitution he graduated, and finished his 
 studies of theology at the University of 
 Innsbruck, in Tyrol. Here he was or- 
 
 dained, then acted as professor of the 
 Latin and Bohemian languages, and sub- 
 sequently as prefect and curator in sev- 
 eral institutes in Austria and Hungary. 
 In 1884 he came to Carlton, Kewaunee 
 Co., Wis., as pastor of St. Joseph's 
 Church, and in 1888 assumed charge of 
 the Holy Rosary Congregation at Ke- 
 waunee; he also cares for the Polish St. 
 Hedwig's Congregation in W^est Kewau- 
 nee, and St. \Iary's Congregation in 
 Piercetown. 
 
 The Holy Rosary Congregation has a 
 history extending back to 1856. In that 
 year Rev. T. Smedding visited Kewaunee 
 as the first Catholic missionary, and held 
 services in a hut made of boughs: in 
 1857 Father Maly succeeded, and after 
 him, for three years, others followed. 
 In i860 the first church edifice was com- 
 menced by the pious John Borgmann, 
 but it was not finished until 1863. Rev. 
 Ch. Exel, the first resident priest, came 
 this year, but remained only three months. 
 In 1866 Rev. Sheenwick commenced the 
 erection of the school building, which was 
 completed through the efforts of Rev. 
 George Brunner, whose pastorate began 
 in 1877; he also built the new church, 
 an elegant brick structure, completed in 
 1884. In 1887 Father Brunner was 
 transferred to Francis Creek, Manitowoc 
 county, and was succeeded by Rev. Pri- 
 voznik, who caused the church to be ar- 
 tistically painted by Liebig & Loeffler. of 
 Milwaukee. The present pastor, as 
 stated above, took charge in 1888, and 
 has erected a fine rectory, purchased 
 three new statues from Europe, and new 
 pews from the Ahnapee F'urniture Co., 
 and has put in a most musical chime of 
 bells, the heaviest of which weighs 1 800 
 pounds. The congregation now numbers 
 about 120 families, and the parochial 
 school is attended by at least one hun- 
 dred children. From the congregation 
 have been organized three benevolent 
 societies, viz. : The Catholic Knights, 
 with about sixty members; St. Joseph 
 Society with fifty members; and the Cath- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 557 
 
 olic Bohemian Knights, with twenty 
 members. 
 
 Father Kirpal is greatly venerated by 
 his flock, over whom he has been indeed 
 a most careful and tender shepherd, and 
 his piety, learning, meekness, and be- 
 nignity, dignity and graciousness, added 
 to his energ)-, and devotion to duty, have 
 won for him the admiration and esteem 
 of the entire community, irrespective of 
 sect or religious denomination. 
 
 N ARNOLD WAGENER, one of 
 the most highly honored citizens 
 of Door county, embodies in his 
 brief career of scarcely more than 
 a half century a life of stirring activity 
 and strong popular esteem. He is de- 
 scended from that sterling and sturd\' 
 German stock which has done so much 
 for the world's civilization by a series of 
 perilous and laborious migrations. He 
 was born on the banks of the Moselle 
 river in the village of Croev, Prussia, Jan- 
 uary 4, 1844, son of John Nicholas Wage- 
 ner, the village merchant, who in 1852 
 immigrated with his wife and seven chil- 
 dren — Catherine, William, Alice, Nicholas 
 Arnold, August, Peter V. and Minnie — to 
 America, following a son Thomas who 
 had previously immigrated. The ninth 
 child of the family, Josephine, was born 
 in Wisconsin. 
 
 The passage from Antwerp to New 
 York was made in the sailing vessel 
 " Richard Allsop, " in twenty-three days, 
 arriving at the latter place in April, 1852. 
 Three weeks later the family took the 
 packet boat on the Erie canal for Buffalo, 
 and thence proceeded to Two Rivers, 
 Wis., by steam propeller. With the 
 proceeds from the sale of some hogsheads 
 of wine, which the father had brought 
 with him, a forty-acre tract of land was 
 purchased near Two Rivers, on which the 
 family located. The father had previously, 
 through the agency of a nephew, pur- 
 chased 200 acres of land, but owing to 
 business disagreements with his nephew 
 
 it was not until after three years' litigation 
 and great expense that he came into pos- 
 session of this property. Mr. Wagener, 
 at the ripe old age of ninety-two years, 
 still lives with his wife, aged eighty-four, 
 on this valuable tract of land in the vil- 
 lage of Mishicot, Wis., one of its most re- 
 spected pioneer citizens. 
 
 The subject of this sketch passed his 
 boyhood and early youth on his father's 
 farm, but when in the spring of 1861 the 
 tocsin of civil war sounded its dread alarm 
 he was one of the first to enlist. En- 
 rolled as a member of Company A, Fifth 
 Wis. V. I. , he served throughout the war 
 in the army of the Potomac, participating 
 in thirteen memorable battles, enduring 
 unscathed the leaden hail at Gettys- 
 burg, but in the masterly advance through 
 the stubbornly contested battle of the 
 Wilderness he received a musket ball in 
 the left leg, which placed him in the hos- 
 pital for seventeen days. Mr. Wagener 
 was also engaged in many skirmishes with 
 the enemy, and in one of them was struck 
 in the left hip by a fragment of a shell. 
 
 Honorably discharged in the fall of 
 
 1864 after more than a three-years' gal- 
 lant service, he journeyed in the spring of 
 
 1865 to Memphis, Tenn., with his brother 
 William, also a veteran Union soldier, 
 expecting to become sutler of a Wiscon- 
 sin regiment, but, the war closing, they 
 started west. After a brief and not prof- 
 itable experience in the meat market busi- 
 ness in Iowa Mr. Wagener hired out as an 
 "experienced" mule driver in a govern- 
 ment wagon train, bound from Nebraska 
 City to Julesbury, Neb. The "experi- 
 ence" he gained later, and quickly be- 
 came an expert. At Nebraska City he 
 again hired out as a mule driver, this 
 time to private traders at $55 per month, 
 bound for Denver, Colo. , and on arriving 
 there with the train a partner in charge of 
 the wagon train, contrary to instructions, 
 concluded to go farther west. Mr. Wag- 
 ener notified the house by telegraph, and 
 two hundred miles out the train was over- 
 taken by one of the principal partners, 
 
5^S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the goods equitably divided, and Mr. 
 Wagener placed in charge of the return- 
 ing goods, with instructions to sell out on 
 the journey back, and report at Nebraska 
 City. On the way he sold some two 
 thousand five hundred dollars worth of 
 goods, drove entirely alone, for nearly one 
 thousand miles, partly through a wild 
 Indian country, and reported to his em- 
 ployers in good shape, with whom he re- 
 mained one season, working in their store 
 at Nebraska City. In the following fall 
 he and his brother William engaged in 
 trading on their own account, hauling a 
 wagonload of apples and sweet potatoes to 
 Laramie, W'yo., and other soldier or mil- 
 itary camps, and selling them at a profit of 
 $600, some of their large " Belle flower" 
 apples selling at one dollar apiece. Our 
 subject's next enterprises were two brew- 
 eries, at North Platte City and at Bear 
 River, where in two and a half months 
 he and his partner, Mr. Hyrothe, cleared 
 $2,200. This was sunk in a had brewing 
 venture at the Sweet Water mines, which 
 failed and depopulated the settlement. 
 After an unsuccessful mining venture Mr. 
 Wagener for two years following was em- 
 ployed to manage a brewery at Fort 
 Bridger, Wyo., and then spent a winter 
 hunting. In the following spring, with 
 two companions, he made the return trip 
 on horseback from a point one hundred 
 miles north of Salt Lake City to Leaven- 
 worth, Kans. , a distance of 1400 miles, 
 starting .^pril 24 and arriving July 2, 
 1S72. Two days later Mr. Wagener ar- 
 rived at his home in Wisconsin, and thus 
 concluded his experience with western 
 frontier life. 
 
 In the spring oi 1873 he accepted a 
 position with the Platz Brewing Co., at 
 Milwaukee, where he remained until July, 
 1874. He then formed a partnership 
 with his brother William, and established 
 a brewery at Sturgeon Ba\'. The same 
 year (1874) his brother, William Wag- 
 ener, was elected sheriff of Door county, 
 and the management of the partnership 
 business fell exclusivelj- upon Arnold. 
 
 Four years later the sheriff, while hunting, 
 was accidently shot with his own gun and 
 subsequently died from the effects of the 
 wound. Then began Mr. Wagencr's 
 official life. He was appointed under 
 sheriff in 1878. Two years later he was 
 elected sheriff, and re-elected in 1884 and 
 1890. As sheriff and as under sheriff, 
 Mr. Wagener has served his county four- 
 teen years. Other official honors have 
 crowded upon him. For six \'ears he was 
 a member of the Sturgeon Bay city coun- 
 cil, and for two years president of the 
 council. He has filled the offices of city 
 treasurer, chief of Fire Department, etc., 
 and was appointed postmaster of Stur- 
 geon Bay Ma\' 1, 1894, a position which 
 he is now filling. In 1892-93 he was 
 assistant postmaster of the Wisconsin 
 State Senate. Mr. Wagener is a mem- 
 ber of the Sons of Hermann, and of Nel- 
 son Post No. 97, G. A. K. 
 
 He was married, in February, 1874, 
 at Mishicot, Wis., to Isabella A. Terens, 
 and their family consists of six children: 
 Hubert A., Annie I. C, Arnold, William 
 E., Walter and Lionel. No greater mark 
 of popularity coukl well be adduced than 
 that which has crowned the political life 
 of Mr. Wagener. Although Door county 
 is considered Republican by a good major- 
 ity, Mr. Wagener has thrice been elected 
 sheriff on the Democratic ticket, and the 
 last time his Republican competitor paid 
 him the great compliment of withdrawing 
 from the contest. The tide of popularity 
 was so decidedly fa\()rable to Mr. Wag- 
 ener that opposition was hopeless. Broad 
 and liberal in thought, generous and 
 kindly by nature, he is in truth richly en- 
 titled to the high esteem in which he is 
 generally held by his fellow citizens. 
 
 LOUIS BRUEMMER, cashier of 
 the State Bank of Kewaunee, is 
 a native of Germany, born March 
 14, 1841, in Jucrgensdorf, Meck- 
 lenburg-Schwerin. In 1853 he came to 
 America with his parents, landing in New 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 559- 
 
 York December 4; thence proceeded to 
 Trenton, New Jersey. 
 
 In April, 1854, he came to Wisconsin, 
 where, until the coming winter, he 
 worked in a sawmill at Two Rivers, Mani- 
 towoc county, next living with his parents 
 in the town of Mishicot, following farm- 
 ing and working in the woods. For two 
 winters he attended the district school, 
 also studied at a Milwaukee academy 
 two months, and in i860 was employed as 
 a teacher in the district school. On 
 August 28, 1861, he enlisted in Company 
 G, First Wis. \ . I. ; was wounded at the 
 battle of Perryville, October 8, 1862; 
 was promoted from the ranks to sergeant, 
 and on February 19, 1863, was dis- 
 charged for disability on account of his 
 wound. Returning to Mishicott, he 
 taught school four years, and filled the 
 offices of town clerk and justice of the 
 peace two years, being elected to each on 
 the Democratic ticket. In 1867 Mr. 
 Bruemmer moved to Ahnapee, where he 
 followed successively the brewery, hotel, 
 gristmill and sawmill businesses. He was 
 elected chairman of the town of Ahnapee 
 for 1871-72; was chairman of the county 
 board of supervisors of Kewaunee county 
 in 1871-72, and was elected count}' clerk 
 in 1872, holding the last named incum- 
 bency ten consecutive j'ears. In addi- 
 tion to these responsible offices he was 
 elected to fill that of member of Assembly 
 for the first biennial session of 1883. In 
 all of these positions Mr. Bruemmer has 
 proven to be a man of parts and intelli- 
 gence, keenly alive to the needs of 
 his constituents and the public in gen- 
 eral. He now engaged as a merchant 
 at Ahnapee, but soon sold out, and on the 
 first day of July, 1S84, entered the Ex- 
 change Bank (now the State Bank of Ke- 
 waunee) as cashier, a position he still 
 holds, having made himself most popular 
 by his obliging disposition and willingness 
 to accommodate. This bank has a capi- 
 tal of $30,000, and is officered as follows: 
 Edward Decker, president; Louis Bruem- 
 mer, cashier; Edward Decker, Joseph 
 
 Duval and George Grimmer,' directors. 
 It is considered to be, under this able 
 management, one of the thriftiest and 
 soundest moneyed institutions of north- 
 eastern Wisconsin, considering the vol- 
 ume of trade transacted, and it is need- 
 less to say that much of its prosperity is- 
 due to the tact and foresight of its worthy 
 cashier. Mr. Bruemmer has filled sev- 
 eral municipal offices, including that of 
 alderman from his ward, also supervisor, 
 and in 1891 he was elected mayor of the 
 city of Kewaunee. 
 
 On June 9, 1866, Mr. Bruemmer was 
 united in marriage at Two Rivers, to Miss 
 Amelia Weilep, of that lakeside town, 
 the result of this happy alliance being 
 seven sons and one daughter, named as 
 follows: August J., Otto H., Emil J.. 
 Edwin H., Christy H., Arnold, Leo and 
 Meta, four of whom are residing with 
 their parents. The father of Mrs. Amelia 
 Bruemmer, who was named John G. 
 Weilep, was a Prussian by birth. He 
 was a ship carpenter by trade, and came 
 to America about the year 1850, first 
 locating in Washington county. Wis., 
 Mrs. Bruemmer's birthplace, but in a 
 short time changing his residence t'o Two 
 Rivers, where he kept a hotel until 1867. 
 He then went to .Ahnapee, conducting a 
 hotel there until his death, which oc- 
 curred in Februar\', 1891; his wife passed 
 away in 1887. 
 
 Having thus given a brief sketch of 
 the acti\'e life of Louis Bruemmer in the 
 land of his adoption, it is proper that 
 something should be said of his parents. 
 Christian Bruemmer, his father, was born 
 in Germany, May 2, 1792, and for thirty- 
 three yeai"S was an overseer of the do- 
 main of Baron von Oertzen. He mar- 
 ried Sophia Schroeder, daughter of John 
 Schroeder, the deceased predecessor of 
 Christian Bruemmer in the position of 
 trust held by him. To this marriage 
 were born seven sons and one daughter, 
 all of whom came to America, three of 
 the seven sons being the first to venture 
 across the Atlantic in 1852, the father 
 
560 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 and the rest of the famil)- following in 
 1853. They settled on a farm in Mishi- 
 cot, Manitowoc Co., Wis., and there the 
 mother died in 1876, the father in 1S89. 
 The father had been in the army reserve 
 in Germany, and besides being a farmer, 
 was a practical veterinary surgeon, his 
 skill being frequently called into requisi- 
 tion at his new home. Of his seven sons, 
 three — Louis, Fred and Julius — gallantly 
 served in defense of the Union, two in the 
 Twenty-seventh Wis. V. I. One of the 
 sons of John G. Weilep, Edward, was 
 consul, under Cleveland's first adminis- 
 tration, to Sonneberg, Germany, where 
 he naturally felt at home as far as the 
 language was concerned. 
 
 Socially, Louis Bruemmer is a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic Lodge at Ahnapee, of 
 the Odd Fellows, Sons of Hermann and 
 the G. A. R. , and is one of the strong 
 men of which the county is made up. 
 
 AUGUSTUS W. LAWRENCE.— 
 "What can 3'ou raise here.'" in- 
 quired a certain distinguished Eng- 
 lish agriculturist of a citizen of 
 Maine, as, together, they were traversing 
 the rocky, iron-bound coast along which 
 the northern Atlantic dashes its waves, 
 summer and winter. " Your soil seems so 
 rocky and sterile that no crops could 
 thrive in it. What can 3'ou grow.'" 
 "We raise men," was the proud reply. 
 Yes, the Sunrise State does raise men, as 
 history proves, and one of the best of her 
 product is the one whose history we pro- 
 pose to here brieliy sketch. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence was born in the town 
 of Madison, on the Kennebec river, Som- 
 erset count}', Maine, October 12, 1830, a 
 son of Bennett and Hannah (Carlton) 
 Lawrence, both natives of New Hamp- 
 shire, of English and Scotch descent, re- 
 spectively. The father was born August 
 16, 1786, and died in Garland, Penobscot 
 Co., Maine, December 17, 1869, at the 
 age of eighty-three years, four months 
 and one day. In 1805 he married Han- 
 
 nah Carlton, and nine children were born 
 to them: Roland (deceased July 21, 
 1814, aged five years), Louisa, Roland, 
 Rachel, Ruth K., Jonathan C, William, 
 Mary E. and Augustus W., of whom, 
 Rachel, Jonathan C, William and Augus- 
 tus W. survive. Bennett Lawrence, father 
 of these, was by trade a hatter, but he 
 also followed agricultural and mercantile 
 pursuits, for a short time conducting a 
 store in the city of Bangor, Maine, to 
 which State he moved with his family in 
 1830, just before the birth of our subject, 
 settling on a farm. Mrs. Hannah (Carl- 
 ton) Lawrence had four brothers and one 
 sister; the brothers were all Revolution- 
 ary soldiers, and three were killed in that 
 struggle, the one who survived having 
 been captured b}' a party of Indians, from 
 whom he afterward succeeded in making 
 his escape. 
 
 Augustus W. Lawrence, the subject 
 proper of these lines, was favored with 
 but limited school advantages, as, when 
 he was seven years old, his father had 
 lost all his property, and the lad soon had 
 to commence the battle of life in real 
 earnest. He early evinced a strong pen- 
 chant for reading, and his taste for stand- 
 ard literature amply made amends for his 
 lack of school training. Until he was 
 twenty-one years old he remained at 
 home, assisting on the farm and in the 
 woods, his parents receiving the proceeds 
 of his labor. In 1851, in company with 
 his brother William (who had previously 
 paid a visit to this region), he came to 
 ^^'isconsin, and taking up his abode on 
 Washington Island followed fishing three 
 years, or until September, 1853, at which 
 time he came to Sturgeon Bay. Here at 
 first he worked for Robert & Perry Graham, 
 lumbermen, and assisted in the erection 
 of the second sawmill built in this locality, 
 obtaining the timber for that purpose from 
 trees that stood where is now Main street. 
 Sturgeon Bay, and this sawmill was com- 
 pleted in July, 1855. After leaving the 
 employ of the Grahams, Mr. Lawrence 
 acted in the capacity of foreman for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 563 
 
 Others until 1882, in which j-ear he en- 
 entered the service of the Sturgeon Bay 
 Lumber Company, Charnley Bros., pro- 
 prietors, and with them remained till they 
 closed up their business in 1887. But we 
 are somewhat anticipating. In i860 he 
 hired out to S. D. Clark, of Chicago, but 
 after two years they failed, Mr. Lawrence 
 himself losing considerably thereby, and 
 Charnley Bros, bought up the claims on 
 the estate, our subject being retained as 
 superintendent to look after their inter- 
 ests. In the Sturgeon Bay Lumber Com- 
 pany, which was organized as a stock 
 concern in 1878, he was a stockholder, 
 and was appointed secretary of same. 
 He was also engaged in mercantile pur- 
 suits, commencing in a small waj' in 
 Sturgeon Bay, in a I2x 16 frame building, 
 and although he has from time to time 
 had many other "irons in the fire," to 
 quote a time-honored metaphor, he has 
 tenaciously clung to his mercantile inter- 
 ests, and from this small beginning has 
 evolved his present large store in Sturgeon 
 Bay, where is conducted one of the largest 
 general mercantile businesses in northern 
 Wisconsin, under the immediate superin- 
 tendence of L. M. Washburn, Mr. Law- 
 rence's son-in-law, who is part owner, the 
 style of the firm being A. W. Lawrence 
 & Co. The building occupied by the firm 
 is a large double store, 50 x 120 feet in 
 size, and there is a branch one at Bay 
 View, on the opposite side of Sturgeon 
 Bay. Mr. Lawrence also owns a fine 
 farm of 150 acres inside the city limits, 
 which property at one time was a three- 
 hundred-acre tract, but has been reduced 
 from time to time by sale of lots to its 
 present proportions. He has always taken 
 an active interest in farming and dairying, 
 erecting a cheese factory, and in live stock 
 he has been no less interested, especially 
 in fine-bred horses; but in the winter of 
 1 893 he met with a grievous and heavy mis- 
 fortune, his barn being totally destroyed 
 by fire, whereby he lost eighteen valuable 
 horses, including stallions and brood 
 mares, for both draft and turf purposes. 
 
 32 
 
 In October, 1855, Mr. Lawrence was 
 married at Sturgeon Bay, to Miss Emily 
 J. Marshall, who was born in Brown 
 county, Wis. , daughter of Van Rensselaer 
 and Phcebe Marshall, the former of whom 
 was a Pennsylvania Dutchman of the old 
 school, the latter a native of New York; 
 they came to Brown county, Wis., in an 
 early day. To this union have been born 
 three children, to wit: Ruth E. (Mrs. L. 
 M. Washburn;, Ellen E. (Mrs. Martin) 
 and Augustus W. In politics our subject 
 was originally a stanch Whig, and since 
 the organization of the party has been an 
 equally ardent Republican. Although 
 frequently urged to accept office, he has 
 invariably declined, excepting in the city 
 council, of which he has been a member 
 several times, and at this present writing 
 is president. Though not a member of 
 any Church he gives liberally of his means 
 to all denominations, irrespective of creed, 
 and is a true friend to the poor. He is a 
 typical self-made man; landing on Wash- 
 ington Island forty-four years ago, liter- 
 ally without a cent in his pocket, he is to- 
 day moderately well off, and none stands 
 higher in the respect and esteem of his 
 fellow men. 
 
 LEROY M. WASHBURN. The 
 city of Sturgeon Bay, Door coun- 
 ty, is indebted to the State of 
 Maine for not a few of her most 
 enterprising and progressive citizens, in 
 the front rank of whom stands prominent 
 the gentleman here named. 
 
 Mr. Washburn was born, in 1847, in 
 Sebec, Piscataquis Co., Maine, near the 
 city of Bangor, a grandson of Eliphalet 
 Washburn, a native of the same State, 
 born in New Gloucester, and who became 
 an early settler of Piscataquis county, 
 taking up land in Foxcroft township, 
 where he built the first frame house ever 
 erected in that locality, and there he died. 
 He married a Miss Hubbard, and by her 
 had ten children— eight sons and two 
 daughters — as follows: Moses, Stephen 
 
564 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 D. , Charles, George W., Adrian J., An- 
 drew J., Otis, William, Charlotte and 
 Mary Ann. 
 
 William Washburn, father of our sub- 
 ject, first saw the light in 1812 in Piscat- 
 aquis county, Maine, was there reared to 
 agricultural pursuits, and educated at the 
 common schools oi his early day. Besides 
 farming, he taught school and gave sing- 
 ing lessons for many years, and all his life 
 was deeply interestetl in educational mat- 
 ters. In his political affiliations he was 
 first a Whig, afterward a Republican, 
 and up to his death, which occurred in 
 1878, he held several minor township 
 offices. I^y his wife, Lucia A. (Dunham), 
 he had a family of five children, named, 
 respectively, William F., Newell S., 
 Leroy M., Andrew J. and Edison W. 
 
 Leroy M. Washburn was reared on 
 his father's farm in Fo.\croft township, 
 Piscataquis Co., Maine, and received a 
 liberal education at Fo.xcroft Academy, 
 which he attended several terms. After 
 leaving school he taught several winters 
 in the vicinity of his home, during the 
 summer months working on the farm and 
 improving his time in many ways, till the 
 fall of 1870, when in company with John 
 Lawrence, he set out for the growing 
 West, and coming to Wisconsin located 
 at once in the then village of Sturgeon 
 Bay. On his arrival here he immediately 
 went to work in A. W. Lawrence's store, 
 and although his first intention was to 
 remain in the West a couple of winters 
 and one summer, he has remained here 
 ever since, and grown up with the city of 
 his adoption. In fact, before leaving 
 Maine, he had bought a farm there, but, 
 two years later, having concluded to re- 
 main in the West, he sold it, and with 
 the proceeds purchased, in 1876, an inter- 
 est in the Lawrence store in Sturgeon 
 Bay, since when he has led an active 
 business life, full of tireless energy and 
 unceasing vigilance. In i 87 i he assumed 
 the management of the mercantile de- 
 partment, and to-day he is sole mana- 
 ger of the business of A. W. I^aw- 
 
 rence & Cy., in Sturgeon Bay, and of 
 their branch store at Bay \'ievv, on the 
 south side of the water. 
 
 In 1875 Mr. Washburn married Miss 
 Ruth E. Lawrence, daughter of A. W. 
 and Emily J. (Marshall) Lawrence, of 
 Sturgeon Bay. and three children have 
 been born to them: George H., Emily 
 J. and Harold E. The family attend the 
 services of the Congregational Church, 
 and in his political preferences Mr. Wash- 
 burn is a stanch Republican. He served 
 as chairman of the village of Sturgeon 
 Bay before it became a city, and in 1875- 
 76 represented this District in the State 
 Assembly. Socially he is an advanced 
 member of the I. O. O. F. , in which 
 Society he takes an active interest. In 
 addition to his connection with the I^aw- 
 rence store, Mr. Washburn has several 
 outside interests, including a large plan- 
 ing-mill and lumber yard at Sturgeon 
 Bay; the Merchants Exchange Bank at 
 Sturgeon Bay, organized 1884, and which 
 does an extensive banking and insurance 
 business; and he is a director of the 
 recently opened Ahnapee & Western rail- 
 road. With the exception of occasional 
 visits so his old home in Maine, and a 
 trip to California in 1894, accompanied 
 by his wife, Mr. Washburn has not been 
 much abroad, his time of necessity being 
 too closel}' taken up with his business 
 affairs. He has great faith in the future 
 of Sturgeon l^ay, so much so that he now 
 owns large real-estate interests in both 
 city and country, and not long since he 
 built an elegant residence near to and 
 facing the bay. .\s a business man, his 
 record is withoiit a stain, and, whether in 
 prosperity or adversity, he has ever been 
 upright, conscientious and honorable. 
 
 FRANK EVRARD one of the early 
 settlers of Door county, has made 
 his home in this locality since 
 1855-, and is therefore familiar 
 with its history of progress and advance- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 565 
 
 ment, while with its upbuilding and de- 
 velopment he has been prominently iden- 
 tified. 
 
 Born in Belgium, August 18, 1837, he 
 is the eldest of three children of Elick 
 and Mary (Malcord) Evrard, his brothers 
 being John B. and Adolphus. By occu- 
 pation the father w-as a farmer, and in 
 1855 he severed all his business relations 
 with the land of his birth, and with his 
 family sought a home in the New World. 
 Coming direct to Door County, Wis., he 
 purchased in Union township, the 160 
 acres of land now owned by his sons, 
 Frank and John. Upon this place he 
 built a log house, 12x16 feet, roofing it 
 with cedar bark, and at once began to 
 clear awaj' the timber, working steadily 
 until the broad sunlight shone down upon 
 many acres of cultivated soil. After liv- 
 ing upon the farm for a year, he bought 
 an ox-team, and the work of development 
 was continued by the father and his sons, 
 save Frank who began sailing on Green 
 bay. and was thus employed for twelve 
 years, carrying shingles made in this lo- 
 cality to market in the city of Green Bay. 
 
 This was the first independent effort 
 in the life of our subject, and the venture 
 was quite successful, he receiving good 
 wages for his labors. After twelve vears 
 passed in that way, he returned to his 
 home, married Miss Florentine Patrise 
 October 16, 1866, and brought his bride 
 to the farm on which he has since resided. 
 He then turned his attention to agricul- 
 tural pursuits, v\hich he has followed suc- 
 cessfully for a number of years, and in 
 1880 he established a general mercantile 
 store in Namur, where he is doing a good 
 business. His brother, JohnB., married 
 a sister of Mrs. Evrard, and together the 
 brothers own 252 acres of land. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Frank Evrard six children have 
 been born: Mary, Emma, Alex, Esther, 
 Frank and Poland. The family are all 
 members of the Catholic Church, their 
 home is the abode of hospitality, and 
 their circle of friends in this community 
 is a very large one. 
 
 On obtaining the right of franchise, 
 Mr. Evrard identified himself with the Re- 
 publicans, and continued to support them 
 for some time, but during the past four 
 years has affiliated with the Democratic 
 party. His father was the first chairman 
 of the town board in Union township, and 
 has filled that office four years, while at 
 the present writing he is serving as post- 
 master at Namur. He came to Wiscon- 
 sin when Door county was in its primitive 
 condition, and has been an eyewitness of 
 the greater part of its development; has 
 seen the introduction of railroads; has 
 watched the transfonnation of the wild 
 land into beautiful homes and farms, 
 and has witnessed the development of 
 thri\'ing towns and cities. 
 
 JOHN WALSH, attorney at law, Ke- 
 waunee, is a native of Two Rivers, 
 Wis., born January 15, 1872, a son 
 of Felix and Bridget (Comer) Walsh, 
 mention of whom is made in the sketch of 
 Hon. John Wattawa elsewhere in this 
 volume. 
 
 The boyhood of our subject was pass- 
 ed on a farm and in attending the pub- 
 lic schools at Two Rivers. In June, 
 1S89, he graduated at the high school of 
 that place, and immediately thereafter 
 went to Redfield, S. Dak. , where he 
 taught school two winters, in the sum- 
 mer season reading law; he was also em- 
 ployed in the law office of his brothers, 
 Henry C. and Thomas J. Walsh. In 1891 
 he was employed as agent for the Ameri- 
 can Express Co. , at the same place, and 
 in the fall of 1892 he was stationed, as 
 their agent, at Aberdeen, S. Dak., re- 
 maining there one year, or till the fall of 
 1893, when he became a student in the 
 Law Department of the University of 
 Wisconsin, Madi.son. In 1894 Mr. Walsh 
 resumed the study of law in the office of 
 his brother-in-law, Hon. John Wattawa, 
 in Kewaunee, where he is still engaged, 
 and on December 18, that year, was 
 
566 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 admitted to the bar at Milwaukee, pass- 
 infj a highly creditable examination before 
 the State board of examiners. 
 
 JOSEPH F. STROH. proprietor of a 
 leading general store in Sturgeon 
 Bay, Door county, and one of the 
 city's most progressive citizens, is a 
 native of Ohio, born in the city of Cleve- 
 land June 25, 1850. 
 
 His father, Charles Stroh, a German 
 by birth, came to the United States when 
 a young man, locating in Cleveland, Ohio, 
 where he married Miss Marv Baumer, 
 also a German, who bore him two chil- 
 dren: Mary Ann and Joseph F. In Cleve- 
 land he followed merchandising, and in 
 185 1 he came with his family to Wiscon- 
 sin, settling in Fond du Lac, where he 
 was engaged in general mercantile busi- 
 ness. He carried the first mail between 
 Fond du Lac and Milwaukee, was a 
 Union soldier in the war of the Rebellion, 
 and died in the army. His widow subse- 
 quently married George Weis, and now 
 lives in Washington county. Wis. ; six 
 children were the result of this union. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines came 
 with his parents to Wisconsin at the age 
 of two years, obtained a good education 
 in the winter schools of Washington coun- 
 ty, the rest of the year being devoted to 
 working on his father's farm. In 1869, 
 at the age of eighteen, he came to Stur- 
 geon Bay, and for the first two years 
 worked on a farm in Door county, send- 
 ing his earnings to his parents; then con- 
 ducted a hotel one year, after which he 
 again carried on farming until 1882, when 
 he commenced the business of contractor 
 and builder at Sturgeon Bay, which he 
 pursued some ten years, erecting many 
 school-houses in Door and other counties 
 in Wisconsin, besides several residences 
 in Sturgeon Bay, employing from ten to 
 fifteen hands. In 1891 he erected a fine 
 brick business block for himself, where he 
 now has his store, the balance of the block 
 being fitted up and occupied as the well- 
 
 known " Commercial Hotel;" also built 
 the bridge across the bay, and assisted in 
 the erection of the gristmill and elevator. 
 His real-estate interests have been exten- 
 sive, chiefly in the way of buying lots on 
 which he would build dwellings, and then 
 sell on time to people of limited means. 
 Mr. Stroh has been twice married, 
 first time, in 1871, to Miss Mary Hinker, 
 by whom he has four children: Frank, 
 Lizzie, Cassie, and Mary. The mother 
 of these died in 1881, and in 1882 Mr. 
 Stroh married Miss Bertha Gabert, who 
 was born in Manitowoc, Wis. , daughter 
 of Henry and Anna Gabert, of Ahnapee, 
 Kewaunee county, where her father fol- 
 lowed the shoemaking 'business; he is now 
 deceased, and the mother is still a resi- 
 dent of Ahnapee. Bj^ this marriage there 
 were six children: Annabel, Archie, 
 Lucia and Verda, living, and Joseph and 
 Eddie, who died of diphtheria at the ages 
 of four and six years respectively. The 
 entire familj- attend the services of the 
 M. E. Church. Socially our subject is a 
 member of the Royal Arcanum; in politics 
 he is a straight Republican, and in civic 
 affairs he has been a member of the city 
 council three years, besides holding sev- 
 eral minor offices. When he first came 
 to this county he bought a farm in Sevas- 
 topol township, but sold it not long after- 
 ward. In 1891 he organized a company 
 who built the merchants' dock in Stur- 
 geon Bay, and in innumerable other ways 
 has he benefited the city and county of 
 his adoption. In that same year he gave 
 up contracting and building, and em- 
 barked in his present general merchan- 
 dising business, in which he does an ex- 
 cellent trade. In all his ventures Mr. 
 Stroh has been eminentl)' successful, 
 having in but a few years, by dint of sound 
 judgment, perseverance and untiring en- 
 ergy, accumulated a fine property, and 
 he stands to-day a thoroughly typical self- 
 made man, all the capital he possessed 
 when entering the arena of business life 
 being positively naught save a willing 
 pair of hands, a stout heart and a clear 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 567 
 
 head. Since the above was written Mr. 
 Stroh has taken personal charge of his 
 own hotel, '• The Commercial," and con- 
 ducts it in connection with his store, 
 proving an admirable and courteous land- 
 lord. 
 
 M 
 
 ICHAEL PEOT is an honored 
 pioneer of Kewaunee county, 
 one who has borne all the ex- 
 periences of life on the frontier, 
 and is familiar with the history of this 
 community from an early day, while with 
 its growth and upbuilding he has been 
 prominently identified. The best inter- 
 ests of the community have ever found in 
 him a friend, and he is a loyal and valued 
 citizen. 
 
 A native of Prussia, Germany, he was 
 born July 8, 1836, to Nicholas and Cath- 
 erine (Maas) Peot, whose children were 
 Michael, Catherine, Angeline, John, 
 Nicholas and Peter; several others died 
 in infancy. The father was a coal miner 
 in Germany, and in that land made his 
 home until 1847, when with his family 
 he sailed for America, landing in New 
 York after a voyage of forty-nine days. 
 He then made his way to Milwaukee, 
 Wis., and onto Washington county, same 
 State, and purchased forty acres of land 
 on which not a furrow had been turned 
 or an improvement made. In the forest 
 bears and deer were frequently shot, and 
 the wolves ofttimes made night hideous 
 with their howling; Indians still frequent- 
 ly visited the settlements, but gave the 
 white men little trouble. Mr. Peot and 
 his sons built a log house, 18x24 feet, 
 where he and his family and the family of 
 George Kersch both lived, the latter own- 
 ing the forty-acre tract of land adjoining 
 the Peot farm. During the first winter, 
 in a severe storm, a tree was blown down, 
 and striking the house caused consider- 
 able damage. The work of clearing the 
 land was accomplished with an axe and 
 grub hoe, and during the first few years 
 much of the work was carried on by our 
 
 subject and his brothers, for the father 
 went to Milwaukee and cut cordwood to 
 secure the money needful to meet the 
 family expenses. They suffered severely 
 during the first winter, and often the food 
 upon their table would be frozen; but in 
 the spring the father returned home, a 
 crop of potatoes and corn was planted, 
 and in course of time the farm yielded 
 sufficiently to supply their wants which 
 were of a very simple nature. Five years 
 passed before they could afford to pur- 
 chase a team, and it will thus be seen 
 that the work of developing the farm 
 was a very arduous task. An old gentle- 
 man, Mathias Miller, did all the market- 
 ing for the neighborhood, hauling pro- 
 visions from Milwaukee, a distance of 
 thirty-six miles, the trip sometimes occu- 
 pying six days, and he could then bring 
 only about five or six barrels of flour with 
 him, owing to the bad condition of the 
 roads. Many of the present day think 
 that times are hard, little reflecting that 
 fifty years ago people had to work on 
 farms and elsewhere for three or four 
 shillings per day, and no "eight-hour 
 movement " at that, but in continuous 
 labor from sunrise to sunset. The first 
 year the Peots were farming in this re- 
 gion they carried the potato seed (about 
 the size of doves' eggs) in their pocket, 
 and from four bushels they planted they 
 digged I 50 bushels in the fall. The yoke 
 of cattle which they brought with them 
 strayed away in the woods, and were 
 gone four weeks before they were discov- 
 ered, on their road home, however. 
 
 In 1857, the farm in Washington 
 county was sold for eight hundred dol- 
 lars, and the Peot family came to what is 
 now Luxemburg township, Kewaunee 
 county, where the father bought forty 
 acres of land for one hundred dollars. 
 He became owner of 160 acres on Sec- 
 tion 26, and again had to go through the 
 hardships of clearing a farm. On one 
 occasion he lost his way, and wandered 
 about for some time, but at length saw 
 some cattle which he followed, and they 
 
568 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 led him home in safety. He had to walk 
 to De Pere, twenty-five miles distant, for 
 his provisions; but as the years passed 
 the comforts of civilization were added 
 and Mr. Peot also extended his farm un- 
 til it comprised 500 acres. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained 
 at home until thirty years of age, and 
 then married Miss Gertrude, daughter of 
 Peter and Gertrude (Munyawe) Schaut, 
 farming people of Humboldt township, 
 Kewaunee county. She was born in 
 Prussia, German}', May 13, 1847, and 
 had a brother, John, her senior, and a 
 sister, Anna, younger than herself. The 
 young couple began their domestic life 
 with her parents, and in 1869 they came 
 to the farm which they now occupy in 
 Lu.xemburg township, Mr. Poet receiving 
 from his father eighty acres of land, to 
 which he has added until he now has 140 
 acres, one-half of which is under cultiva- 
 tion. Their home has been blessed with 
 ten children: John P., Annie, Catherine, 
 Michael P., Joseph, Mitchell, Nicholas, 
 Mary, William and Gertrude. The par- 
 ents and children hold membership with 
 the Catholic Church, and in the social 
 circles in which they move occupy an 
 enviable position. Mr. Peot exercises his 
 right of franchise in support of the Dem- 
 ocracy, and for four years served as chair- 
 man of the town board of supervisors, 
 proving a most capable and efficient offi- 
 cer, and fully demonstrating that the con- 
 fidence reposed in him was not mis- 
 placed. 
 
 GEORGE \V. MARSH, for over 
 thirty years a well-known and re- 
 spected citizen of Sturgeon Bay, 
 Door county, and prominent in 
 real-estate and lumber interests, now liv- 
 ing retired, is a native of New York State, 
 born in the town of Warren, Herkimer 
 county, September 30, 1813. He is de- 
 scended in a direct line from an English- 
 man who settled in Massachusetts some 
 time during the sixteenth century. 
 
 \\'illiam Marsh, father of our subject, 
 was born at Andover, Mass., March 26, 
 1776, and died in Ohio in March, 1843; 
 was married, in 1798, to Mary Hines, 
 who was born March 26, 1783, and died 
 in Jul}-, 1 86 1. Thirteen children were 
 born to this union, their names, dates of 
 birth, etc., being as follows: Anna, No- 
 vember 3, 1799; Ruth, November 30, 
 1801; Diana, February 28, 1804: Will- 
 iam, Jr., February 9, 1806: Benjamin 
 D., April 24, 1808; Matilda, March 9, 
 1 8 10, who died in infancy; Patience, 
 April 29, 181 1 ; George W., September 
 30, 1S13; Mary Ann, January 11, 1817; 
 Lurana, April 9, 1819; Sylvia, September 
 26, 1 821; John P., January 31, 1824, and 
 Nathan, August 13, 1826. Of this family 
 the following were living in 1895: Diana, 
 aged ninety-one; Benjamin, eighty-six; 
 George W., eighty-one; S}lvia, seventy- 
 four; and Nathan, sixty-nine. When our 
 subject was one year old his parents 
 moved from Warren, N. Y. , to Granville, 
 \\'ashington Co., same State, settling on 
 a farm two miles west of Bishop's Corners, 
 and here young George was reared and 
 educated up to the age of eighteen, at 
 which time the family moved to Fowler 
 township, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. , where 
 he commenced an apprenticeship at the 
 trade of blacksmith. Marrying here in 
 1837, he then commenced on his own ac- 
 count a blacksmith business at Halesbor- 
 ough, in Fowler township, St. Lawrence 
 Co., N. Y. , on the Oswegatchie river, two 
 miles above Go\erneur, at which he con- 
 tinetl until the spring of 1 839, when he sold 
 out and removed to Bucyrus, Crawford 
 Co., Ohio. Here, unfortunately, he was 
 prostrated with fever and ague, which 
 clung to him tenaciously for three months; 
 but in the meantime, his father being de- 
 sirous of trading his farm in Halesborough, 
 N. Y. , for his son's property in Ohio, 
 the deal was effected, and the father 
 accordingly came to Ohio, where he 
 died in 1843, our subject returning to the 
 old farm in Halesborough. In 1841 he 
 moved to Go\erneur, N. Y., where he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 569 
 
 bought a water-power privilege on which 
 he erected a building 30 x 40 feet, three 
 stories in height, where he carried on a 
 general blacksmithing and carriage-mak- 
 ing establishment, which latter branch of 
 the business led him into another in- 
 dustry, as will presently be related. Being 
 naturally of an ingenious and inquiring turn 
 of mind, he conceived, while building 
 carriages, etc., the idea that it was possi- 
 ble to make felloes with a circle saw, a 
 great improvement on the method then in 
 vogue. Setting to work, he made his 
 own saw plate, forged the " arbour," 
 completed the saw, set it up, and on the 
 first trial made a complete felloe — and 
 this was the first circle saw ever made 
 and used for that purpose in the United 
 States. He also invented a machine that 
 turned the thill from tip to cross bar, the 
 same as they finish them now, then 
 steamed and bent them into the required 
 shape, for carriages, buggies, etc., a vast 
 improvement on the old method of saw- 
 ing them out of the lumber; and the thills 
 made by him were the first made that 
 way in this country. Neither of these 
 ideas or inventions were ever patented by 
 Mr. Marsh, and had he done so there is 
 no doubt but that he would have realized 
 a considerable fortune. When he started 
 for the West in 1853, he sent 300 pair 
 
 of these thills to Buffalo, intending to 
 bring them on to Wisconsin 
 
 but he found 
 a favorable opportunity of selling them to 
 one individual at the railway station at 
 Buffalo at his own price, which goes to 
 show how highly they were already ap- 
 preciated in the market. 
 
 Selling out his business in Governeur, 
 N. Y., in 1853, Mr. Marsh the same year 
 established himself in the carriage-mak- 
 ing business at Beaver Dam, Wis., and 
 here continued manufacturing felloes with 
 his circle saw, the first of the kind pro- 
 duced in Wisconsin, and he soon built 
 up a large trade. At Beaver Dam he 
 exhibited at the county fair a two-horse 
 wagon of his own make, and although he 
 had to compete against wagons entered 
 
 from New York he took first premium, 
 and sold his wagon for $120. In 1857 
 he disposed of his business at Beaver 
 Dam, and went on a farm, where, with 
 the exception of one year (1861), he re- 
 mained until the fall of 1864, the time of 
 his coming to Sturgeon Bay. In the 
 spring of 1865 he bought the "Middle 
 Mill," where now stands a planing-mill, 
 but following fall sold it to Mr. Ives, who 
 disposed of it to A. W. Lawrence, by 
 whom it was converted into a gristmill, 
 but later was burned down. After selling 
 his mill Mr. Marsh returned to Beaver 
 Dam, thence moved to Cannon City, 
 near Faribault, Minn., bought a shop 
 and made wagons that winter, but sold 
 out following summer, and in company 
 with his son-in-law, W. H. Stevens, pro- 
 ceeded to Osakis, in the same State, 
 where the latter entered a homestead. 
 Mr. Marsh made a breaking plow, and 
 helped to break up the fallow, put up a 
 house, and assisted in cutting sufficient 
 hay to winter five head of stock, all for 
 Mr. Stevens. He then once more came 
 to Sturgeon Bay, and bought 400 acres 
 of land in Door county, which land the 
 county held in the town of Egg Harbor, 
 and Mr. Marsh secured the land by pay- 
 ing for the certificate (it was located on 
 what is known as the ' ' south bluffs of 
 Horse-Shoe bay"); then entered 200 
 acres of government land on the shore 
 below the " bluffs," erected a shanty, and 
 called the place Podunk. That same 
 winter he "banked" five hundred thous- 
 and feet of pine logs, and to use his own 
 words "spent the happiest winter of his 
 life;" in the spring sold the logs to Mr. 
 Gardner for five dollars per thousand feet, 
 and the land to William Sellick for two 
 dollars and fifty cents per acre, after 
 which he located four hundred acres in 
 the south end of Gardner township, 
 "the finest cluster of pine in these parts." 
 The county surveyed a road through the 
 land and cut it out, and that winter Mr. 
 Marsh built a mill in the woods six miles 
 from Little Sturgeon Bay and ten miles 
 
57° 
 
 COHMEMORATIVE BWGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 from Bay \'ie\v, and made shing;les. In 
 order to accommodate the traveling pub- 
 lic he also kept a hotel. This land cost 
 Mr. Marsh thirty dollars for each forty 
 acres, and that spring he sold the prop- 
 erty for twenty-four hundred dollars to 
 John and Thomas Williamson. In 1871 
 this tract was devastated by fire and a 
 tornado, forty-five people losing their 
 lives, two only being saved — Thomas 
 Williamson and his mother — and the 
 place has since been known as ' ' Tor- 
 nado. " Mr. Marsh's next purchase was 
 the lot in Sturgeon Bay, whereon he 
 built the shinge mill which he conducted 
 for several years, and which is now oper- 
 ated by O. Brown & Company. 
 
 Mr. Marsh has been twice married: 
 first time, in 1837, to Miss Mary C. Flint, 
 a native of Bomas Creek, Montgomery 
 Co., N. Y. (si.x miles south of Ft. Plain), 
 who died at Beaver Dam, Wis., in No- 
 vember, 1856, aged forty-three years and 
 eleven months, leaving five children, viz. : 
 Josephine, who married Michael Walrod, 
 of Rice county, Minn, (she is now keep- 
 ing house for her father); Mary L. , wife 
 of W. H. Stevens, of Osakis, Minn. ; 
 George A., married to Melissa Bailor, 
 and now living near Erwin, S. Dak. ; 
 Helen M., wife of Frank A. Ives, of Stur- 
 geon Bay; and Cora L. , married to 
 Charles A. Bailor and living at Spokane, 
 Wash. In November, 1859, Mr. Marsh 
 married Miss Catherine N. Hutchinson, 
 who died September 26, 1894, at the age 
 of seventy-four years, by which union 
 there were no children. In politics Mr. 
 Marsh has been a lifelong Whig and Re- 
 publican, and although averse to holding 
 office has occasionally served in minor 
 positions of trust. In both theory and 
 practice he has always been a strict ad- 
 vocate of temperance, and to this in a 
 great measure may be attributed his won- 
 derful energy and unimpaired faculties. 
 
 Thus has brief!)- been sketched an 
 authentic account of the life of one of the 
 pioneers of W'isconsin and of Door coun- 
 ty, who has been an active and vigorous 
 
 factor in the affairs and industries; who, 
 although he has passed beyond the allot- 
 ted time given to man, being an octoge- 
 narian, is still active, living in the enjoj-- 
 ment of a comfortable and well-earned 
 competence, in the enjoyment of the full- 
 est esteem and regards of the people 
 among whom he has so long lived, and 
 calmly and reverently awaiting the sum- 
 mons that must come to all. 
 
 FRANK PAAPE, who has been iden- 
 tified with the interests of Ahna- 
 pee township, Kewaunee county, 
 for almost the past twenty years, 
 as one of her thrifty farmer citizens, is 
 a native of Germany, born January 4, 
 1832, in the Kingdom of Prussia. He is 
 a son of Gottlieb and Flora (Hinz) Paape, 
 also natives of Prussia, the former of 
 whom was a miller by occupation. Both 
 are now deceased. Frank, our subject, 
 was the youngest child in their family of 
 five children, one of whom is deceased, 
 the others being Fred and Charles, of 
 Prussia; Flora, Mrs. Charles Hench, of 
 Milwaukee, and Frank. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of his native country, and 
 when fourteen years of age was appren- 
 ticed to a carpenter and joiner, complet- 
 ing his trade when nineteen years of age, 
 and following it until his emigration to the 
 United States, in 1857. Soon after his 
 arrival in this country he located in the 
 city of Milwaukee, Wis., where he fol- 
 lowed his trade some years, and then en- 
 gaged in mercantile pursuits until 1875, 
 when he sold his business in Milwaukee 
 and moved to the town of Ahnapee, 
 Kewaunee countj'. Purchasing the farm 
 he still owns and occupies, he has since 
 been engaged in general agriculture, and 
 is one of the successful farmers of his 
 section. Mr. Paape's marriage to 
 Katharine Solterback took place in Mil- 
 waukee May I, 1S58; she is the mother 
 of sixteen children, seven oi whom are 
 deceased, and nine living, as follows: 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 571 
 
 Bertha, Mrs. Joseph Roberts, of Birnam- 
 wood, Wis.; Charles, of Sturgeon Bay; 
 William, of Sturgeon Bay; Henry, of 
 Washburn, Wis. ; Amelia, Mrs. Ed. 
 Pepper, of Marinette, Wis.; Edward; 
 George; Ida, and Emma. Mrs. Paape is 
 the daughter of George and Margaret 
 Solterback, natives of Schleswig-Holstein, 
 where she was also born, on January 10, 
 1840. Politically Mr. Paape is independ- 
 ent, always supporting the best candidate. 
 The family are members of the Lutheran 
 Church of Ahnapee. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Paape enlisted in Com- 
 pany G, Forty-fifth Wis. V. I., for one 
 year or during the war, and served some 
 eleven months, receiving an honorable dis- 
 charge in August, 1865; he was disabled 
 during his service. He is a member of 
 Joseph Andreag Post, G. A. R. , of 
 Ahnapee. 
 
 IVl 
 
 ATHIAS MELCHIOR, post- 
 master at Ahnapee, Kewaunee 
 county. This gentleman was 
 born October 6, 1836, in 
 Schwemellingen, Prussia, Germany, where 
 the old family of Melchior had resided for 
 generations, occupying an honorable place 
 among the citizens of their native town. 
 Many of them were shoemakers by occu- 
 pation, the trade being handed down 
 from father to son. Grandfather Bern- 
 hard Melchior died in the village of 
 Schwemellingen, leaving a family of four 
 children — two sons and two daughters: 
 Michael (father of our subject), Nicholous, 
 Elizabeth and Anna Mary. 
 
 Michael Melchior learned the shoe- 
 maker's trade in Germany, and was a 
 skillful mechanic, able to work with tools 
 of almost any description, could do car- 
 penter work, clock and watch repairing, 
 etc. , and was also a musician of consider- 
 ble ability. He came to America, set- 
 tling in the then new town of Ahnapee, 
 Wis., where, being a progressive man, he 
 became a useful citizen, made many 
 friends, and was greatly respected by all 
 
 He was a man of good 
 
 who knew him 
 
 habits, and a devout Christian. He died 
 in Ahnapee January 7, 1891, aged nearly 
 eighty-two years, followed to the grave 
 by his wife, who passed away in Septem- 
 ber, 1892, aged eighty-two years. She 
 was a wide-awake woman, ambitious for 
 the success of her family, of whom seven 
 reached maturity, viz. : Anna Mary Dier 
 (now deceased), Jacob (who died leaving 
 eight children, five of whom were brought 
 to Ahnapee by our subject), Mathias (our 
 subject), John (who died in the American 
 Civil war at the battle of Bull Run), 
 Magdalena, Catherina, and Michael. 
 
 Mathias Melchior learned his trade 
 thoroughly in Germany, beginning when 
 twelve years old. At the age of twenty- 
 one he came to the United States, locat- 
 ing first in Manitowoc, Wis., where he 
 followed his trade in 1859-60, and during 
 the year 1859 he also spent seven months 
 in Chicago, working at his trade. In 
 August, i860, he came to Ahnapee, and 
 opening a shop here was successfully en- 
 gaged at his trade until about seven years 
 ago, when he sold out. Mr. Melchior 
 has made some good investments in city 
 and farm property, and since his retire- 
 ment from the shoemaking business he 
 has devoted all his time to his property 
 and private affairs. In 1 862 he was mar- 
 ried, in Manitowoc, to Miss Catharina 
 Feuerstein, who was born February 7, 
 1847, daughter of George Feuerstein, a 
 farmer of Manitowoc county. Mr. and 
 Mrs. George Feuerstein came to this 
 country in 1855, first locating in Manito- 
 woc, Wis., in 1863 moving to Ahnapee 
 where they settled, he here conducting a 
 farm. Mr. Feuerstein was born in El- 
 sass-Lothringen, France, and served 
 seven years in the French army; he died 
 at the age of sixty-five years, his wife, 
 Barbara, passing away when aged eighty- 
 two years, leaving seven children. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Feuerstein were earnest, up- 
 right and conscientious people, good 
 Catholics in religious faith, and respected- 
 ] by all. To Mr. and Mrs. Mathias Mel- 
 
57- 
 
 COMMKMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chior were born six children, as follows: 
 Catharina, Eniina, Lena, Mary, Mathias 
 F. and Carl J., of whom Emma and 
 Lena are clerks in the postoffice, assist- 
 ing their father, who received his appoint- 
 ment in October, 1893. In relij:jious faith 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mclchior arc Catholics, and 
 have taken an active part in church work; 
 he has filled many offices in same, among 
 others those of secretary and treasurer, 
 and has been instrumental in the building 
 up the Church, giving liberalh' to its sup- 
 port. He served as town treasurer, and 
 is one of the substantial business men of 
 Ahnapee, where he is universally honored 
 and respected for his integrity and up- 
 right moral character. 
 
 FRANK HRBEK, one of the wealthy 
 citizens of Kewaunee, is a native 
 of Bohemia, born July 28, 1823. 
 His father, Joseph Hrbek, who 
 was a shoemaker, died in Bohemia leav- 
 ing a widow and five children, Frank, 
 who was then nine years old, being the 
 youngest. The mother, whose maiden 
 name was Apolonia Slany, died in 1856, 
 also in Bohemia. 
 
 Frank Hrbek served ten years and six 
 months in the Bohemian contingent of 
 the Austrian army, and fought in Italy 
 and Hungary, also serving in Vienna. 
 He came to America in 1855 and passed 
 a year in Milwaukee; then, in 1856, 
 moved to Kewaunee count}', and for 
 eleven years followed farming with flat- 
 tering success. He then sold his farm 
 and settled down in Kewaunee village, 
 where for five \cars he worked in a shoe- 
 shop and store, later embarking in the 
 butcher business, which he followed nine 
 }-ears with uninterrupted prosperity. Dur- 
 ing this period of continuous industry, 
 however, he called into play his old mil- 
 itary experience and enlisted, in 1864, in 
 defense of his adopted countrj-, in the 
 Sixteenth Wis. V. I., serving with that 
 regiment until June 2, 1865, when he 
 was honorably discharged at Washington, 
 
 D. C, the war having come to a close. 
 In August, 1846, Mr. Hrbek was married 
 in Bohemia to Miss Anna Novak, adaugh- 
 ter of Joseph Novak, a manufacturer of 
 muslin. Two children were the fruit of 
 this marriage, viz. : Antonia, who died in 
 infancy in Bohemia, and Mary, who came 
 to America, was here married to John 
 Wrabetz, and died in 1883. The politics 
 of Mr. Hrbek are those of the Republican 
 party, and under its auspices he has held 
 several local offices of trust, among them 
 that of supervisor three terms, that of 
 school treasurer two terms, and is at 
 present a member of the board of alder- 
 men of Kewaunee. He is also a member 
 of the G. A R. 
 
 Mr. Hrbek has always manifested a 
 spirit of patriotism toward his adopted 
 country, and one of liberality toward his 
 county and town, mayhap one of grati- 
 tude for the success he has met with in 
 life since his residence here, although 
 this has been owing almost entirely to his 
 own industrious habits and native shrewd- 
 ness and keen foresight. He has ne\er 
 failed to extend a helping hand to the 
 needy, nor to aid any project intended 
 for the building up of the city of Kewau- 
 nee. His time, influence and purse have 
 willingly been at the service of his fellow 
 citizens in all judicious enterprises cal- 
 culated to promote the public welfare, 
 and the public have not forgotten his 
 prompt action in every emergency that 
 has called for the exercise of his charity. 
 When it is remembered that the early 
 opportunities of Mr. Hrbek for securing 
 an education were quite limited, and that 
 his early manhood was passed in "feats 
 of broil and battle," surprise may well be 
 excited at his success in later j'ears in 
 his quiet pursuit of the toils of peace. 
 But he possessed the virtue of persever- 
 ance, which helped him to a fair knowl- 
 edge of the branches of learning usually 
 taught in the common schools, and to 
 this virtue was added a power of observa- 
 tion not accorded to all persons. He is 
 emphatically a self-made man, and his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 573 
 
 life of industry and wise economy, his 
 fixed purpose in all his undertakings, and 
 the tenacity with which he clung to them, 
 are well worthy the emulation of the 
 young men of the country who find them- 
 selves handicapped with poverty, but who 
 possess, as he possessed, an energy that 
 knows " no such word as fail." 
 
 FREDERICK JOHANNES, jewel- 
 er, and prominent as a citizen of 
 Kewaunee, was born in Prussia, 
 March 22, 1857. His father. 
 Christian Johannes, was born in 1806, 
 and was a merchant. He married Anna 
 Marie Horstman, who bore him three 
 children — two sons and one daughter — 
 Frederick being the eldest. 
 
 Frederick attended school in Prussia 
 until fifteen years old, and then learned 
 the jeweler's trade and music, although 
 he never worked at the former in the old 
 country. On January 20, 1846, he mar- 
 ried Miss Dorothy Vashardt, a farmer's 
 daughter, and in September, 1845, he 
 volunteered in the Prussian army, serving 
 two years, in 1 848 re-enlisting, and serv- 
 ing, during the latter term, nine months 
 in Denmark and in Hessen four months 
 in 1854. In the spring of 1855 he came 
 to America, but left his family behind, 
 fearing that he might again have to go 
 into the army. He first located in Two 
 Rivers, Wis., but after remaining there 
 only one year and six months came to 
 Kewaunee, and in the summer season 
 worked for Slavson & Taylor, in the first 
 steam sawmill erected here, employing 
 liimself in the winter at his trade, chiefly 
 repairing watches. In the fall of 1859 
 he went over to the old country, and in 
 1 860 came back with his family. For a 
 year he again lived at Two Rivers, but 
 finally settled in Kewaunee, filing saws in 
 the mills in summer and working at his 
 trade in the winter, as he had done be- 
 fore. When the Rebellion broke out, he 
 was offered a commission in the Union 
 Volunteer army, but he declined, as Mrs. 
 
 Johannes refused to give her consent, 
 arguing that he had already done suffi- 
 cient duty as a soldier. 
 
 Mr. Johannes has always voted with 
 the Democratic party. He has filled the 
 office of register of deeds of Kewaunee 
 two terms, and of county judge four years. 
 He was elected president of the village, 
 and later mayor of the city; he is the 
 present police justice of the city, also one 
 of the oldest county justices, and, al- 
 though he has several times declined re- 
 nominations, the people still insist on 
 electing him. Fraternall}' he is a mem- 
 ber of the F. & A. M., and I. O. O. F., 
 and for years he has taken a great inter- 
 est in the Lutheran Church. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Johannes have had born to them six 
 children, all daughters, named respect- 
 ively: Sophy, Caroline, Wilhelmina, 
 Marie, Minna and Clementine, all, save 
 one, yet living. 
 
 JOHN FRIEDERICH IHLENFELD 
 is one among the thrifty German 
 pioneers who have become well-to- 
 do business men, and who are well 
 worthy of representation in the history of 
 Kewaunee county. He comes of an hon- 
 orable famil}- of farming people who took 
 great pride in their good name. 
 
 Christian Ihlenfeld, grandfather of our 
 subject, was a steady, hard-working man 
 who reached a ripe old age, and was hon- 
 ored and respected by all who knew him. 
 His son Christian, father of our subject, 
 was reared in his native village in Prussia, 
 and was also noted for his industr}-. He 
 there married Sophia Kaiser, and in 1855. 
 accompanied by his family, consisting of 
 wife and three children, he crossed the 
 Atlantic to America, making a new home 
 in Mishicot, Manitowoc Co., Wis. The 
 three children were Christian, John and 
 Friederica, the last named dying at Two 
 Creeks, Wis., while Christian yet follows 
 farming in Manitowoc county. 
 
 The subject proper of this article was 
 born February 29, 1840, in Gausendorf, 
 
574 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Kreis Demmien, Prussia, Germany, and 
 with his parents came to the New \\'orld, 
 where he was reared upon a farm, follow- 
 ing that occupation until he was twenty- 
 two years of age. On January 31, 1862, 
 in Milwaukee, Wis., he enlisted in Com- 
 pany H, Second Wisconsin Cavalry, and 
 was under the command of Gen. C. C. 
 Washburn until the close of the war. On 
 March 24, 1862, the regiment reached 
 St. Louis, where the troops were drilled 
 for a few weeks (Mr. Ihlenfeld being there 
 made corporal), and then sent on an ex- 
 pedition through Missouri and Arkansas, 
 fighting bushwhackers and Gen. Price, 
 as well as the guerilla chief, Mor- 
 gan. In the meantime, Mr. Ihlenfeld 
 was promoted to sergeant, and in Helena, 
 Ark., he helped to build fortifications, 
 and also went on scouting duty into 
 Mississippi. He next went to Memphis, 
 Tenn. , and scouted up and down the 
 river after bushwhackers, when with his 
 regiment he proceeded to the siege of 
 Vicksburg. His company was again en- 
 gaged in scouting duty, stationed at 
 Haynes, Snyders Bluff and along the 
 Yazoo river pass. They then went with 
 Gen. Herron to capture Yazoo City. 
 Company H acted as Gen. Washburn's 
 body guard, and twenty-one men with 
 their captain, Julius Myers, were taken up 
 the river in the direction of the city and 
 piloted around toward the enemy's pickets 
 where they then concealed themselves. 
 The city was bombarded, and while the 
 battle was going on a Confederate trans- 
 port came down the river, and was cap- 
 tured by this company, the boat being 
 brought ashore while the crew were either 
 killed or dispersed. Company H next 
 escorted a wagon train to Benton, Miss., 
 and then returned to Yazoo City after 
 having captured many men and quantities 
 of ammunition. Proceeding again to Ben- 
 ton, they thence moved to Kenton and to 
 Jackson, Miss., where the main body of 
 cavalry was stationed, after which they 
 returned to Vicksburg. Mr. Ihlenfeld 
 there veteranized, February i, 1864, and 
 
 after scouting in that vicinity for some 
 time went with his company to Oakland, 
 where thej' took part in an engagement 
 which lasted several weeks, Company H, 
 which was in advance of the main army, 
 opening the battle which was a very 
 severe one. Our subject also took part 
 in the battles of Cotton Plant, Memphis, 
 Helena, Yazoo City, Duvalls Bluf?, Jack- 
 son, Oakland and Granada, also at Egypt 
 where they captured 1600 prisoners and 
 the large supply train, then retreated to 
 Vicksburg, hotly pursued by the Rebel 
 cavalry. 
 
 At Helena, Ark., Mr. Ihlenfeld suf- 
 fered an attack of )ellow jaundice, and 
 when he had partially recovered he acted 
 as sergeant of the guard at Gen. \\'ash- 
 burn's headquarters. He was summoned 
 to the sick bed of the General, and telling 
 of his cure by "blue mass," the General 
 secured some of the same, and was also 
 cured. About December 20, 1864, the 
 command removed from Memphis, and 
 while going up a high bank after crossing 
 a creek, Mr. Ihlenfeld's horse fell, crush- 
 ing our subject's right leg, thereby mak- 
 ing him a partial cripple for life. For 
 three days his injuries were unattended, 
 and for nearly a year afterward he re- 
 mained with his regiment, receiving an 
 honorable discharge in Austin, Texas, 
 November i 5, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Ihlenfeld at once returned to Mish- 
 icot. Wis., where he remained a year; but 
 being unable to do farm work he sold his 
 property and came to Ahnapee, where he 
 has since been engaged in the wholesale 
 and retail flour and feed business. In 1866 
 he married Mrs. Wilhelmina Weilep Kunel, 
 of Two Rivers, Wis., whose first hus- 
 band, Anton Kunel, a soldier in the Civil 
 war, was captured and died in Anderson- 
 ville prison; their daughter, Amelia, is 
 now the wife of Casper Miller. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ihlenfeld are the parents of six chil- 
 dren: Richard (who married Bessie \\'ein- 
 ing, and is assistant principal of Ahnapee 
 High School), Amelia, Sophia, Aln^a, 
 Leona and John. The mother is a mem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 575 
 
 ber of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Ihlen- 
 feld is an honored member and takes an 
 active interest in the work of the Masonic 
 fraternity, and is also affiliated with Joseph 
 Andregg Post No. 242, G. A. R., of which 
 he is senior vice-commander. A highly re- 
 spected man, he occupies a prominent posi- 
 tion in business and social circles, and is the 
 same loyal citizen that followed the old tiag 
 on southern battle fields. 
 
 JOHN HENQUINET is one of the 
 extensive land owners of Gardner 
 township, Door county, also propri- 
 etor of a general store in the village 
 of Gardner, and is the efficient postmas- 
 ter at that place. His career has been a 
 successful one, and the well-directed 
 efforts and straightforward dealing which 
 have brought to him success are worthy 
 of emulation. A native of Belgium, born 
 April 16, 1830, he is the second child of 
 John B. and Catherine (Chandoir) Hen- 
 quinet. The father was employed in a 
 factory where was manufactured poison, 
 which caused his death while he was yet 
 a young man. The children of the family 
 were: Joseph, John, Louie, Peter, Desire, 
 Antone (deceased) and Antone. 
 
 A self-made man, our subject started 
 out to make his own way in the world at 
 the age of thirteen, and was employed at 
 day labor for some time. He also served 
 for three years in the army, and this mil- 
 itary training in several ways proved a val- 
 uable experience. In 1855 he bade adieu 
 to the friends and scenes of his youth, 
 and accompanied by his brother Peter, 
 now a resident of California, sailed for the 
 New World, reaching New York on the 
 14th of June. He then came west to 
 Milwaukee, Wis., where he was employed 
 in a brickyard for eight months, after 
 which he removed to De Pere, and se- 
 cured employment in a shingle mill, where 
 his services were retained for a year. On 
 the expiration of that period he went to 
 Kewaunee county, and with his brother 
 purchased 160 acres of land, where he 
 
 made his home for four years, coming 
 then to Gardner township, Door county, 
 here buying a tract of 560 acres. This 
 was about the year 1862, and they re- 
 tained possession of the entire amount 
 until the fire of 1871, when they sold a 
 portion of it, still retaining, however, 
 320 acres. 
 
 Turning from the business career to 
 the private life of Mr. Henquinet, we note 
 that on the 29th of July, i860, was cele- 
 brated his marriage to Desire, daughter of 
 Antone and Mary (Grede) Colignon. In 
 1862 they became residents of Gardner 
 township. Door county, but after three 
 years returned to Kewaunee county. 
 About 1867, however, they again came to 
 Door county, settling on land belonging 
 to Mrs. Henquinet's mother, which is still 
 their home. Mrs. Colignon lived with 
 them until her death in 1876. 
 
 Our subject at once began to clear the 
 farm, and during the first season raised a 
 crop of potatoes and wheat. He came to 
 this country a poor boy, but, together, he 
 and his brother worked, and their earnest 
 labor, which was carried on uninterrupt- 
 edly, and their perseverance and economy 
 brought to them a well-merited compe- 
 tence which is now theirs to enjoy. In 
 1883 John Henquinet established a gen- 
 eral store, and is doing a good business 
 in that line, receiving from the public a 
 liberal patronage. In 1889 he was ap- 
 pointed postmaster at Gardner, and the 
 duties of that office he discharges in a 
 prompt and faithful manner, in addition 
 to the other business cares which are 
 resting upon him. Seven children graced 
 the union of Mr. and Mrs. Henquinet: 
 Antone, Louie, Joseph (deceased), Lucy, 
 Theophilus (deceased), Joseph and Mary. 
 Four of the number are still under the 
 parental roof, and the family is one of 
 prominence in the community, while the 
 household is the abode of hospitality. 
 Mr. Henquinet supports the men and 
 measures of the Republican party, has 
 served as supervisor for two years, and 
 was chairman of the town board one 
 
576 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 year. His business cares receive his 
 earnest attention, tiie trusts reposed 'in 
 him are faithfully fultilled, and he is a 
 most highly esteemed citizen. 
 
 ANTON CERO\SKY, Jr.(Cherov- 
 sKv), a successful farmer of Carl- 
 ton township, Kewaunee county, 
 was born in Cista, Jicin county, 
 Bohemia, November 5, 1850, and is a 
 son of Anton and Annie (Ziska) Cerovsky, 
 Sr. , the mother a daughter of Joseph 
 Ziska, of the famous Bohemian family of 
 that name. 
 
 Anton Cerovsky, Jr., the subject of 
 this sketch, attended school until fifteen 
 years old. On May i, 1S68, at the age 
 of seventeen years seven months, he em- 
 barked at Bremen, German}', on the ves- 
 sel "Kosmos," for America, and after 
 severe trials, landed at New York City, 
 July 3, following, where he learned team 
 shoemaking as trimmer. For a short time 
 he followed different vocations, and then 
 worked at his trade as trimmer about 
 eight years, or until i 876, when he went 
 into the saloon business, which netted him 
 a neat sum of money before he quitted it 
 in 1882, at which time he engaged with a 
 New York firm as a traveling salesman. 
 For a year or more he traveled through 
 the West, being desirous of finding a lo- 
 cation, and of leaving New York, but he 
 returned to that city and again engaged 
 in the saloon business, losing four thous- 
 and dollars. He then leased a large 
 place in New York for ten years, but after 
 five years sold out his business and lease, 
 having cleared a neat capital, and, retir- 
 ing from the business, came to Carlton 
 township, where he bought the farm he 
 still occupies, without the slightest knowl- 
 edge of farming. Mr. Cerovsky, Jr. , was 
 a member of Zerubbabel Lodge No. 324, 
 V. ik. A. M., at New York, from which he 
 withdrew upon removal from that city, 
 and became a worthy member of Key 
 Lodge No. 174, F. & A. M., at Ahnapee, 
 Kawaunee Co. , Wis. He is also a mem- 
 
 ber of the I. O. O. F. (Praha Lodge No. 
 436, N. Y. C), and the C. S. P. S. (Jan 
 Amos Komensky No. loj, being one of 
 the founders of the same — the strongest 
 Bohemian society in the United States, 
 numbering a membership of over ten 
 thousand. In politics, he is a Republi- 
 can, and is one of the justices of the peace 
 of Carlton township. 
 
 Mr. Cerovsk}', [r. , was married in 
 New York City, November 3, 1872, to 
 Mary Husek, who was born February 6, 
 1853, in Guttenberg, Bohemia, a daughter 
 of Jachim and Barbara Husek, the father 
 a dealer in the celebrated Bohemian ware. 
 The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Cerovsk)', 
 Jr., has been blessed with the birth of 
 eleven children, seven of whom are living, 
 as follows: .Annie, the eldest, is one of 
 the most successful school teachers of 
 Kewaunee county, Wis.; Julian helps his 
 father; Ludwig, who is attending the 
 Carlton High School, is a bright, studious 
 boy, and ranks among the first of his class; 
 Marcella, Emily, .\nton and Arthur are 
 also attending school. Mr. Cerovsky has 
 been very successful as an agriculturist, 
 and stands high in the esteem of his fel- 
 lovvmen in Carlton. 
 
 AUGUST J. BOSMAN. The great 
 class of farmers that form so im- 
 portant an element in national 
 history and national prosperity is 
 well represented by our subject, who is 
 one of the leading agriculturists of Gard- 
 ner township. Door county. He was 
 born March 8, 1830, in the Province of 
 Brabant, Belgium. His grandfather, 
 Phillip Bosman, was a native of the same 
 country, a carpenter and joiner by trade, 
 and died March 11, 1838, at the age of 
 eighty-two years. There Louie Bosman, 
 father of our subject, was born December 
 '9- '799; he married Mary C. Liesse, and 
 they became the parents of children as 
 follows: August J., Catherine, Gustaf, 
 Antonet, Jane, Adolph, Dieu Donne. 
 The subject of this sketch received 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 577 
 
 the advantages afforded by the common 
 schools, and continued his education until 
 seventeen years of age when he began 
 learning the carpenter's trade with his 
 father, from whom he received instructions 
 in the business some four years. At the 
 age of nineteen he went to Brussels, 
 where he worked at his trade four years, 
 and then returned to his father's employ, 
 the succeeding two years being thus 
 passed. Attracted by the opportunities 
 and privileges of the New World, he set 
 sail from Antwerp February ii, 1856, 
 and forty-eight days later landed at New 
 York. His destination was Wisconsin, 
 and, on reaching Green Bay, he proceeded 
 to Red River, where he was engaged in 
 carpentering three years, after which he 
 was employed by the government for one 
 year to carrj' the mail between Green 
 Bay and Sturgeon Bay, a distance of 
 fifty miles, the trip being made twice a 
 week through a wild forest and across a 
 trackless prairie. 
 
 On October 3, 1859, Mr. Bosnian was 
 united in marriage with Elionore Burgu- 
 enium, and they came to Gardner town- 
 ship. Door county, where Mr. Bosnian 
 purchased forty acres of land, and erected 
 a log cabin, which for five years was their 
 home. The young couple began their 
 domestic life in a primitive style, but in 
 that little home many happy hours were 
 passed, for there is a freedom and ease 
 about such a life that has its charm for 
 all. Our subject cleared the farm, trans- 
 forming the once wild land into a rich 
 and fertile tract until five years had passed, 
 when he returned with his wife on a visit 
 to the land of his birth. There he also 
 passed five years, and in 1869, yielding 
 to the wishes of Mrs. Bosnian, he again 
 returned to the Wisconsin farm which has 
 since been their place of residence. As 
 his financial resources have increased he 
 has added to his land until he now has 
 160 acres, si.xty of which are cleared and 
 improved, and in addition to its cultiva- 
 tion he owns and operates a cheese fac- 
 tory which he himself built. Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Bosman have one child, Gustaf, who 
 was born February 26, 1867, and Febru- 
 ary 9, 1890, married Miss Mary L. Gas- 
 soul, by whom he has three children: 
 August J., Elionore L. and Louie. 
 
 The Bosnians are worthy members of 
 the Catholic Church, and the gentleman 
 of whom we write, in his political views, 
 is a Republican; he was elected town 
 clerk, serving two years; chairman of the 
 town board, serving one year; town treas- 
 urer, serving four years; and justice of the 
 peace, serving sixteen jears. His has 
 been a well-spent life, characterized by a 
 laudable ambition, an untiring industry 
 and a commendable perseverance, and 
 the success that has come to him is the 
 just reward of his own labors. 
 
 JOSEPH ROBINSON is the owner of 
 one of the most highly improved 
 farms of Jacksonport township. Door 
 county, and is numbered among the 
 leading agriculturists of the locality where 
 since an early day he has made his home. 
 The record of his life is as follows: 
 He was born February 20, 1833, in 
 County Fermanagh, Ireland, and is a son 
 of John Robinson and Jane fSmith), the 
 former a farmer of comfortable means. 
 In the familj' were ten children — seven 
 sons and three daughters — Joseph being 
 the fourth. No event of special im- 
 portance occurred during his childhood 
 and youth, he aiding in the labors of the 
 farm and giving his father the benefit of 
 his services until nineteen years of age, 
 when he determined to try his fortune in 
 America, hoping thereby to enhance his 
 condition. In July, 1852, he sailed from 
 Liverpool, England, on "The Crown," 
 and after a voyage of nine weeks landed 
 at Quebec. Having an uncle, Joe Smith, 
 living in Upper Canada, thither he pro- 
 ceeded, earning there his first dollar by 
 chopping wood. For about six years he 
 remained in Canada, and then removed 
 to Fulton, N. Y. , where his brother John 
 
57S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was living, and where for some time he 
 made his home. During that period he 
 learned the trade of blacksmith, after 
 which he returned to Canada, and for 
 about eight or ten years was in the employ 
 of the Grand Trunk Railroad Company, 
 serving first as brakeman, then as bag- 
 gageman and later as conductor. 
 
 In July, 1866, Mr. Robinson moved 
 to Wisconsin, locating in Jacksonport 
 township, Door county, where he did a 
 jobbing business in getting out cedar. At 
 that time there was but one house in the 
 town — that occupied by P. G. Hibbard. 
 He aided in building the first pier at Jack- 
 sonport, and continued in this place for 
 three years, after which he returned to 
 New York City, where, about the year 
 1869, he was united in marriage with 
 Margaret Breen, who was bom in the 
 same county as her husband, in Ireland, 
 and had been one of his schoolmates in 
 her girlhood days. About the time of his 
 marriage, Mr. Robinson visited in Canada, 
 and was offered his former position with 
 the Grand Trunk Railroad Company, but 
 his interests were in Door county, and he 
 returned to Jacksonport, where he and his 
 wife began their domestic life in the home 
 which he had erected. He was engaged 
 in getting out cedar lumber, in which en- 
 terprise he was very successful, but after- 
 ward suffered misfortune, having $1,200 
 in notes, from which he had expected to 
 realize full value, but instead lost all. In 
 1885 he took up his residence on his 
 farm in Section 15, Jacksonport town- 
 ship, and now has a tract of 166 acres,. 
 seventy of which are cleared. Rapidly 
 has he improved his land, and is now the 
 owner of a valuable and desirable farm. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Robinson had a family 
 of five children, as follows: Mary J. (de- 
 ceased in infancy), and George J., Will- 
 iam J., Isabella M. and Jane E., still at 
 home. The parents are both members 
 of the Episcopal Church, and in politics, 
 Mr. Robinson was formerly a Republican, 
 but of late years has affiliated with the 
 Democratic party. He is a highly re- 
 
 spected man, a good citizen, a kind neigh- 
 bor, and in the history of Door county 
 well deserves representation. 
 
 ARCHIBALD MacEACHAM, M. 
 D. (deceased), was born Decem- 
 ber 25, 1833, in Glasgow, Scot- 
 land, and the place of his birth, 
 known as "Granite Palace," is still in the 
 possession of the family. His parents, 
 Neil and Jane (Taylor) MacEacham, 
 were also natives of the land of heather, 
 the father born in the island of Islay, the 
 mother in Paisley. In 1834 they came to 
 this continent, making their New-W'orld 
 home in Prince Edward's Island, and here 
 the mother died in 1837, the father sur- 
 viving her until 1883, dying also in Prince 
 Edward's Island. 
 
 The subject of these lines was but an 
 infant when his parents brought him 
 across the Atlantic, and at the common 
 schools of Prince Edward's Island he re- 
 ceived a liberal educational training. 
 When sixteen years old he commenced 
 the study of medicine, which he prose- 
 cuted till the breaking out of the war of 
 the Rebellion, when he entered the naval 
 service as surgeon's assistant, remaining 
 as such some four years, during which 
 period he was twice wounded while in the 
 performance of his duties. After the war 
 he resumed his medical studies, and on 
 graduating practiced in Chicago, 111., 
 later in Marquette, Wis., in 1 870 coming 
 to Sturgeon Bay, where he soon suc- 
 ceeded in building up a large and lucra- 
 tive practice, and by his energy, sagacity 
 and progressiveness became one of the 
 foremost promoters of the welfare and 
 importance of the city. In 1875 he 
 bought out McKinney's drug store, and 
 thereafter devoted much of his time to 
 that business, as well as to his office 
 practice. In 1880 he bought the farm at 
 Circle Ridge, built a dock there and con- 
 verted it into a busy shipping place, giv- 
 ing employment to a large number of 
 hands in the winter seasons, getting out 
 
A. MacEacham, M, D. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5S1 
 
 cedar. The Doctor died March 21, 18S4, 
 at Brooksville, Fla. , whither he had gone 
 to purchase a winter home, and from an 
 issue of a Sturgeon Bay paper of about 
 that date we glean the following: " His 
 death was a public loss, a temporary 
 wound to the prosperity of Sturgeon Bay, 
 and the principal business men felt that 
 one of the business props of the place 
 had been broken down. Probably one of 
 the largest funeral processions ever seen 
 on the peninsula followed his remains to 
 Bayside Cemetery. People from all parts 
 of the county were there to show their 
 respect and esteem for the departed, and 
 it is safe to say that there was not 
 another person in the community more 
 universally beloved by the people in gen- 
 eral than the deceased. * * * As a practi- 
 tioner, he won the confidence and love of 
 all who employed him, and although when 
 established in the drug business he relin- 
 quished his practice, yet quite a number 
 of his old patients would not permit a 
 tranfer of themselves, but clung to their 
 old doctor."' 
 
 On March 20, 1872, Dr. MacEacham 
 was married at Sharon, Wis. , to Miss 
 Nettie Barrett, of New York, and two 
 children came to brighten their home: 
 Jeanie F. , born February 23, 1873, and 
 William A., born February 6, 1875. Mrs. 
 Nettie MacEacham is a daughter of Jesse 
 and Margaret Ann (Smith) Barrett, edu- 
 cated and refined people, the father born 
 in Bedford, Westchester Co., N. Y. , son 
 of Joseph and Deborah (St. John) Bar- 
 rett, the mother a native of New York 
 City, daughter of Ellis and Hannah (Pel- 
 ham) Smith: she was educated at Miss 
 Prime's Seminary at Sing Sing on Hud- 
 son, at which city she was married to Mr. 
 Barrett in January, 1834. They began 
 housekeeping in Bedford, Westchester 
 Co., N. Y. , where he engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits, and there their children 
 were born, named, respectively, in the 
 order of their birth: Julia, Ellis, Nettie, 
 Jotham, Samuel, Roscoe, Jennie, Will- 
 iam and Carleton. Of these, Roscoe, 
 33 
 
 Samuel, Jennie and Carleton are de- 
 ceased; William, at the age of nineteen 
 joined the regular army, stationed in the 
 West, and has not been heard from in 
 nearly twenty years; the others are mar- 
 ried and living in different parts of Wis- 
 consin. In 1857 the father of this family 
 sold his farm at Bedford, N. Y. , and 
 moved west to another at Markesan, 
 Green Lake Co. , Wis. , taking with him 
 all his family except his daughter Nettie, 
 who remained in the East some years 
 longer, making her home in the family of 
 her mother's only brother, J. W. Smith, 
 a merchant of New York City. After a 
 few years' residence in Markesan Mr. Bar- 
 rett sold his farm and removed to Sharon, 
 Walworth Co., Wis., where he passed 
 the remainder of his honored life, dying 
 in 1877. His widow passed away in 1880, 
 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mac- 
 Eacham, at Sturgeon 13ay, whither she 
 had gone to pass her declining )-ears, but 
 dying in less than a week after her arrival. 
 Mrs. MacEacham is now living at Stur- 
 geon Bay in the companionship of her 
 children, and enjoys the unqualified 
 esteem and regard of her many friends 
 and acquaintances. 
 
 FREDERICK BACH, one of the 
 most influential citizens of Ke- 
 waunee, is a native of Austria, 
 born October 11, 1847. His 
 father, Anton Bach, was a farmer, and 
 as it was the custom of the country to 
 learn a trade, he was also a wood-turner. 
 Wenzel Bach, the father of Anton, was a 
 school-teacher, and his trade that of 
 painting and wood carving. He came to 
 America in 1854, and died in Kewaunee 
 in the spring of 1854. * 
 
 Anton Bach was m.arried in Austria 
 to Teressa Doerfler, and with her and 
 the other members of the family came to 
 the United States in 1853. To the mar- 
 riage of Anton were born six children, 
 viz.: Edward, Martin, Frederick, Anna, 
 Mary and Lottie. The father of this 
 
5S3 
 
 COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 famil)-, after reachiiij,' the United States, 
 passed a year in Milwaukee, ^^'is. , and 
 then took up a piece of wild land from 
 the State in Kewaunee county, in what 
 is now known as Kewaunee township, 
 which he improved and resided upon un- 
 til 1S65, when he rented it out and 
 moved to Carlton, dyinfj there in the 
 winter of 1S66. 
 
 Frederick Bach, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, lived on the home farm, as- 
 sisting his father until 1865, his brothers 
 Edward and Martin serving meanwhile in 
 the Civil war. On their return Edward 
 and he bought the general store and saw- 
 mill of a Mr. Dean, at Carlton, which was 
 conducted for a time under the firm name 
 of Taylor & Bach, Frederick having 
 really no interest in the business until 
 1875. when he bought a share, the firm 
 then becoming Taylor, Bach & Co. In 
 1892 Frederick Bach and his family came 
 to Kewaunee, where he had an interest in 
 a gristmill; this he superintended about 
 si.\ months, when his health failed, and 
 since that time he has taken no active 
 part in the management of the concern, 
 although he retains his interest therein. 
 He is also a stockholder in, and president 
 of, the Bach, Koenig & Piser General 
 Store Co., of Kewaunee, which company 
 was organized in 1893, and has also a 
 large branch store at Carlton. Mr. Bach 
 also has an interest in the Kewaunee 
 Jiank, and in a cheese factory that now 
 ranks as second in the State, although it 
 was run at a loss for some time, when 
 first started, by Tavlor, Bach & Co., in 
 1875. 
 
 Mr. Bach was united in marriage in 
 September, 1876. with Miss Emma St. 
 Fetter, a native of Carlton, W'is., and to 
 this union have been born five children, 
 \\/.. : Cora, Maud, Luella, Rowland and 
 Edward. In politics Mr. Bach is a Re- 
 ])ublican, and cast his first presidential 
 vote for ( irant, but he prefers business to 
 politics. He is a member of the I. O. 
 (>. F., and K. of P., and is a great favor- 
 ite in social circles. His integritv has 
 
 never been questioned, and his word has 
 been always accepted as being ' ' as good 
 as his bond." His business abilitj- and 
 enterprise have been matters of admira- 
 tion and commendation, and there are 
 few men that stand as high in the esteem 
 of the community as does Frederick Bach. 
 
 JOSEPH GOETZ, a well-to-do agri- 
 culturist of Section 3, F'orestville 
 township. Door county, has here 
 made his home since 1879, at which 
 time he purchased 160 acres of wild land, 
 covered with a heavy growth of timber. 
 He at once began to clear and im- 
 prove the place, and in course of time 
 the tract was transformed into rich and 
 fertile fields which were made to yield to 
 the owner a golden tribute. His first 
 dwelling was a log cabin, but it has long 
 since been replaced by a more modern 
 structure, his present residence, which 
 was erected in 1889, being a story and a 
 half frame, 20 x 32 feet, with an L 24 x 
 1 8 feet. He also has a large barn 40 x 
 60 feet, and all the other accessories and 
 conveniences of a model farm. In 1 889 
 he erected a cheese factory which he 
 operated until 1893, when he ga\e it over 
 to the care of his son. 
 
 The owner of this fine property was 
 born in Prussia in 1838, and is a son of 
 Philip and Margaret (Breal) Goetz, who 
 were natives of the same country. In 
 1853 they left the fatherland for America, 
 locating in Manitowoc county, \\'is. . 
 where Mr. Goetz developed and improved 
 a farm until 1876. when he moved to Nase- 
 waupee township, Door county, and here 
 made his home until his death, which oc- 
 curred when he was aged eighty-one 
 j'ears. His wife passed away in 1894, in 
 the seventy-ninth year of her age, leaving 
 a family of four children, namely: Joseph; 
 Nich, whois living in Nasewaupee town- 
 ship; Katie, wife of Gottlieb Mussman, 
 also of Nasewaupee township; and Anton, 
 a resident of Minnesota. One had died 
 after coming to this country. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5S3 
 
 The subject proper of this sketch 
 began his education in the pubhc 
 schools of Germany, and there contin- 
 ued his studies until thirteen years of 
 age, when, in 1852, he came with his 
 uncle to the United States, the voyage 
 being made in a sailing vessel, which 
 landed after a passage of thirty-six da3's. 
 Coming westward to Wisconsin, he be- 
 came a resident of Rapids, where for some 
 time he worked as errand boy in a hotel 
 by the month. In i860 he moved to the 
 Lake Superior region, northern Michigan, 
 and was there engaged in mining imtil 
 1863, when he returned to Wisconsin 
 and in Manitowoc worked in a sawmill 
 till 1864. In that year he once more 
 journeyed to the Lake Superior region, 
 and was there employed in a sawmill till 
 1866, when he returned to Manitowoc, 
 Wis., where he worked in a sawmill until 
 coming to Forestville, Door county, at 
 which time he turned his attention to 
 agricultural pursuits, as above stated. 
 
 In 1863, in Manitowoc count}'. Wis., 
 Mr. Goetz wedded Miss Marv F"rocena, a 
 native of Poland, and a daughter of 
 Thomas and Susan Frocena, who were 
 born in the same country. In 185 5, with 
 their family, they became residents of 
 Manitowoc county, and the father secured 
 land which he operated during the rest of 
 his life, his death occurring in 1893; his 
 widow still survives him. In the family 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Goetz were nine children, 
 as follows: William, who is married, 
 operates a cheese factory and a general 
 store, and is now serving as postmaster at 
 Maplewood; Joseph is engaged in teach- 
 ing in Stratford, Wis. ; Frank, Anna, 
 Katie, Margaret, Thomas, Julia and Felix 
 are all yet at home. Mr. Goetz is num- 
 bered among the pioneers of Door coun- 
 ty, and in its growth and upbuilding he 
 has ever borne his part, while in its wel- 
 fare he manifests a most commendable 
 intere.st. He exercises his right of fran- 
 chise in support of the Democracy, has 
 served as treasurer of the school board, 
 and has alwavs been a warm friend to the 
 
 cause of education, believing it to be one 
 of the important factors in the promotion 
 of good citizenship. In connection with 
 his family he holds membership with the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 WILLIAM BARRETTE, a public- 
 spirited and progressive citizen 
 of Red River township, Kewau- 
 nee county, who has identified 
 himself with the best interests of the com- 
 munity in which he makes his home, was 
 born in Belgium February 18, 1829, one 
 of the eight children of Francis and Mary 
 J. (Millman) Barrette. The father was a 
 farmer by occupation, and through the 
 greater part of his life carried on agricul- 
 tural pursuits. The members of the fam- 
 ily are John 13., Catherine, Joseph, An- 
 toinette, Casper, Constant, \Villiam and 
 Isador. 
 
 In taking up the history of William 
 Bariette we present to our readers the life 
 record of one who is both widely and 
 favorably known in Kewaunee county. 
 The common schools afforded him his ed- 
 ucational privileges, and in his younger 
 years he learned the stone cutter's trade, 
 at which he worked until his marriage. 
 That important event in his life occurred 
 July 16, 1846, the lady of his choice be- 
 ing Virginia Geos, and to them, while 
 still residing in Belgium, was born a son, 
 Joseph. In the year 1848, having de- 
 cided to try their fortune in America, they 
 embarked at Antwerp on a sailing vessel 
 bound for Quebec, Canada. From that 
 city they made their way direct to Green 
 Bay, Wis. , thence to Ahnapee township, 
 now a part of Lincoln township, Kewau- 
 nee county. Here Mr. Barrette pur- 
 chased fort}' acres of land in Section 8, a 
 wild and unimproved tract, upon which 
 not a tree had been cut or a furrow 
 turned. He made the journe\- in a wagon 
 drawn by a yoke of oxen, and followed 
 the path marked by blazed trees, for no 
 roads had yet been made in that vicinity. 
 A place had to be cleared large enough 
 
5«4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to construct a house, and a dwelling 
 22X22 feet, covered with cedar bark, 
 was built. With characteristic energy 
 Mr. Barrette began the development of 
 a farm, and though the work was slow, 
 and his implements quite crude in com- 
 parison with those used to-daj-, the 
 work progressed, and where once stood a 
 dense forest were seen waving fields of 
 grain. The marketing was done at Green 
 Bay, a distance of twentj'-one miles, and 
 as Mr. Barrette owned the only team in 
 this locality he did all the marketing for 
 the neighborhood. It frequently required 
 three days to make the trip, and he would 
 spend the night in his wagon somewhere 
 on the road between Bay Settlement and 
 Green Bay. He used a grub hoe in 
 planting his first crop of wheat and pota- 
 toes, and the wheat was harvested with a 
 sickle and threshed with a flail. After seven 
 years spent upon his first farm, during 
 which time he had increased it to eighty 
 acres and cleared thirty acres, he sold 
 out and went to Chicago, where for a 
 similar period he worked at his trade. On 
 his return he purchased one hundred 
 acres of land in Section 5, Red River 
 township, now owned b}' his son, Prosper, 
 and again began the work of developing a 
 new farm. On that place he lived twenty 
 years, and added to his possessions until 
 he was the owner of 392 acres of valuable 
 land. A part of this he afterward sold, 
 and then removed to Section 9 of the 
 same township, where he purchased one 
 acre of land, erecting thereon a store and 
 residence; he has also just purchased a 
 pier and mill on the bay shore, costing 
 $1400, and to his various business enter- 
 prises now devotes his attention. After 
 coming to Wisconsin five children were 
 added to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Bar- 
 rette, namely: Mary, Augustine, Prosper. 
 Octavie and William, Jr. ; the mother of 
 this family passed away September 19, 
 1889. The youngest son, who has always 
 remained at home with his father, secured 
 his literary education in the common 
 schools, and for two years attended busi- 
 
 ness college. On the 25th of April, 1S91, 
 he was married to Mary, daughter of 
 Clement and Frances (Kayej Genesse, 
 and the}- had two children — Fannie and 
 Lillie. 
 
 In his political affiliations, the subject 
 of this sketch is a Republican, has served 
 as supervisor in Ahnapee township, and 
 as chairman of the board of supervisors 
 in Lincoln township three j'ears. For 
 four years he was chairman of the town 
 board in Red River township, since Au- 
 gust 14, 1890, he has been postmaster at 
 Duvall, and his prompt and faithful dis- 
 charge of the duties devolving upon him 
 has won him the commendation of all 
 concerned. In religious belief he is a 
 Catholic, and while living in Lincoln 
 township mass was held in his home 
 when there was no church in that locality. 
 He is one of the honored pioneers of the 
 county, and has not only witnessed the 
 growth and development of this region 
 but in all possiible ways has aided in its 
 progress and advancement. 
 
 JACOB RODRIAN, county treasurer 
 of Kewaunee county, was born in the 
 Rhine Province, German}', Novem- 
 ber 6, 1845. His father, Philip 
 Rodrian, a farmer by occupation, married 
 Fredericka Bretz, whose father was also 
 a farmer. Mrs. Fredericka Rodrian died 
 in Germany in 1890; Philip Rodrian is 
 still living in that country. 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools 
 of his native country between the ages of 
 six and fourteen years, and then worked 
 on his father's farm until he was twenty- 
 four j'ears old, or until 1869, when he 
 came to America. He had one brother 
 and three sisters, and of these onl}' one, 
 a sister, came to America, the others re- 
 maining in Germany. When Mr. Rod- 
 rian reached America he landed at New 
 York City, whence he at once pushed 
 forward to Wisconsin, locating at Hart- 
 ford, Washington county, and here hired 
 out on a farm for two years; then moved 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 585 
 
 to Ahnapee, Kevvaunea county, where he 
 bought the farm on which he still makes 
 his home, and where he is classed among 
 the best farmers in the county. In pol- 
 itics he has always been a Democrat 
 since coming to the country, being active 
 in both national and State politics. In 
 1882 he was elected treasurer of his town, 
 which office he filled three consecutive 
 terms, 1884-85 and '86; was assessor 
 1887-88, and in the latter year was 
 elected countv treasurer, in which incum- 
 bency he is serving his third term, seem- 
 ing to be peculiarly fitted for this special 
 class of public service. In 1894 he was 
 elected for a member of Assembly to the 
 Wisconsin Legislature. 
 
 On April 30, 1872, Mr. Rodrian was 
 married to Miss Julia Portz, daughter of 
 John Portz, whose family came from 
 their native Germany in 1875, and in this 
 country the father died in 1S83. Eight 
 children have come to bless the home of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rodrian, who are devout 
 members of the Lutheran Church at 
 Ahnapee. The family are held in high 
 esteem by their neighbors, and Mr. Rod- 
 rian is recognized as one of the leading 
 men of the county, and one of its sub- 
 stantial, go-ahead citizens. 
 
 J NO GISLASON. The name of 
 Gislason was, for many years, a 
 most familiar one in Iceland where 
 Gisli Einersen, father of our subject, 
 was a prominent Lutheran minister. He 
 graduated in the theological course of the 
 Copenhagen University, and was ordained 
 to preach. A man of much mental abil- 
 ity and a deep thinker, he wielded a 
 powerful infiuence for good, and was 
 greatly beloved by his parishoners. His 
 wife, Sigridur Gudnundsdaughter, was 
 also a native of Iceland and, as her name 
 states, was a daughter of Gudnundur, 
 that being the manner of denoting the 
 family to which a child belongs. She 
 was the mother of five children, of whom 
 our subject was the youngest. 
 
 Jno Gislason was born December 12, 
 1S49, at Kalfholti, Iceland, and was but 
 eighteen months old when his father died. 
 He was educated in Iceland, and at the 
 age of fourteen years commenced clerking 
 in a general store, where he remained 
 employed at intervals until 1870, then 
 emigrated to the United States. In Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., he remained four months, 
 then made his way to Washington Island, 
 Door county, and found work in the 
 woods, but in the spring of 1871 he lo- 
 cated permanently at Detroit Harbor 
 where he now resides. He bought a 
 farm of sixty-one acres, although he made 
 fishing his business until 1876, when he 
 sold his possessions and went to Madison, 
 (Wis.) where he attended school. He 
 was then twenty-seven years old, and 
 though possessed of a good education in 
 his native tongue he inherited too much 
 of his father's scholastic tendencies to be 
 content with that after locating in another 
 country. Accordingly he remained in the 
 school at Madison until he had mastered 
 the English language, and secured a fair 
 knowledge of other topics. The spring 
 of 1877 found him in \Vashington Island, 
 Wis., where he followed various pursuits 
 until 1884, when he opened a general 
 store at Detroit Harbor, which business 
 he has continued ever since, having built 
 up a large and constantly increasing trade, 
 and become prosperous in every way. 
 When any public enterprise needs the as- 
 sistance of the business men of the place, 
 Mr. Gislason is one of the first to be ap- 
 proached, and unless the plan appears 
 impracticable he accords it his hearty co- 
 operation. Since his return to the Island 
 he has bought 240 acres of land which he 
 is having cleared and prepared for culti- 
 vation; it will then be most valuable and 
 for this foresightedness he will no doubt 
 reap a rich profit on his investment. 
 
 Mr. Gislason is a stanch Republican, 
 taking an active part in political affairs, 
 and although having no desire for office 
 his friends have made him supervisor and 
 justice of the peace. He is now clerk of 
 
=;86 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the board of education in his district, and 
 is ever ready to promote the interests of 
 the schools. He is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, which was so dear to 
 Ills father's heart, and contributes Hber- 
 aily t(jward its support; while his gener- 
 osity in every charitable enterprise brought 
 to his notice is most commendable. On 
 November 8, 1877, he was married at 
 Milwaukee, \\'is. , to Miss Augusta Barna- 
 son, also a native of Iceland, and the fol- 
 lowing named eight children were born to 
 them: Sarah E., Gisli I., August, Law- 
 rence, Ella, Charles, Esther and Stella 
 T. Mr. Gislason is personally superin- 
 tending their education, and hopes to 
 make them useful men and women. 
 
 1841, 
 
 FRED HARDER, for over twenty 
 \ears a resident of Egg Harbor 
 township. Door county, is a na- 
 tive of German}-, born August 16, 
 the eldest in the family of Fred 
 Harder, who had five children — one son 
 and four daughters. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Harder was married, in 
 German}-, to Caroline Kullmann, who was 
 born there in 1834, and late in the fall of 
 1866 they sailed from Hamburg on a ves- 
 sel bound for New York, where they 
 landed after a somewhat unpleasant voy- 
 age of four weeks. By rail they came 
 west to Chicago, where Mr. Harder en- 
 gaged immediately at any labor that 
 would bring him an honest dollar, for the 
 e.xpenses of the journey had nearly ex- 
 hausted his savings. Chicago was their 
 home for over five years, Mr. Harder 
 working at the carpenter's trade there 
 after the great fire, and in 1873 removed 
 his family to Door county, Wis., where, 
 in Section 29, Egg Harbor township, he 
 bought si.xty acres, paying cash for same; 
 but shortly afterward it was found that the 
 title was imperfect, and he had to pay a 
 second time for part of the tract. The 
 land was totally unimproved, and he com- 
 menced the task of clearing without de- 
 lay, proving himself a most 
 
 worker, and possessed of a spirit of energy 
 and perseverance that allows nothing to 
 discourage him. He now owns 140 acres, 
 eighty of which he has cleared and has in 
 good condition, doing the greater part of 
 the work himself. By his own unaided 
 efforts he has acquired a comfortable 
 property, and, by his conscientious hon- 
 esty and fairness in all his transactions, 
 has gained the resp^ect and confidence of 
 those who have had dealings with him. 
 
 To Fred and Caroline (Kullmann) 
 Harder were born four children, two in 
 German}' — Gusta, now Mrs. William Mil- 
 ler, of Plymouth, Ind. , and another 
 daughter that died in infancy, while en 
 route to the United States — and two in 
 Wisconsin — \J\zz\e, Mrs. John Weiter- 
 man, of Voseville, Door Co., Wis., and 
 a daughter that died in infancy. The 
 mother of these passed from earth in Egg 
 Harbor township, and Mr. Harder subse- 
 quently wedded Amelia Bunner, a native 
 of Saxony. For his third wife he was 
 married, April 15, 1883, in Egg Harbor, 
 to Miss Caroline Blunk, who was born in 
 1 85 1 in Germany, and this union has 
 been blessed with one child, William. 
 Mr. Harder is a Lutheran in religious 
 sentiment, and politically he is a stanch 
 supporter of the Republican party. 
 
 JOHN \\'EIS, a prosperous and highly 
 esteemed farmer citizen of the town 
 of Sturgeon Bay, is a native of Wis- 
 consin, born in Washington county 
 May I, 1857. 
 
 His father, George Weis, was a native 
 of the Rhine Province of Bavaria, and 
 when a young man came to the United 
 States, first locating in New York, where 
 he followed the trade of baker, which he 
 had learned in the Fatherland. His eye- 
 sight becoming impaired, however, he 
 was obliged to abandon that business, 
 and coming to Wisconsin made a new 
 home in Washington county, where he 
 turned his attention to agricultural pur- 
 suits. He there wedded Mrs. Mary Stroh 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 587 
 
 {iicc Stormj, who had two children: Mary 
 and Joseph. George Weis passed the 
 rest of his days in Washington county, 
 dying there in 1882, where his widow is 
 still residing. This worthy couple were 
 the parents of seven children — five sons 
 and two daughters — our subject being the 
 third child and second son. 
 
 Having passed his early life in a Ger- 
 man settlement, John Weis was educated 
 in that tongue until eleven years of age, 
 when he left home to work for others, 
 and has since been dependent on his own 
 resources, so that whatever success he 
 has achieved is due entirely to his per- 
 sonal efforts. When nineteen years old 
 he commenced working at the mason's 
 trade, which he followed some seven 
 years, and until he reached his majority 
 he handed all his earnings over to his 
 parents, not even buying his own clothes. 
 Coming to Door county (where he had a 
 half-brother living), in order to look up a 
 location, he during the first summer found 
 work in a sawmill for A. W. Lawrence, 
 after which he was engaged at the trade 
 of stone mason. Long and earnestly did 
 he now work, until he had secured enough 
 money to purchase a farm, and in course 
 of time he found himself the owner of 1 20 
 acres of land, forty of which he has 
 cleared. Xhis is one of the most pro- 
 ductive farms in the county, made so by 
 the efforts of the owner, who is justly 
 numbered among the practical and enter- 
 prising agriculturists of the county. 
 
 At the age of twenty-four years our 
 subject was married to Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Marie Toppings, widow of Thomas J. 
 Toppings, who enlisted, in 1862, in Com- 
 pany A, Ninth Missouri Cavalry, in which 
 he served three years and seven months; 
 he died in 1875, o^ consumption, brought 
 on by exposure and consequent sickness 
 while in the army. Mrs. Elizabeth M. 
 Weis was born March 3, 1850, at Pitts- 
 burg, Penn., daughter of Nicholas Hinker, 
 who came to Sturgeon Bay in 1857, and 
 settled in Sevastopol township, then a 
 vast wilderness, where he died January 
 
 26, 1865, of heart disease, contracted 
 through exposure and hard work in his 
 endeavor to clear up a farm and support 
 a family consisting of his wife, aged 
 father-in-law and five daughters. The 
 father-in-law, John Bates, who was a na- 
 tive of Amsterdam, Holland, died at the 
 age of 102 years, leaving but one daugh- 
 ter, the wife of N. Hinker. Nicholas 
 Hinker left surviving him his wife and 
 five daughters, to wit: Mrs. Elizabeth M. 
 Weis; Mrs. Catherine G. Follett, of 
 Green Bay, born at Buffalo, N. Y., Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1852; Mrs. Mary A. Stroh, 
 born at Larimer's Station, Penn. ; Mrs. 
 Caroline M. Lavassor, of the city of Stur- 
 geon Bay, Wis., born at Sevastopol, 
 Door Co., Wis., January 15, i860; and 
 Mrs. Margaret L. Weis, born December 
 31, 1862, also at Sevastopol, now a resi- 
 dent of Sturgeon Bay, and with whom 
 the widowed mother is at present living. 
 The third daughter, Mrs. Mary A. Stroh, 
 died May 23, 1880, leaving four children: 
 Frank, Lizzie, Cassie, and an infant 
 daughter whom the mother, on her death- 
 bed, gave to Mrs. E. M. Toppings (now 
 Mrs. John Weis) who named the infant 
 Mary Josephine Weis (she is now [1895] 
 fifteen years old, and is bright, affection- 
 ate and dutiful). There is also now an- 
 other infant left to the care of the old 
 home, a little son of John Weis' second 
 sister, Mrs. Andrew May, who died April 
 22, 1895, the same hour the baby was 
 born, leaving also husband and four 
 children — two sons and two daughters; 
 she was also born and reared in Wash- 
 ington county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Nicholas Hinker, who was a native of 
 Alsace, Germany, came to this country 
 with his parents when six years old, and 
 in 1849 married Mary C. J. Bates, who 
 was born at Utrecht, Holland, in 1831, 
 and when eight years of age accompanied 
 her father and brothers from her native 
 country to the United States, locating at 
 first in Philadelphia, from there moving 
 to Pittsburg where she married Mr. 
 Hinker. He was a coal miner seven 
 
5S8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 years prior to coining to Wisconsin. Mrs. 
 Elizabeth M. Weis was, as will be seen, 
 seven years old when her parents brought 
 her to the then wilderness of Sturgeon 
 Bay, settling four miles east of what was 
 then the village of Sturgeon Bay. For 
 the most of the way in their journey 
 through this region they found no road of 
 any description, so the men in the com- 
 pany had to make one and "blaze" the 
 trees, and the party did not reach the 
 roofless shanty until the third day, which 
 was June i8, 1857. It rained so much 
 that no work could be done at first, so 
 Mrs. Weis' father and mother peeled a 
 lot of cedar bark to form a temporary 
 roof, and about the worst trouble they 
 had was from the swarms of mosquitos 
 that visited the shanty to feast on the 
 new arrivals — so numerous and sanguin- 
 ary were the ' ' varmints" that a ' ' smudge" 
 had to be kept up night and day. 
 
 The fact that Mr. John Weis has 
 prospered in his undertakings is due, as 
 will be readily understood, to deter- 
 mined effort and good management, and 
 he is now in comfortable circumstances. 
 In religious faith he is a member of the 
 Catholic Church, and in political affilia- 
 tion since attaining his majority he has sup- 
 ported the principles of the Republican 
 party. 
 
 M 
 
 .\TTHIAS ROLLER, an in- 
 dustrious and well-to-do farmer 
 of Carlton township, Kewaunee 
 county, was born in Germany, 
 February 25, 1S31. and is a son of Al- 
 bert and Theresa Roller. 
 
 His boyhood days were passed in the 
 school room and on the farm with his 
 parents until he was fourteen years of 
 age, when he started out in life for him- 
 self, beginning as a farm servant, and so 
 continuing until 185S when he came to 
 the United States. It took him si.\ weeks 
 to cross the ocean, and, landing at New 
 York, he proceeded to Carlton, having 
 only fifteen dollars left to start in life 
 
 with. The ne.\t year after arriving at 
 Carlton, he went to Chicago, where he un- 
 loaded vessels, for which he received ten 
 cents an hour, and then only three times a 
 week. Not being able to make a living 
 there, he came back to Carlton, and for 
 about two years chopped cord-wood, also 
 worked in the forest, and was then able 
 to locate on the farm he now owns. The 
 land was, of course, all in standing tim- 
 ber which he proceeded to cut and mark- 
 et, at the same time preparing the soil 
 for cultivation. These pioneer days were 
 days of hardship and toil, but perseverance 
 and industry carried him through, and 
 his farm, consisting of 120 acres of land, 
 is now all cleared, and will compare favor- 
 ably with any farm in the township. On 
 the night of September 30, 1888, Mr. 
 Roller's property was destroyed by fire. 
 The loss amounted to four thousand dol- 
 lars, insured for two thousand dollars, 
 but the ne.xt year he immediately set to 
 work and re-erected the building. 
 
 In 1S58 Mr. Roller married Theresa 
 Sipple, who was born in Germany in 
 1837, a daughter of John and Josephine 
 Sipple. This marriage has been blessed 
 with eleven children, namely: Joe, Julius, 
 John, Willie, Matthias, Philip, Mary, 
 Caroline and Laura, living, and Joseph 
 and Louisa, deceased. Six of these are 
 now married, namely: Joe, Julius, John, 
 Mary, Caroline and Laura; five are living 
 on farms in the same town, where their 
 father has started them in business; 
 Laura is residing in Chicago. Mr. Roller 
 and famil}- enjoy the respect of all their 
 neighbors, and are regarded as good and 
 useful citizens, such as form a solid and 
 healthful community. 
 
 REV. ALONZO PARRER CUR- 
 TISS was born January 2, 1862, 
 in Westmoreland, N. Y. , and his 
 ancestors on the mother's side 
 were the old English refugees who fled to 
 Holland during the period of the Restora-. 
 tion. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5S9 
 
 The Curtiss family is also of English 
 origin, and the grandfather was a buyer 
 and seller of live stock in New York, mak- 
 ing his home in Westmoreland, that 
 State, where he owned some real estate 
 and spent his last days. His son, Josiah 
 A. Curtiss, father of our subject, was 
 born in Westmoreland, N. Y. ; he mar- 
 ried Juliet Phelps, a daughter of Dr. 
 Alonzo Phelps, of Kirkland, Oneida Co., 
 N. Y. , a descendant of Oliver Cromwell's 
 private secretary who signed the death 
 warrant of King Charles I. After the 
 death of Cromwell, and during the time 
 of the Restoration, he fled to Holland 
 with his family. He was a man of great 
 force of character and influence, and a 
 monument was erected to his memory in 
 a church in Holland. The old family 
 name was originally Guelph — the family 
 name of Queen Victoria. His descend- 
 ants came to America and settled in New 
 York. The mother of our subject died 
 June 15, 1894. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received his 
 primar}' education in the grammar school 
 of Clinton, N, Y. , a Presbyterian institu- 
 tion, where he pursued his studies three 
 years. Later he emigrated westward, 
 settling in Sandwich, 111., where he be- 
 came book-keeper for the Sandwich Manu- 
 facturing Company, and afterward held 
 the same position in their branch house 
 in Kansas City, Mo., remaining in the 
 employ of that firm for about three years. 
 He then went to Boston, where he studied 
 Latin and Greek with a Harvard tutor, 
 preparatory to entering the Western 
 Theological Seminary in Chicago, his 
 name being enrolled among its students 
 September 29, 1889. He was graduated 
 therefrom in May, 1892, was ordained as 
 deacon in June of the same year in Sheboy- 
 gan, Wis., and was ordained priest in the 
 cathedral at Fond du Lac, Wis., Novem- 
 ber 20, 1892. In June of that year he 
 had come to Ahnapee, and has since had 
 charge of St. Agnes church of this place, 
 having given evidence of great pastoral 
 power, while with both old and young. 
 
 Thorough 
 
 rich and poor he is a favorite 
 study and preparation have made him 
 well fitted for his chosen work, and he is 
 doing good service in Ahnapee. 
 
 HECTOR BONCHER, one of the 
 most prominent and influential 
 citizens of Luxemburg township, 
 Kewaunee county, is a native of 
 Wisconsin, born in Humboldt township. 
 Brown county, December 6, 1864, a son 
 of John B. and Mary (Tracy) Boucher, 
 well-to-do agriculturists of that locality. 
 They were born in Belgium, whence 
 the father, when he was about thirteen 
 years old, came to this country with his 
 parents, Maria and Theresa Boucher, 
 who settled in Humboldt township. 
 Brown Co., Wis., taking up 320 acres of 
 wild land. Here for a long time they and 
 their children were employed getting logs 
 out of the woods and making shingles 
 by hand, one thousand being considered a 
 good day's work. The children, fifteen 
 in number, born to John B. and Marj- 
 Boucher, were as follows: \'ictor. Hec- 
 tor, Ortance (deceased), Henry, Joseph, 
 Mary, Adeline and Catherine (twins), 
 Eli, one that died at the age of sixteen 
 years, Ortance Paul (deceased), Gene- 
 vieve, Victoria, Paul (deceased) and Mar- 
 tin. The parents are yet living on the 
 old homestead in Humboldt township. 
 Brown county, now consisting of ninety 
 acres of well-improved land, which the 
 father himself conducts. The children 
 all commenced the business of life early. 
 Hector, our subject, when fourteen years 
 old, entering a sawmill in Oconto where 
 he worked a couple of months at fifteen 
 dollars per month, after which he re- 
 turned home for a few weeks and then 
 went into the lumber woods, laboring 
 there four months. Another two months 
 were spent at the parental home bv Mr. 
 Boncher, and we next find him in Her- 
 mansville, Menominee Co., Mich., work- 
 ing in a sawmill at twenty-six dollars per 
 
59° 
 
 COJUMEMORAriVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 month, whence after three months he 
 moved to Crystal Falls, Iron county, 
 same State, where he drove team for a 
 railroad company, at twenty-eight dol- 
 lars per month. At the end of two 
 months, however, he was unfortunate- 
 ly taken sick, and had to return home; 
 but, recovering in a few weeks, he 
 once more went into the lumber woods, 
 driving a yoke of oxen three months. He 
 then once more came home in order to 
 help his parents. All this time his earn- 
 ings were regularly sent to them to assist 
 in paying off the debt on the farm, in 
 which filial duty his example was followed 
 by his brothers. In 1880 our subject 
 went to New Franken, Brown county, 
 where he served an apprenticeship of two 
 and one-half years at the trade of black- 
 smith under Antoine Burkhardt, and then 
 went to Kansas City, Kans. , six miles 
 from which city, in \fissouri, he worked 
 seventeen hours a day for two months, for 
 a gardener, his wages being fifteen dollars 
 per month. From there he proceeded to 
 Beatrice, Neb., for the purpose of look- 
 ing up a certain land claim, which, how- 
 ever, he failed to locate, and thence 
 moved to Quindaro, Kans., where he 
 worked at his trade three months. While 
 •residing in Kansas he attended night 
 school, thus acquiring about all the edu- 
 cation he ever received, by which it will 
 be seen that he is not only self-made, but 
 also self-educated. From Kansas he went 
 to Joliet, 111., then returned to Kansas, 
 and was engaged there one year and nine 
 months shoeing wild horses; but receiv- 
 ing a severe injury one day while at work, 
 .he had to abandon the job and leave for 
 his home in Brown county. Recovering 
 from his accident, he came to Luxem- 
 burg township, Kewaunee county, and 
 here worked at his trade eighteen months 
 at $1.25 per day. 
 
 This was in 18S7, on October 26 of 
 which year he married Miss Catherine 
 Arendt, daughter of Michael and Mary 
 Arendt (deceased), respectable farming 
 people of Luxemburg township, a sketch 
 
 of whom follows. After marriage our 
 subject removed to Humboldt township. 
 Brown county, where he bought forty 
 acres of land, half of which was cleared, 
 and here for five j'ears he followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits as well as his trade, and 
 also kept a saloon, in each interest meet- 
 ing with unqualified success. Selling out 
 to his brother Victor, who is still carry- 
 ing on the business, and whom he taught 
 the trajJe of blacksmith, our subject again 
 came to Luxemburg township, and buy- 
 ing half an acre of land at Luxemburg 
 erected thereon a building, 60 x 60 feet, 
 known as "The Railroad House," in 
 part of it engaging in the saloon business 
 for a time, the remainder of the building 
 being rented for a general store. In 
 1895 he sold this property and business, 
 and he is now building a fine residence at 
 Luxemburg. He is connected with the 
 Petrie & Co. Lumber Co., as agent. To 
 him and his wife were born four chil- 
 dren: Daniel, Elisa (deceased), John (de- 
 ceased) and Edmund. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Boucher are members of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and in his political pref- 
 erences he is a Democrat. 
 
 That from a poor uneducated boy, 
 who when he was but fourteen years old, 
 the time he first left the parental home, 
 could not write even a short letter to his 
 father or mother, he has risen to his pres- 
 ent comfortable, well-to-do position by 
 his own unaided efforts, is proved by his 
 brief but interesting biography; and that 
 he well deserves all he has succeeded in 
 acquiring goes without saying. 
 
 Mrs. C.\therixk (Arendt) Boncher 
 is a native of Wisconsin, born in Luxem- 
 burg township, Kewaunee county, October 
 26, 1866, and remained at the residence 
 of her parents till the age of twenty-one, 
 when she was united in matrimony with 
 Hector Boncher, October 26. 1887. 
 
 Her parents, Michael Arendt and 
 Anna Maria (Deiski), were natives of 
 German}-, and both came to this country 
 in their youth. They met, the first time, 
 as new acquaintances in Gran\illo, Mil- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 591 
 
 waukee Co., Wis., and after being mar- 
 ried there they moved to Lu.xemburg 
 township, Kewaunee county, finding them- 
 selves in a considerably wild-looking coun- 
 try, without roads, and with but very few 
 settlers. Then taking up woodland they 
 commenced clearing up the same for 
 farming, besides which they kept a saloon 
 and postoffice (W'alhain), the mail being 
 carried by hand. About si.v years after- 
 ward they removed from that place one 
 and a half miles east, and again set to 
 work to clear up new land for farming 
 and agriculture, on which they remained 
 the rest of their lives. The children born 
 to this pioneer couple were: Peter, who 
 died February 20, 1873; John, now a 
 dealer in general merchandise in Luxem- 
 burg township, married to Margaret Denk, 
 who was born in Germany; Joseph, who 
 died November 19, 1888, at the age of 
 twenty-eight years; Mary and Margaret, 
 both deceased in infancy; Michael, a 
 farmer, and owner of his parents' farm, 
 and chairman of Luxemburg township, 
 married to Annie Gengler, who was born 
 in Granville township, Milwaukee Co. , 
 Wis. ; Catherine, wife of Hector Boncher; 
 Daniel (single), farmer of Luxemburg 
 township; Lucy, now the wife of J. C. 
 Parks, a prominent law officer of Chicago, 
 111. ; Peter (single), a farmer, living with 
 his brother on the old home; Nicholas, 
 deceased in infancy; and Mary, also stay- 
 ing with her brothers in the old home. 
 The family lost their beloved father July 
 17. 1878, when the youngest child was 
 three months old, he being at that time 
 fifty years old. Mrs. M. Arendt, the 
 widowed mother, continued farming with 
 her children for eight _vears more, and then 
 followed her deceased husband into Eter- 
 nity, dying August 20, 1 886, at the age 
 of forty-seven years. The Arendt family 
 are members of St. Mary's Roman Cath- 
 olic Church at Luxemburg, Kewaunee 
 county, in the cemetery connected with 
 which the remains of their dear parents, 
 brothers, sisters and children rest in 
 peace. 
 
 DR. JOHN A. ROBERTS, of Ke- 
 waunee, was born in Manitowoc 
 county, Wis., February 12, i860, 
 a son of Adam and Ann Roberts, 
 both nati\'es of England, the former born 
 at Montfort Bridge, Shropshire, England, 
 the latter at the Isle of Ely. 
 
 Dr. Roberts, after receiving a sound 
 preliminary education at the Monitowoc 
 high school, attended Rush Medical Col- 
 lege, Chicago, from which institution he 
 graduated with the class of 1890, and at 
 once began practice at Kewaunee, where 
 he had previously been interested in the 
 drug business with his brother, C. B. 
 Roberts, who had settled here in 1874. 
 This partnership in the drug business had 
 been formed in 1879, and in 1882 a sec- 
 ond store was established at Ahnapee, 
 John A. taking charge, but in 1887 this 
 branch was sold. In December, 1891, 
 C. B. Roberts died, and Dr. John A. 
 Roberts then bought out the interest of 
 the widow in the Kewaunee store, since 
 when he has oonducted it on his own ac- 
 count, in connection with his professional 
 practice, which has continued to augment 
 its proportions quite rapidly up to the 
 present time. 
 
 Dr. Roberts was united in marriage 
 September 19, 1883, with Miss Mary L. 
 White, daughter of Bradford R. W'hite, 
 the result of this union being one inter- 
 esting daughter — Florence L. Roberts. 
 Socially, the Doctor is a member of the 
 I. O. O. F., K. of P. and Knights of the 
 Maccabees. In his political affiliations, 
 he is a Democrat, and he fills the posi- 
 tion of commissioner of public health. 
 
 PHILIP HERRBOLD, one of the 
 industrious and thrifty farmers of 
 Sevastopol township. Door coun- 
 ty, was born October 8, 1848, in 
 Ozaukee county. Wis., and is a son of 
 Jacob Herrbold, a native of Germany, 
 who when a youth of fourteen years came 
 with his father, Philip Herrbold, to Amer- 
 ica, crossing the Atlantic in 1839. The 
 
592 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 family located about ten miles from Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., which was then one of the 
 most distant frontier settlements. Jacob 
 Herrbold was married in Ozaukee county 
 to Susan Conrad, a native of Germany, 
 and they became the parents of six chil- 
 dren — four sons and two daughters — one 
 of whom is still living on the old home- 
 stead in Ozaukee county, while our sub- 
 ject and his two sisters — Mrs. Wm. Bar- 
 tel and Mrs. David Klumb — reside in Se- 
 vastopol township. The father of this 
 family died in 1888; the mother is still 
 living. 
 
 Philip Herrbold, whose name opens 
 this sketch, received a fair education, and 
 remained at home until he had attained 
 his majority, for his father was in com- 
 fortable circumstances and could help 
 his children. On December 29, 1877, in 
 Ozaukee county. Wis., he was united in 
 marriage with Hermena Geidel, a native 
 of Germany, who was brought to America 
 when a year old by her parents, ^fr. and 
 Mrs. Gottfried H. Geidel. The young 
 couple began their domestic life in Ozau- 
 kee county, but in the spring of 1878 
 they came to Door county, reaching their 
 new home on the 28th of June. Their 
 home has been blessed with five children 
 — Clara, Louisa, Amanda, Jacob and 
 Rudolph; they lost their first-born, a 
 daughter, in infancy. Mr. Herrbold's 
 father gave him i 20 acres of land in Sec- 
 tion 36, Sevastopol township, and he 
 at once began the development of a farm, 
 for the land was covered with a heavy 
 growth of timber, and no improvement 
 had been made on the place. Cutting 
 the wood, he would dispose of it at neigh- 
 boring markets, and thus earned enough 
 to support his family while his farm was 
 being prepared for cultivation. In ap- 
 pearance, to-day, it bears little resem- 
 blance to the tract upon which he located 
 in 1878; for now rich and fertile fields 
 yield him a golden tribute in return for 
 the care and labor he bestows upon them, 
 and good buildings and other improve- 
 ments stand as monuments to his thrift 
 
 and enterprise, at the same time adding 
 to the value and attractive appearance of 
 the place. All is new and well-kept, 
 and the farm is one of the best in the lo- 
 cality. 
 
 Mr. Herrbold has been and is a hard- 
 working man, and has led a busy and 
 useful life. Indolence and idleness, are 
 utterly foreign to his nature, and his per- 
 severance and good management have 
 made him one of the substantial citizens 
 of the community. In politics he is a 
 Democrat, and has served as town super- 
 visor, but has never cared much for pub- 
 lic office; in matters of religion, he is 
 connected with the Moravian Church of 
 Sturgeon Bay. 
 
 JOHN M. BORGMAN, the enterpris- 
 ing proprietor of the planing-mill in 
 Kewaunee, was born in Green Bay 
 February 25, 1851, the eldest in a 
 family of eleven children, of whom five 
 sons and four daughters are still living. 
 
 John Borgman, the father, who was 
 a native of Prussia, born April 20, 1S23, 
 when sixteen years old was apprenticed 
 to the trade of carpentry, and became a 
 master carpenter. For three years after- 
 ward, however, he was obliged to serve 
 the regulation time in the Prussian army, 
 and at a later date, in 1848, was abnut 
 to be pressed into the service again, when 
 he escaped to America and settled in 
 Green Bay, Wis., resuming his trade in 
 1849 or 1850. His marriage took place 
 in the latter year to Miss Catherine \Vald, 
 also a native of Prussia, born June 10, 
 1832, and who came to America with her 
 parents in 1840. The father of Miss 
 Wald also located in Green Bay, and 
 later bought a large tract of land east of 
 the city, where he followed farming the 
 remainder of his days. Mr. Borgman 
 engaged in contracting and building in 
 Green Bay until 1858, when he moved to 
 Kewaunee, still following his trade until 
 1880, when he bought a farm one mile 
 south of the then village, 'on which he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 593 
 
 Still resides. A Democrat in politics, he 
 has never been an office-seeker, yet has 
 consented to perform the duties of some 
 of the village, township and county 
 offices. 
 
 John iM. Borgman, from the age of 
 seven to that of sixteen, attended the dis- 
 trict school of Kewaunee, excepting three 
 months' stud}' at a business college in 
 Milwaukee, in 1875. Under his father 
 he learned the carpenter's trade, and in 
 iSSi erected his present plant, compris- 
 ing planing mill and fanning-mill factory, 
 with an extensive lumber yard attached, 
 which he enlarges as his increasing 
 trade demands, employing at the present 
 about ten men constantly. For the past 
 five years he has done a considerable 
 amount of government work in harbor 
 contracting, and he has a valuable interest 
 in the Kewaunee Brick Co., of which he 
 is the secretary and treasurer. He is un- 
 tiring in his energy and ever on the alert 
 for opportunities to extend the field of his 
 practical usefulness. In politics Mr. Borg- 
 man is a Democrat, and takes the interest 
 in both local and national affairs that 
 every true citizen should feel as a duty 
 and not for emolument. He has served 
 his fellow-citizens in two or three public 
 positions, because he has been sought for 
 the office, not that he sought the office. 
 In 1878 he was elected sheriff of the 
 county, and for nine years was supervisor 
 of his ward; he was also chairman of the 
 county board four years, and at various 
 times has been a delegate to State and 
 Congressional conventions. 
 
 Our subject was first married August 
 22, 1876, to Miss Mary Riedy, daughter 
 of Patrick Riedy, who was among the 
 early settlers of Kewaunee county, and to 
 this union were born two children, Wil- 
 fred M. and Charles Edwin, both of 
 whom died in infancy, the mother de- 
 parting to the beyond February 17, 1879. 
 Mr. Borgman's second marriage was con- 
 summated November 27, 1883, with Miss 
 Mary K. Poser, daughter of Frederick 
 Poser, one of the pioneers of the county. 
 
 By this union were born three children, 
 of whom one only. Vera A., is now living, 
 Estella having died at the age of five 
 years, and Clarence W. in infancy. Mr. 
 Borgman is an upright and useful citizen, 
 a thoroughly practical business man, and 
 is deeply interested in everything pertain- 
 ing to the welfare and progress of his 
 adopted city, Kewaunee. 
 
 ALBERT SCHMELING. Among 
 the many thrift}', industrious farm- 
 ers to whom Kewaunee county 
 owes the rapid development of 
 her agricultural resources, we find many 
 Germans, and of these the gentleman 
 here named is a prosperous agriculturist 
 in the town of Ahnapee. 
 
 He was born June 23, 1851, in Prus- 
 sia, Germany, son of Charles Schmel- 
 ing, also a native of Prussia, born in 
 181 1. The latter was educated in the 
 common schools, and was reared on a 
 farm. When a young man he married 
 Doretha Westphal, a native of the same 
 country, born in 1S14, and to their union 
 came five children who reached maturity, 
 viz.: Caroline, deceased; Hannah, Mrs. 
 Charles Noll, of Waterford, Racine Co., 
 Wis. ; Henry, overseer of the poor of 
 Kewaunee county; Alvenia, Mrs. Charles 
 Dammas, of Ahnapee, and Albert. In 
 1857 Mr. Schmeling emigrated to the 
 United States and came to Ahnapee. 
 Kewaunee Co. , Wis. , where he purchased 
 a part of the farm now owned and occu- 
 pied by his son Albert, engaging in agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He was one of the 
 first settlers of the township, and passed 
 through all the hardships and trying ex- 
 periences of early Wisconsin pioneer 
 times. He converted what was a wilder- 
 ness at the time of his arrival into a 
 smiling farm, and conducted it success- 
 fully until his death, which occurred in 
 1 88 5, his wife following him to the grave 
 in May, 1893. They were active mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church, and he was 
 one of the organizers of the first Church 
 
594 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mrs. Schmeling is a 
 
 society in Ahnapee township. Politically 
 he was a Republican. 
 
 Albert Schmeling was educated in the 
 public schools of Ahnapee, and reared on 
 a pioneer farm, experiencing thereby in 
 his earlier years manj' of the inconven- 
 iences of life. He has lived on this place 
 altogether since coining to Wisconsin, at 
 the age of six years, and here he has al- 
 ways followed agricultural pursuits, being 
 now one of the successful representative 
 farmer citizens of his locality. Since 
 coming into possession of the farm he has 
 erected commodious buildings, improved 
 the place generally, and added to it until 
 he now owns 105 acres of good land. 
 Politically, like his father before him, he 
 is a Republican, and in religious faith is a 
 member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. Schmeling's marriage to Hannah 
 Grunvaldt took place June 20, 1.S74, and 
 to their union were born nine children, 
 three of whom are deceased; the living 
 are Charles, Hugo, Herman, Minnie, 
 Martha and Elsie 
 native of Prussia, born in 1854 
 
 JOHN R. Mcdonald, who is en- 
 gaged in the insurance business in 
 Ahnapee, claims Connecticut as the 
 State of his nativity, his birth hav- 
 ing occurred in Litchtield county, Octo- 
 ber 20, 1823. He is descended from the 
 old McDonald family, of the Highlands of 
 Scotland, whose representatives came in 
 an early day to New England, and were 
 well-known people of Connecticut. 
 
 His father, Lewis McDonald, was a 
 native of Litchfield county. Conn., there 
 followed shoe making for some years, and 
 then removed with his family to Erie 
 county, Penn., where he followed farm- 
 ing. Becoming a resident oi Cattaraugus 
 county, N. Y. , he there engaged in hotel 
 keeping for a time; then removed to 
 P"orestville, X. Y. , and later emigrated to 
 Wilmot, Kenosha Co., ^^'is., where he 
 carried on shoe making. He died there 
 at the age of seventy-nine years, and in 
 
 his death the community lost a highly 
 esteemed and valued citizen. He mar- 
 ried Betsy Rowley, a native of the Nut- 
 meg State, and a daughter of Ebenezer 
 Rowley, whose father, Ebenczer Row- 
 ley, Sr. , was a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. His powder-horn, on which 
 is engraved his name, a church and a 
 dragon, is still in the possession of the 
 family. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 McDonald were: John R., Charlotte 
 (deceased), Elizabeth, Harriet, Mary and 
 Homer. The mother of this family died 
 in Missouri. 
 
 Our subject, who was onh' two years 
 old when his parents left Litchtield coun- 
 ty. Conn., was educated in the common 
 schools near Erie, Penn., in early life was 
 employed on a farm and, later, read law 
 in Chautauqua county, N. Y. After being 
 admitted to the bar, he engaged in practice 
 in western New York, as a partner of Judge 
 Elisha \\'ard, until failing health com- 
 pelled him to abandon that work; so, sell- 
 ing his possessions, he went by water to 
 Detroit, thence drove across the country 
 with a horse and wagon to Wisconsin, 
 narrowly escaping being stuck in the inud 
 in Chicago. His brother-in-law, David 
 McCummins, and his father, being resi- 
 dents of Kenosha county. Wis. , thither 
 Mr. McDonald went, locating in Wilmot, 
 where he practiced law for a short time. 
 For several years during the fall season 
 he would organize fishing parties whom 
 he would escort to Green Bay. during 
 which time his family li\ccl in Wihnot. On 
 June I, 1859, he came to by water .-^hna- 
 pee. Wis. , where he was engaged in hotel 
 keeping for several years; in [863 he was 
 appointed internal revenue collector for 
 Kewaunee and Door counties, serving in 
 that capacity five years. In the fall of 
 1868 he was elected from those counties 
 to the State Legislature, and while in the 
 .Assembly secured the passage of a bill for 
 levying a tax for the ]')urpose of creating 
 a fund to open the mouth of Wolf river 
 (now known as .\hnapee river) for navi- 
 gation, a work which was eventually 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 595 
 
 accomplished through an appropriation 
 made by the United States Government. 
 His efforts led to the estabHshment of 
 Ahnapee harbor, a work of much benefit 
 to the locality. He has been justice 
 of the peace for about twelve years, is 
 notary public, and has been court com- 
 missioner for many years. Although an 
 ardent Republican, he was elected district 
 attorney in a Democratic county, and the 
 good majority which he received attests to 
 his personal popularity and the confidence 
 and trust reposed in him by his fellow- 
 townsmen. 
 
 Mrs. McDonald was in her maiden- 
 hood Helen M. Bennett, daughter of Rev. 
 James Bennett, a Baptist minister, of 
 Forestville, N. Y. To our subject and 
 his wife were born five children: Charles 
 (deceased), James, George, Frank, and 
 Nellie, \\'ife of Herbert Thorp. The par- 
 ents and children are widely and favor- 
 ably known in the locality in which they 
 live, the home is the abode of hospitality, 
 and the members of the family hold an 
 enviable position in social circles. Mr. 
 McDonald has led a busy and useful life, 
 and is recognized as a prominent and 
 influential citizen of the community 
 whose worth and ability have made him 
 a leader in his adopted countj'. 
 
 JOSEPH BOHMAN, one of the most 
 successful farmers of Carlton town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, was born in 
 Pilsen, Bohemia, February 15, 1854. 
 His father, also named Joseph, a 
 native of Germany, was born in 18 19, 
 and by trade was a baker. He married 
 Mary Fisher, and in 1S55 brought his 
 wife and three children to the United 
 States, Joseph being then an infant; after 
 their arrival here four more children were 
 born. The family first located in Mani- 
 towoc county. Wis., where the father 
 was employed in making shingles for 
 about a year, then came to Carlton town- 
 ship and homesteaded a farm, which he 
 at once proceeded to clear up for cultiva- 
 
 tion, but after a short time he sold a por- 
 tion of this farm to pay for the rest. He 
 then bought a portion of another one, 
 which he tilled until 1863, when he went 
 into the saloon business on the same farm. 
 This he followed about eighteen years, 
 then sold and lived in retirement until his 
 death, which occurred December 6, 1892. 
 His wife was born in Germany in 1824, 
 and died in Carlton in 1877. 
 
 Joseph Bohman, the subject proper of 
 this sketch and the third of the seven 
 children alluded to above, passed his boy- 
 hood in attending the schools of Carlton 
 township, and his earlier manhood in 
 assisting in cultivating the home farm. 
 At the age of twenty-four he started 
 farming on his own account, and he has 
 proven himself to be one of the best man- 
 agers and one of the most successful 
 farmers in Carlton township. Mr. Boh- 
 man was united in marriage, J une 1 8, 1877, 
 with Miss Barbara Viska, who was born 
 in Bohemia December 6, 1859, a daugh- 
 ter of Joseph and Josephine Viska, who 
 came to the United States in 1864, and 
 settled in Carlton. To the union of 
 Joseph Bohman and Barbara (Viska) 
 Bohman have come four children, their 
 names and dates of birth being as follows: 
 Joseph, November 10, 1879; Emma, 
 September 2, 1881; Mary, July 12, 1883, 
 and Polly, December 29, 1889. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bohman are members of the Catho- 
 lic Church; socially he is affiliated with 
 the Royal Arcanum, and politically he is 
 a Republican. He has held several town- 
 ship offices, the duties of which he has 
 performed with fidelity and to the full 
 satisfaction of the public. He and his 
 family enjoy the respect of their neigh- 
 bors, and he is looked upon as being one 
 of Carlton's most substantial citizens. 
 
 FRANCIS BELANGER has been 
 actively identified with farming 
 and lumbering in Door county, 
 and especially in Sturgeon Bay 
 township. He is a Canadian by birth,. 
 
596 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 having first seen the Hght March 1 3, 1 845, 
 in Charrington, (.)uebec. and is a son of 
 Francis Belanger, who was also a native 
 of Canada, where he owned a farm. 
 Francis, Sr. , was a carriage maker by 
 trade. He was twice married, and had 
 a family of eleven children — eight sons 
 and three daughters — our subject being 
 the eldest child by the first wife, who 
 died in Canada. The father died in 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Our subject received a good common- 
 school education, in the French language, 
 which he speaks and writes fluently. He 
 remained on the home farm up to the age 
 of si.xteen years, \\'hen he went to Troy, 
 N. Y. , and commenced work in a brick- 
 \'ard, at $15 per month and board, con- 
 tinuing to work there for three summers, 
 during the winter time living at home. 
 Having acquired considerable knowledge 
 of the business, he went to North Adams, 
 Mass. , where with his e.xperience he could 
 command higher wages for the same 
 work, being employed there one summer, 
 and in December, 1866, he came to Stur- 
 geon Bay, Wis. , expecting to find em- 
 ployment, lumbering, but his first work 
 was at Fish Creek, Door county, where 
 the vessel " Ludington " was then being 
 built. After coming here he engaged in 
 various occupations, principally lumber- 
 ing, remaining in the employ of A. W. 
 Lawrence for eighteen years, in the lum- 
 ber woods during the winter season, and 
 in mills during the summer time, for 
 nine winters holding the position of fore- 
 man, and generally acting as head sawyer 
 in the mills. 
 
 On April 29, 1872, Mr. Belanger was 
 married, in Sturgeon Bay, to Jane Be- 
 langer (no blood relation), a native of 
 Ottawa, Canada, and daughter of Francis 
 Belanger, and in 1873 he bought a lot in 
 Sturgeon Bay, on which he erected a 
 residence, where they resided for si.\ 
 years, when he sold it. Then, in 1879, 
 he bought from A. W. Lawrence the 
 eighty-acre farm he now owns and occu- 
 pies, paying $1,600 for same. Not a 
 
 stump had been removed from the place 
 at that time, and Mr. Belanger lost no 
 time in commencing the work of clearing, 
 now having fifty acres of his farm in till- 
 able condition. His attention is now 
 given chiefly to farming, though he is still 
 a first-class sawyer, and also engages in 
 lumbering occasionally. By assiduous 
 industry he has succeeded in converting 
 his land into a productive farm, which he 
 is continually improving, having erected a 
 comfortable house, a barn and other out- 
 buildings, and in various ways added to 
 its beauty and value. Mr. Belanger's in- 
 dustrj' has met with well-merited success, 
 but he has also had his misfortunes in 
 business, meeting his greatest setback in 
 1 87 1. While in the lumber business in 
 Gardner township. Door county, in part- 
 nership with another man, they were vis- 
 ited by fire, Mr. Belanger barely escaping 
 with his own life, and, besides losing the 
 work of a whole summer, lost three thous- 
 and dollars in lumber and a valuable mare 
 worth $250 — one of the team which drew 
 their supply wagon. Our subject was at 
 work again within a month, however, and 
 though the loss was especially severe at 
 the time his never-failing perseverance and 
 energy placed him once more on a sound 
 footing. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Belanger have been 
 born children as follows: Josephine, 
 Willie, Emily, Eva, Leo, Jurdich, and 
 Leonard, living, and one son that died in 
 infanc}'. The family are Catholics in re- 
 ligious connection. Mr. Belanger was a 
 Democrat in political sentiment until 
 1893, \\hen he enlisted in the ranks of the 
 Republican part\', of which he is now a 
 stanch supporter. 
 
 JAMES KEOGH, cashier of the Bank 
 of Sturgeon Bay, and one of the 
 most highly respected citizens and 
 leading business men of Door county, 
 is a native of Dublin, Ireland, born April 
 26, 1850. 
 
 In 1852 his parents, James and Mary 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 599 
 
 (Moore) Keogh, emigrated with their in- 
 fant son to Canada, locating near Dunn- 
 ville, Ontario, whence after a residence of 
 three years they moved to the United 
 States, setthng, in 1855, in Forestville, 
 Door Co., Wis., where they were en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits up to their 
 death, the father dying December 5, 1890, 
 the mother in September, i860. They 
 had four children — John, Edward, Luke 
 and James — all living at Forestville ex- 
 cept James. 
 
 At the common schools of Forestville 
 our subject received his elementary educa- 
 tion, which was supplemented with a 
 course of study at the State Normal 
 School at Oshkosh, prior to which, how- 
 ever, he had taught school some three 
 years. After leaving the Normal he again 
 taught school three years, during his en- 
 tire six-years' career as teacher in various 
 parts of Door county — Nasewaupee, Clay 
 Banks, and Forestville — proving an able, 
 efficient and successful educator, and he 
 is yet held in the most respectful remem- 
 brance by many of his old pupils. In 
 1874 he came to Sturgeon Bay, having 
 been elected to the office of register of 
 deeds on the independent ticket; in the 
 following year his re-nomination to the 
 same office came from the Republicans, 
 was endorsed by the Democrats, and his 
 election was accomplished by the people. 
 For fourteen continuous years, or until 
 1888, Mr. Keogh served faithfully and 
 diligently in this incumbency, only leav- 
 ing it to accept a position as cashier in 
 the Bank of Sturgeon Bay, and that his 
 services were fully appreciated by his 
 constituents was manifested by his re- 
 peated re-elections. In fact, his admin- 
 istrative ability was so justly recognized 
 by his fellow citizens that they promptly 
 called him to other positions of public 
 honor and responsibility, to wit: In 1878 
 he was elected county superintendent of 
 schools, and filled the office two years; 
 served as alderman several terms, school 
 commissioner, and president of the board 
 
 of education at different times, also as 
 34 
 
 justice of the peace, and during the years 
 1892-93 was mayor of Sturgeon Bay, his 
 nominations coming invariably from the 
 Republican party, of which, since qual- 
 ified to vote, he has been an active, con- 
 scientious member. From 1891 till the 
 spring of 1893 he was secretary of the 
 Sturgeon Bay Dock Company, and since 
 January, 1889, he has, with character- 
 istic ability and fidelity, been identi- 
 fied with the Bank of Sturgeon Bay as 
 cashier. He is also president of the 
 Brown Manufacturing Co., of Sturgeon 
 Bay, and is a director of the Ahnapee & 
 Western railroad, of which he was one of 
 the organizers and proprietors of the 
 Sturgeon Bay branch. On March 3, 
 1883, Mr. Keogh was admitted to the bar 
 as an attorney at law, and in April, 
 1895, he was elected city attorney of the 
 city of Sturgeon Bay. 
 
 On December 29, 1S73, Mr. Keogh 
 was married in Ahnapee to Miss Rose C. 
 Simon, daughter of Peter Simon, an hon- 
 ored pioneer of Door county, and the fol- 
 lowing named seven children have been 
 born to them: Ida, Ella, Nora, Isabella, 
 Lillie, Walter and Eulalia. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Keogh are members of the Roman 
 Catholic Church; he is president of 
 Branch No. 59, of the Catholic Knights 
 of Wisconsin, and State delegate of the 
 Catholic Order of Foresters; was elected 
 a member of the Wisconsin State As- 
 sembly, serving in the session of 1893, 
 and served on the committees of Insur- 
 ance, Banks and Banking, besides others. 
 He has always been a prominent and influ- 
 ential leader in city affairs, and is a 
 powerful supporter of any cause to which 
 he may give his sanction. 
 
 PETER A. PETERSON. The 
 township of Nasewaupee, Door 
 county, is settled largely by for- 
 eigners, who by their thrift and in-, 
 dustry have made that section of the 
 country to consist of a succession of well- 
 cultivated farms. 
 
6oo 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Conspicuous among this industrious 
 class is Peter A. Peterson, who was born 
 in Norway in 1S53, son of Kittie and 
 Ingebor Kristene Thorscn Peterson, who 
 came to the United States, and in 1856 
 to Wisconsin, where they subsequently 
 settled in Sturgeon Hay, the father work- 
 ing in a sawmill. He was a sailor while 
 living in Norway, and naturally sought a 
 home near the water. Soon after com- 
 ing to Sturgeon Hay he bought a bit of 
 woodland which in time he converted into 
 a home where he remained until July 2, 
 1866, when he was killed by a tree, while 
 peeling bark. His wife died Julv 22, 
 18S5. Their family consisted of three 
 children; Peter A., our subject; Nicko- 
 lena, who died when four years old; and 
 Andrew, who now makes his home in 
 Sawyer, Uoor county, Wisconsin. 
 
 The subject of this memoir was three 
 years old when he accompanied his par- 
 ents to Nasewaupee township, and was 
 reared on the farm he now owns. The 
 common schools were not too plentiful in 
 that locality at that time, but he had the 
 advantages of the best there was, and be- 
 tween times helped his father with the 
 lighter work on the farm. As he grew 
 older he came t(j like the free indej)endent 
 life of a farmer, and decided to follow- 
 that vocation through life; he now owns 
 eighty acres of land, fifty of which are 
 under cultivation. He is a good farmer 
 and careful manager, and his produce is 
 of the best that is raised in the township. 
 
 Mr. Peterson votes the Republican 
 ticket, and takes much interest in local 
 politics. He was married in Sturgeon 
 Bay township .\pril 15, 1885, to Miss 
 Louisa Anderson, daughter of August 
 Anderson, a prominent farmer of Nase- 
 waupee, who came here in 1879. The 
 family were natives of Sweden. Mrs. 
 Peterson is the mother of five children: 
 Ethel May, Clarence, Emcline. Jo.sephine 
 and Elsie. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson being 
 the children of early pioneers, their youth 
 was spent in the utmost simplicit)'. Their 
 modes of recreation were few and of a 
 
 primitive kiiid.but contained for them more 
 real enjoyment, no doubt, than the chil- 
 dren of the present generation would get 
 from the most elaborate entertainment. 
 Mr. PetersoTi takes a paternal pride in his 
 family of little ones, and intends to give 
 them better educational advantages than 
 was possible f<jr him to have had. 
 
 GEORGE L^'CKE may appropri- 
 ately be termed " a man with a 
 grandfather." His ancestor, two 
 generations back, was Captain 
 Louis L. Lycke. a native of P'rance, who 
 fought under Napoleon and fell in the 
 famous battle of Waterloo (in 181 1;). His 
 son, our subject's father, Louis L. , Jr., 
 was born in France in 1801, received an 
 excellent education, and was possessed of 
 much natural relinement. When a yf)img 
 man he started out to seek his fortune, 
 and his inclination leading him to Den- 
 mark, he there purchased a farm, and suc- 
 ceeded in winning the hand in marriage 
 of Miss Dora lUirring. Si.\ children were 
 born to them, of whom Fred, the young- 
 est, is dead; the others are: Anton, 
 George, Laura (of Demnark), Ferdinand 
 (of Cirand Forks county, N. Dak.), and 
 Herman (a cigar manufacturer, of Cincin- 
 nati. Ohio). 
 
 Our subject was born March 4. 1841, 
 in Denmark, where he received a practi- 
 cal education, and at the age of seven- 
 teen years was apprenticed to the mason's 
 trade, which business he followed in his 
 native place until 1871, when he emi- 
 grated to the United States, locating in 
 Chicago, where he was engaged in mason 
 work seven years. In 1878 he removed 
 to Washington Island, Wis., where he 
 bought 160 acres of heavily-timbered 
 land, which he cleared and prepared for 
 cultivation; he has also erected a brick 
 house and other buildings proportionately 
 good. 
 
 Mr. Lycke is affiliated with the Re- 
 publican party, who have elected him 
 chairman for si.\ consecutive years, which 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 60 1 
 
 office he still holds. He is an honored 
 member of the Lutheran Church, and 
 contributes liberally of his means toward 
 its support. Previous to his coming to 
 America he was married to Miss Katha- 
 rine Olson, a native of Denmark, born 
 May 27, 1842, and they have seven chil- 
 dren: Abel, Lewis, Dora, Frank, Annie, 
 Walter and Laura; the first three men- 
 tioned reside in Clark county, Wisconsin. 
 
 NIELS FRUS, a native of Den- 
 mark, born May 27, 1850, is a son 
 of Mathias Frus, who was an ex- 
 tensive horse and cattle dealer in 
 Denmark, and a man of good education 
 and of considerable influence. He was 
 married to Margaret Nielsen, by whom 
 he had four children: Mads (deceased), 
 Niels, subject of sketch; Hans, of Den- 
 mark; and Anton, now a resident of Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Niels Frus attended the public schools 
 of Denmark, and being an apt pupil se- 
 cured a fairly good education during the 
 brief years that he was able to attend. 
 His father owned a large farm, and he was 
 away much of the time buying and sell- 
 ing stock, so young Niels, on whom a 
 great deal of responsibility fell in his 
 early life, was left to look after the affairs 
 at home. At seventeen \'ears of age he 
 left the parental roof, and from that time 
 on earned his own living unassisted. In 
 1870 he emigrated to the United States, 
 landing in New York with just two dollars 
 in his pocket, and fortunately found em- 
 ployment at once, so he remained there 
 six months working in a brick \ard; then 
 removed to Washington Island, Door Co., 
 Wisconsin, where he worked for others 
 for some time, subse(|uentK' buying eighty 
 acres of land. His purchase was covered 
 with timber still untouched by the hand 
 of the woodman, but Mr. Frus cleared 
 the ground himself, and in due time be- 
 gan raising crops. The soil proved to be 
 unusually fertile, and his harvests now 
 
 amply repay him for his long season of 
 irksome toil. 
 
 In politics Mr. Frus votes with the 
 Democratic party, and has filled the office 
 of supervisor with satisfaction to the com- 
 munity at large, is well posted on the af- 
 fairs of his adopted country, and talks in- 
 telligently on the leading topics of the 
 day. He possesses a strong religious 
 vein which has induced him to unite with 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 On January 13, 1876, our subject was 
 married to Miss Christina Berg, a native 
 of Norway, born October 22, 1844, and 
 three children were born to them: Mollie, 
 Nora and Emma. Mr. Frus takes an 
 active interest in all educational matters, 
 and is giving his daughters a practical ed- 
 ucation. 
 
 ARNI GUDMUNDSEN is an Ice- 
 lander by birth, and comes of a 
 famil\- of scholars and profession- 
 al men. His father, Thordur, 
 was a graduate of the University of Cop- 
 enhagen, in the law department, and was 
 appointed judge of a District Court, which 
 office he held for many years, being once 
 appointed to till a vacancy as Justice of 
 the Supreme Court. He also served as a 
 member of the legislature, and attracted 
 much attention by his clear knowledge of 
 the law and keen judgment in legislation. 
 He was married to Johanna Knudsen, an 
 estimable lady of Danish descent on her 
 father's side, and of Iceland extraction on 
 her mother's. They were the parents of 
 eleven children, of whom five sons and 
 two daughters are still living. 
 
 Our subject was born February 2, 
 1845, in Reykjavik, the capital city of 
 Iceland, is the eldest son, and had private 
 tutors under whom he received an 
 education in the Icelandic as well as 
 in the Danish language. When seven- 
 teen years of age he secured a position as 
 clerk in a general store where he remained 
 until 1 871; then was secretary to a dis- 
 trict judge for less than one year. In the 
 
6o2 
 
 COMMEMOnATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 latter part of the year following he emi- 
 grated to the United States, coming west 
 to Milwaukee, Wis., whence after a short 
 time he removed to Washington Island, 
 Door Co. , Wis. , where he worked at com- 
 mon labor five years. In 1878 he was 
 married to Miss Haldora Petersen, by 
 whom he had nine children, as follows: 
 Gudnj' Anna, Johanna Andrea (deceas- 
 ed), Margaret S., Laura M., Thordur, 
 Magnus, Paul, John A. and Halldor. 
 After his marriage he bought 160 acres of 
 timbered land in Door county, of which 
 he subsequently sold eighty acres, and 
 improved the rest, erecting good buildings 
 and making the place most attractive and 
 habitable. He has discovered that his 
 land contains a rich deposit of tine-grade 
 marble, which will be most valuable when 
 developed. 
 
 Mr. Gudmundsen votes the Republi- 
 can ticket, and has been treasurer of 
 Washington township for fifteen years, 
 justice of the peace fourteen years, and 
 in I S90 was appointed to take the census. 
 His wife died November 8, 1893, aged 
 thirty-nine years, and is buried in Wash- 
 ington Harbor cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Gudmundsen were both members of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 ARCHIE WILTSE, who devotes 
 his time and energies to agricul- 
 tural pursuits, to merchandising 
 and to the manufacture of cheese 
 in Liberty Grove township, Door county, 
 was born March 28, 1835, '" Cattaraugus 
 county, N. Y., and is the second in the 
 family of six children of Hiram and Al- 
 vira (Day) Wiltse. The father was a 
 farmer by occupation all his life. The 
 children of the family were Lorenzo, 
 Archie, Celestine, Clarissa, Judson, and 
 one who died in infancy. 
 
 The parents being in limited circum- 
 stances, the children early started out in 
 life to provide for their own maintenance, 
 except Archie, who aided his father, giv- 
 ing him the benefit of his services until 
 
 twenty-two years of age. The mother 
 died when our subject was only about 
 thirteen years old, and for his second 
 wife the father wedded Mary Ann Peck. 
 She being also called to the home beyond, 
 Mr. Wiltse afterward married Rachel 
 Smith, and after her divorce was joined 
 in wedlock with a German lady. When 
 Archie Wiltse left home he went to work 
 in a brick yard where he remained some 
 eight seasons, receiving at first only fifteen 
 dollars per month in compensation for his 
 services, but afterward his wages were 
 increased to sixty dollars per month. His 
 early life was thus one of hardship, in 
 which he labored long and late in order to 
 acquire enough money to meet his living 
 expenses. Industry, enterprise and per- 
 severance, however, have proved to him 
 the rounds of the ladder on which he has 
 climbed to success, and overcoming the 
 difficulties and obstacles in his path he 
 has steadily worked his way upward. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Wiltse chose as a com- 
 panion and helpmeet on life's journey 
 Miss Martha O. Partridge, daughter of 
 William and Betsy (Powers) Partridge, 
 their wedding being celebrated in Pal- 
 myra, Wis., whither Mr. Wiltse had re- 
 moved with his parents in 1846. He 
 there remained until 1871, when he came 
 to Liberty Grove township, Door county, 
 where he had purchased 160 acres of 
 land at five dollars per acre, a tract lying 
 south of his present farm. Here, in con- 
 nection with his brother Judson, he built 
 a log cabin, 20 x 30 feet, in which he 
 lived for about three years. Archie 
 Wiltse then purchased i 50 acres of land, 
 on which stood a building that is now 
 used as a store room, but otherwise the 
 place was little improved. Wild game of 
 various kinds could be secured in the for- 
 ests, through which no roads were cut, 
 and the place was all in a primitive con- 
 dition and unimproved. In 1872, he be- 
 gan clearing the land, and, almost entirely 
 unaided, placed ninety acres under cul- 
 tivation. To his original purchase he has 
 added until within the boundaries of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 603 
 
 farm is now comprised 350 acres of good 
 land. In 1872 he also built a pier, which 
 he has since used, and in 1881 he em- 
 barked in general merchandising, which 
 he has since carried on continuously in 
 connection with the pursuits of agricul- 
 ture and the manufacture of cheese. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Wiltse were born 
 six children, only one of whom is now 
 living: Charles died at the age of sixteen 
 years; Jessie M. (i), when eleven years 
 old; Jessie M. (2), at the age of two and 
 a half years; Edward, at the age of two 
 months; Edward is the only surviv- 
 ing member of the family; Jessie M. (3); 
 died when aged about sixteen months. 
 Since casting his first presidential vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Wiltse has affili- 
 ated with the Republican party, and 
 warmly advocates its measures. He has 
 held the offices of assessor and town 
 clerk for one year each, and was chair- 
 man of the town twelve years, town 
 board of supervisors about twelve years, 
 filling the office so acceptably that he was 
 constantly re-elected. He is true to 
 every trust reposed in him, whether pub- 
 lic or private, and has the confidence and 
 high regard of a large circle of friends and 
 acquaintances whom we feel assured will 
 receive with interest this record of his 
 life. 
 
 DAVID SHAMPO is one of Wis- 
 consin's native sons, born in ttie 
 city of Green Bay, in November, 
 1842. His father, Oliver Shampo, 
 was a native of Montreal, Canada, and a 
 shoemaker by trade, but during much of 
 his life he followed farming. When a young 
 man he wedded Mary Mansou, and to 
 them were born ten children, of whom 
 David is the oldest. He could attend 
 school but little, and that in the winter 
 season, for his services were needed upon 
 the home farm, and to his father he gave 
 the benefit of his labors during his minor- 
 ity. He has witnessed a great change in 
 the common schools since his own youth, 
 
 and in this fact rejoices, for he is a warm 
 friend of education. 
 
 In February, i860, in Bay Settlement, 
 Wis., Mr. Shampo married Miss Mary 
 Leason, a native of Green Bay, and then 
 located in Scott township, Brown Co., 
 Wis. , where he made his home for about 
 twenty-six years, coming then to Door 
 county. In September, 1864, he enlisted 
 in Company D, Sixteenth Wis. V. I., 
 which was sent from Madison to Rock 
 Station, Ga., and there joined Sherman's 
 army which marched to Savannah. In 
 that city Mr. Shampo was taken sick with 
 typhoid fever, and lay ill from Decem- 
 ber until the following April, when he re- 
 joined his command at Raleigh, the day 
 before the surrender of Johnston. After 
 the South had laid down its arms he went 
 with his regiment to Washington, and 
 there participated in the grand review, 
 the most brilliant military pageant ever 
 seen on the Western Hemisphere, after 
 which he was honorably discharged in 
 Madison, Wis., in June, 1865. He was 
 fortunate in that he was never wounded, 
 but the sickness and exposure he endured 
 was fully as bad, and he returned to his 
 home in Bay Settlement much broken in 
 health. In March, 1876, Mr. Shampo 
 sold his farm in Scott township. Brown 
 county, and came to Door county, where 
 he purchased forty acres of land on Sec- 
 tion 10, Jacksonport township, at once 
 beginning to clear it of the heavy growth 
 of timber with which it was covered. The 
 trees quickly fell before his sturdy strokes, 
 and when the land was cleared furrows 
 were turned and crops planted until the 
 once wild tract was made to yield rich 
 harvests to the owners. The boundaries 
 of his farm have been extended until it 
 now comprises 120 acres, forty of which 
 are under cultivation, and the substantial 
 and modern improvements thereon give 
 evidence of the careful supervision of the 
 owner. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Shampo have been 
 born ten children: David, Frank and 
 Joseph, who reside in Jacksonport town- 
 
6o4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ship; George, at liome; Marj', wife of 
 Josepli Miner, a resident of Egg Harbor, 
 Wis. ; Jane, wife of Alex La Bombard, 
 of Rapid River, Mich. ; Matilda, wife 
 of Isaac Brennett, who is located in De- 
 Pere, Wis.; Emi]\-. at home; Louis, who 
 died at the age of fonrteen years; and 
 Virginia, who died in Brown county. 
 Wis., when three months old. Mr. 
 Shanipo is a member of the Catholic 
 Church, and is affiliated with Schuyler 
 Post, G. A. R., of Sturgeon Bay. Wis. 
 He is one of the supporters of the Re- 
 publican party in his township, and 
 warmly advocates its principles. His 
 fellow townsmen have demonstrated their 
 confidence in his ability by frequently 
 calling upon him to serve in positions of 
 public trust, and his first election to office 
 was as supervisor of his town.ship, in 
 which capacity he served three years. He 
 was then made chairman of the town 
 board, and creditably served in that posi- 
 tion five years; has also been assessor 
 three years, and was school treasurer five 
 years. His defective hearing, resulting 
 from sickness and exposure in the army, 
 has caused him to retire, to a certain ex- 
 tent, from politics, although his friends 
 greatl)' desire to retain him in office, and 
 he is now serving as assessor. Mr. 
 Shampo is widely known in Door county 
 as a good neighbor and representative 
 citizen, and in a high degree enjoys the 
 respect of a large circle of warm friends. 
 
 HANS TORSTENSON is one of the 
 largest landowners in the north- 
 ern part of Door county, of 
 which he has been a well-known 
 resident for many years. He is a native 
 of Norway, born December i.S, 1846, son 
 of Torsten and Anna (Erickson) Hanson, 
 farming people, who reared a family of 
 eight children, viz. : Bertha, Theodore, 
 Randa, Hans, Cora, Ole. Edward and 
 Julius. 
 
 Our subject enjoyed in his boyhood 
 but limited educational opportunities, 
 
 never having attended school, but re- 
 ceived all his instruction at home. For 
 eight years he was employed by one Ole 
 Oleson, a storekeeper, the compensation 
 for his services being $10 per jear in 
 money, a suit of clothes and a pair of 
 boots. Believing that he could do better 
 in the New World he decided to emigrate, 
 and in 1869 sailed from Christiania on a 
 vessel bound for Quebec, whence, after 
 landing, he came directly to Chicago, 111., 
 soon obtaining employment at $10 per 
 month, which he then considered very 
 good wages. He worked six months as 
 a farm hand, and then engaged as team- 
 ster at $35 per month, continuing thus 
 for about three years. In 1872 became 
 to Ephraim, Door Co., Wis., where for 
 two years following he was employed by 
 A. Anderson, at teaming, and then pur- 
 chased forty acres of land at Liberty 
 Grove, cleared and in tillable condition, 
 paying one thousand dollars therefor. 
 In 1873 he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Minnie Nelson, daughter of Carl and 
 Anna C. Nelson, and the young couple 
 took up their residence on the farm, re- 
 maining there eight years, at the end of 
 which time Mr. Torstenson sold the place 
 for five hundred dollars, and coming to 
 Hedge Hog, purchased 160 acres of tim- 
 berland. Building a dock here, he com- 
 menced the wood business, in which he 
 has since been prosperously engaged. By 
 various purchases he acquired ownership 
 of over 640 acres of land in the neighbor- 
 hood, of which 280 acres are still in its 
 primiti\e condition, and has not yet been 
 touched b)- the axe. Mr. Torstenson is 
 one of the best known men in his section, 
 and for fourteen consecutive years was 
 the faithful and efficient postmaster at 
 Hedge Hog, having been but recently re- 
 moved from the office, for political reasons 
 only, he being a stanch member of the 
 Republican party. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Torstenson were 
 born eight children, namely: Olive (de- 
 ceased), Cornelius, Ella, Clarence (de- 
 ceased). Alma, Seldon, Clara, and Adolph. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 605 
 
 In religious connection our subject and his 
 wife are both members of the Brethren 
 Church at Ephraim. 
 
 JARED A. JONES, of Jacksonport, 
 is one of the self-made men of Door 
 county, one who has worked his 
 way upward from a humble position 
 to a condition of comparative affluence, 
 overcoming the difficulties in his path by 
 perseverance and good management. 
 
 He was born in Westbrook, Middlesex 
 Co. , Conn. , April 8, 1 846, a son of Erastus 
 Jones, a vessel caulker by occupation, and 
 Elizabeth (Spencer) Jones, who died 
 leaving a family of five children, Jared A. 
 being the only son, and at that time but 
 eght years old. His parents being in 
 somewhat limited circumstances, his 
 school privileges were in consequence 
 meager. Upon his mother's death he 
 went to live on the farm of his grand- 
 father, Capt. William Spencer, and in 
 1 868 came west in company with his 
 father and brother-in-law, E. A. Hill, to 
 Egg Harbor, Wis., where the daughter, 
 Jerusha, now the wife of P. W. Kirtland, 
 was living. The following spring the father 
 returned east, and died in Westbrook, 
 Conn., in the spring of 1871, at the age of 
 fifty-seven 3ears. Jared A. had followed 
 fishing along the coast of New England, 
 and when he came to Wisconsin he began 
 business in his own interest, by engaging 
 in fishing near Jacksonport, Wis., and 
 later at "The Door." In the spring of 
 1870 he purchased 120 acres of new land 
 ■on Section 20, Jacksonport township, and 
 made improvements upon it, first by lum- 
 He now owns 160 acres of good 
 
 bering. 
 
 land, about forty acres of which are 
 cleared. For nearly twenty years he has 
 followed fishing, and for three years he 
 sailed the lakes. Physically he is a pow- 
 erful man, and his life has been one of 
 hard labor, but he is now in comfortable 
 circumstances. 
 
 In 1880, in Jacksonport, Wis., Mr. 
 Jones was married to Miss Elida Phillips, 
 
 a native of the Empire State. They 
 have a pleasant home, and it is the abode 
 of hospitality. In his political views Mr. 
 Jones is a Republican, a stanch adherent 
 of the party principles, and has served 
 his fellow townsmen as supervisor for a 
 period of live years, while for two years 
 he filled the office of school clerk. His 
 public and private life are alike above 
 reproach, no trust reposed in him is ever 
 betrayed, and he is a valued citizen, one 
 who takes an active interest in everything 
 pertaining to the welfare of the commun- 
 ity, the upbuilding of the county and its 
 general prosperity. 
 
 HENRY POEHLER, one of the 
 most industrious and 'enterprising 
 agriculturists of Door county, and 
 the owner of a valuable farm of 
 seventy acres, was born August lo, 1861, 
 in Ozaukee county, Wis. , of German 
 lineage. 
 
 His father, Frederick Poehler, was a 
 native of Germany, and in the family 
 were nine children, Henry being the third 
 in order of birth. As his parents were in 
 limited circumstances he was early thrown 
 upon his own resources, and when not 
 yet twelve years of age began to earn his 
 living as a farm hand. He continued 
 with his first employer four years, giving 
 entire satisfaction, for he was industrious 
 and enterprising. At the e.xpiration of 
 that time he came to Door county, locat- 
 ing in Sturgeon Bay township, where he 
 chopped wood for John Gilbert; subse- 
 quently went to the lumber woods, and 
 was there employed three 3'ears. He 
 and his brother worked together, and the 
 greater part of their earnings were given 
 to their parents. On September 28, 
 1885, in Sevastopol township, he was 
 married to Miss Jessie Blank, who was 
 born in Germany, a daughter of Martin 
 Blank, and who, at the time of her mar- 
 riage, was serving as a domestic in Door 
 county. By their union have been born 
 five children — Louisa, Fred, Amelia, Hat- 
 
6o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL KECORD. 
 
 tie and Edward — and the family circle 
 yet remains unbroken. 
 
 At the time of his marriage Mr. 
 Poehler owned eighty acres of land which 
 he had cultivated and improved, building 
 thereon a good residence. Not a tree 
 had been cut down when he became the 
 owner of the place, but he at once began 
 to clear it, and in course of time it was 
 placed under the plow. In 1892 he pur- 
 chased an additional eighty-acre tract, 
 and now has a quarter section of land, of 
 which fifty acres are under cultivation. 
 He exercises his right of franchise in sup- 
 port of the Democracy, and holds mem- 
 bership with the Lutheran Church. Mr. 
 Poehler has led a busy life, and some- 
 thing of his labor is shown by the fact 
 that the expression ' ' as hard a worker as 
 the Poehler boys" is a common compari- 
 son in his locality. He is destined to 
 become a rich man, for he is not only 
 industrious but also possesses good busi- 
 ness and e.xecutive ability, and his career 
 has already been a prosperous one. 
 
 GEORGE M. ROBERTS is a na- 
 tive of Massachusetts, born in 
 Ncwburyport, October 30, 1831, 
 and a son of Emanuel and Sarah 
 (Odderway) Roberts, the former a native 
 of Spain, the latter of the Keystone State. 
 Emanuel belonged to a wealthy family, 
 and when a lad of nine summers came to 
 the United States on a vessel which was 
 owned by his uncle, and "which was 
 en route for Nova Scotia. He was left 
 at Newburyport, Mass., and on the re- 
 turn trip was to have been again taken on 
 board, but no one ever came for him, and 
 for some years he lived with a minister. 
 He then married and became the father 
 of eleven children — seven sons and four 
 daughters. Both parents died in the old 
 Bay State. 
 
 George M. Roberts received but 
 meagre educational privileges, and while 
 still young learned ship carpentering, 
 which he followed for some years. On 
 
 August 25, 1853, he was married at New- 
 buryport, Mass., to Miss Rachel Phil- 
 brick, who was born in Jefferson township, 
 Lincoln Co., Maine, April 23, 1834, and 
 is a daughter of Peter and Fannie (Noyes) 
 Philbrick, who had twelve children, nine 
 of them daughters, eight of whom became 
 school teachers. Upon his marriage, Mr. 
 Roberts located in Newburyport, Mass., 
 where he lived si.x years, working at ship 
 carpentering. In New England he con- 
 tinued his residence until about 1857, 
 when he migrated to Shebo\gan Falls, 
 Wis., reaching that place with little cap- 
 ital save a persevering spirit and a com- 
 mendable industry. At Sheboygan Falls 
 he secured work in a sawmill, hut after a 
 short time went to Two Rivers, where he 
 worked at the carpenter's trade except 
 through the winter seasons, when he was 
 employed as a lumberman. Subsequently 
 he removed to Manitowoc, Wis., and for 
 a time worked in a shipyard, after which 
 he returned to Two Rivers, where he was 
 employed at carpentering and in the lum- 
 ber woods. While at that place he also 
 began fishing along the west shore of 
 Lake Michigan till the spring of 1861, 
 when he removed to Claybanks, Wis. , 
 fishing in that vicinity until 1882. Locat- 
 ing in Section 18, Sevastopol township, 
 in that year, he purchased a small tract 
 of land, and has since engaged in fishing 
 and farming. He also owns 160 acres of 
 land in Claybanks township, and has a 
 considerable amount of this world's goods, 
 acquired through his own well-directed 
 efforts. 
 
 Five children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Roberts, to wit: George, a farmer 
 and fisherman, of Claybanks township; 
 Emma, wife of Theodore Delelle, of 
 Claybanks; Carrie, who has successfully 
 engaged in teaching for seven years; 
 Nettie, wife of John Pallister, of Sevasto- 
 pol township; and Fannie, who died in 
 infanc}'. ^Ir. Roberts exercises his right 
 of franchise in support of the men and 
 measures of the Republican party, with 
 which he has been identified since its or- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 607 
 
 ganization, and his first Presidential vote 
 was cast for Fillmore. He has never 
 been an office seeker, but has served as 
 treasurer of Claybanks township; was 
 treasurer of the school district, and is now 
 serving in that capacity in District No. 3, 
 and for about seven years filled the office 
 of supervisor with credit to himself and 
 satisfaction to his constituents. Socially, 
 he is connected with the I. O. O. F. , has 
 been a Freemason for thirty years, and 
 is a member of the K. O. T. M. A self- 
 made man, he deserves great credit for 
 his success in life, which is due entirely 
 to his own efforts. 
 
 SAMUEL CHRISTOPHER HAN- 
 SEN, who has followed the voca- 
 tions of tanner, cabinet maker, 
 stair builder and farmer, was born 
 April 3, 1823, in Denmark, a son of Hans 
 Hansen, a weaver by occupation, who 
 died when Samuel was but two years old. 
 The mother, Inger Christina Kroer Han- 
 sen, had six children — three daughters 
 and three sons, Samuel being the second 
 son. 
 
 Our subject received a common-school 
 education, and when but ten years of age 
 left home and began to earn his own liv- 
 ing. For six years he worked in a tan- 
 nery, and at the age of sixteen was ap- 
 prenticed to the cabinet-making trade, 
 which took six years to complete. This 
 occupation he followed twenty-two years 
 in Denmark, and in 1867 he emigrated to 
 America, where, in Chicago, he worked 
 at his trade two years, and then followed 
 stair building five years. On his arrival 
 in Chicago he had but fifty cents that he 
 could call his own, yet he lived upon that 
 small sum eight days, when he was for- 
 turnate enough to secure work. In 1875 
 he removed to Washington Island, Door 
 Co. , Wis. , where, five years previously 
 he had invested in eighty acres of timber 
 land; on this he located, and then began 
 the tedious task of clearing and preparing 
 the ground for cultivation. His place is 
 
 now all cleared and in a high state of 
 cultivation, and amply repays him for all 
 of his past hard work. 
 
 Previous to his coming to the United 
 States Mr. Hansen was married in Den- 
 mark, to Godtfredsine Martine, who was 
 born May 20, 18 19, and they had three 
 children, viz. : Christophina Godtfred- 
 sine Martine, who died in Denmark; Jacob 
 Marcus Glasius, who died in Chicago; 
 and Godtfred Martin Samuel, now first 
 assistant lighthouse keeper at Pilot Island, 
 or Porte Des Morts. Mr. Hansen be- 
 longs to the Lutheran Church, as does 
 also his wife and son. In politics he is a 
 Republican, although taking no active 
 part in elections. He is a good neighbor 
 and public-spirited citizen, ever ready to 
 advance any cause which will benefit the 
 community. In his native land he saw 
 active service, as a soldier in the Danish 
 army, sharpshooters (infantry), in the war 
 between Denmark and Prussia during the 
 years 1848, 1849 and 1850, returning 
 home in 185 1. His son, Godtfred Martin 
 Samuel, was born in 1855, in Denmark; 
 was educated in the Danish and English 
 languages, and in 1 879 was married to Miss 
 Ellen Mary Olsen, of Norway, by whom 
 he has three children, named respectively: 
 Freetjoff Carl Marinus, Olivia Godtfred- 
 sina Wilhelmina Christophina and Hen- 
 rietta Julianna Caroline Mary. The 
 mother and children reside with the 
 grandparents, where their father comes 
 during his vacation from the lighthouse. 
 
 TELLACK AND ELLEN (HAL- 
 VERSON) HAINES, natives of 
 Norway, emigrated to Canada in 
 1848, and from there, after two 
 years, removed to Washington Co. , Wis. , 
 thence to Door county, locating in Union 
 township, and purchasing a farm which 
 they commenced at once to prepare for 
 cultivation. 
 
 After remaining upon this place some 
 seven years, they removed to Sturgeon 
 
•6oS 
 
 COMMEMORATiy'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Bay township, same county, where they 
 h'ved two years; tlience proceeded to Saw- 
 yer's Harbor, in same township, where 
 they again purchased land which they 
 had to clear. In 1880 they again changed 
 their location, this time moving to Nase- 
 waupee township, same county, settling 
 upon the present homestead, which now 
 -contains 200 acres, sixty-eight of which 
 are under cultivation. In the year of 
 their removal (1880) Mrs. Haines died, 
 the mother of the following children: 
 Oliver, who enlisted in the Civil war, and 
 died in hospital; Tellif, who lives at Stur- 
 geon Bay, Wis. ; Melvin, who makes his 
 home at Sawyer's Harbor, Wis. ; Mary, 
 wife of John Peterson; Elias; Christena, 
 now the wife of Hans Eliason; Oscar 
 (the last four mentioned live in Nasewau- 
 pce township, Wis.), and Eliza, wife of 
 Thomas Gillespie, of Sturgeon Bay town- 
 ship. Mr. Haines was remarried in 1884, 
 this time to Mrs. Simpson, of Manito- 
 woc county. 
 
 WILLIAM MOORE was born in 
 Essex county, N. Y. , in 1864, 
 and is a son of William Moore, 
 Sr. , who was born and reared 
 in Ireland, and emigrating to America set- 
 tled in Essex county, N. Y. , where he 
 met and married Miss Sarah McMahon, a 
 nati\e of New York. 
 
 He there engaged in teaming and in 
 burning charcoal until 1870, when he 
 started westward and became a resident 
 of F"orestville township, Uoor county. 
 Wis., settling upon the farm which is 
 now the home of our subject. It was a 
 wild and unimproved tract of i6o acres, 
 and was reached only by a trail, no roads 
 having yet been laid out. Mr. Moore 
 built a log house in 1871, and at once 
 began to clear and improve his farm, 
 which he continued to cultivate until 1 880, 
 when he was accidentally killed by a fall- 
 ing tree. His wife survived him about 
 •eight years, and died on the old home- 
 
 stead. Mr. Moore took a deep interest 
 in the cause of education, did all in his 
 power for its advancement, and aided in 
 organizing the school districts of the 
 neighborhood. In his family were ten 
 children — Ida, wife of William Johnson, 
 of Forestville; William; Agnes, wife of 
 John Gordon, of F"orestville; Sarah, wife 
 of John Cadigan, of New York; Maggie, 
 wife of Leo Otto, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 
 Richard; Efifie, who is living in Chicago, 
 111. ; Alice, who makes her home at Two 
 Creeks, Manitowoc Co., W'is. ; John, a 
 resident of Essex county, N. Y., and 
 Joseph, deceased. After the death of her 
 first husband, Mrs. Moore became the 
 wife of James Parish, and they had five 
 children — Cora, of Two Creeks, Wis. ; 
 Welthy, of Nasewaupee, Door Co. , Wis. ; 
 Gladys and George, both of Forestville 
 township; and Stephen, who is li\ing in 
 the same locality as Welthy. 
 
 William Moore, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, was a six-year-old child when 
 he came to the Badger State. The dis- 
 trict schools afforded him his educational 
 privileges, and upon the old home farm 
 in Forestville township he was reared, 
 much of the work of developing and im- 
 provmg the place devolving upon him, as 
 he was the eldest son. He cleared the 
 greater part of the farm, and at length 
 came into possession of a tract of 160 
 acres, fifty of which are under a high 
 state of cultivation. He has led a busy 
 life, j'et has found time to faithfull}' dis- 
 charge his duties of citizenship, and for 
 two years he served his fellow townsmen 
 as constable, discharging the duties of the 
 office with credit to himself and satisfac- 
 tion of his constituents. 
 
 In February, 1889, in Forestville 
 township, Mr. Moore married Miss Amel- 
 ia Brandt, who was born in Manitowoc 
 county. Wis., a daughter of August 
 Brandt, a native of Germany, who be- 
 came one of the early residents of Mani- 
 towoc county, thence removing to Forest- 
 ville township. Mr. and Mrs. Moore had 
 four children, two of whom are now liv- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 609 
 
 ing — Willie and Emily; Frankie died at 
 the age of six weeks, and Esther lived 
 only one week. Mr. Moore is a member 
 of the Episcopal Church, his wife of the 
 Lutheran, and both are well-known peo- 
 ple, held in high regard by their many 
 friends. 
 
 ANDREW JACOBSON. Finland, 
 Russia, has furnished to Door 
 county a number of worthy citi- 
 zens, among whom is the gentle- 
 man whose name is here recorded. He 
 was born June 28, 1849, and is a son of 
 Jacob and Helena Jacobson, who had a 
 family of four children — Mathias, August, 
 Henry and Andrew. The father died 
 when Andrew was only si.x^ months old, 
 and when his mother died he was sixteen 
 years of age. His early life was not an 
 easy one, for he had no school privileges 
 or other advantages, learning only to read 
 and write, and at the age of nine he began 
 work on a farm, being employed in this 
 way until he was seventeen years of age. 
 At that time, Mr. Jacobson shipped 
 before the mast, first sailing on the 
 vessel "Equator," which went on a 
 twenty-two-months' trip from Finland to 
 London, thence to New Zealand, from 
 there to Peru, South America, and to 
 France, returning thence to Finland. 
 His next trip was to Hamburg, and in 
 1874 he came to New Orleans on an Eng- 
 lish vessel. Later he sailed to France 
 and the West Indies on a six-months' 
 trip; after which he went to the Baltic 
 Sea, returning to Liverpool, England, and 
 to New York, where he joined the crew 
 of an American vessel, which was just 
 starting to Peru, going thence to Spain 
 and back to New York, having been away 
 from that harbor eighteen months. Two 
 months later we find him in Amsterdam, 
 Holland, where he engaged in a vessel 
 bound for the East Indies, which after a 
 voyage of nine months again reached the 
 port from which it sailed. Mr. Jacobson 
 
 then returned to his native land, from 
 which he had been absent four years, and 
 after a visit there went to Sweden, where 
 he engaged on a Swedish vessel bound 
 for London, where he shipped on an En- 
 glish vessel for New Orleans. In the lat- 
 ter city he hired on an American vessel, 
 just starting for Italy and France, and 
 reached New York again after a voyage 
 of seven months. For one summer Mr. 
 Jacobson sailed on the Great Lakes, and 
 in the fall of 1876 came to Baileys Har- 
 bor, Wis. For a few months he worked 
 in the woods, and then, in connection 
 with John and Andrew Brann, purchased 
 some land, the partnership continuing for 
 about three years, when by mutual con- 
 sent it was dissolved. 
 
 Mr. Jacobson was united in marriage 
 with Miss Ellen H. Neholm, daughter of 
 John and Helena Neholm, and to them 
 were born two children — John ahd Wil- 
 helmina, the latter of whom died in in- 
 fancy. Our subject and his wife now 
 have many friends and acquaintances 
 in this community, and are highly re- 
 spected people. When he made his 
 first purchase of land, he became owner 
 of a tract of forty acres upon which he 
 made his home for a year. In 1881 he 
 went to Chicago and worked at the car- 
 penter's trade for a time; then removed 
 to Sturgeon Bay, Wis. , and embarked in 
 the cigar business, having learned that 
 trade in Finland. For six months he 
 lived in Bay View, Wis., then returned 
 to his farm, continuing its cultivation for 
 about five years, or until 1886, when he 
 came to Baileys Harbor and rented a 
 saloon which he conducted two years, 
 after which he purchased the house which 
 he now occupies, and turned his attention 
 to the manufacture of cigars, which in- 
 dustry still occupies his time and atten- 
 tion. In politics he is a Republican, but 
 has never sought or desired official prefer- 
 ment for himself. His life has been an 
 eventful one, and his extensive travels 
 have made him an entertaining conver- 
 sationalist. 
 
6io 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 JW. WORACHEK, one of the well- 
 known and popular citizens of Door 
 county, has spent his entire life in 
 Wisconsin, which is the State of his 
 nativity, his birth having occurred in the 
 neighboring county of Kewaunee, in 
 Casco township, in 1863. His father, 
 Albert Worachek, was born and reared 
 in Bohemia, and when a young man he 
 crossed the Atlantic to America, for he 
 had heard much of its advantages and 
 privileges, and wished to trj' his fortune 
 in the New World. Coming westward to 
 Wisconsin, he located in Casco township, 
 Kewaunee county, upon a tract of en- 
 tirely unimproved land, and began the 
 development of a farm which has since 
 been his home. He married Miss Lizzie 
 Sticker, also a native of Behemia, and 
 they became the parents of six sons and 
 four daughters who grew to mature years, 
 and three that died young. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, who is the 
 second son and child, was reared on the 
 old homestead in the usual manner of 
 farmer lads, early beginning work in the 
 fields, for his parents were poor and 
 could not afford to hire help. His school 
 privileges were in consequence very mea- 
 ger. When he had attained a sufficient 
 age, he began working in the neighbor- 
 hood as a farm hand, giving his money to 
 his parents for safe keeping. When he 
 had thus acquired a sufficient sum he in- 
 vested it in land, improved the same to a 
 considerable extent, and then sold at a 
 good profit. In December, 1885, in 
 Casco township, Kewaunee county, he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 Bunda, who was born at Two Rivers, 
 Wis., in October, 1868, a daughter of 
 Wenzel Bunda, a native of Bohemia and 
 a mason by trade, but now engaged in 
 farming. The young couple began their 
 domestic life upon a farm which our sub- 
 ject had purchased, and there made their 
 home until May, 1890, when their dwell- 
 ing and barn were destroyed by fire, and 
 they then removed to Sister Bay, Wis. 
 Mr. Worachek entered into partnership 
 
 with Wenzel Bunda, a merchant and 
 cheese manufacturer, and the connection 
 was continued for one year, after which, 
 in the spring of 1868, our subject came to 
 Egg Harbor and established the first 
 cheese factory in the township. This 
 business he has conducted continually 
 since, and his trade has steadily increased, 
 bringing him success. In the spring of 
 1894 he embarked in the hotel business, 
 and is now the genial host of the "Ke- 
 waunee House," a popular hostelry, 
 which receives a liberal share of public 
 patronage. He sets an excellent table, 
 and the appointments of the hotel are 
 such as are found in any first-class estab- 
 lishment of the kind. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Worachek have two 
 interesting children, both daughters, 
 Annie and Hattie. The parents attend 
 the Catholic Church, of which they are 
 devout and consistent members, and in 
 politics Mr. Worachek is a Democrat, 
 supporting by his ballot the men and 
 measures of that party, but is not strictly 
 partisan. He is thrifty and energetic, 
 and is now a prosperous and popular citi- 
 zen, having by well-directed efforts gained 
 a good business which yields to him a fair 
 income. His entire life has been passed 
 in his locality, and those who have 
 known him from boyhood are numbered 
 among his stanchest friends, a fact which 
 indicates an honorable and well-spent life. 
 
 WILLIAM J. JACKSON has the 
 honor of being a native of Wis- 
 consin, and is one of her oldest 
 sons, reckoning years of contin- 
 uous residence. He was born in Fort 
 Howard, Brown county, April 25, 1827, 
 and is a son of John William Jackson, a 
 butcher by trade and a very successful 
 business man, but who was killed by the 
 Indians two months prior to the birth of 
 our subject. His wife, who bore the 
 maiden name of Catherine Dockerty, was 
 a daughter of John \^^ and Margaret 
 Dockertv, the latter of whom reached the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6n 
 
 remarkable age of 103 years. After being 
 left a widow two years, Mrs. Jackson mar- 
 ried Peter Eldred, who in 1831 took the 
 family to Manitowoc, Wis., where for 
 four years he worked at the shoemaker's 
 trade, ■ removing then to Two Rivers, 
 Wis., here again following shoemaking, 
 until his death in 1838; his wife also 
 passed her remaining days in that place. 
 By her second marriage there were born 
 three children: Albert and Charlie, who 
 died in infancy, and John, now living in 
 Clay Banks township. Door county. 
 
 Our subject was the only child of the 
 first marriage. His educational privileges 
 were somewhat limited, for at the early 
 age of ten years he began earning his own 
 livelihood, sailing on the lakes, and dur- 
 ing the succeeding thirty-five years he 
 was engaged in this way and in fishing, in 
 which latter industry he was very success- 
 ful. On July ig, 1856, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Caroline Sherman, 
 daughter of Emfred and Caroline Sher- 
 man, who were living in Baileys Harbor, 
 where our subject then spent much of his 
 time fishing until August 15, 1862, when 
 he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-sev- 
 enth Wis. V. I. He went first to Mil- 
 waukee, thence to Madison, and on to 
 Columbus, Ky. , where he joined his regi- 
 ment. The first engagement in which he 
 participated was at Union City, Ky., after 
 which he was under fire at the battles of 
 Storey, the Seige of Vicksburg, and the 
 battles of Helena, Little Rock, Spoonville, 
 Bentonville,Okalona, and Saline Bottoms. 
 At the last named engagement he was 
 wounded, whereby he suffered the loss of 
 his second finger, and almost lost his entire 
 hand. When the war was over, he was 
 honorably discharged, June 6, 1865, and 
 returned to his home. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jackson have six children living: Frank, 
 Albert, Ira, Irving H., Minerva and 
 Roger E. ; they lost three children: Hen- 
 rietta, who was drowned; and Olive and 
 Bertha, who were burned to death in their 
 own home. 
 
 For some time after his return from 
 
 the war, Mr. Jackson was obliged to cut 
 wood, but later resumed his old occupa- 
 tion of fishing, which he followed until 
 1868, when he embarked in the lumber 
 business. Subsequently, he began read- 
 ing law, and has now for some years been 
 successfully engaged in the practice of the 
 legal profession. He is thorough and 
 systematic in whatever he undertakes, 
 and his life has been a busy and useful 
 one, in which he has gained the respect of 
 all with whom he has been brought in 
 contact. He has been called upon to fill 
 a number of public offices, having served 
 as constable, justice of the peace, town 
 clerk, assessor and notary public, and in 
 all these positions he has discharged his 
 duties with a promptness and fidelity 
 which have won him high commendation. 
 
 WILLIAM STICHMANN, an en- 
 terprising agriculturist of Door 
 county, whose farm is situated in 
 Section 15, Forestvilletownship, 
 is a native of Prussia, born in 1859, a son 
 of Carl and Reko (Mahuke) Stichmann, 
 who were also of German nativity. 
 
 In 1867 the family located in Mani- 
 towoc county. Wis., but in 1872 they re- 
 moved to Forestville township. Door 
 county, where the father commenced the 
 development of a farm and continued in 
 its cultivation until his death, which oc- 
 curred in 1891; the mother died Jan- 
 uary 12, 1895. This worthy couple had 
 a family of four children, as follows: 
 Bertha, wife of Fred Myers, of Forestville 
 township; Anna, wife of Joseph Dettmann, 
 of the same township; William; and Min- 
 nie, wife of Fred Barnosky, of Nase- 
 waupee township. Door county. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines was 
 reared in Manitowoc county and in For- 
 estville township, the public schools of the 
 neighborhood in which he made his home 
 affording him his educational privileges. 
 At the early age of eleven years he began 
 swinging the axe in aiding in the clearing 
 and developing of the home farm, thus 
 
6l2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 becoming familiar with all the hardships 
 and arduous labors of frontier life. When 
 he started out in life for himself he 
 turned his attention to aj^ricuitural pur- 
 suits, and now he has a good farm of 
 eighty acres, sixty of which are under a 
 high state of cultivation and well im- 
 proved. In 1892 he erected ;i large 
 frame barn, 64x32 feet, and the other 
 conveniences are in keeping with this 
 structure. In 1885, in Ft)restville town- 
 ship, he was married to Miss Mar>- Ann 
 Gordon, who was born in New Y(jrk, a 
 daughter of John and Sarah (Moore) Gor- 
 don, natives of Ireland, who in an early 
 day came to Door count}', where they still 
 reside. Mrs. Stichmann died in 1889, 
 leaving two children — Elmira and Liilie — 
 and in 1892 Mr. Stichmann was again 
 married, this time in Ahnapee township, 
 Kewaunee count}-. Wis., to Miss Anna 
 Shirkc}-. a native of that county, b\ whom 
 he has two daughters — Martha and Esther. 
 In his political views our subject is a 
 Republican, and in religious belief he and 
 his wife are Lutherans, attending the 
 church at Forestvilie. Mr. Stichniami 
 is a warm friend of the cause of educa- 
 tion, and is now serving as a member of 
 the school board. \ public-spirite<l and 
 progressi\c citizen, he takes a warm in- 
 terest in ever}thing pertaining to the wel- 
 fare of the community, and dt)es all in 
 his power to promote enterprises calcu- 
 lated to pro\e of public benefit. 
 
 AUGUST BUSSE is engaged in the 
 manufacture of cheese, and also 
 follows farming in Forestvilie 
 township, Door count}', where he 
 located in 1887. During the following 
 year he built a factory 20x30 feet, 14 
 feet high, wherein is used the milk of one 
 hundred and twent}' cows, 24,000 pounds 
 of tine cheese being the annual output. 
 He owns a good farm of 1 20 acres, sixty- 
 five of which are cleared and improved, 
 and thereon he erected, in 1888, a good 
 stor}-and-a-half residence, 22 x 32 feet. 
 
 Mr. Busse was born in Lippe-Det- 
 mold, German}', in 1836. and is a son of 
 Fred and Elizabeth Busse, natives of the 
 same country, where the father worked 
 as a laborer throughout his entire life; he 
 died in 1854, his wife in 1872. They 
 had two children. August being the only 
 one now living. \o e\ent of special im- 
 portance occurred during our subject's 
 childhood, which was passed under the 
 parental roof and in attending the public 
 schools. When <]uiti' \oung he learned 
 the trade of brick making, becoming an 
 expert in that line, and soon was enabled 
 to occupy the position of overseer in 
 brickyards, being thus employed imtil his 
 emigration to America. Ere leaving his 
 nati\c land he was married, in 1866, to 
 Miss Carolina Ream, who was born in 
 the same province as himself, a daughter 
 of Conrad and Eliza ( Langanberg) Ream, 
 also natives of Germany, where they 
 lived and died. Seven children have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Busse: Eliza, 
 wife of Louis Jerchow. of Ahnapee, Wis. ; 
 August; Julius: Willie; Herman; Amelia, 
 and Clara. 
 
 In 1870, accompanied by his family, 
 Mr. Bu.sse sailed for the United States 
 and took up his residsnce in Sheboygan 
 county. Wis., devoting his time and at- 
 tention to farming in Herman township, 
 where he made his home until his re- 
 moval to Door county in 18S7. Here he 
 has since ("onducted a good business, both 
 as a farmer and cheese manufacturer, and 
 by his enterprise and energy has acquired 
 a comfortable competence, which num- 
 bers him among the substantial citizens of 
 the communit}'. He and his wife are 
 members of the Reformed Church, and 
 in his political views he is- a Democrat. 
 
 D 
 
 ESI RE ENGLEBERT. a pros- 
 pertius farmer of Brussels, Door 
 count}', was born December 8, 
 1842, in Belgium, a son of John 
 Englebert; who was a carpenter in his 
 own country, and in 1856 emigrated to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 613. 
 
 the United States with his family, which 
 then consisted of wife and six sons — 
 Felix, Joseph, Gustaf, Charles, John and 
 Desire — and one daughter Mary. All 
 of the sons except one are still living. 
 
 On the arri\al of the family in this 
 country they stopped at Dayton, Ohio, 
 but the place not proving exactly to their 
 liking the\' removed to Chicago, by which 
 time their finances had become so low 
 that they found it necessary to secure a 
 home as cheaply as possible, and where 
 the facilities for steady work were good. 
 In the spring of 1857 they came to Brus- 
 sels township. Door county, where Mr. 
 Englebert bought eighty acres of land in 
 section 20. After four years' residence 
 on this place he sold it for $350.00 and 
 bought 160 acres in section 2(S (north- 
 east quarter), at which time it was cov- 
 ered with forest trees, and he was the 
 first to cut into this tract of land, where 
 he erected buildings, the children soon 
 beginning to look upon it as their perma- 
 nent home. In the spring of 1892 the 
 father was laid to rest in the church-yard 
 in Brussels, where the remains of the 
 mother had been deposited twelve years 
 before. One daughter, Mary, was born 
 to them after their arrival in the United 
 States. 
 
 Desire Englebert was fourteen years 
 old when he accompanied his parents to 
 the United States, and as a consequence 
 his education was entirely in his mother 
 tongue. The jear following their arrival 
 the family came to Wisconsin, and as 
 they were in somewhat straightened cir- 
 cumstances, our subject went to work for 
 strangers that he might support himself. 
 He spent two summers working in a 
 truck yard in Chicago, whither he had 
 tramped from his home in Brussells, 
 Wis., on foot, begging his way the entire 
 distance, and often sleeping in the woods. 
 In Chicago he arrived with just fifty cents 
 in his pocket, .having given his entire 
 wages to his parents, who were greatly 
 in need of the help. Such industry and 
 filial devotion was not to go unrewarded. 
 
 however, for from that time forth he was 
 always successful in securing work, and 
 he prospered in every waj'. 
 
 At the age of twenty-three years, in 
 1865, our subject was married to Miss 
 Emerance Gaspart, a native of Belgium * 
 and a resident of Brussels, who bore him 
 ten children, two of whom died in in- 
 fancy. Those living are: Eugene, of Kau- 
 kauna. Wis., a machinist by trade, and 
 Eloisse, Elmond, Celina, Joseph, Henry, 
 Nestor and Josephine at home. After his 
 marriage Mr. Englebert bought forty acres 
 of land in Section 28, Brussels township, 
 all woods save a small plat, on which 
 stood a log shanty. For this property he 
 paid $500.00 and went largely in debt. 
 In the course of ten years he had cleared 
 the land and erected good buildings, but 
 the fire of 1871 swept everything away — 
 his buildings, his stock, his household 
 furniture — everything, in fact, save the 
 clothes which he and his family had on at 
 the time they were swallowed up in the 
 flames. After he had recovered some- 
 what from the effects of the fire, he built 
 a commodious brick house, which was the 
 best in the township. Since his first pur- 
 chase he has added to his possessions, 
 and now owns 200 acres of land, eighty 
 of which are in a high state of cultivation. 
 Mr. Englebert is an excellent farmer, 
 careful in his calculations, and conse- 
 quently is very successful. Politically, 
 formerly he was a Republican, but now 
 gives his vote on the side of the Demo- 
 cratic party. He was assessor for four- 
 teen years, and in the spring of 1894 was 
 elected chairman of the township board. 
 In religious faith he and his wife and chil- 
 dren are members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 WENZEL M. WOCHOS, a popu- 
 lar young educator, was born in 
 the township of Franklin, Ke- 
 waunee Co., Wis., August 16, 
 1873, and is a son of Mathias Wochos. 
 who was born in Bohemia, June 6, 1844. 
 Mathias Wochos was a son of John 
 
6i4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 W. , who followed him from Europe about 
 the year 1866, and who died in the town- 
 ship of Montpelier in 1894. Mathias at- 
 tended the common schools of his native 
 country until twelve years of age, when 
 he came to the United States himself, 
 landing at Two Creeks, Manitowoc Co., 
 Wis., and residing with his uncle, working 
 there at making shingles, etc., four years. 
 He then went to Mishicot, same county, 
 where he worked on a farm and attended 
 school about two years. While at Mishi- 
 cot, he was drafted, and served about six 
 months in tiie Union army, toward the 
 close of the Civil war. After this he went 
 to Muskegon, Mich., and there worked in 
 a sawmill and at logging some two years. 
 In 1 866 he came to Franklin township, 
 Kewaunee county, and located on the farm 
 now occupied by his heirs. This farm he 
 cleared, put under cultivation, and con- 
 tinued to conduct until his death, Feb- 
 ruary 25, 1893. He was a Democrat in 
 politics, and at different times was elected 
 chairman of Franklin township, super- 
 visor, and a member of the board of edu- 
 cation. In religion he was a Catholic. 
 He was united in marriage, in 1S67, to 
 Mary Skornicka, a daughter of Joseph 
 and Maggie Skornicka, natives of Bo- 
 hemia. Mrs. Wochos was born in Bo- 
 hemia in 1848, and died in Franklin 
 township November 15, 1893, the mother 
 of thirteen children, viz. : Joseph, Mathias, 
 Wenzel, Maggie, Albert, Frank, John, 
 Jacob, Louis, Fannie, Mary, Charles and 
 Stephen, all living with the exception of 
 Mary and Charles. 
 
 Wenzel Wochos was reared on the 
 home farm and attended the common 
 schools until he reached the age of six- 
 teen, when he entered the Kewaunee high 
 school, and there pursued his studies one 
 year. At the age of eighteen he passed 
 examination and was granted a certificate, 
 which permitted him to teach in the pub- 
 lic schools of Kewaunee county, and he 
 is now engaged in this vocation, being 
 recognized as one the first-class teachers 
 of Kewaunee county. He is a strict mem- 
 
 ber of the Catholic Church, and one of 
 the most highly respected young men of 
 his age in the township. 
 
 HON. GEORGE GRIMMER. This 
 gentleman, who is now the only 
 settler living in Kewaunee who 
 came here in 1853, is prominent 
 in the array of leading capitalists in this 
 part of Wisconsin, and one of the most 
 widely-known, respected and prosperous 
 citizens of Kewaunee county. Indeed, 
 there is no name that ranks higher than 
 that of George Grimmer, in all those 
 qualities which constitute good citizen- 
 ship; and there is none more deserving 
 of an exhaustive biographical record in 
 the pages of this volume. 
 
 Mr. Grimmer is a native of New 
 Brunswick, Canada, born February 28, 
 1827, in the Parish of St. David, Char- 
 lotte county, and comes of more imme- 
 diate Scotch ancestry, although the name 
 indicates German origin. 
 
 The first of the family to immigrate 
 to this continent settled in what is now 
 the Parish of St. Stephens, Charlotte 
 Co., New Brunswick, where they became 
 landowners and prosperous agriculturists. 
 Thomas Grimmer, grandfather of our 
 subject, married Miss Elizabeth Wey, an 
 English lady, by whom he had ten chil- 
 dren — five sons and five daughters. James 
 Grimmer, the third son. was reared to 
 agricultural pursuits and lumbering in 
 New Brunswick, which latter vocation, 
 however, he chiefly followed, the river St. 
 Croix being the scene of his operations. 
 In 1850 he came to Wisconsin, bringing 
 his family, and in Shawano county fol- 
 lowed lumbering up to his death, which oc- 
 curred in 1865, when he was aged sixty- 
 five years. His wife, Hannah (Camp- 
 bell), who was the 3'oungest daughter of 
 Duncan Campbell, also of New Bruns- 
 wick, was a woman of great force of 
 character, possessed of sound judgment, 
 and surrounded herself with hosts of 
 
.^^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWGMAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 617 
 
 friends, especiall}' among her own sex, 
 many of whom in time of trouble came 
 to her for help and advice, and to them 
 she ever proved a true blessing and com- 
 forter. She was the mother of ten chil- 
 dren, six of whom reached maturity: 
 George, Thomas D., Mary Hannah (wife 
 of Clark McKay, of Shawano, Wis.), 
 James Henry, Alfred W., and Angeline 
 (wife of Morris Thomas, of Duluth, Minn.). 
 The mother of these departed this life 
 September 26, 1865. In Grandfather 
 Thomas Grimmer's family there were 
 forty-four children and grandchildren born 
 before the first death occurred among 
 them. 
 
 George Grimmer, the subject proper 
 of this sketch, received a common-school 
 education in his native parish, his teach- 
 er, James McBride, having been an ed- 
 ucator in that locality for forty-five years, 
 and had Mr. Grimmer's mother for one of 
 his pupils. At the age of fourteen our 
 subject laid aside his books, and com- 
 menced lumbering in the woods on the 
 St. Croix river, under his father. In the 
 fall of 1850 he moved with the rest of the 
 family to Shawano. Wis. , whence at the 
 end of a year he went to Neenah, in 1853 
 coming to Kewaunee, landing in the then 
 village on the 17th of July. Here he fol- 
 lowed his old vocation, lumbering, work- 
 ing on salary till 1862, when the firm of 
 Slauson, Grimmer & Co., was formed. 
 For eighteen years he scaled logs on the 
 Kewaunee river, and probably no other 
 man was as well acquainted with the en- 
 tire river as he, and no one was more 
 welcome among the settlers, who, one 
 and all, honored and respected him for 
 his fair and honest dealings. The firm 
 dissolved in 1877, and in all those years 
 they never had litigation of any kind in 
 regard to log contracts, which were in- 
 variably of a verbal nature. Since then 
 Mr. Grimmer has not been identified with 
 any active pursuit, but attends to his real- 
 estate interests. He is a director of the 
 State Bank of Kewaunee; was chairman 
 
 of the town board of Kewaunee, three 
 35 
 
 years, and chairman of the county board 
 two years. He has also found time, in 
 the midst of his business relations, to give 
 his attention to many things tending to 
 the welfare of the community, especially 
 educational matters in which he has al- 
 ways taken a prominent and substantial 
 interest. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Grimmer was induced by 
 his friends to offer himself as a candidate 
 for the State Senate, to represent the 
 First Senatorial District, at that time 
 comprising the present counties of Ke- 
 waunee, Door, Oconto, Shawano, Lan- 
 glade, Forest, Florence and Marinette, an 
 area comprising nearly one-seventh of the 
 State. His opponent was William Mc- 
 Cartnej', of Marinette, a very popular 
 Democratic leader, and as Gen. Taylor 
 had previously carried the District by one 
 thousand Democratic votes, the contest 
 appeared to be very unequal; yet the 
 friends of Mr. Grimmer in Shawano and 
 other places rallied round his banner, and 
 so well did they work, and so popular was 
 their candidate, that he was triumphantly 
 elected by a crushing majority of 1,916, 
 the polls at the close standing — " Grim- 
 mer, 5,114; McCartney, 3,198." Mr. 
 Grimmer was re-elected two years later 
 by a majority of about 400, a consider- 
 able falling off from his first victory, 
 partly due to his having voted against the 
 memorial to Congress in the matter of 
 providing for the free coinage of silver, 
 and the ratio of silver used in the dollar. 
 He served on various committees, and 
 was chairman of that on corporations; in 
 short, he made as good a record as State 
 Senator as he has earned in his business 
 relations. 
 
 On June 19, i860, Mr. Grimmer was 
 married in Kewaunee to Miss Bertha Lo- 
 renz, a native of Germany, a lady of re- 
 finement and superior education, one who 
 advocates and encourages advanced ideas 
 regarding the destiny of her sex. Four 
 children have been born to this union, 
 two of whom died in infancy, and two 
 are living, namely: Laura A., wife of 
 
6iS 
 
 COMMKMORATIVK BIOGRAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 J. L. Haney, and Walter G.. of Diiluth. 
 Minnesota. 
 
 In the history of Kewaunee county, 
 where for over four decades he has borne 
 the highest reputation as a business man 
 and a citizen, Mr. Grimmer is a man of 
 mark and leadin;,' character. He is quiet 
 and sedate, likes simple ways, abhorring 
 ostentation; can converse well and freely, 
 but prefers to listen rather than to speak. 
 He is a firm and enduring friend, not a 
 bitter or vindictive enemy. Few men are 
 more free from envy or jealousy, and the 
 promotion or advancement of others he 
 has always most cordially encouraged and 
 aided. In one word, he possesses a clear, 
 sound, well-balanced mind, every faculty 
 of which is thoroughly practical, and such 
 a combination is, in our work-a-day world, 
 worth infinitely more than genius. 
 
 CHARLES P. BERG, a representa- 
 tive farmer of Ahnapee township, 
 Kewaunee county, was born Sep- 
 tember 22, 1855, in Germany. 
 His paternal grandfather was a niiilcr by 
 occupation, operating a mill near the 
 Rhine, in Prussia. 
 
 Jacob Berg, father of the subject of 
 these lines, was born February 2, 1816, 
 in Prussia, was reared on a farm, and at- 
 tended the common schools, in which he 
 received all his literary education. When 
 a young man he learned the trade of 
 wagon maker, which he followed for a 
 number of years. On April 30, 1845, he 
 married Miss Caroline Theobald, who 
 was born in Germany July 11. 1825, and 
 twelve children were the result of this 
 union, the names and dates of birth of the 
 eight survivors being as follows: Char- 
 lotte, January 23, 1846; Caroline, April 
 21,1849; Mary, June 18,1853; Charles P., 
 September 22, 1855; Christina, July 9, 
 1859; Alzina, December25, 1861 ; Julius, 
 April 10, 1863; Emma. April 22, 1865, 
 the first four named being born in Ger- 
 main", the remaining four in Ahnapee, 
 Wis. Of this famiiv, Charlotte is the 
 
 wife of Perry Austin, of Sturgeon Bay, 
 Wis. ; Caroline is married to Peter Knorr, 
 of Prescott, \\'is. ; Mary is a resident of 
 St. Paul, Minn.; Charles P., is our sub- 
 ject; Christina is the wife of Henry Per- 
 onto, of White Fish Bay, Wis. ; Alzina is 
 the wife of Robert Mueller, of Marinette, 
 Wis. ; Julius is proprietor of a cheese 
 factory in Ahnapee, Kewaunee Co., Wis.; 
 Emma is the widow of John Utnehmer, 
 of Ahnapee, Wis. .\fter his marriage 
 Jacob Berg owned and conducted a hotel 
 until 1856, in which \ear he came to the 
 United States, locating in the village of 
 Ahnapee, Kewaunee Co. , Wis., where he 
 worked as a common laborer • fcjr two 
 years, at the end oi that time purchasing 
 a forty-acre tract of timberland in the 
 tosvn of Ahnapee, whereon he engaged in 
 farming. Being one of the first settlers 
 of this section, he shared with the other 
 pioneers the hardships and trials of life in 
 a sparsely settled region, among other in- 
 conveniences being obliged to do without 
 flour, and consequent!}- bread, for months. 
 After a four-years' residence on his first 
 purchase he sold it, and buying another 
 farm in the same township continued to 
 engage in agricultural pursuits up to his 
 death, which occurred December 14, 
 1893; Mrs. Berg preceded him to the 
 grave August 8, 1890. 
 
 During his earlier years Charles P. 
 Berg attended the common schools of 
 his neighborhood, and was trained to 
 farming on the home place, where he has 
 always resided. On December i, 1886, 
 he was married to Louisa Mueller, and 
 their union has been blessed with four 
 children, Arthur, Hilda, Oscar and Helen. 
 Mrs. Berg was born February 16, 1 S63, 
 in Milwaukee, and is a daughter of Al- 
 bert and Amelia (Goger) Mueller. Since 
 his marriage Mr. Berg has owned and 
 conducted the home farm, and he ranks 
 among the successful agriculturists of this 
 thriving agricultural community. Politic- 
 ally he is independent, casting his ballot 
 invariably for the best man. In religious 
 faith the faniilv are Lutherans. 
 
COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPmcAL RECORD. 
 
 619 
 
 HA. LARSON, a prominent farm- 
 er and stock raiser, residing in 
 Section 26, Forestville township, 
 Door county, has here made his 
 home since 1870, at which time he 
 bought an eighty-acre tract of land heav- 
 ily covered with timber. No road led 
 to the land, and the nearest settler was a 
 mile and a half distant. Mr. Larson at 
 once began opening up a farm, and in 
 course of time the once primitive soil was 
 transformed into rich and fertile fields, 
 and to the original purchase was added 
 another tract of eighty acres, mak- 
 ing 160 acres in all. One half of this is 
 now under a high state of cultivation, and 
 there are good improvements upon the 
 place, the little log cabin being no longer 
 used, for in 1892 was erected a brick resi- 
 dence 18 X 28 feet, one story and a half 
 in height, with a one-story L 20 x 24 feet. 
 There is also a good brick barn, 30 x 50 
 feet, well arranged, while the other out- 
 buildings are such as are found upon any 
 model farm. In addition to the raising of 
 grain, Mr. I^arson makes a specialty of 
 the breeding of fine horses, having two 
 stallions, one a full-registered Ch'desdale, 
 besides some high-grade Percherons. 
 
 Mr. Larson was born in Norway in 
 1856, a son of H. and Mary (Monk.son) 
 Larson, natives of the same country, 
 where the father followed farming until 
 1 866. In that year he and his family 
 left their old home to try their fortune 
 in the New World, taking passage at 
 Bergen on a sailing vessel, which after 
 seven weeks and five days dropped anchor 
 in the harbor of Quebec, whence they 
 proceeded by rail to Detroit, Mich., and 
 thence by boat to Manitowoc county. 
 Wis. In 1870 the father settled on the 
 farm which is now the home of om- sub- 
 ject. Both parents are yet li\ing, and 
 the worthy couple have a family of seven 
 children, as follows: Nellie, wife of 
 Henry Franzen, of Ahnapee, Wis., Mar}-, 
 widow of Ed Urtmann, of Green Bay, 
 Wis. ; Henry, who is clerking in Iowa; 
 Julia, wife of Ole Nelson, of Polk county, 
 
 Minn. ; Barbo, wife of Peter Peterson, of 
 Forestville township; H. A., subject of 
 this sketch, and Martin, who is living in 
 Claybanks township. Door county, and 
 is married to a daughter of Gilbert Ander- 
 son. 
 
 H. A. Larson was reared in Mani- 
 towoc count}-, \\'is. , from the age of ten 
 years, and acquired his education in its 
 public schools. He aided in opening up 
 the home farm, and since an early age 
 has been familiar with all the duties of 
 farm life. In 1885 he was married in 
 Forestville township to Miss Mary Ander- 
 son, daughter of Gilbert Anderson, an 
 early pioneer of the township, and to 
 them were born four children, two of 
 whom are living — Martin and Esther; 
 Henry, the eldest child died at the age of 
 four \ears, three months and five days, 
 and one died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Larson are both members of the Luth- 
 eran Church, and are prominent and well- 
 known people, whose friends in the com- 
 munity are many. In politics, Mr. Lar- 
 son is independent, voting for the candi- 
 date whom he thinks best qualified for 
 the office, regardless of party affiliations. 
 He was the f^rst man to settle in his part 
 of the township, and has ever been 
 recognized as one of the best citizens in 
 the community, being public-spirited and 
 progressive, and taking an active interest 
 in everything calculated to promote the 
 general welfare. 
 
 ROBERT LOCKHART, a progres.s- 
 ive and prosperous agriculturist,, 
 whose fine farm lies in Section 9„ 
 Forest\ille township, Door count}-, 
 was born in County Armagh, Ireland, io 
 1837, and is a son of Thomas and Eliza 
 (Aikens) Lockhart, who were also natives 
 of County Armagh. 
 
 The father of our subject crossed the 
 Atlantic in 1845, to America, locating in 
 Essex county, N.Y., where he worked as a 
 laborer for a few years, and then purchased 
 a farm whereon he passed his remaining 
 
620 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BlOGliAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 days, his death occurring in i860. His first 
 wife died in 1 84 1 , and in i S4G he was joined 
 by his children and his second wife, whom 
 he had married in Ireland, and who bore 
 the maiden name of Margaret Henderson. 
 By the first union there were four chil- 
 dren, viz.: Anna and Henry, who died in 
 Ireland; James, married', and now resid- 
 ing in Forestville township; and Robert, 
 our subject. By the second marriage 
 there were two children: Ellen, wife of 
 Da%'id Kerr, of Essex county. New York; 
 and Thomas, who died in that county. 
 
 No event of special importance oc- 
 curred during the childhood and youth of 
 Robert Lockhart. He was nine years old 
 when he came to this country, and was 
 reared and educated in Esse.x county, 
 N. Y., where after attaining proper age 
 he began working as a farm hand, also 
 engaging in the manufacture of charcoal. 
 On leaving the Empire State he came to 
 Door county, settling in Forestville town- 
 ship. Ere leaving Essex county, N. Y. , 
 he was married, in 1862, to Mrs. Mary 
 Uougan, who was born on the Emerald 
 Isle, daughter of John and Agnes (Lock- 
 hart) Moore, natives of County Armagh, 
 Ireland ; the father died many years ago, 
 and in 1S57 the mother became a resident 
 of Essex county, whence, in 1870, she 
 came to Door county, and lived in Forest- 
 ville township until called to the home 
 beyond, in 1888. Of the Moore family 
 there were five children, to wit: Will- 
 iam, who came to Door county in 1870, 
 and was killed by a falling tree in Forest- 
 ville township in 1879; Mrs. Lockhart is 
 the ne.xt younger; Sarah, wife of John 
 Gordon has her home in Forestville 
 township; Thomas, who died in Illinois 
 in 1868; and John, who removed to 
 Crawford county, Iowa, but is now living 
 in California. Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart 
 have four children, namely: Adelia, now 
 the wife of Edward Barrand, a resident 
 of Ahnapee township, Kewaunee Co., 
 Wis. (they have one child, Robert Ed- 
 ward) ; Effie, wife of George Tagg, of For- 
 estville township (they have five children: 
 
 Winnie, Elsie, Muriel, Dora and one as 
 yet unnamed); Stella, who served as post- 
 mistress of Maplewood from 1888 until 
 1 89 1, and was married October 10,1894, 
 to Max Plettner, of Forestville, Wis. ; 
 and Dora, who died in 1879 at the age 
 of nine years. 
 
 Mr. Lockhart is an ardent advocate 
 of Republican principles, and does all in 
 his power to promote the growth and in- 
 sure the success of the party, but has 
 never been an office-seeker, although for 
 some six years he served as school treas- 
 urer. He and his wife attend the Epis- 
 copal Church, and the family is one of 
 prominence in the community, occupying 
 a leading position in social circles. Their 
 home is a pleasant story-and-a-half resi- 
 dence, erected in 1891, the dimensions of 
 the building being 30x20 feet, with a one- 
 story L, 16x18 feet. Mr. Lockhart first 
 erected upon his farm a log barn, 20 x 56 
 feet; later he built a frame barn, 36x50 
 feet, which, together with considerable hay 
 and farm machinery contained therein, 
 was destroyed by fire September 15,1 893. 
 With characteristic energy he rebuilt in 
 1S94, and now has a good barn, 40x80 
 feet in size, one of the best in the town- 
 ship. His farm, one-half of which is 
 under a high state of cultivation, com- 
 prises 160 acres, which, at the time of his 
 purchase in 1 870, was covered with a 
 dense growth of timber and was reached 
 onl)^ by a trail, no roads being laid out to 
 the place; but in appearance to-day it 
 bears little resemblance to the tract of 
 which he became owner some twentj'-five 
 years ago, for waving fields of grain now 
 delight the eye and the accessories of a 
 model farm may there be found. 
 
 JOSEPH MACHIA, one of the worthy 
 citizens that New York State has 
 furnished to Door county, was born 
 in St. Lawrence county, in the Em- 
 pire State, in 1845, and is a son of Lewis 
 and Matilda Machia. 
 
 The father of our subject was born 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and reared in Canada, and in an carl\' 
 day removed to St. Lawrence count\', 
 N. Y., where he resided until called to 
 the home bej'ond, in i86[. Three years 
 later his widow came to Forestville town- 
 ship, Door Co., Wis., and in 1865 was 
 married to James Keogh, one of the first 
 settlers of the township, and one of its 
 valued citizens until his death in 1890. 
 Mr. an.d Mrs. Machia were the parents of 
 nine children (six of whom are now liv- 
 ing), of whom Lewis, who served one 
 year as a member of Company F, Twen- 
 tieth Cavalry, is now living in Casco, Ke- 
 waunee Co. , Wis. ; John enlisted, in 
 1 861, in Company F, Sixtieth N. Y. \'. L, 
 and, re-enlisting, served with his regi- 
 ment until the close of the war, when, in 
 186;, he located in Forestville township, 
 dying there in April, 1894; Joseph is the 
 subject of these lines; David is living in 
 Sturgeon Bay, Wis. ; James resides in 
 Egg Harbor, Door county; and Henry 
 and George are living in Sturgeon Baj', 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Joseph Machia spent the days of his 
 boyhood and j'outh in the county of his 
 nativit}', his time being devoted to work 
 upon the farm, and to the study of the 
 common English branches taught in the 
 public schools. In January, 1864, then 
 in his nineteenth year, he responded to the 
 country's call for troops, by joining Com- 
 pany A, Tenth New York Artillery; he 
 was assigned to the army of the Cumber- 
 land, and did garrison duty in Georgia until 
 peace was once more restored, when he was 
 honorably discharged. He then returned 
 to his home in New York State, and the 
 following year came by boat to Ahnapee, 
 Wis., and from there on foot to Forest- 
 ville, Door county, locating on a farm in 
 Forestville township, where he secured 
 an eighty-acre tract of land on which not 
 a furrow had been turned or an improve- 
 ment of any kind made. He at once began 
 to clear and develop it, and now has sev- 
 enty acres under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion. His life has been one of usefulness; 
 but though he has worked hard in his own 
 
 interest he has yet found time to devote 
 to public affairs, and has ever discharged 
 his duties of citizenship with promptness 
 and fidelity. 
 
 In 1873, in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., Mr. 
 Machia was married to Miss Celia Olson, 
 a native of Norway and a daughter of 
 Thomas Olson, who was born in the 
 same country, and who on emigrating to 
 America settled in Claybanks township. 
 Door county, where he opened up a farm ; 
 he now resides in North Dakota, where 
 his wife died December 25, 1892. Seven 
 children have been born to our subject 
 and wife: Ella, Frank, David, Lydia, 
 George, Elmer and Lester. In politics 
 Mr. Machia is a Republican; socially he 
 is affiliated with William A. Nelson Post 
 No. 97, G. A. R. , of which he is now 
 serving as senior vice-commander. His 
 wife belongs to the Lutheran Church, 
 and both have many friends in this com- 
 munity who hold them in high esteem. 
 
 HERMANN TAUBE, farmer and 
 stock raiser of Sturgeon Bay 
 township. Door county, is a na- 
 tive of Prussia, Germany, born 
 February 14, 1842. His parents, John 
 and Caroline (Haft) Taube, were born in 
 Germany, and there passed their entire 
 lives, the father dying in 1868, the mother 
 in the autumn of 1871. They reared a 
 famil}- of six children, as follows: Her- 
 mann, the subject of this sketch; Charles, 
 a resident of Berlin, Germany; Hannah, 
 living in Germany; Albertina, wife of 
 Otto Helmholtz, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis. , 
 Albert, who came to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 
 in 1874, and in 1880 removed to Mil- 
 waukee, where he now resides; and 
 Augusta, who died in Germany. 
 
 Hermann Taube was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native country, and on com- 
 mencing life for himself at first followed 
 farming, later, for three years, engaging 
 in the hotel business. In 1871 he came 
 to the United States, arriving in Manito- 
 woc countv, ^^■ is. , where he hired out 
 
622 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 as a farm hand for several months. In 
 1872 he came to Door county, and, pur- 
 chasing land in Section 33, Sturgeon 
 Bay township, commenced farming on 
 his own account. His land was in its 
 wild state at the time he purchased it, 
 and required no small amount of perse- 
 verance and industry to convert it to its 
 present condition of fertility. He owns 
 200 acres, 100 cleared and under culti- 
 vation, giving all his attention to general 
 farming and stock raising, in which he 
 has prospered greatly; numerous improve- 
 ments have been added under his direc- 
 tion, and in 1S85 a comfortable frame 
 dwelling 30.S24, with a wing 28x18, 
 and a stor\- and a half in height, and a 
 barn 40x60 were erected. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Taube was married, in 
 Door county, to Miss Amelia Zelka, who 
 was born in Germany, and came thence 
 to Door county. Wis., in 1873. Her 
 parents, Daniel and Dora (I\raft) Zelka, 
 were also born in Germany, where the 
 former died in 1864, and the latter still 
 resides: Henrietta Kraft, grandmother of 
 Mrs. Taube, has resided in Chicago, 111., 
 since 1882. Ten children have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Taube, namely: Otto, 
 Minnie (who has been a school teacher at 
 Forestville for two j'ears), Dora, Emma, 
 Augusta, Bertha, Herman, Albert, Ljdia 
 and Henry. Mr. Taube has always taken 
 a deep interest in the educational in- 
 terests of his section, and assisted in the 
 organization of his school district, also 
 serving as a member of the board. Polit- 
 ically he is a Republican, and he and his 
 wife are members of the German Meth- 
 odist Church at I^av View. 
 
 GUSTAV CARLSON was born in 
 Sweden August 29, 1840, and is 
 a son of Charles Carlson, a farmer, 
 who rented land of those who 
 owned large tracts and leased it in small 
 portions. His family numbered six chil- 
 dren — four sons and two daughters — of 
 whom Gustav is the eldest son and second 
 
 child. As his parents were in very lim- 
 ited circumstances, the privileges and ad- 
 vantages which he received in his jouth 
 were somewhat limited, but his training 
 to farm labor was bj- no means meager. 
 At an early age he began work in the 
 fields, and to his father gave the benefit 
 of his services until he had attained his 
 majority. 
 
 Afthe age of twenty-two Mr. Carlson 
 was united in marriage with Sophia An- 
 derson, a native of Sweden, and upon a 
 rented farm they began their domestic 
 life, living in that way until their emigra- 
 tion to America. With a hope of better- 
 ing their condition Mr. Carlson, alone, in 
 June, 1880, crossed the Atlantic to the 
 New World, and making his way to Chi- 
 cago, there worked hard and lived eco- 
 nomically in order to secure the money 
 which would pay his wife's and children's 
 passage. In the following September he 
 was joined by his famil}', and the meeting 
 was a very happy one; but a short time 
 afterward he was taken ill, and for six 
 months was unable to work. Their lot was 
 a sad one, indeed, for they had nothing to 
 live upon save what the wife and children 
 could earn. For three years the\' contin- 
 ued their residence in Chicago, and then, 
 in 1883. Mr. Carlson, unaccompanied by 
 his family, came to Wisconsin in search of 
 a suitable location, taking a train to Green 
 Bay, then by stage to Bay Settlement, 
 whence he walked to Baileys Harbor, 
 where he chopped wood for one winter. 
 In the spring of 1884 he returned to Chi- 
 cago and brought his family to Jackson- 
 port township. Door count}', settling in 
 Section 20, where he bought forty acres 
 of land on which stood a rude shant}' — 
 the first home of the family in this local- 
 ity. Not a furrow had been turned or an 
 improvement made upon the place; but 
 inspired with the thought of securing a 
 good home for his wife and children Mr. 
 Carlson worked hard, and in course of 
 time the once wild land was transformed 
 into rich and fertile fields, which now 
 yield to him a good income. At present 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 623 
 
 he owns 120 acres of good land, sixty-five 
 of which have been placed under the 
 plow. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been 
 born the following named children: Al- 
 fred, Emile, Ellen, Hulda, Herman, John, 
 Clara and Emma, all yet living. The 
 parents are members of the Lutheran 
 Church, and in his political affiliation Mr. 
 Carlson is a Republican, but has never 
 been an office-seeker. He started out in 
 life a poor man, determined to make for 
 himself a comfortable home, and has 
 steadily worked his way upward from an 
 humble position to one of affluence, over- 
 coming the difficulties and obstacles in 
 his path by industry, perseverance and 
 well-directed efforts. He need never 
 have occasion to regret his removal to 
 America, for he has prospered here, and 
 has not onl}' gained a comfortable compe- 
 tence, but has also won many warm and 
 valued friends. 
 
 CHARLES E. MANN, who owns 
 and operates 240 acres of land in 
 Baileys Harbor township, Door 
 county, is a native of New York 
 State, born in Syracuse, June 5, 1853, 
 and is the second in the family of eight 
 children of James R. and Helen (Rogers) 
 Mann, the former of whom is of English 
 descent, and by trade is a miller. The 
 names of their children are: Willie, 
 Charles E., James, Fred, Horatio, Ella, 
 Cora and Frank. The children all re- 
 mained at home until they had attained 
 to years of maturity. 
 
 When twenty-one years of age our 
 subject set out for the West, hoping to 
 better his financial condition on its broad 
 prairies, and locating near Atlantic, la., 
 he there engaged in farming for two 
 years. Removing at the end of that time 
 to Marne, la., he there carried on a 
 restaurant for two years, and then went to 
 Oakland, same State, where he was en- 
 gaged in the meat market business for a 
 period of six months. We next find him 
 
 in Harlin, also in Iowa, where he worked 
 at the carpenter's trade for ten years, 
 earning a good income and saving some 
 capital. In 1891 he became a resident 
 of Door county. Wis., and settled on his 
 present farm of 240 acres which was 
 given him by George Bossford, who is 
 now a resident of Sevastopol township. 
 
 On May 26, 1876, Mr. Mann was 
 united in marriage with Miss Eliza Boss- 
 ford, daughter of George and Sarah Boss- 
 ford, and their union has been blessed 
 with seven children — five sons and two 
 daughters — Edward, Cora, George, Clar- 
 ence, Bertha, Clayton and Henry, and 
 the family circle yet remains unbroken. 
 The land which was given to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mann was well cleared and improved 
 with good buildings, and is still well kept 
 up, its neat appearance indicating the 
 enterprise and careful supervision of the 
 owner. He now devotes his entire time 
 and attention to agricultural pursuits, and 
 is meeting with good success. In his 
 political views, Mr. Mann is a Republican, 
 and keeps well informed on the issues of 
 the day, but has never been a politician 
 in the sense of office-seeking. Mr. Mann 
 holds membership with the Seventh Day 
 Adventists Church, and both are well- 
 known in the community, highly respect- 
 ed by their many friends and acquain- 
 tances. 
 
 ANTON MACH, member of the 
 Mach & Langer Brewing Co., 
 Kewaunee, is a native of Bohe- 
 mia, born January 6, 1850. His 
 father, John Mach, who was a cloth manu- 
 facturer, died in Bohemia in 1862; his 
 mother, whose maiden name was Dora 
 Fomandel, is still living in that country. 
 At the age of sixteen our subject came 
 to America, and for two years worked on 
 a farm m the town of Franklin, Kewaunee 
 county, whence he moved to Michigan, 
 where he worked in a sawmill fourteen 
 years; then returned to Kewaunee count}', 
 and for three vears rented a farm and 
 
624 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 saloon in the town of Carlton, after which 
 he came to Kewaunee villap;e and bought 
 a saloon, which he conducted three years 
 and six months. In Januarj', 1890, he 
 bouf^ht the Pilsen Brewery of Frank 
 Wihlencek, but two weeks later sold one- 
 half interest to Joseph Langcr, the style 
 of the firm being now the Mach & Langer 
 Brewing Co., giving employment to three 
 men. 
 
 In 1 878 Mr. Mach was married to Miss 
 Katie Langcr, and to their union have 
 been born three sons and one daughter. 
 The family are adherents of the Catholic 
 Church. In politics Mr. Mach is not a 
 party man, but votes for the nominee 
 that he considers to be best suited for the 
 position. He has had office thrust upon 
 him, however, and is the present super- 
 visor of his ward; has also served as alder- 
 man, besides in some minor offices. He 
 is public-spirited, and is one of the most 
 enterprising men of the city, although he 
 never had any education outside of the 
 public schools of Bohemia, excepting 
 what he has himself acquired without the 
 aid of instructors. . He is a strong sup- 
 porter of our school system, and is always 
 ready to lend it a helping hand. 
 
 RICH.ARD M. PERRY, a well- 
 known farmer of Door county, 
 has, since 1865, resided on his 
 farm in Section 29, Forestville 
 township. He first purchased 160 acres 
 of wild land on which not a furrow had 
 been turned qr an improvement made, 
 and with characteristic energy began the 
 development of a farm, transforming the 
 forest into rich and fertile fields, and im- 
 proving the place with good buildings. 
 He has cleared 245 acres of land, and 
 now owns 300 acres, 230 of which are 
 under cultivation — a greater amount 
 than is owned by anj' other man in the 
 township. Mr. Perry has resided in 
 Door count)' since 1857, having located 
 first on Wolf river, after which he en- 
 gaged in lumbering, getting out ties and 
 
 posts, and making shingles by hand. 
 He had removed to this State from New 
 York, but Ireland is the land of his birth, 
 he having been born in County Tippcrary 
 in 1840. His parents, John and Susan 
 (Minchin) Perry, were also natives of 
 Ireland, and died in that country. Four 
 of their children became residents of 
 Wisconsin, namely: John, who settled in 
 Door county at an' early day and after- 
 ward went to California; Samuel, who at 
 one time followed farming in Door 
 county, but is now a merchant of Ahan- 
 pee; Matthew and Richard M., leading 
 agriculturists of Forestville township. 
 
 Our subject spent the first twelve 
 }ears of his life on the Emerald Isle and 
 then came alone to America. In New 
 York State and in Canada he worked on 
 farms as a day laborer until coming to Wis- 
 consin in 1856. In 1859 he went to Louisi- 
 ana, and for two winters was employed by 
 a planter to take charge of a wood-yard 
 on the Mississippi. In the summer of 
 1 860 he was employed by the government, 
 driving teams to Salt Lake City, then 
 spent the following winter in Louisiana, 
 whence he went to Indiana, where he re- 
 mained until the breaking out of the war 
 of the Rebellion. 
 
 In 1 86 1 Mr. Perry responded to the 
 country's call for troops by joining Com- 
 pany E, Fourteenth Wis. V. I., three 
 years' service, and when that term ex- 
 pired he veteranized and was with his 
 regiment until after the close of the war. 
 He was with the army of the Tennessee, 
 and took part in the battles of Shiloh, 
 luka, Corinth, Raymond, Champion Hills, 
 Black River Bridge, Kenesaw Mountain, 
 Atlanta, Ezra Church, Lovejoy Station 
 and Bentonville, besides in many minor 
 engagements. He then took part in the 
 Grand Review in Washington, D. C, 
 after which he went to Mobile, Ala., 
 where he did provost duty until honorably 
 discharged, October 9, 1865. At once 
 returning to his home in Door county, 
 he has since been engaged in general farm- 
 ing and in the raising of Holstein cattle 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 625 
 
 and Berkshire hogs; he is also interested 
 in dairy farming. 
 
 In 1867, in Door count}', Mr. Perry 
 married Miss Anna Konopp, a native of 
 Penns3lvania and a daughter of Peter and 
 Gertrude (Bretz) Konopp, who were born 
 in Germany and about the year 1865 be- 
 came residents of Ahnapee, Wis., where 
 the father carried on farming until his 
 removal to Door county. His death 
 occurred in 1883; his widow is still liv- 
 ing in Ahnapee. Mr. and Mrs. Perry 
 have six children — Richard M., a commis- 
 sion merchant of Milwaukee; Susan, wife 
 of Julius Sehute, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis. ; 
 Anna, Edward, Henry and Elizabeth, all 
 yet at home. Mr. Perry aided in cutting 
 the first road to Sturgeon Bay, and has 
 generally assisted in opening up and de- 
 veloping Door county, in the progress of 
 which he still manifests a commendable 
 interest. He is a stalwart adherent of 
 the Republican party and its principles, 
 and has been called upon to fill a num- 
 ber of positions of public trust, having 
 been postmaster at Forestville for eleven 
 years, while in 1 890 he was census enu- 
 merator. He also served as assessor and 
 supervisor, and in all these offices has dis- 
 charged his duties with a promptness and 
 fidelity which have won him marked com- 
 mendation. Mr. Perry belongs to William 
 A. Nelson Post, No. 97, G. A. R. , is now 
 serving as adjutant, and was the honored 
 commander of the Post for some years. 
 
 Matthew Perry was born in County 
 Tipperary, Ireland, in 1838, also a son 
 of John and Susan (Minchin) Perry. 
 There he was reared and educated, and 
 in 1856, having emigrated to America, he 
 settled in Door county, where he worked 
 at various occupations, including shingle 
 making until 1861, when, prompted by a 
 spirit of patriotism, he enlisted in Com- 
 pany E, Fourteenth Wis. V. I., and with 
 the army of the Tennessee took part in 
 the engagements enumerated in the 
 sketch of his brother, Richard M., and 
 took part in the Grand Review at Wash- 
 ington. He had re-enlisted in the win- 
 
 ter of 1863-64, and after leaving Wash- 
 ington went to Pittsburg, thence to New 
 Orleans and on to Mobile, where he did 
 provost duty until honorably discharged, 
 in October, 1S65. 
 
 On his return to Wisconsin, Mr. 
 Perry began farming in Forestville town- 
 ship. Door county, having secured 160 
 acres of timber land, to which he has 
 added until he now has iSo acres, 140 
 being well cultivated and improved. He 
 also raises a good grade of stock, a branch 
 of his business that yields him a good in- 
 come. His life has been a busy and use- 
 ful one, yet he has found time to devote 
 to public interests, and has always borne 
 his part in advancing worthy enterprises. 
 Among the pioneer settlers of the county 
 he is numbered, and as such well deserves 
 mention in this volume. 
 
 In 1865 Matthew Perry was married 
 to Miss Adaline McChenzie, who was 
 born in Germany, a daughter of one of 
 the pioneers of Kewaunee county, Wis., 
 John McChenzie, who died in 1889; her 
 mother is still living on the same old 
 homestead in that county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Perry have si.\ children: Samuel, Mat- 
 thew, Hattie, Edward, Lizzie and one 
 whose name is not given. They lost two 
 children: Thomas, who died at the age 
 of fourteen years; and William, who 
 died in infancy. Mr. Perry votes with 
 the Republican party and takes quite an 
 active interest in politics, while socially 
 he is connected with William A. Nelson 
 Post, No. 397, G. A. R,, of Forestville, 
 in which he has served as sergeant-major. 
 
 GEORGE D. ROBERTS, who 
 holds a prominent place among 
 the prosperous agriculturists and 
 landowners of Ahnapee township, 
 Kewaunee count}', is a native of ^^'ales, 
 born January 2, 1853, in Llangollen. 
 His ancestors were farming people in that 
 country. 
 
 Godfrey William Roberts, father of 
 
630 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 our subject, was born in Wales, and was 
 t educated in the Welsh language. He 
 married Elizabeth Jones, a native of the 
 same country, whose family were promi- 
 nent and wealthy people in the neighbor- 
 hood in which they lived, man\- of the 
 members thereof being government offi- 
 cials and well-known in the Navy depart- 
 ment. To Godfrey W. and Elizabeth 
 (Jones) Roberts, were born twelve chil- 
 dren, two of whom died in Wales. Of 
 the others, Evan is now a resident of 
 Birnamwood, Shawano Co., Wis.; John 
 is living in Menominee, Mich. ; Mary Jane 
 is the wife of John Sullivan, of Milwau- 
 kee, Wis.; Joseph lives in Birnamwood; 
 David comes ne.xt in order; George D. is 
 the subject of this biographical sketch; 
 Elizabeth is married to John Bach, of 
 Chicago: Sarah is the wife of Charles 
 Kugler, of Milwaukee; Almira is the wife 
 of Perry Fay, of Chicago; Godfrey is a 
 resident of Birnamwood. In 1858 Mr. 
 Roberts came with his family to the 
 United States, locating first at Racine, 
 Wis., where he followed blacksmithing 
 for one year, and then removed to Ah- 
 napee, Kewaunee county, here purchas- 
 ing the farm our subject now owns and 
 occupies. The land being still in its 
 primitive condition, he commenced at 
 once to clear away the timber and pre- 
 pare the soil for cultivation, following 
 general agriculture on the place until his 
 death, which occurred in i860. When 
 he arrived in the United States he was a 
 poor man, but he was a man of consider- 
 able energj' and perseverance, and by 
 good business management and steady 
 industry had accumulated considerable 
 property, and gained for himself an en- 
 viable reputation for honesty and open- 
 hearted generositj-. I5cing one of the 
 early settlers of the township, he experi- 
 enced many of the hardships incident to 
 pioneer life; but he lived to see the re- 
 gion developed from a wilderness to a 
 prosperous farming community. In jiolit- 
 ical faith he was a member of the Repub- 
 licen part}', and in religious connection a 
 
 member of the Church of England, as 
 was also his wife. Mrs. Roberts was a 
 lady of considerable education and re- 
 finement; she was a sister of John Jones, 
 a millionaire and prominent man of Lon- 
 don, England; he is a manufacturer of 
 watches, also holds large interests in rail- 
 roads, and now owns the farm once 
 owned by the mother of Henry VII, of 
 England. 
 
 George D. Roberts came with his par- 
 ents to Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, in the 
 common schools of which locality he was 
 educated, at the same time receiving a 
 thorough agricultural training on the home 
 farm. When a young man he learned the 
 blacksmith's trade, which he followed 
 more or less for a number of years. In 
 1879 he was united in marriage with 
 Elizabeth Frank, daughter of Capt. J. D. 
 Frank, and of German e.xtraction. She 
 died one year and ten days after her mar- 
 riage, at the early age of twenty-three, 
 and is buried at Ahnapee. On April 2, 
 1884, Mr. Roberts was again married, 
 this time to Pauline Braasch, a native of 
 Mishicot, Manitowoc Co., Wis., born 
 May 5, 1854, the eighth in the family of 
 nine children born to Frederick and 
 Sophia (Hanson) Braasch, the former of 
 whom was a native of Saxony, Germany, 
 the latter of Danish ancestry. Mr. 
 Braasch was a man of thorough educa- 
 tion, having graduated from two uni\ersi- 
 ties, and possessed considerable natural 
 ability; his wife had also received a care- 
 ful literary training, and was well edu- 
 cated, both in German and French. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Braasch are now deceased, 
 he having died in 1884, she in 1892, con- 
 sistent members of the Lutheran Church. 
 They were among the early settlers of 
 Mishicot, Wis., of which place Mr. 
 Braasch, who was a veterinary surgeon by 
 occupation, became a citizen of much 
 prominence. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have been 
 born five children, as follows: Gladys, 
 October 12, 1885; Luella, August 2, 
 1887; George E., May 28, 1889; David J., 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 62"; 
 
 November 15, 1890, and Bessie B., Sep- 
 tember 5, 1892. Since his marriage Mr. 
 Roberts has been engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits, now owning the home farm, 
 consisting of 200 acres of good land, and 
 is one of the substantial agriculturists of 
 the township. Politically, he is a Repub- 
 lican. The family attend the M. E. 
 Church, Mrs. Roberts, however, being a 
 member of the Baptist Church. In 1884 
 Mr. and Mrs. Roberts visited relatives in 
 England, and had a most enjoyable trip, 
 of which they recall many pleasant inci- 
 dents. 
 
 JOSEPH ULLSPERGER is one of 
 the leading and influential citizens of 
 Door county, and is now serving as 
 town clerk of Forestville township, 
 which position he has filled for six years. 
 He is also an enterprising general mer- 
 chant of the town of Forestville, and 
 proprietor of a cheese factory, has made 
 his home in this locality since 1878, and 
 has been a resident of the State since 
 1868. 
 
 Mr. Ullsperger was born in Bohemia 
 in 1854, and is a son of Wenzel and 
 Frances fDeofler) Ullsperger, also natives 
 of that land, who in 1868, having crossed 
 the Atlantic to the New World, located 
 in Pierce township, Kewaunee Co., Wis., 
 where they are still living. They had a 
 family of ten children, namely. Joseph; 
 John, who was killed by a failing tree in 
 Clay Banks township. Door count}', in 
 1874; Wenzel, who is interested in a 
 cheese factory in Ahnapee, Wis. ; George, 
 who is living in Marinette, Wis. ; Theresa, 
 wife of John Hundseder, of Sturgeon Bay, 
 Wis. ; Rudolph, who makes his home with 
 his parents; Anton, who died in Bohemia 
 at the age of three years; Anna, wife of 
 Robert Bufflot, of Kewaunee county. Wis. ; 
 Frank, who is engaged in tailoring in 
 Wausaukee, Wis., and John, who died at 
 the age of ten months. Our subject spent 
 the first twelve years of his life in Bohemia, 
 
 then accompanied his parents to America, 
 and with his grandfather, Frederic Doefier, 
 went to Cook county. 111., locating on a 
 farm where an uncle lived. In 1867 the 
 grandfather came to Kewaunee county. 
 Wis. , and in 1 869 returned to Bohemia, 
 where he died in 1 876. Joseph Ullsperger 
 acquired the greater part of his education 
 in his native land, and after coming to 
 this country he attended school in Cook 
 county. 111., for two terms, learning to 
 read and write the English language. 
 During the earlier years of his manhood 
 he followed farming, continuing in that 
 occupation until he turned his attention 
 to commercial pursuits. In 1872 he came 
 to Door county, and in 1878 located on 
 Section 7, Forestville township, there 
 securing about eighty acres of land covered 
 with timber, which he at once began to 
 clear. On coming to Forestville he sold 
 that property, and in 1883 established a 
 factory in Forestville for the manufacture 
 of full cream cheese, in addition to which 
 he, in 1887, opened a general mercantile 
 store. These two lines of business he has 
 since followed with good success, work- 
 ing up an excellent trade, from which he 
 derives a good income. 
 
 Mr. Ullsperger was married in Pierce 
 township, Kewaunee Co., Wis., in 1879, 
 to Miss Mary D. Peters, who was born in 
 Milwaukee, a daughter of Mathias and 
 Barbara (Williams) Peters, natives of 
 Prussia, who, crossing the briny deep in 
 an early day, became residents of Mil- 
 waukee, and about 1866 removed to 
 Pierce township, Kewaunee county, where 
 the father opened up a farm; his death 
 occurred in 1874; his wife died in 1891. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Ullsperger were born 
 eight children, five of whom are yet liv- 
 ing: Mary D., Anna, Helen, Joseph and 
 George; John died at the age of ten 
 months, and two died in infancy. In 
 politics our subject is a stanch Democrat, 
 has frequently served as delegate to the 
 County Convention of his party, and on 
 the Democratic ticket has six times been 
 elected to his present position of town 
 
628 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BTOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 clerk of Forestville township, which he 
 has all along creditably and acceptably 
 tilled. He and his wife are members of 
 thr Roman Catholic Church, and he be- 
 lonjjs to the Catholic Knights. During 
 his residence in Door county, Mr. Ulls- 
 perger has witnessed many changes, has 
 taken an active part in the development 
 and upbuilding of his town and township, 
 and has manifested a commendable in- 
 terest in ever_\thing pertaining to the wel- 
 fare of the community. 
 
 ALBERT WOBSER, who owns a 
 fine farm of 200 acres in Section 
 36, Nasewaupee township, Door 
 county, was born in Germany in 
 1S41. His parents, John and Caroline 
 (Kuhter) Wobser, were natives of the 
 Province of Pomerania, Prussia, where 
 the father was a shoemaker. He died in 
 i860, and his widow came to America in 
 1 86 1, and to Door county. Wis., in 1871, 
 making her home in Forestville township. 
 She was a strong healthy woman, and a 
 very hard worker; her death occurred in 
 September, 1891, when she was aged 
 seventy-eight years. She had but one 
 child, Albert. 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools 
 of German}', and at a suitable age learned 
 his father's trade, that of shoemaking. 
 In 1861 he emigrated to America, for 
 some time residing in Canada, where, in 
 Toronto, Ontario, he worked at his trade 
 and at the butcher business. He next 
 went to Chicago, 111., and subsequently 
 to Milwaukee where he engaged in the 
 shoe business. In January, 1865, he en- 
 listed in Company F, Forty-fifth Regi- 
 ment, Wis. V. I., and was a member of 
 the detachment of the army of the Cum- 
 berland which was stationed at Nashville, 
 Tenn., on picket duty and guarding the 
 trains. He was honorably discharged as 
 sergeant in 1865 at Nashville, and re- 
 turned to Milwaukee where he continued 
 in business until 1869, when he sold out 
 
 and removed to Forestville, Door county, 
 and here bought 320 acres of land. 
 Later he sold 160 acres, and improved 
 the remainder; then bought eighty acres 
 more. W'hen he came to Forestville he 
 exchanged forty acres to a man for forty 
 daj's' work, in order to have a neighbor 
 nearer than two miles away. In 1873 he 
 sold his whole farm here and recom- 
 menced the shoe business in Milwau- 
 kee; but ere the expiry of two years he 
 abandoned the busmess and returned to 
 Door countj', where he took up a home- 
 stead of 160 acres in Section 36, Nase- 
 waupee township, which at that time was 
 all woods, at once commencing the diffi- 
 cult task of clearing and preparing the 
 ground for cultivation. He added forty 
 acres to his farm, and now has 200 acres, 
 of which sixty acres are cleared and grow- 
 ing very fine crops. About five years ago 
 he went into gardening and fruit raising. 
 While li\ing in Milwaukee Mr. Wobser 
 was married, in 1866, to Miss Charlotta. 
 daughter of Karl Dommer. of Germany, 
 where she was born. She is the mother 
 of seven children, as follows: Hans, who 
 operates a cheese factory; and Hugo, 
 Hermann, Henry, Herbert, Helena and 
 Hedwig, residing at home. Mr. Wobser 
 votes with the Republican party, and 
 while living in Forestville township was 
 town clerk, but he resigned before the end 
 of his term and left the town for Milwau- 
 kee. He assisted in organizing the school 
 district in which he resided, and was a 
 school officer for twelve years; was also 
 town chairman of Nasewaupee in 1 880. 
 Although his army experience was very 
 brief, he thoroughly enjoys the soldiers' 
 reunions, and is an enthusiastic member 
 of the William A. Nelson Post, Number 
 97. Mr. Wobser has a much better edu- 
 cation than the majority of men who do 
 manual labor; in addition to the common 
 course of study in Germany, he studied 
 law for two 3'ears, but abandoned that 
 profession to come to the United States. 
 Mr. W^obser traveled considerably when 
 he was young; he was in five States on 
 
COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 629 
 
 the other side of the Atlantic and in 
 twelve States on this side, but everything 
 considered he likes Door county, Wis., 
 the best. 
 
 ALEXANDER LAWSON, Jr., has 
 since 1878 resided upon his fine 
 farm in Section 2, Forestville 
 township, Door county, but the 
 iiighly cultivated tract of to-day bears lit- 
 tle resemblance to the crude land which 
 he purchased. He became owner of 
 eighty acres, forty of which he has under 
 cultivation, the rich and fertile fields 
 yielding to him a golden tribute in return 
 for the care and labor he bestows upon 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Lawson was born in Essex coun- 
 ty, N. Y, in 1850, but was reared in Clin- 
 ton county, and acquired his education in 
 the public schools of Clintonville, after 
 which he started out to make his own way 
 in the world, earning his livelihood by 
 mining and teaming, hauling charcoal and 
 iron ore. Thus his time was passed 
 until his emigration westward, after which 
 he worked for one year on the home farm, 
 and then sought employment in the mills 
 and in the lumber woods, devoting his 
 energies to these occupations until 1878, 
 when he began operating his present farm. 
 On January i, 1877, in Forestville town- 
 ship, Door count}', he married Miss 
 Katie Eiermann, who 
 towoc county, Wis. , 
 Eiermann, a native 
 came to this country, and in pioneer days 
 took up his residence in Manitowoc coun- 
 ty upon a wooded farm ; he there died on 
 the old homestead in 1888, where his 
 widow is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Law- 
 son have three children: William John, 
 Edith and Frank. 
 
 Our subject has witnessed much of the 
 growth and development of Door county, 
 and has aided in its progress and ad- 
 vancement by giving his support to every 
 enterprise calculated to prove of public 
 benefit. He is recognized as a progressive 
 
 was born in Mani- 
 daughter of Joseph 
 of Germany, who 
 
 citizen, and in the history of his adopted 
 county well deserves representation. He 
 votes with the Republican party, and has 
 served as constable of his township. The 
 sketch of his father we give below. 
 
 Alexander Lawson, Sr. , has since 
 1870 resided in Section 10, Forestville 
 township, Door county, where he first 
 purchased forty acres of land, beginning 
 at once to clear it of the heavy growth of 
 timber. His first home was a log cabin 
 18 X 14 feet, which was replaced by a 
 blockhouse, 26 x 20 feet, one story and a 
 half in height, with a one-story L, 14 x 18 
 feet. This was destroyed by fire in 1893, 
 and in October of the same year he 
 erected his present residence, 20 x 20 
 feet, with an L, 20x18 feet. As his 
 financial resources have increased, he has 
 also extended the boundaries of his farm, 
 and now owns i 50 acres of good land, of 
 which fifty acres have been placed under 
 the plow, and now yield to the owner 
 good crops as the reward for his care and 
 labor. 
 
 Mr. Lawson was born in Glasgow, 
 Scotland, in 1825, and is a son cf Alex- 
 ander and Sarah (Stewart) Lawson, the 
 former also born in Glasgow, and the 
 latter in Dundee, Scotland. The father, 
 who was a butcher by trade, in 1827 re- 
 moved to Bainbridge, and thence to Rath- 
 fryland. County Down, Ireland, where he 
 followed his trade and made his home un- 
 til 1879, when, at the advanced age of 
 one hundred add two years, six months, 
 he passed away. His wife died in 1869. 
 They were the parents of ten children, 
 namely: James, who emigrated to Essex 
 county, N. Y. , in 1862, and died in 1872; 
 John and Ann, both of whom died in 
 Ireland; Jane, who became the wife of 
 John McCrum, and died in the Emerald 
 Isle; Eliza, wife of James Brown, of 
 Rathfryland, Ireland; William, who emi- 
 grated to Philadelphia in 1847, and 
 the following year became an Indiana 
 farmer, his death occurring in Prince- 
 ton, Ind., in 1887; David, who is mar- 
 ried and follows farming in Essex county, 
 
630 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 N. Y., where he located in 1850; Alex- 
 ander, subject of this sketch; and Mary 
 and Stewart, who died in Ireland. The 
 grandparents of this family. William and 
 Sallie (Harbison) Lawson, were also na- 
 tives of Scotland, and throughout his life 
 the grandfather followed butcherinji in 
 Cila.sf^ow. 
 
 Aie.xander Lawson, Sr. , was reared 
 on a farm in County Down, Ireland, and 
 attended its public schools until he began 
 work for himself as a farm hand. In 
 1847 he determined to seek a home in 
 the New World, hoping thereby to benefit 
 his financial condition, and sailed from 
 W'arrens Point Island, on the brig " Sea 
 Bird," which was commanded by Capt. 
 John ^^'ray, and which, after a voyage of 
 si.Nty-two days, dropped anchor in the 
 harbor of New Vork. From there Mr. 
 Lawson proceeded to Philadelphia, where 
 he engaged in wea\ ing for nearly three 
 years, and then removed to Esse.x county, 
 N. v., and here purchased a farm of fifty 
 acres; but for nearly eighteen years there- 
 after he was in the employ of the Iron 
 Company as overseer, severing his con- 
 nection with the firm on his remo\al to 
 Wisconsin. Mr. Lawson was married in 
 County Down. Ireland, in 1846, to Miss 
 Ellen McMahon, who was born in that 
 county, as were also her parents, James 
 and Jane (Robinson) McMahon, who 
 passed their entire lives in the Emerald 
 Isle. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson became the 
 parents of eight children, as follows: 
 Sarah died at the age of fourteen months; 
 Alexander, Jr., is fully spoken of above; 
 Ellen is the wife of A. K. Liut^, a banker, 
 of (ladott. Wis. ; William is married and 
 lives near his father; Anna is the wife of 
 J. E. Spal.sbnry, of Clay Banks township. 
 Door county; Eliza is the wife of Joseph 
 Schneider, of Forestville; Frances is the 
 wife of Albert Mitts, of Clay Banks town- 
 ship; Sarah died in New \'ork. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Lawson is a Republi- 
 can, keeps well informed on the issues of 
 the daj', and is deeply interested in the 
 leading questions. He has served as clerk 
 
 of Forestville township, was also assessor, 
 has been a member of the town board, 
 and for about eighteen years has been 
 justice of the peace, a fact which indicates 
 his fidelity to duty and the trust reposed 
 in him. He was one of the prime movers 
 in the organization of the school district, 
 has always been a friend to education, 
 and has withheld his support from no en- 
 terprise calculated to promote the general 
 welfare and advance the county's best 
 interests. 
 
 HON. MICHAEL C. HANEY, of 
 Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, wide- 
 1)' and favorably known in business 
 circles throughout northern W'is- 
 consin, is a native of New York State, born 
 December i, 1855, in Alexander, Genesee 
 count}'. 
 
 Thomas Haney, father of Hon. Mich- 
 ael C. Haney, was born near Sligo, Ire- 
 land, was reared to farming, and received 
 all his education in his native country, be 
 coming well read in historical matters, 
 and especially conversant with the history 
 of Great Britain. In early manhood he 
 emigrated to the United States, locating 
 first in Genesee county, N. Y. . where he 
 followed farming, and where he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Margaret Clancy, a native 
 of Clare, Ireland. In 1859 they removed 
 to Wisconsin, residing one year in She- 
 boygan, and thence coming to Ellisville, 
 Kewaunee county, where they lived a 
 number of years, Mr. Haney becoming 
 one of ths most successful farmers of the 
 county. In 1880 he retired from active 
 life, removing into the city of Manitowoc, 
 where he and his wife and daughter yet 
 make their home. Thomas Haney is a 
 man of strong convictions and great force 
 of character, and was a leader in town- 
 ship andcounty affairs, taking an independ- 
 ent stand in political matters, and giving 
 his vote and support to the l)est man re- 
 gardless of party connection. There are 
 three children in his family: Michael C, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 631 
 
 John L. (of Kewaunee) and Mary A. (of 
 Manitowoc). 
 
 Michael C. Haney received the bene- 
 fit of the common schools of Kewaunee 
 county, and also attended Green Bay 
 Business College, where he took a full 
 commercial course. For five years he 
 successfully taught school in Brown and 
 Kewaunee counties, and then remo\'ed to 
 Kewaunee, where he engaged in the agri- 
 cultural implement business in partner- 
 ship with his brother, and so successful 
 were they that after one year they re- 
 moved to Ahnapee, establishing them- 
 selves in the same line here. The firm is 
 known as Haney Bros. , and they handle 
 everything in the way of farm implements! 
 also wagons and carriages, carrying as 
 complete a stock as can be found in 
 Kewaunee and Door counties. They have 
 another store in Sturgeon Bay, from 
 which they supply Door county, and their 
 trade, in the implement line, is unques- 
 tionably the largest in the State north of 
 Milwaukee. Mr. Haney's business meth- 
 ods have been strictly honest, his good 
 name and good will being second to none 
 in the State. It takes time to build up a 
 good business, and more time to build up 
 a good character, but he has succeeded in 
 doing so in a comparatively short period. 
 Since 1880 Mr. Haney has been identified 
 with Ahnapee, and has taken an active 
 part in its growth and development, 
 proving himself a useful citizen and a 
 champion of every good enterprise. 
 Politically he is a Democrat, and in the 
 fall of 1 886 was nominated and elected by 
 the party for member of the Assembly, 
 holding the office two years, during which 
 he served on the conmiittee of Incorpcjra- 
 tions and made a creditable record as a 
 legislator. 
 
 In addition to his implement business, 
 above mentioned, Mr. Haney is also con- 
 nected with the Ahnapee & Western rail- 
 road, of which he is vice-president; is a 
 stockholder and director in the Ahnapee 
 Veneer & Seating Co., and stockholder 
 and director in the Ahnapee Furniture 
 
 Co., all of which he helped and protected 
 in their infancy. His influence among 
 his fellow citizens is widespread, and a 
 strong moral character and high sense of 
 integrit}' directs that infiuence to the 
 furtherance of every project that promises 
 to be useful and beneficial to himself and 
 his fellow men. Oneof the most substantial 
 men in the county, he is at the same 
 time one of the most quiet and unobtru- 
 sive, showing, however, when occasion 
 demands it, a reserve force and a strength 
 of will that are as powerful as une.\- 
 pected. 
 
 IVl 
 
 ELVIN HAINES, a prosperous 
 farmer of Nasevvaupee town- 
 ship. Door county, is well 
 known throughout the county 
 as a successful and public-spirited busi- 
 ness man. He is a native of Ozaukee 
 county. Wis., and was born in 1850. 
 His parents, Tellack and Ellen (Halver- 
 son) Haines, came originally . from Nor- 
 way and settled in Canada in 1848, 
 where thej' remained two years, then re- 
 moved to Ozaukee county. Wis., where 
 they purchased the farm on which our 
 subject was born. When Melvin was six 
 years of age his parents removed to 
 Door count}' where the}' bought a tract 
 of timber land, on which, after clearing, 
 they made their home. As the surround- 
 ing country was wholly undeveloped at 
 that time, in consequence of which the 
 educational advantages were very limited, 
 the children or Mr. and Mrs. Tellack 
 Haines received but a meager amount of 
 schooling. The mother died in Nasevvau- 
 pee township in 1878. 
 
 In 1868 Melvin Haines, our subject, 
 went to Central City, also to Idaho 
 Springs, Colo., and at the latter place 
 spent four years working in the mines. 
 Later he learned photography, and opened 
 a gallery in Golden City (Colo.). The 
 patronage not being up to his e.xpectations 
 he tried Denver with a like result, and in 
 1872 returned to Wisconsin, where, with 
 
6y. 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his brother Tellif as a partner, he engaged 
 in the mercantile business, their house be- 
 ing the first of that kind in Bay View, 
 where they had located. One year later 
 our subject went to Nasewaupee town- 
 ship. Door Co., where he bought a farm. 
 Since that time he has added to his 
 original purchase until at the present 
 time he owns 300 acres of land, delight- 
 fully situated on the shores of Green Bay 
 and Sturgeon Bay, and extending to 
 Idlewild. This place possesses unex- 
 ceptional ad\antages for a summer resort. 
 Politically Mr. Haines is an ardent 
 Republican, and has served his towns- 
 people well as supervisor, town clerk and 
 member of school board; in fact he or- 
 ganized the school district in which he 
 lives. He is a member of Peninsula Lodge 
 No. 320 I. O. O, F. In iS72hewas 
 married, in Door county, to Miss Mary 
 Sorenson, a native of Germany and a 
 daughter of John Sorenson, an early 
 pioneer of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., who now 
 resides in Bay View, same State. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Haines have had six children 
 born to them, of whom Oliver, Ida and 
 Oscar died when quite young; Arthur, 
 Frank and Lizzie live at home. In 1885 
 the mother died, and two years later the 
 father married Miss Amelia Thoreson, 
 daughter of Lewis Thoreson, who came 
 to Nasewaupee township in 1873. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Haines are respected members 
 of the Lutheran Church, in which society 
 they are active workers. 
 
 REV. FATHER ALPHONS M. 
 BROENS, pastor of St. Joseph's 
 Church, Sturgeon Bay, Door 
 county, is a citizen of whom any 
 community might be proud, a clergyman 
 whose presence would benefit any localit}-, 
 and whose name would reflect honor upon 
 any office or station. 
 
 He is a native of Holland, born in 
 the city of Weert May i , 1 864, a son of 
 Arnold Broens, of the same nativity, born 
 in July, 1827, a son of Leonard Broens, 
 
 born in Holland in 1800, whose father 
 was a German by birth. As far back as 
 can be traced the male members of the 
 family were men of business, for the 
 most part merchants. On February 28, 
 1853, Arnold Broens married Miss Anna 
 Beckx, also a native of Holland, a rela- 
 tive of the late Father Peter Beckx, who 
 for many years was superior-general of 
 the Jesuits. To this marriage were born 
 twelve children, namely : Bertha, Mary, 
 Catherine, Leo, Alphons M., Lambert J., 
 and Anna, living, and live that died in 
 infancy. The three sons are all priests — 
 Leo, at Bay City, Mich.; Alphons M., at 
 Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; and Lambert J., at 
 Martinsville, Kewaunee Co., Wis. The 
 mother died in December, 1887 ; the 
 father, who is a retired merchant, is still 
 living in Holland with his daughter Mary. 
 The subject of these lines attended 
 the public schools of his native place up 
 to the age of twelve years, when he en- 
 tered college at Weert, from which insti- 
 tution he graduated in 1881, directly 
 afterward setting out for America. Com- 
 ing westward from the port of debarca- 
 tion to Indiana, he entered Notre Dame 
 University, in that State, where he studied 
 philosophy until September, 1882, at 
 which time he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 and there for twelve months was profes- 
 sor of Latin in St. Joseph's College, also 
 teaching mathematics. In September, 
 1 883, he entered St. Francis Seminary, near 
 Milwaukee, and there continued and, in 
 
 1886, completed his theological studies, 
 fully qualifying himself to enter the priest- 
 hood. In the latter year he came to Green 
 Bay, and after spending sometime at the 
 Bishop's home was appointed assistant 
 pastor of the Catholic Church at Marinette, 
 same State, taking charge thereof October 
 21,1 886, and retiring from it September 8, 
 
 1887, the date of his coming to Sturgeon 
 Bay, having been appointed pastor of St. 
 Joseph's Church in that city, an incum- 
 bency he has since filled with true Chris- 
 tian zeal and fidelity. Since his coming 
 to take the responsibility of this charge, 
 
/^Q^/. ^^^-^--^^^2:^ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 635 
 
 many improvements have been effected in 
 the status of the parish through Father 
 Broens' efforts: The old frame church 
 building that was standing when he came 
 to it has been replaced by the present 
 substantial brick edifice; in 188S was 
 erected the elegant brick schoolhouse, 
 which was opened October i , same year, 
 with III pupils and three teachers; to- 
 day there are 235 pupils and four teach- 
 ers. The foundation stone of the new 
 church was laid in 18S8, and the building 
 was completed and dedicated October i, 
 1889, by Bishop Katzer. In 1890 was 
 built a residence for the Sisters, and at 
 the same time the priest's residence was 
 enlarged. Father Broens now claims a 
 congregation of 200 families made up of 
 no less than si.x nationalities, to whom he 
 preaches in three languages — English, 
 German and French. In social affilia- 
 tions he is an active member of the Catho- 
 lic Knights and the Catholic Order of 
 Foresters. 
 
 WILLIAM ST. PETERS, of West 
 Kewaunee township, Kewaunee 
 county, was born in Carlton 
 township, Kewaunee Co., Wis., 
 November 14, 1854, and is a son of An- 
 ton A. D. St. Peters. 
 
 Anton A. D. St. Peters was born at 
 Wolf River, Canada, March 10, 1826, 
 and is a son of Joseph and Julia St. 
 Peters, also natives of that country. 
 Until he was twelve years old, Anton 
 lived on a farm, and then went with his 
 parents to New Brunswick, where he was 
 employed in the cod fisheries until he 
 reached the age of twenty-three, at which 
 time he came to the United States, land- 
 ing at Sheboygan, Wis., whence, in 1850 
 he moved to Two Rivers, same State, 
 and located on a farm in Carlton town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county. Here he was 
 engaged in making shingles, following that 
 occupation five years, when he bought 
 320 acres of good farming land near Mena- 
 sha, and commenced tilling the soil. In 
 
 36 
 
 this he continued until 1883, then sold his 
 farm, removed to Kewaunee, and invested 
 to some extent in city property. In Au- 
 gust, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, 
 Twenty-seventh Wis. V. I., and served 
 nearly two j'ears under Capt. Cunning- 
 ham. Mr. St. Peters is now a member 
 of the G. A. R., John M. Read Post, of 
 Kewaunee, and is also an Odd Fellow; 
 politically he is a Republican. Anton St. 
 Peters was married, in 1849, to Mary 
 Rogers, who was born in 1831, daughter 
 of Charles and Katharine Rogers, and to 
 this union have come twelve children, 
 viz. : Katharine, George, Eliza, William, 
 Idel, Charles, Matilda, Nellie, Margaret, 
 Eugene, Rachel and Emma, all of whom 
 are living with the exception of Margaret, 
 who died when an infant, and William, 
 who was accidentall}' killed since this 
 sketch was prepared. 
 
 William St. Peters, the subject proper 
 of this sketch, was reared on his father's 
 farm, and received a good common-school 
 education. The country being new and 
 he young, his farm labors were quite oner- 
 ous, and during the two years his father 
 was in the army his toil and responsibility 
 were considerably increased. Mr. St. 
 Peters early affiliated with the Republi- 
 can party, and was active in its behalf. 
 For three years he was clerk of the board 
 of education, and treasurer of School 
 District No. 2. On September 21, 1872, 
 he was united in marriage with Janet 
 Dalziel, who was born in Scotland July 
 3, 1855, a daughter of Robert and Janet 
 Dalziel, the former of whom was born in 
 Hurlford, Scotland, in December, 1823. 
 This union has been blessed with four 
 children, their names and dates of birth 
 being as follows: William Robert. May 5, 
 1874; Reginald I., July 3, 1877; Jeanette 
 Beatrice, June 19, 1881, and Blanche, 
 November 28, 1884. 
 
 Mr. William St. Peters was accident- 
 ally killed by the discharge of a gun on 
 his premises in West Kewaunee April 17, 
 1895. He started out in the afternoon 
 to go into the woods to work, and, as was 
 
636 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 customary, took his gun alonj:; with him. 
 At seven in the evening, his body was 
 found by his sons in the path near a rail 
 fence, which he had evidently attempted 
 to climb with tiic gun, ami which had in 
 some manner caught upon a knot and dis- 
 charged itself into his body, causing in- 
 stant death. His funeral was one of the 
 largest ever witnessed in the community. 
 He was one of the most progressive and 
 industrious farmers. 
 
 c 
 
 H.\RLE.S LEWIS FELLOWS, 
 who for the past several years has 
 been engaged in general agricul- 
 ture and stock raising in Clay- 
 banks township, Door county, is one of 
 the most prominent citizens of this section 
 of the State, having been intimately as- 
 sociated with its interests and progress 
 for almost the past forty years. 
 
 The I'ellows famil\- is of English and 
 Irish origin, and the earliest ancestors of 
 whom we have record took an active 
 part in the Reformation. The\' came to 
 this country from Ireland in 1630, settling 
 in Connecticut, and Nathaniel Fellows, 
 the first of the family in this country of 
 whom anything definite is known, was a 
 soldier in the Colonial army during the 
 Pequod, King Philip and other wars in 
 early New England days. 
 
 Isaac Fellows, the great-grandfather of 
 our sul)ject, was a descendant of Nathan- 
 iel l-'ellows. .-^ copy of an Act of the As- 
 -sombly of the Colony of Connecticut 
 reads as follows: " This Assembly do es- 
 tablish Isaac Fellows to be Lieutenant of 
 horse, in the Nineteenth regiment in this 
 Colony. Enacted May 17, 1775, by 
 General Assembly of the English Colony 
 of Connecticut. Jonathan Trumbull, 
 Governor." He died in October. 1777, 
 while fighting for liberty and independ- 
 ence with the Continental ariny, in which 
 two of his sons also served — Jason, who 
 was killed in the army, and John, who 
 was afterward promoted to the rank of 
 general, and served until the triumphant 
 
 end of the struggle. He then located in 
 the city of New York, where he died in 
 1808. Adolphus Fellows (son of Isaac 
 Fellows, and grandfather of our subject) 
 was a native <jf Connecticut, where he 
 was born in 1 764. and died November 
 29, 1849, at Racine, Wis. He married 
 Lucy Tucker, a native of Massachusetts, 
 who was born in 1773, and died in Will- 
 iamstown. State of \'ermont, in 1841. 
 The Tuckers were prominent during the 
 early settlement of New England, and 
 during the Revolutionarj' war, serving 
 principally in the infant navy of that 
 period. Commodore Tucker being the 
 most prominent naval officer of the war. 
 After the close of the Revolutionary war 
 some of them removed to \'ermont (then 
 known as the New Hampshire grant). 
 
 George D. Fellows, father of Charles 
 L. Fellows, born June 2, 181 2, in Ver- 
 mont, was reared on a farm, and was 
 educated in the common schools of the 
 Green Mountain State. In 1835 he 
 found employment on a sloop on the 
 Hudson river, plying between Albany and 
 New York, and the ne.\t year (1836) 
 walked from Williainstown,\'t., to Racine, 
 Wis., where he engaged in cutting tim- 
 ber, and soon began contracting on his 
 own account, doing a jobbing business. 
 He also bought and sold claims, and con- 
 tinued this until 1839, when he went back 
 to Vermont, in 1841 returning to Wis- 
 consin with his family and locating in the 
 city of Racine, where he again established 
 himself in the jobbing business, and car- 
 rying it on until his death, which took 
 place February 26, 1857. He also owned 
 several vessels, which were used princi- 
 pally in the lumber and wood trade be- 
 tween Michigan and Chicago. Though 
 an active business man up to the time of 
 his death, Mr. Fellows took a leading 
 part in the organization and general ad- 
 vancement of the city of Racine, as well 
 as the development of its business re- 
 sources, and was one of its best known and 
 most honored residents. He became a 
 member of the first council of Racine after 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 637 
 
 its organi;?ation as a city, and served in 
 various other positons of trust, holding a 
 high place in the esteem of his towns- 
 people and fellow citizens generally. Po- 
 litically he was originally a Whig, joining 
 the Republican party on its organization, 
 his last Presidential vote being cast for 
 John C. Fremont, the first Republican 
 nominee. Socially he was a member of 
 the I. O. O. F. until his death. He 
 married Louisa Olds, a native of Ver- 
 mont, who died April 10, 1859, aged 
 forty-seven years and seven months, the 
 mother of four children, viz. : Charles 
 Lewis, whose name opens this sketch; 
 William, of Chicago; Harrison, who died 
 April I, 1887, at Racine, aged forty-six 
 years and nine months (at the time of his 
 death he was a large coal dealer and ves- 
 sel owner in that city); and a daughter 
 that died in infancy. Mrs. Fellows was 
 
 the daughter of Joel and fKidderj 
 
 Olds, natives of New England. She was 
 a member of the M. E. Church. 
 
 Charles Lewis Fellows, the subject 
 proper of this sketch, was born August i i , 
 1834, in Williamstown, Orange Co., Vt., 
 and when but seven years of age came 
 with his parents to Racine, where he re- 
 ceived his early education, completing his 
 studies at Bell's Commercial College, 
 Chicago, whence he graduated in the 
 spring of 1856. Prior to this he had 
 sailed on the lakes for a number of years, 
 when but eighteen becoming captain and 
 part owner of the schooner "Julia Ann." 
 which was the first vessel that ever sailed 
 into the Ahnapee river; he was also cap- 
 tain and o\\-ner of the " Whirlwind," the 
 first vessel that ever loaded at the bridge 
 pier in Ahnapee. In 1856 Mr. Fellows 
 came to Ahnapee, and embarking in the 
 mercantile marine business continued to 
 follow it successfully imtil 1887. He re- 
 moved to his present farm in Claybanks 
 township. Door county, in 1871, and has 
 since given his time and attention jirinci- 
 pally to general agriculture and stock 
 raising, making a specialty of O.xford- 
 Down sheep. The ability and energy 
 
 which have characterized him in all his 
 business pursuits have been recognized as 
 the secret of his success, and his fellow 
 citizens have given many evidences of 
 their confidence in him, selecting him to 
 fill numerous position of responsibility, 
 the duties of which he has invariably dis- 
 charged in a conscientious faithful man- 
 ner, giving universal satisfaction. For 
 twenty-three years he served as post- 
 master at Foscoro, and is at the present 
 time chairman of Claybanks township, 
 an oi^ce to which he has been elected for 
 the past eight years, and he never fails to 
 give his influence and support to any en- 
 terprise for the general welfare of the 
 section, especially its agricultural develop- 
 ment. He was appointed a member of 
 the Advisory Council of the World's Con- 
 gress Auxiliary on Farm Culture and 
 Cereal Industry, and during the World's 
 Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in 1 893, 
 was a member of the World's Agricul- 
 tural Congress. He is Republican in 
 politics, casting his first Presidential vote 
 for John C. Fremont in 1856. 
 
 Mr. Fellows was married, in 1857, to 
 Mary Frances Yates, who is a native of 
 Wisconsin, born December 29, 1839, at 
 Pleasant Prairie, daughter of John L. V. 
 Yates, and to this union have come seven 
 children as follows: George Decatur, a 
 resident of Racine; Fred Wild, of Goge- 
 bic, Mich. ; John Lewis, of Foscora,Door 
 Co., Wis.; Edith I., now Mrs. William 
 White, of Ahnapee; Frank Edward, who 
 died July 11, 1893, aged twenty years, 
 six months and eleven days; William 
 Harrison, of Jeffris, Wis., and a son 
 who died in infancy in 1871. In relig- 
 ious connection Mrs. Fellows is a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Fel- 
 lows is a member of the Sons of the 
 American Revolution. 
 
 John L. V. Yates (father of Mrs. 
 Charles L. Fellows) was born July 19, 
 1809, at Pittstown, Rensselaer Co., N. 
 Y., of Dutch extraction, and died April- 
 12, 1890, in Foscoro, Wis. His parents, 
 Thomas and Florinda f Lewis) Yates, also 
 
638 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 reached advanced ages, the father dying 
 March 24, 1854, at Kenosha, Wis., aged 
 seventj'-three years and five months, and 
 the mother passing away January i, 1861, 
 at Chicago, aged eighty-three years. 
 John L. V. Yates married Jane Ames, 
 who was born May 19, 1817, in Onon- 
 daga county, N. Y., daughter of Silas and 
 Eliza (Johnston) Ames. Silas Ames was 
 a man of considerable education and abil- 
 ity, and from 1835 to 1838 held the posi- 
 tion of collector of tolls on the Erie 
 canal. He and his wife both passed 
 their threescore years and ten, spending 
 their last daj'S at Kenosha, Wis., where 
 Mr. Ames died December 9, 1870, aged 
 seventy-nine years and eight months, pre- 
 ceded to the grave by his wife, who passed 
 from earth May 27, 1869, aged seventy- 
 six years and seven months. They reared 
 a family of twelve children. The John- 
 ston family, of which Mrs. Ames was a 
 member, were people of education and 
 refinement, and were quite prominent in 
 the community where they resided. To 
 John L. V. and Jane (Ames) Yates were 
 born six children, namely: Irene, now 
 Mrs. Frank Deniing, of Chicago; Mary 
 Frances, Mrs. Charles L. Fellows; Char- 
 lotte F., Mrs. William H. Seymour, of 
 Elgin; Katharine, Mrs. G. W. Young, of 
 Ahnapee; and Susan and Thomas, who 
 died before reaching maturity. The 
 mother of this family died April 6, 1891. 
 Before his removal to Wisconsin, Mr. 
 Yates was a well-known resident of Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y., and was postmaster at that 
 city in 1837. 
 
 LBERT BUSCHMANN, one of 
 
 the leading pioneer citizens of 
 
 A 
 
 I ^ Brussels township, Door county, 
 was born September 27, 1834, in 
 Prussia, Germany, the third son of Martin 
 Buschmann, a cooper by trade, who had a 
 family of seven children, five of them 
 being sons. The parents both died in 
 Germany. 
 
 The subject of these lines attended 
 
 the public schools of his native country 
 until fourteen years of age, and then 
 commenced learning the cooper's trade 
 under his father's supervision, serving an 
 apprenticeship of seven years. At the 
 age of twenty-one he commenced to think 
 about turning his trade to account, and 
 for the next three 3ears earned no little 
 money in so doing. He was exempt from 
 army service in Germany on account of 
 being under the regulation height. Being 
 of an ambitious turn of mind he conclud- 
 ed to emigrate to the United States, 
 where he hoped to command higher 
 wages, as he was a very competent work- 
 man, and to this end he procured money 
 from kind friends, wherewith to defray 
 his passage. About March i, 1858, he 
 left Hamburg on a sailing vessel for 
 Quebec, arriving at the latter place in 
 safet}' after a voyage of six weeks, and 
 from there journeyed to Milwaukee, Wis. 
 Not being able to find work immediately 
 in that city, he went into the country 
 south of Milwaukee, where he was em- 
 ployed by a farmer, and for four months 
 he was obliged to take farm products as 
 compensation for his work. Later he se- 
 cured work at his trade in Milwaukee; 
 but money was very scarce that year, and 
 he could scarcelj' make his expenses. 
 Learning that coopers were desired in 
 Baraboo, Sauk county, he immediately 
 went there, and for the next seven years 
 secured steady employment at his trade. 
 In 1859 Mr. Buschmann was married 
 at Baraboo to Miss Minnie Fritz, also a 
 native of Germany, a former schoolmate 
 and neighbor of his, and who came to this 
 country on the same ship with him. They 
 had six children as follows: Julius, who 
 is engineer for the Goodrich line of ves- 
 sels and lives at Manitowoc; Henry, who 
 died when thirteen years old; Albert, Jr., 
 of Milwaukee; William, a practicing phy- 
 sician of Two Rivers, Wis. ; Edward, a 
 machinist of Ahnapee, and Emma, a 
 teacher in Milwaukee. In December, 
 1873, the mother of these died and was 
 buried in Manitowoc, and soon thereafter 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 639 
 
 Mr. Buschmann started a coopering busi- 
 ness in Manitowoc, which for twenty 
 years he has operated successfully. It 
 was here that he was married June 24, 
 1875, to Mrs. Mary A. Bertolit, widow of 
 John Bertolit, by whom she had one 
 daughter, Minnie, now Mrs. Edward 
 Buschmann, of Brussels township. Mrs. 
 Buschmann is a native of Kossuth, Mani- 
 towoc Co., Wis., born February 7, 1851, 
 a daughter of Ludwig Ahlswede. Of this 
 marriage Mr. and Mrs. Buschmann have 
 two children living: Charles and Hugo, 
 both at home; Ida and Louis died in 
 infancy. 
 
 Mr. Buschmann lived in Manitowoc un- 
 til April, 1883, when he disposed of his 
 interests there and came to Brussels 
 township, Door county, where in Section 
 25 he bought 160 acres of timber land. 
 At that time this particular part of the 
 country was wholly undeveloped, and in 
 many respects resembled a wilderness; 
 but in due time, by unremitting toil and 
 perseverance, he succeeded in clearing a 
 large portion of his land, and has made 
 additions to the original number of acres 
 he purchased until at the present writing 
 he has 400 acres, which places him as 
 the largest individual land owner in Brus- 
 sels township. In politics he is a stanch 
 Republican, but does not aspire to office. 
 His entire family, including himself, are 
 members of the Baptist Church. The 
 marvelous success which has attended 
 Mr. Buschmann's later-year efforts is at- 
 tributable entirely to his natural sagacity, 
 combined with good practical business 
 methods. 
 
 AUGUST GOSIN comes from a land 
 that has furnished to Kewaunee 
 county a number of her best citi- 
 zens, the Kingdom of Belgium, 
 where he was born August 7, 1852, a son 
 of Donnie Gosin, a farmer of that coun- 
 try, who married Amelia Ramoisey, and 
 by her had a family of five children: 
 
 Frank, Amelia, August, Virginia and John 
 B., all yet living. 
 
 When our subject was about live years 
 of age his parents bade adieu to home 
 and friends, and with their family sailed 
 for the New World, landing in New York 
 after a voyage of thirty-eight days. They 
 did not tarry long in the eastern metropo- 
 lis, but came west at once to Green Bay, 
 Wis., and after two weeks removed to 
 Lincoln township, Kewaunee county, 
 where the father purchased a quarter sec- 
 tion of land, all covered with hardwood 
 timber. A log house was constructed 24 
 .X 28 feet, and in it they began life on the 
 frontier in true pioneer style, suffering the 
 hardships and trials which come to those 
 who make homes in a frontier region. 
 The arduous task of clearing and develop- 
 ing the land was at once begun, and the 
 work was performed with an axe and grub 
 hoe until a space was cleared large enough 
 to plant a crop of corn, wheat, peas and 
 potatoes. From two bushels of wheat 
 sown, sixty-two bushels were harvested. 
 The children were deprived of early edu- 
 cational privileges, owing to the distance 
 from the nearest school house, but our 
 subject afterward attended business col- 
 lege, and was thus fitted for the practical 
 duties of life. Their provisions were 
 shipped to Uyckesville, and carried from 
 there to their home, a distance of seven 
 miles. 
 
 The subject of our sketch frequently 
 worked for neighboring farmers, but 
 made his home with his parents as long 
 as they lived, and cared for them in their 
 later years. He was married December 
 10, 1876, to Anna, daughter of Edward 
 and Jane (Davies) Davies, which worthy 
 couple had a family of thirteen children, 
 as follows: Sarah, Samuel, William, 
 Edward, John, Jennie, Mary, Margaret, 
 James, David, Anna, Alexander and 
 Susan. Mrs. Gosin was born in High- 
 land, Iowa county. Wis., July 7, 1853, 
 and was of English descent, her ancestors 
 having emigrated to America in an early 
 day in the history of this country. She 
 
640 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is a lady of culture and refinement, and 
 was teaching school in Luxemburg town- 
 ship at the time of her marriage. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Gosin have become the parents 
 of seven children, their names and dates of 
 birth being as follows: Salena, September 
 2S, 1877; Clara, September 2, 1879; Ed- 
 ward, October 15, 1881; Donnie, May 
 31, 1884; Susie May. September 11, 
 1886; Berna, March 12, 1888, and 
 Fabian, September 11, 1890. In No- 
 \ember, 1874, Mr. Gosin came to Lu.x- 
 emburg township, and purchased eighty- 
 five acres of land in Section 17, which 
 constitutes his present home. He de- 
 votes his time and energies to general 
 farming, also to dealing in general merch- 
 andise and farm implements, and is a 
 man of good business and e.xecutive 
 ability, whose capable management and 
 careful attention to all details have 
 brought him success. His life has been 
 well spent, and throughout the com- 
 munity he is held in high esteem. In 
 politics he is a supporter of the Republi- 
 can party, and has served as supervisor 
 of his township, while in religious belief 
 his wife and children are connected with 
 the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 HH. FULLER, of Forestville. 
 Door county, is numbered among 
 Wisconsin's native sons, his birth 
 having occurred inYorkville town- 
 ship, Racine county, in 1852. He comes 
 of an old New England family, his grand- 
 parents, Samuel and Chloe (Walker) 
 Fuller, having been natives of Connecti- 
 cut, whence they removed about 18 14 to 
 New York. They later settled in Jeffer- 
 son county, that State, where Mr. Fuller 
 spent his remaining days, his death oc- 
 curring in 1843; his widow afterward 
 came to Wisconsin, where she died in 
 1847. Her father. Nelson Walker, located 
 in Racine, Wis., in 1843, and there pub- 
 lished a paper until his removal to Wau- 
 kegan, 111., whence he went to Chicago, 
 
 where he edited a paper; he died at Stur- 
 geon Bay, Wis., about the year 1883. 
 
 Elijah S. Fuller, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Chenango county, N. Y. , 
 in 181 5, but was reared, educated and 
 taught the cooper's trade in Jefferson 
 county, N. Y. He married Betsy C. 
 Clarke, a native of Jefferson countj', and 
 with family emigrated, in 1844, to Racine 
 county, Wis., where he improved a farm, 
 making his home thereon until 1855. In 
 that year he went to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 
 where he engaged in the lumber business 
 for five years, and ran the first ferry across 
 the bay. For three years he was owner 
 of a ferry, and then turned his attention 
 to fishing and burning lime, which pur- 
 suits he followed until 1892, when he 
 came to Forestville, where he died Janu- 
 ary 8, 1895. In their family were eight 
 children, of whom Byron, the eldest, died 
 in childhood; Amelia became the wife of 
 Abel Whittaker, and died in 1885, her 
 husband dying in Bay View, Wis., in 
 1891 (their children were Olive, Arthur 
 and Otisj; Cornelia first married Sandy 
 Templeton, b\- whom she had five chil- 
 dren, three of whom are yet living — 
 Carrie, wife of John Jewett, of Menomo- 
 nee; Allen and Sandy; (for her second 
 husband Cornelia wedded Jake Hermann, 
 and four of their children are living — 
 Willie, Nellie, Henry and Gertie; the 
 mother died in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., in 
 1887); Emma, the ne.xt in the family, died 
 in 1872; H. H. is the fifth in order of 
 birth; William died in childhood; Inez is 
 the wife of E. W. Brewster, of Bay 
 View, and thej^ have three children, 
 Nellie, Ray and Edna; Louis died in 
 Neenah, Wis., in September, 1893, at 
 the age of twenty-nine years, and his 
 widow now resides in Sheboygan. 
 
 H. H. Fuller, our subject, was reared 
 in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and received the 
 educational privileges afforded in its 
 public schools. He began farming near 
 Ba)' View, and later had charge of the 
 business of the Washington Ice Co., for 
 five and a half years, during which time 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BlOGliAPUWAL REOOBD. 
 
 641 
 
 he established an agricultural implement 
 store in Bay View, which he yet carries 
 on, doing a good business along that line. 
 In 1 89 1 he embarked in the hotel and 
 saloon business in Forestville, but retired 
 from the same in 1893. In 1880 he 
 was united in marriage, in Bay View, 
 with Miss Sarah Noble, who was reared 
 in Manitowoc county, and was a daughter 
 of William and Susan Noble, natives of 
 St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , who located 
 in Manitowoc county in an early day. 
 Mrs. Fuller died in Bay View in 1885, 
 and in 1887 Mr. Fuller wedded, in Manito- 
 woc county, Ella Andrews, a native of 
 Wisconsin. Socially our subject is a 
 member of the Royal Arcanum Lodge of 
 Sturgeon Bay, and in politics he is a 
 Republican. 
 
 JOHN B. VAN DENHOUTEN.— 
 Belgium has furnished to W^isconsin 
 a number of citizens who have al- 
 ways borne their part in the work of 
 public advancement and improvement, 
 and among these is well worthy of men- 
 tion our subject, who is a resident of 
 Lu.xemburg township, Kewaunee county. 
 He was born in Belgium in February, 
 1840, a son of William and Petronell 
 (Vander Veekan) Van Denhouten, the 
 former of whom was a barber and weaver. 
 They reared a family of .six children, 
 namely: Frank, Elizabeth, John B., 
 Johanna, Theresa and Jennie. 
 
 Our subject attended the common 
 schools of his native country until fifteen 
 years of age, when he accompanied his 
 parents on a forty-seven days' voyage to 
 America, landing at New York, whence 
 the following day they started for Green 
 Bay, Wis., traveling mostly by boat; 
 thence they came to Lu.xemburg town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, which at that 
 time was a part of Casco township. Here 
 the father purchased forty acres of total- 
 ly unimproved land; a log cabin was erect- 
 ed, 17x17 feet, to which the following 
 year an addition was made of about equal 
 
 size, in all making a comfortable home. 
 With an axe and grub hoe the work of 
 clearing the land was begun, and although 
 the labor was very arduous, yet it was 
 continued uninterruptedly, in course of 
 time bringing rich returns. Potatoes and 
 wheat were planted by hand — their first 
 crops — and the latter was harvested with 
 a sickle brought from the old country. 
 There was no road within three miles of 
 their home, and everything had to be car- 
 ried to the cabin for that distance. They 
 afterward bought and cleared an addition- 
 al tract of forty acres, and the once wild 
 land was transformed into one of the val- 
 uable farms of Kewaunee county. The 
 other children left home, but our sub- 
 ject remained with his parents, and 
 retained possession of the old home- 
 stead which he yet owns and occupies. 
 He has added a quarter section of land to 
 this, and now has 320 acres, 220 of which 
 are cleared and under a high state of cul- 
 tivation. The well-tilled fields, substan- 
 tial improvements and neat appearance of 
 the place all indicate the practical and 
 progressive spirit of the owner. 
 
 In May, 1864, John B. Van Den- 
 houten was married to Victoria Jacque. 
 His father died one year previous to that 
 time, but his mother lived with them for 
 three years, when she married Philip 
 Bredael, and they then lived on his own 
 farm. Since the death of her second 
 husband, seven years later, she has re- 
 sided with her daughter, Elizabeth, now 
 the wife of Frank Bredael, on the same 
 place. T oour subject and wife have 
 been born eight children — one daughter 
 and seven sons — Josephine, Joseph, Eli, 
 Eugene, Frank, Louis, George and Ben- 
 jamin. Politically, Mr. Van Denhouten 
 supported the Republican party until 
 1 890, when he joined the ranks of the 
 Democrats, with whom he has since been 
 identified. For three years, from 1890 
 to 1893, he served as supervisor; from 
 1893 to 1894, as assessor; has been jus- 
 tice of the peace since 1892; and school 
 district clerk since April, 18S7, his pres- 
 
643 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ent term beirifj his third one. In his 
 official positions, as in all relations of life, 
 he has been found faithful and true to 
 the trusts reposed in him. Both he and 
 his wife hold membership in the Catholic 
 Church, and in the community where 
 they live they are held in high regard, 
 and have many warm friehds. 
 
 HENRY STARR is a native of Fin- 
 land, Russia, born March 10, 
 1862, and is the sixth in the fam- 
 ily of nine children born to John 
 and Catherina (Hanson) Starr, viz. : John; 
 Johanna and Peter, both deceased; An- 
 drew; Henry, deceased; Henry, of this 
 sketch; Jacob, who has also passed away; 
 Johanna, and August. The father made 
 farming his life work, and was quite suc- 
 cessful in his undertakings. 
 
 Our subject received but few advan- 
 tages in his youth, educational or other- 
 wise, for at the early age of nine years he 
 began work on his father's farm, and aided 
 in the cultivation of the fields until eight- 
 een years of age, when he turned his at- 
 tention to commercial pursuits. He was 
 then for a year engaged in clerking in a 
 store, after which he returned home and 
 remained there for a year. He next went 
 to Helsingfors, Finland, where he worked 
 at the carpenter's trade, which he had 
 learned ere leaving home. Two years 
 later he sailed for America, having de- 
 termined to try his fortune in the New 
 World, and after a voyage of eleven days 
 landed at New York July 11. From 
 there proceeding to Camden, N. J., he 
 there spent two weeks in working as a 
 carpenter, but believing that the west 
 furnished better opportunities to j'oung 
 men, he came to Baileys Harbor, \\' is. , 
 making the journey partly by boat and 
 partly by rail. Here he began to earn 
 his livelihood by chopping wood, and was 
 thus employed for a year, after which he 
 purchased 120 acres of land and com- 
 menced farming; but not wishing to make 
 that his life work, he sold his land to his 
 
 brother-in-law after two years, then 
 rented a farm upon which he lived two 
 years. On his removal to Baileys Har- 
 bor, he worked at various occupations 
 until purchasing the saloon which he has 
 since conducted with good success except 
 for about one year, which he passed in 
 Utah, engaged in mining. 
 
 On August 15, 1885, Mr." Starr was 
 united in marriage with Miss Maria Brann, 
 daughter of Jacob and Anna Maria 
 (Grandroot) Brann, and by her has three 
 children: Ellen M., May and John Will- 
 iam. They also lost two sons — John 
 William and Harry — who were the eldest 
 in the family. In his political views Mr. 
 Starr is a stalwart Democrat, having ad- 
 vocated the principles of that party since 
 coming to the United States. He is now 
 serving as school director, but has never 
 been an office seeker, preferring to give 
 his time and energies to his business in- 
 terests. He need never have occasion to 
 regret his emigration to .America, for here 
 he has secured a comfortable competence 
 and won many friends. 
 
 BF. OTIS, farmer. Sturgeon Bay 
 township. Door county, is a na- 
 tive of Maine, born January 3, 
 1858, in Fairfield, son of John P. 
 and Hannah (Tibbets) Otis, farming peo- 
 ple. 
 
 Our subject attended the common 
 schools, obtaining a good practical edu- 
 cation, and was reared to agricultural 
 pursuits, continuing to follow same in 
 his native State until 1869, when he 
 came to Wisconsin, borrowing fifty dol- 
 lars from his grandmother for that pur- 
 pose. Journeying by rail to Green Bay, 
 thence by stage to Sturgeon Bay, he ar- 
 rived at the home of his brother-in-law, 
 in Door county, who had offered him 
 thirty dollars a month to drive oxen, and 
 he was thus engaged until spring. He 
 then entered the employ of A. W. Law- 
 rence, for whom he worked in the lumber 
 regions and in mills, and afterward was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 64s 
 
 engaged in the lumber camps for seven 
 winters under various employers, remain- 
 ing in Wisconsin nine years befor3 he re- 
 visited his early home. In 1885 Mr. 
 Otis bought from Albert Jacobs eighty 
 acres of wild land in Sevastopol town- 
 ship, at that time totally unimproved, and 
 by unremitting industry he has succeeded 
 in clearing over twenty acres of this tract 
 for cultivation. He has gained an en- 
 viable reputation for strict honesty and 
 reliability, and has prospered well, ac- 
 cumulating his property solely by his own 
 exertions, for he arrived in Door county 
 ninety dollars in debt, and has placed 
 himself in his present comfortable cir- 
 cumstances by hard work. He gives all 
 his time to his farm, taking no active part 
 in public affairs, and is non-partisan in 
 politics, voting for the candidate he be- 
 heves best fitted for office. 
 
 On March 30, 1887, Mr. Otis was 
 married to Miss Emily J. Kimber, a na- 
 tive of Sturgeon Bay, and daughter of 
 Buck Kimber, who came here from New 
 York State. In religious faith Mrs. Otis 
 is a member of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 UDOLPH ZETTEL, a progress- 
 
 ive, well-to-do agriculturist of Se- 
 
 R 
 
 I V vastopol township. Door county, 
 where he is the owner of eighty 
 acres of land in Section 16 and forty 
 acres in Section 2, is a native of Switzer- 
 land, born August 20, 1845, in the town 
 of Gross Dietvyl, Canton of Lucerne. 
 His father, Joseph Zettel, was highly 
 educated, speaking several languages, 
 and a man of no little prominence, hold- 
 ing official positions; he died in Switzer- 
 land at the age of fifty-three years; the 
 mother of Rudolph died when he was 
 four or five years old. 
 
 The subject of this writing secured a 
 fair education, and remained at home 
 until he was seventeen, at which time he 
 left the parental roof, as did also his 
 brothers, Albert, Joseph, Alfred, Casper, 
 Conrad and Julius, all eventually coming 
 
 to the United States, and all remaining 
 in this country except Julius, who re- 
 turned to his native land. Accompanied 
 by Casper and Conrad, and also John 
 Kaufman, Rudolph Zettel sailed from 
 Havre, France, on the good ship " Quis- 
 nel," arriving, after a voyage of forty- 
 nine days, at New York, whence he came 
 westward to Wisconsin, where his brother 
 Joseph was living, landing in Door 
 county June 23, 1863. Here, in Little 
 Sturgeon, he worked in a sawmill for a 
 time, after which he went to Chicago 
 where he found employment in a linseed- 
 oil factory, in the railroad shops, and in 
 other lines of work. Returning to Door 
 county he worked some four or five years 
 in the sawmill in Sturgeon Bay under the 
 management of A. W. Lawrence and 
 Fred. I. Schuyler. Some time before 
 going to Chicago he had purchased the 
 farm whereon he now resides, but on 
 moving to that city he sold it, and when 
 he again came to Door county he re- 
 purchased the property, paying an ad- 
 vance of $400 on the former price, by 
 way of compensation for a few improve- 
 ments that had been made thereon in the 
 meantime. During the greater part of 
 the time since then he has carried on 
 general farming. Forty acres of the 
 land are under a high state of cultivation, 
 the fields are well tilled, fences kept in 
 good repair, and all the improvements of 
 a model farm are to be found. In 1893 
 a fine residence was erected; while the 
 other buildings are in keeping with the 
 house, all indicating the careful supervis- 
 ion of the owner himself, who is justly 
 numbered among the leading farmers of 
 his township. 
 
 On April 25, 1870, in Sturgeon Bay, 
 Wis., Mr. Zettel wedded Mary Gertrude 
 Berens, who was born in Germany, Au- 
 gust 19, 1845, daughter of Joseph Berens. 
 She came to the United States in 1864, 
 and was visiting in Door county at the 
 time of her marriage. The young couple 
 began their domestic life in a rude 
 shanty, which was burned down in the 
 
644 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 middle of February, while the husband was 
 absent at work in the lumber woods. The 
 home was blessed with seven children, but 
 Frank J. and August died in early child- 
 hood, and Mary G. died at the age of three 
 years; those still living are Mary Chris- 
 tina, Amelia E., Mary E. J., and Elida 
 G. Traisia. Mr. Zettel is a stanch advo- 
 cate of the principles of the Republican 
 party, and takes a deep interest in every- 
 thing pertaining to its growth and success. 
 His fellow citizens, appreciating his worth 
 and ability, have frequently tendered 
 him office, but he has steadily refused, 
 preferring to give his undivided attention 
 to his business interests. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Catholic Church at Sevasto- 
 pol. He is an honest, kindhearted man, 
 one that has made the golden rule 
 his motto, and his well-spent life and 
 sterling worth have gained him many 
 friends. 
 
 AUGUSTUS GENESEE is one of 
 \\'isconsin's native sons, having 
 been born in Humboldt township, 
 Brown county. May i6, 1859, a 
 son of Clem and Frances (Kaye) Genesse, 
 who both emigrated from Belgium to 
 America in early life, and were married in 
 this country. 
 
 The father of our subject was a farmer 
 and lumberman, and after his marriage 
 located in Humboldt township, where he 
 became the owner of a forty-acre tract of 
 timber land, upon which not a furrow had 
 been turned or an improvement made; 
 but soon the noble trees of the forest fell 
 before his sturdy strokes; with axe 
 and grub hoe he cleared the land, and in 
 time had rich and well-tilled fields which 
 began to yield to him a golden tribute in 
 return for the care and labor he bestowed 
 upon them. He and his neighbors had no 
 teams, and the first stove which he had, 
 purchased in Green Baj', was taken apart 
 and carried home by nine men. Previous 
 to that time their bread had been baked 
 in an iron kettle, buried in the coals of 
 
 the fire-place. The house, 14x14 feet, 
 was the home of three families for one 
 winter; but such a life promotes socia- 
 bility, and furnishes pleasures such as are 
 unknown to the present generation. The 
 father cut most of his pine lumber into 
 shingles, and thus earned a living for his 
 family in those early days. In 1864 he 
 entered the army, and there contracted a 
 fever which disabled him for further farm 
 labor. 
 
 Selling his land, he took up his resi- 
 dence in Green Bay, and in connection 
 with Charles Massey, established a store 
 which he carried on for one year. He 
 then removed to Union township. Door 
 county, purchased land and established a 
 store in the town of Union: but after a 
 year the building and its entire contents 
 were destroyed bj- fire. The partnership 
 was then dissolved. Mr. Genesse contin- 
 ued on his farm two years, and next pur- 
 chased eighty acres of land on Section 28, 
 Union township, once more undertaking 
 the task of clearing away the pine tim- 
 ber. This arduous task was completed 
 within fifteen years, and where once stood 
 the native forest were ultimately seen 
 billowy fields of grain. When he located 
 upon this place he built a large house, 
 and for six years conducted a hotel or 
 tavern, prospering in the business, and to 
 his farm he from time to time added, as 
 his financial resources increased, until 
 within its boundaries were comprised 208 
 acres of rich land. Mr. Genesse, whose 
 worth and ability were widely recognized, 
 served for fifteen years as postmaster of 
 Namur; was town clerk for a similar 
 length of time; was town treasurer one 
 year and justice of the peace fifteen years. 
 In addition to his other labors he engaged 
 in fishing for sixteen jears, which proved 
 a successful business. On February 23, 
 1890, he went to Green Bay with a load 
 of fish; but on returning lost his way, and, 
 owing to the intensely cold weather, was 
 partly frozen. He lingered on for twenty- 
 one days, when death released him. In 
 the family were children as follows: 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 645 
 
 Augustus, Victor (who died at the age 
 of twenty-three), Josie, Adel, Alphonse, 
 Charlie, Mary, Fannie and Joseph. 
 
 Being the eldest of the family, Au- 
 gustus Genesse received but limited 
 educational privileges, for his services 
 were needed on the home farm. His 
 training along this line was not meager, 
 for early in life he became familiar with 
 all the duties of the agriculturist. For 
 some years he remained at home caring 
 for his mother who is now living in Green 
 Bay, Wis., but on the 19th of May, 
 1 89 1, he made preparation for a home of 
 his own by his marriage with Victory, 
 daughter of Joseph and Theresa Mohi- 
 mont. They lived with her parents for 
 two years in Green Bay township, Brown 
 county, and in January, 1893, came to 
 their present home in Union township. 
 Door count}'. Their union has been 
 blessed with two interesting children; Ida 
 B., born July 7, 1892; and Benjamin, 
 born March 17, 1894. 
 
 Mr. Genesse has followed in the po- 
 litical footsteps of his father, and is a 
 stanch adherent of Republican principles, 
 having supported that party since attain- 
 ing his majority. Both he and his wife 
 are members of the Catholic Church, and 
 are highly respected citizens of the com- 
 munity. Wisconsin has reason to be 
 proud of her children if they are all like 
 Mr. Genesse, who is an enterprising 
 farmer, a faithful friend and a valued citi- 
 zen, one who gives his support to all 
 worthy enterprises calculated to benefit 
 the community at large. 
 
 JOSEPH OURADNIK, who for some 
 forty years has been prominently 
 connected with the mercantile and 
 official interests of Casco township, 
 I\ewaunee county, is a native of Bohemia, 
 born September 28, 1843. He is a son 
 of Frank and Annie Ouradnik, also na- 
 tives of Bohemia, where the father was a 
 farmer and grain buyer, and a prominent 
 man in the locality in which he made his 
 
 home. In 1857, accompanied by his 
 family, he emigrated to America and took 
 up his residence in Casco township, Ke- 
 waunee Co. , Wis. , where he purchased a 
 section of timber land which he at once 
 began to clear and improve, carrying on 
 agricultural pursuits the greater part of his 
 life. He and his wife were members of 
 the Catholic Church, and both lived to 
 advanced age. 
 
 The educational privileges which our 
 subject received were those afforded by 
 the common schools of his native land, in 
 which he pursued his studies until twelve 
 years of age. About that time, in 1855, 
 he came with his brother-in-law to the 
 United States, and with him located in 
 Manitowoc, Wis., but after a short time 
 he removed to Casco township, Kewau- 
 nee county, where he was joined by his 
 parents in the year 1857. Here he form- 
 ed a partnership with his brother-in-law, 
 John Stika, purchased land, and after 
 clearing the timber from the same began 
 farming, becoming one of the first settlers 
 in that locality. He came to this country 
 a poor boy without any knowledge of the 
 English language, but has steadily worked 
 his way upward from a humble position 
 to one of affluence, is now the owner of 
 125 acres of valuable land, the greater 
 part under cultivation, and is numbered 
 among the representative men of his 
 township. He is also doing a profitable 
 business as a merchant and saloon keeper 
 in Slovan, and owns and operates a 
 cheese factory, which also adds materi- 
 ally to his income. 
 
 In i860, Mr. Ouradnik was joined in 
 wedlock to Miss Katherina Marsicek, who 
 was born in Bohemia, October 31, 1845, 
 and their union has been blessed with 
 thirteen children, namely: Mary, Annie, 
 Joseph, Lydia, Christina, Lewis, Frank, 
 Rosa, Theresa, Frances, Agnes, Emma 
 and Katie. In politics Mr. Ouradnik 
 affiliates with the Democratic party, and 
 has served as supervisor and chairman of 
 the town board for many j'ears. He has 
 also long served as township treasurer, is 
 
646 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 still filling that position, and in 1886 was 
 elected treasurer of Kewaunee county, 
 serving for three terms of two j-ears each. 
 At this writing he is candidate for county 
 sheriff. He has also held the office of 
 school treasurer for si.xteen years, and in 
 these various positions has ever been 
 found true and faithful, discharging his 
 duties with credit to himself and satisfac- 
 tion to his constituents. During President 
 Hayes' administration he was appointed 
 postmaster at Slovan, and is still filling 
 ■that office. He is a member of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and it was largely through 
 his instrumentality that the Holy Trinity 
 church of Slovan was erected; is also a 
 member of the Catholic Knights of Wis- 
 consin. Our subject is truly one of the 
 most prominent men of his township, and 
 well deserves representation in the history 
 of his adopted county. 
 
 HANS JOHNSON has been an im- 
 jiortant factor in the growth and 
 upbuilding of Liberty Grove town- 
 ship. Door county, and in the 
 history of this section of Wisconsin well 
 deserves representation. A native of 
 Denmark, he was born May 3, 1846, and 
 is a son of Johan and Karen (Clausen) 
 Larson, who were parents of seven chil- 
 dren, namely: Nels, Laurena, Klausena, 
 Hans, Theodore, Laurena (deceased), and 
 Hans (deceased). The father of this 
 family, who was a farmer by occupation, 
 died when the son Hans was only five years 
 of age. 
 
 Our subject received a good educa- 
 tion in the public schools of his native 
 land, and remained at home until he was 
 nineteen years of age when he bade adieu 
 to friends and family and set out for the 
 New World, taking passage on a vessel 
 bound from London, England, for New 
 York, whence he proceeded to Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., at which city he arrived No- 
 vember 2, 1865, and then went to Man- 
 istee, Mich., where he worked in the 
 pineries during the succeeding winter. 
 
 In the spring of 1866 he returned to 
 Milwaukee, and secured work as a farm 
 hand; but after being employed in that 
 way two months, again went to Man- 
 istee, Mich., where he was employed two 
 years, receiving as a compensation for 
 his services $30 per month. His next 
 place of residence was in Racine, ^^'is. , 
 where he made his home for a year, and 
 in I 87 1 he came to Door county, settling 
 at Rowleys Bay, where he engaged in pre- 
 paring cordwood for the market. His 
 labors in that direction were interrupted 
 by an accident, he cutting his foot so 
 badly that he was disabled for work 
 some four months. When he had re- 
 covered he was employed as a teamster 
 by the firm of Osborn, Coxwell & Co. , re- 
 maining with them a year and a half, at 
 the expiration of which time he re- 
 moved to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., where he 
 worked on the canal. When the summer 
 was over he returned to Rowleys Bay and 
 was again employed by Osborn, Coxwell 
 & Co. eight months; was then made fore- 
 man of the men engaged in woodcutting, 
 serving in that capacity a year and a half, 
 when he bought out his employers and 
 took a contract to get out i , 500 cords of 
 wood. This task was completed within 
 a year, and, with the capital he thereby 
 acquired, he purchased 320 acres of land 
 in Libert}' Grove township, on which 
 farm he lived until 1879. The following 
 year he went back to New Port, where he 
 purchased about 200 acres of timber land, 
 built a dock and established a general 
 merchandise store which he carried on 
 with good success, receiving from the pub- 
 lic a liberal and well-deserved patronage. 
 In 1882, he secured the establishment of 
 a postoffice at that place, and served as 
 postmaster for seven years when he re- 
 signed. He was engaged in the real- 
 estate and the wood business, besides at- 
 tending to his mercantile interests, and is 
 now in business at Charlevoix, Michigan. 
 On January 20, 1872, Mr. Johnson 
 married Miss Anna Zink, daughter of 
 Klause and Mary Zink, who are now liv- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 647 
 
 ing at Fish Creek, Wis. In 1886 Mr. 
 Johnson was called upon to mourn the 
 death of his wife, who passed away Janu- 
 ary 13, that 3'ear, lamented by many 
 friends. Mr. Johnson has been honored 
 with various political offices, having 
 served as justice of the peace one year; 
 chairman of the town board of supervis- 
 ors three years; as county assemblyman 
 for two years; and as school treasurer. 
 He established the schoolhouse at New 
 Port, and was instrumental in promoting 
 the leading enterprises and interests of 
 Liberty Grove township, his name being 
 inseparably connected with the history of 
 its growth and upbuilding. 
 
 ANDREW NELSON, whose name 
 is inseparably connected with the 
 official history of Liberty Grove 
 township, Door county, is a na- 
 tive of Denmark, born May 30, 185 1. 
 His parents, Nels and Elsie (Oleson) So- 
 renson, were of the same nativity, the 
 father born April 27, 1817, the mother 
 Februar}' 4, 1820. They are farming 
 people, and still live on the old homestead 
 in Denmark, which is carried on by their 
 youngest son, Ole Nelson. The other 
 children in the family are Elsie, Soren, 
 Andrew, Kjestina, Anna and Meta. 
 
 Our subject received such educational 
 privileges as were afforded by the common 
 schools, and secured a good practical 
 knowledge. Most of the children left 
 home when about fourteen years of age, 
 but Andrew remained with his parents 
 until he was twenty. At that time, hav- 
 ing heard much of the advantages and 
 privileges offered in the New World to 
 young men, he resolved to test the truth 
 of these reports by trying his fortune in 
 the United States, and accordingly sailed 
 from Copenhagen in 1872, landing in New 
 York on the ist of April, that year. From 
 there he traveled to Chicago and to Pat- 
 .ton. 111., where he received work as a farm 
 hand at $20 per month, and after being 
 thus employed for about two and a halt 
 
 months he removed to Menominee, 
 Mich., where he was employed in the 
 lumber woods for about ten months at 
 $28 per month. Later he returned to 
 Chicago, there spending about one month; 
 then took up his residence in Marinette, 
 Wis. , and here was employed in a saw- 
 mill two months. About that time his 
 brother Soren received a very severe 
 wound in the hand, and as soon as he re- 
 covered they went to Marquette, but not 
 long afterward returned to Marinette. Our 
 subject began working on the North West- 
 ern railroad between Menominee and 
 Escanaba, Wis., and often received as 
 high as six dollars per day, in which way 
 he managed to save some money; but be- 
 coming ill it was all expended for doctor 
 bills, so that when he came to Liberty 
 Grove he was without any capital. He 
 then began cutting cordwood for Kirch 
 Brothers at $1.25 per cord, and continued 
 in their employ for one winter, after 
 which he purchased 120 acres of land 
 from Peter Anderson, one of the early 
 settlers of Door county. This land was 
 partially cleared, and he and his brother 
 at once commenced its further develop- 
 ment, continuing its cultivation for three 
 years, when they dissolved partnership. 
 
 At that time Andrew Nelson went to 
 Rowleys Bay, where he purchased eighty 
 acres of wood land, and cutting the 
 timber disposed of it as cordwood. Three 
 years later he sold that property and re- 
 moved to Garrett Bay, and purchased 
 partially from the Fox River Company 
 600 acres of land, which he yet owns. 
 He began cutting the timber, built two 
 docks for shipping purposes, established 
 a store and in five years also opened a 
 stone quarry. He has now for thirteen 
 years been engaged in the wood and 
 stone business, shipping an average of 
 3,000 cords of wood each year. 
 
 On the 26th of January, 1877, Mr. 
 Nelson was united in marriage with Miss 
 Mary Christenson, daughter of Thomas 
 and Mary Ann (Madson) Christenson, and 
 to them were born nine children, named 
 
648 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 respectively: Louis, Adolph, Alma, Will- 
 iam, Ella, Edwin, Otto, Harry and 
 Chester. Mrs. Nelson is a member of 
 the Moravian church, and is an estimable 
 lady, one who has p;ained many warm 
 friends in the conmiunity in which she 
 now makes her home. In his political 
 views Mr. Nelson is a Republican, and 
 has been called upon to fill \arious 
 positions of honor and trust. He served 
 for five years as ^a member of the town 
 board of supervisors; has been treasurer 
 of school district No. 5 for seven years, 
 is now serving as justice of the peace, a 
 position he has filled for fi\e years, and 
 in 1895 was elected chairman of the 
 town. He discharges his duties in a 
 capable and acceptable manner, being 
 ever true to the trust reposed in him, 
 and in Liberty Grove township he is re- 
 garded as a man of sterling worth and 
 strict integrity — a valued and progressive 
 citizen. 
 
 JOSEPH MAHLBEKG, one of the 
 most intelligent young farmers of 
 West Kewaunee township, Kewaunee 
 county, was born in the town of 
 Kewaunee February 26, 1865. 
 
 Henry Mahlberg, his father, was born 
 July 2, 1832, at Eschen, Germany, was 
 educated at the conimoii schools, and 
 later worked at farming until 1848, when 
 he volunteered in the German army and 
 served three years, receiving at the end of 
 that time an honorable discharge. In 
 April, 1852, he landed in New York City, 
 whence he came to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 from that point prospecting in various 
 parts of the country, and finally, in 1861, 
 purchasing the farm in West Kewaunee 
 township, which his family now occupy, 
 and where he died December 16, 1891. 
 Soon after reaching the United States he 
 declared his intention of becoming a citi- 
 zen, and at once affiliated with the Dem- 
 ocratic party, and was elected assessor of 
 West Kewaunee township. In religion 
 he was a. Catholic. His marriage took 
 
 place June 23, 1862, to Mary Hauer, who 
 was born in Schleswig, (icrmany, Sep- 
 tember 22, 1844, a daughter of Hans P. 
 and Mary Hauer, and by this union there 
 were five children, viz. : Henry, Joseph, 
 William, Eilward and Emma, of whom 
 Joseph and Emma are still living. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines was 
 reared on the home farm, and educated in 
 the public schools of Kewaunee and in 
 the high school. In the spring of 1880 
 he successfully piassed the board of ex- 
 aminers, \\as granted a teacher's certifi- 
 cate, and at once engaged in that pro- 
 fession, which he followed until 18S5, 
 when he returned to the farm. In poli- 
 tics he is an ardent Democrat. He served 
 as township clerk in 1892-3, was elected 
 justice of the peace in 1893, and in April, 
 1894, was elected chairman of the town- 
 ship by nearly 100 majority. 
 
 Mr. Mahlberg was married November 
 26, 1890, to Annie Zeman, a daughter of 
 Frank and Annie Zeman, natives of Bo- 
 hemia. She was born November 24, 
 I 869, in Pierce township, Kewaunee Co. , 
 Wis., and has borne her husband two 
 children: .\unie, born July 26, 1S91, and 
 who dietl July 29, following; and Elroy, 
 born October 24, 1892. Mr. Mahlberg, 
 aside from being popular with his party, 
 is highly respected by the community at 
 large, and is looked upon as one of the 
 most progressive young farmers of his 
 township. 
 
 GEORGE KING was born De- 
 cember 6, 1850, in Cooperstown, 
 Manitowoc Co., Wis., and is a 
 son of Clifford King, who was 
 born in Canada, of French descent, and 
 who became a farmer and hotel keeper. 
 He married Lucy Goodchild, a native of 
 Canada, b}' whom he had seven children — 
 five sons and two daughters. 
 
 Our subject, who is the third son, 
 spent his boyhood days upon his father's 
 farm, and remained at the old home in 
 Manitowoc county until he was si.xteen 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 649. 
 
 years of age, when he went to Neshoto, 
 in the same county, where for about ten 
 years he was employed as a laborer. At 
 the end of that decade he changed his 
 place of residence to Manitowoc Rapids, 
 and entered the employ of Mrs. Walker, 
 now Mrs. Decker, serving as overseer on 
 her farm for about a year, at the end of 
 which time he came to Casco township, 
 and has acted as overseer on the farm of 
 Ed. Decker since that time. He now has 
 charge of all Mr. Decker's landed inter- 
 ests, also of the sawmill, in fact, is gen- 
 eral superintendent of all Mr. Decker's 
 business affairs. He receives a salary for 
 his services, and in addition has an inter- 
 est in the business, and is one of Mr. 
 Decker's most confidential employes, re- 
 ceiving his unlimited trust which he well 
 merits. During the time he has had 
 charge of affairs the business has in- 
 creased in volume and in profit, and his 
 management of the sawmill, especially, 
 has made that a paying investment. 
 
 On May i, 1875, was celebrated the 
 marriage of Mr. King with Miss Emma 
 Doretha De Pons, who was born March 
 31, 1857, in Manitowoc count}-. Wis., 
 daughter of Henry and Doretha (Ahrnes) 
 De Pons, who were of French extraction. 
 Mr. and Mrs. King have one child, George 
 Roy, born November 19, 1889. Our 
 subject is a member of Vigilant Lodge, 
 No. 20, K. P., and is a highly respected 
 citizen. 
 
 CHARI^ES O. FRANKLIN, gar- 
 dener and small-fruit grower of 
 Sturgeon Bay township. Door 
 county, is a native of Wisconsin, 
 born October 12, 1842, in Burlington, 
 I^acine county, youngest in the family of 
 Oliver Franklin, who had three sons and 
 one daughter. Oliver Franklin came west- 
 ward from New York State, becoming an 
 early settler of Racine county. 
 
 Up to the age of fifteen years our sub- 
 ject remained at home, attending school 
 irregularly and helping with the work on 
 
 the home farm. After commencing life 
 for himself he was engaged for se\-eral 
 _\earB in fishing, along Lake Michigan 
 from Kenosha to Death's Door, and was 
 occupied at various kinds of labor, such 
 as fishing, lumbering, etc., until thirty 
 years of age, when he went west to 
 Nebraska and took up a homestead in 
 Boone county. But he found the grass- 
 hoppers so destructive to crops that after 
 three years he gave up his claim and re- 
 turned to Wisconsin; next spent a winter 
 with a brother in northern Michigan, and 
 then came to Fish Creek, Door Co., 
 Wis. , taking up a farm in the woods. On 
 that place he remained seven years, dur- 
 ing which time he engaged in agriculture 
 and fishing, and then, the home being 
 broken up by the death of his wife, he 
 went to Marinette, Wis., where for three 
 years he was employed in the artificial 
 stone works. About this time a tract of 
 land in Ontonagon county, Mich., was 
 opened up to settlers, and Mr. F"ranklin, 
 taking up a claim there, lived thereon 
 four years, at the end of which time he 
 sold his right for $6,000, having found 
 great difficulty in establishing his title. 
 Coming again to Door county. Wis. , and 
 to Sturgeon Bay, he here, in August, 
 1 89 1, purchased a twenty-acre tract of 
 land from A. W. Lawrence, and made a 
 snug home, his aged mother living with 
 him for a time. The land has been greatly 
 improved under his care, and is in the 
 highest state of cultivation, being devoted 
 entirely to gardening and the raising of 
 small fruits, Mr. Franklin having the 
 most extensive business of the kind in 
 Sturgeon Bay township. 
 
 In Boone county, Neb., Mr. Franklin 
 was married December 25, 1875, to Myra 
 E. Bristol, a native of Belvidere, 111., 
 who died at Fish Creek, Door Co. , Wis. , 
 October 15, 1893, leaving three children, 
 namely: Charles H., of California; Mabel, 
 of Hay Springs, Neb., and Melva, of 
 Marinette, Wis. On April 3, 1894, at 
 Sturgeon Bay, Wis., our subject was 
 married, for the second time, to Mrs. 
 
650 
 
 COMMEMORATirS BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Minnie Laebbe, a native of German}'. 
 Mr. Franklin takes no active part in 
 public affairs, and is generally non-part- 
 isan in politics, though he has a prefer- 
 ence for the principles of the Republican 
 party. 
 
 ANTON LANGENKAMP, the fa- 
 mous brewer of Carlton, Kewau- 
 nee county, is a native of West- 
 phalia, German}', born October 
 28, 1843, in the village of Rinkenrod. 
 His father, Henry Langenkamp, was born 
 in Germany in 1804, and died at his na- 
 tive place in 1857. 
 
 Our subject, who is the seventh in 
 a family of eight children, attended the 
 common schools, receiving a good educa- 
 tion, and worked at intervals on a farm 
 until seventeen }'ears of age, when he en- 
 tered upon an apprenticeship to the brew- 
 ing business, finishing his "time" at 
 the age of twenty-two. He then started 
 out on his travels, as was and is still the 
 custom, and hence the term "journey- 
 man," to gain further instruction in his 
 business, his indentures entitling him to 
 full pay as a journeyman wherever he 
 might find employment or choose to 
 work. After visiting many places in 
 Europe, he, in 1865, set out for America, 
 coming direct to Kewaunee, Wis. , where 
 he remained about four years, first work- 
 ing in a sawmill, then on a farm, and 
 finally in the Kewaunee brewery. He 
 then went to Ahnapee, where he worked 
 at his trade about two years, then two 
 years at Francis Creek, after which 
 he was two and one-half years employed 
 at the branch in Manitowoc county, then 
 returned to Ahnapee, and a year later 
 purchased the brewery at Tisch Mills. 
 Here he is in partnership with his brother, 
 and together they have, since they be- 
 gan operations, rebuilt or enlarged the 
 brewery and so improved the quality of 
 the product that it is recognized as the 
 best in this section of the country, the re- 
 sult being an extensive and lucrative trade. 
 
 Mr. Langenkamp is altogether a man of 
 energy and business push, and in addition 
 to his brewery interest has stock in the 
 flouring and sawmill at Carlton. Socially, 
 he is a member of the F. & A. M. , I. O. 
 O. F. , Sons of Hermann, S. M. H., 
 American Legion of Honor, and C. S. 
 P. S. In politics he is a Democrat, ever 
 active in securing the success of the 
 party in his township and county, and he 
 is now a member of the county board of 
 Kewaunee county. In 1892 he was the 
 candidate of his party for the General 
 Assembly, but was not elected; on ac- 
 count, however, of irregularities in the 
 election proceedings, he contested the 
 seat in the Assembly, and though a mem- 
 ber of the Democratic party, he was not 
 allowed the seat by them when they were 
 in office, yet he was vindicated in his 
 course by the Republicans when they 
 came into power, as they promptly reim- 
 bursed him for the expenses incurred by 
 him in the contest. 
 
 Mr. Langenkamp is recognized as one 
 of the most substantial citizens in his sec- 
 tion, as well as one of the most influen- 
 tial in public affairs, possessing a social 
 and genial nature which wins him uni- 
 versal popularity among his fellow citizens. 
 He lives in a fine residence adjoining the 
 brewery property, which he has admir- 
 ably equipped with modern improvements 
 and surrounded by fine fruit-bearing trees, 
 all planted by him since his residence 
 here, the beautiful and well-kept property 
 giving ample evidence of his taste, he dis- 
 playing the same interest in that as in 
 everything else with which he is con- 
 nected. 
 
 JURGEN REHDER, an industrious, 
 prosperous farmer of Egg Harbor 
 township. Door county, is a native 
 of the Fatherland, born March 10, 
 1859, in Holstein, third child in the 
 family of Claus Rehder, who was the 
 father of nine children — seven sons (of 
 

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOOEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 653 
 
 whom Jurgeii is the eldest) and two 
 daughters. 
 
 Up to the age of fourteen years our 
 subject attended school; also assisting his 
 father and mother at home, and after 
 that time commenced working for 
 strangers, giving his wages to his parents. 
 In the fall of 1883, at the age of twentj'- 
 four years, he left his native land, on 
 September 29, sailing from Amsterdam 
 on the steamer "Shidam," which landed 
 at New York October 14. One of his 
 brothers having settled in Iowa, our sub- 
 ject set out for that State, but on arriving 
 at Chicago, 111., he found himself without 
 money, without friends, and unable to 
 speak the English language. He man- 
 aged to secure employment, however, 
 and in a few weeks came by boat to 
 Door county. Wis., landing at Sturgeon 
 Bay November 3. In Section 14, Egg 
 Harbor township, he found work cutting 
 wood, receiving one-half of the wood for 
 his labor, continuing at that through the 
 winter, after which he hired out as a farm 
 hand on the place where he now lives, in 
 Section 14, and which now consists of 
 220 acres, over one hundred of which have 
 been cleared by honest industry. 
 
 On March 8, 1888, Mr. Rehder was 
 married, in Egg Harbor, to Mrs. Dora 
 (Perls) Forey, widow of George Fore}', 
 and to this union were born three children: 
 Charles, John and Catherine. In politi- 
 cal affiliation Mr. Rehder was originally a 
 Democrat, but he now votes according to 
 the dictates of his own conscience, re- 
 gardless of party lines. In religious con- 
 nection he and his wife are members of 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 CHARLES PLINSKE follows farm- 
 ing on Section 15, Forestville 
 township, Door county, where he 
 owns and operates 175 acres of 
 valuable land, which farm he located 
 upon in 1875 and commenced clearing, 
 for it was then covered with a heavy 
 
 growth of timber. 
 37 
 
 He now has eighty 
 
 acres under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion, improved with good buildings and 
 the other accessories and convenien- 
 ces of a model farm. His home is 
 a comfortable and substantial brick 
 residence, 28 x 29 feet with an L 1 1 x 28 
 feet, and has two large barns, one 40 x ^6 
 feet, the other 28 x 56 feet. He makes a 
 specialty of the breeding of Holstein cat- 
 tle and Berkshire and Poland-China hogs, 
 and also does dairy farming, keeping on 
 hand from ten to fifteen cows for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Our subject was born in Germany 
 November 29, 1844, and his parents, 
 Charles and Charlotte (Rebein) Plinske, 
 were natives of the same locality. In 
 1868 they emigrated to America, and the 
 family settled on a farm in Manitowoc 
 county. Wis. , while the father worked at 
 farm labor in order to provide for their 
 support. Later he opened up his own 
 farm, and continued its cultivation during 
 the greater part of his life; but in his later 
 years he laid aside active business cares 
 and retired to the city of Manitowoc, 
 where he spent his last days, his death oc- 
 curring in 1887, his wife dying there in 
 1893. They were the parents of five 
 children, namely: Caroline, who became 
 the wife of John Gnadt, and died in Mani- 
 towoc county in 1872; Minnie, widow of 
 William Albracht, of Manitowoc county; 
 Charles; Ferdinand, who is living in the 
 city of Manitowoc, and Albertine, who 
 died when fourteen years of age. Charles, 
 our subject, was reared and educated in 
 his native land, and served in the German 
 army for nearly three years, doing duty in 
 Austria in 1 866, three months, in the war 
 with that country, the rest of the time in 
 Berlin, Germany. He afterward worked 
 as a farm hand in his native land and also 
 in this country until he was able to begin 
 farming for his own account. He was also 
 foreman of a gang of men engaged in rail- 
 road grading in Illinois and Michigan, 
 later spending two years in Kansas, Min- 
 nesota and Missouri, working at various 
 kinds of labor; was also employed in a 
 
654 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 brick yard in Chicajjo for two summers — 
 1872 and 1873 — working by the piece, 
 and making from five to eight dollars per 
 day. He has worked in nine States of 
 the Union, and has always been found 
 busy, for idleness is uttcrh' foreign to his 
 nature. 
 
 Mr. Plinske was married in Manitowoc 
 county May 19, 1874, to Miss Gusta 
 Aestreig, a native of Germany, and daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Augusta Aestreig, who 
 were born in the same country, and in 
 i860 emigrated to Manitowoc county. 
 Wis., where the father opened up a farm 
 on which he still makes his home; he was 
 called upon to mourn the death of his 
 wife in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Plinske have 
 eight children: Clara, Richard, Laura, 
 Ella, Arthur, Elsie, Hugo and ^^atikle. 
 Our subject takes a warm interest in poli- 
 tics, and supports the Republican party, 
 by whom he has been elected to several 
 local positions of honor and trust, such 
 as town supervisor, school director and 
 town treasurer, which latter position he 
 has filled eleven years, and is present in- 
 cumbent. His duties are promptly and 
 faithfully performed, and the community 
 recognizes in him a valued citizen, one 
 who gives his support to all worthy en- 
 terprises, and bears his part in the up- 
 building of town and county. He and his 
 estimable wife hold membership with the 
 Lutheran Church, in which he is serving 
 as deacon, and take quite an active 
 interest in Churcli and Sunday-school 
 work. 
 
 CHRIST DEMMIN, one of the 
 prosperous and substantial farm- 
 ers of Egg Harbor township. 
 Door county, was born in Prussia, 
 Germany, October 28, 1835, and is the 
 youngest son in a family of six sons and 
 two daughters. His father, John Dem- 
 min, was engaged in the livery business in 
 a small German village. 
 
 Our subject attended the common 
 schools, and remained at home until his 
 
 marriage to Miss Dora Rhode. On Oc- 
 tober I, 1862, Mr. Demmin, with his wife 
 and two children, took passage at Ham- 
 burg on the sailing vessel "Helena," 
 which after a \oyage of ten weeks and 
 two days arrived at Xew York. In the 
 Empire State he remained two and a 
 half jears, working as a farm hand near 
 Poughkeepsie, and in the spring of 1865 
 he removed to Chicago, where he made 
 his home some nine years, engaged in un- 
 loading vessels and in other service yield- 
 ing him an honest living. I'nr five years 
 he was in a carriage factory, operating 
 the machinery, and, while thus employed, 
 by his prudence, industry and economy 
 he sa\ed quite a little sum of monv and 
 then started out in search of land. Visit- 
 ing Door county, he purchased a fortj'- 
 acre tract of timber land in Section 32, 
 Egg Harbor township, to which he re- 
 moved with his family the foUcjwing j'ear. 
 There were no improvements in this lo- 
 cality, no road was cut to the farm, and 
 not a furrow had been turned upon the 
 place; but with characteristic energy he 
 began to clear it, and in 1 874 he raised 
 his first crop, consisting of potatoes and 
 corn. Each \ear saw a larger amount of 
 land cleared and placed under cultivation, 
 bountiful harvests were gathered and the 
 farm at length became a paying invest- 
 ment, making its owner one of the sub- 
 stantial citizens of the communitj'. As 
 his financial resources have increased, he 
 has extended the boundaries of his farm 
 until he now has 240 acres, one hundred 
 of which are cleared and improved. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Demmin were born 
 the following children: \\"illiam and Min- 
 nie, who were born in the Fatherland, 
 and died in New York shortly after the 
 arrival of the family in this countr\'; 
 Louisa, now the wife of Charles Juergens, 
 residing in Minnesota; Charles and Theo- 
 dore, who died in childhood, while in 
 Chicago; John, Louis and August, all at 
 home, the last named having been born 
 at Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. Mr. Dem- 
 min votes with the Republican party, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 655 
 
 believes strongly in its principles, yet is not 
 an intolerant partisan. He has served as 
 township supervisor four years, and is 
 now enjoying his seventh term as town 
 treasurer, a fact which indicates his effi- 
 ciency and the confidence and trust re- 
 posed in him by his fellow townsmen. 
 He is a believer in the doctrines of the 
 Moravian Church, assisted in building the 
 house of worship, is one of the leading 
 members of the congregation, and has 
 served as one of the officers since its or- 
 ganization. He is a typical self-made 
 man, for he started out in life empty- 
 handed, and for some years after coming 
 to this country had to work as a common 
 laborer; but he scorned no employment 
 which would yield him an honest living, 
 and as the result of his industry, perse- 
 verance and ec(inomy he has steadily 
 worked his way upward and acquired for 
 himself and family a pleasant home and 
 comfortable competence. He certainly 
 deserves great credit for his success in 
 life, and his example is one well worth}' of 
 emulation. 
 
 JOHN B. DELWICHE. Belgium 
 has furnished many worthy citizens 
 to Wisconsin, among whom is the 
 subject of this brief review — a well- 
 known farmer of Door county. His par- 
 ents, William and Mary (Duper) Del- 
 wiche, now live with him, and in their 
 family were seven children, who in the 
 order of birth are as follows: Catherine, 
 Felicity, John B., \'irginia, Lucy, Joseph 
 and Frank. 
 
 Our subject was born in Belgium in 
 1847, and in that country spent the first 
 nine years of his life, after which he came 
 with his parents to .America, the family 
 locating in Union township. Door Co., 
 Wis., where the father made purchase of 
 forty acres of land — the farm on which 
 he yet resides. A log cabin was built, 
 16x16 feet, and as they had no team the 
 logs were carried by the men; the work 
 of improvement was at once begun, and 
 
 with a.\e, grub hoe and plow the once 
 wild timber-land was transformed into 
 rich and fertile fields, which in course of 
 time began to yield abundant harvests. 
 As the years passed the boundaries of the 
 farm were extended until it comprised 137 
 acres. The mother of our subject died 
 here July 6, 1S77. Since coming to 
 America John B. Delwiche has resided 
 upon this farm, and in the work of de- 
 \elopment and ciilti\ation he has ever 
 borne his part, while in the experiences 
 of frontier life he has also had his share. 
 On June i, i.'^7.i, he was married to Miss 
 Mary Cauquet, and their union has been 
 blessed with ten children, namely: Jau- 
 quet, Moise, Heloise, Lizzie, Celine, 
 Joseph Arthm", Frank, William, John and 
 Fred, of whom William is dead. 
 
 Mr. Delwiche and his family are mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, and in the 
 community where they reside they are 
 highly respected people who have many 
 warm friends. By his ballot our subject 
 supports the I'vepublicau party, and has 
 several times been called to positions of 
 honor and trust, having served for one 
 year as chairman of the town board, for 
 three years as town treasurer and for two 
 years as town clerk. In all of these 
 ofifices he has discharged his duties with 
 a promptness and fidelity that has won 
 him high connnendation, and in all re- 
 spects he is recognized as a valued citizen. 
 
 ANDREW KONOP, an industrious 
 and thriving farmer of Franklin 
 township, Kewaunee county, was 
 born in Bohemia, May 24, 1842, 
 and is the second in the family of six 
 children of Mathias and Annie Konop. 
 also natives of Bohemia. 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools 
 of his native land (the Bohemian, in con- 
 tradistinction to the German) until four- 
 teen years of age, in the meantime learn- 
 ing the weaver's trade. He then wended 
 his way to Vienna, Austria, where he 
 plied his trade until he was twenty years 
 
656 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 old, then returned home and lived four 
 years with his mother, his father having 
 in the meantime died. In 1867, along 
 with his mother, brothers and sisters, he 
 emigrated to the United States, coming 
 directly to the town of Franklin, Wis., 
 where he worked in a sawmill about three 
 years and then bought the farm he now 
 operates and resides on, and set to work 
 at the usual task of clearing off the tim- 
 ber and reducing the soil to a fit state for 
 cultivation. He has continued to add to 
 his possessions, has erected good sub- 
 stantial buildings, and he is now a model 
 farmer with a model farm. 
 
 The marriage of Andrew Konop took 
 place May 24, 1865, to Miss \Iaggie 
 Cilar, daughter of Joseph and Mary Cilar, 
 natives of Bohemia, where Mrs. Konop 
 was born December 25, 1844, and the 
 children born to this marriage, four in 
 number, are named Mary, Annie, Fannie 
 and Joseph. The family are Catholic in 
 their religious faith, and Mr. Konop is a 
 member of the C. S. P. S. of Kewaunee 
 county. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 and he has been eight times elected treas- 
 urer of the township of Franklin; in 1893 
 he was elected chairman of the board of 
 supervisors, and re-elected in 1894 bj^ a 
 large majority — a significant fact, indicat- 
 ing that he has filled the office with credit 
 and to the full satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned. The social standing of the fam- 
 ily is all that could be desired. 
 
 I 
 
 GEORGE HARBERS, who carries 
 on a successful business as a vet- 
 erinary surgeon at Baileys Har- 
 bor. Door county, was born in 
 Oldenburg, Germany, May 3, 1849, ^"d 
 is a son of Antone C. Harbers, who car- 
 ried on agricultural pursuits, becoming 
 prosperous, and who married Margaret 
 Lange. They became the parents of five 
 children: Anna, Catherine, Freda, An- 
 tone and George. 
 
 Our subject received good educational 
 privileges, completing a high-school course. 
 
 and remained under the parental roof un- 
 til fourteen years of age, when he left 
 home to earn his own livelihood, and be- 
 gan work upon a farm. In that manner 
 he was employed some five years, when 
 he entered the army, serving one year. 
 He then left the service for about a year, 
 but again returned, and during the six- 
 teen months of his second service he par- 
 ticipated in the Franco-Prussian war. 
 Returning to his home, he there passed 
 one year, after which he was united in 
 marriage, December i, 1872, with Miss 
 Matilda, daughter of Edward and Helena 
 f Peters) Buzing; but in 1874 she died, 
 leaving two children: Helene and Ed- 
 ward, the latter of whom is now emplo3'ed 
 as a salesman in Brooklyn, N. Y. In 
 the same year Mr. Harbers bade adieu to 
 home and friends in the Fatherland, to 
 seek a home bejond the water, and after 
 a voyage of eleven days landed in New 
 York, whence he came direct to Baileys 
 Harbor, Wis., arriving on the 24th of 
 June. Here he secured employment in 
 the store of Fred Wohlmann, with whom 
 he remained seven years — a trusted as- 
 sistant. In I S76 he returned to Germany 
 on a visit to his parents, and in 1878 he 
 was a second time married, the lady of 
 his choice being Miss Anna Lungohr, 
 daughter of Herman and Theresa 
 (Schwartz) Lungohr. They have two 
 children — Augusta, born December 23, 
 1879; and Lydia, born May 5, 1881. 
 
 Upon his second marriage Mr. Har- 
 bers bought 340 acres of land, the pur- 
 chase price being $2200, and he and fam- 
 ily moved into a little log cabin which 
 was their home for two years, when a 
 more modern structure was erected. Of 
 the farm only thirty acres had been 
 cleared, and he at once began to improve 
 the place, selling the timber as cordwood, 
 for some of which he received as high as 
 $5 per cord. After cultivating that farm 
 for si.x 3'ears he sold out for $4, 700, and 
 purchased his present home in Baileys 
 Harbor township. He embarked in the 
 meat business, but as it did not prove 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 657 
 
 very profitable he sold out to Gustaf 
 Pfeifer in 1885, and has since engaged in 
 the practice of veterinary surger}', in 
 which he has met with most excellent 
 success. Since becoming an American 
 citizen he has supported the men and 
 measures of the Republican party, and is 
 now serving as constable, a position which 
 he has filled for eight years in an exem- 
 plary manner. Both he and his wife hold 
 membership with the Lutheran Church, 
 and are highly respected citizens, their 
 friends throughout the community being 
 many. 
 
 HERMANN BOETTCHER was 
 born September 6, 1863, on the 
 farm where he now resides, in 
 Lincoln township, Kewaunee 
 county, Wis., and is a son of Friedrich 
 Boettcher, a native of Pommern, Ger- 
 many, born March 6, 1826. 
 
 The father was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of his native land, and 
 worked as a common laborer until his 
 marriage to Sophia Wagner, also a native 
 of Germany, born March 15, 1831. They 
 had seven children — four sons and three 
 daughters. In 1857 they emigrated to 
 America and located in Manitowoc, Wis., 
 residing there two years, removing thence 
 to Ivewaunee county, where, in Lincoln 
 township, the father purchased 160 
 acres of timber land, which he at once 
 began to clear and improve, transforming 
 the wild tract into rich and fertile fields. 
 He has since carried on agricultural pur- 
 suits, and is one of the representative 
 farmers of the township. His wife 
 died October 19, 1885, in the faith of 
 the Lutheran Church, to which she be- 
 longed. The children of the family yet 
 living are Hermann; William, of Hart, 
 Minn. ; and Annie, wife of John B. Meu- 
 nier, of Marinette, Wisconsin. 
 
 The public schools of the neighbor- 
 hood of his boyhood home afforded our 
 subject his educational privileges, and he 
 was reared in the usual manner of farmer 
 
 lads, working for his father until after he 
 had attained his majority. In 1889 he 
 took charge of the home farm which he 
 still manages, and is now widely recog- 
 nized as one of the wide-awake and en- 
 terprising \oung farmers of Lincoln town- 
 ship. 
 
 On July I, 1886, he was married to 
 Miss Hulda Kersten, who was born in 
 Cooperstown, Manitowoc Co., Wis., De- 
 cember 31, 1869, and they have two 
 children: Emma B., born August 3, 
 1891; and Berhnerd, born April 7, 1894. 
 In his political views Mr. Boettcher is a 
 Democrat, and has filled the offices of 
 pathmaster and constable in a creditable 
 and acceptable manner. He holds mem- 
 bership with the Lutheran Church, and 
 his entire life has been passed in Kewau- 
 nee county, where he is widely and favor- 
 ably known, and where he is held in high 
 regard as a man of sterling worth and 
 strict integrity. 
 
 GEORGE BREY, who has been a 
 resident of Ahnapee township, 
 Kewaunee county, for the past 
 twenty-five years, is a native of 
 Bohemia, born April 22, 1836, in Chu- 
 diwa. He is a son of Joseph and Mary 
 (Simmat) Brey, also natives of Bohemia, 
 the former of whom was a farmer and 
 saloon-keeper. They had a family of six- 
 teen children (four of whom are now de- 
 ceased), George being the fifth in order 
 of birth. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of his native country, re- 
 ceiving his instruction in the German lan- 
 guage, and was reared on a farm up to 
 the age of thirteen years, when he was 
 apprenticed to learn the harness-maker's 
 trade, completing his apprenticeship at 
 the age of sixteen years. .After follow- 
 ing his trade for eight years he became a 
 cavalryman, and served nearly eleven years 
 in the army, participating in the war with 
 Prussia, after which he acted as private 
 help for noted families of Austria some six 
 
65S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, and then entered a wholesale house 
 in Pras^iie, which had a lar^e export trade 
 in Bohemia. Remaining there some two 
 years, he returned home, and shortly 
 afterward, on April 25, 1869, embarked 
 on the steamer "Germany," bound for 
 the United States, landing at New York 
 May 16, a short time thereafter locating 
 at La Porte, Ind., whence he soon after- 
 ward removed to Wisconsin, settling in 
 Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, where he 
 was engaged as a laborer for a few weeks. 
 On August 2, 1869, he was united in 
 marriage with Mrs. Mary (Merrit) Gettin- 
 ger, a widow, who was born in Bohemia 
 in 1845, ^"d is the mother of two chil- 
 dren by her first marriage: Annie, now 
 Mrs. Frank Gressel, of Ahnapee, and 
 Mary, Mrs. William Amstein, of Chicago. 
 To her second marriage were born ten 
 children: George, Joseph, Frances, 
 Clara, Peter, Katharine, John, Ivy and 
 Adam, living, and Theresa, deceased. 
 After his marriage Mr. Brey located upon 
 the farm he still conducts, and engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits, which have ever 
 since been his principal occupation. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Brey are members of the Catho- 
 lic Church, and politically he is a Demo- 
 crat; socially, he is a member of the 
 Wenzlaus Society, a Bohemian organ- 
 ization. 
 
 ANDREAS ERICHSEN, a well- 
 known farmer of Carlton town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, was born 
 in Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, 
 German), March 31, 1831. 
 
 His parents, Erick and Mattie Erich- 
 sen, came to the United States in 1857. 
 Mrs. Erichsen died in Kewaunee in 1874, 
 and in 1S75 Mr. Erichsen passed from 
 earth in Milwaukee, and the remains of 
 both are interred in Kewaunee. Andreas, 
 the subject of this sketch, who was the 
 fifth in a family of nine children, was ed- 
 ucated in the public schools of Schleswig- 
 Holstein, and later worked on a farm. In 
 1854 he and a brother came to America, 
 
 where, after wandering as far west as 
 Chicago, they found themselves without 
 money. They consequently worked at 
 whatever they could find to do in that 
 city, also at La Porte. Ind., and in a 
 short time reached Mishicot, Manitowoc 
 Co., W'is. , where the same program was 
 followed for a \ear. when Andreas came 
 to the township of Carlton, Kewaunee 
 county, and located on the farm he still 
 owns and occupies. The farm at that 
 time was in a dense forest, and the bring- 
 ing of it to its present state of productive- 
 ness necessitated industry and a con- 
 stancy of purpose that would have dis- 
 couraged any person possessed of less 
 tenacity of purpose than that which char- 
 acterized Mr. Erichsen. However, he 
 has met his reward, and now is possessed 
 of one of the neatest and best-improved 
 farms in Carlton township. 
 
 Mr. Erichsen was united in marriage, 
 July 18, 1863, with Annie Wilhelmina 
 Klopke, who was born at Eutin, Ger- 
 many, April 9, 1S42, daughter of Claus 
 and Dorothea Klopke. This union has 
 been blessed with the birth of five chil- 
 dren, viz. : Robert B., Henry R., George, 
 Mattie A., and Lewis E., of whom Rob- 
 ert B., died in 1868. Mr. Erichsen has 
 afforded his children the advantages of a 
 good education, and he is himself con- 
 sidered to be one of the most enterpris- 
 ing citizens of the township, and well 
 worth}' of taking charge of the township's 
 interests, but he has never aspired to 
 official cares of distinction. He is re- 
 spected as one of the county's foremost 
 and best farmers, and his upright walk 
 through life has greatly added to this re- 
 spect, which is extended to all the mem- 
 bers of his family. 
 
 ALBERT ,ICKE. who for many 
 years sailed the lakes, is now a 
 worthy representative of the mer- 
 cantile interests of Ellison Bay, 
 Door county. He was born March 15, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 659 
 
 1839, in Inzel Ruger, Germany, and is a 
 son of Joachin Icke, a fisherman by oc- 
 cupation, wlio lived and died in the 
 Fatherland. The mother of our subject 
 bore the maiden name of Maria Org, and 
 and in the family of this worthy couple 
 were nine children — Fred, Mar}-, August, 
 Alvina, Malta and Albert (twins), Matilda, 
 Sophia and Minnie. 
 
 The school privileges which our sub- 
 ject received were very meager, as he had 
 to begin to earn his own livelihood when 
 yet young. At the earl}- age of seven 
 years he began working in the summer, 
 and in the winter season, as opportunity 
 afforded, he attended school. When a 
 youth of only fourteen years, he went to 
 sea, taking passage on the ship "Au- 
 gusta," his first trip being to a Norwegian 
 port, after which he sailed to Russia, 
 then to England.and thence home. During 
 the remainder of the year he was em- 
 ployed on a trading vessel which sailed 
 between Germany and England, and sub- 
 sequently became a member of the crew 
 of the •■ Helmene," which sailed to En- 
 gland and Porticabella, and then to the 
 Gulf of Me.xico, where they suffered 
 shipwreck. For fifteen days and a half 
 Mr. Icke, with other members of the 
 crew, was in a small boat tossing about 
 on the waves, being for three days and a 
 half without food. The\- finally landed 
 on a small island, and five days later 
 reached New Orleans, whence Mr. Icke 
 returned to Hamburg, Germany. After 
 being emplo}-ed on a government boat for 
 about si.x months, he again joined the 
 crew of a ship plying between Germany 
 and England, and was a salt-water sailor 
 about four years longer. Returning to 
 his own home, he in i860 came to the 
 United States, and began sailing the lakes, 
 being thus emplo}'ed until the fall of 
 1893. For twenty }-ears he sailed one 
 vessel for a Milwaukee firm, and after 
 that time commanded vessels of his own. 
 Two of his vessels were wrecked, and 
 as there was no insurance on them the 
 loss proved very heavy to him. 
 
 On May 18, 1865, Mr. Icke was 
 united in marriage with Miss Rosetta 
 Klug, daughter of John and Elenora 
 (Fisher) Klug, and by her has had a family 
 of seven children, as follows: Francisco, 
 Alvina, Albert, Ale.xis, Hattie, Rudolph, 
 and Frank, three of whom are now mar- 
 ried — the eldest being the wife of John 
 Anclam, a resident of Baile}-s Harbor, 
 Wis. ; Alvina, the wife of Michael Ander- 
 son, of Milwaukee, and Albert, who re- 
 sides in Milwaukee. The mother of this 
 family died of heart disease April 7, 1894, 
 and man}- friends mourn her decease, for 
 she was a most estimable lady. In 1882 
 Mr. Icke came to Ellison Bay, and estab- 
 lished the store in which he is still inter- 
 ested. He also owns 280 acres of good 
 land, of which 160 acres are cleared, 
 while 60 are under the plow. In 1893 he 
 was appointed postmaster of Ellison Bay, 
 and still fills that position; though he 
 was appointed under a Democratic admin- 
 istration, he does not affiliate with that 
 party, supporting by his ballot men and 
 measures of the Republican party. His 
 life has certainly not been an uneventful 
 one, for his long experience on the seas 
 brought to him many interesting and 
 ofttimes thrilling adventures. His school 
 privileges were limited, but during his long 
 \-oyages, and through his contact with the 
 world, he has gained a wide and varied 
 knowledge, and can relate many entertain- 
 ing episodes. 
 
 JOHN DAUL was born August i, 
 1869, in the town of Casco, Kewau- 
 nee county, a son of Lawrence and 
 Catherine (Salentine) Daul, the for- 
 mer of whom, who was a native of Ger- 
 many, and a farmer by occupation, in 
 1854 crossed the Atlantic to America, 
 settling in Washington county. Wis., 
 where he worked as a day laborer. After 
 six years there passed, he removed to 
 Kewaunee county and purchased eighty 
 acres of land in Luxemburg township, 
 from which he at once began to clear the 
 
66o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 heavy growth of timber. In 1859 he 
 married the daughter of Gregory and 
 Anna (Wahl) Salentine, and in a little log 
 cabin the young couple began their domes- 
 tic Ife, living in true pioneer style. At 
 that time there were few roads cut in the 
 county, and the forests were still the 
 haunts of deer and other wild game, as 
 well as of bears and wolves. They owned 
 a team of o.xen which were used in develop- 
 ing the farm, and which they also drove 
 to market at Green Bay and De Pere, it 
 taking three days to make the trip. Mr. 
 Daul worked hard clearing his land, his 
 busy and useful life being at length re- 
 warded with a handsome competence, 
 and he added to his farm until his landed 
 possessions aggregated 1040 acres. He 
 also did an e.xtensive lumber business, 
 and was a successful financier, his e,\- 
 ecutive ability,systematic business methods 
 and sagacity winning for him quite a for- 
 tune. The family numbered eight chil- 
 dren, namely: Lena, Mary, John, Alber- 
 tine, Lawrence, Ludwig, Frances and 
 Annie. The father died of lung fever 
 November 28, 1886. He was a Catholic 
 in religious belief, a Democrat in politics, 
 and for three years served as chairman of 
 the town board. 
 
 We now take up the personal history 
 of John Daul, who spent the days of his 
 boyhood and youth in his parents' home, 
 and to his father gave the benefit of his 
 services until his marriage, which interest- 
 ing event was celebrated November 15, 
 1893, with Miss Barbara Filz, daughter of 
 Joseph and Anna (Lanser) Filz. They 
 removed to a farm of eighty acres, which 
 Mr. Daul had inherited from his father's 
 estate, and the young couple, who are 
 widely and favorably known in the com- 
 munity, and have many warm friends, are 
 there living at their pleasant home. Mr. 
 Daul votes with the Democratic party, 
 and throughout Kewaunee county he is 
 recognized as a wide-awake and enter- 
 prising young farmer of known business 
 ability, and his friends have no fears in 
 predicting for him a successful future. 
 
 August 
 ily of 
 
 PETER PEOT, a well-to-do farmer 
 of Kewaunee county, and one of 
 the honored pioneer settlers, was 
 born in Washington county, \Vis. , 
 2, 1850, the youngest in the fam- 
 seven children of Nicholas and 
 Catherine (Moos) Peot. The children 
 were Barbara, Michael, Catherine, Ange- 
 line, John, Nicholas and Peter. With 
 the exception of our subject, all were 
 born in Prussia, Germany, as were also 
 the parents, and, in 1845, the family emi- 
 grated to America, landing in New York 
 after a voyage of nine weeks. From 
 there they came west to Milwaukee, Wis. , 
 and the father secured a homestead claim 
 of forty acres, whereon he lived nine years, 
 after which he came to Lu.xemburg town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, and entered a 
 claim of 160 acres. There were no roads 
 cut through, and it required six days to 
 make the trip to Green Bay with an 
 ox-team. At New Franken, Wis., they 
 were delayed five days until a road was 
 completed over which they could travel. 
 Mr. Peot and his sons at once began to 
 clear the land, and among the stumps 
 planted wheat, in harvest time gathering 
 a crop of ninety bushels from five bushels 
 which had been sowed. Upon three- 
 fourths of an acre potatoes were planted, 
 and the yield thereof was three hundred 
 bushels. The work of clearing the farm 
 was steadily contained until the greater 
 part of it was placed under a high state 
 of cultivation. 
 
 Our subject experienced all the hard- 
 ships incident to frontier life in the days 
 when this was a frontier settlement, in 
 which Indians were frequently seen, while 
 bears and wolves yet roamed the for- 
 ests. Mr. Peot remained at home until 
 he was twenty-two years of age, for his 
 father dying when Peter was a lad of 
 thirteen, the care of the farm devolved 
 upon the four sons. At the age of twen- 
 ty-two our subject married Anna Shaut, 
 and having each received eighty acres of 
 land from their fathers, they began their 
 domestic life upon their farm, Mr. Peot 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 66 1 
 
 erecting buildings and clearing the land, 
 which in course of time he transformed 
 into rich and fertile fields. He has added 
 to his farm an additional tract of eighty 
 acres, and his success in life has all been 
 due to his own industrious efforts, and 
 honest dealing. The first bushel of wheat 
 that was ever taken to Kewaunee was 
 drawn there by Michael Peot, then shipped 
 to Racine, ground into flour and returned 
 to Mr. Peot, that he might eat the first 
 bread made from wheat raised in Kewau- 
 nee county. The history of frontier life 
 is very familiar to our subject and he well 
 deserves mention among the pioneers of 
 the county. 
 
 Nine children have been born to Peter 
 and Anna Peot, as follows: Catherine, 
 Peter, Gertrude, Elizabeth, Antone, Hen- 
 ry, Dillia, Anna and Joseph. The par- 
 ents hold membership with the Catholic 
 Church, and in his political views our 
 subject is a Democrat, but takes no 
 prominent part in public affairs, although 
 he never fails to faithfully perform his 
 duties of citizenship. 
 
 LOUIS REICHEL, a wide-awake, 
 industrious and progressive young 
 business man of Sturgeon Bay, 
 Door county, is a native of Wis- 
 consin, born in Boscobel, Grant county, 
 in May, 1864. 
 
 His father, also named Louis, was a 
 native of Germany, whence when a young 
 man he came to America, settling in 
 Grant county, where for many years he 
 followed his trade, that of merchant tailor, 
 which he had learned in the Fatherland. 
 In Wisconsin he was married to Miss 
 Maggie Webber, also a German by birth, 
 and five children were born to them, 
 namely: Maggie, Katie, Lizzie, Louis, 
 and Daniel, the last named dying at the 
 age of fourteen years. The parents at 
 the present time are living at Boscobel, 
 Grant Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Louis Reichel, our subject, received a 
 liberal education at the common schools 
 
 of his place of birth, and at the age of 
 fifteen went to Dubuque, Iowa, there to 
 learn the trade of jeweler, and, after com- 
 pleting his apprenticeship, worked as a 
 journeyman at various places. In 1885 he 
 came to Sturgeon Bay, where for three 
 years he continued his trade as journey- 
 man, and then established his present 
 jewelry and drug business, in which 
 venture he has met with well-merited suc- 
 cess, his stock in trade being complete in 
 both lines. In 1886 he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lizzie Weston, also a 
 native of Wisconsin, born at Necedah, 
 Juneau county, a daughter of Thomas 
 and Elizabeth (Dawes) Weston, who 
 while young came from their native State, 
 Maine, to Wisconsia, where they married 
 and had a family of eight children, of 
 whom the following named five are yet 
 living: Laura, Lizzie, Emma, May and 
 Helen. The father of these, who was a 
 lumberman of no little prominence, died 
 in 1889; his widow now resides at 
 Necedah, Wis. To our subject and wife 
 have been born four children: Louis, 
 Daniel, Hattie and Inez. Mr. Reichel 
 in his social affiliations is a member of the 
 F. & A. M., I. O. O. F. and Modern 
 Woodmen. Politically he is a Republican, 
 on which ticket he served as alderman 
 one term, in 1893 was elected mayor of 
 Sturgeon Bay without opposition, and is 
 the present city clerk, chosen by the 
 council. 
 
 CHARLES PETERSEN, United 
 States Lighthouse Keeper, at Ke- 
 waunee, was born in Norway 
 February 8, 1866. His father, 
 Lars August Petersen, was an architect 
 and master mason by occupation, was 
 born in Christiania, the capital city of 
 Norway; the mother bore the maiden 
 name of Maren Ostensen, and her father, 
 who had been a soldier all his life, re- 
 ceived a silver cup from the king for gal- 
 lantry in the war between Norway and 
 Sweden, and later was assigned to the 
 
662 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 charge of the powder magazines on an 
 island near Christiania. Mrs. Petersen 
 was born at Christiania in 1825, and be- 
 came the mother of five sons and four 
 daughters, of whom four sons are still 
 living. The father died when Charles 
 was quite \oung; the mother is still living 
 in Arendal, Norway. 
 
 Our subject graduated from the high 
 school, and at the age of twelve com- 
 menced to study English, later some of 
 the higher branches, preparatory to enter- 
 ing the navy, A course of study in the 
 Naval Academy was necessary for ap- 
 pointment to this branch of the service, 
 and one year's actual experience at sea 
 was necessary to an entrance into the 
 academy; accordingly, at the age of six- 
 teen, he shipped on board a merchantman 
 in order to tit himself for admission. But 
 he changed his intention and remained in 
 the mercantile marine service three years, 
 \isiting Sweden, England, France, Africa, 
 South America, the West Indies, New- 
 York, in fact, nearly the whole world. 
 At the age of nineteen he became a resi- 
 dent of the United States, and for five 
 years sailed the lakes, a part of the 
 time being in the United States Life- 
 Saving Service at Milwaukee. In 1890 
 he entered the United States Lighthouse 
 service at ' Milwaukee, as assistant, and 
 remained two years, at the end of which 
 time he received his appointment as light- 
 house keeper at Kewaunee. 
 
 Peter Julius Petersen, eldest brother 
 of subject, entered the Norway mercan- 
 tile marine service when fourteen or fif- 
 teen 3-ears old. following the ocean for 
 thirteen years, and becoming first officer 
 of several of the largest vessels in the 
 service; he was at one time presented 
 with a gold medal, by the Oueen of Eng- 
 land, for saving the lives of eight British 
 seamen while in this employ. He afterward 
 sailed the lakes ten years, as master of 
 different vessels, and is now lighthouse 
 keeper at Winds Point, near Racine. 
 Lars Petersen, another brother, served 
 in the Norwegian navy until disabled. 
 
 and is now agent for a steamboat com- 
 pany. Johan, the youngest brother, has 
 been at sea, is a graduate from a marine 
 school, and is now fitting himself at home 
 for the position of officer. 
 
 Charles Petersen was married, in 1887, 
 to Miss Ida Goodletson, daughter of 
 Goodlet Goodletson, a native of Norway, 
 who came to America at the age of seven 
 years, ^^^len seventeen he enlisted in 
 the Seventeenth United States Regulars, 
 and served throughout the Civil war. 
 He is a vessel master, and lives on Wash- 
 ington Island, where his daughter Ida was 
 born. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Petersen were born two children: One 
 son, Ralph, being with his father; one 
 daughter died in infancy in Milwaukee; 
 where Mrs. Petersen also passed awa\' in 
 1891. Charles Petersen is a thorough- 
 going American, and has done much 
 toward advocating the floating of the 
 stars and stripes over lighthouses on cer- 
 tain national holidays, and has succeeded 
 in carrying out this idea at Kewaunee by 
 private outlay. The newspapers have 
 paid him many compliments for this act, 
 and are urging upon the government^the 
 propriety of adopting the sj'Stem through- 
 out the Union. Mr. Petersen has on sev- 
 eral occasions been the means of saving 
 lives, among them that of a young lady 
 from drowning at Milwaukee, at other 
 times giving aid to vessels in distress. 
 
 FREDERICK KRUEGER, farmer. 
 Sturgeon Bay township. Door 
 county, was born September i , 
 1826, in Nuthagen in Coslin, Ger- 
 many, son of Michael and Henrietta 
 (Bearg) Krueger, natives of the same prov- 
 ince. The father, who was a farmer, 
 died in Germany in 1865, the mother in 
 1853. Of their family of five children, 
 Fredericka is the \\ife of \\^illiam Karn- 
 itz, and lives in Germany; Ernestine, who 
 married John Bartz, died in Germany in 
 1S91; Minnie married Gottfried Bearg, 
 and died in Germanx' in 1888; Caroline is 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 663 
 
 the wife of William Groins, of Germany; 
 Frederick is the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Germany, 
 receiving a good education in the com- 
 mon schools, and in 1844 entered the 
 army, serving continuously for two years 
 at Stettin, after which he was granted a 
 furlough. Later he again entered the 
 service, being stationed at Berlin for nine 
 months, and on leaving the army he en- 
 tered the service of a baron, as coachman, 
 remaining in his employ for two years, or 
 until 1854, when he came to America. 
 Embarking at Hamburg he landed at 
 New York after a voyage of four weeks, 
 coming thence to Milwaukee, Wis., where 
 he found employment and remained un- 
 til 1856, in which jear he removed to 
 Ahnapee, at which place he worked in 
 the mill for Afr. Hall. In 1868 he settled 
 in Sturgeon Bay township, and purchas- 
 ing an eighty-acre tract of timberland in 
 Section 19, of which but five acres had 
 been cleared, set to work on this place, 
 devoting the summer season to clearing 
 and improving his farm, and during the 
 winter time worked for A. W. Lawrence. 
 Later he purchased i 20 acres more, mak- 
 ing 200 acres, half of which he sold to 
 his eldest son, now retaining 100 acres 
 for himself, of which sixty are in tillable 
 condition. Mr. Krueger first built a log 
 house, which in 1888 was replaced by a 
 comfortable two-story brick residence, 
 38x38 feet. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Krueger was married, in 
 Ahnapee, to Miss Mary Buske, daughter 
 of Fred and Henrietta Buske, all natives 
 of Germany, who came to America in 
 1854, locating in Ahnapee, Kewaunee 
 Co., Wis.; Mrs. Buske died in 1886 at 
 Chippewa Falls, Wis., where Mr. Buske 
 and his son still reside. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Krueger have been born eight children, as 
 follows: Fred, married, and residing on 
 the farm adjoining his father's (he has 
 one son, Marvin); Frank, who taught 
 school in Door county for ten years, and 
 now operates a cheese factory and has an 
 interest in C. Wulf & Go's, hardware 
 
 business, at Sawyer, Wis. ; Ida, wife of 
 Joseph Rafenstein, of Sawyer, has two 
 children, Elsie and Esther (she was also a 
 teacher in Door county); Louisa, wife of 
 Ferdinand Bartz, of Kensal, North Da- 
 kota; Rosa, who has taught school, and 
 is now attending the Oshkosh State Nor- 
 mal School; Amalia, a!s(5 a teacher in 
 Door county; Lydia, and Ella. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Krueger are members of the M. E. 
 Church, taking an active part in all Church 
 work, and Mr. I\rueger is at present serv- 
 ing as trustee, and teaching in the Sun- 
 day-school. He has done his share in 
 opening up and improving this section, 
 and is always ready to give his support to 
 any movement for the general good, or 
 the advancement of any of its interests. 
 
 In October, 1864, Mr. Krueger en- 
 listed for one year at Ahnapee, in Com- 
 pany E, Seventeenth Wis. Y. I., and 
 was with Sherman's army in the cele- 
 brated march to the sea. Later he was 
 stationed at Fort Beaufort, S. C, where 
 he was in hospital for some time, was 
 subsequently sent to Prairie du Chien, 
 Wis., and was there discharged in 1S65. 
 He is a member of Henry A. Schuyler 
 Post No. 226, G. A. R. , of Sturgeon Bay. 
 In political sentiment he is a Republican. 
 
 FRED ANSCHUTZ was born Sep- 
 tember 12, 1856, in New Franken, 
 Brown Co. ,Wis. , of German line- 
 age, his father having been born in 
 Germany. He received but a common- 
 school education, and at an early age 
 started out in life for himself, working in 
 sawmills and in the lumber woods. In 
 the fall of 1879 he and his brother Henry 
 left their home in Preble township. Brown 
 Co., Wis., walked to Door county, and 
 in Jacksonport township secured work as 
 wood choppers. Together they worked 
 as partners for some time, but at length 
 our subject made a purchase of land, be- 
 coming owner of 1 60 acres on Section 9, 
 Jacksonport township. The greater part 
 of it was still in its primitive condition, 
 
664 
 
 COMifEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 and none of it had been placed under the 
 plow, so that its cultivation and improve- 
 ment is due entirely to the labor of its 
 owner, who is recognized as a thrifty and 
 enterprising man. For two years he 
 lived in a camp, and then built the first 
 house upon the farm. 
 
 Mr. Anschutz was in very limited cir- 
 cumstances on coming to Door county, 
 but possessed a young man's bright hope 
 of the future and a determination to suc- 
 ceed, while his courage and ambition, 
 combined with perseverance and industrj', 
 have secured for him a pleasant home, and 
 he has prospered in his undertakings. At 
 the same time that he has won success, 
 he has gained the confidence and respect 
 of all with whom he has been brought in 
 contact, and by his straightforward deal- 
 ing. He now has a good farm, equipped 
 with all modern conveniences and acces- 
 sories, together with the latest improved 
 machinery, and in addition to the culti- 
 vation of grain keeps on hand a good 
 grade of stock. 
 
 On June 6, 1884, in Denmark town- 
 ship. Brown Co., Wis., was celebrated 
 the marriage of Fred Anschutz and Miss 
 Mina Tiedkee, a native of Germany, and 
 they began their domestic life upon a 
 farm which has since been their home, 
 and which had been his place of residence 
 for five years previous. The farm com- 
 prises 200 acres of land, si.xty acres of 
 which have been worked. The home 
 has been blessed with of two interesting 
 children, Caroline and Arthur, the elder 
 being now (1895) five years of age. 
 
 Mr. Anschutz exercises his right of 
 franchise in support of the men and 
 measures of the Republican party, has 
 been honored with several local offices, 
 and has several times refused to accept 
 official preferment. In religious belief he 
 and his wife are Lutherans, belonging to 
 the church of that denomination in Jack- 
 sonport, of which he has been treasurer 
 for seven years. While the house of 
 worship was being erected he served as a 
 member of the building committee, and 
 
 by his time and money aided greatly the 
 enterprise. His life has been well and 
 worthily passed, throu<rhout the commu- 
 nity he has many warm friends, and in 
 the history of his adopted county he well 
 deserves representation. 
 
 NICHOLAS PELNAR, a genial 
 hotel-keeper, merchant and a 
 skillful farmer of the town of 
 Carlton, Kewaunee county, was 
 born in Bohemia, November 18, 1844, a 
 son of Simon and Katie Pelnar. The 
 father was born March 30, 1805, and in 
 1835 was united in marriage with Katie 
 Votruba, who was born May 25, 1806. 
 The couple emigrated to the United States 
 in 1855. coming directly to Carlton town- 
 ship, Kewaunee Co., ^^'is. , where Simon 
 Pelnar entered a claim. Being one of the 
 earliest settlers, he experienced all the 
 hardships of pioneer life. Here his wife 
 died August 20, 1888, and he passed 
 from earth April 12, 1889. 
 
 Our subject, who was the eldest son 
 in a family of nine children, was a 
 schoolboy in the old country until he 
 reached the age of twelve, when he came 
 to this country with his parents. Here 
 he supplemented his early education by 
 an attendance of two terms of three 
 months each at the district school, then 
 passed an examination, secured a teach- 
 er's certificate, and taught eleven terms 
 at inter\als. He assisted his father on 
 the home farm until he had reached the 
 age of twenty-seven, when he located on 
 the farm he now occupies and has since 
 tilled. On this farm he has erected the 
 "Carlton House," and in connection with 
 this hotel conducts a general mercantile 
 business and a saloon. Politically Mr. 
 Pelnar is a Democrat, and he has been 
 honored with the offices of township clerk, 
 assessor, and supervisor, and for many 
 years has served as justice of the peace; 
 he has also been clerk of the board of ed- 
 ucation since 1869, and during Grant's 
 administration was appointed postmaster 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 665 
 
 at Noi man, which office he filled with credit 
 for a great number of years. He has 
 also held the office of notary public ever 
 since the administration of Governor 
 Rusk in the State of Wisconsin. He is a 
 member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church 
 at Norman, and of the Bohemian Catho- 
 lic Central Union of the United States of 
 America. He was united in marriage, 
 May 28, 1869, with Miss Annie Melichar, 
 a native of Bohemia, born May i, 1S49, 
 a daughter of Joseph and Mary Melichar. 
 To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Pelnar were 
 born the following children: Emma, 
 Julia, Bertha, Annie, Fannie, Pauline 
 and Gerard, still living, and Joseph and 
 Nicholas now deceased. Socially the 
 family standing is deservedly very high. 
 All the rest of Mr. Pelnar's father's fam- 
 ily, except one brother, deceased, are in 
 good health and fare well. The family 
 relationship is one of the most extensive 
 in the State, indeed of the whole of the 
 United States, and members thereof are 
 scattered over the entire world. 
 
 JOHN BRANN, who for some years 
 has been connected with the agricul- 
 tural interests, of Dcior county, well 
 deserves representation among the 
 leading farmers of Baileys Harbor town- 
 ship. The record of his life is as fol- 
 lows: A native of Finland, Russia, he 
 was born September 7, 1849, and is one 
 of a family of eight children, as follows: 
 John, Andrew, Johanna, Hannah, Maria, 
 August, William, and Matilda; of whom, 
 Johanna and Matilda are deceased. The 
 father, Jacob Brann, made farming his 
 life work, and was quite prosperous, se- 
 curing a comfortable competence. His 
 wife, Anna Maria (Granroot), who, like 
 her husband, was a native of Finland, 
 born April 24, 1824, died June 11, 1894. 
 The early life of our subject was one 
 of labor, intermixed with few advantages, 
 educational or otherwise, for when a lad 
 of only eleven summers he left home and 
 began working in a sawmill, where he was 
 
 employed five years. He then shipped 
 before the mast, and for twelve years fol- 
 lowed the sea, as did also his brother 
 Andrew. In 1876, they both became 
 American citizens, emigrating to the 
 United States and settling at Baileys Har- 
 bor, Wis., where they secured employ- 
 ment with Andrew Jacobson as wood- 
 choppers for one winter. In the following 
 spring they purchased forty acres of land, 
 ten of which had been cleared, and 
 to this they added from time to time 
 until they became the owners of eighty 
 acres, and bought out their old employer. 
 Their financial resources increased, as the 
 result of their earnest and untiring labor, 
 and at last they found themselves possess- 
 ors of 400 acres, and giving employment to 
 their two brothers, August and William, 
 who in the meantime had come to the 
 United States, The partnership between 
 John and Andrew was continued for eight 
 years, when by mutual consent it was 
 dissolved, our subject retaining possession 
 of the eighty acres of land, which he yet 
 owns, and where he makes his home. He 
 also at that time bought a lake vessel, 
 sailing same five years, and on disposing 
 of that he bought another, which he com- 
 manded two years, at the end of which 
 time, in 1893, he sold out. 
 
 Mr. Brann was married, 1876, to Miss 
 Ellen Short, who was born in Albany, 
 N. Y., of Irish descent, a daughter of 
 Felix and Rose (Price) Short. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Brann have had twelve children, 
 named respectively: Bridget, John, Ed- 
 ward, Elizabeth, Michael, William, Ro- 
 sanna, J. Aaron, Anna M., Victoria, Alice 
 and Andrew Jacob. Of this family Michael, 
 born August 3, 187S, died November 19, 
 1889; William, born September 25, 1880, 
 died October 28, 1889; Rosanna, born 
 August 27, 1882, died November 9, 1889; 
 J. Aaron, born October i, 1887, died 
 October 2, 1889; Andrew Jacob, born 
 September 14, 1893, died September 5, 
 1894. Mrs. Brann is a member of the 
 Catholic Church, while Mr. Brann is a 
 Protestant. Politically, he is a Demo- 
 
666 
 
 COMMEMOKATiyK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 crat, and is deeply interested in the affairs 
 of his party, doinj; all in his power to in- 
 sure its success and promote its f,T(jwth. 
 In 1890 he embarked in the furniture 
 business at I^aileys Harbor, where he 
 has since conducted a first-class store, 
 and is enjoying a good trade, his honest 
 dealing and earnest desire to please his 
 customers winning him a liberal patron- 
 age. His success in life is well deserved, 
 and while securing prosperity he has also 
 gained the confidence, good will and high 
 regard of those with whom he has been 
 broutrht in contact. 
 
 JOSEPH C. DALEMONT, one of 
 the representati\'e farmers of Door 
 county, belongs to that class of men 
 to whom the progress, prosperity 
 and advancement of a county is due, and in 
 the history of this section of Wisconsin he 
 well deserves mention. 
 
 He was born I^'ebruary 35, 1854, in 
 W'alhain, in the Province of Brabant, 
 Belgium. The ancestry of the family 
 can be traced back thrcjugh several gene- 
 rations to Charlie Dalemont, who was a 
 blacksmith. The next in the line of direct 
 descent also bore the name of Charlie, 
 and followed the same trade. His son, 
 John B. Dalemont, married Justine Fitch- 
 fette and they became the parents of 
 eleven children, namely: Mrs. Mary 
 Joseph, John B., Justine, Louie, Artance 
 (deceased), Alfred, Artance, Frank, Joseph 
 (also deceased), Adelaide and Joseph. 
 The second in this family became the 
 father of our subject. 
 
 John B. Dalemont, Jr. , was born De- 
 cember 5, 1820, in the Province of Na- 
 mur, Belgium, in the town of Sombreffe, 
 and on arriving at man's estate he wedded 
 Frances Grandhenry. His early educa- 
 tion was ac<]uired at the common schools, 
 such as that day and age afforded, and 
 when he was fourteen years old he began 
 learning the blacksmith's trade with his 
 father, working at the same four years ere 
 he was pronounced a master of the busi- 
 
 ness. It will thus be seen that his train- 
 ing along that line was very thorough. 
 When the four years had passed he trav- 
 eled over much of the European conti- 
 nent, working at his trade in various 
 places until his emigration to America in 
 1856. In the meantime, November 5, 
 1850, Mr. Dalemont was married, and six 
 years later, accompanied by his family, 
 he took a sailing vessel at Antwerp for 
 the New World, and after a passage of 
 forty-six days they landed at New York 
 whence they at once proceeded to Green 
 Bay, Wis., the journey being made partly 
 by rail and partly by water. The suc- 
 ceeding winter was passed in what is now 
 Luxemburg, Kewaunee Co. , Wis. , and 
 in the following spring Mr. Dalemont re- 
 moved with his family to Lincoln town- 
 ship, where his father had located about 
 a year previous, and where he had pur- 
 chased a small farm. In i 858 hechanged 
 his place of residence to what was then 
 Brussels, now Gardner, township, and pur- 
 chased forty acres of land. He then went 
 to Pensaukee, and secured employment as 
 a blacksmith with F. B. Gardner, work- 
 ing at his trade until the fall of 1858. 
 The family experienced all the hardships 
 incident to life on the frontier. Mr. 
 Dalemont walked from Lincoln to Gard- 
 ner, and his wife and children afterward 
 accomplished the same journey on foot, 
 going to the latter place where the father 
 had purchased eighty acres of land. Dur- 
 ing the succeeding five _\ears he was em- 
 ployed as a blacksmith between Little Stur- 
 geon and Pensaukee, Wis., subsequently 
 continuing his labors at Little Sturgeon. 
 For twenty-two years he remained in the 
 employ of Mr. Gardner, a fact which in- 
 dicates the extremely pleasant relations 
 existing between the two gentlemen — a 
 respected employer on the one hand, and 
 a trusted, efficient and faithful employe 
 on the other. While he thus carried on 
 blacksmithing, his father, John B. Dale- 
 mont, Sr., and his children cleared the 
 land, developed the farm, and to his pos- 
 sessions he added from time to time until. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 667 
 
 when he abandoned his trade, he had 240 
 acres — a vahiable tract, the merited re- 
 ward of honest labor. 
 
 To John and Frances Dalemont were 
 born eight children — Louise, Joseph G., 
 Charlotte, Jule, Jennie, Leona, Mary and 
 Adelaide. This family of Dalemonts were 
 among the first residents of Gardner town- 
 ship, and when they located here the 
 woods were full of game, no roads were 
 cut, and the only paths which they might 
 follow were the Indian trails. There 
 were only about twenty families in the lo- 
 cality, all of whom had located in the 
 neighborhood within a few months of the 
 arrival of the Dalemont family. 
 
 Joseph G. Dalemont, whose name in- 
 troduces this review, has always remained 
 at home with his parents. He was only 
 about two years old when he was brought 
 by them to America, and his entire life 
 has been passed in Wisconsin. His edu- 
 cational privileges were meager, he at- 
 tending the district schools to a limited 
 extent, and spending four months in an 
 academy at Madison, Wis., but his cher- 
 ished plan of pursuing a collegiate course 
 had to be abandoned as he was an only 
 son, and his services were needed on the 
 farm. Like the other members of the 
 family, he is connected with the Spiritual- 
 ist Church, and his political views are in 
 harmony with the principles of the Re- 
 publican party. He has served as school 
 clerk, was postmaster at Little Sturgeon 
 ten years, and has been chairman of the 
 town board of supervisors twelve years, 
 his long continued service in these vari- 
 ous positions indicating a marked fidelity 
 to duty and an unwavering faithfulness to 
 the trust reposed in him. 
 
 FRANK HAMACHEK, a prominent 
 citizen of Kewaunee, is a native 
 of Austria, born March 31, 1853, 
 the eldest in the family of eight 
 children born to Anna and John Hama- 
 chek. His father came to America in 
 1866, and located on a farm about four 
 
 miles southwest of Kewaunee city, where 
 the mother died in 1888, and where the 
 father remained until 1893, since when 
 he has resided in the city of Kewaunee. 
 Although sixty-seven years of age, he is 
 still an active man and enjoys excellent 
 health. 
 
 Our subject, at the age of eleven years 
 and six months, began to learn the cabi- 
 nent maker's trade in Reichenberg, Aus- 
 tria, at which he served two years, chiefly 
 working on pianos, organs and other fine 
 work. The family then came to America, 
 and here Frank worked on his father's 
 farm for about three and half years, and 
 then for two years as a carpenter, after 
 which he learned the trade of millwright, 
 which, indeed, are but coarser grades of 
 the trade he had learned in the old coun- 
 try. For two years he was foreman for 
 E. P. Ellis in Milwaukee, in which city 
 he acquired his literary education after he 
 had attained his twenty-first year, by at- 
 tending evening school under a private 
 tutor. In 1877 he bought an interest in 
 his present business of foundry and ma- 
 chine shop in Kewaunee, of a Mr. Davis, 
 with whom he continued in partnership 
 about a \ear and a half, when he bought 
 his partner out. In 1878 his establish- 
 ment was entirely consumed by lire, but 
 with indomitable energy he set to work to 
 construct his present shops, foundry, 
 machine shop and planing-mill, in which 
 he emploj'S at least twenty-five men all 
 the year round. Besides operating this 
 large plant, his attention is also given to 
 the handling of agricultural implements, 
 which fact not only materially adds to his 
 income, but proves to be of considerable 
 accommodation to his mill patrons. In 
 addition to his share in the furniture 
 factory and The Kewaunee Brewing 
 Company, Mr. Hamachek is a stock- 
 holder in the two newspaper companies 
 of Kewaunee, and takes a lively interest 
 in every enterprise inaugurated in the 
 city. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hamachek is a Repub- 
 lican, and has always been a favorite with 
 
668 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 that party, having bj- it been elected 
 several times a member of the board of 
 aldermen, as civil engineer, and to several 
 minor local offices, and as its candidate 
 for mayor of the city came within three 
 votes of being elected over his opponent 
 in this Democratic stronghold — a fact 
 that gives evidence that he is not onlj' 
 popular with his party but with the public 
 at large. 
 
 On October i6, 1880, Mr. Hamachek 
 was married to Miss Annie F. Shimmel, 
 daughter of Wensel Shimmel, a resident 
 of Sturgeon Bay. Mrs. Hamachek was 
 born in Kewaunee county in 1862, and is 
 a member of one of its first families. 
 She has borne her husband a family of 
 five interesting children, named, respect- 
 ively, Ella, Olga, Vopta, Frank and Silva, 
 whose presence sheds a lustre as that of 
 sunshine on the Hamachek household. 
 Mr. Hamachek is a member of the Royal 
 Arcanum and of the C. S. P. S., and 
 although he has no church connection 
 is very liberal in his donations to the 
 cause of Christianity, as well as to school 
 purposes. He is regarded as one of the 
 most substantial citizens of Kewaunee, 
 as being devoted to its material progress 
 and as being ever ready to do all in his 
 power to promote the happiness of its 
 citizens, and to soothe the toils, cares and 
 asperities in the lives of the poor. Few 
 men enjoy a higher position in the esteem 
 of their neighbors, and few are as unos- 
 tentatious in their acts of disinterested 
 benevolence. 
 
 FRANK LONG, proprietor and edi- 
 itor of the Sturgeon 'Hay Advo- 
 firh-, owes his iniiuential position 
 in the affairs of Door county 
 solely to his own efforts. He was bcrn 
 in the village of Entrup, Province of 
 Westphalia, Prussia, December 31, 1847, 
 the son of John and Minnie (Thresa) 
 Lange (a name since Americanized to 
 Long). For manj' generations the an- 
 cestors of the family had been landown- 
 
 ers, farmers and shoemakers, jointly, in 
 this sequestered spot of the Fatherland; 
 but the father of our subject, John, broke 
 the traditions of time by starting, in 
 1853, with his wife and two children, 
 Frank and Thresa, for the ' ' land of lib- 
 erty. " Sailing from Bremen in the good 
 ship " Grosse Herman," they landed at 
 New York in August, after a si.x-weeks' 
 passage, and proceeded at once by a variety 
 of transportations to the West, first by 
 the newly-constructed railroad to Buffalo, 
 thence b}' a little lake steamer to Toledo, 
 and thence by the Wabash canal to Fort 
 Wayne, Ind. Here the dread plague 
 cholera raged, and the mother and sister 
 fell victims. The father remarried, and 
 in 1856 removed to Green Bay, Wis. 
 Misfortunes had seriously impaired his 
 little capital. Leaving the old country 
 with $1700 in gold, sickness and ex- 
 change to the "wild-cat" currency then 
 in circulation drained his resources, and 
 he reached Green Bay almost impover- 
 ished. Leaving his family here, the de- 
 termined shoemaker-emigrant started out 
 in search of employment, finding it at 
 Sturgeon Bay with E. S. Yates, the first 
 shoemaker at that little city. Si.x months 
 later the family removed by sailing vessel 
 to Sturgeon Bay city, arriving October 
 22, 1856. The father from that time on 
 conducted the boot and shoe business on 
 his own account until he retired, in 1872. 
 He still resides at Sturgeon Bay, an hon- 
 ored pioneer citizen. Republican in poli- 
 tics, a devout Roman Catholic in religion. 
 Frank Long received his early educa- 
 tional training at the parochial school of 
 Fort Wayne, Ind. , and subsequently at- 
 tended the public schools of Sturgeon 
 Bay; but at the age of fourteen he began 
 his newspaper career at the foot of the 
 ladder, as "devil" in the office of the 
 Sturgeon Bay Advocate. It was a month 
 before the first issue appeared, and by 
 that time Frank had learned quite a little 
 about "slinging" type, at which he as- 
 sisted on the first paper issued. Si.x 
 months later the mechanical work of is- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 669 
 
 suing the paper fell wholly upon his young 
 shoulders, but he proved equal to the 
 emergency and remained in charge until 
 1864, when he varied his experience by 
 going to Oconto and assisting in establish- 
 ing the Oconto Lumbcnnan. A year later 
 he returned to Sturgeon Bay and resumed 
 his old place on the Adz'ocatc, remaining 
 in the composing room until 1875, when 
 by purchase from the Messrs. Harris he 
 became sole proprietor of the paper, 
 which as editor and publisher he has con- 
 ducted up to the present time. It is a 
 valuable property. Stalwart Republican 
 in tone, it has grown from a five-column 
 folio to a six-column eight-page paper. 
 It has a circulation of 2,000, and is the 
 most important and influential paper in 
 Door county. Mr. Long built and owns 
 the home of the Advocate, a neat brick 
 building 25 x 50 feet. The office is fitted 
 with steam power and other modern ap- 
 pliances. With its three cylinder presses 
 it is prepared to expeditiously do printing 
 of all kinds. There are no plates or 
 patent sheets in the Advocate. Every- 
 thing is homemade, and the success of 
 the paper is due to the untiring efforts and 
 ability of its editor and publisher. Though 
 active and influential in politics, Mr. 
 Long has never sought official position 
 through the power of the Press, but he 
 has built up a paper that enjoys the pa- 
 tronage and confidence of a large and 
 growing clientage. Mr. Long is a mem- 
 ber of the F. & A. M., Henry S. Beard 
 Lodge No. 216, at Sturgeon Bay, also of 
 the Sons of Hermann Lodge of that city. 
 He was married October 20, 1869, at 
 Sturgeon Bay, to Miss Agnes M. Dam- 
 koehler, a native of Walworth county. 
 Her father, a native of Brunswick, Ger- 
 many, served under Napoleon in the Al- 
 gerian campaign; during the Civil war in 
 this country he enlisted in Company H, 
 Twenty-sixth Wis. V. I., and while tak- 
 ing part in a sortie was wounded and cap- 
 tured. He was confined in the "infa- 
 mous Andersonville prison," and there 
 died of starvation and neglect. Mr. and 
 
 38 
 
 Mrs. Long have a familj' of six children: 
 Frank E., born October 21, 1870, a 
 blacksmith at Sturgeon Bay; Ernest W. , 
 born April 7, 1872, compositor and as- 
 sistant in the Advocate office; Clarence 
 E., born October6, 1873, assistant editor, 
 bookkeeper and confidential secretary in 
 his father's office; Amy B,, born May 28, 
 1875; Dudley S., born September 12, 
 1879, and Agnes M., born February i, 
 1882. The home of the Advocate ediior 
 is a modern and handsome residence, one 
 of the finest in Sturgeon Baj'. It is sit- 
 uated on Garland street, and was erected 
 by Mr. Long in 1886, at an expense of 
 six thousand dollars. Here he is sur- 
 rounded by those comforts that make life 
 worth living, and here he enjoys the fruits 
 of a successful and prosperous business 
 career. 
 
 WILLIAM ARTHUR HAYES, 
 principal of the Ahnapee High 
 School, and one of the most 
 enterprising young men of the 
 county, was born June 2, 1867, in Eden, 
 Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. 
 
 His paternal grandfather, whose par- 
 ents were people of eastern Ireland, grew 
 to manhood in Toronto, Canada, and in 
 his younger days learned the trade of ma- 
 chinist which he followed throughout his 
 entire life. He had three sons, to wit: 
 John, who went to Texas, and has never 
 been heard from since the commence- 
 ment of the war of the Rebellion; one 
 (name not given) who died in Toronto, 
 Canada, about the year 1891 ; and Henry, 
 father of the subject of these lines. 
 
 Henry Hayes was born in Toronto, 
 Canada, and when quite young was left 
 an orphan. At the age of sixteen he 
 came to Wisconsin, locating in Milwau- 
 kee where he secured employment with 
 the Prairie du Chien railroad as a bridge 
 builder. This trade he followed for 
 many years, until locating on a farm at 
 Cascade, Sheboygan Co., Wis., which 
 he operated up to 1866, when he removed 
 
6/0 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Eden, Fond du Lac county, where he 
 resides on a farm of 200 acres. He is an 
 expert bridge builder, and for four years 
 was employed as superintendent of the 
 wood work in the Lake Shore railroad 
 shops at Kaukauna, Wis. He is a man of 
 ability, prominence and influence, and 
 while in Sheboygan county represented 
 his District in the State Legislature. For 
 five years he was chairman of his town, 
 and is now clerk of the circuit court in 
 his county. He married Anna M. Kir- 
 win, a native of Ireland, and by their 
 union were born eleven children, of 
 whom ten are yet living. Mrs. Anna M. 
 Hayes came of a wealthy family in east- 
 ern Ireland, who owned \aluable lands 
 and milling property on the river Ho\'ne. 
 
 \\'illiam A. Hayes enjoyed somewhat 
 limited educational privileges in his early 
 life, attending the common schools for 
 only about three years; but by study in 
 his leisure hours he fitted himself for a 
 course in the State Normal School, 
 finally entering that institution, from 
 which he was graduated in the class of 
 1892. He has ever been a th(jrough and 
 systematic student, and close application 
 and earnest effort have well fitted him 
 for his chosen profession. In Septem- 
 ber, 1892, he received the appointment 
 as principal of the Ahnapee High School, 
 prior to which he had taught the village 
 and district schools for about three years, 
 the experience thereby gained proving of 
 much use to him when entering upon his 
 more advanced labor. 
 
 Mr. Hayes has now served three years 
 as principal of the high school at Ahna- 
 pee, and it is said by the State inspector 
 of high schools that the school there has 
 been among the most progressive in Wis- 
 consin during the past two years. Mr. 
 Hayes has had e.xperience in all grades of 
 school work, including district, graded 
 and high schools; has conducted institutes 
 and teachers' summer schools, and in the 
 spring of 1895 he organized a teachers' 
 summer .school for Kewaunee county, the 
 first ever held there. When he graduated. 
 
 in 1892, he was chosen both president 
 and valedictorian of his class, and has 
 since gained considerable recognition as a 
 public speaker on educational and socio- 
 logical questions. The excellent schools 
 of Ahnapee under his able leadership have 
 risen to a yet higher standard of perfec- 
 tion, and he enjo\s the distinction of be- 
 ing among the foremost in the van of pro- 
 gressive educators in Wisconsin. 
 
 F 
 
 ELIX .MELEKA, painter, decor- 
 ator and farmer, of Kewaunee, was 
 born in Belgium August 6, 1835. 
 His father, John Melera, a painter 
 and glazier by trade, was a native of 
 Italy, born in 17SS, and when fifteen 
 years of age went to Belgium, where he 
 married Constance Pera, a native of that 
 country, who bore him eight children — 
 four sons and four daughters — of whom 
 Felix is the third in order of birth. John 
 Melera brought his family to America in 
 1855, landing in New York in Januar}', 
 thence coming directly to Wisconsin, and 
 settling on a farm in the northwest part 
 of Kewaunee county, where he made his 
 home until 1865 when he moved to Ke- 
 waunee city and followed his trade until 
 his death, which occurred while on a visit 
 to a daughter in Ked River in i 876. His 
 widow followed him to the grave one year 
 later, at the advanced age of ninety-three. 
 Our subject recci\ed his education in 
 the common schools of his native land, 
 and at the age of fifteen began learning 
 his father's trade. He came to America 
 in June, six months after his father's ar- 
 rival, and went at once to Green Bay, 
 Wis., being then twenty years of age. 
 He soon joined his father on the farm, 
 and remained with him six years; then 
 came to Kewaunee and bought a farm of 
 thirty-three acres one mile south of the 
 city, on which liis family lives, while he 
 is chiefly engaged in his business of dec- 
 orator and painter in the city. He has 
 taken great interest in the politics of the 
 Demcjcratic party; for three terms was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 elected b\- it to the county treasurership, 
 and in 1884 was elected sheriff in which 
 office he gave great satisfaction one term, 
 but declined a second nomination; at 
 present he is alderman of his ward, and 
 has help the office four years. 
 
 In 1 86 1 he was married to Miss Ter- 
 aselia Leveque, who was born in Canada 
 in 1843, and whose parents came to Wis- 
 consin in 1848, locating in F"ond du Lac 
 one year; then resided at Two Rivers for 
 some time and finally returned to Canada, 
 where the father died in 1889. To this 
 union have been born sixteen children, of 
 whom five sons and six daughters are still 
 living. Mr. and Mrs. Melera are mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church, and are very 
 highly respected by all who know them. 
 
 FMADS HANSEN is a native of 
 Denmark, having been born No- 
 \-ember 17, 1835, in Schleswig- 
 Holstein, at that time a part of 
 that country. His father, who bore the 
 same name, was born on the Island of 
 Arro, Denmark, and was a shoemaker by 
 trade, which occupation he followed until 
 quite late in life, when he practiced 
 veterinary surgery. He married Annia 
 Maria Jacobson, a native of Schleswig- 
 Holstein, where they both passed from 
 earth, the parents of two children, F. 
 Mads and Hans, the latter of whom died 
 in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson were 
 members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Our subject received a good education 
 at the parochial schools of his native 
 country, and at the age of twenty years 
 commenced to learn the trade of mason 
 which he followed until 1871 when he 
 emigrated to America. Coming direct to 
 Washington Island, Door Co. , Wis. , he 
 here purchased forty acres of land, which 
 he immediately began to cultivate, and 
 has continued to do so up to the present 
 time. From time to time he has pur- 
 chased additional land, and now owns 
 320 acres, seventy of which are improved. 
 The buildings he has erected are commo- 
 
 dious and well kept, giving the whole 
 place an air of thrift and neatness. 
 
 Before leaving Denmark Mr. Hansen 
 was married to Miss Annie Katharine 
 Smidt, who was born in Schleswig, in 
 1839. They have had eight children, as 
 follows: Maria, Katharine (deceased), 
 HansL. , Lewis, Annie M., Lauritz Will- 
 iam, Mary Dora, Walter George and 
 Alfred. In politics Mr. Hansen is a 
 Republican, and has filled the office of 
 supervisor many years. He came to this 
 country a poor man, but is now one of 
 the most successful men in his township, 
 and is universal!}' regarded as an honest, 
 upright citizen. 
 
 JOSEPH MILLER, of Kewaunee, is 
 a native of the State of Wisconsin, 
 having been born in Sheboygan 
 county in 1850. His father. Vitals 
 Miller, who was born in Bavaria Decem- 
 ber 12, 1 82 1, came to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 in 1847, thence proceeding to Manton, 
 Mich. , where he remained a year and a 
 half; moved thence to Sheboygan, Wis., 
 where he farmed three years, and then 
 went to Lake Superior, remaining four 
 years. In 1856 he came to Kewaunee 
 county, and here rose to distinction; after 
 following farming for awhile, he moved to 
 the village of Kewaunee, and here con- 
 ducted the Mill Boarding House some 
 four years, after which he again engaged 
 in farming. In 1864 Mr. Miller enlisted 
 in the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and 
 marched with Sherman to the sea, serv- 
 ing faithfully and honorably. In 1871 he 
 was elected register of deeds, which office 
 he filled eight years; was president of the 
 village two years, and for seven years was 
 clerk of the school board, of which for 
 ten years he was a member. In 1881 he 
 was elected county judge, was re-elected 
 for a second term, and died while holding 
 the office, November 27, 1885. His 
 funeral was probably one of the most 
 largely attended of any that ever occurred 
 in Kewaunee village, being attended by 
 
672 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 delegations from the Odd Fellows, the 
 Grand Army of the Republic and of the 
 Fire Department. 
 
 Joseph Miller, the subject proper of 
 this notice, received a very fair education 
 in the schools of Kewaunee. In 1872 he 
 married Miss Anna Dickenshied, who lost 
 her father when she was a small child, 
 and to this union have been born two 
 children — Joseph and Louisa. After his 
 marriage Mr. Miller farmed near Kewau- 
 nee for two years, and then bought a liv- 
 ery establishment in the city, which he 
 conducted six years, making manj- friends, 
 who clung to him when he went into the 
 saloon business immediately afterward, 
 when many more were added to the list 
 and still patronize him. As a Democrat, 
 he has for three years served as alderman. 
 Fraternally he is a member of the I. O. 
 O. F. , the Sons of Hermann, and the 
 Sons of Veterans. 
 
 NELSON CRAITE, captain in the 
 Life Saving service at Kewaunee 
 Station, was born at Manitowoc 
 Rapids, Wis., Decembers, 1853. 
 His father, Eusebe Craite, was born at 
 Three Rivers, Canada, about the year 
 1827, and was a farmer; his mother's 
 maiden name was Zora Ruelle, whose 
 father, also a farmer, came to Wisconsin 
 in 1 85 1. The father of our subject died 
 August 10, 1894; the mother is yet 
 living. 
 
 Our subject, who is the eldest in a 
 family of ten children, all of whom are yet 
 living save one, attended school until he 
 was eighteen years of age, and then 
 taught school one term, and for five win- 
 ters worked in the woods of northern 
 Wisconsin, remaining at home during the 
 summer months. In 1885 he engaged 
 as a surfman in the Life Saving service 
 at Two Rivers, Wis., and was employed 
 seven seasons of eight months each. In 
 October, 1893, he was promoted to cap- 
 tain, and took charge of the Kewaunee 
 Station, with seven men to assist him. 
 
 This promotion was awarded him solely 
 on his own merits, he having been a faith- 
 ful man, ever ready to obey orders. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Craite occurred 
 October 23, 1876, to Miss Julia Leclair, 
 who was born in Mishicot, Wis., in i860, 
 of French descent. Her father, Oliver 
 Leclair, was born in Canada, and was 
 married in Wisconsin, where he died in 
 1864; his wife is still living. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Craite are members of the Catholic 
 Church, and he is also a member of the 
 Catholic Knights of Wisconsin and of St. 
 Peter's Society. In politics he confines 
 his interest to his vote, not being allowed 
 to hold office. He is, however, unusu- 
 ally well posted on the public questions of 
 the day, and deeply read in its current 
 literature, history included. 
 
 M 
 
 ICHAEL LEY has the honor of 
 being a native of Wisconsin, his 
 birth having occurred in Rock- 
 land township. Brown county, 
 October 30, 185 1. 
 
 His parents, Joseph and Maria Wei- 
 land (Engels) Ley, were farming people, 
 and the mother died when her son Mich- 
 ael was a child but four years old ; he also 
 had one younger brother named Joseph, 
 who still lives on the old homestead. The 
 father continued to live on the old home- 
 stead in Rockland township, where he was 
 recognized as a successful farmer. He was 
 again married, this time, in 1858, to 
 Josephine Dettrey, and to them were born 
 children as follows: Mary, Julia, Theresa, 
 Josephine, John and Thomas. The father 
 of our subject was a native of Germany, 
 and when about twenty-one years of age 
 emigrated to America, locating at first at 
 Green Bay, Wis., later removing to Fond 
 du Lac, where he learned the carpenter 
 and joiner trades, following that occupa- 
 tion until his marriage, which occurred in 
 the year 1849, at which time he pur- 
 chased eighty acres of land in its primi- 
 tive condition. Having cleared away the 
 trees, he erected a small log house, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 673 
 
 22 X 24, and in that pioneer home he and 
 his young wife spent five happy years 
 when she died and was laid to rest in the 
 Shantytown cemetery. There was plenty 
 of wild game in the forest, including deer 
 and bears, and wolves were frequently 
 killed by the settlers. The first year Mr. 
 Ley had no team, but the following sea- 
 son he bought an ox team and raised a 
 crop of potatoes and turnips, and as the 
 land was cleared planted it with cereals 
 adapted to the climate. His remaining 
 days were spent upon the farm where his 
 death occurred, November 19, 1878, and 
 he was laid to rest in De Pere county 
 cemetery. 
 
 Mr. Ley, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, received educational privileges, by 
 reading and observation has gained a fair 
 practical knowledge, and always keeps 
 himself well informed on the questions of 
 the day. At the age of fifteen he went 
 to Oshkosh, Wis., and began work on a 
 farm at ten dollars per month, and in the 
 fall of that year he went to the woods on 
 the Wolf river at thirty dollars per month, 
 and was thus employed about four years, 
 after which he returned to De Pere, Wis., 
 and began learning the blacksmith trade, 
 serving a two-years' apprenticeship under 
 George Weiland, of that place. He then 
 engaged in blacksmithing for some time, 
 being employed at De Pere, in Appleton, 
 and in Fonddu Lac, after which he came 
 to Luxemburg, and entered the employ 
 of A. Gosin, with whom he continued 
 three years. 
 
 During that time Mr. Ley was mar- 
 ried to Annie Ruckle, the second in order 
 of birth in the family of five children of 
 George and Anna M. (Prisinger) Ruckle. 
 Her brothers and sisters are Barbara, 
 Alois, George and Francis. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ley have been born ten children, 
 eight of whom are yet living: Mary, 
 Anna, Alois, George, Odelia, Theresa, 
 Rosa and Michael R. They also lost two 
 children: Josephine and Michael, both of 
 whom died in infancy. For about three 
 years after his marriage Mr. Ley carried 
 
 on blacksmithing with good success in 
 Luxemburg, and then purchased forty 
 acres of land in Luxemburg township, 
 upon which he has still made his home. 
 He built a residence and smithy, and 
 when these were destroyed by fire, with 
 characteristic energy he at once replaced 
 them with new buildings. In the line of 
 his trade he is an expert workman and 
 could always command a liberal patronage 
 on account of his efficiency. He and his 
 wife are members of the Catholic Church, 
 in which they take quite an active inter- 
 est, and Mr. Ley belongs to St. Joseph 
 Society and to the Order of Catholic 
 Knights, being secretary and treasurer of 
 the latter. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 and has filled offices of honor and trust 
 with credit to himself and satisfaction to 
 his constituents, having served as town 
 clerk, five years; as chairman of the town 
 board three years; and was notary public 
 and justice of the peace twelve years. 
 He has lived a quiet and unassuming, but 
 honorable and upright life, and has gained 
 thereby the confidence and esteem of all 
 with whom business or social relations 
 have brought him in contact. 
 
 OHN C. RANK, who numbers among 
 
 the go-ahead, live citizens of Stur- 
 
 ^1 geon Bay, Door county, is a native of 
 Wisconsin, born May 10, 1858, in 
 Manitowoc, Manitowoc county. 
 
 Jacob Rank, his father, was born in 
 Germany, where he married Miss Maggie 
 Gerl, by whom he had eight children — 
 Peter, Jacob, Maggie, Frank, William, 
 Louis, Joseph and John C. — all born in 
 the Fatherland except the youngest, our 
 subject. In 1852 the father came alone 
 to America, settling on a farm near Man- 
 itowoc, Wis., the mother, accompanied 
 by her children, following in 1854; she 
 diedon the farmin 1859, the father August 
 10, 1 87 1. He came of a good family, 
 and was a well-educated man. He had 
 three brothers, who passed their lives in 
 Germany, two of them being Catholic 
 
674 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOGUAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 priests; the other, byname Joseph, was a 
 writer and poet as well as a prtJininent 
 politician. 
 
 The subject of this biographical memoir 
 was a one-year-old infant at the time of 
 his mother's death, and the family were 
 kept together by their father up to his 
 death some twelve years later. The lad 
 then commenced to learn the trade of 
 shoemaker at Manitowoc, but after about 
 eighteen months he wont to sailing on the 
 lakes, first in the capacity of cook, from 
 which position he rose until, in 1879, he 
 was enabled to purchase a schooner. In 
 I 88 1 he was granted a captain's license, 
 and had charge of a steam tug for a few 
 years thereafter, or until the fall of 1884, 
 when he went to Xew Orleans, and in the 
 following winter sailed along the coast on 
 the Gulf of Mexico. On his return to 
 Wisconsin he took up his residence in 
 Sturgeon Ba\', and entered the employ of 
 Charles I. Martin, proprietor of the 
 Jl'ii/c/y Expositor, having charge of the 
 settling up of the newspaper accounts. 
 In 1885 ^Ir. Martin embarked in the meat 
 business, and Mr. Rank has continued 
 with him, superintending the entire busi- 
 ness at Sturgeon Hay, which consists of 
 buying and shipping. 
 
 On May 25, 1887, Mr. Rank was mar- 
 ried to Miss Cora Mann, daughter of one 
 of the earliest settlers of Sturgeon Bay. 
 In politics our subject is a stanch Repub- 
 lican, and has served his city as alder- 
 man from the Fourth ward; socially he is 
 a member of the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F. 
 Lodges at Sturgeon Bay. 
 
 AUGUST HARMANN, a thriving, 
 energetic farmer of Ahnapee 
 township, I\ewaunee county, is of 
 German birth, having first seen 
 the light August 24, 1849, in Prussia, a 
 son of Daniel and Louisa Harmann. 
 
 He was educated in the common 
 schools of his native country, and came 
 to the United States with his parents in 
 1867. Reared on a farm, when nineteen 
 
 jears of age he started out in life for 
 himself, since when he has been chieti)' 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits, though 
 he also worked some three or four years 
 in the sawmills at Ahnapee and Sturgeon 
 Bay. Mr. Harmann was united in mar- 
 riage, in 1877, with Bertha Kasten, and 
 their union has been blessed with three 
 children: Justin, Lena, and Henry. Mrs. 
 Harmann's parents, John and Johanna 
 (Benhkcj Kasten, were natives of Prussia, 
 where she was also born, on February 8, 
 1858. After his marriage Mr. Harmann 
 located upon the farm he owns and occu- 
 pies (he having previously purchased a 
 part of it), his farm now comprising 
 eighty acres of good land, well improved 
 by his own labor, and he is one of the 
 well-to-do farmers of his township. In 
 politics he is independent, always aiming 
 to support the best man regardless of po- 
 litical affiliations. He and his family are 
 members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 ANTON F. DANEK is the leading 
 merchant tailor of Ahnapee, Ke- 
 waunee county, and a leading bus- 
 iness man who is both widely and 
 favorably known in the county. He was 
 born March 11, 1837, in Borskobiz, Bo- 
 hemia, where for many generations his 
 ancestors had lived, honored and re- 
 spected people who made farming their 
 life work. The old estate has long been 
 handed down from father to son, and is still 
 in the possession of the family, being now 
 owned by Frank Danek, a brother of our 
 subject. His ancestors were far above the 
 common class, were well-educated people, 
 and throughout the community where 
 they lived were held in high esteem. 
 
 The grandparents of our subject, 
 Mathias and Catherina (Melchior) Danek, 
 both reached a good old age, the former 
 being ninety-three years old at the time 
 of his death, while the latter passed away 
 in her eighty-eighth year. She, too, came 
 from an old and well-to-do family. This 
 worthy couple were the parents of eight 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 6;5 
 
 ■children, among whom was Frank Danek, 
 father of Anton F., a farmer by occupa- 
 tion. He inherited the estate, and in 
 connection with its management he served 
 as justice of the peace for many years, 
 and throughout the community was recog- 
 nized as one of the most prominent and 
 influential citizens. A devoted Catholic, 
 he lived a long and useful life, and died 
 in the faith of that Church at the age of 
 seventy-three. His wife, who in her 
 maidenhood bore the name of Antonia 
 Kohouth, and was also born in Bohemia, 
 was an intelligent and cultured lady, and 
 was called to the home beyond at the age 
 sixty-eight, having survived h^ husband 
 several years. They had a family of eleven 
 children who reached maturity and be- 
 came useful and respected members of 
 society. 
 
 The subject of this memoir was reared 
 under the parental roof, acquired his ed- 
 ucation in the public schools of his native 
 land, and in Europe learned the trade of 
 merchant tailoring, at which he became 
 quite proficient. At length he determiried 
 to seek a home beyond the Atlantic, and 
 in 1 867 crossed the briny deep to the New 
 \\"orId, settling in Ahnapee, Wis. , where 
 he has since made his home. Here he 
 opened a merchant-tailoring establish- 
 ment, and the excellency of his work soon 
 won him a wide patronage and gained 
 him a large reputation, which he still re- 
 ceives and which yields to him a good 
 income. 
 
 At Ahnapee, Mr. Danek married Miss 
 Antonia Rosek, also a native of Bohemia, 
 and their union has been blessed with six 
 children, all yet living, namely: Emil, 
 Annie, Emma, Mary, William and Frank. 
 The subject of this sketch has borne his 
 part in the upbuilding and development 
 of his adopted county, is a public-spirited 
 and progressive citizen, and always aids 
 those enterprises calculated to prove of 
 benefit to the community. In religious 
 matters he and his family are closely 
 identified wi h the Catholic Church, of 
 which they are members. He is the 
 
 founder of the Danek family in America, 
 and in future generations his descendants 
 can point with pride to their progenitor 
 as an honorable, upright man, who left to 
 his posterity an untarnished name. 
 
 JOHN J. STANGEL, hotel proprietor, 
 merchant, and prominent citizen of 
 Stangelville, Ivewaunee county, was 
 . born in the town of Mishicot, Manito- 
 woc Co., Wis., May 16, 1857, and is a 
 son of John and Dora Stangel, natives of 
 Bohemia, who came to the United States 
 in 1854 and the next year took up a 
 homestead in Mishicot township, Mani- 
 towoc county. Mr. Stangel was one of 
 the first settlers of the vicinit}', and en- 
 dured all the hardships of pioneer life, 
 but succeeded in clearing up his farm, and 
 retired on a well-earned competency in 
 1892. His wife, Dora, was born in 1831, 
 and died in the town of Mishicot in 1872; 
 Mr. Stangel was born in the same year as 
 his wife. 
 
 Our subject, who is the seventh in a 
 family of eight children, acquired his 
 education in the pioneer schools of Wis- 
 consin, and his studies were ended when 
 he reached the age of twelve years, after 
 which he worked with his father on the 
 farm until eighteen. He then engaged 
 in agriculture on his own account, and 
 followed the occupation until May, 1888, 
 when he sold his personal property and 
 entered into business in Stangelville, 
 where he is the proprietor of the 
 "Stangelville House," in connection 
 with which he conducts a saloon. He is 
 also engaged in mercantile business, and 
 is owner of the cheese factory in the 
 same village, and still owns and operates 
 a farm. In all the business undertakings 
 in which he is engaged he has proven 
 himself to be sagacious and far-seeing, 
 and all have been successfully and profit- 
 ably conducted. He is a Democrat in 
 politics, has filled the offices of assessor 
 and super\-isor, for nine }'ears has been 
 justice of the peace, and in every position 
 
676 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 has more than met the expectations of 
 the people. 
 
 In 1875 ^'r. Stangel was married to 
 Miss Annie Seidenglanz, who was born in 
 Bohemia December 8, 1856, aud to this 
 union were born five children, viz. : Mary, 
 Emma, William, Wenzel and Jacob. The 
 mother of these died April 12, 1892, and 
 for a second wife Mr. Stangel married, 
 October 3, 1893, Frances Tikalsky, who 
 was born in Bohemia December 3, 1859. 
 To this last union have been born two 
 children: Delia and Flora. Mr. Stangel 
 is a member of the Roman Catholic 
 Union of Wisconsin, and is a devout 
 member of the Catholic Church. He is 
 highly respected by his fellow citizens, 
 and is regarded as being one of the most 
 enterprising business men of the town- 
 ship. 
 
 JOHN WEITERMANN is a progress- 
 ive citizen and enterprising business 
 man of Voseville, Door county, 
 where he is engaged in merchandis- 
 ing, also conducting a saloon and operat- 
 ing a cheese factory. He was born April 
 9, 1 864, in Manitowoc county. Wis. , and 
 is a son of John and Phctbe Weitermann, 
 prominent and well-kno\\'n people of the 
 locality. He attended the common 
 schools, and was reared in the usual man- 
 ner of farmer lads until sixteen years of 
 age, when he began learning the butcher's 
 trade in Ahnapee. Later he worked in a 
 brewery in Brown county, until his health 
 failed him, when he was compelled to 
 give up his position, and during the suc- 
 ceeding four }ears he could engage in no 
 labor, but spent that time at his parents' 
 home in Jacksonport township. Door 
 county. 
 
 On recovering from his long illness, 
 Mr. Weitermann became interested in the 
 saloon business in Voseville, in October, 
 1889, bought out John Hocks, and has 
 since been engaged in the retail liquor 
 trade. He is also carrying on general 
 merchandising in connection with William 
 
 Voeks, and owns and operates a cheese 
 factory which adds materially to his in- 
 come. He takes quite a prominent part 
 in political matters, supports the Demo- 
 cratic party, and is now serving his third 
 term as town clerk, having been elected 
 in 1892 over an opponent who had held 
 the office for fifteen years. At the same 
 time he was elected justice of the peace, 
 and is still serving, the youngest justice 
 ever elected in Sevastopol township, and 
 after the shortest residence here. He is 
 true and faithful to his public duties, and 
 is a valued and public-spirited citizen, 
 one who manifests a commendable inter- 
 est in everything pertaining to the wel- 
 fare of the community and its upbuilding. 
 On July 3, 1892, in Voseville, Wis., 
 Mr. Weitermann was united in marriage 
 with Miss Lizzie Harter, a native of Chi- 
 cago, and a daughter of Fred Harter, 
 who now lives in Egg Harbor, Wis. ; they 
 have one child, John C. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Weitermann attend the Lutheran Church, 
 of which she is a member, and in this 
 locality they have many friends and 
 acquaintances. 
 
 M 
 
 ATHIAS RIHA, a native of 
 
 Carlton, Kewaunee Co., Wis., 
 
 was born February 24, 1859, a 
 
 son of Wenzel and Mary (Ko- 
 
 zisik) Riha, natives of Bohemia. 
 
 Wenzel Riha was born September 12, 
 1 812, and was a son of Wenzel, Sr. , and 
 Barbara Riha, also natives of Bohemia. 
 Wenzel, Jr., attended school in the old 
 country until twelve years of age, and at 
 the age of sixteen left the parental roof 
 to learn wagon-making. He finished his 
 apprenticeship at twenty-one years of 
 age, and then left his native land and 
 journeyed to St. Petersburg, also to 
 Vienna and other places in Austria, fol- 
 lowing his trade, as is the custom in his 
 native land with beginners. After about 
 five years' absence he returned to Bohemia, 
 where he continued his vocation until 
 1854, when he came to the United States 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 677 
 
 and for a short time stopped in Milwaukee, 
 whence he went to Mishicot, Manitowoc 
 Co. , Wis. , where he resided on a farm for 
 a year, and then came to Carlton town- 
 ship, entering the homestead which his 
 son, Mathias, now owns and occupies. 
 Here he was engaged in making shingles, 
 as well as in clearing his land, and as soon 
 as the latter task was accomplished he 
 devoted himself entirely to agriculture 
 until 1880, when he retired. He is a 
 member of the Catholic Church, and of 
 the Bohemian Catholic Union of Wiscon- 
 sin. In 1 841 he married Mary Kozisik, a 
 native of Bohemia, born in 1824, and to 
 this union have been born the following 
 named children: Wenzel, Joseph, Joseph, 
 Mary, Mary, Wenzel, Mary and Mathias, 
 all now deceased excepting Wenzel and 
 Mathias. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines spent 
 but a short time in the schools of Carl- 
 ton, his services being required on the 
 home farm, where he worked for his par- 
 ents until he reached his majority, at that 
 time taking full charge as his father was 
 in poor health. He is now considered to 
 be one of the representative farmers of 
 Carlton township, and an able man in all 
 other respects. He is a member of all 
 the societies to which his father belongs, 
 and in politics is a strong Democrat. On 
 July 15, 1879, he married Mary Schauer, 
 who was born in the town of Carlton 
 May 14, 1862, a daughter of Wenzel 
 Schauer, and to this union were born five 
 children, viz.: Pauline, Mary A., Annie 
 C. A., and Cecilia C. P., living, and 
 Mary, deceased. 
 
 WENZEL SOUKUP (deceased), 
 late proprietor of a general store 
 and saloon in Soukupsville, was 
 postmaster of Stokes postoffice, 
 to which position he was appointed in 
 July, 1894. He also began merchandis- 
 ing same year in the store which was 
 built by Mr. Stokes in 1884, and carries 
 a full line of general merchandise. He 
 
 came here from Sturgeon Bay, where he 
 had located in 1871, entering at that time 
 the employ of A. W. Lawrence, for whom 
 he worked fourteen years and eight 
 months at wagonmaking. He was then 
 employed by the firm of Leathem & 
 Smith, in the manufacture of shingles, 
 continuing with them for two years, when 
 he was taken sick. On his recovery he 
 opened a saloon, and in connection with 
 his mercantile interests became the 
 owner of 1 20 acres of land in Nasewaupee 
 township, 1 60 in Sturgeon Bay township, 
 and four lots in the city of Sturgeon Bay. 
 Mr. Soukup was a native of Bohemia, 
 born Jan. 20, 1849, a son of Mordis and 
 Barbara Soukup, natives of that country, 
 and who, in 1871, emigrated to Amer- 
 ica, locating at French Creek, Wis. In 
 1875 they removed to Sturgeon Bay town- 
 ship. Door county, and lived upon a farm 
 owned by our subject. The father died 
 in Sturgeon Bay, in 1888, and the moth- 
 er's death occurred in Nasewaupee town- 
 ship in 1892. They were the parents of 
 children as follows: Barbara, who is liv- 
 ing in Bohemia; Jacob, who died while 
 engaged in a war in Bohemia; John, who 
 is living in that country; Martin, who also 
 died in the war; Mardis, who resides in 
 Nasewaupee township, and Wenzel. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Bohemia, 
 and the public schools of his native land 
 afforded him his educational privileges, 
 though his advantages along that line 
 were somewhat limited. At the age of 
 thirteen he went to Bavaria, where he 
 learned the trade of wagon making, which 
 he followed until 1871, when he crossed 
 the briny deep to the United States 
 and became a resident of Sturgeon Bay, 
 Wis. In the same year he was married 
 in Mishicot, Manitowoc Co., Wis., to 
 Miss Anna Bohr, a native of Bohemia, 
 and a daughter of John Bohr, who be- 
 came a resident of Manitowoc county in 
 1854. He is now residing on Mr.Soukup's 
 late farm in Sturgeon Bay township. Door 
 county. To our subject and his wife have 
 been born eight interesting children, viz. r 
 
678 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mary, Fannie, Anna, Rudolph, Barbara, 
 Emily, Belle and Charley. Mr. Soukup 
 died May 6, 1895. In his political views, 
 he was a Democrat, and, sociallj', he was 
 connected with Peninsula Masonic Aid 
 Lodge, Sturgeon Bay Lodge, No. 211, 
 I. O. O. F. , and Sons of Hermann. 
 Whatever success he achieved in life 
 was due entirely to his own efforts. He 
 was the architect of his own fortune, 
 building wisely and well, and the struc- 
 ture which he reared had for its founda- 
 tion industry, enterprise and strict in- 
 tegrity. 
 
 WSEYK, a prominent dealer in 
 grain at Kewaunee, was born in 
 Bohemia September 28, 1840, 
 and in 1854 came to America 
 with his father, who settled in Milwaukee, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Frank Se}k, the father, was born in 
 1803, was a tailor by trade, and in 1831 
 was married to Miss Annie Wendska, 
 who bore him four children, three of whom 
 died in infancy, W. Seyk, our subject, 
 being the youngest and the only one to 
 come to America with his parents. The 
 mother died in 1890, but the father still 
 survives and makes his home with our 
 subject, whose prosperity has been such 
 as to fully enable him to care for his ven- 
 erable sire in his declining days. The 
 family lived in Milwaukee until July, 1 864, 
 when they moved to Kewaunee, where 
 the father and sen went into the mer- 
 chant-tailoring business, which they con- 
 tinued seven years, or until 1871, when 
 our subject built the first gristmill ever 
 erected in Kewaunee. In 1865 he had 
 gone into the grain trade, which he found 
 to be profitable, and in which he has con- 
 tinued ever since. In 1872 Mr. Sejkmet 
 with an accident, which led to his taking 
 in Frank Brunkhorst as a partner in the 
 milling business, and to his permitting his 
 own name to be used as a candidate for the 
 county treasurership, and he was thrice 
 ■elected to fill the office, a compliment 
 
 somewhat unusual. He then resumed 
 the tailoring business, with W. Shimmel 
 as partner. In 1880 he again assumed 
 the duties of count}' treasurer bj- appoint- 
 ment of the county board, his previous 
 performance of its duties having been so 
 very satisfactory, and on this occasion he 
 served two years. 
 
 In 1 88 1 Mr. Seyk bought out the in- 
 terest of Mr. Shimmel in the tailoring 
 establishment, and has since continued it 
 on his sole account, being quite artistic 
 and verj- popular in that particular line. In 
 1 889 the gristmill was destroyed b\' fire, 
 when a stock company was formed, called 
 the Seyk Flour Mill Co., a new mill 
 built, and operations resumed under very 
 favorable circumstances; but in 1S92 Mr. 
 Seyk sold his stock in this company, and 
 rented a water-power mill three miles 
 west of Kewaunee, which he still owns 
 and operates with excellent results. In 
 politics Mr. Seyk has always been a Dem- 
 ocrat, and has been unflagging in his 
 efforts toward the improvement of Ke- 
 waunee, especially regarding the railroad 
 and the harbor, making a trip to Wash- 
 ington in 1 891 in the interest of the lat- 
 ter. His individual shipping interests, 
 alone, are very extensive, amounting to 
 $150,000 per annum, and including 
 grain, hay and farm produce generally, 
 and he is as anxious to increase the ship- 
 ping facilities of others as he is of his own. 
 
 Mr. Seyk was first married, in 1865, 
 to Miss Agnes Rencin, a native of Bo- 
 hemia, who came to America when but 
 two years of age, and to this union were 
 born eight children, of whom seven still 
 survive. This wife and mother died in 
 Kewaunee in 1882, and in 1883 Mr. Seyk 
 married Miss Josephine Stransk}-, who was 
 born in Kewaunee, daughter of Judge 
 Stransk}-. No children have come to bless 
 this marriage. The surviving children by 
 the first marriage all live under the par- 
 ental roof with the exception of two — 
 Edward, vvho is married and assists in 
 his father's store, and Annetha, a pupil in 
 a Milwaukee school. Mr. Sevk is not a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 679 
 
 member of anj- secret society; he is not a 
 member of any Church, but his life has 
 been one of integrity, and full of justice 
 to his fellow men — the cardinal virtues 
 manifesting themselves in his every act 
 and giving to the world every ' ' assurance 
 of a man." 
 
 VICTOR KAYE was born July 26, 
 1865, and is a son of Anton 
 Joseph and Ann Marie (Pewes- 
 mann) Kaye, who were natives of 
 Belgium. In July, 1854, they came to 
 America, and for about si.\ months re- 
 sided in Green Bay, Wis., after which the 
 father purchased a homestead claim of 
 thirty acres of pine land in Humbolt 
 township. Brown Co. , Wis. The locality 
 was all wild, being just opened up to 
 civilization. Two brothers and two sis- 
 ters of Mr. Kaye located in the same 
 neighborhood, and, as the land was un- 
 surveyed, some of them learned after a 
 time that they were not on their own 
 property, and consequently had to build 
 new homes. They learned to make and 
 shave shingles, the neighbors meeting to- 
 gether for that purpose, but this work 
 }'ielded them only a scanty living, for they 
 had to haul the shingles to market at 
 Green Bay, the route thither being a 
 roundabout one, for no roads had been 
 cut through at the time. The settlers 
 often blazed their way through the forest 
 and frequently carried tin horns with 
 them, which they would blow in order to 
 let their whereabouts be known. 
 
 The father of our subject was a mason, 
 having learned the trade at the age of six- 
 teen with his father, and to some extent 
 followed it after his arrival in America. 
 He sowed his crops among the stumps, 
 and as the years passed began to meet 
 with better success; but when the Civil 
 war broke out he was forced to enter the 
 army, leaving his home, in 1S63, to the 
 care of his wife, with five little children, 
 the eldest being a girl of nine years. 
 Again they suffered much, the mother 
 
 being compelled frequently to carry a 
 bushel of grain to mill to have it ground 
 that the family might have bread. In 
 1865 the father returned, and the follow- 
 ing year established a hotel and tavern, 
 which he conducted until 1886, making 
 some money in that way. In 1867 he 
 bought a cow and horse, the latter being 
 the first owned within a radius of ten 
 miles from his home. At length he be- 
 came owner of 160 acres of land, which he 
 operated until his death, which occurred 
 in 1 891 , when he was seventy-six years old. 
 The grandfather died in 1872 at the age 
 of eighty-two, and the grandmother 
 passed away in 1869. The maternal 
 grandparents had died in Belgium, and 
 the mother of our subject lived on the old 
 homestead farm until April, 1894, when 
 she went to Green Baj' and is now living 
 with her youngest son, Josiah. 
 
 In the family there were thirteen chil- 
 dren — four sons and nine daughters — 
 only six of whom are now living, and 
 between these the proceeds from the sale 
 of the old home was divided. The eldest 
 child, Mary, born May 12, 1858, was 
 married in December, 1877, to Felix 
 Dart, a blacksmith, now living in De- 
 Pere, Wis., by whom she had two sons 
 and seven daughters, namely: Flora, 
 Julia, Bertha, Ida, Seeinon, Jennie, 
 George, Tillmay and one (unnamed) de- 
 ceased. Nettie, born April 13, i860, 
 was married in April, 1879, to Gustave 
 Maze, a blacksmith and machinist, and 
 they have one son and two daughters 
 living — Alice, George Victor and Ellen. 
 Julia, born August 3, 1S62, was married 
 in November, 1886, to John Mularky, a 
 carriage maker and painter, and they 
 have three daughters: Lorre, Minerva 
 and May. Victor, who is next in the 
 family, married Adelia Minnie, daughter 
 of A. C. Kuehn, a pioneer settler and old 
 soldier, who served from 1862 until 1865; 
 they were married June 17, 1890, and 
 have three sons — Myron Joseph, born 
 June 10, 1891; Cletius \'. Josiah, born 
 October 'io, 1892; and Charlie C, born 
 
68o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 April 24, 1894. The next brother of our 
 subject, Joseph V. Kaye, was born April 
 28, 1867, and married, September 23, 
 1889, Lizzie Verihden, of Humbolt, Wis., 
 by whom he had one child, now deceased. 
 Josiah Tuphil, born July 20, 1869, was 
 married in October, 1891, to Josephine 
 Rosemann, of Preble, Wis., and they had 
 three children — Rosalie H., born June 
 10, 1892, and twin boys, deceased. The 
 brothers are all well-to-do, they having 
 good business interests, as do the hus- 
 bands of the sisters, and nearly all own 
 their homes. 
 
 The children were reared on the home 
 farm and aided in its development. The 
 father did work as a lumberman, and 
 made the bricks for the first chimney 
 built in his neighborhood. Victor Kaye 
 began school in 1 870, with Philip Coopense 
 as his first teacher, and attended school 
 on his grandfather's farm in an old build- 
 ing which was destroyed by fire about 
 eight years ago. He pursued his studies 
 until twelve years of age, when his father 
 needing his help, he began farm work. 
 In later years, realizing his need of an 
 education, he began reading and studying 
 at home, and thus made up for his lack 
 of school privileges. At the age of seven- 
 teen he began learning the blacksmith's 
 trade with his brother-in-law, Felix Dart, 
 in De Pere, Wis., returning to aid in the 
 harvest work in the summer of 1883, and 
 each year until 1885; the remaining time 
 being spent at blacksmithing. He then 
 entered the employ of Mr. Maze, his 
 brother-in-law, in ISrussels, Wis., where 
 he continued until March i, 1886, when 
 he went with his brother-in-law to North 
 Dakota. In April, 1886, at Montpelicr, 
 Mr. Maze bought lots and built a hotel 
 and blacksmith shop; then, after working 
 with him for a time, Mr. Kaye entered 
 the employ of the Northern Pacific rail- 
 road, and later took up farm work. After- 
 ward he resumed railroad work between 
 Jamestown and Devil's Lake, N. Dak., 
 returning home December 20, 1886, and 
 living with his parents until February, 
 
 1887, when he again took up blacksmith- 
 ing. Not long afterward he began work 
 in the lumber woods, but a few days later 
 he took up railroad work and also did 
 teaming until moving to South Dakota, 
 where he was employed as a farm hand 
 until 1889, when he returned home. His 
 life was one of labor in logging camps 
 and upon the farms where he did thresh- 
 ing, and he underwent many hardships. 
 On entering the employ of the Northern 
 Pacific Grain Elevator Company, man- 
 aged by Mr. McKernen, he became famil- 
 iar with the grain business, and with that 
 gentleman he also obtained considerable 
 general information. The next year he 
 wenttoBrainerd, Minn., a railroad center, 
 and after teaming for a time was a driver 
 on a street car during the winter. In 
 July, 1888, he went to Montpelier, N. 
 Dak., where he worked at haying and 
 harvesting, sleeping during that fall under 
 hay stacks and returning home in Decem- 
 ber, reaching De Pere, Wis, on Christmas 
 eve. There he worked for his brother- 
 in-law, Mr. Dart, and at blacksmithing 
 and carpentering, and in the succeeding 
 autumn went to Green Bay to serve as 
 weighmaster and grain receiver with W. 
 W. Cargill. He was also employed by 
 other grain buyers, and later was sent to 
 take charge of a warehouse at Luxemburg. 
 Here he purchased three lots and erected 
 a home, which is now his place of resi- 
 dence, and here he successfully conducts 
 a grain business, having built up a thriv- 
 ing trade. Mr. Kaye is widely known 
 and highly respected throughout the com- 
 munity. 
 
 RUDOLPH T. THORP, proprietor 
 of a well-equipped livery stable in 
 Sturgeon Bay, Door county, is a 
 native of Wisconsin, born in De- 
 cember, 1850, in the town of Rubicon, 
 Dodge county, a son of Truman Thorp, 
 who was a lifelong agriculturist. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated 
 at the place of his birth, working on his- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father's farm until 1879, in which year he 
 •came to Door county, for some nine 
 months making his home at Egg Harbor. 
 In the spring of i88r he moved to Stur- 
 geon Bay, and for the first two and one- 
 half years clerked in a hardware store, 
 leaving which he bought out a livery- 
 stable business, which, however, at the 
 end of five months he sold. In 1887 he 
 purchased his present livery stable and 
 barn, where he has built up a first-class 
 business, always keeping on hand a com- 
 plete equipage of elegant and substantial 
 vehicles of all kind, and horses second to 
 none for general road purposes, either in 
 harness or under saddle. He has run the 
 stage line between Sturgeon Bay and 
 Menominee, Mich., six winters, and has 
 experienced some perilous adventures in 
 crossing Green Bay on the ice with his 
 sleigh-load of passengers. 
 
 In April, 1881, Mr. Thorp was mar- 
 ried to Miss Nancy Thombleson, daughter 
 of Francis and Elizabeth Thombleson, all 
 natives of England, and two children have 
 been born to them: Norma and HoUis. 
 Politically, our subject is a Republican, 
 and he has served as deputy sheriff of the 
 county, and in the city council one year; 
 socially, he is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 He is one of Sturgeon Bay's real business 
 " hustlers " and most useful citizens. 
 
 OL. ANDRESON, one of the pros- 
 perous young farmers of Sturgeon 
 Bay township, Door county, was 
 born in 1863 in Norway, son of 
 Andrew and Bertha Cecelia (Oleson) 
 Oleson, also natives of that country, 
 where the father died in 1879. The 
 mother came to America in 1882, and 
 now resides in Sturgeon Bay township. 
 Door Co. , Wis. There were eleven chil- 
 dren in their family, seven of whom are 
 living, as follows: Bertha, wife of Thore 
 Thorsenson, of Norway; Rachel, wife of 
 Iver Wogen, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis. ; 
 Malina, wife of Thomas Oleson, of Stur- 
 geon Bay; Ole, a farmer of Sturgeon 
 
 Bay township; Annie, married to Bertel 
 Vaagen, and residing in Norway; Peter, a 
 farmer of Sturgeon Bay township; and 
 O. L. , our subject. 
 
 O. L. Andreson was reared and edu- 
 cated in the country of his birth, and 
 when yet a boy commenced the life of a 
 sailor, being on the ocean for years. In 
 1882 he came to America, and to Stur- 
 geon Bay township, Door Co., Wis., 
 where he bought eighty acres of new land 
 from Nels Thompson, to the improvement 
 and cultivation of which he has since 
 given much of his time, and has succeeded 
 in clearing a large part of the tract. He 
 has also erected a substantial brick resi- 
 dence, a commodious barn, 90 x 30, and a 
 good granary, besides other necessary 
 farm buildings, fences, etc. After com- 
 ing to Sturgeon Bay Mr. Andreson sailed 
 on the lakes during the season until 1891, 
 and again went out in the fall of 1893, as 
 mate on a steam barge. 
 
 Mr. Andreson was married, in 1891, 
 in Door county, to Miss Helen Oleson, a 
 native of the county, daughter of Halver 
 and Lizzie Oleson, natives of Norway, 
 who came to Door county in an early 
 day, and still reside in Sturgeon Bay 
 township. Two children have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Andreson, Harald 
 Edward and Bertha Cecelia. In religious 
 connection they are members of the 
 Lutheran Church, and in his political 
 preferences Mr. Andreson is a Republican. 
 
 JOSEPH FILZ, a wide-awake and 
 enterprising man, whose success in 
 life is due entirely to his own efforts, 
 was born June 13, 1848, in the 
 Rhine Province, Germany, and is a son 
 of Nicholas and Catherine (Rohr) Filz, 
 who had a family of five children — Joseph, 
 Lena, Catherine, Nicholas and Barbara. 
 The father was a farmer by occupation, 
 and in his undertakings met with good 
 success. The grandfather, Nicholas Filz, 
 also carried on agricultural pursuits. 
 The gentleman of whom we write re- 
 
682 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ceived such educational privileges as 
 were afforded by the common schools of 
 his native land, and at the age of fourteen 
 began learning the carpenter's trade, serv- 
 ing a three-years' apprenticeship. When 
 seventeen years of age he returned to his 
 parents' home, where he spent about a 
 year, and at the age of eighteen began 
 traveling on the European continent, 
 spending some time in various cities, 
 working at the carpenter's trade, a year 
 and a half being thus passed. At length 
 he determined to try his fortune in 
 America, and bidding adieu to the Father- 
 land sailed from Antwerp in 1869. Eleven 
 days later he landed in New York, whence 
 he made his way direct to Chicago, 
 where he remained until the fall of 1870, 
 working at his trade during that year. 
 He then removed to a place five miles 
 from the city and engaged in gardening. 
 On October 10, 1870, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Anna Lanser, daugh- 
 ter of Nicholas and Margaret Lanser, and 
 to them have been born three children, 
 viz. : Barbara, now the wife of John 
 Daul, of Lu.xemburg, Wis.; Nicholas (I), 
 who died in infancy; and Nicholas (II), at 
 home. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Filz continued 
 gardening until the great Chicago f:re in 
 1 87 1, when he mo\ed to that cit\- and 
 again worked at carpentering, there being 
 a great demand for labor in that and 
 other lines. He was thus employed until 
 the autumn of 1873, when he came to 
 Luxemburg township, Kewaunee Co., 
 Wis., and purchased eighty acres of wild 
 land, upon which no trace of improve- 
 ment could be found, he having to clear a 
 space ere he could erect a house. He 
 built a frame residence which he con- 
 tinued to make his home until 1883, and 
 during that time he cleared and plowed 
 his farm, placing it under a high state of 
 cultivation, and also worked at carpenter- 
 ing to a considerable e.xtent. His land, 
 which he caused to 3'ield him a good re- 
 turn, he operated until 1882, when he pur- 
 chased his present home. Besides his 
 
 property in the town, he owns 160 acres 
 of land, comprising a good farm which is 
 operated under his supervision. 
 
 Mr. Filz first engaged in merchandis- 
 ing as a member of the tirtn of Dandooven, 
 Filz & Ley, which firm carried on the 
 business until 1885, when our subject 
 bought out his partners, and has since 
 been alone in the enterprise that now 
 occupies the greater part of his time and 
 attention. In brief, since 1882 he has 
 been engaged in merchandising, in con- 
 ducting a saloon, and in operating a 
 cheese factory in Luxemburg. He has 
 filled several positions of honor and trust, 
 having served as town clerk four years, 
 while from 1883 until 1893 he was post- 
 master of Lu.xemburg, being reappointed 
 to that office in 1895. I" 1890 he was 
 elected to the State Legislature, for Ke- 
 waunee county, and so ably did he rep- 
 resent the District that in 1892 he was 
 re-elected to that office, in which he served 
 in a most creditable and acceptable man- 
 ner. Both he and his wife are members 
 of the Catholic Church, and Mr. Filz is 
 one of the prominent and representative 
 men of Kewaunee county. 
 
 DA\'ID SEEMANN, a steady-going 
 and substantial famer of West 
 Kewaunee township, Kewaunee 
 county, is a native of Baden, Ger- 
 many, born January i, 1823, and is a son 
 of Simon and Rosina Seemann. He was 
 reared a farmer, and on the farm acquired 
 those habits of industry and thrift for 
 which the German race is noted. His 
 literary education was obtained at the 
 common schools. 
 
 At the age of twenty-two he came to 
 the United States, and for nine years fol- 
 lowed farming in Milwaukee county. 
 Wis. ; then came to Kewaunee county, 
 settling on a farm in West Kewaunee 
 township, where he has put his early 
 training to good use, and has secured for 
 himself and family a competence. His 
 residence is neat and comfortable; his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6S3., 
 
 farm is well tilled, and will compare favor- 
 ably with any of its size in the county. 
 Politically he is a Republican, but is no 
 partisan in the obnoxious sense of the 
 word. On June 8, 1846, he was united 
 in marriage, in Germany, to Magdelain 
 Gab, daughter of Adam and Catherine 
 Gab, the latter of whom was born Decem- 
 ber 2, 1823. To the marriage of David 
 and Magdelain (Gab) Seemann have been 
 born nine children, their names and dates 
 of birth being as follows: Michael, No- 
 vember 8, 1848; Charles, March 3, 1850; 
 Mary, August 17, 1852; Annie, September 
 27, 1854; Lizzie, March 14, 1857; David, 
 February 14, i860; Theresa, April 16, 
 1862; Frank, January 17, 1865, and 
 Maggie, August 4. i S67 — of whom all 
 survive except David, who died March 3, 
 1878. 
 
 Mr. Seemann began life a poor man, 
 but he made good use of the lessons he 
 learned in his earlier days, and can now 
 afford to pass the remainder of his days 
 in ease and comfort, if he were so dis- 
 posed. He enjoys the respect of his 
 neighbors, and is looked upon as being of 
 that material from which all prosperous 
 communities are built. 
 
 IVI 
 
 OSES SHAW, a well-known agri- 
 culturist of Ahnapee township, 
 I\ewaunee county, is a native 
 of same, born November 8, 
 1 86 1, on the farm which is still occupied 
 by him and his brothers. 
 
 They are sons of Capt. Zebina and 
 Katharine (O'Brian) Shaw, the former of 
 whom was born December 25, 181 5, at 
 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, of English extrac- 
 tion, the latter born August 15, 1832, in 
 County Tipperary, Ireland. She set sail 
 for this country in 1850, accompanied 
 by her father, Terrence O'Brian, five 
 brothers a:nd two sisters, landing in Janu- 
 ary, 185 1, at New Orleans, after a voy- 
 age of eight weeks, her father subse- 
 quently settling at Memphis, Tenn. At 
 that place Mrs. Shaw was married, at her 
 
 father's house, to Capt. Zebina Shaw, 
 and then in the spring of 1851 they re- 
 moved to Chicago. From there Capt. 
 Shaw commenced sailing the lakes that 
 season, during which time he became in- 
 timately acquainted with Capt. Bill Higgj-, 
 Capt. David Duhl, Capt. Francis, Capt. 
 Sanford and others, of Racine, who in- 
 duced him to remove to that cit}', which 
 he did in the fall of 1851. From there 
 he sailed in the employ of Mr. Camfield, 
 George Fellows, Sr. , and David Youngs, 
 at that time of Racine. In the fall of 
 1855 he moved to Ahnapee ("then "known 
 as Wolf River), and from that point 
 sailed David Youngs's vessel "Amslie " 
 (which had been moved from Racine to 
 Ahnapee), and here he also did business 
 for this Mr. Youngs, and Steele & Co. , 
 of Chicago, in getting out ties, purchas- 
 ing posts, ties and cordwood, as well as 
 pier timbers and spiles for the Ahnapee 
 pier which was built thirty-nine years 
 ago. Later Capt. Shaw moved to Silver 
 Creek where he superintended work for 
 Wells and Valentine from whom he 
 bought the farm whereon the family now 
 live, and which at that time was all tim- 
 ber land. He carried the first mail be- 
 tween Ahnapee and Two Rivers. Capt. 
 Shaw died of heart disease, January 3, 
 1881, at White Fish Bay, Door Co., 
 Wis. , leaving behind a record of a hard- 
 working, honest man who had always 
 been faithful to his employers in ever}' 
 respect. 
 
 Capt. Zebina Shaw received his literary 
 education at the common schools of Nova 
 Scotia, also attending high school in order 
 to study navigation, and commenced sail- 
 ing the Atlantic Ocean when a lad of 
 fifteen summers. He continued to follow 
 a "life on the ocean wave" over twenty 
 jears, during which time he rose to the 
 position of captain, and became a skillful 
 navigator. To his marriage with Miss 
 Katharine O'Brian were born eleven chil- 
 dren, eight of whom are now deceased — 
 John, Joseph A., Harry, Katie E. , Will- 
 iam E. , Hattie Effie, Nellie E. and James 
 
6S4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 — and three living — Moses, George A. and 
 Frank. Capt. Shaw was originally a 
 Democrat in political sentiment, later be- 
 coming a Republican, and he took an 
 active interest in public affairs, holding 
 several local offices of trust. In religious 
 faith he was a Baptist. Moses Shaw, 
 his father (grandfather of Moses, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch), was for a number of 
 years engaged at farming in Nova Scotia, 
 and ship building in St. Johns, New Bruns- 
 wick, but later, on his removal to Kewau- 
 nee county. Wis. , became a school teacher 
 in the town of Ahnapee, where he taught 
 the first term of school in District No. 5. 
 He finally removed to Canada, where he 
 died, and where his remains now rest. 
 
 Moses Shaw attended in his boyhood 
 and early youth the common schools of 
 Ahnapee, and was reared on the home 
 place to farming, which has been his 
 principal occupation, and with which he 
 has become thoroughly familiar. On 
 January 5, 1S86, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Frances Heald, and to 
 their union have come three children, viz. : 
 Zebina Eugene, born January 16, 1888; 
 Coleman, born January 11, 1890, and 
 Ethel, born May 19, 1892. Mrs. Shaw 
 was born March 28, 1867, at Claybanks, 
 Door Co., Wis., daughter of Eugene and 
 Agnes (Hitt) Heald, and is descended 
 from New England stock. After his mar- 
 riage Mr. Shaw located at Clark's Mills, 
 Manitowoc county, acting as overseer of 
 a farm at that place for one year, when 
 he took up his residence on the home 
 farm, and has since lived here. In polit- 
 ical faith he is a Republican. 
 
 RICHARD P. CODY. Many a man 
 mistakes his life work, yet by earn- 
 est application makes a partial suc- 
 cess; but it is only when natural 
 tact is coupled with an ambition to suc- 
 ceed that anything like eminence is 
 reached in any vocation, as in the case of 
 the gentleman whose name is here re- 
 corded. 
 
 Mr. Cody is a native of Ireland, born 
 August 21, 185 I, in the Province of Lein- 
 ster, a son of John and Margaret Cody, of 
 the same locality, and where their ances- 
 tors for many generations had lived. The 
 family came to America in November, 
 1 85 1, when Richard P. was a three- 
 months-old infant, and in the following 
 May settled on an eighty-acre farm in 
 Manitowoc county which the father had 
 bought, and where his family of three 
 sons and four daughters were reared. Our 
 subject received his education in part in 
 the common schools of the neighborhood 
 of his home in Manitowoc county, and in 
 part at the State Normal School at Osh- 
 kosh, Wis., after which he taught school 
 five or six years in the county, building up 
 a good reputation as a competent teach- 
 er. Becoming desirous, however, of tak- 
 ing up the profession of law, he com- 
 menced its stud)' in the office of H. G. 
 and W. J. Turner, Manitowoc, and was 
 admitted to the bar in 1881, after which 
 he at once located in Sturgeon Bay, 
 where he has since remained in contin- 
 uous practice. 
 
 On June 25, 1888, Mr. Cody was 
 united in marriage, in Oshkosh, with Miss 
 Sadie E. Marsh, daughter of George L. 
 Marsh, a highly respected citizen of that 
 city, and to this union has been born one 
 child, Irene. In his political sympathies 
 Mr. Cody has always been a stanch Dem- 
 ocrat, but is equally popular among both 
 parties, so much so that he was elected, 
 by a large majority of both Democrats 
 and Republicans, to the position of dis- 
 trict attorney of Door county, and re- 
 elected in 1888; he has filled the incum- 
 bency with characteristic tact and ability, 
 and to the satisfaction of the people at 
 large. In educational matters he has 
 ever taken a deep interest, and for years 
 has served as a member of the school 
 board, four years in the capacity of pres- 
 ident. Mr. Cody is accounted one of the 
 most successful legal practitioners in Door 
 county, a hard worker, always having at 
 heart the interests of his clients. He is 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 685 
 
 regarded as a useful local counselor and 
 office lawyer, critical in adjustment and 
 preparation of cases, and has the reputa- 
 tion, by his conscientious advice, of sav- 
 ing his clients long, expensive and use- 
 
 less litigation. 
 
 LOUIS D. BRUEMMER, is a native 
 of the State of Wisconsin, born 
 August 15, 1859, in Mishicot, 
 Manitowoc county, and has passed 
 the greater part of his life in Ahnapee, 
 having removed thither with his parents 
 in early childhood. 
 
 Henry Bruemmer, father of our sub- 
 ject, was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, 
 where he was educated in the common 
 schools, and when a young man served 
 an apprenticeship to the milling business. 
 A short time after completing his trade he 
 came to the United States, making his 
 first location at Trenton, N. J., where he 
 worked some three years, thence remov- 
 ing to Mishicot, Manitowoc Co., Wis., 
 and invested the money saved from his 
 earnings while in New Jersey in a flouring- 
 mill in company with another man. Here 
 he followed the business some four or five 
 years, at the end of which time he sold, 
 and building the mill in Carlton, now 
 known as Tisch mills, operated same 
 some five years, when he again sold and 
 purchased an interest in the Ahnapee 
 Mills, which he still carries on, in con- 
 nection with our subject. This mill has 
 a favorable reputation for turning out a 
 high grade of flour, and competes suc- 
 cessfully with all first grade mills. In 
 connection with the flouring-mill they op- 
 erate a saw and planing mill, doing quite 
 an extensive business in that line. . Mr. 
 Bruemmer is an ardent Democrat, taking 
 an active part in all questions pertaining 
 to the welfare of his town and county, 
 and has filled several important offices in 
 his town, being the present treasurer. He 
 came to the United States a poor man; 
 but by industry has placed himself in a 
 substantial position among the successful 
 
 39 
 
 self-made citizens of his town and county. 
 Mr. Bruemmer married Louisa Demzien, 
 also a native of Germany, and their union 
 has been blessed with eleven children, all 
 of whom are living, as follows: Minnie, 
 Mrs. Henry Ruhnke, of the town of Ahn- 
 apee; Louis D., our subject; Fred, of 
 Baileys Harbor, near Sturgeon Bay, 
 Wis.; Herman, of Ahnapee (married); 
 Earnest, at home; Caroline, Mrs. Henry 
 Hancke, of Ahnapee; Amelia, Mrs. Henry 
 Perlivitz, of Ahnapee; Ida; Amanda; 
 Rudolph, of Ahnapee (married), and 
 Ernestena, Mrs. Fred Wolf, of Ahnapee. 
 Mr. Bruemmer, is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 Louis D. Bruemmer was educated in 
 the common schools of Ahnapee, and was 
 reared from boyhood to the milling busi- 
 iness, in which he has become an expert, 
 and he invented a very useful wheat 
 cleaner and heater; he is now associated 
 with his father. He was married May 9, 
 1884, to Miss Caroline Sibilsky, a native 
 of Eagle River, Mich., born September 
 18, 1864, of German descent, her parents 
 being natives of Rudolstadt, Germany. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bruemmer have had five 
 children, namely: Clara, Louisa, Laura, 
 Erma and Ella. Politically Louis D. 
 Bruemmer is a stanch Repubhcan, and 
 has been honored by election to the clerk- 
 ship of his town. He and his family are 
 members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 ALBERT HARDTKE, farmer of 
 West Kewaunee township, Ke- 
 waunee county, was born in Prus- 
 sia December 20, 1847, and is a 
 son of Michael and Kathrina Hardtke. 
 When five or six years of age Albert 
 was brought to the United States by his 
 parents, who located in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 in 1853, remained there about two years, 
 and then, the father being a farmer, came 
 to Kewaunee county, when Kewaunee 
 city contained but one store and a few 
 frame dwellings. Thus it occurred that 
 the boy Albert was really a pioneer of the 
 
686 
 
 COMIiTEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county, as he endured all the hardships 
 incident to the lives of its earl^' settlers. 
 He attended the common schools of the 
 county for two years, and all his after 
 education was comprehended in the labor 
 necessary to clear up the farm. But 
 this practical education has been of. in- 
 calculable use to him, as it has brought 
 him success in overcoming difficulties 
 where others have failed. On reaching 
 his majority he became a Democrat, and 
 has adhered to the doctrines of that party 
 ever since. About the year 1876 he 
 united with the German Lutheran Church, 
 and is still faithful to its discipline and 
 teachings. His marriage to Mi.ss Mary 
 Redue, daughter of August and Augustie 
 Redue, took place March 31, 1872, and 
 the union has been blessed with the birth 
 of eleven children, in the following order: 
 Charles, February 22, 1S73; Emma, 
 January 3, 1875; August, April 12, 1877; 
 Sophia, April 10, 1879; Edward, February 
 7, 1 881; Louisa, February 14, 1882; 
 Daniel, February 22, 1884; Lewis, May 
 12, 1886, Martha, March 9, 1888; Theo- 
 dore, July 9, 1890, and Arthur, ^farch 19, 
 1 894, all yet living with the exception of 
 Emma, August and Edward. Mr. Hardtke 
 has been a hard-working, honest man, 
 whose steady-going habits have won for 
 him the respect of all who know him. 
 
 GEORGE PETER ANDERSEN, 
 a native of Schleswig-Holstein, 
 Germany, was born August 30, 
 1850, a son of Andreas P. Ander- 
 sen, of the same place, who followed the 
 occupation of blacksmithing and farming. 
 The mother of our subject was Bodil 
 Maria Fyin, also a German, and to her 
 and her husband were born five children. 
 The father died in 1 893 at the age of 
 seventy years. 
 
 Our subject, who is the youngest son 
 in the family, received good common- 
 school advantages. At a suitable age he 
 was apprenticed to the blacksmith trade, 
 which vocation he followed until he was 
 
 twenty-two )cars of age. In 1872 he 
 married Miss Katharine Maria Peterson, 
 who was born in Denmark in 1848, and 
 they have three children: Andreas P., 
 of Appleton; Bodil Maria and Katharine 
 Maria. This marriage, not being har- 
 monious, Mr. Andersen secured a divorce 
 in Germany, where they were li\ing, and 
 soon after emigrated to the United States. 
 He first located in Milwaukee, Wis., but 
 after a short time removed to \\'ashington 
 Island, Door Co. , same State, where he 
 purchased the farm he now owns and 
 occupies. He has just completed a neat 
 two-story frame house, and is otherwise 
 well situated. While in Milwaukee he 
 was married to Miss Elsie Olsen, who 
 was born in Denmark, and they have four 
 children : Peter, Clara, John and Henry. 
 In politics Mr. Andersen is a Republican, 
 and is a well-informed man on the issues 
 of the day. In religious faith he is a 
 member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 HERMANN DETJEN, superintend- 
 ent of the Kewaunee Furniture 
 Co., was born in Hanover, Ger- 
 many, July 21, 1843. His father, 
 Henry, was born in 1804, was married to 
 Miss Metha Meyer, daughter of Paul 
 Meyer, and came to America in 1871, 
 making his home in Manitowoc, count}', 
 Wis., with his son Hermann, until his 
 death, having lost his wife in the old 
 country. 
 
 Hermann Detjen having finished his 
 schooling, began at the age of si.xteen, to 
 learn the trade of carpenter and mill- 
 wright. In 1865 he came to America, 
 locating in Manitowoc county. Wis., and 
 in 1867 he bought a farm. This he sold 
 in 1874, and lived for two years in Door 
 county, Wis.; then, in 1S76, moved to 
 Ahnapee village, Kewaunee county, and 
 bought a planing-mill and furniture fac- 
 tory, which he conducted, in partnership, 
 under the firm name of H. Detjen & Co., 
 until 1 89 1, when a joint-stock company 
 was formed under the name of the Ahna- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6S7 
 
 pee Manufacturing Co., Mr. Detjen being 
 its president. In 1892 the capital stock 
 was increased, and the named changed to 
 the Ahnapee Furniture Co., Mr. Detjen 
 becoming one of the directors. In 1893 
 he sold his interest in this concern, moved 
 to Kewaunee city, and helped to organize 
 the Kewaunee Furniture Co., he being 
 one of the directors and the superintend- 
 ent. In that same year he bought a farm 
 in Ahnapee township, and in 1894 he 
 moved back to Ahnapee, and has since 
 lived on his farm. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Detjen took 
 place, in 1868, to Miss Bertha L. E. 
 Roduenz, a native of Germany, born in 
 1849, whence she was brought to Amer- 
 ica when a child by her people, who died 
 in Wisconsin. To this marriage have 
 been born nine children — six sons and 
 three daughters — all living under the par- 
 ental roof. Mr. and Mrs. Detjen are sin- 
 cere members of the Lutheran Church, 
 and are training up their family in the 
 same faith. In politics he is a Republi- 
 can, has been supervisor, city treasurer 
 and alderman of Ahnapee, but much pre- 
 fers his business to politics. He has been 
 a popular man in spite of himself, and 
 his business reputation stands without a 
 blemish. Since the above sketch was 
 written Mr. Detjen has sold his interest 
 in the Kewaunee Furniture Co., to his 
 eldest son, Fred, who is now manager 
 and superintendent of that concern. 
 
 ORRIN WARNER, Sr., one of 
 Ahnapee's best-known and most 
 prominent citizens, comes of Eng- 
 Hsh ancestry who settled in New 
 England in an early day, and was born 
 Januarj' 17, 1820, in Orleans county. 
 New York. 
 
 Reuben Warner, father of Orrin, was 
 a native of the State of Connecticut, in 
 the common schools of which he received 
 his education, and he was reared on a 
 farm. When a young man he was united 
 
 in marriage with Mary Pachin, a native 
 of the State of New York, born near the 
 source of the Delaware river, who bore 
 him three children, as follows: Charles 
 and Mary, deceased, and Orrin, whose 
 name introduces this sketch. A few 
 years after his marriage Mr. Warner 
 met with an accident which caused his 
 death, and Mrs. Warner subsequently 
 married William Lee, to which union 
 came two children, Charlotte and John, 
 both deceased. Mr. Lee died in 1832, 
 and his widow afterward married Luke 
 Olds, by whom she had three children, 
 Charles, Mary and Oscar, all now de- 
 ceased. The mother died in 1866 at the 
 age of sixty-seven years, several years 
 after the death of Mr. Olds. 
 
 Orrin Warner was given a common- 
 school education, in his native State, was 
 reared on a farm, and in early life was 
 engaged in lumbering in New York State. 
 When twenty-two years of age he married 
 Jane Bennet, a native of Seneca county, 
 N. Y. , born in 1823, and to them have 
 been born children as follows: John, 
 Simon, Orrin (of Kewaunee), Harriet 
 (Mrs. Abraham Hall, of the city of 
 Ahnapee), and Charlotte (Mrs. Henry 
 Dagno, of the city of Ahnapee), living, 
 and Reuben and George, deceased. After 
 his marriage Mr. Warner followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits in the State of New 
 York for about one year, and then 
 migrating westward to Lake county, 111., 
 followed farming there some five years, 
 afterward coming to Wisconsin and tak- 
 ing a job of lumbering at Manitowoc 
 which occupied him some two years. At 
 the end of that time, in company with 
 Ed. Trudell and John Hughes, he came 
 to Ahnapee, being the Hrst permanent set- 
 tler in this section of the country, and the 
 nearest neighbor was a settler at what is 
 now the city of Kewaunee. After his 
 removal here Mr. Warner took up eighty 
 acres of land iipon which he located, and 
 immediately commenced removing the 
 timber and clearing the land for farming. 
 For a time he did cjuite an extensive 
 
6SS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 business selling trees, cordwood, posts, 
 etc., and since then has followed agricul- 
 tural pursuits. He is one of the oldest 
 and most highly respected citizens of 
 Kewaunee county, and one of her pros- 
 perous self-made farmers, for all he now 
 owns has been accumulated b}' earnest 
 toil and years of persevering thrift. Polit- 
 ically 'he is independent, and always sup- 
 ports the candidate best fitted for office; 
 he himself has filled many positions of 
 honor and trust in his town, having been 
 appointed deputy sheriff, an office he held 
 eight years, served both as town and 
 county supervisor, and has filled the 
 offices of assessor, justice of the peace, 
 and alderman in the city of Ahnapee, 
 with credit to himself and satisfaction of 
 his constituents, his high sense of duty 
 and sterling integrity recommending him 
 to all as a faithful and valuable servant of 
 the public. 
 
 NICHOLAS PEOT, whose indus- 
 try and perseverance and well 
 directed efforts have made him a 
 successful farmer of Luxemburg 
 township, Kewaunee county, was born in 
 Prussia, Germany, August i6, 1847, a 
 son of Nicholas and Catherine (Maas) Peot. 
 His educational privileges were very 
 meagre, but his training at farm labor 
 was without limit. At a very early age, and 
 under his father's instruction, he began 
 work in the fields, soon becoming familiar 
 with farm labor in all its departments. 
 ^^'hen he was six months old his parents 
 sailed for America, landing in New York, 
 whence they came direct to W'isconsin. 
 In Washington county the father pur- 
 chased forty acres of timber land, and in 
 a log cabin, in true pioneer stj-le, began 
 life in the West. This was the year of 
 Wisconsin's admission to the Union, and 
 many portions of the State, including 
 that in which the Peot family located, 
 were still in their primitive condition. 
 After ten years, during which he made a 
 great change in the appearance of his 
 
 farm, placing much of it under cultiva- 
 tion, he came to Kewaunee county, set- 
 tling in what was then Casco, now Luxem- 
 burg township, purchasing 160 acres of 
 land. 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood 
 under the parental roof, and to his father 
 gave the benefit of his services until his 
 marriage, which occurred November 19, 
 1872, the lady of his choice being Agatha 
 Sibylla, daughter of Mathias and Agnes 
 (Nikolas) Schneiders. She was born in 
 Scott township. Brown Co., Wis., Janu- 
 ary 18, 1854, and was one of eight chil- 
 dren, namely: Joseph and Margaret 
 (twins), Jacob, Theresa, Barbara, Agatha 
 S., Peter Joe and John. For a year after 
 their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Peot resid- 
 ed with his parents, and then removed to 
 their present home, which was built by 
 our subject on a part of his father's farm. 
 He now owns 120 acres of land compris- 
 ing the farm whereon he resides, and has 
 a third interest in an eighty-acre tract 
 elsewhere. With the exception of ten 
 acres in the immediate vicinity of the 
 house, the farm was uncleared; but with 
 his axe on his shoulder he started out each 
 morning, and soon under his swinging 
 blows the trees of the forest fell one by 
 one, and the land was made ready for 
 the plow. Crops were planted, and after 
 kindly Nature had matured the grain 
 abundant harvests were garnered, and a 
 good income derived therefrom. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Peot have had children 
 as follows: Catherine, Barbara, John, 
 Agnes, Angeline, Peter, Nicholas, Lena, 
 Sibylla, Lorenz, Theresa (who died in in- 
 fancy), Michael and Edward. The family 
 are all members of St. Mary's Catholic 
 Church, and have many friends and 
 acquaintances in this community. Mr. 
 Peot votes with the Democratic party, 
 but'has never entered the political arena 
 as a contestant for office, although he 
 faithfully discharges his duties of citizen- 
 ship. His life has been an honorable and 
 upright one, and though quietly passed 
 has gained him the confidence and regard 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 689 
 
 of all with whom he has been brought in 
 contact, and has secured for him a well- 
 merited competence, 
 
 JOSEPH SVOBODA, wood carver 
 and dealer in furniture and wall 
 paper, Kewaunee, was born in Bo- 
 hemia March 3, 1859. His father, 
 John Svoboda, was born in 1833, was a 
 cloth weaver, and a jeweler to some ex- 
 tent, and the grandfather, Emmanuel, 
 was also a cloth weaver. John Svoboda 
 was married in 1857 to Anna Krcil, who 
 became the mother of eight children, of 
 whom two sons and two daughters died 
 in Bohemia, leaving one son and three 
 daughters as survivors. 
 
 Of these, Joseph Svoboda came to 
 America in 1879, locating in Carlton, 
 Kewaunee Co., Wis., and for three years 
 worked at carpentering, which he had 
 learned in the old country. He then 
 bought a farm in Carlton, in the mean- 
 time sending money to Bohemia to aid 
 his father, mother and sisters in reaching 
 Carlton, and subsequently, in 1886, 
 brought over his foster brother. The 
 mother died in Carlton in June, 1891, and 
 the father in May, 1893. Mr. Svoboda 
 carried on farming for seven years, al- 
 though he worked at his trade at the same 
 time. In the spring of 1891 he rented 
 his farm, located in the city of Kewaunee, 
 and started his present business, making 
 a specialty of artistic church furniture and 
 fine wood carving. He has achieved a 
 high reputation, having made some of the 
 most beautiful altar furniture in the State, 
 drawing his own designs and making his 
 own patterns. This industry enables him 
 to employ steadily three assistants. He 
 had acquired a high and chaste idea of 
 his art by working in different cities in 
 Austria and Turkey before coming to 
 America, although his education had been 
 confined to the common schools, and this 
 privilege had not been attained until after 
 reaching his twelfth year. 
 
 Mr. Svoboda was married in May, 
 1 88 1, to Miss Anna Langer, daughter of 
 Joseph Langer, a pioneer of Kewaunee 
 county, and this imion has been blessed 
 with six children, viz. : Antone, Katy, 
 Anna, Bohomila (who died in infancy), 
 Joseph and Emily. In politics, Mr. 
 Svoboda is a Democrat, but is not vio- 
 lently partisan, contenting himself with 
 the exercise of his franchise as an Amer- 
 ican citizen. He and wife are both mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church. 
 
 LEVI BARABOO, proprietor of the 
 " Leplant House," in Egg Har- 
 bor, Door county, was born June 
 i6, 1841, in Upper Canada, third 
 son of Andrew Baraboo, a native of the 
 same country. Andrew Baraboo was 
 twice married, and by his second wife 
 had six children — four sons and two 
 daughters — of whom our subject was the 
 fifth in the order of birth. The father 
 died when Levi was but twelve years old, 
 the mother a few years later, thus leav- 
 ing the lad obliged to support himself at 
 an early age. 
 
 For a short time after his father's 
 death Levi Baraboo lived with his eldest 
 sister, who was married, and at the age 
 of thirteen began to work in a brickyard, 
 being employed four summers by the 
 same man, during the winter season living 
 with an uncle, who was a tavern-keeper. 
 By this time he was old enough to work 
 at lumbering, an occupation he followed 
 until he reached the age of twenty-five 
 years. In the fall of 1865 he went to 
 Crown Point, N. Y., near Lake Cham- 
 plain, in the neighborhood of which place 
 he found employment cutting cordwood, 
 and here he was married, in 1S67, to Miss 
 Mary Minor, also a Canadian by birth. 
 After his marriage he continued in the 
 neighborhood of Lake Champlain about a 
 year, working in a tannery, and then re- 
 moved to Door county. Wis., where his 
 father-in-law and two of his brothers had 
 
690 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 already located. In Section 29, Egg Har- 
 bor township, he bought forty acres of 
 timberland, for which he paid $336, cash, 
 and taking up his residence in the small 
 log house which stood thereon set himself 
 to work to clear the ground for agricul- 
 tural purposes. He lived there until 
 1884, in which year he bought a lot in 
 the village of Egg Harbor, on which he 
 erected a building, and in partnership 
 with his brother Louis opened a butcher 
 shop, afterward buying out his brother's 
 interest and carrying on a grocery. In 
 1 889 he embarked in the hotel and saloon 
 business, in which he has since continued, 
 conducting the " Leplant House, " which 
 was established a number of years ago. 
 Mr. Baraboo still retains his farm prop- 
 erty, owning eighty acres, forty of which 
 he has cleared, and by hard work has 
 succeeded in putting it in a good state of 
 cultivation. He is a self-made man in 
 the strict sense of the term, having built 
 up his own fortune from a start of noth- 
 ing except industry and perseverance, and 
 he is regarded as one of the substantial 
 well-to-do citizens of that section. Giv- 
 ing his whole time and attention to his 
 business interests, he takes no active part 
 in politics beyond casting his vote as a 
 stanch supporter of the Republican party. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Baraboo have had chil- 
 dren as follows: Delia, Mrs. Charles La- 
 Rush, of Egg Harbor; Mary, Mrs. Thomas 
 Carmody, of Egg Harbor; Victoria, Mrs. 
 John Bunda, of Sister Bay, Wis. ; Elda, 
 Theodore and Albert, at home; and two 
 daughters who died young. In religious 
 faith the family are Catholics. 
 
 JOHN MILLIDGEwas born June 26, 
 1836, in Annapolis, Nova Scotia, the 
 oldest town north of St. Augustine, 
 Fla. , it having been founded in 1604. 
 It also has the greatest tide in the world, 
 the water rising to a j^erpendicular height 
 of seventy feet. 
 
 Our subject is descended from one of 
 the oldest families of the United States, 
 
 his ancestors having come from England 
 to America with Gen. Oglethorpe in 1 733, 
 and the ancestry can be traced back 
 several generations. He is a great-grand- 
 son of Thomas Millidge, and one of his 
 relatives was a Senator and the Governor 
 of the State of Georgia. The family has 
 been a noted one, and has furnished many 
 men of prominence to various professions. 
 The grandfather of our subject was John 
 Millidge, and his parents were George S. 
 and Margaret (Snuden) Millidge. The 
 father was a highly educated man, a fine 
 lawyer, and received the appointment of 
 judge of a certain court from the Crown. 
 He amassed quite a fortune, having a 
 very large law practice, and also owning 
 landed interests which yielded to him a 
 handsome income. His children, ten in 
 number, were as follows : John, Mar)', 
 George, Thomas, Augustus, Charles, El- 
 mer, James, Fannie and Bessie ; two of 
 the sisters are yet living. 
 
 John Millidge was baptized b}- the 
 well-known Bishop Ingalls. He remained 
 at home until fifteen years of age, when 
 he went to sea on the vessel "Sir John 
 Bannerman, " his first trip being to Liver- 
 pool, England, after which he returned 
 and then entered upon a sea-faring career 
 which was full of thrilling experiences and 
 adventures. He sailed for about five 
 years on the ocean, then went to New 
 Orleans, came up the Mississippi river 
 and made his way to Chicago. He then 
 followed the lakes, being most of the 
 time emplo}ed on sailing vessels, and has 
 filled every position from that of cook to 
 captain. Continuing on the lakes until 
 1886, he then entered the lighthouse 
 service, and was appointed by Collector 
 Watson of Grand Haven to a position in 
 that District. Having successfully passed 
 the examination he was made acting 
 assistant, then permanent assistant, then 
 acting keeper and finall)' permanent 
 keeper. His first appointment was in 
 Petit Point au Sauble, which is, in 
 English, "Little Sandy Point," and 
 there he remained two years, when he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 691 
 
 was transferred to Baileys Harbor, where 
 he has since served. 
 
 On December 14, icS63, Mr. Millidge 
 married Miss Margaret Cooney, daughter 
 of John and Margaret (Maney) Cooney, 
 whose family numbered seven children — 
 Bridget, Michael, Dennis, Alice, William, 
 Margaret and John. Mrs. Millidge was 
 born in Carboniere, Newfoundland, Sep- 
 tember 5, 1846, is a cousin of Archbishop 
 Feehan, of Chicago, and is a member of 
 the Roman Catholic Church. To our 
 subject and his wife came six children — 
 George B., born November 3, 1864, 
 and died November 27, 1866; Alice, 
 born December 3, 1867 ; Elizabeth, born 
 November 8, 1868, and died December 
 I, 1887; Margaret R. , born June 16, 
 1883. and died February 16, 1884 ; John, 
 born December 5, 1885 ; and Ruth, born 
 December 29, 1888. In his political 
 views Mr. Millidge is a Democrat, having 
 supported that party since becoming a 
 citizen of the United States. His life 
 has been well and worthily passed, and 
 in public and private life he is ever true 
 and faithful to the trust reposed in him. 
 
 JOHN HARMANN was born August 
 I, 1847, in Prussia, Germany, 
 where he received a good education 
 in the common schools. In his na- 
 tive country he remained up to the age of 
 twenty years, at which time he came to 
 the United States, and has since had his 
 home in Kewaunee county, being one of 
 the well-to-do agriculturists of Ahnapee 
 township. 
 
 Daniel Harmann, his father, was born 
 in Prussia in 1812, received a common- 
 school education, and worked as a laborer 
 until 1867, when he came to the United 
 States. He was married in Germany to 
 Louisa Gaulke, also a native of that 
 country, born in 18 19, and they became 
 the parents of seven children, two of 
 whom, John and August, both of Ahnapee, 
 Kewaunee Co., Wis., are living; the 
 others are deceased. After coming to the 
 
 United States Mr. Harmann located in 
 the village of Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, 
 where he remained one year, and then, 
 purchasing the farm our subject now 
 owns and occupies, engaged in cutting 
 away the timber, and commenced the 
 task of clearing the land for farming, an 
 occupation he followed until his death, 
 which occurred in 1890; his wife passed 
 from earth one year previous. They 
 were members of the Lutheran Church. 
 Mr. Harmann came to the United States 
 a poor man, but at the time of his death 
 was in prosperous circumstances, brought 
 about by his own industry and persever- 
 ing toil. 
 
 John Harmann has been engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits ever since his settle- 
 ment here, and now owns the home farm, 
 a fertile tract of 120 acres, which is well- 
 improved and equipped with good build- 
 ings. Politically he is a Democrat, and in 
 religious faith he is an active member of the 
 Lutheran Church, with which he has 
 been connected some twenty-seven jears, 
 and is one of the leaders in Church work. 
 Mr. Harmann's marriage to Augusta 
 Kasten took place August 29, 1871, and 
 five children have been born to them, 
 viz. : Minnie, Mrs. Albert Maganburg, 
 of Ahnapee; William, of Ahnapee; Fred, 
 John and Rosa. The mother of these 
 died March 20, 1882, at the age of 
 thirtjr-two, and August 3, 1883, Mr. 
 Harmann was again married, this time to 
 Henriette Schutz, who bore him two 
 children. Earnest and August; Mrs. Har- 
 mann died May 3, 1886, aged thirty-two 
 years. 
 
 JF. C. KUEHL, furniture dealer and 
 manufacturer, of Kewaunee, is a 
 native of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 
 Germany, born August 30, 1845. 
 His father, Fred Kuehl, born in the same 
 town, was a shepherd, and his mother, 
 the daughter of a linen wea\er, bore the 
 maiden name of Maria Stuebe. They 
 were the parents of three sons and two 
 
692 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 daughters, and both died in Germany — 
 the father in 1852, the mother in 1864. 
 
 J. F. C. Kuehl, who is the youngest 
 in the familj', was a common laborer in 
 the old country, but acquired a fair com- 
 mon-school education, and after coming 
 to America, in 1867, and settling in Ke- 
 waunee village, he studied English for 
 three months under a private teacher. 
 His first work here was in a sawmill, in 
 which he remained three Nears, becoming 
 head sawyer. He then learned the car- 
 penter's trade, at which he worked until 
 1885, at which time he opened a furniture 
 store. He manufactures much of his own 
 furniture in his own place, and has, be- 
 side, an interest in the Kewaunee Furni- 
 ture Company, as well as an interest in 
 the Kewaunee Printing Company. On 
 September 20, 1894, in company with his 
 son Frank, he started another furniture 
 store in De Pere, Wis., under the name 
 of Kuehl & Son, Frank being manager of 
 same. In addition to all these interests, 
 our subject deals to some e.xtent in real 
 estate, being one of five gentlemen who 
 laid out an addition to Kewaunee called 
 " Pautz Addition." He is entirely a self- 
 made man, having landed in America 
 with no capital save good health and will- 
 ing hands, and is now recognized as one 
 of the most substantial men of the city. 
 
 Mr. Kuehl was first married in Ger- 
 many, September 26, 1S67, and started 
 ne.xt day for America with his bride, Dora 
 Krohn. This lady's father was a farmer, 
 who for his second wife married a Miss 
 Schneman, who became the mother of 
 Mrs. Kuehl and another child, but both 
 parents died the same day while Mrs. 
 Kuehl was still very young. Mrs. Dora 
 Kuehl bore her husband four sons and two 
 daughters, and died April 11, 1890. On 
 May 28, 1891, Mr. Kuehl married Bertha 
 Stuebs, also a native of Germany, but 
 brought to America at the age of one 
 year. Her father, August Stuebs, is now 
 a resident of West Kewaunee; her mother 
 bore the maiden name of Amalia Steffens, 
 and is the eldest in a family of twelve 
 
 children. To the marriage of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kuehl has been born one son, 
 Erhard. 
 
 In politics Mr. Kuehl is a Democrat, 
 was one of the first aldermen when Ke- 
 waunee was organized as a city, and held 
 the office three terms; he is at present 
 supervisor of his ward, and fills the posi- 
 tion with credit to himself and to the sat- 
 isfaction of his fellow citizens, in whose 
 esteem he holds a very high place. In 
 1894 he was appointed a candidate for 
 Member of Assembly of Wisconsin on the 
 Independent or Individual Nomination 
 ticket, but ran about 160 votes short of 
 Jacob Rodrian, his opponent. 
 
 M 
 
 ATHIAS REINHART. a worthy 
 representative of the business 
 interests of Ahnapee, was born 
 in Faha, Kreis Saarburg, near 
 Trier, Germany, August 14. 1840, and 
 comes of a family that originally located 
 in France, where the name was spelled 
 Reinard. The father of our subject, 
 Johann Reinhart, was born in the same 
 locality as Mathias, and became a miller 
 by trade. In Faha he followed that 
 business, and his death occurred at the 
 age of fifty-two years. His wife, who 
 bore the maiden name of Elizabeth 
 Mertens, was born in Ail, Kreis Saarburg, 
 and died at the age of forty years, leaving 
 seven sons — Peter, John, Mathias, Jacob, 
 Nicholas, Michael and Franz. 
 
 At the age of fourteen our subject was 
 left an orphan, his parents both dying in 
 the same year. The eldest brother, 
 Peter, having married, became the head of 
 the family, and with him Mathias learned 
 the trade of shoe making, which he fol- 
 lowed until twenty-one years of age, when 
 he entered the German army, serving 
 therein three years. At the expiration of 
 that period he was honorably discharged, 
 and he then married Magdalena Mel- 
 chior (a sister of M. Melchior, postmaster 
 at Ahnapee), and settled in the little vil- 
 lage of Schwemlingen, Kreis Merzig, Ger- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 693 
 
 many, where his wife's people resided. 
 There he worked at liis trade until 1 866, 
 when the war broke out between Prussia 
 and Austria and he was called into the 
 army service as a reserve. A month later 
 he obtained a six-days' furlough, but 
 instead of returning he extended his leave 
 of absence and made his way to America, 
 landing in New York on the evening of 
 July 3, 1866. The following day, "The 
 Fourth," was celebrated, and made quite 
 an impression upon Mr. Reinhart, who 
 thought this a wonderful country. By 
 steamer he journeyed to Ahnapee, where 
 he soon obtained employment in his 
 brother-in-law's shoe shop, and there 
 worked steadily. His wife arrived four 
 months later, accompanied by her parents 
 and brother Michael. In 1869 our sub- 
 ject took charge of the boot and shoe 
 store owned by Mathias Melchior, and, 
 becoming proprietor, successfully con- 
 ducted the same until February 5, 1894, 
 when he gave it over to the charge of his 
 sons. In connection with the boot 
 and shoe business he also dealt in sewing 
 machines, and along both lines did a 
 large and prosperous business, accumu- 
 lating thereby a modest fortune. When 
 he embarked at Havre, France, for 
 America, he had but one cent left, which 
 he flung into the ocean as an offering to 
 "Dame Fortune," and she has smiled 
 upon him since. He was interested in 
 the establishment of the factories at 
 Ahnapee, has supported all of those enter- 
 prises which are calculated to benefit the 
 town, and is now the owner of a hand- 
 some home and considerable valuable 
 real estate in that place. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Reinhart were born 
 the following children : Anna (wife of 
 William Barnhart, a harness dealer of 
 Sturgeon Bay) ; Mathias ; Kate (wife of 
 Frank Witzpaleck, a teacher) ; George, 
 Mary, Lena, Sophia, Frank, two deceased, 
 Michael and Leona. The children have 
 been highly educated in music, and Kate 
 was for five years the organist of St. 
 Mary's Church, while Mathias and George 
 
 are both good musicians, the former hav- 
 ing a fine baritone voice, while the latter 
 is leader of the Ahnapee Silver Cornet 
 Band. In politics Mr. Reinhart has 
 always been a Democrat ; served as a 
 delegate to the State convention in 1890, 
 and has held a number of city offices, 
 discharging the duties connected there- 
 with in a creditable and acceptable man- 
 ner. He has been very successful in this 
 country, and is a leading and influential 
 citizen of Ahnapee. 
 
 BARTHOLOMEW DRURY claims 
 New York as the State of his 
 nativity, having been born in 
 Erie county March 17, 1855. His 
 father, Michael Drury, was a native of the 
 Emerald Isle, whence he emigrated to the 
 United States. In Ireland he had mar- 
 ried Catherine Meigh, also a native of 
 that country, and three children were 
 there born to them, the rest in the United 
 States. A brief record of their family is 
 as follows: Thomas is now living in Lux- 
 emburg township, Kewaunee county; 
 Bridget is the wife of John McCalvy, of 
 Lincoln township, Kewaunee county; 
 Mary, wife of John C. Burke, resides in 
 Casco township, Kewaunee county; Peter 
 has his home in Ingalls, Mich. ; Bartholo- 
 mew is the subject of this sketch; Michael 
 lives in Casco township; Maggie is de- 
 ceased. The parents, who were both 
 consistent members of the Catholic 
 Church, died when our subject was quite 
 young. The father for the most part was 
 engaged in railroad work. 
 
 Bartholomew Drury was only five 
 years of age, when, with the family, he 
 became a resident of Casco township, 
 Kewaunee county. He received his edu- 
 cation in the common schools of Ahnapee 
 township, and remained upon the home 
 farm until after the death of his parents, 
 when he went into the lumber regions and 
 followed lumbering some nine years. He 
 then returned to Casco township, locating 
 upon the farm which has since been his 
 
694 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home, and which was formerly owned by 
 his father. He has since devoted his 
 time and energies to agricultural pursuits, 
 and is accounted one of the leading farm- 
 ers of the community, a fact well evi- 
 denced b\' the neat and thrifty appear- 
 ance of the place, its good buildings and 
 other substantial improvements. 
 
 On October 27, 1889, Mr. Drury was 
 united in marriage with Miss Alice Jalle}', 
 daughter of William and Annie (Dunn) 
 Jalley (who were of English extraction), 
 and a native of Wausau, Marathon Co., 
 Wis., born April 30, 1862. To this union 
 have been born five children — Annie, 
 Frank, Ellen, Mary and Alice — and the 
 father, who is a warm friend of education, 
 means that they shall be provided with 
 good school privileges, thus fitting them 
 for the practical and responsible duties of 
 life. Mr. Drury belongs to the Catholic 
 ■Church, and exercises his right of fran- 
 chise in the ranks of the Democratic 
 party, but has never been an aspirant for 
 political honors, preferring to give his 
 time and attention to his business inter- 
 ests, in which he has met with good 
 success. 
 
 JOSEPH E. BUBNHv, merchant 
 tailor, Kewaunee, is a native of Bo- 
 hemia, born August 27, 1862. His 
 father, Emanuel Bubnik, was born 
 in the same country in 1838, was mar- 
 ried in 1859, and came to America in 
 1867, settling in Kewaunee, Wis., and 
 working at his trade of tailor. 
 
 To the age of sixteen Joseph E. at- 
 tended the schools of Kewaunee, and then 
 worked a year for his father, learning the 
 tailoring trade, after which for three and 
 a half \ears he worked in Chicago, where 
 he also learned cutting. In 1883 he re- 
 turned to Kewaunee and formed a partner- 
 ship with his father, putting in a fine 
 stock of ready-made clothing, and also 
 following the merchant-tailoring business. 
 In 1887 the partnership was dissolved, 
 Joseph E. continuing on his own account; 
 
 he now carries one of the largest and best 
 selected stocks in the city, and is doing a 
 most prosperous trade. He has been 
 twice married, first time to Polly Urbanck, 
 but secured a divorce from her, and in 
 August, 1890, he married Anna Drab, 
 who has borne him two children, both of 
 whom are now deceased. Mr. Bubnik is 
 a Republican in his political affiliations, 
 but is conservative and votes for whom he 
 considers the best man. He is himself 
 quite popular, has served two years as 
 justice of the peace, and has also held 
 several minor offices. He is an active 
 member of the Kewaunee Fire Depart- 
 ment, also of the Bohemian Turners 
 Society, and has won for himself a high 
 reputation as a business man and as a 
 citizen. 
 
 J 
 
 OHN L. HANEY. the well-known 
 dealer in agricultural implements at 
 Kewaunee, was born August 6. 1857, 
 in the city of Batavia, Genesee Co., 
 N. Y., and was two years of age when 
 brought West by his father, who located 
 in Sheboygan, Wis., for about six months, 
 and then removed to Montpelier, Kewau- 
 nee county, where he settled on a farm. 
 Here our subject was reared until 
 seventeen years of age, assisting in the 
 cultivation of the land in the summer and 
 attending the district school during the 
 winter season. He then entered the busi- 
 ness college at Green Ba)', remaining 
 two terms, and at the age of eighteen 
 commenced teaching school in the town- 
 ship in which he had his home. In i 879 
 he located in Kewaunee, where he form- 
 ed a partnership with his brother, M. C. 
 Haney, opening a depot for the sale of 
 farm implements. In 1881 this firm 
 established a branch at Ahnapee, of which 
 the brother took the superintendency. In 
 1883 thej- opened a third store or depot, 
 which was established at Sturgeon Bay, 
 and all three are conducted under the 
 firm name of Haney Brothers. Mr. Haney 
 has always taken an active part in any 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 695 
 
 enterprise tending to the advancement of 
 the interests of I\e\vaunee. The firm are 
 also interested in the Ahnapee Veneer and 
 Seating Company at Ahnapee, and are in 
 the lumber and plaster business of Haney 
 Bros. & Erichson. 
 
 Our subject is a member of the I. O. 
 O. F. , K. of P., and Royal Arcanum, in 
 which latter order he has passed all the 
 chairs. He has been a great traveler in 
 his day, having visited nearly every part 
 of the United States, including two trips 
 to California. On February 27, 1889, he 
 was married to Miss Laura A. Grimmer, 
 daughter of George Grimmer, and his 
 home has been made the more happy by 
 the birth, September i, 1891, of one 
 child, Olga B. 
 
 WILLIAM HAG ARTY was born 
 in Sheboygan county. Wis., 
 October 16, 1857, and is a son 
 of Andrew and Ellen (Ennes) 
 Hagarty, natives of Ireland. In that 
 country they were married, and became 
 the parents of two children, with whom, 
 in 1847, they crossed the Atlantic to the 
 New World, sailing from Dublin, li-eland, 
 to New York City, where they arrived 
 after a long and tedious voyage. 
 
 Locating in Washington county, N. 
 Y., the father there worked as a day 
 laborer on farms, and was thus employed 
 for about eight years, after which he 
 came to Sheboygan county. Wis. , and 
 purchased forty acres of land. [While 
 en route a fire destroyed everything they 
 possessed except the clothing they wore.] 
 Bears and wolves were still seen in the 
 neighborhood, deer and other wild game 
 furnished the table with meat, and the 
 entire locality was still in its primitive 
 condition. Mr. Hagarty built a log cabin 
 16x16 feet, and at once began to clear 
 his land, the greater part of which he 
 had placed under cultivation, when, in 
 1 86 1, he sold out, preparatory to mov- 
 ing to Luxemburg township, Kewaunee 
 county. Here he secured eighty acres of 
 
 land, now a part of the farm belonging to 
 our subject, but at that time only a half 
 acre had been cleared The family 
 traveled in a wagon covered with sheet- 
 ing and drawn by a yoke of oxen, and as 
 there were no roads they frequently 
 had to cut their way through the forest. 
 In the family were eight children — James, 
 Margaret, Julia, Mary, Helen, Matthew, 
 William and George. They moved into 
 a small shanty which had already been 
 built, and this continued to be their home 
 for three years, during which time the 
 father and children made considerable 
 headway in clearing the farm. In the 
 spring they sowed three bushels of wheat 
 and some potatoes, and in the fall har- 
 vested the former crop with a sickle, 
 threshing it with a flail. 
 
 On account of the limited circum- 
 stances of the parents, the children began 
 work early, and at the tender age of 
 eight William Hagarty began aiding in 
 the labors of the farm. They did their 
 trading and marketing in Kewaunee, and 
 the father at one time carried a 100-pound 
 barrel of flour on his back for three miles, 
 stopping to rest but once in all that dis- 
 tance. Some time afterward he pur- 
 chased an additional tract of land of 160 
 acres, and continued to operate the old 
 homestead until his death, which occurred 
 in 1 88 1, when he was aged sixty-three 
 years, caused by a fall from the barn. 
 His wife preceded him to her final rest 
 by two years. At this time, most of the 
 children had gone to homes of their own, 
 and our subject and his brother George 
 took charge of the old farm, which after 
 three years was divided, and the interest 
 of the other heirs was purchased by Will- 
 iam, who now owns 180 acres of valuable 
 land under a high state of cultivation, 
 and improved with all the accessories and 
 conveniences of a model farm. His life 
 has been a busy one — a season of hard 
 labor — and the experiences and trials of 
 frontier life are all familiar to him. 
 
 On September 29, 1886, Mr. Hagarty 
 was united in marriage with Miss Gather- 
 
696 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 ine Burke, and their union has been bless- 
 ed with three children: Helen, born in 
 1888; Viola, born in 1 890; and Raymond, 
 born in 1892. The parents hold member- 
 ship with the Catholic Church, and in his 
 political views Mr. Hagarty is a Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 JOHN CHRISTIANSON, a well- 
 known prosperous farmer of Stur- 
 geon Bay township. Door county, 
 settled here in 1879, and has since 
 been actively identified with the farming 
 interests of the section. Mr. Christian- 
 son is a native of Norway, born in 1830 
 near Drammen, son of Christian and 
 Gunnell (Hanson) Johnson, farming peo- 
 ple of that country, where they both 
 died, the former at the age of sixty-seven 
 years, the latter at the age of forty-nine. 
 They reared a family of six children, of 
 whom five are now living, namely: Hans 
 and Maren, in Norway; John, our subject; 
 Andrena,in Norway; and Nels, in Chicago. 
 The subject of these lines was edu- 
 cated in the schools of Norway, and early 
 in life commenced sailing on the Atlantic, 
 afterward visiting various ports in South 
 America, the East Indies and many other 
 places. In 1871 he embarked on a vessel 
 bound for New York, shortly afterward 
 coming to Manitowoc, Wis., where he re- 
 mained for eight years, working as ship 
 carpenter. In 1879 he came to Sturgeon 
 Bay township. Door county, here pur- 
 chased land, and has since been success- 
 fully engaged in farming, now owning lOO 
 acres of good land, forty acres lying 
 within the corporation limits of Sturgeon 
 Bay, and sixty adjoining. This was all 
 in the woods when he came to it, and the 
 many improvements which have so materi- 
 ally increased the value of the place are 
 entirely the result of his own labors. He 
 takes a keen interest in all movements for 
 the benefit of the community in general, 
 and served four years as supervisor of the 
 township. In political affiliation he is a 
 Republican. Mr. Christiansen is an act- 
 
 ive member of the United Brethren 
 Church of Sturgeon Bay, wherein he has 
 served as trustee ever since its organiza- 
 tion, taking a prominent part in the pro- 
 motion of all Church work. 
 
 On December 30, 1855, Mr. Christian- 
 son was married, in Norway, to Miss 
 Christina Jorgensen, also a native of that 
 country, and daughter of Jorgen and Allie 
 (Johnson) Anderson, who passed their 
 whole lives in Norway. Mrs. Christian- 
 son died in 1880 in Door count)'. Wis., 
 leaving five children, a brief record of 
 whom is as follows: George was born 
 May 21, 1858, in Norway, where he re- 
 ceived his early schooling, completing his 
 education at the schools of Manitowoc, 
 Wis. For several seasons he sailed on 
 the Lakes, and since abandoning that pur- 
 suit has engaged in farming in Sturgeon 
 Bay township, Door county. He is an 
 ardent member of the Republican party, 
 and takes an active interest in the local 
 government, being justice of the peace in 
 the township, and at present serving his 
 third term as clerk. Gustav Emil, the 
 second child, was born in Norway Octo- 
 ber 4, 1863, and now resides in Bay 
 View, Wis.; he was married, in 1892, to 
 Josephine Samuelson, and has one child, 
 Idelia. Christina Annetta is the wife of 
 Andrew Anderson, and resides in Stur- 
 geon Bay; they have one child, Florence 
 Adelaide. Anna Josephine, who was a 
 successful teacher in Door county for 
 seven years, was married in 1894 to C. C. 
 Clauson, of Clintonville, Wis. Olga 
 Marie was born in 1873 in Manitowoc, is 
 married to Frank Van Doozer, and has 
 two children, Maud and an infant; they 
 reside in Bay View. 
 
 DESIRE COLLE, one of Kewaunee 
 county's native sons, was born in 
 Luxemburg township, January 24, 
 1862, a son of Peter Colle and 
 Catherine (Roge), honored pioneer people 
 of that locality, in whose family are five 
 children, as follows: Mary, Desire, Eliza- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPSICAL RECORD. 
 
 697 
 
 beth, Charles and Anna, all yet living. 
 The father was a native of Luxemburg, 
 Germany, and in 1854 came to America 
 taking up his residence in what was at 
 that time Casco township, Kewaunee Co., 
 Wis. , but is now in Lu.xemburg township. 
 He was the first settler in the latter town- 
 ship, and it was through his instrumen- 
 tality that it was cut off from Casco town- 
 ship. 
 
 Peter Colle secured 160 acres of wild 
 land, cutting the first tree that had been 
 felled in the forests of Lu.xemburg town- 
 ship, and continued the work of clearing 
 his land until he had room enough to 
 build a log cabin and plant a crop. He 
 owned no team, and had come on foot 
 from Green Bay to his farm. Two years 
 had passed ere he was able to purchase a 
 team, and the only farm implements he 
 had were an axe and grub hoe, so that the 
 work of developing the farm was carried 
 on with great difficulty. His first crop 
 was one of fall wheat, the seed for which 
 he carried on his shoulder from Green 
 Bay, and sowing two bushels of this he 
 harvested a crop of forty-eight bushels. 
 During the first six years after his ar- 
 rival his grain was threshed with a flail, 
 and the rails which he used in making his 
 fences were carried on his back to the 
 place where they were needed. The 
 father lived and died upon his farm, and 
 it is still the home of the mother, who has 
 now reached the age of seventy-one years. 
 
 When our subject was a child of only 
 ten summers he was obliged to operate 
 the farm, for his father's health had failed, 
 and he continqed the management of the 
 property, doing nearly all the work him- 
 self, until he was twenty-four years of 
 age. His youth, therefore, was not one 
 of ease, but from a tender age he was in- 
 ured to the hard labor of developing wild 
 land, and his life has always been a busy 
 one. At the age of twenty-four he was 
 joined in wedlock with Miss Mary Toucher, 
 and from his father purchased eighty 
 acres of land, for which he paid $400, 
 the young couple beginning their domestic 
 
 I 
 
 life upon that farm. He built a log house, 
 which is still standing, and for $260 pur- 
 chased a team, with which he worked his 
 land for two years. During the succeed- 
 ing two years he engaged in the nursery 
 business, but at the expiration of that 
 period returned to the farm, which he 
 cultivated until the railroad was built, 
 when he was employed on railroad con- 
 struction at four dollars per day. Again 
 he took up farm work, continuing same 
 until June, 1S94, at which time he erected 
 in Luxemburg a building 30 x 60 feet, in 
 which he has since engaged in the saloon 
 business. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Colle have four children 
 — three sons and a daughter, viz. : Peter, 
 Michael, Joseph and Elizabeth. In his 
 political views our subject is a Demo- 
 crat; socially he is connected with the 
 Catholic Ivnights of Wisconsin, and in re- 
 ligious belief both he and his wife are 
 Catholics. He is a representative of one 
 of the earliest families of Kewaunee 
 county, and with the history of its pioneer 
 days is familiar. 
 
 SL. HALL claims New York as the 
 State of his nativity, his birth hav- 
 ing occurred in Cayuga county in 
 1854. He is a son of Simon and 
 Desire (Smith) Hall, who were also born 
 in Cayuga county, where the father was 
 engaged in farming until 1856, in which 
 year, with his family, he migrated to 
 Kewaunee county. Wis., settling in Ahna- 
 pee. He there established a sawmill, 
 operating same for some years, and was 
 also owner of a gristmill, but in 1889 he 
 abandoned the business, and has since 
 lived a retired life. He is a public-spirited 
 and progressive man, actively interested 
 in everything pertaining to the welfare of 
 Ahnapee and the surrounding country. 
 In the Hall family there are three chil- 
 dren — Sarah, wife of I. W. Elliott, pub- 
 lisher of the Ahnapee Record; S. L. , and 
 H. S., who is living in Ahnapee, Wis., 
 
69S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where he is managing the erection of a 
 hotel. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, who was 
 but an infant when he was brought to this 
 State, was educated in the schools of 
 Ahnapee, reared under the parental roof, 
 and in early life became familiar with the 
 lumber business in his father's mill. He 
 first embarked in this enterprise for him- 
 self in jacksonport, Wis., where he re- 
 mained four years, operating a sawmill, 
 after which he returned to Ahnapee, and 
 was there employed in his father's mill 
 until coming to Forestville. Here he 
 engaged in the manufacture of lumber for 
 a time, and then embarked in the manu- 
 facture of shingles, which enterprise he 
 has carried on since 1889. He makes a 
 specialty of dimension and clear cedar 
 shingles, and has an annual output of 
 about five million, for which he finds a 
 ready market in Racine, Wis., selling to 
 the firm of Kelly, Weeks & Company. 
 
 Mr. Hall was married in Forestville 
 township. Door county, in 1889. to Miss 
 Ella Kenned}', who was born in Canada, 
 as were her parents, Henry and Mary 
 Kennedy, who, in 1 872 became residents 
 of Forestville township. Door county, 
 where they j-et reside. The union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Hall has been blessed with two 
 children- Henry and Clare. 
 
 Mr. Hall e.xercises his right of fran- 
 chise in support of the men and measures 
 of the Republican party, and takes a deep 
 interest in political affairs, keeping well 
 informed on the issues of the day. He 
 is a man of e.xcellent business and execu- 
 tive ability, straightforward and honora- 
 ble in all his dealings, and by good man- 
 agement, perseverance and earnest appli- 
 cation he has won success. 
 
 FKKD W. MAEDKE. owner of a 
 snug farm in Ahnapee township, 
 Kewaunee county, where he has 
 resided for over twenty-five years, 
 is a Prussian by birth, born October 24, 
 1 83 1, son of Christian Maedke, a native 
 
 of the same country and a laborer by 
 occupation. He had seven children, of 
 whom Ferdinand lives in the town of 
 Ahnapee, Kewaunee Co., Wis.; Charles 
 is a resident of Prussia; August is deceased; 
 Lena is the wife of John Bartz, of Rich- 
 field, Wis. ; and Fred W. is the subject 
 of this sketch. The parents, who were 
 members of the Lutheran Church, both 
 died in their native country, where they 
 are buried. 
 
 Fred W. Maedke was educated in 
 Prussia, and worked at common labor 
 until he was twenty-one years of age. He 
 had been in correspondence with friends 
 in the United States from whom he re- 
 ceived glowing accounts of the advan- 
 tages offered in this country, and con- 
 cluding he could better his condition here 
 he emigrated in 1852. His first location 
 was at Milwaukee, Wis. , where he worked 
 in the brick yards for about ten years; 
 then removing to .\hnapee township, Ke- 
 waunee county, purchased eighty acres 
 of timber land, where he has since re- 
 sided, following agricultural pursuits. He 
 has also purchased another forty acres of 
 land, the greater part of which he has 
 improved and provided with good build- 
 ings and fences. While living in Mil- 
 waukee Mr. Maedke married Wilhelmina 
 Froemmeling, also a native of Prussia, 
 and to their union came eight children, 
 viz. : Bertha, now Mrs. August Schultz, of 
 Door county. Wis. ; Frederick, of Ahn- 
 apee township; William, of Forestville, 
 Door county; Louisa, Mrs. Frank Brown, 
 of Manitowoc, Wis. ; Wilhelmina, de- 
 ceased; Edward, of Manitowoc; Albert, de- 
 ceased; and one that died in infancy. The 
 mother of these died in 1873, and in 1875 
 Mr. Maedke was again married, this time 
 to Johanna Schultz, a native of Germany. 
 She is the mother of seven children, as 
 follows: Ervin, Leonard, Frank, Lillie, 
 Walter, Emma and Menmieta. Mr. 
 Maedke and family are members of the 
 Methodist Church, and politically he is 
 affiliated with the Republican party. Dur- 
 ing the latter part of the war of the Re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 699. 
 
 bellion he became a member of Company 
 E, Seventeenth Wis. V. I., serving some 
 ten months, when the war closed and he 
 was honorably discharged; he now draws 
 a pension for his services. 
 
 M 
 
 ICHAEL SEEMAN, a thriving 
 farmer of West Kewaunee town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, was 
 born in Milwaukee, Wis., No- 
 vember 18, 1848, and is a son of David 
 Seeman. Michael was reared on the 
 home farm, and was educated in the old- 
 time log schoolhouse of West Kewaunee 
 township. He assisted and remained 
 with his parents until he was twenty-five 
 years of age, when he bought the farm he 
 still occupies. It was then covered with 
 timber, but he has labored hard and 
 cleared it away, till to-day, instead of a 
 wilderness, there are waving fields of 
 grain. He has erected good buildings, 
 and made every improvement necessary 
 to a model farm. 
 
 On July 29, 1873, Mr. Seeman was 
 married to Earnestine Kohn, a daughter 
 of Christian and Johanna (Karlbine) Kohn, 
 natives of Germany, where she, also, first 
 saw the light, October 17, 1853. Her 
 father was born in 1824, and his wife in 
 the same year; they were married in 
 1848, and came to Wisconsin in 1855. 
 Earnestine was the third in a family of 
 eleven, and to her marriage with Mr. 
 Seeman were born fifteen children, their 
 names and dates of birth being as follows: 
 Amelia, May 11, 1874; Matilda, July 16, 
 1875; Henry, September 14, 1876; David, 
 March 25, 1878; Ida, November 18, 
 1879; Lydia, July 10, 1881; Frank, 
 August 30, 1882; Bertha, January 10, 
 1884; Michael, October 26, 1885, Ed- 
 ward, June 14, 1887; Earnestine, Novem- 
 ber 2, 1888; Alma, April 10, 1890; Laura, 
 July 16, 1 891; William, November 26, 
 1893, and Albert, July 16, 1894. These 
 all survive to gladden the hearts of their 
 parents, with the e.xception of four: 
 
 Henry, who died December 28, 1878; 
 Matilda, January 11, 1879; Ida, Novem- 
 ber 2, 1892, and Albert, August 30, 1894. 
 Of this family Amelia was married April 
 II, 1894, to Anton Holub. 
 
 Mr. Seeman is regarded by his neigh- 
 bors as one of the most progressive, as 
 well as able, farmers in the community, 
 and he and his family are greatly respect- 
 ed through West Kewaunee and the ad- 
 joining townships, and, indeed, through- 
 out the entire county. 
 
 JOHN BANGERT, a popular boot and 
 shoemaker of Kewaunee, was born 
 March 25, 1833, in Westphalia, Ger- 
 many, a son of Henry (a farmer 
 by occupation) and Lizzie Bangert, who 
 were the parents of nine children. The 
 father died in Germany in 1867; and the 
 mother in 1 869. 
 
 John Bangert, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, attended the common schools 
 of his native country until sixteen 
 years of age, and then learned shoemak- 
 ing, which he followed until he was 
 twenty-one years old, when he enlisted in 
 the German army, serving three years in 
 the infantry, and' then returned to work 
 at his trade. In May, 1 862, he settled 
 in Kewaunee, Wis., and started in busi- 
 ness; but after a time he bought a farm, 
 which he worked two years, but grew 
 tired of that vocation and sold out, return- 
 ing to Kewaunee and resuming his old 
 trade, in which he still continues. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Bangert took 
 place in Germany, in the early part of 
 1862, to Miss Theodora Ballering, whose 
 father, Anton Ballering, was also a shoe- 
 maker. He came to America in 1869, 
 and settled in Kewaunee, where he died 
 in 1888, his wife in 1889. To the mar- 
 riage of Mr. and Mrs. Bangert have been 
 born three sons and six daughters, named 
 as follows: Anton, John, Henry, Anna, 
 Lizzie, Mary, Amelia, Dora and Stella. 
 Of these, Anton is married and lives at 
 
700 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Eagle River, Wis. ; Anna and Lizzie mar- 
 ried brothers, Fred and Ciiarles Poser, 
 and live in Kewaunee city, and the others 
 reside with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Banfjert are devout members of the Catho- 
 lic Church, and are much respected by 
 their friends and neighbors for their up- 
 right lives. In politics Mr. Bangert is a 
 Democrat, but has never been an office- 
 seeker, preferring profitable trade to pre- 
 carious office. 
 
 HANS JACOB OLSON, a success- 
 ful farmer of Nasewaupee town- 
 ship. Door county, was born in 
 Norway, in 1845, and when eight 
 years of age accompanied his parents to 
 the United States. His father, Ole Olson, 
 who was a carpenter and joiner, on reach- 
 ing this country took his family to Green 
 Bay, Wis., where he remained one year, 
 working at his trade. He then moved to 
 Sturgeon Ba}-, and here for a time did 
 carpentry, after which he worked in the 
 first sawmill built in Nasewaupee town- 
 ship. At times he followed hunting and 
 fishing exclusively, in which vocation he 
 was very successful. His death occurred 
 in 1884; his widow still resides at Stur- 
 geon Bay. They reared a family of five 
 children, all yet living, 'namely: Hans 
 Jacob (our subject) ; Olaf and Ole B., who 
 reside in Sturgeon Bay township; Mollie, 
 married to Louis Anderson, of Liberty 
 Grove township, and Amelia, wife of 
 Thomas Knapp, of Manitowoc county. 
 
 Our subject received a practical edu- 
 cation in the public schools of Sturgeon 
 Bay township, and as he grew to man- 
 hood worked on a farm. In 1886 he 
 bought 120 acres in Nasewaupee town- 
 ship, and has cleared eighty acres of it, 
 which he now owns and occupies. In 
 1872 he was married to Miss Louisa 
 Almeda Bernard, who was born in New 
 York State, daughter of John and Elizabeth 
 Bernard. Her father was born in F"rance, 
 and came to Nasewaupee township. Wis. , 
 in 1868; he died in Door county in 1882; 
 
 the mother died while the}" were living in 
 New York. Mr. Olson belongs to the 
 Republican party, and takes much inter- 
 est in politics, although he does not aspire 
 to office. He has had a family of chil- 
 dren as follows: Viola, now the wife of 
 John Magnusson, of Mihvaukee (they have 
 two children, viz. : Sidney Lloyd and 
 Daisy Almeda); Effie Rosetta, who is 
 married to Alex. Eliason, of Milwaukee; 
 Mate Hilton, has one child, Daisy Almeda; 
 Bert, and Daisy Almeda, who died in 
 1892, at the age of sixteen years and 
 ten months. 
 
 LORENZ C. FENSEL is a native 
 of Kewaunee, born June i, 1870. 
 His father, Conrad Fensel, was 
 born near the city of Erlangen, 
 Bavaria, Germany, October 28, 1837, 
 and from the age of fourteen to the time 
 he was seventeen served an apprentice- 
 ship at the tinner's trade. Leopold Fen- 
 sel, father of Conrad, was a blacksmith 
 and a man of excellent standing, having 
 served as mayor of his town, besides 
 holding several minor offices. 
 
 In i860 Conrad came to America and 
 located in Kewaskum, Washington Co., 
 Wis., but in April of the ne.xt year en- 
 listed, at Milwaukee, in Company F, 
 Sixth Wis. V. I., for three months; here- 
 enlisted in the same regiment for three 
 3'ears, and was honorably discharged July 
 15, 1864. His regiment, one of the old 
 "Iron Brigade," fought at Gainesville, 
 Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellors- 
 ville, Gett3'.sburg, Jerichoford, Cold Har- 
 bor and Petersburg. Mr. Fensel was 
 taken prisoner at Gettysburg in July, 
 1863, and was sent to Andersonville 
 Prison, but was soon exchanged, which 
 was his only absence from roll-call dur- 
 ing his whole service, and at his discharge 
 he was highly complimented by nis 
 superior officers for his bravery and sol- 
 dierly bearing. On his return to Milwau- 
 kee he immediately sent to Germany for 
 his betrothed, Miss Margaret Theuers- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 701 
 
 bacher, and their marriage took place in 
 Milwaukee, December 18, 1864. During 
 the following four years he worked at his 
 trade in Milwaukee and Grafton, and in 
 1868 came to Kewaunee. Here he started 
 in the business for himself, which he fol- 
 lowed until his death, July 15, 1876. 
 He was a Republican, had been city 
 treasurer, and filled several other offices 
 of trust, and was honored and respected 
 by all who knew him. He also organized 
 the Fire Department of Kewaunee, and 
 superintended the laying of the water 
 mains, expending considerable time and 
 money. 
 
 Mrs. Conrad Fensel was born, in 1838, 
 in the city of Erlangen. Her father was 
 of French descent, and by trade was a 
 tanner. After her husband's death, Mrs. 
 Fensel, with the assistance of her chil- 
 dren, continued the business until Octo- 
 ber, 1 89 1, when her son Lorenz C. bought 
 the concern, which he still carries on. 
 Lorenz attended the district and high 
 schools cf Kewaunee until he was seven- 
 teen years old, w'hen he began clerking 
 for his mother, and so continued until he 
 bought out the business. He still makes 
 his home, however, with his mother. Mr. 
 Fensel is a stanch Republican, and takes 
 an active part in national and local poli- 
 tics, although he has never sought any 
 office. He has, however, served as sec- 
 retary of the board of education, and was 
 also a member of the county board for 
 the World's Fair. He is a charter mem- 
 ber of Kewaunee Chapter, Sons of Vet- 
 erans, and was adjutant and quarter- 
 master of the Wisconsin division of the 
 Order under Col. Wing. He is a strict 
 member of the Lutheran Church, and is 
 one of the most highly respected young 
 men of Kewaunee city. 
 
 On June 12, 1894, he was married 
 to Miss Minnie Klatt, of Ahnapee, Wis., 
 who was born November 2, 1875, in 
 West Kewaunee, moving with her parents 
 to Ahnapee in 1880. To this marriage 
 was born a daughter, named Melva, 
 March 31, 1895. 
 
 40 
 
 JOSEPH STONEMAN, who is suc- 
 cessfully engaged in farming in Sec- 
 tion 20, Forestville township. Door 
 county, was born on the farm, which 
 is still his home, July 8, 1857, and is a 
 worthy representative of one of the promi- 
 nent pioneer families of that county. 
 
 His father, John Stoneman, was born 
 in England in 1808, was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native land, and in an early 
 day crossed the ocean to the New World, 
 taking up his residence in Racine county, 
 Wis. , where he worked in shingle mills. 
 In that county he wedded Miss Mary 
 Venia, a native of Canada, and in 1855 
 brought his wife to Door county, locating 
 in the midst of the forest upon a tract of 
 wild land in Forestville township. There 
 he developed and improved a fine farm, 
 upon which he made his home until his 
 death, which occurred in May, 1885. 
 He took quite an active part in political 
 affairs, supported the Democratic party, 
 and served his fellow citizens as town 
 clerk; in religious belief he was a Catholic. 
 His wife preceded him to the better 
 world, having passed away April 1 7, 1 884. 
 They had a family of seventeen children, 
 six of whom are now living, and we have 
 the record of the following : John is 
 now deceased; William, who enlisted in 
 Company E, Fourteenth Wis. V. I., 
 during the Civil war, died in the hospital 
 at New Albany, Ind., while in the service; 
 Sophia is the wife of Andrew Sloan, of 
 Forestville township; Luke resides in 
 Nasewaupee township; Emily is the wife 
 of Ashley Coffrin, of Sturgeon Bay; George 
 resides at Egg Harbor; Joseph comes 
 next in order of birth; William is married 
 and lives in Nasewaupee township. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was reared 
 on the old homestead farm and acquired 
 his education in the common schools, 
 which he attended through the winter 
 season, while in the summer months he 
 aided in opening up the farm. His entire 
 life has been devoted to agricultural pur- 
 suits, and he is now the owner of 130 
 acres of good land, eighty of which have 
 
702 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 been cleared of a heavy growth of timber 
 and are now under a high state of culti- 
 vation. The fields arc well tilled, the 
 place is divided into fields of convenient 
 size by well-kept fences, and all the con- 
 veniences and accessories of a model farm 
 are there found. In connection with 
 general farming Mr. Stoneman engages 
 in stock raising and in supplying eggs and 
 butter to the Menomonee market. 
 
 In Forestville township, in i8S6, Mr. 
 Stoneman was married to Miss Bridget 
 Alice Mulvihill, who was born in Nase- 
 waupee township. Door county, a daugh- 
 ter of John and Bridget Mulvihill, natives 
 of Ireland, whence they came to Door 
 county in an early day, settling in Nase- 
 waupee township, where they spent the 
 remainder of their lives, the father dying 
 January 5, 1894, the mother April 28, 
 1889. Six children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Stoneman, three of whom are 
 at rest; those yet living are John, Joseph 
 and Leo. 
 
 In politics Mr. Stoneman votes with 
 the Republicans, and keeps well in- 
 formed on the issues of the day, but has 
 never sought or desired political prefer- 
 ment for himself, his time and attention 
 being largely taken up with his business in- 
 terests and the enjoytnent of home pleas- 
 ures. In religious faith he and his wife 
 hold membership with the Catholic 
 Church. Mr. Stoneman has been a wit- 
 ness of the greater part of the growth and 
 development of Door county, and has 
 ever given his hearty support and co- 
 operation to enterprises calculated to pro- 
 mote the general welfare; therefore in the 
 history of his native county he well 
 deserves representation. 
 
 FRANK PAULU, one of the ener- 
 getic and prosperous farmers of 
 West Kewaunee township, Kewau- 
 nee county, was born in Boiiemia 
 October i, 1837, and is a son of Joseph 
 and Frances Paulu, also natives of Bohe- 
 mia, who came directly from the old coun- 
 
 try to Kewaunee in 1857, where the 
 father. Joseph, purchased a farm, which 
 he cleared and culti\:ited until his death 
 in 1866. 
 
 Our subject, who is the second born 
 in a family of eight children, was educat- 
 ed in Bohemia, and was (]uite young when 
 he graduated in the classics. He came 
 to the United States with his parents and 
 a.ssisted on the farm until the breaking 
 out of the Civil war. when he enlisted in 
 Company (i, Ele\enth Wisconsin \'olun- 
 teer Infantrx, hut was not called out at 
 that time; in 1S65 he re-enlisted and was 
 in actual service about eight months, 
 when he receix^ed an honorable discharge. 
 His health was impaired while in the 
 army, and for about nine years he suffer- 
 ed from disease, .\fter fully recuperat- 
 ing he settled on the farm he now owns, 
 and on which he has met with much suc- 
 cess as an agriculturist. 
 
 On June 9, 1859, Mr. Paulu was 
 united in matrimony with Miss Mary 
 Shimon, only daughter of Lawrence and 
 Rosile Shimon, also natives of Bohemia. 
 She was born July 11, 1839, and came 
 with her parents to Wisconsin in 1856. 
 To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Paulu have 
 been born twelve children, named as fol- 
 lows: Mary, Frank, .Annie, Gustie, Emily, 
 Bozenna, Paulina, Joseph, John, Edward, 
 Adolph and Emanuel. Mr. Paulu has led 
 an industrious and consequently prosjier- 
 ous life, ami his standing in the esteem 
 of his neighbors is an enviable one. 
 
 CHRISTIAN FELSCHOW.a thriv- 
 ing farmer of Carlton township, 
 Kewaunee county, now residing 
 at Kewaunee, was born in Meck- 
 lenburg, Ciermany, May 16, 1842, and is 
 a son of Henry and Dora (Eversj Fels- 
 chow, both natives of Germany, the 
 former born in 1.S15, and was there mar- 
 ried in 1840. In 1853 he brought his 
 family to the United States and settled in 
 Carlton township, Kewaunee Co., \\'is. , 
 where he engaged in farming. Here he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 703 
 
 lost his wife in 1872, and he himself died 
 December 2, 1892. 
 
 Of their four children, Christian, the 
 subject of this sketch, the eldest born, 
 attended the public schools of his native 
 country until the departure of his parents 
 for the United State. The family landed 
 in New York, where they passed six 
 months, then came to Wisconsin, and for 
 three years li\ed in Milwaukee, finally set- 
 tling on the farm in Carlton township 
 alluded to above. Here Christian as- 
 sisted his father until twenty-two years of 
 age, when he started out in life for him- 
 self. He made a trip to Illinois, where 
 he worked a year at carpentering, after 
 which he returned to Carlton and jnir- 
 chased a farm on which he lived until 
 1874, when he sold out and bought the 
 farm he at present occupies, and which 
 he has improved nith a fine brick dwell- 
 ing and substantial farm buildings, and 
 surrounded with a fine fence. He has 
 also received a bequest of eight}' acres 
 from his father, and is now one of the 
 solid farmers of Carlton township. For 
 six years he \\as school treasurer, then 
 clerk of the school board till he sold out 
 there, and for ten years has been treas- 
 urer of the Forest Hill Cemetery Associa- 
 tion. Socially he is a member of the 
 Sons of Hermann. 
 
 Mr. Felschow was married April 14, 
 1864, to Catharine Luttjohann, who was 
 born in Germany in 1847, and to this 
 union have been born four children: Ed- 
 ward H., Ella, Hulda and Lillie. The 
 family are Lutheran in their religious 
 faith, and none are held in higher esteem 
 by the citizens of the township. 
 
 AUGUST BOHNE, an enterprising 
 and progressive citizen of Kewau- 
 nee, was born at Mequon, Wis., 
 March 14, 1851, and is a son of 
 Frederick and Teressa (Zenker) Bohne. 
 The father was a native of Saxony, Ger- 
 many, born in 1802, was a shoemaker by 
 trade, and was married to his second wife 
 
 (the mother of our subject) in 1S40. In 
 1 844 he came to America, located on 
 public land at Mequon, Ozaukee Co., 
 Wis. , and for nine years was employed in 
 clearing away the heavy timber; he then 
 went to Port Ulao, in the same county, 
 where he lived four years, settling there- 
 after permanently in Kewaunee county, 
 where he had previously bought a heavily 
 timbered tract of land, comprising 640 
 acres, and for the first few years again 
 followed lumbering. In 1870 he moved 
 to Kewaunee village, where he embarked 
 in business, and died in June, 1874. His 
 widow then married John Besserdich, and 
 died in Kewaunee January 25, 1894. 
 
 The subject proper of these lines had 
 very few school advantages, as he assisted 
 his father until the age of fifteen, when 
 he was apprenticed to a blacksmith, for 
 whom he worked two years, and then re- 
 turned to the farm, where he lived until 
 1870, at which time he started in life for 
 himself with a capital consisting of will- 
 ing hands and a cheerful heart. He fol- 
 lowed well-digging and boring, afterward, 
 in 1874, adding pumps to his business, 
 and has been quite successful. He was 
 married October 20, 1874, to Crescencia 
 Mintz. The father of this lady was a 
 native of Bavaria, and came to America 
 in 1857, settling in Kewaunee county, 
 where he died in 1876; his widow, who 
 was also a native of Bavaria, and who 
 bore the maiden name of Margaret Feira, 
 survived until 1893. To the marriage of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bohne have been born four 
 children, named, respectively: Maggie, 
 Willie, Anna and Theodore. 
 
 In his business Mr. Bohne employs 
 from three to fifteen hands, is fully equip- 
 ped with all the modern implements for 
 digging, boring and drilling wells and has 
 shown himself to be a man of enterprise 
 and sound judgment. Politically he has 
 always been a Democrat, and has been 
 treasurer of Kewaunee, a member of the 
 Fire Department eighteen years, of the 
 Police Force three years, and in 1894 was 
 a member of the City Council. Socially he 
 
704 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE DIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is a member of the Sons of Hermann. 
 Mrs. Bohne is a consistent member of the 
 Cathohc Church. 
 
 JACOB BLAHNIK, one of success- 
 ful self-made farmers and large land- 
 owners of Ahnapee township, Ke- 
 waunee county, was born August, 
 1838, in Bohemia, son of George Blah- 
 nik, a native of the same countrj'. 
 
 George Blahnik was reared on a 
 farm and when a young man married 
 Katharine Blaha, also a Bohemian by 
 birth, who bore him six children, as fol- 
 lows: Mathias, of Casco, Kewaunee Co., 
 Wis. ; Jacob, whose name opens this 
 sketch; and George, Joseph, John, and 
 Anton, of Ahnapee township, Kewaunee 
 Co., Wis., all born in Bohemia except 
 Anton. In 1855 the father brought his 
 family to the United States, and coming 
 directly to Wisconsin, purchased eighty 
 acres of timber land in Ahnapee township, 
 Kewaunee county, on which he located, 
 immediately commencing the clearing of 
 the place for farming. He was the third 
 settler in that part of Ahnapee, which at 
 that early day was almost a perfect 
 wilderness, and passed through many 
 hardships incident to the life of a pioneer 
 in such a region. Later he purchased 
 240 acres more of land, all of which he 
 improved and equipped with good build- 
 ings, acquiring a comfortable share of this 
 world's goods. His death took place in 
 1893, that of his wife in 1S91. They 
 were members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 Jacob Blahnik, our subject, was edu- 
 cated in his native tongue, and was 
 seventeen years of age when he came 
 with his parents to the United States. 
 When nineteen years old he was united in 
 marriage with Katharine Gatina, also a 
 native of Bohemia, of German descent, 
 born in 1S44. She is the mother of four- 
 teen children, four of whom are deceased, 
 the living being Joseph (of Menomonee), 
 Katharine (now Mrs. William McCory, 
 of Chicago), Barbara (of Chicago), Annie, 
 
 Mar}', Lena, Amelia, Jacob, George and 
 Michael. Mr. Blahnik was reared to 
 farming pursuits, and after his marriage 
 purchased forty acres of land, locating 
 upon which he engaged in general agricul- 
 ture. He subsequently purchased more 
 land, now owning 215 acres, well im- 
 proved with good buildings, fences, etc., 
 and he ranks among the substantial well- 
 to-do farmers of his township. The fine 
 property he now owns has been accumu- 
 lated by his own unceasing industry and 
 good business management, qualities 
 which he possesses to an unusual degree. 
 Mr. Blahnik is a member of the Demo- 
 cratic party in political affiliation, and 
 has filled several local offices of trust. He 
 and his family are members of the Catho- 
 lic Church of Ahnapee, and he is a mem- 
 ber of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. 
 
 JOSEPH SOUTHARD CORNELL is 
 the eldest of eleven children. His 
 mother, Elizabeth Southard Cornell, 
 was a native of Lower Canada and 
 of Scotch extraction. His father, James 
 Cornell, a farmer by occupation, was born 
 in New York State, where he was mar- 
 ried. He moved first to Michigan, then 
 back to New York, thence to Illinois, and 
 subsequently to Washington Island, Door 
 Co., Wis. Later in life he removed to 
 Green Bay, at which place he died in 
 1882. He was an honored member of the 
 M. E. Church, and a most useful member 
 of society. His children are: Joseph, 
 our subject; Thomas, who resides in 
 Homer, III.; Elizabeth, married to Harri- 
 son Root, and residing at Baileys Har- 
 bor; Jane, married to Joseph Anderson, 
 and living at Sturgeon Bay; Mary Anna, 
 married to Walice Boyce, and making her 
 home at Escanaba, Mich.; John F. , of 
 Middle Inlet, Mich. ; Margaret, married to 
 Abner Cady, and residing in Kansas, and 
 Euretta, now Mrs. Hiram Willman, of 
 Fort River, Michigan. 
 
 Our subject was born in Pontiac, Oak- 
 land Co., Mich., July 14, 1830, where his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 705 
 
 parents had removed when first coming 
 west from New York; and returning to 
 the Empire State at the time he had 
 reached the school age, he received his 
 education there. His father was a farmer, 
 and the lad early learned to assist with 
 the work. At the age of twelve years he 
 left home, and continued to work at com- 
 mon labor until he had reached his ma- 
 jority. In 1847 he removed to Illinois 
 with his parents, where he was married, 
 in 1857, to Miss Rachel Stewart, who 
 was born in Cook county. 111., January 
 18, 1835, daughter of Nathan and Emily 
 (Brooks) Stewart. Mr. Stewart was of 
 Scotch lineage, his early ancestors being 
 Quakers who settled in Pennsylvania in 
 the time of William Penn. After his mar- 
 riage Mr. Cornell removed to Washing- 
 ton Island, Wis., and, until 1862, fol- 
 lowed the occupation of fishing. On 
 August 2, 1862, he enlisted in Company 
 B, 105th 111. V. I., served under Theodore 
 Rogers, took part in the engagement at 
 Resaca (Ga.), May 15, 1864, and accom- 
 panied Gen. Sherman in his famous march 
 to the sea. He was honorably discharged 
 July 7, 1865, and returned to Illinois, 
 where he followed farming four years, 
 then traveled for a firm in Aurora, 111. , 
 one year, after which he came to Wash- 
 ington Island, Wis., and bought forty 
 acres of land. He cleared the timber 
 from same, and has since occupied him- 
 self in tilling the soil; later he purchased 
 more land, and now owns 120 acres, 
 thirty of which are improved. Two years 
 of his residence in this place he spent in 
 fishing. He is in reality one of the oldest 
 settlers on this Island, having owned 
 property here since 1867. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Cornell is a stanch 
 Republican, and has filled the office of 
 justice of the peace for seventeen years. 
 His health was materially injured during 
 his service in the war, and he now draws 
 a pension from the government. He is 
 the father of eleven children: James, 
 Emily (now Mrs. Edward Petersen, of 
 Washington Island), Edward, Lenora 
 
 (now Mrs. Thomas Madden, of Sheboy- 
 gan, Wis.), Elmer, Ulysses, Albert (de- 
 ceased), Byron, Eva, Alfred and Newell. 
 Mr. Cornell is a member of the Methodist 
 Church, in which faith his family are in 
 sympathy. 
 
 ALFRED ANDERSON, who has 
 been police watchman of Bay 
 View, Door county, since June, 
 1894, has been a farmer of Stur- 
 geon Bay township for a number of years 
 past, and is well known in his locality- 
 He was born in 1850 in Sweden, son 
 of Andres and Anna (Johnson) Ingleson, 
 farming people of that country, the former 
 of whom died there in 1883 on the old 
 farm, the latter still living in her native 
 country. Their children were as follows: 
 Alfred, our subject; John, who came first 
 to Brown county. Wis. , and now resides 
 in California; Mangus, a resident of Cali- 
 fornia, engaged in repairing railroad 
 bridges, being a carpenter by trade; Otto, 
 also of California; Fred, who was drowned 
 in Sweden, and Emma and Celia, married 
 and living in Sweden. 
 
 Our subject obtained his education in 
 the common schools of Sweden, remain- 
 ing there until sixteen years of age, when 
 he went to Arendal, Norway, and there 
 learned the trade of ship carpenter. In 
 that country he followed same until 1871, 
 in that year coming to America and to 
 Green Bay, Wis., where he found work 
 on the Chicago & North Western railroad. 
 He soon returned to his trade, however, 
 and entering the employ of Thomas 
 Spears, worked for him at various places 
 in Wisconsin — Green Bay, Little Stur- 
 geon, Sturgeon Bay, Menomonee and 
 Ozaukee. He also worked at Ahnapee, 
 and coming to Sturgeon Bay in 1877, 
 assisted in the construction of the tug 
 "John Leathern." Here he was em- 
 ployed by A. W. Lawrence for a time, 
 and then resolved to commence on his 
 own account. He bought forty acres of 
 land in the midst of the woods, which he 
 
7o6 
 
 COMMEMORATI\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bejifan immediately to clear, and now has 
 thirty-five acres well improved and under 
 cultivation. In 1893 he built a sub- 
 stantial brick residence (with stone foun- 
 dation) 20x32, one story and a half in 
 height, with a one-story "L" 18x22. 
 In addition to this he is the owner of 
 property in Bay \'iew, all accumulated 
 since his residence in Door county b>' his 
 own industry and perseverance. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Anderson was married, 
 in Green Bay, to Anna Sophia Mauver, a 
 native of Sweden, to which union have 
 been born seven children, namely: Annie, 
 Freddie, Emma. Lida, Charlie, Cora and 
 Dona. Mr. Anderson is a Republican in 
 political preference, and takes a lively 
 interest in the success of his party. He 
 was appointed to his present position by 
 the city council in June, 1894. Socially 
 he is a member of Peninsula Lodge, No. 
 320, I. O. O. F. 
 
 JOHN H. ROONEY, postmaster at 
 Kewaunee, was born in what was 
 then known as the village of Kewau- 
 nee, Wis., March 31, 1861, and is 
 the eldest in the family of eleven chil- 
 dren — four sons and seven daughters, of 
 whom four are deceased — born to Patrick 
 J. and Mary E. Rooney. 
 
 When our subject was ten years of 
 age the family went to Minnesota, then 
 to Nebraska, were absent six months and 
 then returned to Wisconsin, passing six 
 months in Milwaukee, and finally return- 
 ing to Kewaunee, where Mr. Rooney re- 
 ceived his education in the district school. 
 At the age of seventeen he began teach- 
 ing, which vocation occupied his time and 
 attention five years, and he then passed 
 another year in Milwaukee. On his re- 
 turn he was appointed, in 1886, as under 
 sheriff, two years later as deputy sheriff, 
 and for two years additional, in 1891-92, 
 was sheriff of the county. He has, be- 
 sides, served as city clerk and constable, 
 and in 1893 was appointed assistant ser- 
 geant-at-arms of the Wisconsin Assembly, 
 
 being in politics a stanch Democrat and 
 taking an active interest in that party's 
 affairs in National, State and county con- 
 tests. In June, 1893, he was appointed 
 postmaster of Kewaunee, the office being 
 then of the fourth class, but since raised 
 to the third class. 
 
 Mr. Rooney is a member of the Sons 
 of Veterans, and is financial secretary 
 and treasurer of Branch No. 32, Catholic 
 Knights of Wisconsin, but is not con- 
 nected with any secret order. He was 
 married July 11, 1882, to Miss Sophia 
 Melera, daughter of Felix Melera, an 
 early settler of Kewaunee county, a man 
 of much prominence, having been sheriff 
 of the county, besides filling a number of 
 other offices and being at present a mem- 
 ber of the city council of Kewaunee. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rooney have been born 
 three sons and three daughters, of whom 
 Louis H. and Henry L. are deceased. 
 The survivors are Laura E., Walter F., 
 Flora May and Estella. Mr. and Mr. 
 Rooney are devout Catholics, and stand 
 very high in the esteem of the inhabitants 
 of the city and county. 
 
 Judge P. J. Rooney, father of John 
 H. Rooney, was born in County Down, 
 Ireland, February 14, 1839. 
 
 About the year 1846 he came to 
 America with his parents, who first locat- 
 ed at New Bedford, Mass., where they 
 lived for about one year, when they re- 
 moved to Milwaukee. There he received 
 a good common-school education, and at 
 the age of fifteen years commenced to 
 learn the printer's trade, which he follow- 
 ed until 1857, when he removed with his 
 parents to Pierce, Kewaunee county, 
 where he engaged in farming. In 1859 
 he set up the type for the first edition of 
 the Kewaunee Enterprise, nearly thirty- 
 five years ago. On August 21, 1862, he 
 enlisted under Capt. Chas. H. Cunning- 
 ham, in Company A, Twenty-seventh 
 Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, as private, 
 was promoted to corporal, and served 
 honorably and with credit to himself. On 
 account of disability he was honorably 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 707 
 
 discharged from the service at Clarksville, 
 Texas, on the 31st of July 1865. Return- 
 ing to Kewaunee, he again devoted his 
 time to farming until 1871, when he 
 sold his farm and took a trip to Minnesota 
 and Nebraska, returning to Milwaukee in 
 July, 1872, where he remained about one 
 year. Once more coming to Kewaunee, 
 he engaged with the late John M. Read to 
 take charge of the Kewaunee Enterprise, 
 having full charge of the publication of 
 the paper for three years. Judge Rooney 
 was town superintendent of schools in the 
 earl)' history of Kewaunee, also town 
 clerk, and was elected town treasurer in 
 1866, which office he held until 1 871; in 
 1874 he was elected clerk of the circuit 
 court, filling the place with marked ability 
 for twelve years. In 1887 he was ap- 
 pointed mail carrier for the House of 
 Representatives at Washington, but was 
 obliged to relinquish that position on ac- 
 count of ill health, and his son Franklin 
 was appointed in his place. In 1889 he 
 was elected county judge, which position 
 he was holding at the time of his death. 
 Judge Rooney was married in i860 to 
 Mary E. Allen, of New York State, who 
 survives him, and by her he had eleven 
 children, seven of whom are still living, 
 viz.: John H., William P., Mary E., 
 Frank A., Agnes A., Charlotte I. and 
 Regina. It is doubtful if ever a man 
 lived in Kewaunee county who enjoyed a 
 more extended acquaintance or had more 
 ardent friends than the late Patrick J. 
 Rooney. 
 
 WILLIAM STONEMAN.a promi- 
 nent manufacturer of Nasewau- 
 pee township, Door count}', was 
 born in Forestville tovs'nship, 
 Door county. Wis., in 1865, a son of 
 John and Mary (Venia) Stoneman, the 
 former of whom, a native of England, 
 came to Racine, Wis., in 1835. After 
 his marriage there, in 1S55, he removed 
 to Door county, locating in Forestville 
 
 township on a farm. He was one of the 
 earliest settlers in this locality and was 
 greatly respected by all who knew him. 
 He took an active interest in politics, 
 always voting the Democratic ticket; 
 served as chairman of the township for 
 some time, and gave universal satisfaction 
 while in office. He and his excellent wife 
 were members of the Catholic Church. 
 They reared a family of seventeen chil- 
 dren, of whom but six are now living, as 
 follows: Sophia is the wife of Andrew 
 Sloan, of Forestville township; Luke is a 
 farmer of Nasewaupee township; Amelia 
 is the wife of Ashley Coffrin, of Sturgeon 
 Bay; George resides at Monument Point, 
 Egg Harbor township; Joseph lives in 
 Forestville township, on the old farm; 
 William is the subject of this sketch. 
 The mother departed this life in 1884, the 
 father one year later, both dying upon 
 the old homestead. 
 
 William Stoneman was educated in 
 the schools of Forestville township, where 
 his early life was spent. After leaving 
 school he learned the carpenter's trade, 
 and removing to Menominee, Mich., there 
 followed that vocation. Later he returned 
 to Door Co. , Wis. , this time locating in 
 Nasewaupee township, where he built a 
 cheese factory, which is situated four 
 miles from Sturgeon Bay. In 1891 he 
 engaged in manufacturing cheese, the out- 
 put from his factory per season amount- 
 ing to 40,000 pounds. He still continues 
 in this business, finding it a most lucrative 
 one. In politics, like his father, he is a 
 Democrat, and he has held numerous 
 township offices, at the present time serv- 
 ing his second term as township clerk. 
 He is affiliated with the Catholic Order 
 of Foresters, and is a member of the 
 Catholic Church. In 1889 Mr. Stone- 
 man was married to Miss Kate Murray, 
 daughter of John and Jane (Maloney) 
 Murray, natives of Ireland. Mr. Murray, 
 who at one time was a sailor, came to 
 Wisconsin and settled in Nasewaupee 
 township in 1 866, where he purchased the 
 farm on which he now resides. Mr. and 
 
7oS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 Mrs. Stoneman have three children: Earl, 
 Jennie and Phebe. 
 
 Although our subject is still a very 
 young man, and was born in this county,, 
 he has witnessed remarkable changes in 
 the surrounding country. Where twenty- 
 five years ago the sight of a deer was an 
 ordinary circumstance; where the wolves 
 and the bears, made bold by hunger, oc- 
 casionally visited the lonely pioneer 
 cabins, and where the vision was then 
 limited to a few hundred yards because of 
 the forest trees, there now appear com- 
 modious farm houses and vast fields of 
 growing grain with only now and then a 
 bit of wood, adding, if anything, to the 
 beauty of the landscape. He has, liter- 
 ally speaking, grown up with the country, 
 and takes an honest pride in its rapid de- 
 velopment, noting, with satisfaction, its 
 continuous changes for the better; as a 
 father would watch the mental unfold- 
 ment of his favorite child. 
 
 PETER JONET, farmer of Luxem- 
 burg township, Kewaunee county, 
 was born in Belgium in the month 
 of August, 1834, son of Frank and 
 Frances (Polisc) Jonet, who with their 
 family crossed the ocean to the United 
 States during the early childhood of our 
 subject. The vessel in which they 
 sailed arrived at New York, and from 
 that city they came to ICewaunee county. 
 Wis., taking up their residence upon an 
 eighty-acre tract in Section 5, Luxem- 
 burg township, which the father pur- 
 chased. The country all around was 
 covered with a dense growth of timber, 
 through which no roads had been cut, 
 and their provisions had to be carried 
 from Bay Settlement, for they had no 
 team. An a.\e and a grub hoe constitut- 
 ed their farm implements, and they 
 started to open up a new farm and secure 
 a home in the West. Soon afterward Mr. 
 Jonet sold twenty acres of his first pur- 
 chase, and bought another tract or forty 
 acres, making in all one hundred acres. 
 
 By trade he was a mason, but in this 
 country he devoted all his time and ener- 
 gies to agricultural pursuits. The family 
 numbered si.\ children, in order of birth 
 named as follows: John, Peter, Celia, 
 Peter, Adele and Joseph. 
 
 The gentleman whose name opens this 
 sketch always lived with his parents, and 
 like a dutiful son gave his father the 
 benefit of his services in his younger 
 years. He is familiar with the arduous 
 task of improving wild land, and also with 
 the other hardships and difficulties inci- 
 dent to life on the frontier. At an early 
 age he began work in the fields, and soon 
 became familiar with farm work in its 
 various departments. In 1857, when 
 twenty-three years of age, Mr. Jonet was 
 united in marriage with Miss Adele Del- 
 core, and they have always lived upon 
 the old homestead. Their union has 
 been blessed with seven children: Felix, 
 Theresa, Eugene, Philip, Minnie, Adele, 
 Frank and Joseph. 
 
 Mr. Jonet is a representative farmer, 
 and successfully manages his business in- 
 terests. He now has sixty acres of his 
 one-hundred-acre farm under a high state 
 of cultivation, and the rich and fertile 
 fields yield to him a comfortable income 
 in return for the care and labor he be- 
 stows upon them. In addition to the 
 cultivation of his farm he is also engaged 
 in the saloon business. He votes with 
 the Republican party, and both he and 
 his wife hold membership with the Catho- 
 lic Church. 
 
 ALFRED OLANDER was born in 
 Finland, Russia, Februarj- 22, 
 1856, and is the sixth in order of 
 birth in a family of eight children — 
 Johanna, Sophia, August, Louise, John, 
 Alfred, Otto and Axel — all of whom are 
 }et living; but only Alfred, John and Otto 
 are in America. The parents are Hans 
 and Maria (Westerlund) Olander, and the 
 father was a sailor. 
 
 The subject proper of this sketch re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQBAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 709 
 
 ceived the educational advantages afforded 
 by common schools, and at the age of 
 seventeen years shipped before the mast. 
 He first sailed from Finland to England, 
 thence to the East Indies, returning after 
 a two-years' voyage. The ne.xt trip was 
 from Sweden to England, during which 
 the vessel was wrecked, though none on 
 board were lost. Going to Swansea, 
 Wales, Mr. Olander there boarded an En- 
 glish vessel bound for Africa and the East 
 Indies; then sailed to the Island of Cey- 
 lon and Australia, after which he returned 
 to Europe, landing in Germany, having 
 spent fourteen months on that trip. On 
 a Nova Scotia vessel he went to Phila- 
 delphia, Penn. ; then to Amsterdam, Hol- 
 land, where he joined the crew of an En- 
 glish vessel bound for Wales, the East 
 Indies and Germany. For twelve years 
 he followed the sea, and during that time 
 experienced a number of narrow escapes 
 that would make the strongest minds 
 shudder. 
 
 In 1 88 1 Mr. Olander was united in 
 marriage with Miss Johanna Brann, daugh- 
 ter of Jacob and Maria (Grandroot) 
 Brann, and sailed for the State of Wash- 
 ington, but landed first at San Fran- 
 cisco, Cal., whence he made his way to 
 Washington. There he was employed in 
 a sawmill for a year, at the end of which 
 time he came to Baileys Harbor, working 
 in the woods for a year. Purchasing 120 
 acres of wild and unimproved land, he 
 cleared a space large enough to build a 
 house on, and then began the develop- 
 ment of a farm. For ten years he had 
 no team, and with some difficulty carried 
 on agricultural pursuits, but has now 
 thirty acres under cultivation and is mak- 
 ing for himself and family a good home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Olander have four chil- 
 dren: Alfred, August, Mary and Lena, 
 three of whom are now attending school. 
 The parents are faithful members of the 
 Lutheran Church; in politics Mr. Olander 
 is a Democrat, and takes a warm interest 
 in the welfare of his party and its suc- 
 cess. He served for one year as consta- 
 
 ble, is now filling the office of supervisor, 
 and in his public duties he is ever true. 
 Whatever success he has achieved in life 
 is due to his own efforts, and his example 
 of perseverance and industry is well wor- 
 thy of emulation. 
 
 M 
 
 ATHIAS MATHISON, who de- 
 votes his time and energies to 
 agricultural pursuits in Clay 
 Banks township. Door county, 
 was born January 17, 1867, a son of 
 Mathias Mathison, a farmer by occupa- 
 tion, who married Clara Oleson, by whom 
 he had six children: Inga, John, Chris- 
 tian, Anna, Burt and Mathias. 
 
 In the land of his nativity our subject 
 acquired a fair education, which has been 
 supplemented by a knowledge gained 
 through reading and experience, until he 
 is now a well-informed man. In 18S0, 
 when a youth of thirteen years, he crossed 
 the ocean, landingat Philadelphia, whence 
 he proceeded to La Crosse, Wis. After 
 being employed in a sawmill in that city 
 for about six months, he came to Clay 
 Banks township, Door county, and en- 
 tered the employ of his brother John, a 
 farmer of that locality, by whom he was 
 employed one summer. During the suc- 
 ceeding winter he worked in the lumber 
 woods, after which he returned to his 
 brother John's farm, but when a few 
 months had passed he removed to Mich- 
 igan, where he sought and obtained em- 
 ployment as a farm hand. Again he went 
 to the home of his brother, and once more 
 worked in the lumber woods through the 
 winter season. His next place of resi- 
 dence was Sturgeon River, Mich., where 
 he found employment in a sawmill for a 
 time, subsequently being engaged at lum- 
 bering until his marriage, his services in 
 that line requiring his residence at La- 
 Crosse (Wis.), Winona (Minn.), and Good- 
 hue county (Minnesota). 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Mathison returned to 
 Door county, and, purchasing forty acres 
 of land in Clay Banks township, began 
 
flO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the development and cultivation of a 
 farm, which he has since operated. His 
 preparations for a home were completed 
 by his marriage to Miss Lena Hanson, 
 who was born June 17, 1852. Their 
 union has been blessed with five children, 
 of whom three are living: Martin, Ber- 
 nard and Henry, Clara and Bertha, twin 
 daughters, both dying in 1890. The 
 mother is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church, and is a most estimable lady, 
 highly esteemed by all who know her. 
 Mr. Mathison votes with the Republican 
 party, and has served as path master, but 
 devotes the greater part of his time and 
 attention to the management of his farm, 
 which has been increased by the additional 
 purchase of forty acres, until it now com- 
 prises eighty acres of rich land. It has 
 all been cleared by the owner, and the 
 improvements thereon stand as monu- 
 ments to his thrift and enterprise, while 
 its neat appearance indicates his careful 
 and thorough supervision. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM ROGERS, coun- 
 ty clerk of Kewaunee count}', was 
 born in the county of Gloucester, 
 province of New Brunswick, in 
 the year 1838. His father, Charles 
 Rogers, was born in Queen's county. New 
 Brunswick, and early engaged in lumber- 
 ing. In the fall of 1S49 the latter came 
 to Wisconsin, locating at Sheboygan, his 
 family following in the spring of 1850, 
 and there he continued in the lumbering 
 business until the fall of the latter year, 
 when he moved with his family to Two 
 Rivers. Remaining there until 1851, he 
 ne.xt moved to Carlton, Kewaunee county, 
 where he lived until 1855, in which year 
 he returned, with his family, to Glouces- 
 ter, N. B. In 1863 he and family again 
 came to Carlton, where the father passed 
 the remainder of his days, dying in 1878. 
 His children were nine in number — six 
 sons and three daughters. 
 
 William Rogers, the subject proper of 
 this sketch, was the fourth in order of 
 
 birth of the nine children above alluded 
 to. He was educated in the common 
 schools of New Brunswick and of Kewau- 
 nee county, and after quitting school 
 assisted his father in lumbering and shin- 
 gle making until he had attained the age 
 of twenty-three years, when he married 
 Miss Jane Powers, daughter of Martin 
 Powers, of Kewaunee county. He then 
 purchased a farm in Carlton township, on 
 which he and his family still reside, and 
 where he follows the vocation of an agri- 
 culturist. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 and in 1.878 he was elected supervisor of 
 his town, and was chairman of the board 
 until 1888. In 1 88 1 he was elected a 
 member of the lower house of the State 
 Legislature and served one term; in 1888 
 he was elected county clerk, a position he 
 has filled to the entire satisfaction of the 
 people of the county to the present daj'. 
 Socially he is a member of the Masonic 
 Order, of the I. O. O. F., of the Royal 
 Arcanum, and the K. of P., and, with 
 his wife and ten children, of the Catholic 
 Church. Mr. Rogers is thoroughly iden- 
 tified with the interests of Kewaunee 
 county, and is one of its most substantial 
 citizens. 
 
 ANDREW M. SCHLEIS, register 
 of deeds, Kewaunee, was born in 
 Germany about the j-ear i860, 
 and is a son of Andrew and Fran- 
 ces (Bohman) Schleis. 
 
 Andrew Schleis, Sr. , was an overseer 
 of timberlands in Germany, and came to 
 this country in 187 I, settling in the town 
 of Montpelier, in Kewaunee county. Wis. , 
 on a farm of fort)' acres, which he has 
 increased to 200 acres, and is now one of 
 the leading farmers of the count}-. He is 
 a Democrat in politics and a Catholic in 
 religion, and is highly respected by all 
 who know him. His children are three 
 in number, namely: Anton, who is a 
 farmer; Joseph, a sawmill proprietor, 
 and Andrew, the subject of this sketch. 
 Andrew Schleis received most of his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 711 
 
 education in the old country, which he 
 left when he was about twelve years of 
 age, and after coming to America worked 
 on the farm until seventeen years old, 
 when he went to Nebraska, there attend- 
 ing the English school four months. After 
 a year passed in Nebraska, in 1878, in 
 company with Anton Datel and Anton 
 Novak, he started with a horse team from 
 near Fremont. Neb., through the north- 
 ern part of the State, passing south to 
 Trego county, Kans., where he entered 
 land and remained one year, when he sold 
 his interest in the team and stock to An- 
 ton Datel, who in the meantime had mar- 
 ried and was living on his homestead. 
 Mr. Schleis then went to Topeka, Kans., 
 and worked on the State Capitol; thence 
 to Kansas City, Mo. , where he worked in 
 the depot six months; then returned to 
 his homestead in Kansas and made some 
 improvements. In the fall of 1879 he 
 visited Colorado, Mexico, Arizona, Utah 
 and Montana, following mining for a time, 
 or anything he could find to do. In 1880 
 he started on horseback from Trego 
 county, Kans. , through Kansas, Indian 
 Territory and Mexico, traveling over 600 
 miles, just to see the country. In 1882 
 he returned to his home in Kewaunee 
 county, and the winter of 1882-S3 he 
 spent in the lumber region of northern 
 Wisconsin; the summer of 1883 he passed 
 in Minnesota, returning to the Wisconsin 
 woods in the winter of 1884, and follow- 
 ing hunting for a livelihood. While thus 
 engaged, in company with Henry Conrad, 
 he was accidently shot in the right arm, 
 the bullet passing through the hand to 
 and above the elbow and grazing the 
 muscles of the shoulder. In this condi- 
 tion he was obliged to walk over eighty 
 miles, or three days and nights, through 
 rivers and swamps, before receiving at- 
 tention. He passed the following year on 
 his father's farm, recuperating. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Schleis took place 
 in the spring of 1886, to Miss Frances 
 Walachka, daughter of Joseph Walachka, 
 a farmer of Montpelier township, and to 
 
 the union have been born one son and 
 three daughters. Mr. Schleis is a mem- 
 ber of the I. O. O. F., of the Royal Ar- 
 canum, of the K. of P., and of the K. O. 
 T. M., and has held offices in all these 
 orders. In 1888 he was elected sheriff of 
 the count}', and in 1890 register of deeds, 
 and has proved to be a \-aluable and use- 
 ful citizen in every respect. 
 
 CLEMENT KILLMAN, county 
 clerk of Door county, at all times 
 courteous and obliging, and one 
 of the most respected citizens of 
 Sturgeon Bay, is a native of Sweden, 
 born in the city of Boras, Elfsborg, in 
 November, 1851. 
 
 His father, John Killman, was a 
 prominent attorney in Boras, where he 
 married Miss Anna Peterson, by whom he 
 had thirteen children, five of them now 
 living. He died in Sweden in 1866, and 
 in the spring of 1867 the mother and her 
 fatherless children came to the United 
 States, locating in Chicago, 111., where 
 she now resides. Clement was then in 
 his sixteenth year, a bright scholar, well 
 educated both at school and under private 
 tutors, privileges his father could well 
 afford him, having at one time been in 
 affluent circumstances, but he spent much 
 of his wealth traveling o\er Europe in 
 search of health. On reaching Chicago 
 our subject found employment in Field & 
 Leiter's store, where he remained about 
 half a year, at the end of that time at- 
 tending a school some six months, for the 
 purpose of improving himself in the En- 
 glish language. On leaving school he se- 
 cured a position in a fish store in Chicago; 
 but after six months in that occupation, 
 having bought an interest in some nets, 
 he for several years was engaged in the 
 fishing industry. In 1873 he moved to 
 Port Washington, Ozaukee Co., Wis., 
 there continuing that vocation until 1879, 
 the year of his coming to Door county, 
 where, in Union township, he resided 
 until 1 88 1, still engaged in the same line 
 
713 
 
 COMifEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of business, and employing several hands. 
 In the last-mentioned year he bought a 
 farm at Little Sturgeon, in Gardner town- 
 ship, whither he removed, and there re- 
 mained till 1890, when, having been 
 elected to the position of county clerk, he 
 came to Sturgeon Bay, selling out all his 
 fishing interests. He was elected to this 
 office by a majoritj' of 1 2 votes, and re- 
 elected in 1892 by a majority of 800, 
 which in itself testifies to his popularity. 
 In 1 88 1 Mr. Killman was married, at 
 Red River, Kewaunee Co., Wis., to Miss 
 Mary Barrett, a native of that county, 
 daughter of William and Theresa Barrett, 
 Belgians by birth who came to Kewaunee 
 county in an early day, and took up farm- 
 ing. They had a family of five children. 
 Politically Mr. Killman is a Republican 
 and while a resident of Gardner township 
 he served as chairman of the township 
 one term. He and his wife attend the 
 Moravian Church, and enjoy the esteem 
 and regard of the community at large. 
 
 JOHN WEITERMANN, Sr., is one 
 of the self-made men of Door county, 
 who by his own well-directed efforts 
 and good business ability has worked 
 his way upward from a humble position 
 to one of affluence, and his example may 
 well serve to encourage others. 
 
 He was born in the Kingdom of Ba- 
 varia, Germany, January 6, 1830, the 
 second son in a family of five children — 
 three sons and two daughters. His father, 
 George Weitermann, was a farmer, and 
 upon the old homestead John was reared 
 to manhood, attending school until four- 
 teen years of age. He then aided in the 
 cultivation of the farm until seventeen 
 years old, when he determined to try his 
 fortune in America, having heard much 
 of the advantages and opportunities here 
 afforded joung men, and in July, 1 847, 
 he sailed from Havre de Grace, France, 
 on a French vessel bound for Australia 
 by way of New York. After thirty-eight 
 days spent upon the bosom of the Atlan- 
 
 tic, he landed at New York City, and 
 spent two years in the Empire State, liv- 
 ing near Port Jervis, where he worked as 
 a farm hand. Mr. Weitermann had a 
 very limited capital at the time of his ar- 
 rival in this country, but he worked hard 
 and soon got a start in life. From New 
 York he came to Wisconsin, stopping first 
 in Milwaukee, but failing to find work 
 there he went to Walworth county, where 
 he engaged at farm labor for four months. 
 On the expiration of that period he re- 
 turned to Milwaukee, where he learned 
 the tanner's trade, working there until 
 1853, when he removed to Two Ri^•ers, 
 Wis. There he again engaged in tanning, 
 also keeping a boarding house for the 
 Wisconsin Leather Co., for about fifteen 
 years, doing a good business during that 
 time. 
 
 In Milwaukee, Wis., in 1852, Mr. 
 Weitermann married Philomena Magda- 
 lena Yost, who was born in Prussia in 
 1829, and when a young lady came to 
 the United States, landing in New Or- 
 leans; thence she went to Watertown, 
 Wis., where she had friends living. By 
 this union were born seven children, as 
 follows: Augustina, now the wife of 
 Albert Zico, of Minnesota; Charles, a 
 farmer of Jacksonport township; Lena, 
 wife of William Voeks, of Voseville, 
 Wis. ; John, who is also living in \'ose- 
 ville; Emma, wife of John Richter, of 
 Escanaba, Mich. ; Ernest, a resident farm- 
 er of Jacksonport township; and George 
 C, at home. The mother of this family 
 died in 1870, and was buried in the ceme- 
 tery in Centerville township, Manitowoc 
 Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Weitermann removed 
 from Two Rivers. Wis., and purchased a 
 farm in Centreville township, Manitowoc 
 county, which he partially improved, 
 making his home thereon until 1879, 
 when he went to Ahnapee, Wis. At that 
 place he engaged in the butchering busi- 
 ness and conducted a meat market until 
 1 88 1, when he came to Door county, lo- 
 cating in Section 32, Jacksonport town- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 713 
 
 ship, where he has since made his home. 
 The improvements upon the place were 
 all placed there by his own hands, and 
 the farm, with its highly cultivated fields 
 and modern conveniences, is one of the 
 best in that locality. In connection with 
 his sons, Mr. Weitermann at one time 
 owned 440 acres of land, but as the sons 
 have gone to homes of their own this has 
 been divided, though, in connection with 
 his son George, he still retains possession 
 of 280 acres, of which forty-five are 
 cleared and cultivated. 
 
 Our subject has ever been a hard 
 worker, and whatever success he has 
 achieved in life is due entirely to his own 
 efforts. In 1884 his left leg was broken, 
 and for some time his life was despaired 
 of; but his vigorous constitution and 
 naturally robust health at length tri- 
 umphed over disease and he recovered, 
 though he will always be a cripple. In 
 his political views, he has always been a 
 stalwart Democrat, and has served as 
 supervisor of his district, proving an effi- 
 cient and capable officer. He had but 
 limited educational privileges in his youth, 
 but possesses an observing eye and very 
 retentive memory and has made him- 
 self a well-informed man. His life has 
 been a busy and useful one, and he well 
 merits the high regard in which he is held 
 by his neighbors and friends. 
 
 CHARLES JESS, son of a worthy 
 old veteran of the German army, 
 was born March 23,1 846, m Schles- 
 wig-Holstein, Germany. His fa- 
 ther, Glaus Jess, was born in the same 
 place in 1820, passed his childhood on a 
 farm, and attended the common schools. 
 At the age of twenty years he entered 
 the German army, and that life suiting 
 him he remained a soldier the greater 
 part of his life. He was married to Miss 
 Elseba Rowher, who was born February 
 12, 1822, in the same section of the 
 country as himself, and five children 
 came to bless their home: Hans, the 
 
 youngest, who died of cholera in the 
 Philippine Islands; Charles, our subject, 
 in Washington Island, Wis. ; Elseba, 
 now living in Holstein, Germany; Annie, 
 of Hyde Park, Scotland, and Katharina, 
 who resides on the Island of Sylt, in the 
 North Sea. 
 
 Charles Jess, our subject, received an 
 excellent education in the German and 
 Danish languages, and was afterward 
 apprenticed to the blacksmith trade, which 
 he followed until 1866, the year of his 
 emigration to the United States. He 
 located in Sheboygan, Wis., and followed 
 his trade there until 1879, when he 
 moved to Washington Island, Door county, 
 Wis., continuing blacksmithing here for 
 six years, and then investing in eighty acres 
 of land, on which he has since lived. At 
 a later date he bought forty acres adjoin- 
 ing, and now owns a very fine farm of 
 120 acres. He had little money to start 
 with, but by careful economy, close at- 
 tention to business and good manage- 
 ment, he has acquired a splendid piece of 
 property, the value of which he has in- 
 creased by erecting good substantial build- 
 
 livmg 
 
 While 
 met and married 
 was born August 
 burg, Germany, 
 
 in Sheboygan Mr. Jess 
 Miss Mary Heker, who 
 18, 1852, in Mecklen- 
 and they have three 
 daughters: Laura, Clara and Agnes. Mr. 
 Jess and all of his family are members of 
 the Lutheran Church, to which his father 
 also belonged. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican, and has been elected a justice 
 of the peace; he has also been a school 
 officer for a number of years. 
 
 JOSEPH DEBEKER, a retired farm- 
 er residing in Red River township, 
 Kewaunee county, claims Belgium as 
 the land of his nativity. He was 
 born in October, 1837, the eldest of seven 
 children born to Louis and Albertine 
 (Nelis) Debeker, the former of whom was 
 a carpenter and joiner by trade. The 
 other members of their family were 
 
7H 
 
 CO.V.VEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Oliver, Adel. Clementine, Harriet, August 
 and John J. 
 
 Our subject has obtained his educa- 
 tion for the most part in the school of 
 experience. At the age of fifteen years 
 he began learning the carpenter's trade 
 with his father, for whom he worked 
 three years, and in i,S55 he accompanied 
 the family on their emigration to the New 
 World. After a long and tedious voyage 
 of sixty days they landed in New York, 
 thence making their way direct to Green 
 Bay, Wis. , where they arrived in the 
 month of August. They then came to 
 Kewaunee county, and a farm of forty 
 acres was purchased on Section 30, Red 
 River township. They went through all the 
 experiences and hardships of pioneer life, 
 and in the autumn after their arrival the 
 father had the misfortune to be struck by 
 a falling tree and severely injured, being 
 thus unfitted for work for some time. 
 Their first home was constructed merely 
 of brush, not even a log shanty being 
 erected until in the fall. They had no 
 team, and all of their provisions and 
 goods were carried from Bay Settlement 
 on their backs. 
 
 In the autumn of 1855 Joseph Ue- 
 beker started for Oconto in search of 
 work. He had not a cent in his pocket, 
 and was compelled to ask for the food 
 on which he lived until he could ob- 
 tain employment; but he was not very 
 long in securing the coveted work, en- 
 gaging as a farm hand at eighteen 
 dollars per month. For three months 
 and four days he remained at that 
 place, and then returned with a cash capi- 
 tal of fifty-five dollars. He found his 
 parents in \ery poor circumstances, their 
 money exhausted, and he gave them his 
 earnings to enable them to obtain the 
 necessities of life and continue the work 
 of iinpro\ing their farm. In the fall of 
 the next year he again went to Oconto, 
 the snow being at that time three and a 
 half feet deep, but while at work he cut 
 his foot \ery badly and was forced to re- 
 turn. In the winter of 1858 he again 
 
 started out in search of employment, 
 going to Green Bay, thence to Fond du 
 Lac, and on to Hartford, to Milwaukee 
 and Chicago, traveling all that distance 
 on foot and without a cent of money in 
 his pocket. After one summer spent in 
 the last named city, he made his way to 
 St. Louis, Mo., thence up the Missouri 
 ri\er, 500 miles to Leavenworth, Kansas. 
 
 While in Leavenworth Mr. Debeker 
 was married to Catherine Reis, and in 
 that city made his home until a year had 
 passed, working in a sawmill. His next 
 place of residence was upon a farm near 
 Rock Creek, Kans. , where he carried on 
 agricultural pursuits two years, returning 
 thence to his home in Wisconsin. Here 
 he purchased twenty acres of partially 
 improved land in Green Bay township, 
 operating same for two years, when he 
 was drafted for service in the army, but 
 he hired a substitute to go in his place, 
 and spent one summer in Hartford, \\'is. 
 Removing then to Red River township, 
 he bought forty acres of land on Section 
 16, but there continued for only one win- 
 ter, when he sought and obtained employ- 
 ment in a sawmill on the Bay Shore; but 
 after two weeks the mill was destroyed by 
 fire and he had to return to his farm. In 
 1 866 he purchased ten acres on Section 
 7, Red River township, and to it added 
 until the tract comprised sixty-five acres. 
 He then carried on farming until 1893, 
 and was very successful, managing his 
 affairs in such a manner that he obtained 
 a comfortable competency which now en- 
 ables him to live retired. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Debeker have been 
 born six children — J^osa, Joseph, Mary, 
 Sarah, Benjamin and Venerant — all of 
 whom are married and have gone to homes 
 of their own. The parents hold member- 
 ship with the Catholic Church, and in his 
 political \iews Mr. Debeker is a Republi- 
 can. He has supported that party since 
 its organization, and for six years has 
 served as chairman of the township board 
 of supervisors in a most creditable and 
 acceptable manner. His prosperity is the 
 
CO-VMEMORATTrE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I^S 
 
 reward of his own efforts. He has been 
 one of the most industrious of men, and 
 perseverance, economy and earnest labor 
 have brought to him a competence which 
 is well merited. 
 
 SOLON BIRMINGHAM was born 
 in the village of Black River, Jef- 
 ferson Co., N. Y., January 27, 
 1837, son of Richard Birming- 
 ham, who was born in England in i 800. 
 When a lad of nine years Richard Bir- 
 mingham was sent with a pitcher and 
 nine cents to get some milk, but he pos- 
 sessed an adventuresome disposition, and 
 throwing the pitcher over London bridge 
 he used the money, and then secured a 
 position as waiter boy on a boat bound 
 for Canada. He afterward enlisted in the 
 British service, and was stationed at Og- 
 densburg for some time. Later, with a 
 few companions, he went on the ice to 
 Morristown, N. Y., and then to Antwerp, 
 in the same State, and began farming on 
 the Russel turnpike, where he made his 
 first purchase of land. In that locality 
 he married Plumie Stone, a native of 
 Massachusetts, who removed to the Em- 
 pire State when a young lady, and they 
 became the parents of nine children — 
 Charles, who went to California and be- 
 came quite wealthy; Andrew, who died 
 in Door county in 1893; Sylvia, wife of 
 Mort Delano, of Pensaukee, Wis. ; George, 
 who is also living in Pensaukee, Wis. ; 
 Nancy, who became the wife of Peter Mc- 
 Intyre and died January 16, 1894; Susan; 
 Jessie, who is living in Pensaukee; Solon; 
 and Nelson. The father of this 
 died in February, 1852, and was 
 in the cemetery at Black River, 
 The mother died on the old homestead 
 farm, si.x miles from Watertown, N. Y., 
 in 1862. 
 
 Solon Birmingham received only a 
 meager education, but his training in farm 
 labor was not limited. On the death of 
 his father he started out in life for him- 
 self, working as a farm hand, and did 
 
 family 
 buried 
 N. Y. 
 
 such good service that he could always 
 return to a man for whom he had once 
 worked. At the age of twenty-two he 
 married an old schoolmate in Jefferson 
 county, N. Y. , Miss Jane Sancomb, who 
 was born in Franklin county, N. Y. , and 
 about three years later joined the boys in 
 blue. He enlisted in 1862, at the first 
 call for 300,000 troops, and was a mem- 
 ber of the Thirty-fifth Regiment, New 
 York State Militia, for two years. He 
 volunteered and served in Company K. 
 Tenth Heavy Artillery, and was first 
 under fire at Cold Harbor, where the en- 
 gagement lasted seven days. He was 
 with his command in storming the heights 
 of Petersburg, took part in the battle of 
 Fisher's Hill, below Winchester, where 
 Sheridan made his famous ride, and in 
 the battle of Bermuda-Hundred. On 
 April 2, 1865, he was taken prisoner, and 
 for a short time was in Libby prison, be- 
 ing thence transferred to Appomattox, 
 where, with Lee's army, he was surren- 
 dered. He then went to Petersburg, 
 where he remained three months, issuing 
 rations to the people of that place; he 
 next went to Hart's Island, N. Y. , and in 
 September, 1 865, having been discharged, 
 returned to his home. 
 
 In 1878 Mr. Birmingham lost his first 
 wife, who died and was buried in 
 New York, leaving one child to mourn 
 her death — Hattie, now the wife of Albert 
 Green, of Carthage, N. Y. Before his 
 marriage our subject had come to Wis- 
 consin and worked in the lumber woods. 
 On June 2, 1880, he was a second time 
 married, in Sevastopol township, the lady 
 of his choice being Angeline Lawson, who 
 was born July 5, 1850, in Sheboygan, 
 county. Wis., daughter of William Law- 
 son, a native of Canada. They have 
 three children — Burton, Mabel and Lura. 
 In 1879 Mr. Birmingham settled upon his 
 present farm in Section 27, Sevastopol 
 township, where he owns and operates a 
 tract of eighty acres which, at the time of 
 his purchase was unbroken, but to-day is 
 a highly cultivated region which yields to 
 
7i6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 the owner a fi;olden tribute for the care 
 and labor he bestows upon it. He is 
 recognized as one of the leading members 
 and supporters of the Republican party 
 in his locality, and by his ballot has up- 
 held its candidates since casting his first 
 Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. 
 During the Civil war he was a loyal citi- 
 zen, and to-day manifests the same fidel- 
 ity to his public duties as when he fol- 
 lowed the old flag on southern battle- 
 fields. 
 
 WILLIAM HARRISON WAR- 
 REN, acting surveyor of Door 
 county, is one of the earliest 
 pioneers of this section of Wis- 
 consin, and for many years has been 
 prominently connected with its interests, 
 especially in Cla\banks township, where 
 he resides. 
 
 Mr. Warren was born October 26, 
 1 814, in Rushford, Allegany Co., N. Y., 
 son of Lewis Warren, a native of Can- 
 ada, who was of English extraction. 
 The latter met his death by drowning in 
 March, 1S15. He was a man of consid- 
 erable education and good business quali- 
 fications and was a manufacturer of 
 woolen cloth by occupation. In early 
 manhood he married Sophronia Adams, 
 who was born in March, 1790, daughter 
 
 of Daniel and (Ainsworth) Adams, 
 
 and came from old Puritan stock, being a 
 direct descendant of Miles Standish. 
 Daniel Adams served several years as a 
 private in the Continental army during 
 the Revolutionary war. To Lewis and 
 Sophronia (Adams) Warren were born 
 three children, Lewis (now deceased), Al- 
 bert G. (of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.), and 
 William Harrison (whose name intro- 
 duces this notice). 
 
 William H. Warren received his ele- 
 mentary education in the common schools 
 of his native State, which he attended up 
 to the age of fourteen years, and then, 
 having had a thorough training in the 
 common branches, began the study of 
 
 geometry and trigonometry, which he 
 pursued, though somewhat irregularly un- 
 til he was eighteens year old, studying to 
 some extent under a private teacher. 
 ^^'hen fifteen years old he left home for 
 "a life on the ocean wave," and by the 
 time he was eighteen had risen to the po- 
 sition of second mate on the brig " Good 
 Hope," continuing to sail at intervals for 
 twenty years, during which time he was 
 placed in many positions of responsibility 
 and trust, and gained a captain's certif- 
 icate. His uncles, Elihu Adams and Guy 
 F. Adams, having been lost at sea, his 
 relatives pursuaded him to abandon his 
 sea-faring life, and our subject took up 
 his residence in Hartford, there learning 
 the potter's trade, which he continued to 
 follow for a number of years, still sailing 
 at various times. On March 17, 1855, 
 he set out from Worcester, Mass., for 
 Wisconsin, journeying to Neenah, thence 
 on foot to Wrightstown, where he hired 
 a sleigh for Green Bay, and from there 
 drove on the ice to Sturgeon Bay, arriv- 
 ing April I. Shortly afterward he com- 
 menced surveying, and before long took 
 up land in the town of Sturgeon Bay, re- 
 siding there until December 2, 1858, 
 when he removed to a farm of 120 acres 
 in Claybanks township which he has since 
 owned and occupied. Mr. Warren was 
 one of the first settlers in the region, and 
 recalls many interesting incidents of life in 
 early days. He is one of the most thor- 
 oughly respected citizens of Claybanks 
 township, with which he has been closely 
 connected since its organization, having 
 been elected to various public positions, 
 and served as the first clerk of the town- 
 ship, also filling the office of chairman 
 for five 3'ears. As county surveyor he has 
 served many years, and still continues to 
 act in that capacity, his thorough efficien- 
 cy and accuracy giving his services more 
 than ordinary value. He was also elected 
 county superintendent of schools, an of- 
 fice which he filled in a most satisfactory 
 manner. Mr. Warren cast his first Pres- 
 idential vote for Martin Van Buren, joined 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 717 
 
 the Republican party on its organization, 
 and remained under its banner until the 
 birth of the People's party, of which he is 
 now an ardent supporter. 
 
 In 1836 Mr. Warren was united in 
 marriage, at Norwich, Conn., with Miss 
 Eliza B. Dodge, to which union have 
 been born six children, as follows: Har- 
 riet, wife of George F. Foss, of Chicago; 
 Edward, of Allegheny City, Penn. ; Julius, 
 of Claybanks, Door county; Sarah, who 
 married John Campbell, of Claybanks; 
 William Henry, a resident of Chicago; 
 and Lewis. Two of the sons, Julius and 
 Lewis, enlisted in the Union service dur- 
 ing the Civil war, Lewis, who was the 
 first volunteer from Door county, being 
 promoted to the rank of lieutenant; Julius 
 was wounded and still carries a bullet in 
 his leg. 
 
 Mrs. Eliza B. Warren was born Jan- 
 uary 31, 181 5, in the town of Bozrah, 
 New London Co., Conn., daughter of 
 William and Mary (Ward) Dodge, natives 
 of the same State, and granddaughter of 
 Moses Ward, who was a Revolutionary 
 patriot. 
 
 REV. VENCESLAS KOZELKA, 
 pastor of St. Lawrence Church, at 
 Stangelville, Ivewaunee county, 
 was born in Valdice, Bohemia, 
 July 10, 1853. His father, Frank Ko- 
 zelka, was born in 1792, attended the 
 common schools until twelve years old, 
 then attended the Gymnasium three 
 years, and then entered college and pre- 
 pared himself for a teacher. He next 
 studied music for three years under a 
 private tutor. He then began teaching 
 in a public school, teaching at one place 
 until 1847, when he took charge of a 
 school at Valdice, where he taught the 
 common branches to children over twelve 
 years old in the forenoon, and music in 
 the afternoon, and held this position until 
 1862. From that time until 1883 he was 
 principal of a school of five classes or 
 grades at Beromice, where he was retired 
 
 41 
 
 and drew a Government pension until his 
 death in 1 887. He was married to Frances 
 Fischer, and to their union were born six- 
 teen children. 
 
 Venceslas Kozelka, from the age of 
 six 3'ears till eleven, passed his time in 
 the public schools. He then followed 
 with two years' study of the Bohemian 
 language, and also spent some time in the 
 study of the German language, after 
 which he entered the Gymnasium, mak- 
 ing a specialty of languages and acquiring 
 a knowledge of six. At the age of twenty- 
 one he joined the army, served one year, 
 and after his discharge went to Prague, 
 for two and a half years studying for the 
 priesthood, then served a year and a half 
 longer in the army, and then went to 
 Koeniggratz, and completed his theologi- 
 cal studies. He was ordained priest in 
 1879, and for eight years was assistant 
 priest in Bohemia at different points. In 
 July, 1887, he landed in Kewaunee county. 
 Wis., and immediately took charge of his 
 present congregation. Since his admin- 
 istration here he has succeeded in build- 
 ing one of the finest churches in the 
 county, and perhaps one of the most 
 costly in this part of the State. Father 
 Kozelka is a member of the C. S. P. S. 
 and of the Knights of Aloysius. He has 
 been untiring in the performance of his 
 duties as a pastor, and has endeared him- 
 self to his flock, who feel that they have 
 in him a sincere and devoted friend. 
 
 GEORGE MARTIN, manager of 
 an extensive brewery at Sturgeon 
 Bay, Door county, was born in 
 Scott township, Brown Co. , Wis. , 
 July 16, i860, and is a sen of Ludwig 
 Martin, a native of Germany, who died in 
 Preble township, Brown county. In the 
 family were four children who grew to 
 adult age and two who died in early life. 
 The father of our subject came to Wis- 
 consin in 1852 and was at that time five 
 dollars in debt, but he was a hard-work- 
 ing man and eventually secured a com- 
 
7rS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 fortable pr()i)erty. In politics he was a 
 stanch Rcjuibhcan, a vahied and prcjfjress- 
 ive citizen, and he was a member of the 
 Lutheran Church. He was married in 
 Brown county, Wis. , and his widow, who 
 was born in February. 1824. is still livinjj 
 in Preble township, that county, at the 
 age of seventy years. Like her husband 
 she belongs to the I^utheran Church, and 
 she is a consistent Christian woman, held 
 in warm regard b\' her many friends. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the dis- 
 trict and city schools, and remained under 
 the parental roof until 1878, when he 
 began working for Frank F. Hagemeister, 
 of the Green P)a\' I-5rowery. serving first 
 as general utility nian, and constantly 
 winning promotion as the result of faith- 
 ful and efficient service until 18S7, when 
 he was sent to Sturgeon Ha)' to take 
 charge of the brewery purchased by 
 Hagemeister Bros, at that place. Since 
 the 9th of December, of that year, he has 
 been manager and overseer, and the 
 business has greatly increased under his 
 care, the annual output being 3, 500 bar- 
 rels, a gain of 1,500 over the sales when 
 he took possession, while the capacity 
 has been increased to 4,000 barrels a 
 year. 
 
 On October 22, 1885. in Green Bay, 
 Wis., was celebrated the marriage of 
 Mr. Martin and Miss Paulina fachman. 
 who was born in ICaton township, lirown 
 Co., Wis. The\- lived tirst in Preble 
 township, that count}, and in 1887 came 
 to Door county, where they have resided 
 continuously since. Children as follows 
 grace their union: .\lma .Aint-lia and l-2d- 
 vvard, all still with their parents. On 
 questions of State and Nati'nal import- 
 ance, Mr. Martin votes \\ith the Demo- 
 cratic party, but at local elections sup- 
 ports the man who{n he thinks best 
 qualified for office regardless of party 
 affiliations. He is a thorough and prac- 
 tical brewer, one who thoroughly under- 
 stands the business in all its details and 
 is a trusted and etficient employe. He 
 devotes himself untiringK- to the concern 
 
 with which he is connected, and his suc- 
 cess is shown in the greatly increased 
 output. 
 
 JOHN B. COLL.\KD has spent his 
 entire life in Door county, and has 
 e.xjierienced the hardships, the trials 
 and the pleasures of frontier life. He 
 deserves mention among the early settlers 
 of the communit}-, and it is with pleasure 
 we present to our readers the record of 
 his life. 
 
 He was born December 18, 1S62, 
 son of NPartin and |ulia Collard, natives 
 of I-5elgium who came to .\merica in 1S56, 
 locating in Union township, Door Co., 
 Wis. They had a family of three — two 
 daughters — Josejjhine and Clara — and one 
 son, our subject. The father purchased 
 a forty-acre tract of land in the neighbor- 
 hood, where no roads had been made, the 
 Indian trails being the oidj- paths which 
 led from (ireen Bay to Sturgeon Bay. 
 The parents walked from the former place 
 to their farm, and upon their arrival there 
 Mr. Collard built a log house 16x20 feet, 
 covering it \\'\X.\\ hemlock brush, after 
 which he began to clear the farm. l-'rom 
 the [line timber he made shingles which 
 he carried on his back a mile and a half 
 to a place of shipment, and in this \vay 
 earned a living for himself and family. 
 F"or Hve years he had no team and all 
 logging was done by hand, while the work 
 of clearing the farm was accomplished 
 with an a.\e and grub hoe, the crops being 
 planted among the stumps. .\s the \ears 
 passed, however, the once wild tract of 
 land took on the appearance of a highlj' 
 cultivated farm and became one of the 
 valuable places of the neighborhood. The 
 father still resides on the old homestead, 
 but the mother was called to her final 
 rest July 26, 18S4. being killed by 
 lightning. 
 
 During his minorit\ John B. Collard 
 remained at home with his parents, except 
 for two years, which he passed in Osh- 
 kosh. Wis., where he was emplo}'cd in a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 719 
 
 sawmill and in a door and sash factory. 
 On April 2, 1882, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Josephine, daughter of 
 Frank and Antoinette fLaduronJ Leco- 
 que; her grandfather, Maximilian Leco- 
 que, has reached the advanced age of 
 ninetj' years, and is living in Union town- 
 ship. Door count}'. Mr. and Mrs. Col- 
 lard have had eight children: Julia, 
 Emma, Clara, Ida, Antoinette, Frank 
 (deceased), Jennie, and one who liied in 
 infancw 
 
 Our subject exercises his right of fran- 
 chise in support of the Democratic party, 
 has served as town assessor for one year, 
 and at this writing is serving as chairman 
 of the town board; but he has never been 
 an acti\c ]i(>litician in the sense of office- 
 seeking, although he believes in faithfully 
 discharging the duties which have come to 
 him through the trust reposed in him bj- 
 his fellow townsmen. He and his family 
 hold membership with the Catholic 
 Church. Mr. Collard is now the owner 
 of a tract of land of 160 acres, which he 
 is rapiiily placing under cultivation and 
 improving with the accessories and con- 
 veniences of a model farm. He is num- ' 
 bered among the leading agriculturists of 
 the community, and is widely known in 
 the count}' where his entire life has been 
 passed. 
 
 AXDI^FW THRONDSON is one 
 of the valued citizens that Nor- 
 wa}' has furnished to Door count}'. 
 He was born in the Pro\ ince of 
 Christiania, in 1845, son of Thrond and 
 Mar}' f.AndersonjThoreson, who were also 
 natives of the same land. There the 
 father lollowed farming throughout his 
 entire life, and died in 1859. In 1872 
 the mother emigrated to this countrx', lo- 
 cating in .Allamakee county, Iowa, where 
 she lived six years, thence removing to 
 South Dakota, where she now resides. 
 She is now the wife of Ole Silverson, by 
 whom she has two children — Thomas, a 
 farmer of Forestville township; and Alex, 
 
 who resides in South Dakota. By her 
 first marriage she had a family of children, 
 five of whom are now living — Thor, who 
 resides in South Dakota; Andrew, our 
 subject; Ingebard, wife of Soren Soren- 
 son, of Minnesota; Celia, wife of Knud 
 Johnson, of South Dakota; Mary, who is 
 married and lives in Norway. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared 
 in Norway and educated in the schools of 
 his native country. In 1868 he came to 
 the United States and settled in Manito- 
 woc county. Wis., from which place he 
 went to Ahnapee township, Kewaunee 
 county, where he made his home three 
 years, removing thence to Manitowoc 
 county. Wis., in June, 1868. There he 
 worked at farm labor until coming to 
 Door county in 1872, at which time he 
 purchased eighty acres of timberland 
 from the Fox River Co. , beginning its im- 
 provement immedialel} . In 1893, he 
 erected a story and a half frame resi- 
 dence, 18x24 feet, with a one-story L 
 i6x 22 feet, and in 1886 he built a barn 
 56 X 36 feet. All the improvements of a 
 model farm are there found, and the place 
 in its neat and thrifty appearance indi- 
 cates the enterprise and careful supervis- 
 ion of the owner. 
 
 Mr. Throndson was married in For- 
 estville to\vnship, in 1883, to Miss Sere 
 Ingrebright, a native of Norway and a 
 daughter of Ingrebright Nelson, who was 
 born in the sanie country, and in 1872 
 came with his family to this count}', 
 where he and his wife yet reside. Our 
 subject and his wife are meml)ers of the 
 Lutheran Church, take an active part in 
 its work, and Mr. Throndson has for some 
 time served as one of its officers. He 
 votes with the Republican party, but has 
 never been a politician in the sense of 
 office-seeking, preferring to give his entire 
 attention to his business interests, in 
 which he has won good success. He had 
 no capital with which to start out in life, 
 but by hard labor accumulated .some 
 money and invested it in land. In this 
 way he has steadily worked his way up- 
 
COMMEilORATIVK BIOGIiAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 ward, and as a result of his earnest appli- 
 cation and good management he is now 
 the possessor of a comfortable compe- 
 tence. 
 
 AUGUST BAUMANN, a well- 
 known farmer citizen of the town 
 of Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, 
 is a native of Germany, born 
 |anuary 9, 1834, in the Kingdom of Sax- 
 ony, a son of F'rederick and Caroline 
 (Wetzel) Baumann, natives of the same 
 country. 
 
 The father of our subject was a butcher, 
 in which occupation he continued until 
 1858. when he came to the United States. 
 Shortly afterward locating at Sheboygan, 
 Wis., he purchased eighty acres of tim- 
 ber land which he commenced clearing, 
 antl as soon as possible put the land 
 under cultivation, following farming until 
 his death, which occurred in 1880, when 
 he was eighty-two years of age; his wife 
 died in 1888. They were the parents of 
 twelve children, five of whom are de- 
 ceased; a brief record of the others is as 
 follows: August is the subject of this 
 sketch; Minnie is the wife of John Henry, 
 of Shebojgan; Anton is a resident of 
 Plymouth, Wis. ; Henrietta is married 
 and resides in Sheboygan; Charles is 
 also living in Sheboygan; Amelia is mar- 
 ried to Frank Koulman, of Ahnapee; 
 Alvin is a resident of Forestville, Door 
 Co., Wis. The parents were members 
 of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 August Baumann was educated in the 
 common schools of his native country, 
 and learning his father's trade worked 
 with him until their removal to the 
 United States. After his arrival in Wis- 
 consin August Baumann had no capital to 
 commence with, and finding employment 
 on the railroad at Sheboygan he worked 
 there four months, during which time he 
 managed to save $60. With this sum he 
 purchased his farm of eighty acres, in Ahna- 
 pee, Kewaunee county, and locating there 
 engaged in general agriculture, which he 
 
 has ever since devoted his attention to. 
 He was one of the first settlers of his 
 township, and when he came here the 
 region was a complete wilderness for miles 
 in every direction. He has experienced 
 all the hardships and privations of life on 
 a new farm in a sparsely settled countrj% 
 and the comfortable property he now 
 owns has been accumulated by hard 
 work, coupled with good business man- 
 agement and a careful attention to the 
 details of his work; and he is widely and 
 favorably known as one of the most in- 
 dustrious men in his neighborhood. 
 
 In 1859 Mr. Baumann was married to 
 Henrietta Brockhausen, a native of Rus- 
 sia, born in 1829, who died in 1881; she 
 was the mother of six children, two of 
 whom are deceased; those living are 
 Paul and August, of the town of Ahnapee; 
 Lewis, a resident of Texas, and Paulina, 
 of Milwaukee. In 1883 Mr. Baumann 
 married Mrs. Minnie (Sandermann) Skir- 
 key, a native of Prussia, born January 
 15. 1850, and to this union came four 
 children, one of whom is deceased; 
 Henry and Edith (twins) were born Feb- 
 ruary 22, 1885; Clara was born April 20. 
 1887. Mrs. Baumann, by her first mar- 
 riage, to Edward Skirke}-, had six chil- 
 dren, five living — Mary K., Anna M., 
 Josie M., Emma and William — and one 
 deceased. Mr. Baumann in religious 
 faith is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church; politically he is a Democrat. 
 
 WILLIAM HEIMBECKER was 
 born and bred in the "Badger" 
 State. His father, William 
 Heimbecker, came from Ger- 
 many to Milwaukee, Wis., where he mar- 
 ried Miss Minnie Lipkey, and soon after- 
 ward he moved to the citj' of Manitowoc, 
 Wis. , where in 1 856 our subject was born. 
 The father was a shoemaker and followed 
 his trade in that city for many years. In 
 1 87 1 became to Door county, where he 
 located at Horns Pier, Claybanks town- 
 ship, on a homestead claim. He died on 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 721 
 
 this place in 18S2; the mother now re- 
 sides at Sturgeon Bay. They had a 
 famil)' of seven chikh'en, all of whom are 
 hving : William, the subject of this 
 sketch; Gusta (widow of Herman Kleicke), 
 of Bay View, Wis. ; Emma, the wife of 
 Albert Lipkey; Minnie, who resides in 
 Door county; Adolph; Fred, who is mar- 
 ried and lives on the old homestead, and 
 Charley, who makes his home in Denver, 
 Colorado. 
 
 William Heimbecker attended the 
 public schools in Manitowoc, and when 
 fourteen years of age removed with his 
 parents to Claybanks, Door county, 
 where he helped to clear the home farm. 
 In 18S3 he decided to have a home of his 
 own, and in that year married Miss So- 
 phia, daughter of Chris, and Gusta 
 (Buschman) Tansing, who were born in 
 Germany and were among the first settlers 
 in Sturgeon Bay, Door county, where 
 the daughter was born, and where the 
 father still resides, the mother having 
 died in 1893. Mr. Heimbecker bought 
 sixty acres of land in Section 26, Nase- 
 waupee township, of which he has cleared 
 thirty acres. Since his removal to this 
 place he has erected an 18x24 one-and- 
 one-half story frame house, built a barn, 
 and has a good well; he is a hard worker, 
 a successful farmer and an able business 
 man. He belongs to the Republican 
 party, and talks intelligently on political 
 subjects, although he does not aspire to 
 office. 
 
 IVI 
 
 ARTIN MILLER, who is num- 
 bered among the honored pio- 
 neers of Door county of 1856, 
 and is also one of its leading 
 farmers, claims Germany as the land of 
 his birth, which occurred in the Kingdom 
 of Prussia in 1830. 
 
 His parents, Peter and Charlotte 
 (Yager) Miller, were also natives of Prus- 
 sia, and in that country the father fol- 
 lowed farming until 1856, when, having 
 determined to seek a home in America, 
 
 he boarded the sailing vessel "Rudolph," 
 at Hamburg, Germany, and after a voy- 
 age of seven weeks and three days landed 
 at New York. He came at once to Door 
 county. Wis., and, locating upon a farm, 
 here made his home until his death; he 
 passed away in 1894, at the advanced 
 age of eighty-seven years. His wife 
 passed away some years previous, dying 
 in 1 88 1. This worthy couple had a 
 family of five children, namely: Martin, 
 subject of this sketch; Ferdinand, who 
 resides in Section 3, Forestville town- 
 ship; William, who is married and lives 
 in Brussels township; John, who is living 
 in Merrick county. Neb. ; and Hermann, 
 who is also located in Nebraska. 
 
 Our subject was reared in the usual 
 manner of farmer lads, and in the public 
 schools of his native land obtained a good 
 education. He followed farming in the 
 Fatherland until twenty-six years of age, 
 at which time he came to the United 
 States, and has since been a resident of 
 Door county, having during the years 
 which have since passed cleared and im- 
 proved eighty-five acres of his fine farm, 
 which comprises 1 20 acres of rich land. 
 There are good buildings upon the place, 
 and the well-tilled fields tell of the thrift 
 and enterprise of the owner. In 1S66, 
 in Forestville township, Mr. Miller was 
 united in marriage with Miss Caroline 
 Dresterbeck, a native of Germany, and a 
 daughter of John and Sophia Dresterbeck, 
 who lived and died in that country. Six 
 children have been born to this union, as 
 follows: Albert, Ferdinand, Bertha (now 
 the wife of Frank Storm), Albertina, 
 Edward and Martin. The parents are 
 both members of the Lutheran Church, 
 and Mr. Miller is now serving as trustee. 
 He takes quite an active interest in poli- 
 tics, but allies himself with no party, pre- 
 ferring to support the man whom he 
 thinks best qualified for office regardless 
 of party affiliation. He has served as 
 supervisor and was chairman of the board 
 of Forestville township for about four 
 vears. Mr. Miller is one of the oldest 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 citizens of Door county, and well deserves 
 mention among her honored pioneers, for 
 during thirty-eight years he has aided in 
 the development of this region, has done 
 all in his power to promote the work of 
 public improvement, and has been identi- 
 fied with those enterprises calculated to 
 prove of public benefit. His labors have 
 aided in transforming the county from an 
 unl)roken wilderness to a region of rich 
 fertility, and in placing Door county in the 
 front rank among the counties of the State. 
 
 JOHN BLEY, one of the substantial 
 agriculturists of Jacksonport town- 
 shi|\ Door county, where he stands 
 high in the estimation of the com- 
 munity as a thorough business man and 
 a financier of no small ability is a Ger- 
 man by birth, born September 5, 1834, 
 in the Grand Ducln- of Sachsen-Weimar. 
 He is the youngest smi of (leorge 
 Bley, who was a musician in the Father- 
 land. Our subject received a fair educa- 
 tion at the public schools of his place of 
 birth, was reared to agricultural pursuits, 
 and remained under the parental roof un- 
 til he was twenty-one years old, when he 
 left the old home and for a few months 
 worked for others. In the spring of 1S56, 
 having concluded to emigrate to the West- 
 ern World, he took passage at the port of 
 Hamburg on a sailing vessel bound for 
 Ouebec, Canada, which ancient capital 
 was reached after a voyage of eleven 
 weeks. In Canada he followed agricul- 
 tural pursuits in all fourteen years, clear- 
 ing fifty acres of land which he had 
 l>ought. Coming from Canada to Jack- 
 sonport. Door Co., Wis., he first assisted 
 Charles Reynolds in getting out railroad 
 ties and telegraph poles, and having had 
 a good view of the surrounding country 
 became so well satisfied with it that he 
 concluded to finall}' settle here, with 
 which intent he returned to Canada, sold 
 his property there, and brought his fam- 
 ily to Jacksonport township. Here he 
 purchased 160 acres of wild land in Sec- 
 
 tions 1 7 and 8 at $1.25 per acre, on which 
 there was neither clearing, road, nor 
 dwelling of any sort; but fearlessly the 
 bold pioneer went to work, and ere long 
 he had a good substantial log house built 
 for himself and family. He had brought 
 a team of horses with him — something of 
 a curiosity in those parts at that time 
 when horses were rarely met with — and 
 these proved of great service to him in 
 clearing his land. To the original 160 
 acres he from time to time added until he 
 owned 360 acres, 160 of which he dis- 
 tributed among his children, lea\ing him 
 still 200 acres, ninety-five of which are 
 cleared, representing one of the most fer- 
 tile farms in the township. 
 
 In 1 8 58, in Buffalo, N. Y., Mr. Bley 
 was married to Miss Ann Spanswick, a 
 native of England, and children as fol- 
 lows were born to them; Nicholas, a 
 farmer; Mary M., now the wife of Henry 
 Anschutz; Rosa, now the wife of John 
 Anschut;?; and Sarah J., all of Jackson- 
 port township. Mr. and Mrs. Bley both 
 attend the services of the Protestant 
 Church ; in his political preferences he is 
 a Republican, has been a member of the 
 township board, and at present is serving 
 as school director. In the van of the 
 noble army of representative self-made, 
 successful and progressive pioneer farmers 
 he stands among the most prominent, the 
 more so because when he first set foot 
 on the shores of this vast continent 
 his financial condition was at zero, his 
 means being no more than sufficient 
 to bring him across the Atlantic; while 
 to-day, by honest toil, untiring labor and 
 reasonable thrift, he finds himself ranking 
 second to none among the substantial 
 farmers of the township and county of his 
 adoption. 
 
 w 
 
 ENZEL SCHAUER, one of the 
 most successful citizens of Carl- 
 ton township, Kewaunee coun- 
 ty, was born in Bohemia De- 
 cember 1 6, 1842. His parents, Wenzel 
 
COMMEMOIIATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 723 
 
 and Fanny Schauer, also natives of Bo- 
 hemia, came to Carlton township, Kewau- 
 nee Co., Wis., in 1857, and engaged in 
 farming. 
 
 Our subject attended school in his 
 native land until he came to Carlton with 
 his parents, and here he assisted his 
 father in clearing up the farm and work- 
 ing it about three years, or until he was 
 eighteen years of age, when he was em- 
 ployed as clerk in a general store at 
 Sandy Bay, Carlton township, for about 
 a year; he then purchased and located on 
 the farm he now occupies, and by econ- 
 omy and hard work has made agriculture 
 a success. His place is in first-class condi- 
 tion, and he is looked upon as a first-class 
 agriculturist. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat, and has been honored by his party 
 with the of^ce of town treasurer and that 
 of supervisor, as well as a number of 
 minor offices, all of which he has filled 
 with credit to himself and to the satisfac- 
 tion of the people. Mr. Schauer is also 
 an accomplished musician, playing well 
 on several different instruments, and is 
 the leader of the Schauer Band of Nor- 
 jnan. 
 
 Mr. Schauer was first married to 
 Mary Schup, who was born in Bohemia 
 in 1 842, and she bore her husband the fol- 
 lowing named children: Mary, Michael, 
 Joseph, Wenzel, John, Joseph, Kath- 
 arine, Annie, Cecilia, Fanny and Anton. 
 The fnother of this family died in the 
 town of Franklin May 7, 1885, and in 
 1 88" Mr. Schauer married Mary Pelnar, 
 who was born in Bohemia in 1845. Mr. 
 Schauer and all his family are consistent 
 members of the Catholic Church, and 
 they are highly respected in the commun- 
 it\' in which they live. 
 
 THEODOK WUNSCH. Among 
 the worthy German citizens who 
 have found homes in Kewaunee 
 county, and are deserving of men- 
 tion in her history, is the gentleman whose 
 name begins this review. He was born 
 
 in Oberndorf November 9, 1833, son of 
 Christian and Maria (Daul) Wunsch, 
 the former of whom, a carpenter by 
 trade, died when our subject was only 
 two years old, after which the mother 
 married Bernard Somer, by whom she 
 had two children: — Simon and Mar}'. 
 By her first marriage she also had two 
 children, namely: Theodor and Frank. 
 
 Theodor Wunsch acquired a fair edu- 
 cation, attending school between the ages 
 of six and fourteen years, according to 
 the laws of his native land. He then en- 
 tered upon his business career by serving 
 a two-years' apprenticeship to a shoe- 
 maker, and in 1852 he came to America. 
 He was then a young man of nineteen 
 years, and hoped that he might benefit his 
 financial condition by his removal to the 
 New World, for he had heard much of 
 the advantages and privileges here afford- 
 ed. He landed at New York and re- 
 mained in that city for a year and a half, 
 working on the railroad, after which he 
 came west, settling in West Bend, Wash- 
 ing county. Wis. During the succeeding 
 two years he was employed at farm labor, 
 and on changing his residence sought a 
 home in Montpelier, Kewaunee county, 
 where he purchased 160 acres of wild 
 land, building thereon a log house, 16x22 
 feet, which he covered with shakes. Out 
 of the wilderness he hewed a farm, and 
 to-day has an elegant home and a valua- 
 ble and highly improved tract of land. 
 
 On June 19, 1858, Mr. Wunsch led 
 to the marriage altar Miss Caroline Daul, 
 daughter of Benedict and Mary Josephine 
 (Daul) Daul. He then returned to West 
 Bend, Wis. , where he harvested a ten- 
 acre crop of wheat, after which he re- 
 sumed work upon his farm, having placed 
 sixteen acres under cultivation, when, in 
 1862, he was draftsd for service in the 
 army. On November 24 of that year he 
 was called for duty, went to Kewaunee, 
 and thence to Racine, Wis., joining 
 Copany K, Thirty-Fourth Wis. V. I., 
 with which he went to Columbus, Ky. 
 After three months spent at that place 
 
724 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 the regiment was ordered to Memphis, 
 Tenn., and Mr. W'unsch there continued 
 until discharged on account of disabihty, 
 having contracted disease, from which he 
 has never yet recovered. He then re- 
 turned home, and during the succeeding 
 winter was unable to work, but as soon as 
 possible he resumed his farm labors, and 
 with the assistance of his estimable wife 
 he has gained prosperity. 
 
 Ten children were born to them — 
 Lena, Jacob, Frank, Catherine, Andrew, 
 Henry, Fred, Albert, Mary and Barney — 
 of whom Andrew, Mary and Barney are 
 still at home. The mother of this fam- 
 ily was called to her final rest December 
 28, 1 89 1. Mr. Wunsch holds member- 
 ship with the Catholic Church, and \otes 
 with the Republican party, but gives most 
 of his time to his farm work, although he 
 finds plenty of leisure in which to faith- 
 fully discharge his duties of citizenship. 
 
 HERMAN GAULKE, one of the 
 wide-awake and enterprising farm- 
 ers of Lincoln township, Kewau- 
 nee county, was born in Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., February 20, 1864, son of 
 Fred Gaulke, who was born in Germany 
 March 6, 1S23. 
 
 The father was reared on a farm, ac- 
 quired his education in the common 
 schools of his native land, and when a 
 young man held the position of foreman 
 on a large farm for some seven years. 
 He then, in 1852, emigrated to the United 
 States, locating in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 where he worked as a laborer for 
 four years, after which he was em- 
 ployed in the car shops for a similar 
 period. He then came to Lincoln town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, and purchased 
 eighty acres of timber land upon which 
 he located, turning his attention to agri- 
 cultural pursuits. This land he cleared 
 and improved and to it added 100 acres, 
 which constitutes a valuable and highly 
 improved farm, now supplied with all 
 modern conveniences, and accessories. 
 
 Mr. Gaulke was married in Germany, 
 in 1 85 1, to Augusta Graundemann, who 
 was born in that country in 1822, and 
 they became the parents of si.\ children: 
 Fred, who is living in Lincoln township, 
 Kewaunee county; Bertha, wife of Her- 
 man Holtz, of Casco township; Charles, 
 who is also living in Lincoln township; 
 Herman; Albert, who is located at Rio 
 Creek, Lincoln township; and William, 
 deceased. The father of this family is a 
 Democrat in politics, and a member of 
 the German Lutheran Church. He is 
 truly a self-made man, for, although he 
 came to this country a poor man, he has 
 steadily worked his way upward to a 
 position of affluence. 
 
 Our subject came with the family to 
 Kewaunee county during his early jouth, 
 and acquired his education in the public 
 schools of Lincoln township. He has 
 carried on agricultural pursuits through- 
 out his entire life. At the age of four- 
 teen he began working as a farm hand in 
 the neighborhood of his own home, and 
 was thus employed until his marriage, 
 which took place June 21, 1887, the lady 
 of his choice being Ernestina I'Circhmann, 
 who was born in the town of Casco, 
 Kewaunee county. May 7, 18C6. To 
 them were born four children — Alma, 
 August, and Lewis and John, twins, the 
 latter now deceased. 
 
 Upon his marriage, Mr. Gaulke located 
 upon the home farm, which he operated 
 for two years, removing then to Sturgeon 
 Bay, where he worked in a sawmill and 
 in a stone quarry for three years. At the 
 end of that time he purchased his father's 
 farm of eighty acres, which he now 
 owns and occupies, and in its manage- 
 ment and cultivation he shows such abili- 
 ty that he is numbered among the lead- 
 ing agriculturists of the county. He takes 
 a warm interest in the cause of educa- 
 tion, and means to give his children good 
 advantages along that line, thus fitting 
 them for the practical and responsible 
 duties of life. The best interests of the 
 community always find in him a friend, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 725 
 
 and his support is withheld from no 
 worthy enterprise. He exercises his right 
 of franchise in support of the Democratic 
 party, and both he and his wife belong to 
 the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Gaulke's 
 parents, August and Johanna (Pagel) 
 Kirchmann, are also residents of Ivewau- 
 nee county, living upon a farm in Casco 
 township. By birth they are Germans. 
 
 GEORGE FRONEY, a solid farmer 
 of Carlton township, I\ewaunee 
 count}', was born at Hardegsen, 
 Hanover, Germany, February 28, 
 1838. His father, August Froney, was 
 born in 1 796, and his mother, Caroline 
 (Geier) Froney, was born in 1805, and 
 both were natives of Hanover. 
 
 In 1847 August Froney brought his 
 family to the United States and located 
 in Buffalo, N. Y. , where he followed his 
 trade of shoemaking two years; he then 
 moved to Cleveland, Ohio, opened a 
 shoe store, and two years later moved to 
 Amherst, Ohio, where he kept a shoe store 
 for five or six years. Next removing to 
 Elmore, Ohio, he there continued the 
 same business until his death, in 1870, 
 Mrs. Caroline Froney djing at the same 
 town in the same 3'ear. 
 
 George Froney is the third in a family 
 of eight children. His boyhood was 
 passed in attending school at Buffalo and 
 Cleveland until eleven years of age, when 
 he became a waiter in the "American 
 Hotel " at Buffalo, remaining a year and 
 then returning to Amherst, where he at- 
 tended school about three years, and then 
 worked a year at cabinet making. He 
 next commenced work as a carpenter in 
 Fremont, Ohio, and here assisted in build- 
 ing the house in which ex-President Hayes 
 died. From Fremont he went to Urbana, 
 Ohio, where he worked a year as a car- 
 penter, then returned to Elmore, where 
 his parents were then living, and for about 
 five years followed his trade, afterward en- 
 gaged in the grocery business for a twelve- 
 month, when he sold the grocery and 
 
 speculated in real estate until 1868. His 
 next venture was in the hotel business at 
 Sheboygan Falls. Wis. , but at the end of 
 two years he traded the hotel for city 
 property, and this he traded for land in 
 Carlton township. He at once cleared 
 his land, and has been engaged in farming 
 ever since, to-day ranking among the most 
 substantial farmers in Kewaunee county. 
 Mr. Froney was united in marriage, in 
 i860, with Miss Rachel Jacobs, daughter 
 of John and Rachel Jacobs, natives of 
 German}'. John Jacobs was born Octo- 
 ber 5, 1805, and died in Amherst, Ohio, 
 in 1 88 1; his wife, Rachel (Nippoot) 
 Jacobs, was born in 18 10, and died in 
 Amherst in 1869. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Froney have been born eleven children, 
 to wit: George, Alice, Lizzie, Mary, 
 Dora, Albert, Florence and Maynard, 
 living; Stella, who was born in 1875, 
 died in 1878; Grant and Sheridan (twins), 
 born in 1878, died the same year. Mr. 
 Froney has proven himself to be a most 
 excellent business man, and has won for 
 himself and family the esteem of all who 
 know them. 
 
 N 
 
 the gen- 
 
 ICHOLAS J. TERENS, 
 ial and accommodating clerk at 
 the " Read House," in the city of 
 Kewaunee, was born in Two 
 Manitowoc Co., Wis., February 
 
 Creeks, 
 27, 1870, 
 
 Henry M. Terens, his father, was born 
 in Prussia March 23, 1839, son of Nich- 
 olas Terens, who was born in France in 
 1 813. The latter married Addie Pasch, 
 a native of Prussia, and they came to 
 America in 1847, locating at Two Creeks, 
 Wis. , where Mrs. Addic Terens died in 
 i860, Nicholas in 1876. Henry M. Ter- 
 ens received his schooling in this country, 
 lived a short time at Port Washington, 
 W'is. , and then accompanied his parents 
 to a farm in Franklin, Kewaunee county, 
 assisting his father in making shingles. 
 
 fence posts, etc. 
 and clearing up 
 
 , and in cutting cordwood 
 the farm for cultivation. 
 
726 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After ten years of those employments, he 
 and his father started a saloon in partner- 
 ship at Mishicot, Wis., which they car- 
 ried on until Henry M. enlisted in Jan- 
 uarj', 1862, in Company H, Second Wis- 
 consin Cavalry, in which he served until 
 February 4, 1865. Afterward he re- 
 turned to Mishicot, but after a short time 
 moved to Two Creeks, where he formed 
 a partnership \\ith his father in mercan- 
 tile business. At the end of three or four 
 years, however, he sold his interest and 
 bought a farm near Two Creeks which he 
 cultivated about eight years, then sold, 
 and purchased the "Alaska House," at 
 Alaska, Wis., which he conducted until his 
 death, November 24, 1886. In all his 
 ventures Mr. Terens manifested great 
 abilities as a business man. He was a 
 Republican in politics and was elected 
 treasurer of his township, the people hav- 
 ing the utmost confidence in him, and he 
 also served as postmaster of Alaska 
 during the administration of Garfield 
 and Arthur. He was an active mem- 
 ber of John M. Reed Post, G. A. R., 
 and was altogether a popular and genial 
 gentleman. In 1866 he was united in 
 marriage, at Mishicot, with Miss Barbara 
 Dobry, \\ho was born at Pilsen, Bohe- 
 mia, April 2, 1846, daughter of John and 
 Annie Dobry, natives of Bohemia, with 
 whom she came to Wisconsin in i860. 
 John Dobry was born in 1818, and his 
 wife in 1825. To the union of Henry M. 
 and Barbara (Dobry) Terens eight chil- 
 dren were born, in the following order: 
 Annie, December 21, 1866; Amelia, 
 April 7, 1868; Nicholas J., February 27, 
 1870; Isabella, November 26, 1872; 
 Henry, April 13, 1874; John, March 17, 
 1875; Charles, May 17, 1881; and Char- 
 lotte, December 4, 1885. Of these, An- 
 nie fell into a well and was drowned May 
 31, 1869, and Charles died August 17, 
 1881. 
 
 Nicholas J. Terens was educated in 
 the pioneer log shoolhouses, but at the 
 age of fifteen was compelled, on account 
 of the feebleness of his father, to relin- 
 
 quish his studies and assist his parents. 
 After his father's death he commenced 
 the tinner's trade in Two Rivers, working 
 at it two years, and then went to Chi- 
 cago, where he worked another two 
 jears. He ne.xt traveled through north- 
 ern Illinois and Indiana for a short time, 
 and on returning to Kewaunee went to 
 Peshtigo, where he worked a year or so, 
 and then established himself in Kewaunee 
 in the tin and hardware business. A 
 year later, however, he sold out, and, en- 
 gaging with different firms a year longer, 
 has since held the responsible position of 
 clerk at the "Read House," where his 
 affable demeanor has won him hosts of 
 friends. Mr. Terens is Master-at-Arms 
 of Valiant Lodge No. 120, K. of P., of 
 Kewaunee, and is Captain of R. L. Wing 
 Camp No. 63. S. of \'. He is a young 
 man of most excellent business capacity 
 and strictly moral habits, and has won 
 the esteem of all who know him. 
 
 IVI 
 
 YRON DEWEY, one of the best 
 and most favorably known of 
 Ahnapee's farmer citizens, was 
 born April 5, 1835, in Jefferson 
 county, N. Y. , and is descended, on his 
 father's side, from Hollanders who set- 
 tled in New Amsterdam (now New York) 
 in 1 620. Grandfather Dewey was a 
 soldier in the Continental arm}', and lost 
 his life in the struggle for American inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 Amos Dewey, father of our subject, 
 was born among the Green Mountains of 
 \'ermont, and was at first a shoemaker 
 bj" occupation but later engaging in agri- 
 cultural pursuits followed same until his 
 death, February 11, 1847, when he was 
 aged fifty-one years. W'hen a young 
 man he located in the State of New 
 York, where he married Zeviah Zeruah 
 Beebe, a native of \'ermont, born in 
 1797, and of English e.xtraction, her 
 father having been born in England in 
 1775, whence when a boj- he came to the 
 Colonies with his parents; his father en- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I-I 
 
 listed in the Continental aini}-, and par- 
 ticipated in the Re\olutionar\- war. Mr. 
 Dewey remained in the State of New 
 York until 1842, when he came to Wis- 
 consin, and locating in Racine county 
 purchased forty acres of land, whereon 
 he engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
 his decease. Mrs. Dewey survived until 
 1889. She was the mother of si.xteen 
 children, nine of whom are deceased, the 
 others being Joel, of Minnesota; Aaron, 
 of Waupaca county. Wis. ; Alvah, of 
 Minnesota; Anna, Mrs. William Jenks, 
 of Racine, Wis.; HuldaA., Mrs. George 
 Sterns, of Waupaca county. Wis. ; Ma- 
 tilda, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; and Myron, 
 whose name introduces this sketch. 
 
 Myron Dewey came with his parents 
 to Wisconsin in childhood. When but 
 thirteen years old he lost his father by 
 death, and was consequently thrown on 
 his own resources at an early age, devot- 
 ing himself to general agriculture on the 
 home farm for a number of years. When 
 twenty years of age he was united in mar- 
 riage with Theresa Leggett, who was a 
 native of Lower Canada, born in 1836 of 
 French descent, and she became the 
 mother of two children, Cordelia M., now 
 Mrs. George Nutter, of Amesbury, Mass., 
 and Alice A., deceased. Four years 
 after her marriage Mrs. Dewey died, and 
 was buried at Racine, and Mr. Dewey 
 afterward married Sarah Van Valken- 
 berg, who was born in Michigan City, 
 Ind. , September 19, 1838, of Pennsyl- 
 vania-Dutch parentage. She is the 
 mother of thirteen children, as follows: 
 Arthur, born October 3. 1879, died May 
 14, 1884; three children died in infancy; 
 the living are Alvahro, born December 
 18, 1861; Alice, born October 28, 1863; 
 William, born April i, 1866; Frank, 
 born Augusts, 1868; George, born April 
 2, 1870; John, born May 24, 1871; 
 Lewis, born April 22, 1874; Earnest, 
 born October 12, 1876. and Belle, born 
 February 22, 1882. 
 
 After his second marriage Mr. Dewey 
 worked as a laborer until December 14, 
 
 1863, when he enlisted in Company K, 
 Tenth \\'is. V. I., for three years or during 
 the war, and was assigned to Sherman's 
 army, taking part in the famous march to 
 the sea. Some time after his enlistment 
 he was transferred to Company G, Twen- 
 ty-first Wis. \'. I., in which he served to 
 the close of his term, receiving an hon- 
 orable discharge, June 28, 1865. He is a 
 member of the G. A. R. post at Ahnapee. 
 After his return from the army Mr. Dewey 
 came to Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, and 
 on January i, 1866, bought forty acres of 
 timber land, part of the farm he now 
 owns, upon which he located and com- 
 menced farming, which he still follows. 
 He has since purchased eighty acres more, 
 now owning a good farm of 120 acres, the 
 larger part of which is improved and un- 
 der cultivation. In political faith Mr. 
 Dewey is a member of the Republican 
 party, and always takes an active interest 
 in all questions pertaining to the welfare 
 of his town or county; he has filled sev- 
 eral local positions of honor and trust, 
 having served seven years as chairman of 
 the township, was deputy sheriff for two 
 years, and for many years a member of 
 the district board of education. Mrs. 
 Dewey is a member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 KASPAR DURST, who for almost 
 a quarter of a century has lived on 
 his present farm in the town of 
 Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, is a 
 native of Switzerland, born October 19, 
 1834. His father, Peter Durst, was also 
 born in Switzerland, and was a laborer 
 b}' occupation. He married Anne Lu- 
 cenkar, of the same nativity, who bore 
 him twehe children, seven of whom are 
 now deceased, as are also the parents. 
 In religious faith they were members of 
 the Reformed Lutheran Church. 
 
 Kaspar Durst was educated in the 
 common schools of his native country, 
 where he obtained a \er\" fair education, 
 and wlien a joung man was apprenticed 
 to the draper's trade, subsequently fol- 
 
728 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BJOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lowing cartoon draping some twenty-one 
 years, after which he came to the United 
 States. In Svvit;;erland he married Anna 
 Cheasar, a native of that country, and 
 like himself a cartoon draper, and to 
 them have come six children — four of 
 whom were born in Switzerland and two 
 in the United States — as follows: Peter 
 (of Waterford, Racine Co., Wis.), Henry 
 and August, living; and three deceased, 
 Henry and two that died in infancy. In 
 1870 the family came to the United 
 States, coming directly from the port of 
 landing to Ahnapee, Kewaunee Co. , Wis. , 
 where Mr. Durst purchased eighty acres 
 of timber land, the farm he now owns and 
 occupies. Here he engaged in cutting 
 away the timber, and after clearing the 
 land commenced farming, in which he has 
 ever since successfully continued. The 
 land has all been cleared and improved 
 with good buildings, and forty acres have 
 been added to the original farm, which he 
 has also improved. Since his location 
 here Mr. Durst has had many difficulties 
 to contend with, accidents and losses by 
 fire, and while chopping feed for the stock 
 lost his right hand, it having been caught 
 in the feed mill. But in spite of all ob- 
 stacles he has persevered in his work, 
 and has succeeded in establishing himself 
 and family in a comfortable home, and in 
 acquiring a fine farm, which yields him a 
 good income. Mr. and Mrs. Durst are 
 members of the Lutheran Church of Ah- 
 napee. Politically he is a member of the 
 Democratic party, and has been road 
 master some seventeen years. 
 
 JAMES McINTOSH, an e.x-Union 
 soldier, and now a thrifty farmer of 
 West Kewaunee township, Kewau- 
 nee county, was born in Kilmarnock, 
 Scotland, January 31, 1840, a son of 
 Samuel and Janet (Howe) Mcintosh. 
 
 The boyhood of our subject was 
 passed in school and in acting as page or 
 foot-boy. He started out in life quite 
 young, and after about two years of serv- 
 
 ice in aristocratic families shipped as 
 steward on board the •' Eliza Leshman," 
 bound for Australia. (This vessel was 
 afterward wrecked on the north of Ire- 
 land coast after Mr. Mcintosh had left 
 her). He next engaged as second .-stew- 
 ard of the "Lady Kilburn," running be- 
 tween Glasgosv and Ayr, and remaineil on 
 board about eighteen months, after which 
 he engaged with the " Peru," bound for 
 Genoa, Italy, and, leaving her at that 
 port, shipped aboard the "Emily," 
 bound for Alexandria, Egypt. He then 
 returned to England, and at London, in 
 1854, shipped on the " Polly," bound for 
 New Orleans. Here he quit his sea-far- 
 ing life and wandered up the countr} . In 
 1856 he left Illinois, where he then was, 
 and came to Kewaunee, Wis., remaining 
 here about a jear, after which he went 
 to Oconto, where after a short period he 
 shipped again, sailing between Oconto 
 and Chicago, and between Cleveland 
 (Ohio) and Saginaw Bay, until the spring 
 of 1 86 1. Then, at the call of Lincoln 
 for volunteers, he enlisted in June, 1S61, 
 in the Gailian Guards of Ohio, was mus- 
 tered in June 23, in Company C, Twen- 
 ty-third O. V. I., and served until hon- 
 orably discharged, July 27, 1865. part 
 of the time under Gen. K. B. Hayes 
 (afterward President). On May i, 1862, 
 at Clark's Hollow, he was wounded, and 
 he carried the ball somewhere in his 
 anatomy until recentl}-. After his dis- 
 charge he returned to Kewaunee, and in 
 1872 engaged in farming, which vocation 
 he has followed ever since. 
 
 In politics Mr. Mcintosh is a Repub- 
 lican, and was appointed lighthouse- 
 keeper, under President Harrison, at Two 
 Rivers Points, but was later transferred 
 to Canna Island. Mr. Mcintosh was 
 united in marriage, December 13, 1871, 
 with Eliza Jane Calhoun, a distant rela- 
 tion of the renowned John C. Calhoun, 
 and a daughter of Arthur and Elizabeth 
 Calhoun, By this union were born 
 seven children, in the following order: 
 Samuel .A., August 2r, 1872; George J., 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 729 
 
 April 21, 1874; Elizabeth M., March 28, 
 1876; William K., February 22, 1878; 
 Daniel, March 8, 1880; John, March 13, 
 1882, and Nettie, May 8, 1884. Mr. Mc- 
 intosh is honored by his neighbors, not 
 only for the gallant part he has taken in 
 defending the integrity of his adopted 
 country, but for his upright walk through 
 life and his usefulness as a citizen. 
 
 F 
 
 ELIX ENGLEBERT is the eldest 
 son of John B. and Mary (Pierard) 
 Englebert, who were natives of 
 Belgium, where the father was a 
 wagon-maker. His family consisted of 
 the following named children: Felix (our 
 subject). Desire, Joseph (who died in 
 Ahnapee, Wis.), Gustav (of Brussels 
 township), Charles (also of Brussels), and 
 John B. (who died in Chicago soon after 
 coming to the United States). 
 
 It was in the spring of 1856 that this 
 family left Antwerp for New York on the 
 vessel "David Hodly," the sea voyage 
 consuming fifty-eight days, during which 
 time there were nearly si.xty deaths on 
 board, most of them being children. 
 The destination of the Englebert family 
 was Dayton, Ohio, but after three or four 
 daj's spent there they concluded to go to 
 Chicago, where they spent the summer, 
 then coming to Green Bay, Wis. While 
 in Chicago the father was employed in a 
 brick yard where two of his sons assisted 
 him, and Felix worked in a bakery. After 
 a few weeks in Green Bay they came to 
 Brussels, Door Co., Wis. (where many 
 of their countrymen were then located), 
 the entire distance, thirty miles, being 
 traveled by the whole family on foot. 
 The father secured eighty acres of land, 
 heavily wooded, in Section 20, Brussels 
 township, on which he at once built a log 
 house, using brush for the roof of same, 
 and under this rude shelter the family 
 passed the winter, the father and sons 
 clearing away the timber as rapidly as 
 possible and getting out lumber for a new 
 house. On this place they lived for the 
 
 next five years, then, selling t|ie same, 
 purchased another piece of land in Sec- 
 tion 28, which was also uncleared, and 
 their hardships of the previous five years 
 were repeated. It was on this farm tliat 
 the father spent the remainder of his life, 
 dying there January 20, 1892; the mother 
 died October 27, 1883, and they are 
 buried in Brussels. One child was born 
 to them after their coming to this coun- 
 try, Mary, now Mrs. Eugene Hautelet, of 
 Brussels. Mr. Englebert was a Republi- 
 can in politics, and was atone time justice 
 of the peace, discharging the duties of 
 that office in his native language. Physi- 
 cally he was very strong and robust. 
 During his residence in this country he 
 had accumulated a comfortable little prop- 
 erty, and at the time of his death was a 
 well-known and respected citizen. 
 
 Felix Englebert, our subject, was six- 
 teen years of age when he came to this 
 country, previous to which he attended 
 the common schools of Belgium, but he 
 has never received any instruction in the 
 English language, acquiring his knowl- 
 edge of the latter wholly by practice and 
 observation. He being the eldest son the 
 brunt of the hard work fell upon his 
 shoulders, and he knows exactly what it 
 is to convert a forest into a well-culti- 
 vated farm. He lived at home until his 
 marriage, which occurred November 15, 
 1863, in Green Bay, Wis., to Miss Hen- 
 rietta Gefebore, also a native of Belgium. 
 By this wife he had three children, as 
 follows: Julia J., Charles and Henrietta 
 M. Mrs. Henrietta Englebert died Feb- 
 ruary 17, 1 87 1, in Green Bay, and on 
 February 28, 1876, in Lincoln, Wis., he 
 married for his second wife. Miss Julienne 
 Francart, also a native of Belgium. The 
 children of this marriage are: Frank (who 
 died in infancy), Frank J., Marie J. (de- 
 ceased), Marie v., Sophia R., Marie J., 
 Clemence A. and John B. 
 
 After his first marriage Mr. Englebert 
 moved, in the spring of 1864, to Chicago, 
 after having spent the winter in the pine 
 woods. In Chicago he worked in a brick 
 
730 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE lilOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 yard for six months, then removed to St. 
 Peter, Minn., where he wa.s emplojed by 
 a merchant for three and one-half years. 
 He then came to Door county, Wis., and 
 bought land, but after spending two years 
 on this new farm he sokl out and went to 
 Green Bay, where he was again employed 
 in a brick yard for two years, and later in 
 a feed store until 1877. He then came to 
 Brussels township. Door county, where 
 in Section 19 he purchased eighty acres 
 of timber land, and erected a house of 
 logs, which was the first one in this sec- 
 tion. Of his farm thirty-five acres are 
 now cleared, the work having been done 
 entirely by himself and family. In pol- 
 itics Mr. luiglebert is a Republican. He 
 has been chairman of the township for 
 two terms (four yearsj, and has been 
 treasurer of School District No. 4 for 
 seven years. He and his family arc mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church. 
 
 EUGENE CORDIEK. Foremost 
 among the systematic farmers 
 of Egg Harbor township, Door 
 county, and respected as one of 
 the most deserxing of its prosperous self- 
 made men, stands the subject of this 
 sketch. He was born February 6, 1833, 
 in France, son of John Cordier, who 
 died when Eugene was but thirteen years 
 of age, and being the eldest son, the lat- 
 ter became practically the mainstay of 
 the family, and worked hard to do his 
 part. 
 
 On .\pril 22, 1S55, Mr. Cordier, be- 
 lieving he could advance himself in the 
 New World, took passage at Havre de 
 Grace on a vessel bound for New York, 
 landing at that city in thirty-three days, 
 and thence continuing westward h\ boat to 
 Detroit, Mich. He found work on the 
 Wabash railroad (then in course of con- 
 struction) near Lockport, Ind. , but after 
 a time was seized with the fever and 
 ague, and his illness, which lasted eighteen 
 months, exhausted all his savings. On 
 his recovery he went to Chicago, 111., 
 
 where he passed one winter, working in 
 the McCormick Reaper Factory, and in 
 the following spring came to Green Bay, 
 Wis., and hired out to a butcher named 
 Jeffrey. Failing to receive his wages, 
 however, he came, in the fall of 1857, to 
 Union township, Docjr county, here, in 
 the midst of what was then a vast wilder- 
 ness, pre-empting and locating upon a 
 tract of wild land, on which, during his 
 four-years' residence there, he made vari- 
 ous improvements. Selling out, he em- 
 barked in the lumber business in the 
 northern ])art of Door coimty, which he 
 followed successfully for eighteen years, 
 buying land all over the county, cutting 
 off the timber, and then selling; frequently 
 holding such large tracts that his taxes dur- 
 ing this time amounted to as nuich as $400 
 perjcar, on unimproved land. About 1876 
 he purchased in Section 2, Egg Harbor 
 township, seven forty-acre tracts of land, in 
 its primitive condition, and here he has ever 
 since resided, retaining 200 acres of his 
 original purchase, sixtj' of which have 
 been cleared and put under cultivation. 
 In 1884 Mr. Cordier erected a very pleas- 
 ant home, one of the most comfortable 
 farm residences in the townshi]>. He has 
 met with well-merited success, and he 
 now ranks among the leading farmers of 
 his township. Having been denied the 
 adxantages of schooling in his early days, 
 and receiving no aid from an}' source to 
 conmience life, he has by reading and 
 observation acquired a practical educa- 
 tion, by energy and industrx' accumu- 
 lated a comfortable competence, and has 
 the confidence and respect of his neighbors 
 and fellow citizens. 
 
 On December 31, 18S2, Mr. Cordier 
 was married, in Egg Harbor, to Miss 
 Sophia Cote, who was born in 1851 in 
 Lower Canada, six miles from St. Paul, 
 daughter of Alexander Cote, a farmer; 
 she came to li\e with her brother in Door 
 county. Wis., and here met Mr. Cordier. 
 To their union have been born three chil- 
 dren, Joseph and Louis, living, and Mary 
 S., who died in infancy. They have also 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 731- 
 
 an adopted son, named CieorRe. Mr. 
 Cordier is a Republican politically, his 
 first Presidential vote beinjj cast for Abra- 
 ham Lincoln, and he takes an active in- 
 terest in local party affairs, having served 
 as chairman of his township. The family 
 are devout Catholics in relif,nous belief. 
 
 On July 17, 1892, Mr. Cordier set out 
 with his family on a trip to his native 
 country, \isiting the home of his early 
 boyhood, but he found only four persons 
 living there whom he had previously 
 known. The journey, which took them 
 through Canada and England, as well as 
 France, lasted four months. 
 
 HENRY .ANSCHUTZ, one of the 
 leading and representative farm- 
 ers of Door county, and a promi- 
 nent and influential citizen, was 
 born on July 14, 1859, in 15ay Settlement, 
 Brown Co., Wis., son of August An- 
 schutz, a native of Germany, who on emi- 
 grating to America became a farmer of 
 Brown county. Wis. Upon the old home- 
 stead our subject spent his early boyhood 
 days and in the public schools of the 
 neighborhood accjuired his education; but, 
 as his parents were in limited circum- 
 stances, his advantages in that direction 
 were somewhat meagre. 
 
 Mr. Anschutz began to earn his own 
 livelihood when quite 3'oung, and in 1879 
 he came to Door county, securing work 
 in Jacksonport township at wood cutting. 
 He and his brother Fred worked together, 
 and by earnest and untiring labor he got 
 a start in life, securing some capital, with 
 which in 18S0 he made his first purchase 
 of land, becoming owner of an eighty- 
 acre tract on Section 21, Jacksonport 
 township. This was then covered with 
 timber, but Mr. Anschutz cleared a place, 
 built a log cabin and began the further 
 development of his farm. Its boundaries 
 he has extended from time to time imtil 
 he now owns 280 acres of gooil land, 
 eighty acres of which are under cultiva- 
 tion, and the farm is one of the best im- 
 
 proved in the township. Mr. Anschutz 
 is a natural mechanic, built his own barn 
 and residence, and has made nearly all 
 the improvements upon the place with his 
 own hands, also working to some extent 
 at carpentering in the neighborhood. 
 
 In the fall of 1 880, in Jacksonport, 
 Door count\-, Mr. Anschutz was joined in 
 wedlock with Miss Mary Bley, a native of 
 Canada, and a daughter of John Bley. 
 Their union has been blessed with a family 
 of seven children — four sons and three 
 daughters, namely: John, Mabel, George, 
 Alice, Albert, Charles and Mary. Politic- 
 ally Mr. Anschutz is a Republican, hav- 
 ing supported that party since he attained 
 his majority. He has been honored with 
 a number of local offices, the duties of 
 which he has discharged with promptness 
 and fidelity, has several times served as a 
 member of the town board, and for 
 twelve years was school clerk. He is 
 now serving his second term as chairman 
 of the township board, and is among the 
 youngest members of the county board; 
 but his age is no detriment to efficient and 
 faithful service, which has won him the 
 commendation of all concerned. Four- 
 teen years ago Mr. Anschutz came to 
 Jacksonport township a poor boy, but his 
 diligence and perseverance have brought 
 to fiim a comfoi'table property, and he is 
 now one of the substantial farmers of the 
 counnunity, and one of its public-spirited 
 and progressive citizens. 
 
 PETER ARNDT, who is numbered 
 among the early settlers of Ke- 
 waunee county, was born in Lux- 
 emburg, Germany, in 1839, son 
 of Michael Arndt, a farmer and dealer in 
 horses, who did a successful business. 
 There were but two children in the fami- 
 ly — Stephen, who is still living in Lux- 
 emburg, Germany, and our subject. The 
 latter received but limited educational 
 privileges, never attending school after he 
 was twelve years of age, from which time 
 until eighteen years of age he was em- 
 
COiTMBMOIiATIVE BIOGBAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 ployed at farm labor; he was then drafted 
 into the army, in which he served for three 
 years, and at the age of twent}--one, not 
 wishing longer to be a soldier, he deserted 
 and came to America, his brother furnish- 
 ing him the money for this purpose. 
 
 Mr. Arndt landed in New York and 
 made his way to Milwaukee, \\^is., where 
 he was employed for six months, after 
 which he came to Luxemburg, Wis., and 
 worked for a lumberman for a similar 
 period. He then entered the war of the 
 Rebellion, as a substitute for John Tyler, 
 who paid him $700, and became a mem- 
 ber of Company K, Fourteenth Wis. V. I. 
 
 The first engagement in which he par- 
 ticipated was at Mobile, and at that place 
 was taken sick and sent to New Orleans, 
 where he lay in the hospital for one 
 month. He was then granted a twentj'- 
 days' furlough and returned home, later re- 
 ceiving another furlough of twenty days, 
 after which he went to Madison, Wis., 
 and was mustered out of the service, for 
 he was physically disabled for duty, and 
 during the succeeding year was able to 
 work scarcely at all. 
 
 Mr. Arndt was united in marriage with 
 Catherine Galontine, and then purchased 
 eighty acres of timber land, erecting 
 thereon a log house i6x 20 feet, in which 
 he made his home for three years, when 
 it was replaced by a more commodious 
 structure. His first crop was potatoes, 
 and his only farm implements were an 
 axe and grub hoe; but with these he 
 managed to clear a little piece of land and 
 afterward bought, at $2 per bushel, eight 
 bushels of wheat, from which he harvested 
 a crop of nearly i 50 bushels, cutting the 
 same with a cradle, and selling it 
 at $1.50 per bushel, thus realizing 
 considerable. He kept on clearing his 
 land and extended the boundaries of his 
 farm by an additional purchase of fifty 
 acres, making in all 130 acres, the greater 
 part of which is now under a high state of 
 cultivation and well improved, the owner 
 being a practical and progressive farmer, 
 one whose success in life is due to his 
 
 own efforts. In his political views Mr. 
 Arndt is a Democrat, and for eight years 
 filled the office of supervisor, also serving 
 as constable for a time. He and his wife 
 hold membership with the Catholic 
 Church. In their family are nine chil- 
 dren, namely: Anna, Catherine, Marj', 
 Nicholas, Theresa, John, Joseph, Law- 
 rence and Michael. 
 
 JOHN MEUNIER is one of the self- 
 made men of Kewaunee county, who, 
 by his own efforts, has steadily 
 worked his way upward from a 
 humble position to one of affluence, and 
 is now recognized as one of the thrifty, 
 substantial and representative farmers of 
 Lincoln township. 
 
 He was born in France October 27, 
 1827, son of Bernhard Meunier, who was 
 born in Prussia in 1794, was educated in 
 the German language, and in his youth 
 learned the weaver's trade. When a 
 young man he married Margaret Weber, 
 who was born in France in 1786, and re- 
 moving to that countrj'he made his home 
 there for about ten years, following the 
 weaver's trade, after which he returned 
 to Prussia. In 1835 he again went to 
 France, where he spent two years; then 
 once more returned to Prussia, where he 
 died in 1856. His father, Jacob Meunier, 
 was a successful teacher and a man of 
 good education, having studied for the 
 priesthood. The family have always ad- 
 hered to the Catholic faith. 
 
 Our subject was the third in a family 
 of three sons and two daughters, was ed- 
 ucated in France, and also has a knowl- 
 edge of the German language. When a 
 young man he learned the trade of mak- 
 ing mirrors, following same until twenty- 
 five years of age, when, on the 5th of 
 June, 1854, he embarked on an English 
 vessel bound for the United States, ar- 
 riving in New York City on the 2nd of 
 August. He then made his way to Port 
 Washington, Wis. , where he carried on 
 agricultural pursuits until 1859, at which 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 733 
 
 time he went to Ahnapee, Wis. Entering 
 eighty acres of timber land in the town 
 of Lincohi, Kewaunee county, he at once 
 began to clear and improve it, since which 
 time he has successfully carried on agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He has added to his 
 first purchase a tract of 120 acres, and 
 now has a valuable farm under a high 
 state of cultivation, improved with good 
 buildings and all modern accessories. 
 
 In 1 86 1 Mr. Meunier was married, in 
 Paris, France, to Annette Weber, who 
 was born in Luxemburg, Germany, Sep- 
 tember 22, 1829, and their children are 
 Michael, of Marinette, Wis. ; John, who 
 is living in Menomonie, Wis. ; Lawrence, 
 at home; John Batis, also of Marinette; 
 Katherine, wife of Henry Bastar, of Glad- 
 stone, Mich. ; and Annette, wife of Will- 
 iam Culligan. The children have been 
 provided with good educational advan- 
 tages, and thus fitted for the practical and 
 responsible duties of life. Mr. Meunier 
 came to this country a poor man, and he 
 has prospered through earnest effort, good 
 management and perseverance. He is 
 independent in politics, supporting the 
 man best qualified for office, and has 
 served as pathmaster. He has also done 
 much toward organizing school districts, 
 and for the past twenty-four years has 
 served as school director. When he came 
 to this county it was a wild and unsettled 
 region, and he underwent the hardships 
 of frontier life, but he is now surrounded 
 by the comforts of civilization, and has a 
 good home. 
 
 GOTTLIEB MOSIMANN is a pros- 
 perous farmer in Nasewaupee 
 township, Door county, and owns 
 a fine place of eighty acres in 
 Section 23, sixty acres of which he has 
 cleared himself. 
 
 Mr. Mosimann was born in the Canton 
 of Berne, Switzerland, in 1840, son of 
 Andrew and Magdalena (Weis) Mosimann, 
 who were born in the same Canton; the 
 father was a silversmith in that country. 
 
 43 
 
 In 1848 he and his family boarded a vessel 
 at Havre, landing after a voyage of six 
 weeks at New York harbor. They went 
 on to Buffalo, and then by the lakes to 
 Manitowoc county. Wis., where Mr. Mos- 
 imann bought a small tract of wooded 
 land which he undertook to clear for a 
 homestead; but the work was harder than 
 he was accustomed to, and in 1868 he 
 gave up the place and removed to Pet- 
 tis county, Mo., where he bought an 
 improved farm located fourteen miles 
 from Sedalia. Mrs. Mosimann died there 
 in 1882. She was the mother of seven 
 children, of whom two are deceased — 
 Anna and Mary Ann, the latter dying in 
 Pettis county. Mo., in 1884. Those liv- 
 ing are Gottlieb (our subject); Elizabeth, 
 wife of Jacob Becker, of Pettis county. 
 Mo. ; Magdalena, wife of Herman Meyer, 
 of Sedalia, Mo. ; John, married and re- 
 siding in Sedalia, and Lena, the wife of 
 Lewis Timmer Schute, of Pettis county, 
 Missouri. 
 
 Gottlieb Mosimann was eight years 
 old when he accompanied his parents to 
 Wisconsin. He received a good practical 
 education in the public shools of Manito- 
 woc, and when out of school assisted his 
 father with the work on the farm. In 
 March, 1862, he enlisted from Manito- 
 woc county, in Company K, Second Reg- 
 iment Wis. V. I., army of the Potomac; 
 he was taken sick at Fredericksburg, Va. , 
 and getting no better was honorably dis- 
 charged, returning home the same j'ear. 
 He soon recovered his health, however, 
 and in 1863 re-enlisted, this time in Com- 
 pany G, First Regiment Wis. V. C. for 
 three years. He was placed in the army 
 of the Cumberland, and took part in the 
 battles of Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, 
 Chattahoochee River, Peach Tree Creek, 
 Atlanta, and many minor engagements; 
 he also participated in Wilson's raid. 
 He was honorably discharged at Nash- 
 ville, Tenn., and returning home in July, 
 1865, began to farm in earnest. 
 
 In 1 868 Mr. Mosimann was married 
 in Manitowoc county, Wis. , to Miss Katie 
 
734 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Goetz, who was born in the Rhine Prov- 
 ince, Prussia, daughter of Phillip and 
 Maggie Goelz, who came from Prussia 
 and settled in Manitowoc county at an 
 early date; both died in Nasewaupee town- 
 ship. After his marriage Mr. Mosimann 
 went to Pettis county. Mo., following 
 farming there until i S74, when he returned 
 to Wisconsin and bought the farm he now 
 owns and occupies in Nasewaupee town- 
 ship. Door county. He is a member of 
 Henry Schuyler Post, G. A. R. . at Stur- 
 geon Bay, and takes an active interest in 
 politics, voting with the Republican party. 
 He is the father of ten children, all of 
 whom are living, as follows: Mary (who 
 is married to William Suher, of Menom- 
 inee, Mich.), Lena, Robert, Nicholas, 
 Joseph, Dressie, John, Andrew, Peter 
 and Delia. 
 
 THOMAS PANTER is a highly es- 
 teemed citi/en of Door county, 
 and has many warm friends 
 throughout the conmiunity in 
 which he has passed the greater part of 
 his active life. A native of England, he 
 was born May 4, 1835, '" Northampton- 
 shire, son of James and Lucy (Tillie) 
 Panter; the father was a watchman for 
 twenty-five years. In the famil}' were 
 seven children — William, James, John, 
 Thomas, Levi, Reuben and Joseph. They 
 all remained at home until they had 
 arrived at years of maturity, and the 
 school privileges which they received 
 were somewhat meager. 
 
 The knowledge which our subject has 
 gained has been mostly obtained through 
 his own efforts in leisure hours, but by 
 reading and obser\atioii he has m'ade 
 himself a well-informed man. He re- 
 mained under the parental roof until he 
 had attained his majority, when, in May, 
 1S56, he started for the New World. 
 He was married on April 26, of that year, 
 to Miss Rebecca Coe, daughter of Samuel 
 and Mar}' fBeaver) Coe, and bidding 
 adieu to his young wife he sailed for New 
 
 York from Liverpool, reaching his destin- 
 ation after a voyage of five weeks and 
 six days. The vessel on which he took 
 passage was the "Andrew Foster," and 
 as he stepped from its gang plank he felt 
 that he was indeed separated from his 
 old home and interests. He made his 
 way direct to Dover, Racine Co., Wis., 
 where he engaged in railroad work until 
 1862, at which time he came with his 
 family to Baileys Harbor, having been 
 joined by his wife in 1858. 
 
 On his arrival in Door county Mr. 
 Panter purchased 1 20 acres of land, 
 which forms a part of his present farm, 
 and began the development of the primi- 
 tive tract, which had thitherto been in- 
 habited only by bears, deer and Indians; 
 he has seen as many as twenty-five deer 
 within forty rods of his own home. In 
 those early days he went through all the 
 experiences and hardships of frontier life, 
 living in a log cabin 16x20 feet, which 
 continued to be their home for twenty 
 years. Mr. Panter at once began clear- 
 ing his land, but the work went slowly 
 at first for his only farm implement was 
 an axe; yet as time passed the place was 
 cleared and cultivated, the timber being 
 cut in cord wood, some of which he sold 
 at five dollars per cord. In Milwaukee 
 he bought the first oil lamp he ever saw, 
 which was regarded as quite a wonder 
 throughout the neighborhood, and the 
 two gallons of oil which he purchased at 
 the same time lasted all winter. Mil- 
 waukee was the principal trading pt)int 
 and to that place Mr. Panter went by 
 boat, for there were no roads cut through, 
 the only paths being Indian trails. 
 
 Mr. Panter was instrumental in found- 
 ing the towns of Jacksonport, which 
 originated in a fishing town founded by 
 P. G. Hibbard and J. T. Wright. He 
 helped to cut all the roads in the \icinity, 
 and bore his part in the other work of de- 
 velopment and upbuilding. The first 
 crop of oats which he sowed yielded a 
 very large return, and was harvested with 
 a cradle. Mr. Panter to-day owns 160 
 
CO}dMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 735 
 
 acres of land, and upon the eighty acres 
 which he has cleared there remains not a 
 stump, it being in the best condition for 
 cultivation of any land in the township. 
 To our subject and his wife have been 
 born seven children: Julia, Mary L. , 
 Samuel J., Florence, Delia, Charles and 
 Edmond. In his political views he is a 
 Republican, and his fellow townsmen, 
 recognizing his worth and ability, have 
 several times called upon him to fill po- 
 sitions of honor and trust, he having 
 served as member of the site board for 
 five years and as assessor for two years, 
 discharging the duties of that office in a 
 creditable and acceptable manner. He 
 is public-spirited and progressive, the 
 best interests of the connnunity find in 
 him a friend, and his support is given to 
 all worth}' enterprises calculated to prove 
 of public benefit. His success in life is 
 due to his own efforts and the assistance 
 of his estimable wife, and they well de- 
 serve the prosperity which has come to 
 them. 
 
 JOHN W.\EGLI is a native of Switz- 
 erland, born June lo, 1830, son of 
 Benedict Waegli, who was born in 
 the same country .August i, 1804, 
 and came to the United States in 1851, 
 locating in the State of New York. Here 
 he remained two years, and then came to 
 Wisconsin, stajingoneyear in Milwaukee, 
 after which he moved to Waukesha 
 county, where he died in October, 18S2. 
 His wife bore the maiden name of Annie 
 Miller, and was born July i, 1804. 
 
 John Waegli, their son, attended the 
 public schools of his native land until 
 seventeen years of age, when he began 
 learning the carpenter's trade, and he fol- 
 lowed same in the old country until he 
 came to America with his parents, he 
 being then twenty-one. Here he still 
 followed his vocation about fifteen \ears, 
 and then acted as o%erseer of Sandy Bay 
 Pier until 1874, when he bought land in 
 Carlton township, Kewaunee count}', and 
 
 has been engaged in farming ever since, 
 being now recognized as one of the lead- 
 ing agriculturists of the township and a 
 representative citizen. All he has he has 
 gained by his perseverance and sound 
 judgment, and he has won the full con- 
 fidence of his fellow-citizens, whom he 
 has served two different terms as chair- 
 man of the township and also as assessor. 
 He was united in marriage, April i, 1858, 
 with Miss Frances Hummel, who was 
 born in Switzerland in 1840. This union 
 has been blessed with eleven children, 
 viz.: Charles, Frank, John, Louis, Ru- 
 dolph, Guido, Lillic, Philip, Benedict, 
 Stella and Nettie. Mr. Waegli has now 
 a comfortable property, and holds a well- 
 merited position in the esteem of his 
 neighbors. 
 
 HENRY M. AWE, farmer and fruit 
 grower of Ahnapee township, 
 Kewaunee county, is a native of 
 the Fatherland, born September 
 II, 1859, in Prussia, but, coming to Wis- 
 consin with his parents in childhood, he 
 has passed the principal part of his life on 
 the farm in Kewaunee county, which he 
 now owns and occupies. 
 
 Frederick Awe, father of Henry M. , 
 was born in 1824 in Prussia, where he 
 was reared and educated, receiving a good 
 literary training, and when a young man 
 followed the profession of teacher for a 
 time. Afterward engaging in the hotel 
 and milling businesses, he continued thus 
 until 1865, in which year he removed to 
 the United States, making his first home 
 in this country in Manitowoc county. Wis. , 
 where he worked as a laborer for some 
 eighteen months, after which he followed 
 agricultural pursuits until about 1867, 
 when he embarked in the saloon business. 
 He conducted same for some two years, 
 when he resumed agriculture, remaining 
 in Manitowoc county for about two years 
 longer, and then, removing to Kewaunee 
 county, purchased the farm in Ahnapee 
 township which is now the propert}' of 
 
736 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his son, Henry M. The farm, beinj,' yet 
 uncleared at that time, it required several 
 years of hard labor to transform it to a 
 condition of fertility, and he followed 
 general farming there until 1892, when he 
 sold the farm to his son, Henry M., re- 
 moving to Forestville, Door Co., Wis., 
 where he now lives retired. 
 
 In Germany Mr. Awe was united in 
 marriage with Sophia Derbald, also a 
 native of Prussia, born in 1822, who be- 
 came the mother of eight children, as 
 follows : Philippina, wife of James E. 
 Bristol, of Union township. Door Co., 
 Wis., who is a fisherman by occupation; 
 Bernard, of Forestville, Door county; 
 Gustav, of Oshkosh, Wis.; Henry M., 
 whose name opens this sketch; Minnie, 
 Mrs. Leopold Colebeger, of the town of 
 Sevastopol, Door county; Amelia, Mrs. 
 William Herman, of Nadeau, Mich. ; John, 
 deceased, and a daughter that died in 
 infancy. The mother of this family 
 passed away in 1890 in Ahnapee, Ivewau- 
 nee county. Mr. Awe is a Republican in 
 political faith, and is actively interested in 
 local affairs, having served in several 
 public positions. He attends the Luth- 
 eran Church. 
 
 Henry M. Awe was educated in the 
 common schools of Manitowoc count)-, 
 obtaining a liberal education, and received 
 under his father's tuition a thorough train- 
 ing in agriculture, which he has adopted 
 for his life vocation. On September 12, 
 1892, he was married to Clara Benhard, 
 who was born January 22, 1873, daughter 
 of Robert and Bertha Benhard, natives 
 of Germany, the former born August 25, 
 1827, the latter October 1 1, 1847. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Awe have one child, Alfred, 
 born November 6, 1893. After his mar- 
 riage Mr. Awe purchased the home farm 
 from his father, comprising 160 acres of 
 excellent land, whereon he is engaged in 
 general farming and fruit raising, having 
 now sixteen acres in fruit trees. He is an 
 energetic, progressive young man, and 
 bids fair to become one of the most pros- 
 perous men in his section. Like his 
 
 father, he is a Republican politically, and 
 in Church connection is a Lutheran. The 
 paternal grandfather of our subject was a 
 hunter by occupation; the maternal grand- 
 father was a brick and tile maker. 
 
 JAMES S. HALSTEAD is a wide- 
 awake and enterprising business 
 man, who for the last thirty years 
 has been connected with lumber in- 
 terests, and is now engaged in that line of 
 trade in Jacksonport, Door county. He 
 was born in Ontario, Canada, July 4, 
 1849, and is one of the famil}' of thirteen 
 children — seven sons and six daughters — 
 born to William and Sarah (Gibbons) 
 Halstead; the former is a native of Nova 
 Scotia, has always been a hard working 
 man, and for more than a quarter of a 
 century engaged in the lumber business. 
 He is now living a retired life, making 
 his home with our subject. 
 
 James S. Halstead was reared under 
 the parental roof and acquired a good 
 education, for his early advantages, which 
 were those of the common schools, were 
 supplemented h\ a three-years' course in 
 an advanced school. At the age of six- 
 teen he engaged in lumbering, first cut- 
 ting logs, and his faithful service won him 
 promotion from time to time until he be- 
 came superintendent of the camp. His 
 employer's interest he ever made his own, 
 and his industry and efficiency were such 
 that he was enabled to command a good 
 position. In 1871 Mr. Halstead was 
 joined in wedlock, in Canada, with Miss 
 Mary Nugent, and while still a resident 
 of that country two sons were born to 
 them — George and William J. In the 
 spring of 1874 Mr. Halstead brought his 
 family to the United States and took up 
 his residence in Jacksonport, Wis., where 
 he has since made his home. At the 
 time of his arrival here his cash capital 
 had been reduced to $31.70, but he at 
 once engaged in the cedar business and 
 his financial condition soon began to im- 
 prove. He is now engaged in getting out 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lyi 
 
 timber on Chamber's Island for the Wis- 
 consin Chair Co., of Port Washington, 
 Wis. ; and his thirty years' experience in 
 the lumber business well fits him for such 
 work. 
 
 Mr. Halstead continued to reside in 
 Jacksonport until May, iSSi, when he re- 
 moved to Section 22, Jacksonport town- 
 ship, purchasing forty acres of land all in 
 its primitive condition. The improve- 
 ments upon it have been placed there by 
 his own hands, and stand as a monument 
 to his thrift, enterprise and progressive 
 spirit. Since coming to the United 
 States the family circle has been increased 
 by the birth of seven children — Thomas, 
 Henry, Agnes, Edna, Alice and Ruth, 
 all at home; and Robert, who died in 
 infancy. In his political views Mr. Hal- 
 stead has always been a Republican, and 
 takes a warm interest in the success and 
 growth of his party. He served as town- 
 ship clerk for about ten years, was elected 
 treasurer in 1888, and since filled that 
 office with credit to himself and satisfac- 
 tion to his constituents. He is also 
 justice of the peace, notary public and 
 school treasurer, and he and his wife are 
 members of the Episcopal Church. A 
 highly respected man, his straightforward 
 career and honorable, upright life have 
 gained him universal confidence and es- 
 teem. 
 
 JOHN BUETTNER, farmer and ex- 
 soldier, of Pierce township, Ke- 
 waunee county, was born Decem- 
 ber 26, 1846, near New York City, 
 son of John and Margaret Buettner, na- 
 tives of Germany. They landed in New 
 York in 1846, and after remaining there 
 eighteen months came to Wisconsin and 
 located in Milwaukee, in which city John, 
 the father, died of cholera. Mrs. Buett- 
 ner, soon after her husband's death, mar- 
 ried his brother, an industrious farmer. 
 
 John Buettner, our subject, was the 
 elder of two sons who constituted the 
 family of John and Margaret Buettner. 
 
 He was educated in the common schools 
 of Wisconsin, and chiefly reared on his 
 stepfather s farm, on which he remained, 
 giving all the assistance that he could, 
 until 1863, when he enlisted in Company 
 C, Fourteenth Wis. V. I. , serving in the 
 war of the Rebellion until October, 
 1865, when he received an honorable 
 discharge. His chief engagements were 
 at Nashville, Mobile and Spanish Fort. 
 Returning to the home farm, he worked 
 for his parents until 1875, when he pur- 
 chased the place, operating it on his own 
 account until 1881, in which year he sold 
 it and moved to Sheboygan. There he 
 worked in the chair factory about seven 
 months, when he came to Pierce town- 
 ship and purchased the farm he now oc- 
 cupies. He has brought the place into a 
 high state of cultivation and developed a 
 farm that has won for him a reputation 
 as being one of the most skillful and 
 thrifty farmers in the township. In con- 
 nection with his farm he has also run a 
 sawmill since 1882. In politics he is a 
 Republican, and has been honored by 
 being elected chairman of the town board 
 seven different times. Mr. Buettner was 
 united in marriage, in 1875, with Mary 
 Shomer, and the union has been blessed 
 with eleven children, viz. : Casper, John, 
 Bernard, Philip, Peter, Henry, William, 
 Annie, Mary, Rosie and Katie. Mr. 
 Buettner has made a success of his life 
 work, and has won for himself and family 
 a tine standing in the community. 
 
 CHARLES LUEBCK is one of the 
 representative and enterprising 
 farmers of Kewaunee county, one 
 whose entire life has here been 
 passed, for he was born in the township 
 which is still his home — Luxemburg — and 
 on the farm which he now owns, March 
 I, 1868. John and Caroline (Schneider) 
 Luebck, his parents, were both natives 
 of Germany, and had but two children — 
 Ida and Charles. In 1853 they left the 
 Fatherland and sailed for .America, taking 
 
7.V^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 up their residence in Luxemburg town- 
 ship, Kewaunee Co., Wis., where Mr. 
 Luebck bought fort\' acres of land in its 
 most primiti\'e condition. The county 
 seemed to be ahnost on the border of 
 civilization, and the city of Kewaunee 
 contained at that time only one store and 
 one tavern, while the township was 
 sparsely settled and bore little resem- 
 blance to its present improved condition. 
 After a time Mr. Luebck was enabled to 
 purchase an additional tract of land of 
 eighty acres, and transformed his farm 
 into rich and fertile iields. 
 
 Our subject was only three years of 
 age at the time of his father's death and 
 the mother was thus left with her family 
 to support. When he was only eight 
 years of age a great deal of farm work 
 devolved upon him; but he also received 
 able assistance from his sister, who when 
 a girl of fourteen did all the plowing upon 
 the farm. Thus they toiled together 
 under great disadvantages, and heavy 
 were the burdens which rested on their 
 young shoulders; but they maintained the 
 family, succumbed not to discourage- 
 ment, and brighter days followed. Mr. 
 Luebck is now the owner of i6o acres of 
 land, much of which is under a good 
 state of cultivation, and also has a saloon, 
 which he has conducted since 1893. In 
 his political views he is a Democrat, and 
 is a faithful member of and liberal con- 
 tributor to the Lutheran Church. 
 
 THOMAS HLINAK, brewer, Ke- 
 waunee, was born in Bohemia 
 December 19, i860, the fifth in a 
 family of fifteen children, of whom 
 three sons and three daughters only are 
 now living. The father, John Hlinak, 
 was born in 1830, was a blacksmith, and 
 married Katie Unhlicek. In 1874 the 
 family came to America and settled on a 
 farm in West Kewaunee, where the father 
 still lives, and where the mother died in 
 1889. 
 
 Thomas Hlinak, having attended the 
 
 common schools of Bohemia until his de- 
 parture for America at the age of four- 
 teen, devoted his time to assisting on the 
 farm here until he was nineteen, when he 
 went west for a year; he then went north 
 and for two years worked in the lumber 
 district. Again returning to Kewaunee, 
 he bought some property and engaged in 
 business for a jear, and for the following 
 six years was employed as a fireman on a 
 railroad in Michigan. In March, 1893, 
 he again returned to Kewaunee and pur- 
 chased a half interest in the Bavarian 
 Brewery, the product of which is daily 
 gaining in favor. 
 
 Mr. Hlinak is a Democrat in his polit- 
 ical proclivities, but is not an active par- 
 tisan and never held an office. He is a 
 member of the C. S. P. S., and, with his 
 wife, of the Catholic Church. In Novem- 
 ber, 1886, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Mary Klimesh, daughter of Mat. 
 Klimesh, an early settler of the county of 
 Kewaunee, and this union has been blessed 
 with two children-— one son and one 
 daughter — named respectively Wenzel and 
 Libbie. Although Mr. Hlinak is still a 
 young man, he has succeeded in securing 
 a solid grasp on the ladder that leads to 
 wealth, and is rapidl)' nearing the top- 
 most rung, where he will find ease and 
 comfort. 
 
 ADOLPH EBEL, a well-known 
 farmer of West Kewaunee town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, was born 
 in Prussia, German}", October 14, 
 1835, son of \\' illiam and Augusta Ebel. 
 Adolph attended the common schools 
 of his native land (including a course 
 of three years in the high school) until he 
 reached the age of si.xteen, when he learned 
 the baker's trade, following same in the old 
 country until nineteen years old, and in 
 1855 came to America, and directly to 
 Milwaukee, Wis. There he worked at his 
 trade a short time, thence going to Chi- 
 cago, and afterward returning to Mil- 
 waukee, and in 1857 came to Kewaunee 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAl^HICAL RECORD. 
 
 739 
 
 county, locating in Luxemburg township, 
 where he was employed in farming and 
 lumbering until 1863. Removing to 
 Pierce township, same county, he con- 
 tinued farming and logging until 1864, 
 when he came to West Kewaunee town- 
 ship and bought and settled upon the 
 farm he has ever since occupied and cul- 
 tivated. His life is another illustration of 
 what industry and economy can accom- 
 plish. Coming to this country in the pio- 
 neer days without money, but willing to 
 endure the hardships and privations of 
 backwoods life, he has by perseverance, 
 tact, and good business management, 
 secured a good home. In a short time 
 after arriving in the country he declared 
 his intention of becoming a citizen, affili- 
 ating with the Democratic party, and 
 since his settlement in West Kewaunee 
 township he has figured quite prominently 
 in the local politics of his township. He 
 has been elected supervisor several times, 
 has served two 3'ears as a member of the 
 county board, and has held the office of 
 town clerk ten or twelve years. After 
 the division of the township in 1877 he 
 was a member of the first board of super- 
 visors, and is clerk of the township to- 
 day, in all public positions proving him- 
 self to be honorable, faithful and capable. 
 Mr. Ebel was joined in wedlock, April 
 10, 1862, with Helen Bohne, who was 
 born near Milwaukee, October 2, 1845, 
 daughter of Frederick and Theressa 
 Bohne, natives of Saxony, who came to 
 the United States in 1844. To the mar- 
 riage of Mr. and Mrs. Ebel have been 
 born seven children: Fred H., May 10, 
 1 863 ; Minnie T. , March 27, 1 867 ; Charles, 
 March 17, 1869; Emma C, July 17, 
 1870; Adolph A., January 6, 1873; Hat- 
 tie, June 26, 1884; and Helen, September 
 25, 1887. Of these, two are deceased: 
 Fred H., who died March 16, 1883, and 
 Charles, who died April 7, 1869. Fred- 
 erick Bohne, father of Mrs. Ebel, died at 
 Kewaunee June 10, 1874, and Theressa 
 Bohne, her mother, died at the same 
 place Januarj- 25, 1894. 
 
 LOUIS BASSINE, a practical j-oung 
 agriculturist of Brussels township. 
 Door county, was born there Sep- 
 tember 6, i860, son of Clement 
 Bassine, a native of Belgium who came 
 to this country, settling in Brussels town- 
 ship, Door Co., Wis., in 1856. 
 
 Before leaving Belgium, Clement Bas- 
 sine was married to Mary Theresa Dacos, 
 by whom he had one child born in Bel- 
 gium, Mary T., and seven born in this 
 country, of whom Louis, our subject, is 
 the only one who attained maturity. The 
 father had but barely funds enough to 
 bring his family to America, and when he 
 arrived in Wisconsin he secured forty 
 acres of land in Section 29, Brussels 
 township. The family was among the 
 first in that section, and they were obliged 
 to undergo many inconveniences ere they 
 could be comfortable to any degree. Mr. 
 Bassine erected a log cabin in which they 
 lived for some time. For the first three 
 years they had no horses or cattle and 
 were obliged to do all the work by hand. 
 About 1870 Mr. Bassine secured another 
 forty acres, in Section 19, and from that 
 time on he has gradually been accumulat- 
 ing more land until at the present time 
 he has 200 acres, ninety acres of which 
 are under cultivation. In 1882, having 
 bought forty acres in Section 30, he built 
 thereon a good substantial dwelling, where 
 they have since resided. He and his es- 
 timable wife are members of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and are greatly respected 
 as pioneers who have done much to open 
 up a new country to civilization. 
 
 Louis Bassine, our subject, had but 
 limited opportunities for an education. 
 Being an only son, and his father not be- 
 ing able to afford hired help, he was 
 obliged to work, shoulder to shoulder, 
 with him. Aside from the three years 
 which he was permitted to spend in the 
 public schools of Green Bay, he has spent 
 his life on his father's farm. On Novem- 
 ber 25, 1882, he was married to Miss 
 Leona Gelard, a native of Belgium, who 
 came to this country when but two }ears 
 
740 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 old, and the young couple took up their 
 residence on the home farm, where they 
 have since lived. They have three chil- 
 dren: Octavia, Joseph and Frank. Like 
 his father, Mr. Bassine is a Republican, 
 politically, and he has filled the office of 
 school clerk since the organization of Dis- 
 trict No. 4; in 1890 he was elected chair- 
 man, serving as such four years. He is 
 a rising young man and verj' popular 
 among his associates. 
 
 JACOB CRASS, deceased, was one of 
 the honored pioneers of Door county 
 who located here at an early day, and 
 was prominently connected with the 
 work of development and improvement, 
 bearing his part in all enterprises calcu- 
 lated to prove of public benefit. He was 
 born in Germany in 1824, and as his 
 parents were people of small means, he 
 early started out in life for himself. When 
 a young man he crossed the ocean to 
 America and made his way to Wisconsin, 
 settling in Sevastopol township. Door 
 county, where he spent his remaining 
 days. 
 
 At the time of his arrival the county 
 was just being opened up to civilization; 
 almost the only roads were the Indian 
 trails or paths through the forests, the 
 few settlers were widely scattered and 
 deer and wolves were very frequently 
 seen. The land which Mr. Crass secured 
 was entirely wild, not a furrow having 
 been turned or an improvement made 
 upon it, but he was anxious to secure a 
 good home, and out of the forest he hewed 
 the farm which at length became a valua- 
 ble property. In earlier years he had 
 learned the trades of a gunsmith and 
 blacksmith, and was in fact a natural 
 mechanic, his abilities along this line 
 proving of much benefit in the work of 
 developing his land and making farm im- 
 plements. His first home was a rude 
 shanty, which stood near the site of the 
 present residence. 
 
 When the Civil war broke out Mr. 
 
 Crass laid aside the plow and hoe and 
 responded to the country's call for aid, 
 enlisting in Company H, Twelfth Wis. 
 V. I., and, when his first term had e.xpired, 
 he re-enlisted and continued in the service 
 until after the close of the war. He was 
 a faithful and brave soldier, always loyal 
 to the old flag and the cause it repre- 
 sented, and took part in a number of 
 important engagements. He was never 
 wounded, but the exposure and hardships 
 incident to war brought on rheumatism, 
 which rendered him almost helpless in his 
 later years. 
 
 On July 4, 1869, Mr. Crass was mar- 
 ried in Sevastopol township to Mrs. 
 Margaret (Cole) Melville, widow of 
 Thomas Melville. She was born in 
 County Cork, Ireland, June 20, 1830, 
 daughter of Gregory Cole, and in the 
 Emerald Isle married Thomas Melville, 
 who died there, leaving one child, Thomas, 
 now a resident of Sevastopol. In 1862 
 the mother, with her son, came to the 
 United States, landing in New York on 
 the 3d of July, and made her waj- to 
 Milwaukee, Wis., where she supported 
 herself and son until coming to Door 
 county with her uncle, William Cole. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Crass came the following 
 children : Jacob, born April 26, 1S70, 
 who now manages the home farm; Maggie, 
 born July 7, 1871, and William H., born 
 January 5, 1879, who died on the 23d of 
 March following. 
 
 Mr. Crass was ever a hard-working 
 man, and his success in life was not due 
 to a fortunate combination of circum- 
 stances, but resulted from earnest labor 
 and perseverance. In politics he was a 
 stalwart Republican, believed in the pro- 
 tection of American industries, and took 
 an interest in the success of his party, but 
 never sought office for himself, preferring 
 to devote his time and attention to his 
 business interests. He served, however, 
 as a school officer, and was a warm friend 
 of the cause of education; in religious 
 belief he was a Lutheran. He died 
 November 24, 1888, and was buried in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 741 
 
 Bear Side cemetery. His widow and her 
 two children still reside on the old home- 
 stead, which comprises 1 20 acres of land, 
 now under a high state of cultivation and 
 improved with all the accessories and 
 conveniences of a model farm. Although 
 only eighteen years of age at the time of 
 his father's death, the son assumed the 
 management of the business affairs, and 
 has displayed marked ability in the dis- 
 charge of the duties which fell upon his 
 young shoulders. 
 
 OLE A. ANDERSON, a well-to-do, 
 respected resident of Egg Harbor 
 township, Door county, was born 
 February 22, 1844, in Norway, 
 son of John C. Anderson, a farmer of 
 that country. 
 
 The father of our subject emigrated 
 with his family to America in 1854, and 
 came west immediately, via the Great 
 Lakes, sailing from Buffalo on the steamer 
 "Columbia." He settled in Door coun- 
 ty, Wis., first locating at Ephraim, and 
 died in 1889, at Sister Bay; Mrs. Ander- 
 son now lives with her son, Ole A. They 
 were the parents of five children, namely: 
 Andrew J., Capt. Michael (of the schooner 
 "Annie Doll," who has his home in Mil- 
 waukee), Ole A., Mary and Maria. 
 
 Ole A. Anderson had few opportuni- 
 ties in his boyhood for obtaining a good 
 education, as few schools flourished in 
 the home neighborhood at that time, and, 
 having plenty of work to do at home, he 
 attended them only as circumstances per- 
 mitted. Up to the time of his marriage 
 he obtained his livelihood sailing and fish- 
 ing, and after that event located on land 
 one mile south of Ellison Bay, where he 
 engaged in farming, also getting out ties 
 and cordwood. He lived in that vicinity 
 until 1 89 1, when he removed to his pres- 
 ent home near Horse Shoe Bay, and here 
 he has since been engaged, in partnership 
 with his brother, Capt. Michael Anderson, 
 in getting out cordwood. Mr. Anderson 
 formerly owned 160 acres of land in 
 
 Liberty Grove township, and he now has 
 a half interest in 400 acres in Egg Harbor 
 township. He has worked hard to get a 
 start in the world, and the prosperity and 
 success which have attended his efforts 
 are well deserved, as all who know him, 
 and are acquainted with his steady indus- 
 trious habits, will agree, and he is much 
 respected by his fellow citizens. While 
 in Liberty Grove township he served as 
 supervisor, but he has no aspirations for 
 political preferment, giving his entire time 
 and attention to his business interests. In 
 political sentiment he is a Republican. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Anderson was married, 
 in Ellison Bay, to Miss Gertie Anderson, 
 a native of Sweden, and to their union 
 was born one child, John O., who lives 
 at home. Mrs. Anderson died in 1890, 
 in Milwaukee, to which city she had gone 
 for medical treatment, and her remains 
 now rest at Sister Bay, Door county. 
 Mr. Anderson is a Lutheran in Church 
 connection. 
 
 FRED LEISCHOW, agriculturist 
 and cheese maker, and one of the 
 most widely known farmer citi- 
 zens of the town of Ahnapee, Ke- 
 waunee county, is a Prussian, born June 
 I, 1850, in Pomerania. 
 
 His father, John Leischow, was a 
 native of the same country, born in 18 19, 
 where he attended school, receiving a 
 good German education. He was reared 
 on a farm. When a young man he mar- 
 ried Minnie Raedke, who was born in 
 Prussia in 18 18, and she became the 
 mother of eight children, of whom three 
 are deceased and five are living, as follows: 
 Augusta, Mrs. Ferdinand Miller, of the 
 town of Forestville, Door Co. , Wis. ; 
 Caroline, Mrs. Ferdinand Maedke, of the 
 town of Ahnapee; Fred, whose name 
 opens this sketch; Albert, of the town of 
 Ahnapee, and Bertha, ^Irs. August 
 Froemming, of Ahnapee. After his mar- 
 riage Mr. Leischow followed agricultural 
 pursuits, also working as a roofer, until 
 
742 
 
 commemohative biographical record. 
 
 1868, in which year he emigrated to the 
 United States, whither two daughters had 
 preceded him. Coming directly to Ke- 
 waunee county, Wis., he purchased in 
 the town of Ahnapee an eighty-acre tract 
 of timberland, upon which he located, 
 and without delay began the work of 
 clearing the place for cultivation. Later 
 he purchased 100 acres more, all of which 
 he improved, and he became one of the 
 prosperous men of his township. Po- 
 htically he was a Republican, and in re- 
 ligious connection he was a member of 
 the Lutheran Church. He died in May, 
 1892, and his remains now rest in the 
 Forestville cemetery. 
 
 Fred Leischow was educated in the 
 common schools of his native country, 
 and when eighteen years of age came 
 with his parents to the United States, 
 continuing to work on the home farm up 
 to the age of twenty-four years, when he 
 married and started in life for himself. 
 Purchasing from his father the farm of 
 eighty-five acres which he yet owns and 
 occupies, he engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits, in which he has met with well-mer- 
 ited success. He has since bought more 
 land, and now owns 1 20 acres, well im- 
 proved and in a high state of cultivation, 
 the result of his labors entitling him to a 
 place among the best farmers of his town- 
 ship. In addition to his agricultural in- 
 terests, he owns and operates a cheese 
 factory, which does an extensive and 
 profitable business. Mr. Leischow gives 
 his own affairs the strictest personal at- 
 tention, but he also takes a lively inter- 
 est in the welfare of the community in 
 which he lives, and he has filled the office 
 of chairman for si.\ years, has served as 
 supervisor, and for the last nine years has 
 been clerk of his school district. In po- 
 litical connection he is a Republican. In 
 religious faith the family are members of 
 the M. E. Church of the town of Forest- 
 ville. 
 
 Mr. Leischow was united in marriage 
 with Caroline Kaaee, a native of Ger- 
 many, born in 1854, and they are the 
 
 parents of ten children, as follows: Lizzie 
 (Mrs. Louis Batcher, of Door county. 
 Wis.), Leonard, Amelia, Frederick, 
 Lydia, Annie, Alma, Gerhard, Louis and 
 Harrv. 
 
 JACOB J. KULHANEK. an enter- 
 prising young farmer of Franklin 
 township, Kewaunee county, was 
 born in Bohemia, May i, 1863, a 
 son of John and Katie Kulhanek, who 
 immigrated to the United States in 1871, 
 coming directly to the town of Mont- 
 pelier, in Kewaunee county, where the 
 father purchased land and at once com- 
 menced farming, so continuing until 1881, 
 when he sold his farm and purchased the 
 one his son Jacob now owns and occupies. 
 Jacob J. Kulhanek was the fifth born 
 in a family of si.x children, and was but 
 eight years of age when brought to 
 America by his parents. He was edu- 
 cated in the public schools of Franklin, 
 but ended his school days at the age of 
 fourteen years, and worked on the home 
 farm until si.xteen, when he started in 
 life for himself, commencing in a saw- 
 mill in Menomonie, where he worked 
 about two years and then returned home. 
 About a year later he obtained a situa- 
 tion as night watchman in a large saw- 
 mill at Garden Bay, Mich., where he re- 
 mained, interchanging positions, for about 
 five years. During this period his father 
 had given him the farm, and when he 
 returned home, at the expiration of the 
 time mentioned, he took charge and has 
 been engaged in its cultivation ever since, 
 prospering greatlw Mr. Kulhanek was 
 married September 12, 1881, to Miss 
 Annie Rabitz, daughter of Mathias and 
 Mary Rabitz, natives of Bohemia who 
 came to the United States in 1857. Mrs. 
 Annie Kulhanek was born in the town- 
 ship of Franklin in 1865, and is now the 
 mother of four bright children, namely: 
 Mathias, Mary, Jacob and Annie. The 
 family are members of the Catholic 
 Church, and Mr. Kulhanek is a member 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 743 
 
 of the Roman Catholic Bohemian Society 
 of Wisconsin, and of the C. F. P. S., a 
 Bohemian Benevolent Society of the town 
 of Franklin. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 and, as such, has served as township 
 assessor, and also filled several minor 
 offices; for three years he has served as 
 justice of the peace, and is still filling that 
 position in a most satisfactory manner. 
 He is one of the most highly respected 
 young men of the township, with every 
 prospect of a bright future. 
 
 M 
 
 daughter 
 marriage the 
 
 ATHIAS NYGARD is a native 
 of Norway, born April 27, 
 1856, and is the only son of 
 Mathias and Anna (Semson) 
 (Peterson) Nygard. They also had a 
 Christine, and by his second 
 father had three sons — 
 Peter, Simon and Antone. By occupa- 
 tion he was a farmer, and followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits throughout his entire life. 
 Mr. Nygard received a common-school 
 education, and spent his boyhood and 
 youth upon his father's farm, early becom- 
 ing familiar with the work of cultivating 
 land. His time was thus passed until 
 1872, when he sailed for the United States 
 on a vessel which dropped anchor in the 
 harbor of Baltimore, Md. , his passage be- 
 ing paid by Mathias Mathison, who is now 
 a resident of Cla3'banks township. Door 
 county. Our subject came at once to 
 Sturgeon Bay, Wis. , and for about three 
 months worked for George Bosford, after 
 which he went to .\rthur Bay, where he 
 was employed in lumbering for about 
 eleven months. His next place of resi- 
 dence was Claybanks township, and he 
 lived with John Mathison for a short time, 
 going then to Sturgeon river, where he 
 was employed in a sawmill during the 
 four succeeding summers. He then re- 
 turned to Claybanks township, but at that 
 time had no intention of locating here; 
 however, he finally purchased a store 
 building and the ground on which it stood. 
 
 and opened a small mercantile establish- 
 ment in partnership with John Mathison, 
 they continuing together for two years, 
 when Mr. Nygard bought out Mr. Mathi- 
 son, and has since been alone in business. 
 He has a full and complete stock of gen- 
 eral merchandise and a well-arranged 
 store, and his customers come from many- 
 miles around. In 1888 he built a cheese 
 factory, which he has since operated in 
 connection with his other interests. 
 
 Mr. Nj'gard holds membership with 
 the Lutheran Church, and contributes lib- 
 erally to its support. Since becoming an 
 American citizen he has supported the Re- 
 publican party, and is a warm advocate of 
 its principles; but has never sought or 
 desired political preferment, his time and 
 attention being fully occupied by his busi- 
 ness interests. He is a man straightfor- 
 ward and honorable in all dealings, and 
 his earnest desire to please his customers, 
 his courteous treatment and his honorable 
 career have won him success. 
 
 LOUIS SCHWEDLER is one of the 
 worthy and representative citizens 
 that Germany has furnished to 
 Kewaunee count}'. He was born 
 in the Kingdom of Prussia January 5, 
 1818, and is a son of John G. and Julia 
 (Scharf) Schwedler, the father a minister, 
 and is the only living member of a family 
 of thirteen children, those deceased being: 
 Rhinehart, Adolph, Adolphine, Minnie L., 
 Frank S., Eliza A., Augusta, Adelaide, 
 Ewald, Arnold, Arthur and Albert. 
 
 When our subject was a youth of 
 thirteen he entered school, having pre- 
 viously been taught by his father, who 
 was a well-educated man. At the early 
 age of five years he could read and write, 
 and at the age of si.xteen he completed a 
 high-school education. In 1843 he wed- 
 ded Louise Manisel, and about that time 
 secured the position as manager over a 
 large estate in Germany of 2,000 acres, 
 receiving as a compensation for his serv- 
 
744 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ices $600 per annum. He was also in 
 the German army for three years, doing 
 duty in the cavalry service. 
 
 In 1S48 he bade adieu to friends and 
 Fatherland and sailed for America, land- 
 ing at New Orleans after a voyage of 
 fifty-three days. He at once started 
 north, traveling until he had reached 
 Washington county. Wis., where he pur- 
 chased forty acres of wild land, heavily 
 covered with timber. There were no 
 roads, nothing but Indian trails, wild 
 animals were frequently seen, and the 
 county was just opening up to civiliza- 
 tion. Milwaukee was the nearest trading 
 point, a distance of forty miles, and it 
 required about a week to make the jour- 
 ney to and from that place, for he had 
 only an o.\-team, and those animals are 
 not noted for their speed. After living 
 upon the farm in Washington county for 
 nine years, during which time he cleared 
 and improved eighty acres of land, Mr. 
 Schwedler came, in 1856, to Luxemburg 
 (then a part of Casco) township, Kewau- 
 nee county, and purchased, on Section 14, 
 160 acres of land, for which he paid $80. 
 There was not a space cleared large 
 enough to erect a house, so he had to cut 
 down the trees ere he could build his first 
 home, i8.\20 feet in dmiensions, in 
 which he lived until 1865. He plowed 
 his land with an ox-team, and his imple- 
 ments were an axe, a plow and a grub 
 hoe. Two years later he purchased forty 
 acres of his present farm, and in 1865 sold 
 his first farm and went to Neenah, Wis., 
 where he purchased a house and lot, his 
 son being employed in a foundry at that 
 place. After two years, however, he 
 returned to Luxemburg township, and, 
 locating upon his forty-acre farm, built a 
 log house, which was his home until 1880, 
 when it was replaced by his present 
 residence. The boundaries of his farm 
 he has extended from time to time, having 
 purchased forty acres in 1868, forty acres 
 in 1 87 1, and forty acres in 1877, making 
 in all 160 acres of land. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Schwedler have been 
 
 born eleven children — Adelaide, Mary 
 (deceased), Oscar, Awald (deceased), 
 Herman, Albert (deceased), Louis, Ru- 
 dolph, Robert (deceased), Ida and Adelia. 
 Since becoming an American citizen the 
 father of this family has been a stanch 
 Republican, and has served as assessor 
 and pathmaster. A progressive and pub- 
 lic-spirited man, betakes a warm interest 
 in everything pertaining to the welfare of 
 the community, and well deserves repre- 
 sentation in the history of his adopted 
 county. 
 
 J 
 
 ACOB KOZINA, an active and en- 
 terprising young farmer of Franklin 
 township, Kewaunee Co. , Wis. , was 
 born in Bohemia August i, 1862. 
 His parents, Thomas and Mary Ko- 
 zina, natives of the same country, came 
 with their children to the United States 
 in 1869, making their way directly to 
 Franklin township. Here the father 
 bought the farm now owned in part and 
 occupied by their sen Jacob, the subject 
 of this sketch, and followed farming 
 until 1892, when he sold part of the 
 homestead, having already deeded eighty 
 acres to Jacob. Our subject is the fourth 
 in a family of six children, and was but 
 seven years of age when brought to 
 America. His education was therefore 
 secured partly in the old country and 
 partly in this, but he left school at the 
 age of fourteen years and worked with 
 his father until twenty-three, when the 
 eighty acres were deeded to him; since 
 then he has followed the vocation of 
 farming continuously, and is now one of 
 the representative agriculturists of the 
 township. 
 
 On June 2, 1S85, Mr. Kozina mar- 
 ried Miss Frances Wishka, who was born 
 in the town of Carlton, Kewaunee Co., 
 Wis., April 24, 1868, and is a daughter 
 of Joseph and Josie Wishka, who came 
 from Bohemia to Carlton township in 
 1865. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ko- 
 zina has been blessed by the birth of four 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 745 
 
 children, namely: Peter, Joseph, Annie 
 and Francis. The family are members 
 of the Catholic Church, and Mr. Kozina 
 is a member of the Bohemian Roman 
 Catholic Central Union. In politics he 
 is a Democrat, and has held the office of 
 town treasurer about three years. He is 
 a successful man in his vocation, is a 
 useful citizen, and enjoys the esteem of 
 all his fellow-citizens, regardless of creeds 
 or politics. 
 
 JOHN CHATER, retired farmer, was 
 born May 7, 18 17, in Northampton- 
 shire, England, son of James and 
 Mary (Smith) Chater, in whose 
 family were six children — Elizabeth, Mary 
 Ann, Sarah, John, Martha and Anna. 
 The father died when our subject was 
 only five years old, and this compelled 
 John, when he was yet quite young, 
 to earn his own living. He was only 
 about seven years of age when he began 
 to aid his mother in the support of the 
 family, his first work being what was 
 called quill winding. Later he learned 
 the weaver's trade, which he followed for 
 about fourteen years, earning quite a good 
 livelihood in that way, for he was an ex- 
 pert workman. 
 
 On January 7, 1840, Mr. Chater was 
 united in marriage with Miss Julia 
 Buford, daughter of William and Anna 
 (Loseby) Buford, who were the parents 
 of five children, namely: Elizabeth, Julia, 
 Martha, George and Fred. In 1862 our 
 subject, having determined to try his for- 
 tune in America, sailed from Liverpool, 
 England, and after a voyage of fourteen 
 days landed at New York, whence he 
 made his way to Door county. Wis., and 
 located in Waterford, this State. In the 
 following November he came to Baileys 
 Harbor and purchased 135 acres of land, 
 three miles south of the town, upon which 
 he built a log house 18x24 feet, the best 
 residence in the township at that time. 
 His wife crossed the Atlantic about three 
 years later, landing at Quebec and com- 
 
 ing at once to Baileys Harbor, whence 
 she walked to the farm. Many hours she 
 spent in tears in those early days, for the 
 new home was in such contrast to her old 
 one with its comforts and conveniences. 
 
 Mr. Chater worked hard from morn- 
 ing until night, and after a time waving 
 fields of grain were seen where once were 
 barren fields, and the bounteous harvests 
 greatly added to the income of the owner. 
 His first crop was millet, and his sales 
 from three acres netted him over one 
 hundred dollars. Mr. Chater continued 
 to make his home upon the farm until 
 1887, when failing health forced him to 
 abandon agricultural pursuits, and he has 
 since lived retired, enjoying the rest which 
 he has so truly earned and richly de- 
 serves. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Chater was born a 
 daughter — Matlida — now the wife of 
 James Riding, who lives on her father's 
 farm. Our subject exercises his right of 
 franchise in support of the Democratic 
 party, taking a deep interest in the growth 
 and success of same, and keeping well in- 
 formed on the issues of the day. He is 
 numbered among the pioneer settlers 
 of Door county, aided in laying out a 
 number of its roads, and has been other- 
 wise identified with its progress and de- 
 velopment. 
 
 JOHN WRABETZ, of Kewaunee, was 
 born in Moravia, a province of Aus- 
 tria, June 9, 1839, son of Frank 
 and Anna (Kalab) Wrabetz, who 
 were married in 1837. The family came 
 to America in 1853, but the father being 
 taken ill a few days before landing, he 
 was taken to a hospital on Long Island, 
 N. Y. , where he died after an illness of 
 seven days, leaving his widow with two 
 sons and one daughter, John being the 
 eldest. 
 
 The family at once came to Milwau- 
 kee, Wis. , there remaining together until 
 1859, when John went to Chicago for 
 two years, or until the spring of 1861, 
 
746 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 when he came to Kewaunee, reaching 
 here April 26. .He opened a wagon 
 shop, having learned the trade under his 
 father, who was a wagon-maker, and 
 conducted it until August 15, 1862, when 
 he enlisted in the Twenty-seventh Wis. 
 V. I., with which he served in all its 
 marches and engagements until Sejjtem- 
 ber 29, 1865, when he was honorably 
 discharged from the \\' estern Department. 
 In the fall of the same \ear he returned 
 to Kewaunee, built a new shop, resumed 
 his old trade, and carried it on until 1881, 
 when he sold out and bought an interest 
 in a stone quarry, which he held until the 
 spring of 189^, when he sold. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1894, he purchased his present 
 meat market in Kewaunee, and is now 
 doing a thri\ing trade. 
 
 Mr. Wrabetz was married in .\pril, 
 1866, to Miss Mary Herbek, who l)ecame 
 the mother of si.\ sons and six daughters, 
 of whom three sons and four daughters 
 are still living; the mother was called 
 away in February, 1883. Mrs. Anna 
 Wrabetz, mother of our subject, died in 
 Milwaukee in 1889. Mr. W'rabetz is a 
 solid Republican and cast his first vote 
 for Lincoln. As the candidate of this 
 party, he was elected sheriff of Kewaunee 
 count)' in 1868, and served one term; as 
 city treasurer he served four terms, and 
 he has also tilled the office of alderman. 
 He is a member of no Church, nor of any 
 secret organization, but his popularity 
 rests on his own jiersonal merits. 
 
 FKlCDliRICK SCHUMACHFK, a 
 ])rosperous farmerof Carlton town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, was born 
 at Hohenbrunzow, Germany, Jan- 
 uary I, 1854. His father, Frederick, Sr. , 
 was a native of the same place, born 
 March 25, 1825. His grandfather, Chris- 
 topher, was born in 1797, and died in 
 1862; his grandmother, Christina (Arnst) 
 Schumacher, was born in 1799, and died 
 in 1882. 
 
 After leaving school, at the age of 
 
 fourteen, Frederick, Sr. , began working 
 out for strangers at farm work, and was 
 thus employed until twenty years old, 
 when he was called to join the standing 
 army for three years, and was then dis- 
 charged. The German revolution broke 
 out about this time, and he was again 
 called to serve his country for a year; 
 after his second discharge he re-engaged 
 in farm labor until October 10, 1863, 
 when he brought his family to the United 
 States, and, locating in Chicago, 111., 
 worked there for seventeen years at what- 
 ever he could find to do. He then rented 
 a farm in Cook county. 111., which he 
 culti\ate(l some seven years, and again 
 went to Chicago, where he now resides. 
 He had married, in 1850, Caroline Bau- 
 mann, who was born in Granshendorf, 
 Germany, March i, 1828, and to this 
 marriage have come six children, viz. : 
 Rika, Frederick, Caroline, Bertha, Mary 
 and William. 
 
 Frederick, Jr., the subject of this 
 sketch, passed three jears in the com- 
 mon schools of his native country, and 
 being but nine years of age when he 
 reached Chicago, he there attended the 
 public schools about five years, securing 
 a good education. After this he followed 
 teaming for about nine years, when he 
 joined his father in farming on the rented 
 land. When the father returned to 
 Chicago our subject came to Carlton 
 townjihip, Kewaunee Co. , Wis. , and 
 bought the farm he now occupies, which 
 was gained by hard labor and good man- 
 agement. 
 
 Mr. Schumacher was first united in 
 marriage, July 9, 1882, with Annie Gierz, 
 daughter of Fred and Lena Gierz. She was 
 born in Hohenbrunzow August 7, 1858, 
 came to the United States in 1882, and 
 died in Carlton township December 22, 
 1893. ^'it' bore her husband three chil- 
 dren, viz.: Herman, born May 19, 1883; 
 Annie, August 18, 1884, and Martha, 
 September 30, 1886. The second mar- 
 riage of our subject was to Augusta Kealke, 
 on March 28, 1894. This lady was born 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 747- 
 
 in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Gerniany, No- 
 vember 7, 1865. Her father was John 
 Kealke, who was born in Furstensee, 
 Germany, in January, 1820, and died in 
 Mecklenburg-Strelitz June 4, 1883; her 
 mother was Minnie (Stegnian) Kealka, 
 who was born in Godendorf, Germany, 
 November 21, 1823, and died August i, 
 1884. Mr. Schumacher is a member of 
 the Lutheran Church at Sandy Bay, and 
 he and his family enjoy the respect of all 
 who know them. 
 
 CONRAD WACKTLER, a pioneer 
 citizen of Wisconsin, now resid- 
 ing in Nasewaupee township. 
 Door county, was born in Wur- 
 temberg, Germany, in 1827. His parents, 
 Conrad and Elizabeth (Brodbeck) Wack- 
 tler, were agriculturists in Gerniany, and 
 of their family three are now living: 
 Michael (residing in Germany), Barbara, 
 and Conrad (our subject). The father 
 died in his native country in 1829, and 
 the mother followed him in 1837. 
 
 Conrad Wacktler was educated in the 
 public schools of German}-, and at the age 
 of twenty-one 3ears entered in the German 
 army, fighting in the conflict which raged 
 between his country and Denmark over 
 the possession of Schleswig-Holstein. 
 After the close of the war he returned 
 home and carried on farming until 1852, 
 when he emigrated to the United States, 
 taking passage on a sailing vessel, the 
 voyage occupying six weeks. He went 
 at once to Albany, New York, where he 
 found employment in a tannery; remain- 
 ing there but a short time he went to Port 
 Washington, Wis., where he learned the 
 carpenter's trade; but at the end of three 
 years he gave that up and moved to Gib- 
 son township, Manitowoc county, there 
 following his former occupation of farm- 
 ing until 1862, when he enlisted in Com- 
 pany F, Fifteenth Wis. V. I. , Fourteenth 
 Army Corps. He fought in the battle of 
 Island No. 10, was with Sherman on his 
 famous march to the sea, and took part 
 
 in a number of fierce conflicts, receiving 
 an honorable discharge at Nashville, 
 Tenn., in 1865, after which he returned 
 to his home in Manitowoc county. 
 
 While living in Port Washington Mr. 
 Wacktler was married to Miss Elizabeth- 
 Broadbeck, a native of Germany, whose 
 parents lived and died there. She has borne 
 him four children, three of whom are living. 
 Wilhelm, who resides at home, looks 
 after the farm and conducts a saloon; 
 Henry, also living at home, and Gustav, 
 who is married and lives near his parents. 
 Catherine died at the age of eighteen 
 years. Mr. Wacktler is a member of the 
 G. A. R. at Sturgeon Bay. In politics he 
 is a Republican, and takes much interest 
 in securing good capable men for officers. 
 He and his estimaljle wife are members 
 of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 FRED LEONHARDT is one of 
 Wisconsin's native sons, born 
 January 29, 1858, in Sheboygan 
 county, and is the youngest in a 
 family of four children, whose parents were 
 Adam and Anna Margaret (Schneider) 
 Leonhardt. The father was a successful 
 agriculturist. The children are Peter, 
 now living in Oconto, Wis. ; Mary, wife 
 of Theodore Youngerman, a resident of 
 Marinette, Wis. ; Anna, wife of A. Adels- 
 beck, who lives in California, and Fred. 
 Fred Leonhardt well deserves repre- 
 sentation in the history of his adopted 
 county. His mother died when he was 
 only two and a half j-ears old, and in his 
 early childhood he had few advantages. 
 When only thirteen years of age he went 
 into the lumber woods, where he was 
 employed as a teamster for two winters, 
 after which he began learning the shoe- 
 maker's trade, serving a two-years' ap- 
 prenticeship; but on the expiration of 
 that period he was compelled to abandon 
 the work on account of failing health, 
 and in order to provide for his own main- 
 tenance he then again turned his atten- 
 tion to teaming, which he followed for a 
 
74S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 number of years. The greater part of 
 his life has been spent in Wisconsin, and 
 his career has been one of usefulness. 
 In 1880 he removed to \'oseville, where 
 he began working for George Peterson, 
 and while at that place he was united in 
 marriage to Miss Harriet Richardson, the 
 wedding being celebrated on Christmas 
 Day, 1882. The lady is a daughter of 
 Lorenzo and Chloe A. (Porter) Richard- 
 son, well-known people of Door county. 
 After their marriage the young couple 
 came to Baileys Harbor and Mr. Leon- 
 hardt bought 100 acres of land at three 
 dollars per acre — a timber tract which 
 was entirely unimproved. They lived in 
 Mr. Richardson's home for seven years 
 and then mo\ed to their present residence, 
 which is noted for its hospitality and good 
 cheer. Mr. Leonhardt now has twenty 
 acres under a high state of cultivation. 
 
 Four children blessed the union of 
 our subject and his wife, but the second 
 child died in infancy, and Lorenzo A. died 
 at the age of two years. Ashire F. , the 
 eldest, and Aaron L., the youngest, are 
 still under the parental roof. Mr. Leon- 
 hardt is a Republican, and alvvaj-s sup- 
 ports that party by his ballot, but he has 
 never sought office for himself, preferring 
 to give his time and attention to his busi- 
 ness interests. Whatever success he has 
 achieved in life is due to his own efforts, 
 and is the reward of diligence and earnest 
 application. 
 
 E HENRY HERRICK is of Bo- 
 hemian parentage, his parents, 
 Joseph and Annie Herrick, having 
 been natives of Bohemia, whence 
 they emigrated to the United States be- 
 fore he was born. His father was a 
 wagon- maker in his own country, and 
 now follows that trade in Lincoln town- 
 ship, Kewaunee Co., Wis. There were 
 six children in the family — four sons and 
 two daughters: Joseph, Jr., E. Henry 
 (our subject), James, \\'illiam, Mary (now 
 
 Mrs. Frank Nowak, of Milwaukee), and 
 Lillie (who is still at home). 
 
 E. Henry Herrick was born October 
 14, 1868, in West Bend, Washington 
 Co., Wis., where up to the age of ten 
 years he attended the German parochial 
 schools, later attending the public schools 
 of Lincoln. At the age of eighteen years 
 he left home and went to northern Mich- 
 igan, where he secured a position as sca- 
 ler in a lumber camp. When summer 
 came he went home, but the following 
 winter he returned and became foreman 
 for the same jobber in the lumber camp. 
 Again returning home he was married, 
 on September 6, 1890, to Miss Rosa 
 Naze, of Brussels township, daughter of 
 Eugene Naze, who is at present (1894) 
 township treasurer of Brussels. After 
 Mr. Herrick's marriage he located in 
 Rosiere, Brussels township, where he 
 went into partnership with his father-in- 
 law in the farming, cheese-making and 
 mercantile businesses, which under his 
 careful management are rapidly increas- 
 ing. He has but one child, Louisa, who 
 was born August 21, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Herrick holds allegiance to the 
 Republican party, and has been sent by 
 them as a delegate to the Republican 
 county convention from Brussels town- 
 ship. He is an unusually bright young 
 man, and is most popular with all classes 
 of people with whom he comes in con- 
 tact in business and social relations. He 
 speaks four languages: English, Ger- 
 man, Bohemian and Belgian, an accomp- 
 lishment which has proved of the utmost 
 value in business. He is a member of 
 the Roman Catholic Church, and is most 
 active in promoting all measures which 
 will benefit the communitj'. 
 
 w 
 
 Ignatz 
 
 HECK, an enterprising and 
 prosperous young jeweler of Ke- 
 waunee, was born in Bohemia, 
 February 12, 1863. His father. 
 Heck, was a substantial farmer in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 749 
 
 the old country, as was his father before 
 him. Ignatz married a farmer's daugh- 
 ter, who bore him twelve children, of 
 whom six still survive. About the year 
 1880 this family came to America, set- 
 tling on a farm in Pierce township, Ke- 
 waunee Co., Wis., where the father still 
 lives. 
 
 W. Heck attended school in his na- 
 tive land until fourteen years of age, and 
 became fairly educated both in Bohemian 
 and German. He then began learning 
 the jewelry business in the city of Par- 
 dubitz, Bohemia, serving three years, 
 and then came to America with his par- 
 ents, he being then seventeen years old. 
 On arriving here he at once located in 
 Kewaunee, and for seven years worked 
 for others, then establishing a store for 
 himself, he met with much success, and 
 in 1 89 1 built his present block, one of 
 the finest in the city; part of it is occu- 
 pied by the postoffice, and the remainder 
 by his jewelry store and as his family 
 residence. Mr. Heck is also interested 
 in the Kewaunee Furniture Factory, of 
 which he is treasurer, and likewise in the 
 Bohemian Printing Co., which was estab- 
 lished in 1890, and is altogether a most 
 progressive young business man. 
 
 Mr. Heck was united in marriage in 
 Kewaunee, August 18, 1886, with Miss 
 Anna Dolensky, a native of Kewaunee 
 county and a daughter of Frank Dolen- 
 sky, an early settler. This union has 
 been blessed with two children — Anna 
 and Otto. In politics Mr. Heck is en- 
 tirely independent, but has served as 
 alderman. He is a member of the Royal 
 Arcanum, and of the Bohemian Turners, 
 and socially he and his family are highly 
 esteemed by the entire community. 
 
 WILLIAM BARTEL is a wide- 
 awake and progressive citizen 
 and the owner of a tine farm in 
 Sevastopol township, Door 
 county, which has been placed under its 
 present high state of cultivation through 
 43 
 
 his own efforts. He was born in Ger- 
 many September 4, 1849, and is the 
 second son in a family of seven children, 
 six sons and one daughter. The father, 
 William Bartel, was a farmer in Germany 
 who had a comfortable income, and in 
 the schools of that country the children 
 were educated. 
 
 Our subject remained under the pa- 
 rental roof until about twenty-six years of 
 age, when his father gave him money 
 with which to come to America, and in 
 December, 1875, he crossed the Atlantic, 
 sailing from Bremen on the steamer 
 "America," which after a voyage of six- 
 teen days dropped anchor in the harbor 
 of New York. Making his way to Mil- 
 waukee, Wis. , he there secured work with 
 the Chicago & North Western Railway 
 Company near Granville, this State. He 
 worked hard, saved his money and thus 
 got a start in life and on the 29th of June, 
 1878, came to Door county, and soon 
 after became the owner of eighty acres of 
 timber land.. Here in the midst of the 
 forest he hewed out a farm, for his prop- 
 erty was covered with a heavy growth of 
 timber which had to be cleared away ere 
 he could plow and plant his land. The 
 boundaries of this farm he has extended 
 until he now has 184 acres, of which 
 eighty acres are under cultivation and yield 
 to him a good income. His home is a 
 comfortable residence, and the improve- 
 ments of a model farm are there found. 
 
 Mr. Bartel was married, February 28, 
 1878, in Ozaukee county. Wis., to Miss 
 Margaret Herrbold, who was born in that 
 county July 12, 1850, and is a daughter 
 of Jacob Herrbold, a German farmer, 
 who in his younger years emigrated to 
 America. Their union has been blessed 
 with three children, one son and two 
 daughters — George, Susie and Louisa, all 
 yet under the parental roof. The parents 
 are highly respected people and are con- 
 sistent members of the Lutheran Church, 
 and in his political views Mr. Bartel has 
 always been a Democrat, but he has 
 never sought or desired official preferment. 
 
75° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 He has been the architect of his own for- 
 tune, and has built wisely and well. He 
 started out in life for himself with very 
 limited circumstances, worked as a rail- 
 road laborer, chopped wood at fifty cents 
 a cord, and scorned no labor which would 
 yield him an honest living. Steadily has 
 he worked his wa\' upward, overcoming 
 the difficulties and obstacles in his path 
 by perseverance and diligence, and to-day 
 he is numbered among the well-to-do 
 farmers of his adopted county. 
 
 HENRY BULTMANN, a well-to-do 
 farmer of West Kewaunee town- 
 ship, Kewaunee county, was born 
 in Munster, Germany, September 
 II, 1838, and is a son of Joseph and 
 Annie Bultmann. 
 
 Henry was reared to farming, and was 
 educated in a Catholic school in the old 
 country. He worked for his father on 
 the home farm until about twenty-eight 
 years old, and on March 7, 1868, emi- 
 grated to the United States, locating first 
 at Effingham, 111., but shortly afterward 
 removing to St. Louis, Mo. In the au- 
 tumn of 1 869, however, he came to Wis- 
 consin, settling in Kewaunee, where for 
 six years he worked in the sawmills. He 
 then bought the farm he still owns in 
 West Kewaunee township, where he has 
 since resided and which he has ever since 
 successfully cultivated, adding yearly to 
 his store of worldly goods, and now pos- 
 sessing as neat a farm as any of its size in 
 the township. Mr. Bultmann was united 
 in marriage February 14, 1S69, with Miss 
 Gertrude Huttar, who was born August 
 25, 1843, daughter of Joseph and Eliza- 
 beth Huttar. To their union have been 
 born four children, as follows: Henry, 
 May 28, 1873; Anton, February 26, 1876; 
 Bernard, April 17, 187S, and Annie, Sep- 
 tember 13, 1884. Mr. Bultmann is a 
 Democrat in his political affiliations, and 
 in his religious faith is a devout Catholic. 
 He has led an industrious and upright 
 life, and he and his family are highly es- 
 
 teemed in their community, where Mr. 
 Bultmann is looked upon as a valuable 
 and useful citizen. 
 
 HERMAN SCHLUESSEL, who is 
 one of the well-to-do farmers and 
 substantial citizens of Brussels 
 township. Door countj', was born 
 in Germany August 11, 1853, son of Mar- 
 tin Schluessel, a retired farmer of Ahna- 
 pee, who was also born in Germany. 
 
 W'hen Herman was thirteen years of 
 age the family emigrated toAmerica, sailing 
 from Hamburg to New York. They came 
 west to Milwaukee, W^is. , where our sub- 
 ject remained with his mother while his 
 father went on farther to look up a loca- 
 tion, and deciding to settle in the town of 
 Gibson, Manitowoc county, they lived on 
 a farm there for the ne.xt nine years, at 
 the end of that time removing to Ahna- 
 pee, Kewaunee county. During this 
 period Herman also worked for neighbor- 
 ing farmers, and the wages thus obtained 
 he gave to his parents, with whom he re- 
 mained until 1873. About this time he 
 concluded to get a home for himself, and 
 in Section 24, Brussels township. Door 
 county, he purchased 100 acres of land, 
 then all wooded, and he himself cut the 
 first tree that was felled on the property. 
 He erected a small cabin on his clearing, 
 and did his own cooking for some time. 
 On October 15, 1875, he was married, in 
 Cooperstown, Manitowoc count}', to Miss 
 Hulda Ueker, a resident of that county, 
 and daughter of Frederick Ueker, a re- 
 tired farmer. After their marriage Mr. 
 and Mrs. Schluessel immediately com- 
 menced housekeeping in the log cabin 
 where Mr. Schluessel had been living, but 
 in 1893 they built one of the best farm 
 residences to be found in Brussels town- 
 ship. They have a family of bright chil- 
 dren, named as follows: William, Annie, 
 Hannah, Henry, Minnie. Gustav, Fred 
 and Matilda, all living; John died when 
 si.\ months old. 
 
 At the present time Mr. Schluessel has 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 73' 
 
 1 50 acres of land, all but two acres under 
 cultivation, and this is the largest cleared 
 farm in the township. For two years he 
 conducted a general store on his farm, 
 and in the spring of 1889 he began the 
 manufacture of cheese, in which he has 
 continued up to the present time, his 
 daughter Annie aiding him materially in 
 this enterprise. Mr. Schluessel is a Re- 
 publican in politics, and in religion he 
 and his entire family are members of the 
 Methodist Church of Forestville. In up- 
 rightness of character and honesty of pur- 
 pose Mr. Schluessel stands prominent 
 among his townspeople. 
 
 HERMAN KLEIMANN, a sub- 
 stantial farmer of West Kewau- 
 nee township, Kewaunee county, 
 was born in Germany November 
 '5- 1837, son of Casper and Mary Klei- 
 mann. 
 
 During his boyhood our subject at- 
 tended the Catholic schools of his native 
 country, and lived on a farm until 1864, 
 when he came to the United States, com- 
 ing directly through from the seaboard 
 to Illinois, where he worked on a farm 
 for about four years. He then came to 
 Kewaunee county. Wis., where, a short 
 time after his arrival, he purchased his 
 present farm, which he has cleared, and 
 by carefully attending to his business has 
 secured for himself a good home. After 
 becoming naturalized he cast his vote 
 with the Democrats, but he has never 
 sought public office. On April 10, 1866, 
 he was united in marriage with Mary Os- 
 pring, y^ho was born near Chicago, 111., 
 August 28, 1850, daughter of Andrew and 
 Eva Ospring. Fifteen children, all still 
 living, have been the result of this union, 
 and were born in the following order: 
 Lizzie, April 15, 1868; Casper, March 
 18, 1870; August, April 29, 1872; Will- 
 iam, October i, 1874; Mary, February 
 24, 1876; Lucy, October 29, 1878; Annie, 
 August 7, 1880; Clara, February 7, 1882; 
 Trissie, September 19, 1883; Katie, April 
 
 20, 1885; Theodore, January 8, 1887; Gus- 
 tie, March 14, 1888; Isabelle, December 
 25, 1890; John, April 28, 1892, and Julia, 
 November 28, 1893. Mr. Kleimann and 
 family are adherents of the Catholic 
 Church, and are much respected by their 
 neighbors. He is a most industrious man, 
 and is one of the best farmers in West 
 Kewaunee township. 
 
 THEODORE PETERSON, an in- 
 dustrious, rising young farmer, of 
 Egg Harbor township. Door coun- 
 ty, is a native of Sweden, born 
 September 10, 1866, third son of Peter 
 Peterson, a farmer. The family consisted 
 of eight children — five sons and three 
 daughters — of whom Theodore is the fifth 
 in the order of birth. 
 
 Our subject was given a good com- 
 mon-school education, and until about 
 eighteen years old assisted his father on 
 the home farm, afterward working for 
 others for some two years. In Novem- 
 ber, 1886, he sailed from Gottenborg, 
 and ten days later landed at New York, 
 coming westward immediately to Green 
 Bay, Wis., and thence by stage to Stur- 
 geon Baj', where he arrived early in De- 
 cember. For the remainder of that win- 
 ter he was engaged in cutting cordwood, 
 in Gibraltar township, Door county, and 
 he was employed at various kinds of 
 labor until the fall of 1889, when, in 
 partnership with his brother, he bought 
 the farm of eighty acres, lying in Section 
 20, Egg Harbor township, on which he 
 now lives. He is a thrifty, industrious 
 worker, and under his management the 
 farm has undergone many changes and 
 improvements, and is yearly becoming 
 more valuable. With a reputation for 
 thorough honesty in all his dealings, he 
 has the good will of all who know him, 
 and being yet young has a prosperous 
 career before him. 
 
 In May, i 893, Mr. Peterson was mar- 
 ried, in Egg Harbor township, to Miss 
 Maggie Rossau, who was born in Gibraltar 
 
752 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 
 
 township, Door county, daughter of John 
 Rossau, a native of Holland, and to this 
 marriage has come one child, Albert. Mr. 
 Peterson is a Republican in politics and 
 cast his first Presidential vote for Har- 
 rison. In religious faith he and his wife 
 are members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 LUKE KILLOREN is one of Ire- 
 land's honest sons now numbered 
 among the leading agriculturists of 
 Door county. He was born in 
 County Sligo in 1834, and is a son of 
 John and Mary (Karens) Killoren, the 
 father a farmer by occupation. In the 
 family were eleven children — Dominick, 
 John, Patrick, Thomas, Andrew, Bridget, 
 Luke, Mary, and three who died in infancy. 
 The career of Luke Killoren is not 
 one of brilliant or e.xciting episodes, but 
 is that of a man who has lived a quiet 
 life, performing faithfullj' the duties which 
 have come to him, and living at peace 
 with all. He attended school until about 
 seventeen years of age, and afterward 
 aided in the labors on his father's farm 
 until his marriage to Miss Margaret Egan, 
 daughter of John Egan, whose family 
 consisted of the following named children 
 — John, James, Patrick, Allie and Mar- 
 garet. In 1850 the young couple bade 
 adieu to the old home and sailed for the 
 New World, hoping thereby to benefit 
 their financial condition. After eight 
 weeks and three days spent upon the 
 Atlantic they first set foot on American 
 soil at Boston, whence they went to 
 Salem, Mass., and there for one year Mr. 
 Killoren was employed as a common 
 laborer. He then removed to Lowell, 
 Mass., and during the succeeding si.\ 
 years was employed in a cotton factory at 
 two dollars per day; but again they 
 changed their place of residence and this 
 time sought a home in the West, locating 
 in Wisconsin. Mr. Killoren purchased 
 ten acres of land for seventy-five dollars, 
 built a log cabin, 16 x 20 feet, and cleared 
 five acres of the land, but during most of 
 
 the time worked for the farmers in the 
 neighborhood. After seven years he came 
 to Gardner township. Door county, and 
 worked in a sawmill for ten years, when, 
 in 1879, he purchased the 104 acres of 
 land constituting his present farm. It 
 was then covered with a heavy growth of 
 timber, but he at once began to clear it, 
 and with the assistance of his sons has 
 placed about fifty acres under cultivation. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Killoren have had a 
 family of eight children — Anna (deceased), 
 Anna, John, Thomas and Maggie (twins), 
 Lizzie, James and William. The mem- 
 bers of the family all belong to the Cath- 
 olic Church, and are well-known and 
 highly respected people of the community 
 in which they reside. Mr. Killoren votes 
 with the Democratic part}', but has never 
 been an aspirant for public ofTice, prefer- 
 ring to give his time and attention to his 
 business interests. Such in brief is the 
 record of his life; much might be said of 
 the hardships through which he has 
 passed and the trials that he has borne, but 
 with persistent effort he has worked on 
 and gained for himself and family a com- 
 fortable home, won the respect of all 
 with whom he has been brought in con- 
 tact, and gained a place among the 
 valued citizens of the community. 
 
 FRANK MILECHAR was born in 
 the town of Carlton, Kewaunee 
 county, March 18, 1859, and is 
 still a resident of his native town- 
 ship. His father, Joseph Milechar, was 
 born in Bohemia and by vocation was a 
 farmer. 
 
 Frank, the youngest in a family of six 
 children, was also reared to agriculture, 
 and still follows that pursuit. He was 
 educated in the public schools of Kewau- 
 nee county, which were necessarily re- 
 stricted in their means and methods in 
 his early day, but he succeeded fairly well 
 in acquiring a substantial fund of infor- 
 mation. When he had reached the age of 
 twenty-four years he was presented by 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOOEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 753 
 
 his father with the farm he now owns and 
 has ever since cultivated, making many 
 necessary as well as desirable improve- 
 ments. Mr. Milechar has thriven, and he 
 is now considered to be one of Carlton's 
 representative men. A Democrat in pol- 
 itics, he has served as a member of the 
 town board, as town treasurer, as con- 
 stable, as a member of the board of edu- 
 cation, and has filled other minor offices, 
 always serving the people with ability and 
 honesty. In religion he is devoutly Cath- 
 olic. On January 17, 1882, he married 
 Miss Annie Wannek, daughter of George 
 and Mary Wannek, natives of Bohemia, 
 and this union has been blessed with the 
 birth of seven children, viz. : Albina, 
 Adolph, Emil, Frank, Anton, Mary, and 
 one whose name is not given, all living 
 except Frank, who died in 1892. 
 
 JACQUES NEUVILLE is a progress- 
 ive and public-spirited citizen, one 
 who labors for the best interests of 
 the community in which he resides, 
 and whose worth is recognized by many 
 friends who hold him in high esteem. He 
 was born May 13, 1840, in Belgium, and 
 is a son of J. Joseph and Mary J. (Del- 
 saou) Neuville, the father a farmer by 
 occupation. In the family were children 
 as follows: Adolph, Nicholas, Catherine, 
 Elnore, Henry, Jacques, Julian, Joseph 
 and Andrew. 
 
 Mr. Neuville attended school until 
 thirteen years of age, when he began 
 learning the mason's trade, serving a 
 three-years' apprenticeship. On the ex- 
 piration of that period the family, except- 
 ing Adolph, crossed the briny deep to 
 New York, and thence came direct to 
 Green Bay, Wis., and on to Gardner 
 township, Door county. The father had 
 died when Jacques was only five years of 
 age. The mother purchased 160 acres of 
 land at seventy-five cents per acre, and 
 the sons built a log cabin, 22x22 feet, 
 carrying all the timber on their shoulders. 
 They at once began to clear the land, and 
 
 their first crop consisted of potatoes and 
 two bushels of spring wheat, their har- 
 vests increasing with the amount of cleared 
 land until they were able to reap abund- 
 antly. The work was continued as rapidly 
 as possible, but the task was an arduous 
 one, for they had no team and the farm 
 implements of that day were very crude. 
 No roads had been made in this locality, 
 nothing but Indian trails marked their 
 paths; the woods were full of wild game 
 of all kinds, and Nicholas Neuville at one 
 time had a yoke of cattle killed by the 
 wolves which were very numerous in this 
 region. Jacques often walked to Green 
 Bay, a distance of thirty miles, and like 
 his brothers shared in the hard labor of 
 the farm, working from early morning un- 
 til night. The children remained at home 
 until their marriage, and when the last 
 one left the parental roof the mother went 
 to Bay Settlement, Brown Co., Wis., to 
 live with her son Julian. Her death oc- 
 curred about 1884. 
 
 On May 3, 1862, Jacques Neuville was 
 united in marriage with Theresa Salun, 
 and on November 16, 1864, our subject 
 left his young wife to aid in the defense 
 of the Union, enlisting in Company K, 
 Fifth Minnesota V. I., with which he 
 served until the close of the war. He 
 then returned to his home, and having 
 previously purchased forty acres of land 
 in Gardner township, began the work of 
 developing his farm, the boundaries of 
 which he has since extended until it 
 now comprises 120 acres, of which 
 eighty acres are cleared. Nine chil- 
 dren bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Neuville, namely: Flora, Isadore, Rose, 
 Eliza, Mellory, Josephine, Louie, Mary 
 and Ananias. The parents and children 
 are members of the Catholic Church, and 
 in politics Mr. Neuville is a Republican. 
 He has served as supervisor for a number 
 of years, has been school clerk and school 
 director, and is a warm friend of the cause 
 of education, which he believes to be one 
 of the prime factors in the promotion of 
 good government. 
 
754 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 
 
 CHARLES LUTGEN. a thriving 
 young farmer of West Kewau- 
 nee township, Kewaunee county, 
 was born at Kewaunee Septem- 
 ber 13, 1865, and is a son of John Lut- 
 gen, who was born in Bremen, Germany, 
 August 4, 1S28. 
 
 At the age of thirteen John Lutgen 
 came to America, and for a while lived 
 in Milwaukee, Wis., thence moving to 
 Two Rivers, Wis., where he was em- 
 ployed in lumbering about six 3-ears, at 
 the end of that time buying a farm at 
 Saxonburg, Manitowoc county. He fol- 
 lowed agriculture until 1854, when he 
 came to Kewaunee, being one of the 
 pioneers of the county, and he helped to 
 build the first sawmill in Kewaunee, also 
 assisting in erecting the first German 
 Lutheran church of the same place, of 
 which Church he is a faithful adherent. 
 He was the first man to enlist from 
 Kewaunee county during the Civil war, 
 and served until discharged on account of 
 disability, his eye-sight having failed; in- 
 deed, a short time after his discharge he 
 became totally blind, and so remained 
 for three years, when his sight was re 
 
 stored. 
 
 Engajrme: 
 
 in lumberinsr until 
 
 1880, he then located on a farm now 
 owned by his son Charles, and here fol- 
 lowed the vocation of farming about 
 eight years, when he retired. He is a 
 member in good standing of the G. A. 
 R. post at Kewaunee, and has been for 
 many years. John Lutgen was married, 
 in 1849, to Margaret Rife, who was born 
 February 15, 1831, daughter of John and 
 Elizabeth Rife, and died March 11, 1892, 
 the mother of ten children, viz. : John 
 (deceased), Henry (deceased), Johnnie, 
 Minnie, Mary (deceased), Martha (de- 
 ceased), Charles, Hattie, Edward, and 
 one that died in infancy unnamed. 
 
 Charles Lutgen, the seventh in 
 order of birth of the above-named chil- 
 dren, was educated in the public schools 
 of Kewaunee county, and worked on the 
 home farm until twenty-two years old. 
 In 1889 he engaged in farming on his 
 
 own account, and has been very success- 
 ful. On September 15, 1888, he was 
 united in marriage with Emma Bielke, 
 who was born March 31, 1867, and she 
 has borne him two children— Henry, 
 born September 29, 1889, and Maggie, 
 born June 22, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lutgen are in the full enjoyment of the 
 esteem of all who know them. 
 
 M 
 
 ICHEL BOTTKOLwas born in 
 October, 1831, in the Rhine 
 Province of Germany, which 
 was also the birthplace of his 
 parents, Michel and Mary (Bartholmas) 
 Bottkol. In the family were six chil- 
 dren, of whom three sons and one daughter 
 are j'et living. 
 
 In 1856 the father emigrated to the 
 United States, leaving Germany in April 
 and reaching New York on the 7th of 
 June. From there he proceeded to Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., whence, after a short 
 time, he came to Kewaunee county, 
 where he purchased 200 acres of land in 
 Lincoln township, which he at once began 
 to clear and improve, there carrying on 
 agricultural pursuits with good success for 
 a number of years. Removing to Ahna- 
 pee, he there died in 1888, having sur- 
 vived his wife two years. They were 
 members of the Catholic Church, were 
 highly respected people, and in politics 
 the father was a Democrat. 
 
 Our subject, who is the eldest son in 
 the family, was educated in the public 
 schools of his native land, after which he 
 came with his parents to the United 
 States, locating in I\ewaunee county in 
 1866. He is numbered among the early 
 settlers, and became familiar with the 
 hardships and trials of frontier life. About 
 six years after his arrival here, in con- 
 nection with his brothers, he assumed 
 the management of the old home farm 
 and continued its cultivation until 1887, 
 when he embarked in general merchan- 
 
 disinc 
 
 the saloon business and in 
 
 the manufacture of cheese, carrying on 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 755 
 
 operations along these lines in connection 
 with his brothers, George and Mathias. In 
 1 866 he was united in wedlock with Mary 
 Gakinet, who was born in Belgium in 1843, 
 and of their children are named the follow- 
 ing: Mary, who died in early life; Katherina, 
 now the wife of Emil Rasor, of Marinette, 
 Mich. ; Michael, living in Menomonie, 
 Wis. ; Annie, who is the wife of Joseph 
 Holzbach, of Manitowoc, Wis., and Clara. 
 In 1 87 1 the Bottkol brothers built a 
 saw and grist mill which they operated 
 until July, 1894, when it was destroyed 
 by fire, causing quite a loss, for there was 
 little insurance upon it. The family has 
 been very successful — one of the most 
 prosperous in the township — and its mem- 
 bers have a reputation for honesty and 
 uprightness that have been earned by 
 fair dealing, and of which they may be 
 justly proud. Our subject is a Demo- 
 crat in politics, a Catholic in religious 
 belief, and is a public-spirited and pro- 
 gressive citizen, whom Kewaunee county 
 could ill afford to lose. 
 
 JOHN MADDEN is one of the enter- 
 prising and successful farmers of 
 Door county, one who may truly be 
 called a self-made man, for his 
 prosperity in life is not the result of fort- 
 unate circumstances or an inheritance 
 from wealthy ancestors, but has been 
 achieved through persistent effort, dili- 
 gence and good business management. 
 
 Mr. Madden was born March 18, 1826, 
 in County Cork, Ireland, and is a son of 
 Jeremiah and Mary (Mahony) Madden, 
 the former a successful farmer. Their 
 children, nine in number, were Margaret 
 (deceased), Mary, Ellen, James, Mar- 
 garet, John, Jeremiah. Johanna and 
 Honora. The educational privileges 
 which our subject enjoyed were very 
 limited, for his father died when he was 
 only ten years of age, leaving the mother 
 with eight children to support. Her 
 father, John Mahony, also lived with 
 them for about five years, or until his 
 
 death, which occurred at the advanced 
 age of ninety-nine. When John was a 
 lad of fourteen the mother with four of 
 her children crossed the broad ocean, and 
 after a voyage of seven weeks and three 
 days landed at Quebec, Canada, where 
 they remained for about three months. 
 They then removed to Kingston, Ontario, 
 and during the succeeding ten years John 
 was employed as a farm hand, after 
 which the family moved west to Strat- 
 ford, Ontario, where he worked at day 
 labor. Seven years later the Maddens 
 sought a home in Wisconsin, locating in 
 Claybanks township. Door county. 
 
 On September 22, 1848, Mr. Madden 
 was united in marriage with Louise Vlier, 
 daughter of John and Mary (Meshien) 
 Vlier, a lady of French descent, who is 
 one of eleven children, namely: Joseph, 
 Edward, Omer, Matilda, Harriet, Charles, 
 Oliver, Louise, Angeline, Mary and Dan- 
 iel. Mr. and Mrs. Madden came to Clay- 
 banks township and purchased 120 acres 
 of land in its primitive condition, covered 
 with a heavy growth of timber, which was 
 still the haunt of bears, wolves, deer and 
 Indians, while Indian trails were the only 
 paths in the neighborhood. In the entire 
 township there were only one horse and 
 one yoke of oxen, and three years had 
 passed before Mr. Madden could afford to 
 purchase a team. He lived on the 
 "beach" in ahouse 14X I4feet, in which 
 there was not a single window and only 
 one door, but in this home he commenced 
 his successful life work. Those early «lays 
 formed a period of labor and hardship 
 unknown to the younger generation, but 
 as time passed the earnest efforts of our 
 subject were crowned with prosperity, and 
 to-day he is the owner of 200 acres of 
 valuable land, constituting one of the fine 
 farms of the neighborhood. 
 
 In Mr. Madden's family are eight chil- 
 dren — Ellen, James, Mary, Jerry, John, 
 Nora, Louise and Eugene, the last named 
 now attending college at Marquette, Wis. 
 John, who was graduated from the State 
 Normal School of Oshkosh, Wis., after- 
 
756 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHJCAL RECORD. 
 
 ward went to the medical college in Ann 
 Arbor, Mich., and during the year 1893 
 studied in Germany; he is now located in 
 Milwaukee, Wis., a talented and able 
 young physician, successfully engaged in 
 practice. The family are members of the 
 Roman Catholic Church. In politics, Mr. 
 Madden is a Democrat, and for four years 
 has served as supervisor; he is also a 
 member of the school board, and the cause 
 of education finds in him a warm friend, 
 while to every enterprise calculated to 
 prove of public benefit he gives his 
 hearty support and co-operation. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER LEONHARDT, 
 for the past thirty years or more 
 a popular and well-known resi- 
 dent of Sturgeon Bay, Door 
 county, is a native of Germany, born 
 September 16, 1837, his father's birth- 
 day, in Selzen, Grosse-Darmstadt, where 
 his father and grandfather were also born, 
 the latter of whom, by name Jacob Leon- 
 hardt, owned a si.\ty-acre farm in that lo- 
 cality, and there passed his entire life. 
 
 Jacob Leonhardt, father of our sub- 
 ject, who was the eldest but one in the 
 family of eight children — three sons and 
 five daughters — of Jacob Leonhardt, was 
 born September 16, iSoi, and was reared 
 to agricultural pursuits on his father's 
 farm in Germany. In 1S27 he was mar- 
 ried in the Fatherland to Miss Anna M. 
 Berwing, also a native of Selzen, and 
 nine children blessed their union, all 
 save the youngest, Elizabeth, born in 
 Germany, to wit: Henry, John, Jacob, 
 Christine, Maggie, Christopher, Mary, 
 Peter and Elizabeth. Of these, four are 
 yet living, a brief record of whom is as 
 follows: Henry is living on the old 
 homestead in Germantown township, 
 "Washington Co., Wis. ; Jacob is a farmer 
 of Menomonee Falls, Waukesha Co., 
 Wis. ; Christine is the wife of Andrew 
 Zimmerman, also a farmer in Waukesha 
 county. Wis. ; Christopher is the subject 
 proper of this sketch. In 1843 the fam- 
 
 ily came to the then Territory of Wis- 
 consin, where, in Germantown township, 
 Washington county, the father purchased 
 a partly improved farm of eighty acres, 
 their settlement being among the early 
 ones, the first in that locality having been 
 made in 1840. This farm they cleared 
 and improved till it came to be looked 
 upon as second to none in the township, 
 and here the father died April 18, 1857, 
 the mother in May, 1870. 
 
 Christopher Leonhardt was, as will be 
 seen, six years old when the family immi- 
 grated to Wisconsin, and at the common 
 schools of Germantown township, Wash- 
 ington county, he received a fair educa- 
 tion. On the home farm he remained 
 until he was twenty-seven years old, 
 when he came to Sturgeon Bay, arriving 
 on the loth day of June, 1864, and im- 
 mediately erected the dwelling on the 
 northeast corner of Pine and Cedar streets, 
 where he and his family now reside. For 
 seven years he kept the hotel which he 
 had opened shortly after coming here, and 
 in 1872 he put up a frame building on the 
 northwest corner of Pine and Cedar 
 streets, at that time the largest in the 
 city, on the site where he is now in busi- 
 ness; but in 1884 this was burned, and he 
 at once erected his fine brick building. 
 Mr. Leonhardt has dealt largely in real 
 estate — both city and farm property — and 
 at the present time owns the two valuable 
 corner lots in Sturgeon Bay already re- 
 ferred to, besides several other lots and 
 farm property. 
 
 On August 12, i860, our subject was 
 married to Miss Catherine Lorch, born in 
 Selzen, Germany, who, in 1856, came 
 with her widowed mother, one sister, 
 Christine, and one brother, Peter, to 
 Wisconsin and to Door county. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lorch had four children, as follows: 
 Casper, the eldest son, came to America 
 in 1 8 52, and was burned to death in the 
 great forest fires which swept over Door 
 county in October. 1871; Peter died in 
 Door county in 1880; Catherine is the 
 wife of Mr. Leonhardt; Christine is the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 757 
 
 wife of Joseph Zettel, a farmer of Sevas- 
 topol township, Door county, where he 
 raises a vast amount of fruit, being the 
 owner of the largest orchard in Wiscon- 
 sin. Of this family, Mrs. Catherine 
 Leonhardt and Mrs. Christine Zettel are 
 the only survivors. The father, Christo- 
 pher Lorch, died in Germany in 1849, 
 the mother in Door county in 1877. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Leonhardt were born ten 
 children, seven of whom are living: Cath- 
 erine, Henry, Minnie, Julia, Peter, Louisa 
 and Lottie; Lizzie, Adolph and Mary 
 died when young. In politics our sub- 
 ject is a stanch Republican, and he has 
 held various offices of honor and trust, 
 to wit: treasurer (to which he was elected 
 in 1874, and which he held three terms), 
 member of the town board nine years, 
 trustee of the village, and also president 
 one term; assessor and treasurer for the 
 city; alderman one term; member of the 
 county board, four years; school treas- 
 urer, one year; and in 1883 he was a 
 member of the State Assembly. Since 
 its organization in 1868 he has been pres- 
 ident of the Cemetery Association, and he 
 has ever taken an active interest in all 
 matters pertaining to the general welfare 
 of his adopted city and county. Socially 
 he is a member of the F. & A. M., and 
 Sons of Hermann, in which latter organ- 
 ization he belongs to the National Lodge 
 and the local Grand Lodge, and was 
 twice a delegate to the National Lodge, 
 and seventeen years to the Grand Lodge. 
 
 FERDINAND JONES, more pop- 
 ularly known as " Harry " Jones, 
 captain of the schooner "Eliza- 
 beth," is one of the best-known 
 citizens of Egg Harbor township. Door 
 county. He is a native of the Father- 
 land, born September 13, 1842, in Ham- 
 burg, son of August Jones, ship carpenter. 
 During his boyhood our subject at- 
 tended the common schools of his native 
 country. From his childhood he was 
 fond of sailing, and when thirteen years 
 
 old he commenced to work about vessels, 
 afterward sailing on the ocean for over 
 thirteen years, during which time he 
 visited many Mediterranean ports, the 
 East Indies, West Indies, Rio Janiero, 
 China, California, and other places. In 
 1857 he shipped at Hamburg on the 
 "Sunshine," bound for Boston and New 
 York, and leaving the vessel at the latter 
 city he made his home there for some 
 time. Later he went westward to Chi- 
 cago, and commenced sailing the Great 
 Lakes, but shortly afterward coming to 
 Door county, W'is., he bought a forty- 
 acre tract of totally wild land in Bailey 
 Harbor township, on which he erected 
 the first house, and began to clear the 
 land for cultivation. After following farm- 
 ing there for a few years, however, he 
 sold the place and removed to Chicago, 
 where he found employment for about a 
 year around docks and vessels, and then 
 returning to Door county purchased land 
 in Section 31, Egg Harbor township, 
 where he has ever since had his home. 
 This farm contains 160 acres, eighty of 
 which have been placed under cultivation 
 by Mr. Jones, who has made all the nu- 
 merous improvements which beautify the 
 place and add to its value as a farm and a 
 home. In 1890 Mr. Jones bought the 
 schooner "Elizabeth," which plies be- 
 tween Egg Harbor, Green Bay, Menomo- 
 nee, and other bay ports, trading, and of 
 which he himself is captain, sailing dur- 
 ing the season, and remaining on his farm 
 in winter. Mr. Jones has been blessed 
 with robust health, having never had need 
 of a doctor's services, and he has used 
 his strength to advantage, working hard 
 all his life, and by persevering industry 
 has established himself in the comforta- 
 ble home he now enjoys. He is well- 
 known in this section of Door county, 
 and has the respect of all who have come 
 in contact with him in any way. 
 
 Mr. Jones was married, in Baileys 
 Harbor, to Dora Dow, a native of Meck- 
 lenburg, Germany, and they are the par- 
 ents of the following children: Louis (of 
 
rss 
 
 COMilEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 Baileys Harbor), Adolph, Caroline, 
 Emma, August, Martha, Alvina, Eddie, 
 Herman and Fritz, living, and two — one 
 son and a daughter — deceased. In re- 
 ligious connection Mr. Jones is a Lu- 
 theran. Politically he is a stanch member 
 of the Republican party, but devotes 
 little time to politics, though he has 
 served as a member of the township 
 board. 
 
 M 
 
 ARION FREN'CH, the popular 
 and genial host of the "Wis- 
 consin House," of Ahnapee, 
 was born in Terre Haute, Ind., 
 February 9, 1S46, and comes of a family 
 of German origin, which was founded in 
 America by his grandfather, Peter French, 
 a native of Germany, who when a young 
 man became a resident of Knoxville, 
 Tenn. In that locality he owned four 
 large plantations, kept many slaves and 
 conducted a large and lucrative business. 
 He died in Kno.wille before the Civil 
 war, and willed all his property to seven 
 of his children, disinheriting his eighth 
 child, Frederick, who had followed the 
 dictates of his heart and married the 
 daughter of a poor widow. The grand- 
 father was an aristocrat of the old Euro- 
 pean school, very proud of his family. 
 
 Frederick French, who was born in 
 Kno.wille, turned his attention to farm- 
 ing in order to support his family, and 
 afterward removed to Terre Haute, Ind., 
 where he became the owner of two large 
 farms on the west branch of the Wabash 
 river. In spite of the aid refused him by 
 his father he became a prosperous man, 
 was a leader in the community, and had 
 considerable influence among his neigh- 
 bors. His last days were spent with his 
 second daughter in Shelby county. 111., 
 where he died at the age of seventy-eight. 
 His faithful wife, who bore the maiden 
 name of Polly Hensle}', died two years 
 previous, when seventy-four 3-ears of age. 
 Marion French was the seventh in 
 order of birth in their family of eight 
 
 children, and was reared on the home 
 farm, where his physical training devel- 
 oped a strong constitution. His literary- 
 education was acquired in a Methodist 
 Episcopal seminary in Paris, 111., and at 
 the age of eighteen, accompanied by his 
 brother Jordan, he started on a long trip 
 through the ^^'estern States, traveling for 
 two years, dealing in stock, which he 
 would ship to Chicago. At length the 
 brothers returned to Shelbyville. 111., 
 where Jordan located. Marion had 
 studied mineralogy and geology in Paris, 
 111., and now started on a prospecting 
 tour through the northern part of Canada 
 and British Columbia, having most of the 
 time no companion. At length, near 
 Port Arthur, in the Thunder Bay district 
 on the northern shore of Lake Superior, 
 he located almost 12,000 acres of mining 
 land, on which was located gold, silver 
 and iron ore, purchasing the same from 
 the Canadian Government. He then or- 
 ganized a stock company in Chicago with 
 a capital of $1,000,000, and among the 
 stockholders were noted bankers and real- 
 estate men of that city. Mr. French 
 owns one-fourth of the stock, became 
 superintendent and general manager of 
 the company, and showed much ability 
 in opening up the mines, surveying and 
 prospecting 5,000 acres of land and lo- 
 cating ten silver mines and one iron ore 
 mine. Two of the silver mines were 
 found to contain e.xcellent ore, but the 
 distance from market and transportation 
 was so great as to render the operation 
 of the mines unprofitable, and the work 
 has been temporarily abandoned until 
 such time as railroads shall be built 
 through that country, when the stock- 
 holders in the company will undoubtedly 
 reap a rich return from their investment. 
 Our subject spent about ten years alto- 
 gether in the mining district. 
 
 On October 22, 1874, Mr. French 
 was married in \'igo count}', Ind., to 
 Miss Margaret Ella — a lady of Scotch de- 
 scent, and they have one son. Earl 
 Marion, who was born in Antwerp, Ohio. 
 
COMMEMOIiATIVE BWGRAPUICAL RECORD. 
 
 759 
 
 In 1890 Mr. French formed a partner- 
 ship with George Smith, son of ex-Gov- 
 ernor Smith, of \'ermont, the old war 
 Governor, and owner of the Vermont 
 Central railroad. Their office was lo- 
 cated in the Guarantee Loan Buildinf(, in 
 Minneapolis, Minn., and the partnership 
 was continued until the death of Gov. 
 Smith, when Mr. French removed to 
 Milwaukee, Wis., where he soon became 
 known as a mining expert, and did con- 
 siderable work for mining companies of 
 that cit)'. On May 12, 1893, he came 
 to Ahnapee, leased the "Wisconsin 
 House " for five years, and is now suc- 
 cessfulh' conducting the same, managing 
 it so ably that it has found great favor 
 with the traveling public, while he is 
 recognized as one of the most popular 
 landlords in northeastern Wisconsin. 
 
 JOSEPH PAULU, a pioneer farmer 
 of ^^'est Kewaunee township, Kewau- 
 nee county, was born in Bohemia 
 May I, 1834, son of Joseph and 
 Frances Paulu, the former of whom was 
 born in Bohemia in 1809, and the latter 
 in 1S12. 
 
 Joseph Paulu, Sr. , arrived in the 
 United States in 1857, coming direct to 
 Kewaunee count}', ^^'is., and locating on 
 a farm in West Kewaunee township, fol- 
 lowed farming there until his death, in 
 1867. Joseph Paulu, the subject of this 
 sketch, attended school in his native land 
 until sixteen years of age, and then learned 
 the trade of mason, following it until 1854, 
 when he entered the army and served ten 
 years, six months and thirteen days. On 
 his final discharge he came directly, in 
 1865, to I-iewaunee, Wis., and immediate- 
 ly settled on the farm he at present owns 
 and occupies in West Kewaunee township. 
 This farm he soon cleared of timber, and 
 has so cultivated and improved it that he 
 is regarded as one of the representative 
 farmers of the county. 
 
 Mr. Paulu was united in marriage, in 
 1864, with Miss Mary Eucharda, who was 
 
 born in Bohemia in 1841, and to this 
 union have been born seven children, viz. : 
 John, Frederick, Joseph, Frank, Anton, 
 Ferdinand and Mary, of whom Anton, 
 born September 28, 1874, died May 24, 
 1889, and Ferdinand died in infanc}' in 
 1876. In politics Mr. Paulu is a Demo- 
 crat, and in 1S80 was elected treasurer of 
 West Kewaunee township, serving two 
 years; he has been agent for the German 
 Insurance Company of Kewaunee about 
 fifteen years, and is now agent for the 
 Bohemian Farmers' Insurance Company 
 of Casco, I\ewaunee count}-. He is a 
 member of the C. S. P. S., a Bohemian 
 benevolent society, and is also a member 
 of S. C. F., a Bohemian Society of Ke- 
 waunee and Manitowoc counties, of which 
 society he has been president for 
 ten years. Mr. Paulu has not only been 
 successful as a farmer, but his integrity 
 and upright walk through life have won 
 for him the respect of all who know him. 
 
 JAMES RIDINGS is a native of Eng- 
 land, born June 3, 1837, and comes 
 of an old English family. His 
 grandparents were John and Martha 
 Ridings, the former a weaver, who oper- 
 ated a hand loom. He was quite radical, 
 very pronounced in his views, and was 
 twice imprisoned for his speeches against 
 the government. In his family were 
 five children — John, Joseph, Dan, Ann 
 and Nancy. The first named, the father 
 of our subject, was also a hand-loom 
 weaver, having learned the trade of his 
 father. When he reached manhood he 
 married Grace Barrett, and by their union 
 were born two sons — Robert, in 1834, 
 and James, in 1837. The mother died 
 when our subject was only five years of 
 age, and thus deprived of her tender care 
 his early childhood was not one of entire 
 ease. 
 
 When quite young Mr. Ridings began 
 to earn his own living, and in consequence 
 could not attend school, save on Sundays, 
 at which time he acquired a knowledge of 
 
760 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the common English branches. On June 
 30, 1866, was celebrated his marriage 
 with Miss Matilda Chater, daughter of 
 John and Julia Chater, and the same 
 year he sailed with his bride from Liver- 
 pool, England, landing in N^wYork City 
 after a voyage of ten days. His father, 
 however, always remained in his native 
 land, dying there in 1S68. Five children 
 grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ridings — 
 Ida (now the wife of William Bradley, of 
 Baileys Harbor), Fred, Hannah, Clara 
 and Matilda. Upon his arrival in this 
 country Mr. Ridings came direct to 
 Baileys Harbor, where his wife's parents 
 were living, and worked on his father-in- 
 law's farm for two years, after which he 
 purchased forty acres of land in Section 
 30, Bailey Harbor township, at ten dol- 
 lars per acre, and after erecting a log 
 house began clearing the farm, which was 
 covered with a heavy growth of timber, 
 through which yet roamed wolves and 
 other wild animals. His farm implements 
 were crude, but he worked hard, in course 
 of time placing much of his land under 
 cultivation, and the once barren tract was 
 made to yield to him a golden tribute in 
 return for the care he bestowed upon it. 
 There he lived until 1883, when Mr. 
 Chater, being unable longer to work, 
 traded farms with our subject. His life 
 has been a busy and useful one, and 
 having made the most of his opportunities 
 and privileges he has steadily worked his 
 way upward. For three years he has 
 served as assessor of his township, dis- 
 charging his duties with promptness and 
 fidelity; in his political views he is a stal- 
 wart Democrat, while in religious belief 
 both he and his wife are Methodists. 
 
 VALENTINE HOFFMANN is one 
 of the oldest residents, in point of 
 occupation, of Kewaunee county, 
 having settled here in 1855. before 
 the county was organized. 
 
 He was born in Saxony, Germany, 
 January 20, 1832, the only son in a family 
 
 of five children. At the age of six years 
 he lost his father, and his mother died in 
 German}' in 1852; the father was a 
 veterinary surgeon. The eldest sister of 
 Valentine left her native land in 1846, 
 and, coming to America, located at Balti- 
 more, Md., to which city our subject 
 followed in 1849. He attended school 
 in Germany from the age of six to four- 
 teen years, according to law, and after- 
 ward learned the weaver's trade. Resid- 
 ing six years in Baltimore, he came to 
 Wisconsin, and after passing six months 
 in Racine, came to Kewaunee, where for 
 four years he worked in sawmills in sum- 
 mer and in the woods in winter. He 
 next clerked in Hitchcock's general store 
 two years, or until 1862, when he enlisted 
 in Company A, in a regiment of Wis- 
 consin Volunteer Infantry, and after a 
 service of three years, one month and 
 twentj'-nine days, was honorably dis- 
 charged in September, 1865, with the 
 rank of corporal. He took an active and 
 gallant part at the fall of Vicksburg; was 
 at Spanish Fort and Mobile, Ala., and at 
 Little Rock, Ark., and in numerous 
 skirmishes and minor battles, in one of 
 which, Salem Bottom, where the fight 
 lasted from 7 a. m. until 4 p. M., he 
 received a slight gunshot wound, but did 
 not leave the field. This was his only 
 casualty, but after his return to Kewaunee 
 he was ill a long time. After his recovery 
 he again clerked for Mr. Hitchcock two 
 years, and then for eight months for 
 Duvall & Co. He then engaged in farm- 
 ing for eighteen months in West Kewau- 
 nee in partnership with his wife's brother, 
 then sold his interest and returned tO' 
 Kewaunee, where for the past twenty- 
 one years he has carried on a first-class 
 saloon. 
 
 Mr. Hoffmann was married in April, 
 1862, to Miss Lovisia Helwich, a native 
 of Prussia, who came with her parents to 
 Kewaunee in 1855. To this marriage 
 have been born eight children, of whom 
 seven are still living, one having died in 
 1884. All the survivors live under the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 761 
 
 parental roof with the exception of \Jizz\e 
 (who was married to Charles Deda, who 
 died in 1891) and Ezra (who is married, 
 and is at the head of his own household). 
 Charles Hoffmann, the third child in 
 the above family, was born in Kewaunee 
 November 13, 1868, and is now an active 
 member of the younger Democratic ele- 
 ment. He has been supervisor of his 
 ward four terms, city clerk two years, 
 justice of the peace, and at present is 
 deputy postmaster. He is also captain of 
 the Sons of Veterans, and is recognized as 
 one of the leiding young men of Kewaunee. 
 
 CHRISTIAN JACOBSON. The 
 population of this country is large- 
 ly formed of the sons of other 
 lands; but no country has furnish- 
 ed more valuable citizens to the United 
 States than has Norway, within the bor- 
 ders of which occurred the birth of our 
 subject, on November 1 1, 1843. His pa- 
 rents were Jacob and Dora Woolson, the 
 latter of whom died when her son Chris- 
 tian was two and a half years old, leaving 
 the following children — Eric, Dora, Peter, 
 Toriston, Dannine, Jacob and Christian. 
 Mr. Jacobson was in his early life a 
 sailor, and spent a number of years on 
 the high seas. In 1870 he crossed the 
 Atlantic to America, and made his way 
 to Sioux City, Iowa, where for one year 
 he resided. During the succeeding four 
 years he traveled all over the United 
 States, working during this time at day 
 labor, and in 1875 he went to Michigan, 
 spending the succeeding seven years in 
 the city of Menominee, where he was em- 
 ployed in a sawmill. In 1882 he arrived 
 in Claybanks township, Door Co., Wis., 
 and he purchased forty acres of land on 
 Section 8, which he at once began to 
 clear and place under cultivation. His 
 agricultural labors at that place continued 
 for two years, when he went to Manito- 
 woc, Wis., and worked in a shipyard, but 
 after a time he returned to his farm. His 
 second period of residence thereon was of 
 
 three years' duration, and in 1890 he 
 bought forty acres of land where he now 
 lives. 
 
 In 1879 Mr. lacobson was united in 
 marriage with Miss Carrie Marren, who 
 died in 1883, and, after living single for 
 two years, he married Carrie Modson. 
 His three children are Dora, Gunda and 
 William. The family is connected with 
 the Lutheran Church, and in his political 
 views Mr. Jacobson is a Republican, 
 warmly advocating the principles of that 
 party; but political preferment has had 
 no attraction for him, and he has never 
 sought the support of his fellow townsmen 
 for public office. He desires rather to 
 give his entire time and attention to his 
 farming interests, and along this line is 
 meeting with a fair degree of success, 
 which is certainly well-merited, and which 
 proves the wisdom of the determination 
 which he formed in 1870, to seek a home 
 in the land of the free. 
 
 preparatory 
 
 of nineteen 
 
 School at 
 
 PROF. M. McMAHON. the accom- 
 plished superintendent of the city 
 schools of Kewaunee, is a native 
 of Chicago, 111., although his early 
 life was passed on a farm in Manitowoc 
 county, Wisconsin. 
 
 He there received his 
 education, and at the age 
 entered the State Normal 
 Oshkosh, which he attended two years. 
 After an examination by the State Board 
 of Examiners he was granted a life cer- 
 tificate to teach in any school in the State 
 of Wisconsin, and in 1874 took charge of 
 the Kewaunee city schools, in which he 
 has since continuously taught until the 
 present time, with the exception of four 
 years, from 1881 to 1885, when he had 
 charge of the schools at Durand, Wis. 
 In the last named year he resumed charge 
 of the Kewaunee schools. He has always 
 taken a great interest in school work, 
 independently of his immediate position, 
 in which he has labored so long and so 
 persistently. That his abilities as an in- 
 
762 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 structor have been fully recognized by the 
 citizens of Kewaunee is evident from the 
 pertinacity with which they cling to him, 
 and many are the young men and young 
 women of the citj', now grown to mar- 
 riageable age, who look back to the days 
 of their childhood and adolescence and 
 bless the kind and patient teacher who 
 moldcil their growing intellects to forms 
 of usefulness as well as ornamentation to 
 society and happiness to themselves. 
 
 Mr. McMahonwas married in Decem- 
 ber, 1875, to Miss Bertha Brandes, daugh- 
 ter of Charles Brandes, Sr. , mention of 
 whom is made on another page of this 
 volume, and this union has been blessed 
 by the birth of two children — Edna and 
 Mattie. The family mingle with the 
 most refined residents of Kewaunee, and 
 in this circle are accorded the highest 
 position attainable. 
 
 FREDERICK DAMMAN was born 
 in Mecklenburg, Germany, Octo- 
 ber 24, 1S36, son of Charles and 
 Mary Damman, who were also 
 natives of the same countr\', the father be- 
 ing a farmer. In 1862 the latter sailed 
 for the New World, and took up his resi- 
 dence in Milwaukee, Wis. , where he lived 
 until called to the home beyond, in 1890. 
 His wife died in Milwaukee in 1886. 
 They reared a family of four children: 
 Mary, now the wife of Lewis Casborn, of 
 Ahnapee township, Kewaunee Co., Wis.; 
 Fredericka, wife of John Buchholz, of 
 Forestville township; Sophia, wife of 
 Frederick Hals, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; and 
 Frederick. 
 
 Our subject is a well-known farmer of 
 Door county. In his youth he became 
 familiar with all the duties of farm life, 
 aiding his father in the cultivation of the 
 home farm, and he was educated in the 
 common schools, having by reading and 
 observation in his later years become a 
 well-informed man. When seventeen 
 years of age he crossed the broad Atlantic 
 to America, making the voyage in the 
 
 sailing vessel "Gladwin," which reached 
 New York after a six-weeks' voyage. For 
 one year he worked as a farm hand near 
 Albany, N. Y. , and then came to Wiscon- 
 sin, settling in Milwaukee, where he fol- 
 lowed any honest emplojment he could 
 find. In 1 86 1 he removed to Kewaunee 
 county. Wis., locating in Ahnapee town- 
 ship, where he developed a farm of si.xty 
 acres. In 1878 he removed to his pres- 
 ent farm of sixty acres, forty acres of 
 which are in Forestville township. Door 
 county. This place he cleared of the 
 timber with which it was covered, then 
 plowed and planted the land, and in 
 course of time gathered abundant harvests 
 which rewarded the care and labor that 
 he had bestowed upon them. His is now 
 one of the desirable farms of the neigh- 
 borhood, and the improvements seen 
 thereon are a monument to the thrift and 
 enterprise of the owner. 
 
 Mr. Damman takes a deep interest in 
 political affairs, keeps well informed on 
 the issues of the day and by his ballot 
 supports the men and measures of the 
 Republican party. Socially, he is con- 
 nected with William A. Nelson Post No. 
 227, G. A. R. , for during the war of the 
 Rebellion he went to the defense of the 
 Union, enlisting in 1864 as a member of 
 Company E, Seventeenth Wis. V. I., 
 and was with the army of the West; he 
 marched from Chattanooga to Atlanta, 
 then was in the entire Atlanta and Caro- 
 lina campaigns, and took part in the Grand 
 Review in Washington, where, "wave 
 after wave of bayonet-crested blue," the 
 victorious armies of the North marched 
 in triumph before the nation's Chief E.x- 
 ccutive. The war having closed and his 
 services being no longer needed, Mr. 
 Damman was honorably discharged in 
 Madison, W^is. , in June, 1865. 
 
 In Milwaukee, Wis., in 1856, our 
 subject was united in marriage with Miss 
 Sophia Bedke, who was born in Germany, 
 daughter of Joachim Bedke, one of the 
 pioneer settlers of Milwaukee, who died 
 in that city in 1876. In 1868 Mr. Dam- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 763 
 
 man was called upon to mourn the death 
 of his wife, who passed away in Kewau- 
 nee count}', Wis., leaving two children — 
 Josephine, now the wife of Matt Schaus, 
 by whom she has five children; and Fred, 
 who resides in Milwaukee. Mr. Danmian 
 was again married in Kewaunee county, 
 in 1869, this time to Anna Jorkey, who 
 was also a native of the Fatherland. By 
 the second union have been born nine 
 children, namely; Mary (wife of Frank 
 Clear, of Milwaukee, Wis.), Lena (wife of 
 Ed Dengle, of that city), George (who is 
 married and lives in Milwaukee), Emma, 
 Henry. John, Louisa, Hermann and 
 Anna. The family is one of prominence 
 in the community, and its members have 
 many warm friends. 
 
 IVI 
 
 ATHL\S MEYER, agent at 
 Ahnapee of the Van Dycke 
 Brewing Company of Green 
 Bay, Wis., is a native of the 
 "Badger State, " born August 14, 1868, 
 in Port Washington, son of Leo Meyer. 
 Leo Meyer was born in Baden, Ger- 
 many, where in the common schools he 
 obtained a good education, and when 
 a young man was apprenticed to the 
 weaver's trade, which he followed until 
 he came to the United States, in 1862. 
 The Civil war being then in progress, he 
 soon enlisted in the Twenty-fourth Wis. 
 V. I , and going to the front served until 
 the close of the conflict, when he received 
 an honorable discharge. He was wounded 
 in a skirmish at Big Shanty, Ga., while 
 with Sherman's army on its march to the 
 sea, and was sent to the hospital at Madi- 
 son, Wis, after his recovery returning to 
 his command, where he was promoted to 
 the ranks of corporal and sergeant. He 
 was permanently disabled, having received 
 a wound in the left arm which deprived 
 him of the use of that member, and he now 
 draws a pension. He is a member of the 
 G. A. R. After his return from the army 
 Mr. Meyer began working at the tinsmith 
 trade in Port Washington, remaining 
 
 thereuntil 1871, when he came to Ahna- 
 pee, Kewaunee county, and here at once 
 established the tinshop and hardware 
 business in which he still continues. He 
 was married, at Port Washington, to 
 Elizabeth Furst, a native of that place, 
 who is of German extraction, and their 
 marriage was blessed with thirteen chil- 
 dren, viz.: Mathias; Susan, Mrs. Frank 
 Kohlbeck, of Ahnapee; John, an engineer 
 on a boat for the Manistee Lumber Co. ; 
 Emil, a tinner by trade, who lives at 
 Ahnapee; Annie; Julius, a tinner, of Ahna- 
 pee; Leo; Carl; Amelia; Lucy; Leonia; 
 Julia, and Adeline. Politically Mr. Meyer 
 is a Democrat. In religious faith he is a 
 Catholic, and socially he is a member of 
 the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin and 
 the German Central Beneficial Society. 
 
 Mathias Meyer was educated in the 
 public schools, receiving instruction in 
 both the German and English languages. 
 When a young man he learned the tin- 
 ner's trade, an occupation he followed 
 nearly twelve years, since when he has 
 been agent for the Van Dycke Brewing 
 Company, of Green Bay, having charge 
 of the branch at Ahnapee, where the com- 
 pany is doing an extensive and ever-in- 
 creasing business. Mr. Meyer's energy 
 and capability are recognized by all who 
 have dealings with him, and are fully ap- 
 preciated by his employers. The com- 
 pany is known throughout this section of 
 Wisconsin as manufacturers of first-class 
 Wiener and lager beer, and a very fine 
 grade of bottled goods; and by putting 
 their business in the hands of so competent 
 a man as Mr. Meyer they have established 
 a most profitable trade in Ahnapee and 
 the surrounding country. 
 
 On June 17, 1890, Mr. Meyer was 
 united in marriage, in Ahnapee, to The- 
 resa Grassel, daughter of Ignatz and Bar- 
 bara Grassel, natives of Austria, in which 
 country Mrs. Meyer was also born. One 
 child, Julia, born June 18, 1891, has 
 come to this union. Politically Mr. 
 Meyer is a Democrat, and in religious faith 
 he is a member of the Catholic Church. 
 
764 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Socially he is connected with the Catholic 
 Knights of Wisconsin, the Catholic Order 
 of Foresters, and the Sons of Veterans. 
 
 M 
 
 ARTIN N. KNUDSEN, keeper 
 of the Porte Des Morts Light- 
 house, was born June 27, 1854, 
 in Denmark. His father, Peter 
 Knudsen, received a good education in 
 the public schools of Denmark, and 
 served an apprenticeship to the weaver's 
 trade, following this business in Denmark 
 until his emigration, in 1857, to the 
 United States. He first located in Ra- 
 cine, Wis., where he followed various 
 pursuits until his enlistment in the 
 Twenty-second W^is. X. I., but he was 
 shortly afterward taken sick and sent 
 home. After his recovery he re-enlisted 
 in the Sixteenth Wis. V. I., and now 
 draws a pension of eight dollars per month 
 from the government. 
 
 At the close of the war Mr. Knudsen 
 returned to Racine, and worked there at 
 coopering until 1866, when he removed 
 to Washington Island, Door Co., Wis., 
 and continued at his trade. There he 
 remained for ten years, after which he 
 went to Pomeroy, Iowa, remaining there 
 eighteen years, farming and shoemaking, 
 and in 1894 located permanently at New- 
 port, Wis., where he now resides. His 
 wife was also born in Denmark, and they 
 have had eight children, three of whom 
 are deceased; those living are: Martin 
 N., our subject; Peter, of Newport, 
 Wis., who is a member of the firm of 
 Johnson & Knudsen, dealers in general 
 merchandise, wood, etc. ; Nelson, of 
 Beaver Island Harbor Lighthouse of St. 
 James (Mich.); W'illiam, in the lighthouse 
 service, and residing in Pomeroy, Iowa; 
 and Mary, who married Charles E. 
 Young, keeper of Chambers' Island 
 Lighthouse. The parents are respected 
 members of the Baptist Church. 
 
 Martin N. Knudsen, our subject, was 
 educated in the common schools of this 
 country, and when a young man followed 
 
 his father's trade of coopering. Later he 
 became a fisherman, and subsequently a 
 sailor. In 1 866 he came to Washington 
 Island with his parents, and thereupon 
 began the business of farming, which vo- 
 cation he still continues to follow. He 
 now owns fifty acres of improved land, on 
 which he raises excellent crops, and has 
 met with well-deserved success in his 
 farming operations. 
 
 Mr. Knudsen belongs to the Repub- 
 lican party, and for many years has tilled 
 the office of justice of the peace, also 
 serving as a member of the board of ed- 
 ucation. He received his present ap- 
 pointment as keeper of the Porte Des 
 Morts Lighthouse (Washington Island) in 
 1 889, previous to which he was keeper of 
 the South Manitou Station from June, 
 1882, to September, 1889, proving a 
 most trusty and able man for that re- 
 sponsible place. In religious matters he 
 is, like 'his father, a strong believer in the 
 doctrines of the Baptist Church. His 
 wife, Theresa (Koyen), who was born Feb- 
 ruary 24, 1855, in Denmark, has borne 
 him four children, viz: Edward W., 
 Agnes M., Martin Arthur and Mertie M. 
 
 CAPTAIN ANTON HANSEN, the 
 owner and master of the three- 
 masted schooner " F. H. Will- 
 iams," having his residence in the 
 city of Kewaunee, was born in Laurvig, 
 Norway, March 20, 1837. His parents 
 were Soren and Matilda Hansen, whA 
 came to the United States in 1853, and 
 settled in Ephraim, Door Co., Wis. 
 Soren Hansen was born in Norway, De- 
 cember 24, 1800, and was one of the first 
 settlers of Door county, where he died in 
 November, 1890. 
 
 Anton Hansen has passed his entire 
 life upon the water. He was first em- 
 ployed as a cook on the " Familia," a vessel 
 plying between England and the Scandi- 
 navian peninsula. Since his arrival in 
 America he has been sailing on the Great 
 Lakes, his first shipment being on the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 765 
 
 "Transit," sailing between Manitowoc, 
 Wis. , and Chicago, 111. , on board which he 
 remained one year, since when he has 
 sailed on a number of vessels, holding 
 various positions, but chiefly before the 
 mast for eight or ten years, and then as 
 first mate about nine years. He then 
 became owner of the "Glenn Cuyler, " 
 which he sailed about four years, when 
 he disposed of her and bought the ' ' In- 
 dustry." This vessel he sold four years 
 later, and took command of the "Min- 
 nehaha," holding that position about nine 
 years, when he purchased the " F. H. 
 Williams," the first vessel that ever en- 
 tered the harbor of Kewaunee. 
 
 In 1864 Capt. Hansen was united in 
 marriage with Lena Hansen, and this 
 union was blessed with five children, viz. : 
 Matilda Isa, Hans, Jacob, Sena and 
 Lewis. Mrs. Lena Hansen died in 1876, 
 and in 1879 the Captain married Rena 
 Hansen, to which union have also been 
 born five children: Alvin, Lena, Samuel, 
 Alice and Arthur. Capt. Hansen is one 
 of the most successful navigators on the 
 lakes, always satisfying the owners by the 
 faithful manner in which he performed 
 his duty to them, and as an owner him- 
 self he has won the confidence of ship- 
 pers and the esteem of other owners. 
 Underwriters have suffered very little in- 
 deed at his hands. 
 
 JE. HARRIS, one of the brightest 
 young business men of northern Wis- 
 consin, and one of the most progress- 
 ive, is a native of Sturgeon Bay, 
 Door Co., Wis., born June 23, 1866, son 
 of Joseph Harris, Jr., who for some years 
 was editor and publisher of the Sturgeon 
 Bay Advocate, later of the Republican. 
 
 He received his education at the city 
 schools of his native place, and in 1882 
 commenced to learn the printing business 
 in the office of the Advocate at Sturgeon 
 Bay. After serving his apprenticeship, and 
 rising from the plutonic degree of " devil" 
 44 
 
 to the more seraphic one of "jour," 
 he worked in various offices throughout 
 the State until 1890, in which year he 
 bought of his father a half interest in the 
 Sturgeon Bay Republican, in the follow- 
 ing year taking over the other half, by 
 purchase, and changing the name to The 
 Democrat. From that time he had full 
 charge of the paper until August, 1894, 
 when he sold out and accepted a position 
 on the Green Bay Gazette. 
 
 In January 1890, Mr. Harris was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Darling, also a native 
 of Sturgeon Bay, daughter of John Dar- 
 ling, and two children have been born to 
 them: Harry and Lottie. Politically Mr. 
 Harris is a Democrat of the first water, 
 and takes a zealous interest in the affairs 
 of the party. 
 
 ALBERT JOSEPH DWORAK is 
 the owner of a good farm of eighty 
 acres of land in Casco township, 
 Kewaunee county, all of which he 
 has cleared and developed, transforming 
 the wild land into rich and fertile fields, 
 and placing upon it good improvements 
 in the shape of neat and substantial build- 
 ings, all of which attest the thrift and 
 enterprise of the owner. 
 
 He was born April 22, 1840, in 
 Bohemia, the birthplace of his father, 
 Mathias Dworak, who was born in 1795. 
 The grandfather, Mathew Dworak, was a 
 native of Bohemia, a farmer by occupation, 
 and he and his wife were adherents of the 
 Catholic Church, to which their descend- 
 ants also belong. Mathias Dworak was 
 reared on the old home farm, acquired a 
 good education in the common schools of 
 his native land, and remained in Bohemia 
 until 1855, when he emigrated to the 
 United States. In his early manhood he 
 wedded Mary Richa, who was born in 
 Bohemia in 1803, and they became the 
 parents of six children — Joseph, now of 
 Milwaukee, Wis. ; Katherine, married in 
 Bohemia to Bartholomes Smitke, who 
 came to this country with his family, 
 
766 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGMAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 locating in Milwaukee, where his wife 
 died in 1858; Mary, who became the wife 
 of Martin Behringer, a resident of Mil- 
 waukee; Annie, who married Frank Lukes, 
 of Casco township, and died in 1862; 
 Rosa, who married a Mr. Beyer, of Mil- 
 waukee, and died in that city in 1864; and 
 Albert J., the subject of these lines. On 
 coming to this country the father located 
 in Milwaukee, Wis., working there as a 
 common laborer until his removal to 
 Casco township, Kewaunee county, where 
 he purchased eighty acres of timber land. 
 This he at once began to clear, culti- 
 vating and improving the same until 1 864, 
 when he returned to Milwaukee, where 
 his death occurred in 1 872 ; his wife passed 
 away in 1884. 
 
 The gentleman of whom we write was 
 educated in the city of Neuhaus, Bohemia, 
 in the German language, after having 
 attended the common schools of his native 
 province. He was a youth of sixteen 
 when he accompanied his parents on their 
 emigration to America, and like the other 
 members of the family, became a resident 
 of Milwaukee, Wis., where he worked as 
 a common laborer until 185S, after which 
 time he came to Casco township, Kewau- 
 nee county. Here he aided his father in 
 clearing the land which had been pur- 
 chased, soon after took charge of the 
 home farm, and has since followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits, owning eighty acres of 
 the old homestead, which he has trans- 
 formed into a valuable property. Mr. 
 Dworak votes with the Democratic party, 
 has served as chairman of the town board 
 four years, and for fourteen years has 
 filled the office of clerk and justice of the 
 peace of the township, in the various 
 positions which he has tilled proving a 
 most capable and acceptable officer. 
 
 In 1 86 1 Mr. Dworak was united in 
 marriage, in Casco township, with Miss 
 Mary Lukes, who was born in Bohemia 
 in 1843, and they have four children liv- 
 ing — Henry, Albert, Annie and Emma. 
 They also lost eight children, all of whom 
 are buried at Slovan, Wis. Mr. Dworak 
 
 and his famih' are members of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and he belongs to the Order 
 of Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. 
 
 JAMES HAMILTON LOCKHART 
 came to Forestville township. Door 
 county, in 1856, and secured 240 
 acres of timber land. Indians were 
 then in large numbers in that vicinit}-, and 
 had their camping ground on some of the 
 land on which our subject located. On 
 his arrival here Mr. Lockhart commenced 
 the improvement of his land, and erected 
 a small log cabin; but in 1857 he returned 
 to Essex county, N. Y., where he had 
 resided for some years previously. 
 
 Our subject was born in County Ar- 
 magh, Ireland, February 14, 1833, sonof 
 Thomas and Elizabeth (Aikens) Lockhart, 
 both of whom were natives of the same 
 county, his father being a farmer. The 
 mother dying about 1839, the father, the 
 next year, was united in marriage with 
 Margaret Henderson, and in 1847 took 
 passage with his family on a sailing ves- 
 sel for the United States, landing after a 
 voyage of forty-seven days at Boston, 
 Mass. Here he remained for a time 
 working in a printing office, subsequently 
 locating in Essex county, N. Y. , where 
 he opened up a small farm of twenty 
 acres to which he afterward added 200 
 acres. His death occurred in 1850. By 
 his first marriage there were five children — 
 James Hamilton, our subject; Anna, who 
 died young; Robert, who resides in For- 
 estville township; Henry Hamilton, who 
 died at the age of six years; and Anna, 
 who died at the age of three years and 
 six months. By the second marriage 
 there was one child, Ellen, now the wife 
 of David Carr, residing in the town of 
 Chesterfield, Essex Co., New York. 
 
 James H. Lockhart remained at home 
 until twelve years of age, and then went to 
 Port Patrick, Scotland, where he lived for 
 a little more than a year. Leaving that 
 place, he shortly afterward went to the 
 County of Durham, England, where he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 767 
 
 was engaged in mining for two and a half 
 years. He then concluded to come to the 
 United States, and leaving Whitehaven 
 went to Newry, Ireland, where he visited 
 with relatives a short time, and then set 
 sail on April 28, 1850, from Belfast, land- 
 ing in the city of Quebec on August i. 
 Leaving Quebec, he set out on foot for 
 Montreal; meeting a friend there, he stayed 
 four weeks, going thence to Essex county, 
 N. Y. , to the home of his father, and work- 
 ing on the home farm until after he was 
 twenty-one years of age. Determining to 
 make a home for himself, he made several 
 trips to different parts of the country, and, 
 as already stated, in 1856 came to Door 
 county. Wis., locating 240 acres of gov- 
 ernment land. In 1859 he received an 
 offer of $100 per month and expenses, and 
 went to Marquette county, Mich., where 
 he remained some time engaged in burning 
 charcoal. In the winter of 1859-60 he 
 went to Houghton county, Mich. , where 
 he made a contract to cut 1,000 cords of 
 wood, and, after completing his job, en- 
 gaged in the spring of i 860 in the char- 
 coal business in the same county, where 
 he remained until 1865, during which 
 time he followed different lines of busi- 
 ness. In the fall of that year he returned 
 to Door county, and in 1867 settled on 
 the farm, which he improved, in connec- 
 tion therewith engaging in the lumber 
 business, also in buying and selling real 
 estate. For the last sixteen years he has 
 conducted a mercantile business. 
 
 In 1863, in Houghton county, Mich., 
 Mr. Lockhart was united in marriage with 
 Miss Lydia F. Bailey, who was born in 
 Windham, Cumberland Co., Maine, 
 daughter of William and Emma (Reed) 
 Bailey, who were also natives of Maine, 
 of English ancestry; the mother died in 
 Maine in November, 1S61, and in 1865 
 the father settled in Superior, Wis. , and 
 died in Door county in 1890. On No- 
 vember 25, 1890, Mr. Lockhart married 
 for his second wife, in Manitowoc, Wis., 
 Mrs. Helen Ward, iicc Summers, who 
 was born in Jackson county, Iowa, daugh- 
 
 ter of Caleb and Nancy Jane (Gregg) 
 Summers, the former a native of Indiana 
 and the latter of Kentucky. They were 
 early settlers of Jackson county, Iowa, 
 where they were married and where Mr. 
 Summers yet resides. Mrs. Summers 
 died January 26, 1886. There daughter 
 Helen was married in 1876 to Theodore 
 D. Ward, and to that union was born one 
 child, Justin Grey, who died November 
 18, 1879. By his first marriage Mr. 
 Lockhart became the father of eleven chil- 
 dren, five of whom are now living — 
 Wellington G., Bertha, Walter S., Wil- 
 mot and Willie. The deceased are Ros- 
 well, Martha, Wallace, Grace and two 
 who died in infancy. By his present wife 
 there is one child, Daisy June. 
 
 Politically Mr. Lockhart has been a 
 Republican, and voted in 1856 for John 
 C. Fremont, the first candidate of that 
 party for President; he is now, however, 
 acting with the Populist party. He was 
 instrumental in establishing the postoffices, 
 Maplewood and Forestville, and was the 
 first postmaster of the former place, serv- 
 ing thirteen years and six months. He 
 has been quite active in all matters per- 
 taining to the welfare of Forestville town- 
 ship, and assisted in organizing the town- 
 ship and also the school district in which 
 he resides. 
 
 PAUL HOVERSON, of Franklin 
 township, Kewaunee county, was 
 born in Norway, August 8, 1826, 
 and is the second of three children 
 born to Hover and Emily Eversson, also 
 natives of Norway. 
 
 Paul passed the first fifteen years of 
 his life in school and on a farm, alternate- 
 ly, and after he had finished his schooling 
 continued to work for his father on the 
 home place until he reached the age of 
 twenty. He then began tailoring, at 
 which trade he worked about six years, 
 when he embarked for the United States, 
 and came through directly to Manitowoc, 
 W' is. , working there for two years or so 
 
768 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at whatever he could find to do, and then 
 bought a tract of land, on which he lo- 
 cated and which he cleared of timber. At 
 the end of three years he sold this prop- 
 erty and came to Franklin township, Ke- 
 waunee county, buying the farm he now 
 occupies. This farm was then a wilder- 
 ness, and the township was without roads 
 or even organization, he being one of the 
 first settlers. Since then, however, he 
 has brought his farm under cultivation, 
 and it is now one of the best tilled in the 
 township. Mr. Hoverson was naturalized 
 soon after coming to the country, and has 
 several times been elected from Franklin 
 township to the board of supervisors of 
 of the county, and been made its chair- 
 man. 
 
 Mr. Hoverson married Miss Sarah 
 Knudson, who was born in Norway Octo- 
 ber 6, 1 82 1, and to this union have been 
 born nine children, as follows: Emily, 
 January 5, 1850; Hover, August 21, 1852; 
 Julia, August 7, 1 854; Sarah, May 17,1856; 
 Emily Maria, April 8, 1858; Ole, August 
 2, 1 860; Mary, October i, 1862; Bertha, 
 April 3, 1866; and Paul, October 13, 
 1868; all of whom survive with the ex- 
 ception of Hover, who died March 18, 
 1853. The family are members of the 
 Lutheran Church, and enjoy the respect 
 of all their neighbors and the community 
 at large. 
 
 FRED HEUER, a prosperous farm- 
 er citizen of the town of Ahnapee, 
 Kewaunee county, was born Oc- 
 tober 28, 1842, in the Kingdom 
 of Prussia. He is a son of Fred and So- 
 phia (Runke) Heucr, also natives of Prus- 
 sia, the former of whom was born March 
 25, 1808, and came to the United States 
 in 1856, locating near Milwaukee, Wis., 
 where he worked as a laborer some three 
 years. Thence coming to the town of 
 Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, he pur- 
 chased eighty acres of timber land which 
 he at once commenced to clear, and fol- 
 lowed farming from that time until his 
 
 death, on October 25, 1872. He landed 
 in the United States a poor man, but by 
 constant labor and the exercise of all his 
 native thrift he acquired a comfortable 
 property, and was a successful farmer. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Heuer had seven children 
 as follows: Minnie, Mrs. Brandt, of 
 Lincoln township, Kewaunee Co. , Wis. ; 
 Ferdinand, of Ahnapee township; August, 
 who died in the army; Fred, subject of 
 this sketch; Earnestina, Mrs. Girke; Ber- 
 tha, Mrs. Zastrow, of the town of For- 
 estville, Door Co., Wis. ; and Gustie, Mrs. 
 Rader, of the town of Pierce, Kewaunee 
 county. 
 
 Fred Heuer was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of Germany, and was four- 
 teen years of age when he came with his 
 parents to the United States, since when 
 he has been almost continuously engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits, working first for 
 other people. On January 28, 1863, he 
 enlisted in Company E, Fourteenth Wis. 
 V. I., and remained in the army until 
 October, 1865, fighting under Sherman, 
 with whom he made the famous march to 
 the sea. He participated in the engage- 
 ments around .Atlanta, and many other 
 battles and skirmishes in which Sher- 
 man's army was engaged, and he is now 
 a pensioner. He is a member of the G. 
 A. R. Post at Ahnapee. 
 
 Mr. Heuer started in life for himself 
 with no capital but his strength and a 
 willing pair of hands, and he has had 
 many difficulties to overcome on his road 
 to prosperity, but by hard work, together 
 with good business management, and a 
 careful attention to his business interests, 
 he has accumulated a neat property, 
 now being the owner of a good farm of 
 200 acres, well cultivated and improved. 
 Mr. Heuer's marriage to Rosa Damas took 
 place December 8, 1866, and has been 
 blessed with eight children, of whom 
 Regina and Frederick are deceased; the 
 others are Seraphine (Mrs. Bangert, of 
 Eagle River, Wis.), Rosa, Alma, Earnest, 
 Arthur and Arnold. Mrs. Heuer was 
 born in Prussia, Germany, June 4, 1849, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 j6g 
 
 daughter of Fred and Rosina (Stebana) 
 Damas, natives of the same country who 
 came to the United States in 1854, lo- 
 cating in Milwaukee, Wis., where Mr. 
 Damas followed his trade, that of brick- 
 maker. In 185S they came to Ahnapee, 
 where he purchased land and engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits, which he still fol- 
 lows. He and his wife are members of 
 the Lutheran Church, as are also Mr. 
 and Mrs. Heuer. Mr. Heuer is a Repub- 
 lican in political affiliation. 
 
 WILLIAM MAACK, present asses- 
 sor of the town of Ahnapee, 
 Kewaunee county, and one of 
 its well-known agriculturists, is 
 a native of the Kingdom of Prussia, born 
 May 22, 1846. He is a son of Hans and 
 Liesette (Baade) Maack, also natives of 
 Prussia, the former of whom was born in 
 1818 and died October 15, 1890, in Ran- 
 toul, 111. Mrs. Maack was born in 1821, 
 and died February 8, 1892, in Nebraska; 
 her remains now rest bj' those of her hus- 
 band, in Illinois. She was the mother of 
 five children, viz. : Henry, of Rantoul, 
 111.; William, our subject; Louisa, Mrs. 
 Alexander McHarry, of Rantoul, 111. ; 
 Wilhelmina, Mrs. Fred Trennt, of Buf- 
 falo county, Neb. ; and a daughter that 
 died in infancy. Hans Maack was edu- 
 cated in the common school of his native 
 country, and when a young man learned 
 the brewer's trade, following same until 
 1868, when he came to the United States, 
 and locating at Rantoul, 111., here pur- 
 chased a small farm, whereon he engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits until his death. 
 He and his entire family were members 
 of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 William Maack, whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch, received a common- 
 school education in his native country, 
 and when twenty years of age, in 1866, 
 came to the United States, preceding his 
 parents by some two years. He located 
 in Rantoul, 111., where he worked at farm 
 labor some five years, and then married 
 
 Bertha Pieplow, who has borne him six 
 children, as follows: Albert, Louisa, 
 Clara, Emma, Ida and Paulina. Mrs. 
 Maack is a daughter of Joachim and Maria 
 (Evert) Pieplow, natives of Mecklenburg, 
 Germany, where Mrs. Maack was born 
 December 2, 1852. After his marriage 
 Mr. Maack purchased a small farm and 
 followed general agriculture there until 
 1883, when he sold and came to Wiscon- 
 sin, settling in the town of Ahnapee, Ke- 
 waunee county, where he purchased i 20 
 acres of land. Here he has since con- 
 tinued farming with marked success, im- 
 proving his property year by year, and he 
 has gained an enviable reputation as a 
 thorough agriculturist and a worthy, re- 
 spected citizen. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican, for a number of years has tilled 
 with honor the office of supervisor, and at 
 present is serving as assessor of the town- 
 ship with his customary faithfulness and 
 ability. 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON, a well-to-do 
 farmer of Carlton township, Kewau- 
 nee county, was born October 12, 
 1839, in Sweden, son of Andraes 
 Johnson and Christiana Anderson, also 
 natives of Sweden. 
 
 Our subject received his education in 
 the schools of his native country, and on 
 commencing to work engaged for two 
 years in cutting slate, and afterward, for 
 one year, in painting. Subsequently, for 
 three summers, he sailed from different 
 ports of Sweden; and then, for four years, 
 sailed on the ocean. In 1862, having 
 heard and read so much of the unlimited 
 opportunities for advancement offered in 
 the undeveloped regions of the United 
 States, he emigrated, shortly afterward 
 taking up his residence in Carlton, Ke- 
 waunee Co., Wis., and for fifteen years 
 after his arrival followed the Great Lakes. 
 In 1877 he abandoned a sea-faring life, 
 and, making a permanent settlement on a 
 tract of eighty acres which he had pur- 
 chased in Carlton township, has trans- 
 
770 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 
 
 formed the place into one of the neatest 
 and most fertile farms in the town of 
 Carlton, hip^hh' improved, and provided 
 with all necessary buildings. During the 
 winter season he is also engaged in lum- 
 bering, and he is known as one of the 
 most industrious, progressive farmers of 
 his section. It is to such sturdy, earnest 
 workers that this section of Wisconsin 
 owes her steady advancement and her 
 ever-increasing prosperity in the develop- 
 ment of her agricultural interests. Mr. 
 Anderson is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church in religious connection, and poli- 
 tically he is independent. 
 
 FREDC. WALLNER, of the Bava- 
 rian Brewing Co. , Kewaunee, was 
 born in Bavaria, November 2, 
 1 86 1, son of George and Anna 
 (Rab) Wallner. He was but five years of 
 age when his father, who was a physician, 
 was called from earth, leaving a widow 
 and three children, of whom Fred C. 
 was the eldest. The widow kept her 
 little family together some five years, 
 when she married Andrew Gump, a 
 mechanic, and in 1884 they came to 
 America, locating at Milwaukee; but Mr. 
 Gump, not liking this country, returned 
 to his old home a year later and there 
 died in 1886. Six children were the re- 
 sult of this marriage. Mrs. Gump still 
 retains her residence in Milwaukee. 
 
 Fred C. Wallner came to America 
 alone at the age of about nineteen years, 
 or in 1 88 1, making his first stop at Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, but two months later re- 
 moving to Milwaukee, where for six years 
 he worked for the Philip Best Brewing 
 Co. He then came to Kewaunee as fore- 
 man for the Borgman & Deda Brewing 
 Co., and after holding this position one 
 year bought one-quarter interest in the 
 business; in 1889 he bought an additional 
 quarter, or Mr. Borgman's share, this 
 gentleman retiring; and the firm name 
 then became the Wallner & Deda Brew- 
 ing Co., so continuing until March, 1893, 
 
 when Thomas Hlinak bought out Mr. 
 Deda's stock, the style now being The 
 Bavarian Brewing Co. The firm is doing 
 an excellent trade, employing five men, 
 and its members understand the business, 
 as Mr. Wallner began learning it in 
 Bavaria when but fifteen years of age, 
 and has devoted his entire attention to it 
 ever since. 
 
 Mr. Wallner was first married, in 1882, 
 to Miss Katy Fritz, an American, who 
 bore him two children — Felix, who lives 
 with his father, and one that died in in- 
 fancy. The second marriage of Mr. 
 Wallner was in 1889, to Miss Carrie 
 Deda. Her father, Charles Deda, was 
 born in Germany in 1824 and came to 
 America in 1856, first locating in Mil- 
 waukee, Wis. ; the year following he came 
 to Kewaunee, and here kept a hotel five 
 years; he was town register of deeds four 
 years, school clerk nine years, and in the 
 interval, in 1868, bought the Bavarian 
 Brewery. He was married, in 1857, to 
 Miss Josephine Cihacak, a native of Aus- 
 tria, and three children were born to this 
 union — Carrie, Mr. Wallner's present 
 wife, being the youngest; Anna, the eldest 
 child, is married to Henry G. Borgman 
 and resides in Antigo, Langlade Co., 
 Wis. ; Charles, the second born, died 
 December 28, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wallner have been blessed with two 
 children — Aurea and Wilfried. Both 
 parents are faithful members of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and in politics Mr. Wallner 
 is a Democrat, but reserves to himself 
 the right to vote for the man he deems 
 best suited for the office to be filled. 
 
 ERNEST WOLSKE, a native of 
 Germany, was born in the King- 
 dom of Prussia in 1843, son of 
 Samuel and Catherine Wolske, who 
 were also natives of Prussia. The father 
 was a carpenter by trade, and throughout 
 his entire life followed that occupation in 
 Germany, where he died in 1S72, having 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 771 
 
 for eight years survived his wife, who 
 passed away in 1864. This worthy couple 
 were the parents of six children — John 
 and Samuel, both of whom died in the 
 Fatherland; Michael, who is married and 
 follows farming in Forestville township, 
 where he located in 1867; Caroline, wife 
 of Albert Zettle, of Egg Harbor, Wis. ; 
 Minnie, and Ernest. 
 
 Ernest Wolske spent his boyhood days 
 under the parental roof, and was educated 
 in the public schools of his native land. 
 He entered upon his business career as a 
 teamster and was thus employed until 
 1867, when he determined to try his for- 
 tune beyond the Atlantic, and sailed from 
 Bremen in a vessel, which after a voyage 
 of twelve weeks reached the harbor of 
 Quebec, Canada. He then went to Man- 
 istee, Mich., working there in the lumber 
 woods for a short time, after which he 
 came to Door county, Wis., locating in 
 Forestville township. Here he worked as 
 a farm hand for John Stoneman until 1869, 
 when he purchased and located on his 
 present farm, then an eighty-acre tract of 
 wild timberland. It is situated in Section 
 34, Forestville township, and with the 
 exception of eight acres is all now under 
 a high state of cultivation. In 1871 Mr. 
 Wolske erected a good home and now 
 has two good barns, one 30 x 56 feet, the 
 other 27x60 feet, thus furnishing ample 
 accommodations for his stock and grain. 
 In the township which is still his 
 home Mr. Wolske was married in 1871 to 
 Miss Emeline, daughter of John and 
 Louisa (Krueger) Kum, natives of Ger- 
 man}', who in i860 became residents of 
 Door county, where Mr. Kum died in 
 1 8 So; his widow is still living in Forest- 
 ville township. Of the children born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wolske five are living; 
 Otto, Louis, John, Paulina and Ernestine; 
 and three are deceased; Albert, who died 
 when about sixteen years of age; Amelia, 
 who died at the age of six months; and 
 Elsie, at the age of two months. The 
 mother of this family was called to the 
 home beyond June 19, 1890, and her 
 
 death was widely and deeply mourned, for 
 she was a lady who had many friends. 
 
 Mr. Wolske has served his fellow- 
 townsmen as assessor for one term, and has 
 several times been a member of the town 
 board. He votes with the Democratic 
 party, and is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church, in which he is now serving as 
 trustee. His public and private life are 
 alike above reproach, and his many ex- 
 cellencies of character have won him high 
 regard, while his faithfulness to all duties 
 has made him a valued citizen. 
 
 LUDWIG SCHUMACHER, who 
 has been a resident of Door county 
 since 1857, was born in Bavaria, 
 Germany, in 1832. His father, 
 Henry Schumacher, lived and died in 
 Germany on a farm. Two of the family 
 came to this country, our subject in 1841 
 and Andrew in 1846. The latter was 
 a clergyman and preached in Chicago 
 until 1 86 1, whenheenlistedin the Twenty- 
 fourth Regiment,- 111. V. I., for three years. 
 Ludwig Schumacher, our subject, at- 
 tended the public schools of Germany, 
 and when nineteen years of age came to 
 the United States. The sailing vessel in 
 which he came set out from Havre and 
 reached the harbor of New York at the 
 end of fifty-two days. On coming to 
 Wisconsin he settled in Nasewaupee town- 
 ship. Door county, and bought some land 
 which was all forest. He had no neigh- 
 bors and was a long way from any town, 
 and one time he lived upon potatoes and 
 salt for about a month. While in Niagara 
 county, N. Y., he was married, in 1856, 
 to Miss Rhoda Walker, who was born in 
 England, daughter of Charles Walker, 
 who came to Niagara county at an early 
 date. Mr. Walker was killed by the 
 cars, and his widow still lives in New York. 
 In 1 863 Mr. Schumacher enlisted from 
 Door county in Company F., First Wis. 
 V. C, Army of the Cumberland, and 
 shared their vicissitudes until the close of 
 the war. He was honorably discharged 
 
77= 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1865 at Nashville, Tenn., and returned 
 to his home and family. He is a mem- 
 ber of Henry Schuyler Post, No. 222, G. 
 A. R., at Sturgeon Bay. In politics he 
 is a Republican, keeping well posted on 
 the political issues of the day. Mr. 
 Schumacher is the father of the following 
 named children: Henry (who is married 
 and resides in Nasewaupee township), 
 Andrew, Eli (married and residing in 
 Sevastopol township), Robert, Frank, 
 Walter, Lizzie (wife of Charles Walker, 
 of Sevastopol), Emma (wife of William 
 Bernard), Rosa, and Jennie (wife of L. 
 Bernard). Mr. Schumacher now owns 
 eighty-five acres of land in a high state of 
 cultivation, said land being his purchase 
 of 1866. 
 
 CHARLES PALECEK, a rising 
 young farmer of the town of Ahna- 
 pee, Kewaunee county, is a native 
 of same, born October 27, 1867, 
 son of Frank Palecek, a native of Bohemia, 
 who was born in 1826. 
 
 Frank Palecek was educated in his 
 native language, and was reared to farm- 
 ing. He married Mary Jacobosky, a na- 
 tive of Bohemia, born in 1827, and she 
 became the mother of nine children, as 
 follows: Mary, Mrs. Leopold Seller, of 
 the town of Ahnapee; Peter, deceased; 
 Annie, deceased; John, of Sturgeon Bay, 
 Wis. ; Victoria, Mrs. Patrick Ludden, of 
 Menominee, Mich. ; Frank, of the town 
 of Ahnapee; Charles, whose name opens 
 this sketch; and Wenzel and Jacob, of 
 Kansas. Mr. Palecek came from Bohemia 
 to the United States to better his condi- 
 tion, and for one year lived in Chicago, 
 coming thence to Manitowoc, whence 
 after a short residence he removed to the 
 town of Ahnapee, Kewaunee county, and 
 purchased eighty acres of timber land, on 
 which he settled, becoming one of the 
 first settlers of this part of Ahnapee. 
 Later he purchased more land, and at his 
 death owned 200 acres, well improved, 
 upon which he had erected substantial 
 
 buildings, and was one of the well-to-do 
 farmers of the township. In religious 
 connection he and his family were mem- 
 bers of the Catholic Church. Mr. Palecek 
 died February 17, 1890, preceded by his 
 wife, who died November 27, 1882. 
 
 Charles Palecek was educated in the 
 common schools of the town of Ahnapee, 
 and was reared to agriculture on the 
 home farm. When twenty-one years of 
 age he married Matilda Wick, a native of 
 Germany, born in 1865, and they have 
 had one child, Annie, born February 14, 
 1890. After his marriage Mr. Palecek 
 purchased from his father the farm of 120 
 acres he now owns and occupies, and has 
 since been engaged in general agriculture, 
 meeting with the success which industry is 
 sure to bring. He is a Democrat in polit- 
 ical affiliation, and in Church connection 
 he and his wife are Catholics. 
 
 JOACHIM ROHDE, one of the lead- 
 ing farmers of Egg Harbor township, 
 Door county, is a native of Prussia, 
 Germany, born April 25, 1828, and 
 is the eldest son of Jacob Rohde, whose 
 family consisted of six children — three 
 sons and three daughters. 
 
 Our subject remained at home up to 
 the age of fourteen years, attending school 
 and assisting his parents, and then, after 
 his confirmation, commenced to work for 
 strangers, \\lien twenty-five years of age 
 he married Mary Glove, and three chil- 
 dren were born to them in Germany, 
 namely: Lena, who is now the wife of 
 Fred Schrumm, of Egg Harbor township. 
 Door Co., Wis.; Mary, now Mrs. Henry 
 Sohn, of Chicago, 111. ; and Reka, Mrs. 
 Julius Rohdes, of Watertown, Wis. In 
 the spring of 1864, Mr. Rohde embarked 
 with his little family from Hamburg on 
 the vessel "John Badram," and after a 
 voyage of five weeks and three days land- 
 ed in New York, thence journeying west- 
 ward to Chicago, 111, where he first ob- 
 tained employment unloading vessels. He 
 had his residence in Chicago for ten years. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 773 
 
 engaging in various kinds of labor, and 
 during that time, liaving managed to save 
 $i,ooo, he concluded to locate in Door 
 county, Wis., where land was then cheap. 
 Removing hither in the fall of 1874, he 
 purchased one hundred acres of land in 
 Section 32, Egg Harbor township, with- 
 out improvements of any kind, and the 
 log shanty he built for his family was the 
 first building on the place. Setting to 
 work immediately Mr. Rohde succeeded 
 in clearing enough land to plant a small 
 crop in the following spring, and year by 
 year continued to improve his farm and 
 home, also adding to the area of the 
 place until he now has 220 acres, 126 
 of which are cleared and in a 
 state of cultivation 
 the largest cleared tracts in Egg Har- 
 bor township. Mr. Rohde has pros- 
 pered by his own industry, but his 
 labor has been well rewarded, and he 
 now holds a prominent place among the 
 well-to-do farmers of his township, his 
 fairness and honesty in all its transactions 
 gaining him the respect of all who have 
 dealings with him. He gives his entire 
 attention to his farm, taking no active 
 
 good 
 this being one of 
 
 part in public affairs, political or other- 
 wise. Though a stanch member of the 
 Republican party in national politics, he 
 is non-partisan in local elections, support- 
 ing the candidate he deems best fitted for 
 office. 
 
 Mr. Rohde's first wife died in Chi- 
 cago; for his scond wife he married, in 
 that city, Miss Reka Ranke, a native of 
 Germany, who died in Egg Harbor, and 
 he subsequently wedded Ida Schwantes, 
 who was born in Germany March 2, 
 1852. By his second marriage Mr. 
 Rohde has children as follows: Annie, 
 Mrs. John Lohmer, of Minnesota ; Min- 
 nie, Mrs. William Reihart, of Escanaba, 
 Mich.; Louis and George, at home; So- 
 phia, Mrs. Charles Johns, of Sister Bay, 
 Door Co. Wis., and August, at home. 
 By the third union he has as follows: 
 Albert, Martha and Edwin, at home; and 
 there are eight others now deceased. 
 Mr. Rohde is an active member of the 
 Evangelical Church, in which he has 
 held various positions of trust, at present 
 serving as treasurer of the Church and 
 Sunday school. 
 
INDE^X:. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Abrams, Hon. W. J 114 
 
 Adriaenssen, A. A. L,. . . . 378 
 
 Aebischer, Charles N 176 
 
 Aebischer, Mrs. Marg-'t. . 175 
 
 V Aebischer, Samuel 175 
 
 Aldrich.Chauncy N 121 
 
 Ames, Milo 367 
 
 Andersen, Dedrick 384 
 
 Andersen, George Peter.. 686 
 
 Andersen, Hans P 274 
 
 Anderson, Alfred 705 
 
 Anderson, Andrew 346 
 
 Anderson, John 769 
 
 Anderson, Ole A 741 
 
 Anderson, W. B 181 
 
 Andreson, O. L 681 
 
 Andridge, Rev. Andrew A 539 
 
 Anschutz, Fred 663 
 
 Anschutz, Henry 731 
 
 Ansorge, Eugene K 199 
 
 Armstrong, William 119 
 
 Arndt, John P 213 
 
 Arndt, John Wallace 213 
 
 Arndt, Peter 731 
 
 Arveson , Arve 256 
 
 Ash, Mrs. Mary 517 
 
 Ash, Richard 517 
 
 Atkinson, Thomas 118 
 
 Awe, Henry M 735 
 
 Babcock, Augustin H. . . . 176 
 
 Bach, Frederick 581 
 
 Bailev. Patrick 341 
 
 Bangert, John 699 
 
 Baraboo, Levi 689 
 
 Bartel, William 749 
 
 Bartelme, John 343 
 
 Barth, Martin 345 
 
 Barrett, Jesse 581 
 
 Barrette, William 583 
 
 Basche, F. W 468 
 
 Bassford, George 533 
 
 Bassine, Louis 739 
 
 Batey, John 159 
 
 Baumann, August (Ke- 
 waunee county) 720 
 
 Baumgart, August, Sr... 238 
 
 p.\GE. 
 Baumgart, August (Brown 
 
 county) 236 
 
 Baumgart, Edward 345 
 
 Baumgart. Paul 238 
 
 Beaupre, Dr. Wm 309 
 
 Becher, John 212 
 
 Becher, Joseph 212 
 
 Beck, H. M., M. D 229 
 
 Becker, Ernest 480 
 
 Becker, Peter J 316 
 
 Beissel, Eseius 307 
 
 Belanger, Francis 595 
 
 Berg, Charles P 618 
 
 Berg, Jacob 618 
 
 Beth, John 13 
 
 Beyer, George 530 
 
 Bingham, Webster A.... 40 
 
 Birmingham, Solon 715 
 
 Black, James 463 
 
 Black, R. J 161 
 
 Blahnik, Jacob 704 
 
 Blesch, Francis. 160 
 
 Blesch. Frank T 160 
 
 Bley, John 722 
 
 Boalt, Charles Griswold. . 528 
 
 Boehm, Joseph 344 
 
 Boehm, Sylvester 332 
 
 Boettcher, Hermann 657 
 
 Bohman, Joseph 595 
 
 Bohne, August 703 
 
 Boncher, Mrs. Catherine S90 
 
 Bencher, Hector 589 
 
 Bone, Leonard 167 
 
 Bongers, Rev. Matthew. . 323 
 
 Borgman, John 592 
 
 Borgman, John M 592 
 
 Borman, Gregorie 371 
 
 Borman, Henry 371 
 
 Bosnian, August J 576 
 
 Bottkol, Michel 754 
 
 Bowring, Thomas D 118 
 
 Boyden, Elbridge G 248 
 
 Bozmack, Rev. Jacobus. . 154 
 
 Bradley, D 463 
 
 Bran'des, Charles 510 
 
 Brandes, Charles H 520 
 
 p.\GE. 
 
 Brandes, Edward 521 
 
 Brann, John 665 
 
 Brauns, A 464 
 
 Brennan, Jeremiah 259 
 
 Brett, B. C, M. D 37 
 
 Brey , George 657 
 
 Brice, O. J. B 452 
 
 Britton, David W 132 
 
 Broens, Rev. Father Al- 
 
 phons M 632 
 
 Broeren, John 326 
 
 Bruemmer, Christian.... 559 
 
 Bruemmer, Henry 685 
 
 Bruemmer, Louis D 685 
 
 Bruemmer, Louis 558 
 
 Brunette, Dominick 186 
 
 Brunette. Manuel 186 
 
 Bubnik, Joseph E 694 
 
 Buckmann, Ahrend S . . . . 324 
 
 Buckmann, H. F 324 
 
 Buettner, John 737 
 
 Bultmann, Henrv 750 
 
 Burdeau, Willard E 190 
 
 Buschmann, Albert 638 
 
 Busse, August 612 
 
 Callahan, Peter 334 
 
 Caiman, John 390 
 
 Caiman, Mrs. Kate 390 
 
 Camm, Herbert F 297 
 
 Campbell, H. Porter 453 
 
 Carlin, P.H 418 
 
 Carlson, Gustav 622 
 
 Casey, W. J 179 
 
 Cashman, William 483 
 
 Cautereels, Rev. P. J 362 
 
 Cerovsky, Anton, Jr 576 
 
 Champion, Seth W ISO 
 
 Chase, Jasner S 420 
 
 Chater, John 745 
 
 Christiansen, John 696 
 
 Clarey, M.J 475 
 
 Cleeremans, Alex 125 
 
 Cleeremans, Charles 403 
 
 Cleeremans, Frank 263 
 
 Cody, John 211 
 
 Cody, Richard P 684 
 
776 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPEICAL RECORD. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Coenen, John 287 
 
 Coenen, Theodore 287 
 
 CofFeen, \V. B., M. D 446 
 
 Colburn, Theodore 421 
 
 Collard, John B 718 
 
 Collard. Martin 718 
 
 Colle, Desire 696 
 
 Colle, Peter 696 
 
 Conen, William 368 
 
 Conley , Horace J 145 
 
 Connelly, John 127 
 
 Cook, John 123 
 
 Cook, John (deceased). . . . 303 
 
 Cook, William 303 
 
 Corbett, M.J 416 
 
 Cordier, Eug^ene 730 
 
 Cormier, David 357 
 
 Cormier, Joseph 357 
 
 Cornell, Joseph Southard. 704 
 
 Corstens, Arnold 386 
 
 Corstens, John 386 
 
 Cotton, Charles A 438 
 
 Craanen, Christian 265 
 
 Craanen, Jacob 265 
 
 Craanen, John 360 
 
 Crabb, Frank 184 
 
 Crabb, Joseph 148 
 
 Craite, Nelson 672 
 
 Crane, C. E., M. D 480 
 
 Crass, Jacob 740 
 
 Crocker, Ephraim 416 
 
 Curran, Martin 279 
 
 Curtis, Rev. AlonzoP... 588 
 
 Daix, Constant 491 
 
 Dalemont, Joseph G 666 
 
 Danek, Anton F 674 
 
 Damman, Frederick 762 
 
 Daul, John 659 
 
 Davis, Charles L 451 
 
 Davis, Daniel H 210 
 
 Davis, E. B 451 
 
 Day, Charles W 48 
 
 Debeker, Joseph 713 
 
 Decker, Edward 42 
 
 Dehos, Philip Jacob 513 
 
 De Jong-he, Constant 220 
 
 Delaney. George A 179 
 
 Delaney, James C 179 
 
 DeLouw, Rev. Father C. . 91 
 
 Dehviche, John B 655 
 
 Demmin, Christ 654 
 
 Denis, Capt. Joseph 147 
 
 Denis, Charles R 290 
 
 Denis, Gregorie 88 
 
 Desnoyers, Francis 477 
 
 Desnoj-ers, Frank B 477 
 
 Detjen, Hermann 686 
 
 Dewey, Myron 726 
 
 DeWilt, Rev. Elsear 425 
 
 Dohn, Adam 229 
 
 Dollard, John 373 
 
 Dollard, Patrick E 373 
 
 Doolan, Bartholomew. .. . 240 
 
 Doran, Terrence 250 
 
 Doughertj', Cornelius. . . . 324 
 
 Drake, James 406 
 
 Droog-, Felix 146 
 
 Drury, Bartholomew 693 
 
 P.\GE. 
 
 Duaime, Joseph E 336 
 
 Dubois, F. E 475 
 
 Ducat, Jacques 372 
 
 Duchateau, Abelard 454 
 
 Duchateau, F. J. B 454 
 
 Duffy, James 330 
 
 Duffy, Thomas 330 
 
 Duncan, Archibald M. . . . 465 
 
 Duncan, John 465 
 
 Durst, Kaspar 727 
 
 Dworak, Albert J 765 
 
 Dwyer, Anthony 267 
 
 Dwyer, Patrick 267 
 
 Ebel, Adolph 738 
 
 Ebeling-, J. H 47 
 
 Ehle, Herrman 239 
 
 Eisenman, Andrew A. . . . 322 
 Eisenman,Mrs. ApoUonia 381 
 
 Eisenman, John C 322 
 
 Eisenman, John 381 
 
 Elliott. Hon. George W. .. 509 
 
 Ellis, Albert G 55 
 
 EUis, Eleazer H 55 
 
 Ellis, John 516 
 
 Ellsworth, Dr. Albert H. 313 
 
 Elmore, Hon. James H.. 21 
 
 Enderby, John 280 
 
 Enderby, William R 280 
 
 Engels, Edward 461 
 
 Eng-lebert, Desire 612 
 
 Englebert, Felix 729 
 
 Englebert, John 612 
 
 English, Mark 349 
 
 Erichsen, Andreas 658 
 
 Erickson, Niels 249 
 
 Esraann, John D 192 
 
 Evrard, Elick 565 
 
 Evrard, Frank 564 
 
 Fairfield, W. E., M. D... 434 
 
 Faick, Jacob 364 
 
 Falck, Philip 295 
 
 Falck, Philip (deceased). 294 
 Fellows, Charles Lewis... 636 
 
 Felschow, Christian 702 
 
 Fensel, Lorenz C 700 
 
 Fetzer, Hon. John 518 
 
 Filz, Joseph 681 
 
 Findeisen Bros 364 
 
 Findeisen, John G 363 
 
 Finnegan, Barnard 185 
 
 Finnegan, Hugh 332 
 
 Finnegan, John C 186 
 
 Finnegan, Patrick 332 
 
 Finnegan, William 96 
 
 Finnerty, Hon. Patrick. . 73 
 
 Fisk, W. J 70 
 
 Flatley, D 321 
 
 Flynn, Edward 402 
 
 Flynn, John 403 
 
 Follett, Mrs. Rosamond.. 14 
 
 Franklin, Charles 649 
 
 French, Marion 758 
 
 Frisque, Florentine 432 
 
 Froney, George 725 
 
 Frosch, Frank 277 
 
 Frosch, George 277 
 
 Frus, Niels 601 
 
 Fuller, Eliza S 640 
 
 1>.\GE. 
 
 Fuller, F. H 384 
 
 Fuller, H. H 640 
 
 Gage, Dr. C. 459 
 
 Gagnon, M 485 
 
 Gallagher, Rev. Chas. J.. 427 
 
 Gardner, Walter E 489 
 
 Gauche, Father James. . . 289 
 
 Gaulke, Fred 724 
 
 Gaulke, Herman 724 
 
 Gay lord, Capt. G. A 455 
 
 Genesse, Clem 644 
 
 Genesse, Augustus 644 
 
 Georgi, Ottoman 221 
 
 Geurts, George 211 
 
 Gislason, Jno 585 
 
 Goemans, Anthony 168 
 
 Goeraans, Mrs. Joanna. 168 
 
 Goepfert, Rev. P.,C.S.Sp. 36 
 
 Goetz, Joseph 582 
 
 Goffart, Ferdinand 124 
 
 Goflfart, Zacharie 142 
 
 Goldsmith, Christoph 252 
 
 Gonion, A. B 383 
 
 Goodell, C. F 174 
 
 Gosin, August 639 
 
 Gotfredsen, Mrs. L 261 
 
 Gotfredsen, Niels H 261 
 
 Gow, William 437 
 
 Gowej-, Archie L 193 
 
 Graf, Charles 549 
 
 Gratza, Father John 306 
 
 Graves, Capt. Charles A. 467 
 
 Graves, Orlo 467 
 
 Greiling, August 217 
 
 Grignon, D. H 437 
 
 Grimmer, Hon. George. .. 614 
 
 Groessl, George 479 
 
 Gro-ss, Fred. P 122 
 
 Gross, John G., Jr 423 
 
 Gross, John G., Sr 414 
 
 Gudniundsen, Arni 601 
 
 Haese, August 138 
 
 Hagartj', Andrew. 695 
 
 Hagarty, William 695 
 
 Hagemeister, Henry F. . . 106 
 
 Hagemeister, Louis W... 106 
 
 Hagen, Walter T., M. D. 27 
 
 Haines, Melvin 631 
 
 Haines, Tellack, and El- 
 len (Halverson) 607 
 
 Hall, S. L 697 
 
 Halstead, James S 736 
 
 Hamachek, Frank 667 
 
 Hamilton, Judge Fitz 
 
 James 497 
 
 Handeyside. William.... 136 
 
 Hanev, John L 694 
 
 Haney, Hon. Michael C. 630 
 
 Hansen, Capt. Anton .... 764 
 
 Hansen, Christ 295 
 
 Hansen, F. Mads 671 
 
 Hansen, Hans 389 
 
 Hansen, Niels 130 
 
 Hansen, Samuel C 607 
 
 Harbers, Geortre 656 
 
 Harder, Fred. T 586 
 
 Hardtke, Albert 685 
 
 Harmann, August 674 
 
INDEX. 
 
 777 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Harmaun, Daniel 691 
 
 Harniann, John 691 
 
 Harris, J. B 765 
 
 Hart, Capt. C. B 65 
 
 Hart, Edwin 53 
 
 Hart, Capt. H. W 54 
 
 Harteau, D. M 162 
 
 Hastings, Hon. S. D., Jr.. 52 
 
 Hay den, George W 391 
 
 Haydeu, Hiram P 488 
 
 Hayford, S. W 181 
 
 Hayes, William Arthur. . 669 
 
 Hebel, Joseph 180 
 
 Hebert, Joseph 387 
 
 Heck, W 748 
 
 Heim, lyorenz 193 
 
 Heimbecker, William.... 720 
 
 Helmholz, William 532 
 
 Henquinet, John 575 
 
 Henrigilles, Joseph 163 
 
 Herber, Peter 126 
 
 Herrbold, Philip 591 
 
 Herrick, E. Henry 748 
 
 Hess, George B 96 
 
 Heuer, Fred 768 
 
 Hewitt, Rev. John L, 107 
 
 Heyrmau, Charles L 129 
 
 Heyrman, Frank 128 
 
 Hey rman, John B 410 
 
 Hibberd, Andrew 278 
 
 Hinsdale, William C 110 
 
 Hittner, H. M., M. D 385 
 
 Hlinak, Thomas 738 
 
 Hobbins, James 308 
 
 Hobbins, John 309 
 
 Hochgreve, August 426 
 
 Hoeffel, Joseph 168 
 
 Hoffman, William 397 
 
 Hoffmann, Charles 761 
 
 Hoffmann, Valentine 760 
 
 Hogan, Hon. John M 49 
 
 Holmes, Albert G. E 105 
 
 Hoskens, Peter 130 
 
 Hoverson, Paul 767 
 
 Howland, Major Levi. . . . 399 
 
 Howland, Thomas 399 
 
 Hrbek, Frank 572 
 
 Hudd. Hon. Thomas R... 109 
 
 Huisenfeldt, George 237 
 
 Huisenfeldt, Stephen 237 
 
 Hunter, Alvin 165 
 
 Hussin, Joseph 362 
 
 Icke, Albert 658 
 
 Ihlenfeld, John Frederick 573 
 
 Jackson, Robert 400 
 
 Jackson, William J 610 
 
 Jacobsen, Jacob 292 
 
 Jacobson, Andrew 609 
 
 Jacobson, Christian 761 
 
 Jensen, Lars 315 
 
 Jess, Charles 713 
 
 Joannes, Charles 76 
 
 Joannes, Mitchell 78 
 
 Joannes, Thomas 81 
 
 Johann, Capt. John W. . . 354 
 
 Johannes, Frederick 573 
 
 Johnson, A. W 200 
 
 Johnson, Hans 646 
 
 P.\GE. 
 
 Johnson, Magnus 457 
 
 Jones, Ferdinand 757 
 
 Jones, Jared A 605 
 
 Jonet, Peter 708 
 
 Jorgensen, Mrs. Elsie. . . . 385 
 
 Jorgensen, Hans 385 
 
 Jorgensen, John L 11 
 
 Jorns, Adolph M. C 555 
 
 Kalb, Joseph 470 
 
 Kalb, Louis 471 
 
 Kaye, Victor 679 
 
 Kellogg, William E 82 
 
 Kennedy, William 388 
 
 Keogh, James 596 
 
 Keogh, James (deceased). 546 
 
 Keogh, John 546 
 
 Kerr, James 439 
 
 Kersten,AlphonseM.,M.D 241 
 
 Kettenhofen, Jacob 225 
 
 Killman, Clement 711 
 
 Killoren, Luke 752 
 
 Kimball, Alonzo 24 
 
 Kimball, Charles T 476 
 
 Kimball, N. S 113 
 
 King, George 648 
 
 Kirpal, Rev. Joseph 556 
 
 Kitten, Oriu S 379 
 
 Klaus, Henry P 103 
 
 Klaus, Philipp 102 
 
 Kleiinanu, Herman 751 
 
 Knudsen, Martin N 764 
 
 Knudsen, Peter 764 
 
 Knudson, Henry C 553 
 
 Knuth, Lewis 269 
 
 Kolb, Peter 392 
 
 KoUer, Matthias 588 
 
 Konop, Andrew 655 
 
 Kozelka, Rev. Venceslas. 717 
 
 Kozina, Jacob 744 
 
 Kozlowskv, Frank 231 
 
 Kozlowsky, Frank, Jr.... 232 
 
 Kruegar, Frederick 662 
 
 Kuehl, J. F. C 691 
 
 Kulhauek, Jacob J 742 
 
 Kuntz, Christian 409 
 
 Kurz, A. G 361 
 
 Kustermann, Carl 23 
 
 Kustermann, Gustav 22 
 
 Kuy pers. John A 428 
 
 Kwapil, Judge Frank. . . . 496 
 
 Lamarre, Alphonse 246 
 
 Lamarre, John L 246 
 
 Lancaster, Henry 370 
 
 Lange, Eberhardt A 176 
 
 Lange, John 668 
 
 Langenkatnp, Anton 650 
 
 Larsen, William 232 
 
 Larson, H. A 619 
 
 Last, J. B 123 
 
 Lau, Rev. Clement 252 
 
 Lau Family 469 
 
 Lau, Jacob 469 
 
 Laurie, Robert 540 
 
 Lawlor, Thomas 419 
 
 Lawrence, Augustus W. . 560 
 
 Lawrence, G. S 319 
 
 Lawson, Alexander, Sr. .. 629 
 Lawson, Alexander, Jr.. . 629 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Lawton Family 28 
 
 Lawton, Capt. Joseph G. . 28 
 
 Leary, Cornelius 310 
 
 Lebal, John 247 
 
 Leischow, Fred 741 
 
 Leischow, John 741 
 
 Leitermann, Joseph 331 
 
 Leonard, Bernard A 209 
 
 Leonard, J. H 296 
 
 Leonhardt, Christopher... 756 
 
 Leonhardt, Fred 747 
 
 LeRoy,J. H 66 
 
 Le Roy, Jonas 66 
 
 Ley, Joseph, Sr 177 
 
 Ley, Joseph 177 
 
 Ley, Michael 672 
 
 Liebmann, Edmund F — 215 
 
 Liebmann, Franz 191 
 
 Liebmann, Louis 215 
 
 Liussen. Henrj' 236 
 
 Linssen, Matthias 236 
 
 Lockhart, James H 766 
 
 Lockhart, Robert 619 
 
 Lomas, C. W 289 
 
 Long, Frank 668 
 
 Louw, Rev. FatherC.de 91 
 
 Lucia, Charles J 314 
 
 Luebck, Charles 737 
 
 Lueke, William 12 
 
 Lurquin, Felix 140 
 
 Lutgen, Charles 754 
 
 Lycke, George.. 600 
 
 McAbee, John L 481 
 
 McAllister, James D 149 
 
 McArdle, James 550 
 
 McCartney, David 60 
 
 McCartney, William 60 
 
 McCormick, M. J 454 
 
 McCormick, Patrick 455 
 
 McCunn, John N 270 
 
 McDonald, John R 594 
 
 McGeehan, Hon. Rob't. J. 94 
 
 McGrath, Thomas J 112 
 
 Mcintosh, James 728 
 
 McKnight, John 135 
 
 McKone, James 226 
 
 McLean, Thomas 340 
 
 McMahon, Prof. M 761 
 
 MacEacham, Archibald, 
 
 M. D 578 
 
 MacEacham, Mrs. Nettie. 581 
 
 Maack, William 769 
 
 Mach, Anton 623 
 
 Machia, Joseph 620 
 
 Madden, John 755 
 
 Maedke, Fred W 698 
 
 Mahlberg, Henry 648 
 
 Mahlberg, Joseph 648 
 
 Mailer, Andrew C.,M. D. 427 
 
 Mann, Charles E 623 
 
 Manthey, Carl 197 
 
 Marcussen, Peter 352 
 
 Marsh, George W 568 
 
 Martin, Constant 39 
 
 Martin, Daniel H 433 
 
 Martin, George 717 
 
 Martin, Henry 536 
 
 Martin, Mrs. Mary 350 
 
778 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Martin, Michael 350 
 
 Martin, Hon. Morgan L. 7 
 Martin, Oliver H.,M. D.. 538 
 
 Martin, P. H 19 
 
 Martin, Xavier 38 
 
 Masliek, Voyta 503 
 
 Ma.son, Jared D 361 
 
 Mathison, Mathjas 709 
 
 Matzke, Fred 218 
 
 Meehan, John 408 
 
 Meehan, Thomas 408 
 
 Meister, Charles 3S6 
 
 Meister, Christoph 158 
 
 Melchior, Mathias 571 
 
 Melera, Felix 670 
 
 N^^' Mes siner, Bishop S. G 242 
 
 ' Meimier, John.. 732 
 
 Meyer, Leo 763 
 
 Meyer, Mathias 763 
 
 Michelson, John 248 
 
 Milechar, Frank 752 
 
 Miller, Godfrey 302 
 
 Miller, Jo.seph 671 
 
 Miller, Martin 721 
 
 Miller, Peter 721 
 
 Millidg-e, John 690 
 
 Milling-ton Family 304 
 
 Minahan, J. R..M. D 36 
 
 Moore, William 608 
 
 Moran, James T 378 
 
 Morau.x, J. D., M. D 196 
 
 Morrow, Elisha 104 
 
 y<s3Iosimann. Gottlieb 733 
 
 ' Mowers, H. E 353 
 
 Mueller, Carl G 137 
 
 Mueller, Charles W 138 
 
 Mullen, John F., M. D 515 
 
 Muller, Philipp 50 
 
 Murphy, John 202 
 
 Murphy, Simon J., Jr. . . . 204 
 
 Murphy, Timothy 202 
 
 Nachtwey, Anton 154 
 
 Nachtwey, Henry 154 
 
 Nelson, Andrew 647 
 
 Nelson, Niels 268 
 
 Neuville, Jacques 753 
 
 Neville, John C 95 
 
 Neville, Julian 477 
 
 Neville, Jules C 477 
 
 Newell, C. A 448 
 
 Newton, Abel D 208 
 
 Nolan, M H 160 
 
 Norton, Joseph 358 
 
 Nuss, Michael 474 
 
 Nuss, W. W 474 
 
 Nyg-ard, Mathias 743 
 
 Oatley , Albert B 424 
 
 O'Brien, Rev. M. J 262 
 
 Olander, Alfred 708 
 
 Oldenburg, Gerhard 405 
 
 Oldenburg, Otto N 405 
 
 Olmsted, Aus. F., M. D. . 18 
 
 Olson, Hans Jacob 700 
 
 Otis, B. F 642 
 
 Ouradnik, Joseph 645 
 
 Paape, Frank 570 
 
 Page, David, Sr 488 
 
 Palecek, Charles 772 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Palecek, Frank 772 
 
 Pamperin, Wilhelm 486 
 
 Panter Thomas .' . 734 
 
 Parker, James M. L 522 
 
 Parker, Mavnard T 522 
 
 Patton, John 228 
 
 Patton, Michael 227 
 
 Paulu, Frank 702 
 
 Paulu. Joseph 759 
 
 Pautz, Herman Reinhart. 552 
 
 Pelnar, Nicholas 664 
 
 Pelnar, Simon 664 
 
 Peot, Michael 567 
 
 Peot, Nicholas (pioneer). . 567 
 
 Peot, Nicholas 688 
 
 Peot, Peter 660 
 
 Perry, John 502 
 
 Perry, Matthew 625 
 
 Perry, Richard M 624 
 
 Perry, Samuel 498 
 
 Petersen, Charles 661 
 
 Peterson, Niels 351 
 
 Peterson, Peter A 599 
 
 Peterson, Theodore 751 
 
 Peterson, \V. H 418 
 
 Phelps, Henry 321 
 
 Pinney, George 505 
 
 Pinney, John J 550 
 
 Plinske, Charles 653 
 
 Poehler, Frederick 605 
 
 Poehler, Henrv 605 
 
 Popp, Rev. C. A. F 448 
 
 Popp, Godfrey G. L 450 
 
 Poser, Frederick 503 
 
 Poser, Mrs. M. A 503 
 
 Prust, Charles 414 
 
 Quatsoe, Ferdinand 374 
 
 Quatsoe, Peter 374 
 
 Radoe, August F 408 
 
 Rank, John C 673 
 
 Rasmussen, Niels 139 
 
 Ray makers, Hermann... . 369 
 
 Reiider, Jurgen 650 
 
 Reichel, Louis 661 
 
 Reinhart, Mathias 692 
 
 Revnen, Matthias 74 
 
 Reynolds, Charles 537 
 
 Revnolds, Thomas 494 
 
 Rhode, Henrv, M. D 273 
 
 Rice, W. D..'. 228 
 
 Ridings, James 759 
 
 Riha, Mathias 676 
 
 Ripp, Mathew 331 
 
 Roberts, George D 625 
 
 Roberts, George M 606 
 
 Roberts, Godfrev William 625 
 
 Roberts, Dr. John A 591 
 
 Robinson, Joseph 577 
 
 Rodrian, Jacob 584 
 
 Rogers, Hon. William 710 
 
 Rohde, Joachim 772 
 
 Rondou, A 196 
 
 Rooney, John H 706 
 
 Rooney, Judge P. J 706 
 
 Rowbotham, Rev. Wm... 320 
 
 Ryan, Thomas 173 
 
 Rvan, Timothy 219 
 
 Sawyer, A. P 285 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Saw ver, Thomas 285 
 
 Scaiilan, Thomas H 198 
 
 Schaden, Casper 293 
 
 Schauer, Wenzel 722 
 
 Schiller, L. G 183 
 
 Schlies. Andrew M 710 
 
 Schluessel. Herman 750 
 
 Schmah, Herman 537 
 
 Schmeling, Albert 593 
 
 Schmeling, Charles 593 
 
 Schmidt, Alex. P 200 
 
 Schneider, F. W 114 
 
 Schroeder, Charles 158 
 
 Schultz, Peter Hanson . . . 203 
 Schumacher. Frederick. . 746 
 Schumacher, Ludwig.... 771 
 
 Schwarz, Christian 288 
 
 Schwedler, Louis 743 
 
 Seeinann, David 682 
 
 Seeman, Michael 699 
 
 Sellers, Malcolm 92 
 
 Senft, George, Sr 511 
 
 Sensiba, George W 359 
 
 Servotte, Ernst W .. 471 
 
 Servotte, Joseph H 472 
 
 Seyk, W 678 
 
 Seymour, Frank B 462 
 
 Shampo. David 603 
 
 Sharp, Thomas E 67 
 
 Shaughnessy, John 312 
 
 Shaw, Moses 683 
 
 Shaw, Capt. Zebina 683 
 
 Sherlock. Andrew 431 
 
 Sherlock, James 368 
 
 Sherlock, Philip 431 
 
 Sherwood, Edison 424 
 
 Sherwood, Mrs. Olive I. . . 424 
 
 Sibree Family 512 
 
 Sibree, Henry Cheever, 
 
 M. D 512 
 
 Simons, Andrew 313 
 
 Slaughter, A. W., M. D. . . 395 
 
 Smet, Ferdinand 241 
 
 Smith, Alexander 397 
 
 Smith, Don F 222 
 
 Smith, Frank C 382 
 
 Smith, Frank T 59 
 
 Smith, J. M 57 
 
 Smith, James 396 
 
 Smith, John 269 
 
 Smith, Michael B 382 
 
 Smith, Thomas H 495 
 
 Smitz, Father Adolph 268 
 
 Snyder, Frank 380 
 
 Soukup, Wenzel 677 
 
 Spear, George 466 
 
 Sprague, A 474 
 
 Spuhler, Adam 20 
 
 Stangel, Frank J 514 
 
 Stangel, John J 675 
 
 Starr, Henry 642 
 
 Stebbens, De Wayne 507 
 
 Stephenson, Henry B. . . . 523 
 
 Stewart, Robert D 68 
 
 Stewart, William M 69 
 
 Stichmann, Carl 611 
 
 Stichmann, William 611 
 
 Stoneman, Joseph 701 
 
INDEX. 
 
 779 
 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Stoneman, William.. 
 
 ... 707 
 
 Van De Wyngaard, M. . . . 
 
 260 
 
 Wellens, Lambert.... 
 
 ... 335 
 
 St. Peters, Anton A. 
 
 D.. 635 
 
 Van Dycke, Julius J 
 
 479 
 
 Wellever, Frank 
 
 ... 545 
 
 St. Peters, William.. 
 
 .... 635 
 
 . ... 405 
 
 Van Dycke, Louis C 
 
 Van Dvke, Anton 
 
 478 
 339 
 
 . ' Weter, James P 
 
 ... 214 
 
 Straubel, Henry A. . . 
 
 Whitcomb, W. S 
 
 ... 372 
 
 Streckenbach, C. W.. 
 
 .... 144 
 
 Van Roosmalen, Rev.W.F 
 
 458 
 
 Whitney, Daniel 
 
 ... 83 
 
 Stroh, Joseph F 
 
 ... 566 
 
 Van Seg-gern, H. D 
 
 264 
 
 Whitney, Harriet H... 
 
 ... 87 
 
 Sullivan, John 
 
 ... 347 
 
 Van Vonderen, John 
 
 388 
 
 Whitney, Joshua 
 
 ... 87 
 
 Svoboda, Joseph 
 
 689 
 
 Verberk, Rev. A.J 
 
 71 
 
 Wiese, F. H 
 
 ...266 
 
 Sweeney, B. P 
 
 ... 404 
 
 Verboort, Albert 
 
 255 
 
 Wie.se, William ...... 
 
 ... 266 
 
 Sweeney, Peter 
 
 ... 404 
 
 Verstegen, Rev. John 
 
 290 
 
 Wilcox, Chester G 
 
 ... 298 
 
 Taube, Hermann 
 
 .... 621 
 
 Ver Straten, Mrs. Anna. 
 
 195 
 
 Wilcox, Levi S 
 
 ... 301 
 
 Tayler, J. H 
 
 . ... 415 
 
 Ver Straten, John 
 
 195 
 
 Williams, Albert 
 
 ... 311 
 
 Terens, Henry M. . . . 
 
 . ... 725 
 
 Ver Straten, Martin 
 
 194 
 
 Wilt, Rev. Elsear de. . 
 
 ... 425 
 
 Terens, Nicholas J. . . 
 
 . ... 725 
 
 Voshardt. Aug-ust C 
 
 542 
 
 Wiltse, Archie 
 
 ... 602 
 
 Thibaudeau, Simon.. 
 
 . ... 535 
 
 Wachenreiter. Dr. Chas. . 
 
 490 
 
 Wing Family 
 
 ... 491 
 
 Thiele, Aug-ust 
 
 401 
 
 Wacktler, Conrad 
 
 747 
 
 Wing, George W 
 
 ... 493 
 
 Thompson, Rev. H. W 
 
 . ... 472 
 
 Waegli, John 
 
 735 
 
 Wing, Rufus L 
 
 ... 492 
 
 Thornton, Mrs. Catherine 
 
 Wagener, N. Arnold 
 
 557 
 
 Winton, C. M 
 
 ... 166 
 
 Anna 
 
 . ... 487 
 
 Wagner, William P 
 
 456 
 
 Wirth, Philip M 
 
 ... 257 
 
 Thornton, John H 
 
 . ... 487 
 
 Wallner, Fred C 
 
 770 
 
 Wittig, Ferdinand .. 
 
 ... 251 
 
 Thornton, Matthias. . 
 
 487 
 
 Walsh, John 
 
 565 
 
 Wob.ser, Albert 
 
 ... 628 
 
 Thorp, Rudolph T 
 
 .... 680 
 
 Warner, Orrin, Sr 
 
 687 
 
 Wochos, Wenzel M. . . 
 
 ... 613 
 
 Throndson, Andrew.. 
 
 .... 719 
 
 Warren, Albert G 
 
 551 
 
 Wolske, Ernest 
 
 ... 770 
 
 Torstenson, Hans 
 
 .... 604 
 
 Warren, William Harrison 
 
 716 
 
 Woolford, William B. 
 
 ... 316 
 
 Touhey, James 
 
 157 
 
 Washburn, Leroy M 
 
 563 
 
 Worachek, J. W 
 
 ... 610 
 
 Treml, Joseph 
 
 . ... 183 
 
 Watermolen, Henry 
 
 35 
 
 Workman, W. M 
 
 ... 216 
 
 Ullsperg-er, Joseph. . . 
 
 .... 627 
 
 Watermolen, John F 
 
 220 
 
 Workman, William.. 
 
 ... 155 
 
 Van Abel, Martin .... 
 
 .... 275 
 
 Wattawa, Hon. John 
 
 524 
 
 Wotter, Frederick... . 
 
 ... 458 
 
 Van Beek, Martin. ... 
 
 41 
 
 Weber, M 
 
 Weber, Nicholas 
 
 483 
 395 
 
 Wotter, H. A.,M. D. . 
 Wrabetz, John 
 
 ... 458 
 
 Van Calster, Emile.. 
 
 141 
 
 ... 745 
 
 Van Denhouten, John 
 
 B.. 641 
 
 Webster, Capt. H. W 
 
 450 
 
 Wunsch, Theodore... 
 
 ... 723 
 
 Vanderheiden, Peter. 
 
 . ... 148 
 
 Weis, John 
 
 586 
 
 Yates, John L. V.... 
 
 ... 637 
 
 Vauderkinter, Frank. 
 
 . ... 144 
 
 Weise, Albert 
 
 434 
 
 Zettel, Joseph 
 
 ... 547 
 
 Vanderkinter, Peter. 
 
 . ... 143 
 
 Weitermann, John 
 
 676 
 
 Zettel, Rudolph 
 
 ...643 
 
 Van Deuren, P. J 
 
 . ... 460 
 
 Weitermann, John, Sr... . 
 
 712 
 
 Zimdars, David 
 
 ... 201 
 
A 
 
 05 
 
 JL'??5 
 
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