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 53
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The first birth was that of a child born to Mr. and Mrs. Plum- mer in July, 1855. This family soon after removed to Wiscon- sin, being sick of the country. The first death was that of a child of Mr. and Mrs. William Wells, in the summer of 1856. The first prairie broken was by Asa G. Sutlief, in August, 1854. The first sawmill in the town and county was built by Colonel J. C. Ide. Rev. Mr. Hicks, a Methodist clergyman, in 1856, held the first religious service in the township at the house of Caleb Northrup, on section 36. The first school house was erected by Mr. E. B. Stearns, in what is now the Carmody, or Brisbane, dis- trict, in 1858. It was a frame building standing on the bottom land, half a mile south of the present school house site. The building was afterwards moved with ox teams over the hill to the present site-a move that caused much excitement at the time.
The first Catholic Church built in Wilton stands at the south- western corner of section 31, where some sixty families-over three hundred people-meet for worship.
FREEDOM.
The town of Freedom and the west tier of sections in the town of Wilton were held by the Winnebago Indians until 1863. After
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the removal of the Indians, the lands were sold to white men under sealed bids to the highest bidder, no bid being accepted at less than $2.50 per aere. Settlers erowded into the town rap- idly. March 9, 1864, the people of the two towns of Alton and Freedom petitioned the county commissioners to have the new territory organized as a town, and the board granted the peti- tion. The order of the board provided that the electors should hold their first town meeting at the house of Stephen Robinson, situated at the place then known as Peddler's Grove, on the 5th day of April, 1864. At this meeting the voters decided that the name of the new town should be Freedom. It is said that F. D. Seaman gave the casting vote making "Freedom" the name.
The town early took front rank as one of the prettiest and most productive in the West. Its people stand high morally and intellectually, and in wealth they rank with the most opulent of farming communities.
Among those who setted at an early day in Freedom the fol- lowing are noted :
Henry Chase was born in 1842, in the Green Mountain state. He enlisted in Company E, Ninth Vermont infantry, and was four months in Libby prison, having been captured at the first Winehester battle. He was discharged in 1863, went to Freedom in 1864, and remained there until 1869, when he moved to Janes- ville, this eounty. He is now a resident of Wisconsin, although still interested finaneially in Janesville.
Luke Chase is said to have been the first white settler in the township.
Ed Steele and Steve Robinson moved to a grove of burr oaks on seetion 3, and, being traveling peddlers they gave the place the name Peddler's Grove.
Delos P. Young, a native of Massachusetts, born May 11, 1838, came from Wisconsin in 1864, and made his home in this town. He now resides in Mankato. F. D. Seaman, now a resident of Alton, came in April, 1864. He is a native of New York, born Sept. 8, 1843. He enlsted in Company G, First Wisconsin eav- alry, in the fall of 1861, and served a year. In the fall of 1864 he again enlisted, this time in Company A, Second Minnesota infantry, and served until July, 1865, when he returned to Free-
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dom. Sept. 23, 1868, he married Phoebe Chase, who was born Sept. 24, 1849, in Orleans county, N. Y.
William Davidson, Sr., now nearly eighty-three years of age, and his two sons-William and J. D .- were early settlers and still remain here.
Willet Tolles (deceased), Daniel Pierce, S. C. Brooks, Amos Waring, William Reid, Luther Ackerman, Simon Sackett, now of Janesville, John HI. Fields, Harry Scoville, and Ira Abell were among the settlers of 1864.
John J. Wilkins, born in New Jersey, July 13, 1827; William Orcutt, since deceased; Darling Welch, afterwards a resident of Janesville, and later of Waseca; John L. Graham, deceased, late of Janesville: Arthur Graham, born in New York Sept. 12, 1845; Captain Robert Earl, and others settled here in 1865.
Samuel S. Rollins, born in New Hampshire, May 1, 1836; F. W Bromaghin, born in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., June 29, 1820; Hon. John Wilkinson, born in Wisconsin, Feb. 28, 1846; John Davis, and C. E. Graham were among the 1866 settlers.
Sandford Hydorn, another St. Lawrence, N. Y., man, born July 24, 1841, who served the Union from 1862 to 1865, settled here in 1868.
The Congregational church of Freedom was organized in No- vember, 1878, and Rev. Robert S. Armstrong was its first pastor.
ALMA CITY.
It is generally conceded that Uncle Sam Larabee, now de- ceased, was the father of Alma City. The village was surveyed and platted by S. E. Stebbins in 1865, for Uncle Sam, who at once put up a hotel, then and for a long time known as the "Larabee . House." "Uncle Sam" and "Aunt Patty" were known far and wide. Aunt Patty was thrown from a buggy and killed in 1885, and Uncle Sam died in 1900 at the advanced age of eighty-five years, of of heart disease, while eating supper. He was with his daughter, Mrs. Craig, at Blue Earth, at the time of his sudden death.
The same fall Chase and Ames opened the first store. Mary Ann Johnson opened a store about the same time. In the spring of 1866 A. H. Davis and O. P. Smith each opened a store. Ri- neerson & Morton opened a blacksmith shop in 1865.
Alma City has always been a thriving village and the center
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of business for most of the people of Freedom and a portion of the people of Alton. It has a thriving school and a successful creamery.
WOODVILLE.
Township No. 107 north, of range 22 west, was named after one of its earliest settlers (Mr. Eri G. Wood) by resolution of the county commissioners, April 5, 1858. Long before any white man ever viewed the rich hunting grounds of this county the native Indians must have made the town of Woodville one of their principal villages. There can be no doubt, in view of the Indian mounds and other relics which have been found upon the shores and in the vicinity of Watkins lake, that the Sioux In- dians, for many generations, lived in large numbers in this town- ship. Geographically it held a commanding position for the red man. From Clear lake he could, with his canoe, descend Crane creek to Straight river, thence to the Cannon river, and on to the Mississippi; or he could drag his light boat across the narrow strip of land that divides Clear lake from Gaiter lake, and there launch it for a journey down MeDougall creek, thence down the Le Sueur river to the Blue Earth and the Minnesota rivers, and thus easily traverse vast sections of country abounding in fish and game. Later residents may doubt this view of the primitive situation, on account of late dry seasons, but the older settlers of this region remember well when small boats were run and eould be run as here stated.
The splendid forests which then existed in portions of Wood- ville, Blooming Grove, Deerfield, and Meriden, not only afforded comfortable shelter from the freezing blasts of winter, but they furnished plenty of fuel and material for Indian wigwams. The woods abounded in game and the lakes were filled with the very choicest fish. Barring the sometimes intense cold of winter, it was the ideal land of milk and honey for the native tribes. It is no less a land of plenty for the white men that now possess it.
The surface is beautifully diversified-gently undulating, as a rule-rich prairies interspersed with timber, lovely lakes, bor- dered with groves of heavy timber-the groves being adorned in spring with blossoming plum trees, cherry trees, thorn and crab apple trees, and other flowering shrubs and trees in great pro- fusion. Of the 23,040 acres of land in the township, over 2,000
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are embraced in its lakes. The principal of these is Clear lake, which occupies portions of sections 8, 9, 16, and 17, and is a trifle over a mile and a half in length and nearly a mile wide.
In addition to this beautiful body of water, there is Loon lake, a beautiful gem of water within the limits of the city of Waseca, half in section 7 and half in section 18. There is a wooded island in the center of the lake, which, in summer, with its dark green foliage, gives the lake a picturesque and very beautiful appear- ance, especially during the months of June and July. With very little expense Loon lake could be made to rival in beauty and picturesqueness Lake Como, at St. Paul, and many other noted places of resort. May we not hope that in the near future it may be so improved as to be a "thing of beauty and a joy forever?"
The surface soil is a rich, black loam, resting upon a gray clay and gravel, mixed, which, in turn, rests upon a heavy, blue-clay subsoil, many feet in depth, and almost impervious to water. The surface soil is as productive and lasting in quality as any in the known world. Experience has demonstrated that it is capable of withstanding extreme moisture and extreme drouth; for in the past fifty years there has never been a failure of crops. At the time of the first settlement and for years thereafter, until pastured and fed down, the native grasses, blue joint and "crow- foot," grew to be from five to six feet in height, and were fully equal to cultivated grasses as food for animals.
The first settler in Woodville was Mr. A. C. Smith, deceased. Mr. Smith died Jan. 29, 1892, and his worthy wife died June 29, 1894. O. Powell, Eri G. and Loren C. Wood, Henry Watkins, E. K. Carlton, Jacob Myers, William Dunn, and Austin Vinton settled here in 1856. A part of this township was at first a por- tion of the precinct of Swavesey, which at that time embraced all of Blooming Grove, Iosco, Janesville, and the north halves of St. Mary and Woodville.
March 16, 1857, the county commissioners divided Swavesey precinct,making the precinct of Empire out of the two west town- ships. They appointed for Swavesey, W. H. Young, of Wood- ville, and Lewis McKune, of Blooming Grove, as justices; and Loren Clark Wood, of Woodville, and S. F. Wyman, of Blooming Grove, as constables.
At the fourteenth meeting of the county commissioners, held
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
at Wilton, April 5, 1858, Woodville was set off by metes and bounds, and J. K. Myers, William M. Green, and E. G. Wood were appointed judges of the first election.
On the fly leaf of the first town record book, in the handwriting of Loren C. Wood, is the following: "Township 107 north, Range 22 west, was organized on the 11th day of May, A. D. 1858, and named Woodville."
The record continues :
"The town of Woodville held its first town meeting on the 11th day of May, 1858." (At the house of E. G. Wood.) Mr. J. K. Myers was chosen to serve as moderator, and L. C. Wood, as clerk. On motion of Nathaniel Wood, the meeting adjourned one hour for dinner. At 1 o'clock the meeting was again called to order. Obadiah Powell, J. K. Myers, and F. Glover were elected supervisors. L. C. Wood was elected clerk; Eri G. Wood, assessor; W. H. Young, collector and treasurer; Nathaniel Wood, overseer of the poor; Lewis C. Kate and W. H. Young, constables; Amzi Schaffer and Austin Vinton, justices; and Garret Houck, overseer of roads."
Aug. 25, 1864, the town held a special meeting and voted to issue soldiers' bonds in the sum of $1,200. Following this record there are three certificates recorded showing that William R. Brisbane, Francis Lincoln, and George Nock-all residents of Wilton-were duly mustered into the United States service for one year, and credited to the town of Woodville. Dec. 19 came the last call of President Lincoln for 300,000 men. Woodville promptly called a special meeting Jan. 14, 1865, and voted sol- diers' bonds in the sum of $1,600. Of this amount only $633.30 were afterwards issued. The records also show that Wilfred Vinton and W. II. Young, Jr., were mustered into the service to the credit of this town, March 25, 1865. Another special town meeting was held March 11, 1865, which ratified and sanctioned the action of the board in issuing bounty bonds. As the Rebel- lion soon after was subdued, there is no further record of the matter.
Loren G. Wood, son of Eri G., was the first white boy, and Lovica Smith, daughter of A. C., was the first white girl, born in the township.
The first school building was a log school house, a short dis- tance east of the present Woodville cemetery. Miss Emma Cook, afterwards the wife of Major W. T. Kittredge, was the first teacher away back in the summer of 1859.
PATRICK CAMPION.
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
ST. MARY.
After being partly in the precinct of Empire and partly in the precinet of Wilton for a year or more, what now comprises the township of St. Mary was duly organized in a township by order of the county commissioners on April 5, 1858. The town- ship, 107, range 23, was duly designated as the "town of St. Mary," and the tavern of J. W. Clark was named as the place for holding the first town meeting. B. M. Morrill, Warren Smith, and H. W. Chamberlain were appointed to serve as the first judges of election. The first town meeting was held May 11, 1858.
The Catholics of St. Mary, under the leadership of Father Keller, of Faribault, organized in 1856. Religious services were held at the house of Andrew Lynch, near St. Mary, at one time. The Catholics built their first church in 1858. They established a cemetery in 1857, and some say that a Mr. Crossman was the first person buried in it; but Mr. William Byron asserts that the first person buried there was a Mr. Morris, and that the next was Michael O'Brien, who was killed by lightning in September, 1858.
ALTON.
Township 107, range 24, remained a portion of Freedom until the 27th day of April, 1866, when the commissioners of Waseca eounty passed an order to organize the town of Alton, the first town meeting to be held at the house of M. L. Devereaux, in said township, May 15, 1866. Township officers were elected at that time, and the town started out free from all entangling al- liances.
Lucius Keyes has the honor of being the first settler in Alton. He was born in Medina county, Ohio, in 1837. He now resides near Knoxville, Tenn. He moved to Alton, on section 32, in September, 1863. William Wager and Elijah Hills, with their families, came here a few days after the arrival of Keyes. The families of Wager and Hills spent the first winter in one cabin built of poles and bark taken from the old Indian wigwams, and a few basswood boards. The cabin was only 14x16 feet in size. Morris Lamb was another of the early eomers. At the breaking out of the great Rebellion he was a resident of Cumberland county, Tenn., and was compelled to leave there on account of
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
his Union sentiments. He first lived near Minneapolis, but in 1864 came to Alton. He died Dec. 31, 1869.
His son, Hon. Morris H. Lamb, born in Ohio, Jan. 2, 1837, also came here in 1864. Aug. 15, 1864, Morris enlisted in Com- pany F, Eleventh Minnesota infantry, and served until July 11, 1865, when he returned to his home in Alton. Oct. 20, 1870, he married Miss Harriet Oldfield, and they at one time, about 1880- 85, carried on the largest dairy business in the county. Mr. Lamb was a member of the house in the legislature of 1875. He and his family have been residents of California for a number of years.
C. M. Campion, with his sons, Patrick and John, came here at an early day, and settled on section 13, where he continued to reside until his death. Patrick and Edward Hayden also settled on section 13 in 1864. For further information regarding the settlers of this township, see "Biographical Sketehes."
BLOOMING GROVE.
This is one of the towns that has preserved its records in good shape. At first it was a part of the precinct of Swavesey, and so remained until April 5, 1858.
There seems to be something of a conflict of authorities regard- ing the organization of this township. The county commissioner record shows that the township of Blooming Grove was set off by itself by an order of the board of commissioners April 5, 1858, and that Patrick Healey, James Isaaes, and J. M. Bliven were ap- pointed judges of election. But the records of the town show that the voters themselves had organized nearly a month before. The first recorded history of the town reads as follows:
"TOWN OF BLOOMING GROVE.
According to an act to provide for township organization, a meeting was held at the house of Patrick Healy, in the town of Blooming Grove, Waseca county, state of Minnesota, March 11, 1858, for the purpose of electing town officers, and enacting such other township business as provided in sald act.
The meeting helng called to order at the proper time, James Isaacs was chosen as moderator and Morgan Woodruff as clerk. The polls were kept open from 9 o'clock a. m. to 5 o'clock p. m., with one hour adjournment at noon.
After closing the polls the votes were canvassed by the moderator,
1
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
when the result of the election of town officers was found to be as follows:
For chairman of board of supervisors, Philo Woodruff received 52 votes; for supervisors, James Isaacs 25 votes, A. Derrin 25 votes. After drawing for a decision, James Isaacs was declared elected. Patrick Healy (for supervisor) received 49 votes; for town clerk, Sam T. Isaacs 26 votes, Peter Eckert 24 votes; assessor, Patrick McCullough 27 votes, W. Don- aldson 22 votes; collector, Patrick McCullough 22 votes, E. J. Southworth 22 votes. After drawing Patrick McCullough was declared elected. For overseer of the poor, D. T. Bells received 50 votes, S. F. Wyman 2 votes; for constables, J. R. Smith received 48 votes, H. B. Withrow 46, M. Healy 1; justice of the peace, Elias Conner 47 votes, James Isaacs 24, Daniel Riegle 27."
From this it appears that fifty-two ballots were cast, and that the first town meeting was closely contested as to some of the officers. At this meeting a tax of $100 was directed to be levied to defray town expenses. It was also unanimously voted that the town be divided into four road districts-the northeast quar- ter of the town to be designated as No. 1, the northwest quarter No. 2, the southwest quarter No. 3, and the southeast quarter No. 4.
Patrick MeCullough was chosen overseer of district one, Jona- than Howell of district two, Patrick Murray of district three, and James Isaacs of district four.
It was determined by the voters present that cattle, horses and mules, over one year old, should be allowed to run at large. It was also declared that a "rail fence on crotches or spiles, four rails high, staked and ridered, or a board (fence) four feet and a half high, with three boards five inches wide, should be a law- ful fence." The meeting then adjourned until the first Tuesday in April, 1859.
The proceedings of this meeting are given in full, because it was one of great importance to the township, and because it shows how orderly and intelligently the pioneers of this county conducted public affairs, notwithstanding the slurs of Eastern editors about the "wild and woolly West."
The German Methodists held services in this town at the house of Chris Remund as early as 1856. In 1860 they erected a small church, and in 1885 they built the present building in the Re- mund neighborhood. The German M. E. society in the Saufferer neighborhood was organized in 1858. For many years services
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
were held at the residence of Hon. John L. Saufferer and then in the school house until about 1873, when they built a brick ve- neered church on section 1. In 1885 this building was recon- structed and given a handsome spire.
The Norwegian Lutheran church, on section 19, which accom- modates people both in Iosco and Blooming Grove, was built in 1864. The Norwegian Lutherans of that neighborhood held their first church services at the house of Alec Herlugsen, Oct. 17, 1858. Rev. Laur Larson was the first pastor. He was followed suc- cessively by Rev. B. J. Muus, Rev. Quammen, Rev. O. A. Mellby of New Richland, Rev. Quanbeck, and Rev. R. P. Wasbotten of Waseca, the latter now being in charge.
The first recorded death was that of Mrs. Josiah Smith, who died in the fall of 1856. A postoffice was established in the town in 1857, and Mrs. William Gibbs was made postmistress. The office was situated on section 5. It afterwards passed into the hands of James R. Davidson, and was suspended in 1880.
W. H. H. Jackson, one of the very early settlers, is authority for the statement that the first death among the old settlers of the township was that of Henry Howell, a native of England, who was frozen to death in 1858, as elsewhere detailed.
William Reinhardt, born in Berlin, Prussia, Feb. 10, 1850, came to America in 1855 with his parents and to Blooming Grove in 1857. His father died in 1876. He married Caroline Kruger in 1878. Justus Reinhardt, a brother of William, was born in Illinois, Oct. 12, 1857, and came with his parents to Blooming Grove in 1858. He married Miss Helen Fehner in 1883. They are prosperous residents of the town.
Francis Brossard, son of Augustus aud Agatha Brossard, was born at Lenox, Mass., Nov. 18, 1833, and came to Blooming Grove in 1859 with his father's family. There were ten children of the Augustus Brossard family : Francis, Augustus, Edward, Charles, Joseph, Julia (Mrs. Oliver James), Adele (Mrs. Constant Bros- sard), Rosalie (Mrs. O. P. Smith), Louise (Mrs. J. E. Jones) and Josephine (Mrs. D. T. Ballard). The Brossards took an active part in the early development of the country. The old gentleman and several of the sons resided in St. Mary at an early day.
IOSCO.
This township is one of the favored ones of the great North-
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
west. It is rich in soil, with an undulating surface, plenty of timber, and ample drainage. Upland, meadow, and groves are so evenly distributed that nearly every farm has its proper pro- portion of each.
The first settlers in this township were Luke B. Osgood, Daniel MeDaniels, and John H. Wheeler. David Wood followed a few days later, and Buel Welsh made a elaim here in 1855, but soon returned to Faribault.
This township was organized separate from other territory the 5th day of April, 1858. On that day the board of county eom- missioners, consisting of Messrs. E .B. Stearns, of Otisco; John Bailey, of St. Mary ; and Luman C. Wood, of Woodville, made an order constituting township 108 N. of Range 23 W. the town of Iosco, and appointed Messrs. H. W. Peek, George L. Leonard, and David Smith judges of the election which was to be held at the house of Daniel Tripp, in said township.
The minutes of the first town meeting read as follows:
FIRST ELECTION OF IOSCO.
"At an election held at the house of Daniel Tripp, in the town of Iosco, Waseca county, Minn., on the 11th day of May, A. D. 1858, the following named persons received the number of votes set to their respective names for the following offices, to wit:"
Then followed in detail the names of all the candidates and the number of votes each received. N. E. Strong was elected chairman and David Smith and John G. Ward supervisors; Spen- cer J. Willis, clerk; L. B. Osgood, town collector; A. J. Bell, assessor ; B. W. Gifford, overseer of the poor; A. J. Walton, con- stable; L. P. Kellogg and Silas Ward, justiees of the peace. The names of E. Carpenter, James Babcock, Samuel Hardy, William Rockwell, G. L. Leonard and H. P. Chamberlain are recorded as receiving complimentary votes, but nearly the whole vote was cast for the successful candidates. Only forty-two votes were cast and the successful candidates received from thirty-nine to forty-one. The result of the election is certified to by H. W. Peck, David Smith, and G. L. Leonard, judges of election, and attested by N. E. Strong and M. L. Kellogg, clerks. The town was divided into seven road districts and the following road over- seers were appointed: A. J. Walton, Daniel McDaniels, Silas
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
Ward, John Otis, Segur Johnson, Charles Billings, and Hugh Healey.
There was a large addition to the population of the township in 1856. Early that spring, N. E. Strong, George L. Leonard, Daniel Tripp, Benjamin W. Gifford, and A. A. Cotten platted a village site on section 20 and ealled it "Empire." It was sur- veyed and platted by H. W. Peck. William Long, father of Seth W., George and Frank Long, built a sawmill at this place. Thom- as and Daniel Tripp built a hotel. It was at this village of Em- pire that Peter Farrell stabbed and killed Jacob Hagadorn on election day, in October, 1857. After the defeat of Empire in the county seat contest of 1857, the village soon disappeared, and the township reverted to its normal condition as a paradise for farming.
JANESVILLE TOWNSHIP.
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