USA > Minnesota > Waseca County > Child's history of Waseca County, Minnesota : from its first settlement in 1854 to the close of the year 1904, a record of fifty years : the story of the pioneers > Part 28
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"It is with a sad heart that we record the fearful death of Mrs. S. J. Stevenson, wife of the late deputy sheriff of this county, who was found within thirty feet of the Catholic church of this village and only a few rods from her own home, last Sunday morning, frozen to death, with an empty bottle in which there had been whisky. There is no reason to doubt that she came to her death while in a drunken condition, as for years she had been more or less addicted to the use of liquor-was, in fact, a slave to its power.
"She was found by Mr. Breen's son and James B. Hayden, clerk of the court. When first discovered the body was in a kneeling posture, the face, knees, and toes resting upon the ground and the body bent as though she had fallen while on her knees; thus her spirit passed beyond the vale.
"She leaves four children-two daughters, who have reached woman- hood, and two little boys.
"When sober, she was one of the kindest and best of women, especial- ly in sickness, and with the exception of this fault was a respectable, kind-hearted woman. She was about fifty years of age."
The death of Mrs. Stevenson brought forth the following lines from Miss Mary E. Dayton, then a young school teacher, after- wards Mrs. Shepard, now deceased. The lines were so sincere and true that the author offers no apology for reproducing the following extracts from the poem :
LINES ON THE DEATH OF MRS. STEVENSON.
"Gone to the earth, returned to dust!
Gone to her maker, too, we trust.
Her life is done, her work is o'er; Now she will rest forever more.
She knew no happiness in life. But much she knew of toil and strife,
She once was young and very fair- Alas! she knew not then the snare That would enfold her in its grasp, Till human power and help were past. She fell into the tempter's power;
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He met her in an evil hour:
She sinned and fell, 'tis plain to all, She lost her pride, her hope, her all. She yielded to the demon rum, Not thinking of the harm to come, Until too late, his grasp she felt. Ah, where's the heart that would not melt Before a scene so sad, yet true? Picture the agony she knew! Not ours the right to judge, but learn From sin and evil now to turn, Oh! man, Oh! youth, beware, beware, We're all beset by many a snare; * * *
When tempted oft to turn astray, Remember God, the living way. Think well before one glass you take, Before His holy law you break, Think of that creature once so pure, Think of the woe that came to her! Think of her lying stiff and cold, Think of her poor immortal soul! 'Tis true she sinned, but who is he Who sinneth not? If such there be, His is the right to judge of one Who sitteth now before God's throne."
DEATH OF MRS. NATHANIEL WOOD.
Mrs. Amelia Wood, wife of Mr. Nathaniel Wood, who settled in Woodville in 1855, died Feb. 6, 1878, at the advanced age of seventy-six. She was a native of Vermont, and was the mother of Messrs. Eri G., Loren C. and Luman Wood, and Mrs. J. K. Meyers, Mrs. Scott, Mrs. G. R. Buckman, and Mrs. R. M. Addison.
COUNTY JAIL BUILDING.
For several years the county commissioners, under the wise counsel of Auditor Cronkhite, had been creating a fund for the building of a jail, and on the 20th of March, 1878, the contract for building the same was let to W. B. Craig & Co., their bid be- ing $9,333. Conrad, Bohn & Co. bid $9,445. The contract requir- ed the completion of the building on or before the first of the following October.
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
WHOLESALE INDICTING.
The temperance people of the county were very active in 1878. At the March term of court, thirteen indictments were found by the grand jury against as many different persons in New Rich- land for selling liquor unlawfully. Nearly all of them plead guilty and were fined $50 and costs of prosecution.
THE FOURTH OF JULY.
this year was celebrated by our people quite generally. Public meetings were held in Blooming Grove, Otisco, Janesville, New Richland, and Waseca. Rev. R. Forbes and James E. Child deliv- ered addresses in Blooming Grove; Hon. Wm. Brisbane delivered the oration at New Richland; Rev. Gilbert Shaw addressed the people of Otisco; there was a circus at Janesville; a picnic at Wa- seca; and a church celebration and dinner at St. Mary.
LAUGHABLE AND DISGRACEFUL.
As far back as 1878 it was not unheard of for attorneys, while under the influence of liquor, to try cases.
The following actually occurred in Waseca-names alone being fictitious. The affair is given as reported at the time :
"A laughable and at the same time a disgraceful scene occurred in Hon. B. Smyth's court, last Wednesday. The plaintiff was a man named Taylor, a lithe, supple, plucky chap; and the defendant, a Mr. Goye. Lawyer Cole appeared for plaintiff and Lawyer Jones for defendant. The plaintiff was put upon the stand and all went as usual until the cross- examination, when some sharp words ensued. Jones called the witness a d-n gambler, whereupon the witness told Jones he was a d -- n liar.
"That was too much for Jones; he seized a chair and raised it, threat- ening to knock the witness' brains out. Taylor, not to be outdone in politeness, as quick as a flash also presented a chair. Cole rushed to a corner and called for a revolver, the jurors ducked their heads, one he- hind another expecting every moment the crash of arms, the justice com- menced gathering up his papers, men from the street rushed wildly to the scene of conflict, everything was in suspense until two seconds rushed in and prevented the flow of gore by parting the combatants. Lawyer Jones, being disarmed, paced up and down like a caged lion, asserting that he was a respectable citizen of Waseca, and that he would not take such an insult from a tramp. Whereupon Taylor informed him that he (Tay- lor) was not a tramp, and moreover that Lawyer Jones was not even . a respectable citizen. And then the valorous Jones again approached Taylor with clenched fists and flashing eyes threatening a terrible les-
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
son in pugilism. Taylor again assumed a fighting posture, and no one can tell how much blood might have flowed had not Constables Roddle and Stevenson rushed between them. Disgusted at his failure to cross- examine the witness over the head with a chair, Jones left the court in contempt. After his departure the court held the scales of jus- tice in equal poise and finished the trial-peace and harmony prevailing."
RICHARD TONER AND ANNIE McCANN BURNED TO DEATH.
One of the saddest occurrences in the history of the county transpired August 27, 1878. The following account was given at the time by John J. Toner, son of Richard Toner :
"The inmates of the house were Mr. and Mrs. Toner, the parents, who slept below; John J. Toner, their son, a young man, and two hired men; two daughters, young women, and the girl, Annie McCann, all of whom slept in rooms upstairs. Mary Toner, the older daughter, first discov- ered the fire about fifteen minutes after one o'clock, Tuesday morning, in the southeast corner of the building, upstairs, next to the kitchen. She at once gave the alarm. John, as soon as awakened, went below and called to his parents, and then went out with one of the hired men, thinking to extinguish the fire. He soon found that the fire was beyond control and went back to the front door of the main building. His sister then told him that the McCann girl was still upstairs. He sent for a ladder whereby they might reach the chamber window. Just then one of the daughters said 'father is still in the house.' John then went to the open bedroom window and reached into the bed but could not find his father. He then called him. At this time the smoke and heat were stifling and he turned his head to get a fresh breath. When he turned again he found his father prostrate with his head in the window. By this time, the fire was over head and all around them. One of the men came to assist, but both were unable to succeed in removing the old gentleman and were driven back by the fire. The other man also made an attempt to reach the window, but was driven back by the fire. Nothing more could be done, and, Mr. Toner and the girl perished in the flames. Nearly everything in the house was consumed. Mr. Richard Toner was one of the oldest settlers of the county, having settled in Iosco in 1856. He was about 65 years of age. He leaves a large family and an extensive circle of friends to mourn his sad death. Of late years he has been a sober, exemplary citizen, and universally liked and respected on account of his generosity and neighborly de- portment.
"The origin of the fire is unknown. One of the men, desiring to use some warm water, as late as eleven o'clock the evening before was in the kitchen, but saw no fire.
"It is a sad affair, and casts a gloom over the whole community."
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
THE ELECTION OF 1878.
The campaign of this year was one of intense feeling and ex- citement. There were four tickets in the field-Temperance, Greenback, Democrat, Republican. The vote on state senator was as follows : S. B. Williams, temperance, 729; P. C. Bailey, re- publican, 464; Fenton Keenan, democrat, 443; W. D. Armstrong, greenback, 274. John S. Abell, temperance, received 570 votes and was elected representative, while John Thompson, republican, was elected by a vote of 553 over Ira D. Beaman, temperance, who re- ceived 505 votes. Mr. E. Cronkhite, candidate on both the tem- perance and democratic tickets, was re-elected by a vote of 745. The total vote of the county this year was 1,922.
NEW JAIL BROKEN.
Scarcely had the new jail been completed when the four inmates came very near making their escape. They cut off one of the bars with a common, steel table-knife, unlocked the scuttle door lead- ing into the attic with an old key, went into the attic and knocked a hole through the brick wall, on the north side, close to the cor- niee. Sheriff Keeley's attention was attracted by the noise, and he and Jailor Long proceeded to drive the culprits back into their cells. Evidently the jail was not burglar proof.
MARRIAGES, DEATHS, AND MISCELLANEOUS EVENTS.
The marriage of Mr. Martin Haley and Miss Ellen Collins, at Waseca, by Father Christie, Feb. 25, 1878, was quite a society event. Mr. Haley had been captain of the champion baseball club of the state, and was son of Mr. Patrick Haley, one of the well- to-do and early settlers of Blooming Grove. Miss Collins was a sister of Sheriff Collins, of Waseca. Mr. John Kahnke and Miss Mary Matz, of St. Mary, were married the next day-Feb. 26. Mr. Kahnke is one of the young old settlers of the county. Mr. H. N. Carlton, one of the earliest boysettlers of Woodville, married Miss Lovica Smith, daughter of A. C. Smith, October 1878. The bride was the first white child born in the town of Woodville.
Mr. A. E. Crumb, of Byron, an early settler, died Jan. 30, 1878, of lingering consumption, aged fifty years. He had resided in the county about fourteen years.
Mrs. Louise A. Ballard, the first woman married within the
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
limits of Waseca county (then Blue Earth county), died August 15, 1878, aged forty-one years, at Decoria, Blue Earth county. She left a family of ten children. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Gregory, now deceased, who settled in St. Mary in 1855.
James Johnson, son of Isaac Johnson, both early settlers in this county, was accidentally shot near Mapleton, Nov. 10, 1878. It appears that he had been hunting, in company with his brother William and two others, and was returning home in a buggy. He had the butt end of his gun on the bottom of the buggy, and lean- ed forward to let one of the company have some tobacco. When he straightened back, the gun slipped, striking the hammer on the bottom of the buggy, and discharging the contents into his thigh, severing the femoral artery. He only lived a few seconds, and spoke but a few words. "Jim," as he was familiarly called, was one of the famous players of the "Champion Base Ball Club" of this county and had many warm friends.
Mr. D. C. Freeland, one of the early settlers of Vivian and a man of high character, died of ulceration of the liver, Nov. 26, 1878. He was son-in-law of Mr. Wm. Hoover. He left surviving him a widow and three sons. His widow is now Mrs. A. T. Wolcott, and his sons are prosperous residents of the Pacific coast at Portland, Oregon.
THE FIRST FIRE COMPANY.
The following appeared in the local paper June 26, 1878 :
"We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, propose to start an inde- pendent fire company for the protection of all property in the corporate limits of the village of Waseca. We respectfully ask the assistance of all property holders:
M. V. Hunt, M. O. Forbes, James Wert, C. M. Oster, F. M. Smith, Thos. Breen, J. M. Robertson, W. H. Roddle, C. McKenna, Jos. Smith, Edward Castor, B. F. Forbes, Wm. Blowers, F. B. Johnson, L. C. Clug, Gust Schil 1- knecht, C. M. Baker, Gust Thom, Ed. Fisk, Eugene Fisk, H. E. Strong, Henry Herbst, John F. White, E. W. Cummings, Walter Child, J. Niebels. The following officers were elected: foreman, Dr. M. V. Hunt; 1st assis'- ant, E. W. Fisk; 2d assistant, John White; treasurer, Frank Forbes: secretary, C. M. Baker; executive committee, Dr. Hunt, W. H. Roddle, L. C. Klug."
CHAPTER XLVII, 1879.
FINANCIAL DEPRESSION-ROADS AND BRIDGES-DIED, O. F. WAG- GONER, MRS. LUCINA GRAY, MR. WARNER, OF OTISCO, MICHAEL BOHEN, REV. GILBERT SHAW-REUNION OF THE FIRST MINNE- SOTA AT WASECA-ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY PRESIDENT Mc- CORMICK-JUDGE LOCHREN'S ADDRESS-"THE CHARGE AT GETTYSBURG"-COPY OF THE "FIRST MINNESOTA"-HEAVY STORMS OF THE YEAR-HORSE THIEF AND HIS REVOLVER- THE FALL ELECTION.
Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring happy bells across the snow: The year is going, let him go: Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind For those that here we see no more? Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease, Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring ont the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart the kindlier hand,
Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be .- Tennyson.
The financial depression which set in about 1868, as a result of the retiring of greenbacks and the refunding of the national bonds, had forced upon the people the utmost economy, and econ-
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omy in living always brings prosperity. And thus it was that as a rule the people found themselves in the enjoyment of gen- eral prosperity in 1879.
ROADS AND BRIDGES.
The board of county commissioners for 1879 consisted of Hon. R. O. Craig, John Brady, Thomas K. Bowe, Wmn. Burke, and H. K. Stearns-all Democrats except Mr. Stearns. Hon. R. O. Craig was elected chairman. The jail having been built the year be- fore, and being nearly or quite all paid for, the board became fairly liberal in appropriating money for roads and bridges. At the January session $43.21 additional was appropriated for re- planking the bridge across Bull Run in Freedom. At the March session, appropriations were made as follows: $150 to build bridge across Le Sueur river in New Richland; $80 for build- ing road on line of sections 24 and 25, in New Richland, and $70 for building road through section 8 of same town; $249.49 for a bridge across the Le Sueur river near Markham's town of Alton ; $53 for planking Alma City bridge; $50 for grading hill on road between the towns of Iosco and Blooming Grove, near Me Waide's ; $50 for grading hills on Faribault road in Blooming Grove; $50 for repairing road near Alfred Smith's in Blooming Grove; $25 for making road across slough, on section 14, town of Iosco; $40 for improvement of road between W. Timlin's place and Iosco creek; $35 for building road near Martin Dewald's place in Iosco; $200 for constructing road on line between sections 22 and 27, 23 and 26, and 24 and 25, in town of St. Mary, and be- tween sections 19 and 20 in Woodville. The county surveyor was ordered to make plans and specifications for building a bridge across MeDougall creek, in the town of Otisco. At the session of the board May 20, 1879 ,the following additional ap- propriations were made: $314 to J. J. Headley for building the McDougall creek bridge; $14.81 additional for replanking the Alma City bridge; $200 for building road in the town of Byron on the line of the Vivian and New Richland county road; $25 for road near John Keeley's farm in St. Mary; $75 for repair- ing Waseca and Morristown road near Rice Lake; $300 to assist in building road across the outlet of Lake Elysian on town line between Janesville and Alton, provided $300 be first expended
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
on said road by the towns of Alton and Janesville or by citizens thereof; $25 to aid the construction of a road on line between sections 23 and 25, in town of New Richland.
THE DEATH LIST OF 1879.
Mr. O. F. Waggoner, who came to this state at a very early day with the Winnebago tribe of Indians, died of convulsions, Jan. 6, 1879, at the age of about sixty years. He settled on the Winne- bago Indian reservation in 1855, and when the Winnebagoes moved west, he located near Alma City. His son, Mr. John Waggoner, at this writing, 1905, resides in Alton near Alma City.
Mrs. Lueina Gray, widow of Wm. M. Gray, deceased, of Bloom- ing Grove, died March 25, 1879. She was one of the earliest settlers of the county, having come here in the early summer of 1855. She was about seventy years of age and left a large family of children and grandchildren to mourn her departure.
Mr. Michael Bohen, one of the early settlers of St. Mary, died of hemorrhage of the lungs, Angust 16, 1879. He arose in the morning feeling as well as usual, went to the barn to do his chores and while there eommeneed coughing and spitting blood. Soon blood flowed in a stream from his mouth and he died in about ten minutes. He left a wife and five ehildren.
Rev. Gilbert Shaw, then postmaster at Wilton, died October 25, 1879, of hemorrhage of the lungs. Mr. Shaw was an ae- tive, earnest Christian minister.
THE FIRST MINNESOTA REUNION.
The veterans of the "Old First Minnesota Regiment of Volun- teers" held their twelfth annual reunion at Waseca, June 18. 1879. It occurred on one of those beautiful Minnesota days when it is just warm enough to be comfortable and just cool enough to be agreeable. The morning opened with the firing of artillery and a general display of flags on most of the buildings. A large flag, with "Welcome, First Minnesota," inseribed upon it, was suspended over the street between the MeCue and Trowbridge bloeks, and wreaths of oak leaves decorated with flags were stretched across the streets at various points. Turner Hall was deeked with flags, flowers, and wreaths of green leaves, the whole presenting a pleasing and attractive scene.
At 2:30 p. m. a procession was formed at the union depot.
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
under the direction of Maj. Young, and marehed in the following order :
1. Waseca Hose Company.
2. Band and Drum Corps.
3. Mayor and City Council.
4. Committee of Reception.
5. Veterans of the First Minnesota Infantry.
6. Artillery.
7. Carriages and Citizens.
The line of mareh was through the principal streets to Oak Grove, just northeast of Turner Hall. The veterans bore the tattered remnants of their old colors, followed by one piece of artillery captured by the First Minnesota battery at Cheraw, South Carolina, and another gun presented by the United States minister to Belgium to the First Minnesota regiment for gallant- ry in the first Bull Run fight.
Arriving at the grounds, the people were seated, and R. L. Mc- Cormick, Esq., president of the village board, delivered, in an eloquent manner, a well considered address of welcome to the First Minnesota, in which he tendered to the boys the hospitali- ties of the city.
The following extracts from his weleome are worthy of perma- nent record :
The War of the Rebellion is over. Its history is daily receiving ac- cessions. Its incidents are still fresh in our minds, and its battles are as familiar as the names of the cities of our own state. Upon this field, to which others can do much more complete and ample justice, I will not trespass further than to say that Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, Yorktown, West Point, Fair Oaks, Peach Orchard, Savage Station, Glendale, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Charlestown, Fredericksburg, Hay- market, Gettysburg, Bristow Station, and Mine Run, carry with them their story of the struggle and of the honorable part taken in it by the First Minnesota. Before our posterity we would compare Gettysburg with the equally decisive battle of Waterloo. Vicksburg with Salamis, Lookout Mountain with Thermopylae, and Sherman's famous march to the sea with the retreat of Xenophon's immortal ten thousand; and high in the annals of military achievements, side by side with the names of the most illustrious commanders of ancient or modern times, Caesar, Alex- ander, Napoleon, Frederick of Prussia, or a Wellington, we would point with pride after the immortal Washington, to the record of our Grant, our Sherman, and our Sheridan, who attained their proud eminence and fame by the unflinching courage of regiments like the First Minnesota, whose cheeks did not blanch and whose hearts did not quail when they
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met the shock of battle. When the Congress was set on fire by the Merrimac, in the mouth of James River of the 434 men of her command, only one-half responded to their names the next morning at Newport News. The dead were buried at that place and their remains lie among those of scores of Union soldiers. On a board in the form of a cross at the head of the grave of one of these latter, whose name and history were unknown, was placed the most touching, beautiful, and poetical epi- taph. "A soldier of the Union mustered out." Soldiers of the First Minnesota, your term of active service is completed. You have been honorably discharged, but at each year's annual reunion you find some of your number have been again and finally mustered out. This year, with oth- ers of the First, whose names are familiar to me, the gallant Sully has gone to join the brave who lost their lives when he led your regiment at Savage Station and Malvern Hill. On the roll of Company K, of your regiment, is the name of a cousin of mine, through whose corres- pondence I received my most vivid and practical ideas of army ex- perience in camps, on the march, and in the heat of battle. From him I learned the story of the two days' fight at Gettysburg; the thrilling nar- ration of the crisis in the second day's hattle, when Hancock, pushed to extremity to gain five minutes time, ordered the First Minnesota alone and unaided to charge a whole division of the rebel army. To-day history points with pride and admiration to the unquestioning and unflinching courage of the four hundred men of the Minnesota First, marching to cer- tain death against and into the fire of 6,000 of the Rebel army. Against such overwhelming numbers that, as you met them in your invincible strength you could only hold their center, while to the right and left of you they swept around your flanks, enfilading your ranks with terri- ble death. To the surprise and rage of your enemies, as well as the admiration of unborn generations, you held your advance until the sup- porting columns of Hancock's Corps wheeled into position and relieved and rescued you
"Out of the jaws of death, Out of the mouth of hell, All that were left of you, Left of four hundred."
The day was saved, and the few survivors of that terrible sacrifice were enrolled among the immortal heroes of the ages. * * *
Homer was unknown and unhonored by the age he lived in; he was stranger to the men he walked with and talked with as if a
his very nearness in outward presence diverted their gaze
from his rare genius, but in after times he moved in
upon the world like a great orb of light through the open portals of reflection and communion, and those who sat under the magic of his far-shining beams were the first to know and honor his title to the laurel wreath of fame. The scholar of to-day with a long reach of centuries coming in to fill the space between him and old Rome, knows
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Rome more minutely and more broadly than Rome knew herself; com- prehends more fully Roman law, Roman literature and Roman life, and understands more clearly the direction and scope of Roman influence. And when that day comes when honor will be fully done to whom honor is due, the soldiers of the First Minnesota will be found among the im- mortal throng of those to whose fame poets will vie in singing praises and to whose memory, affection and admiration will erect in the hearts of the citizens of this broad commonwealth monuments even more enduring than towering shafts of polished marble. Soldiers! welcome to Waseca."
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