USA > Minnesota > Rice County > History of Rice County, including explorers and pioneers of Minnesota and outline history of the state of Minnesota > Part 85
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JAMES DENISON was born in New York, on the 3d of May, 1820, and while young removed with his parents to Ohio. In 1840, he was united in matrimony with Miss Mary McCochran, the cere- mony taking place on the 13th of March. They removed to Indiana in 1842, and in 1855, came to Minnesota and located in Walcott, where he pre- empted one hundred and sixty acres of land to which he has since added one hundred and forty acres. He has had a family of nine children, but five of them are now dead. Mr. Denison was Treasurer of the town in 1856, and Assessor and Collector in 1859, and is the present Chairman of the board of Supervisors.
E. O. DENISON, a son of James and Mary Den- ison, was born in Indiana, his birth dating the 1st of April, 1850. He came with his parents to this township in 1855. He was joined in marriage with Miss Barbara McEachran, on the 30th of April, 1874. They moved to Redwood county, but soon returned, and in the spring of 1881, pur- chased eighty acres of land on section eighteen adjoining his father's. His house was hurned the same spring, in April. Mr. and Mrs. Denison have a family of three children.
FRANK DECKER was born in Tompkins county, New York, on the 15th of July, 1848, and in 1864, came to Minnesota, where he purchased land in Walcott in section seventeen. His farm was rented until three years ago, previous to which time he was engaged in a feed store in Faribault. His mother and sister reside with him on the farm.
H. E. EASTLING was born in Canada on the 1st of January, 18- and removed to Michigan in 1862, and one year later to Rice county, Minne- sota, where he purchased eighty acres of land in Walcott, section twenty-nine. He was married in June, 1865, to Miss Ellen Jane Kenslow, who has horne him seventeen children, but eight of who m are living, three girls, triplets, and five hoys.
476
HISTORY OF RICE COUNTY.
CATHARINE GRANT was born in Canada on the 5th of May, 1812. She was married to William Grant in 1829, and removed to Ohio in 1861. Her husband died in 1865, and the following year she removed to Minnesota with her six children, three of whom are now married. She resides with her son, D. W. Grant.
A. M. HARRIS, a native of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, was born on the 1st of February, 1839. He was married on the 24th of February, 1866. In 1868, they removed to Minnesota and purchased eighty-eight acres of prairie land in Walcott, section two, and Mr. Harris has since de- voted his time in improving the same.
J. N. HOWLAND was born in Barnstable, Mas- sachusetts, on the 10th of May, 1838, where he' resided until 1852, then went to sea, was on the water six years, and on his return engaged at the blacksmith trade. In 1862, he enlisted in the Fortieth Massachusetts Infantry, Company E, served fourteen months, then went to Boston, where he engaged in gas fitting. Fe married Miss Jane H. Mayhew, who died on the 27th of February, 1862, and in 1868, he was again mar- ried, his bride being Miss Ellen P. Weeks, the ceremony taking place on the 20th of January. In 1869, Mr. Howland came to Iowa, and in the spring of 1872, returned to Boston, and two years later came to Minneapolis. In 1878, he purchased his present farm in Walcott, section thirty-two. Of a family of five children, only two are living. He was Assessor in 1879.
W. J. JOHNSTONE was born in northern Ireland on the 20th of June, 1830, and there prepared for college, and in 1842, emigrated to New York, where he finished his education at Union College. In August, 1852, he married Miss Jessie Mills, and the same year went to Freeport, Illinois, where he taught a district school, Luther W. Guiteau being one of the trustees, and his son Charles J., then eleven years old, one of his pupils. In 1854, Mr. Johnstone turned his at- tention to theology, and in October, 1855, was or- dained as a Presbyterian minister at Rock River, having charge of two parishes for ten years, then changed his views and became an Episcopal cler- gyman. He came to Faribault, assisted Dr. Breck in the schools, and was the first to propose the graded system in that place. In 1866, he was rector of the parish, the next year went to Roch- ester and assumed the same duties, then returned
to Freeport, Illinois, and in 1871, went to Chi- cago. After the great fire which destroyed his parish there, he came, in July, 1872, to Stillwater on account of failing health, and in 1874, to St. Paul. He returned once more to Freeport, and in 1876, came to his present place, where he has since been engaged in farming. He has one son now living in St. Paul.
GEORGE W. MARKS, deceased, was born in New York on the 3d of May, 1819. He was married in 1842, to Miss Phebe Jane Smith, the ceremony taking place on the 4th of July. In 1854, they came to Minnesota and pre-empted land in Wal- cott, in section eleven. They had two children, one of whom is living. The father died on the 29th of November, 1875. His widow and only child, Charles W., are living on the old homestead. Charles was born on the 22d of March, 1846, in New York and came to Minnesota with his parents in 1854. In 1863, he enlisted in the First Minne- sota Mounted Rangers, Company H, and in 1864, re-enlisted in the Third Minnesota Volunteer In- fantry, Company H, and was discharged in Sep- tember, 1865. On the 23d of October, 1875, he married Miss Phoebe Jane Fish, who has borne him one child.
JOHN E. MCLEAN was born in Quebec, Canada, on the 27th of October, 1833, and when ten years old moved to Upper Canada. In 1845, he re- moved to Illinois and in 1850, to Faribault, where he remained until 1864, then came to his present farm in Walcott. In 1866, he lost his honse by fire, then returned to Faribault, and in 1868, came again to this place. He married Miss Catharine Faribault, who was born at the old trading post of Mendota, and is a daughter of Alexander Faribault, the first settler in this county.
F. MANDELL was born in Hardwick, Massa- chusetts, on the 4th of April, 1852, and remained there until 1874, when he came to Minnesota and located in Walcott in section twenty-nine. On the 30th of October, 1879, he was married to Miss Lenora Nichols, who has borne him two children.
JOHN M. MYERS is a son of Nathaniel Myers, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania. The former was born in Ohio on the 8th of January, 1828. On the 4th of July, 1854, he landed on his present place in section twenty-eight. Mrs. Myers was formerly Miss Hannah Dring. Of twelve children born of this union, nine are living.
477
WALCOTT TOWNSHIP.
T. J. NEAL was born in St. Joseph county, Michigan, on the 16th of September, 1840. In 1864, he came to this county, and 1868, bought his present farm of eighty acres in section thirty- two, Walcott, moving on it in 1874. Twenty-one acres were covered with heavy timber, the balance was grub land, and he now has thirty-two acres under cultivation. When he first came to the State he worked in a saw-mill for Charles Wood.
HILLIARD NICHOLS was born in Maine on the 29th of June, 1809. He was united in marriage in 1834, ta Miss Abbie Copp, the ceremony taking place on the 1st of April. In 1853, he went to Massachusetts and run the express line in to Bos- ton twelve years, then engaged in a grocery store. They were blessed with one child, Aseneth, and the mother died in December, 1855. In 1868, he removed to Minnesota, and two years after located on his present place in Walcott, on section twenty- five. On the 20th of March, 1872, Mr. Nichols was married to Mrs. Rebecca Boyington, whose maiden name was Williams. She was born in the city of New York on the 2d of May, 1812, re- moved with her parents to Ohio in 1824, and in 1830, to Indiana, where one year after she married Gilbert Vail whom she bore eight children, six of whom are living. She came to Minnesota in 1855, and after her husband's death she married David Boyington who died soon after the marriage, and in 1872, she was united in matrimony with the subject of our sketch.
ISAAC R. PENTZ, a native of Pennsylvania, was born on the 12th of October, 1813, and removed to Indiana in 1837. Miss Elizabeth Hall became his wife on the 24th of August, 1846, and in Oc- tober, 1854, they removed to Iowa. In May, 1855, Mr. Pentz visited Minnesota and the follow- ing May brought his family and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Walcott, sec- tion twenty-seven, and also one hundred and sixty acres in section twenty, all of which he has now under cultivation and well improved. Mr. and Mrs. Pentz have been blessed with nine children, six of whom are living, four boys and two girls. Mr. Pentz served as Town Clerk in 1858, and was Justice of the Peace a number of years.
A. B. SEXTON was born in Oneida county, New York, on the 15th of December, 1805. He was married in 1831, to Miss Eliza Castle who has borne him five children, four of whom are living. In 1859, they came to Minnesota and purchased
their present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section eight and he has since devoted his time to its improvement. He was a member of the board of Supervisors in 1862, and again in 1866; Assessor in 1865 and 1868. His daughter, Ann Eliza Sexton, married Gaylord Sexton, who was born in New York on the 29th of October, 1830, and in 1867, came to this section of the country. The marriage ceremony took place on the 12th of January, 1858.
E. F. SMALLIDGE was born in Massachusetts on the 2d of March, 1841. In 1855, he removed to Walcott, Rice county, Minnesota, where he re- mained three years then went to Faribault. In 1862, he was married to Miss Nellie Townsend, the ceremony taking place on the 11th of March. They have two children. In 1864, he removed to Illinois but returned in two years to Walcott, where he has eighty acres of land in section seven.
S. BAXTER THOMPSON, a native of New York, dates his birth the 18th of July, 1830. In 1848, he came to Wisconsin, from whence he went to California in 1852, and in the fall of 1855, re- turned to the former State. In 1856, he removed to Warsaw, this county, and in 1862, purchased his farm in Walcott, section eighteen, to which he has added one hundred and sixty acres. He was married on the 10th of December, 1862, to Miss Harriet Woods, who bore him one child, who soon died. Mrs. Thompson died on the 30th of May, 1867. The maiden name of his present wife was Miss Emma Lewis, whom he married in 1876. They have a family of two children, both boys.
OLE TORGUSON, a native of Norway, was born on the 15th of February, 1825. He emigrated to America in 1851, and worked in Iowa until 1856, when he came to Minnesota and purchased land in Walcott, in section sixteen, to which he has added, making an aggregate of one hundred and thirty- five acres. He has a timber farm about half of which is under cultivation. On the 15th of March, 1860, Miss Martha Madelia Gabrielson became his wife. The result of the union is ten children, eight of whom are living.
D. C. WOOD was born in Canada East on the Ist of April, 1850. In 1873, he removed to Rice county, Minnesota, and in 1880, purchased a farm in this township of his brother, J. W. It contains three hundred and forty acres and is located in sections seven, eight, and eighteen.
478
HISTORY OF RICE COUNTY.
FOREST.
CHAPTER LVIII.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION-EARLY SETTLEMENT-RE- LIGIOUS - EDUCATIONAL - MILLERSBURG - BIO- GRAPHICAL.
The township bearing this suggestive appella- tion is in the northwestern part of Rice county, and comprises the thirty-six sections of the con- gressional township. It would be known in legal and technical parlance as township 111, range 21 west, containing 23,040 acres. The contiguous surroundings are Webster on the north, Wells on the south, Bridgewater on the east, and Erin on the west. The town is made up of rolling, and in some places hilly, timber land, interspersed with spots of prairie and natural meadow. There are no bluffs, and few hills that are too abrupt for agricultural purposes. When the township was originally settled the prairie spots were, as a rule, covered with patches of hazel brush, and here and there lay acres of natural meadow, seemingly pre- pared and waiting for the plow. This, however, has all been tranformed into the richest and most fertile farms in the county.
The soil is mostly a black loam with a clay sub- soil; there is hardly any sand or lime stone in the town. Good clear water can be obtained easily within from twelve to fifteen feet.
There are a number of beautiful lakes nestling among the hills, which all abound with fish of various varieties, and because of the abundance of the finny species this locality was a favorite resort for the Indians in an early day, many hun- dreds of pickerel, pike, bass, etc., being secured each season by the red-skins. Circle Lake is the principal and the largest one in the town. It is situated in the geographical center of the town, and takes its name from the fact that it makes a complete circle, leaving an island in the center, of 97 acres. Just south of this is Fox Lake embrac- ing about 200 acres. Union Lake extends into
the town in the northeast corner, and infringes on section two. Lake Mazaska floods about one-half of section thirty-one; and a little lake with the cognomen of "Mud" nestles in section eleven. There are also numerous small streams in the town. In an early day the Indians, in camping in the vicinity of these lakes, made their perma- nent camping ground upon land now owned by J. W. Thompson, and they had opened and under a fair state of cultivation a five-acre Indian corn field. This was used to advantage by the present owner, Mr. Thompson. Originally, in sections six and seven, wild cranberries abounded, and many of the early pioneers availed themselves of this luxury, but of late years not much attention has been paid to them and they have now become com- paratively scarce. In 1856, from the northeast quarter of section seven, John W. and Joseph Thompson, and Albert Fillmore took $780 worth of the berries.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
When the first explorers of this township made their appearance, they found the hills and inter- spersed prairie spots covered with wild game and the wild aborigines. The timber land was a forest in the strictest sense of the word, and was almost impenetrable, making the progress of the intro- ducers of civilization very tedious and even dangerous. Too much cannot be said in com- mendation of the heroic manner in which the hills and prairies were transformed into the beautiful aud fertile farms which now make up the territory of "Circle Lake district."
The actual settlement in the locality commenced in 1854, the honor of the "first settlership" being due to William Henderson, who arrived in October of that year, originally from Maine. He made his way on foot from St. Paul, and when he came to consider that he "was monarch of all he surveyed," he made up his mind to avail himself of the op-
479
FOREST TOWNSHIP.
portunity and take his "pick" of the fine farms in the township. This he did by locating in the northeastern part of the town on section two, at the outlet of Union Lake. He at once put up the frame of a small log shanty, and without com- pleting it, remained to hunt and trap until he was froze out when he "pulled up stakes" and went to St. Paul to winter. The habitation he put up is hardly deserving of the name of shanty, being more after the fashion of a "pen;" but this served as shelter so long as the elements confined them- selves to "horizontal" work as he was protected by the sides of the pen,-which had three or four logs for sides but no roof-when the elements re- sorted to "perpendicular" measures, Henderson had to make for the woods or get wet. As before stated, after spending a few monthson the ground he went to St. Paul and spent the winter, in the following spring again making his appearance, this time bringing with him a small load of furni- ture, his wife and her sister, an ancient maiden lady. He took the claim that he had selected, and on which Dr. Swain now lives, and commenced opening a farm. Here he remained for about five years when he left for parts unknown.
The next to cast his lot among the lakes and timber land of Forest was George Eaton, a young man of grit and enterprise, who arrived a couple of months later than Henderson and began call- ing the southwest quarter of section eleven, "home." He put up a small hewn log hut and commenced trying to farm, but succeeded better at trapping. This, it will be seen, commenced a settlement; Henderson on section two, at the out- let of Lake Union, and Eaton on section eleven, one mile south, made a neighborbood, if two neighbors will comprise one, and relived the mono- tony of the solitude and comparative hermitage.
The next acquisition to the settlement was made early in 1855, in the persons of Mr. Hill, John Parker, and William Palmer, who all located on or near section nine, one mile west of the places set- tled by Eaton and Henderson. Parker and Hill had brought their families with them, aud they at once put up hewn log shanties. Hill brought in with him one horse, and the other two, Parker and Palmer, brought what they called "a team on snooks," or in other words, an ox team in which each owned an interest. Then began a happy time in the history of the early settlement, there being just enough to have the entire party united with-
out bickering or hard feeling, and many social gatherings were held that were enjoyed by all.
And now, these pioneers being all safely housed in their hewn log huts; we will take the reader back one year while we bring the next comer across Wisconsin and into Minnesota, with some of his experience on the way to the Cannon River Valley. John W. Thompson arrived in Hastings on the 15th of June, 1854, on the famous old steam tug "Galena," and found only one little log hut 12x14 there. He at once took a claim within two miles of the present city of Hastings, and in company with his brother Joseph, who had also made his appearance, began making plans for erecting a log cabin. John had bought an old horse of the In- dians for $52, and he decided to haul logs for his residence, but there appeared two difficulties to be overcome, the logs which he had to build with were across the Vermillion River, he had no axe to cut them with, and lastly, if they had their logs cut, they had no harness with which the horse could draw them. After considerable trouble they managed to bny an axe of their only neighbor for $5, and thus remedy that difficulty. Next came the question of harness, and John W. Thompson bthought a primitive way with which he con- quered this. He went to the only house in Has- tings and succeeded in getting them to let him have their "bed cord" and use boards in its stead, while he took the heavy cord, and after doubling it several times made a noose large enough for the horse's neck, and slipping it over the head, and extending the one tug between the legs of the animal, his harness was complete, and he felt as jubilant over it as if it were a gold-mounted, silver- plated, four-in-hand outfit. The next proceeding was to commence operations, and John "harnessed" his horse, crossed the river, and hitched on to a log; this was on the opposite side of the river to that on which he wanted to build, and he stationed his brother on the side where the horse would land. Then he started the horse into the river and had him, by swimming, tow the log to the oppo- site shore where Joseph was waiting to catch him. In this way they succeeded in getting over a num- ber of logs, but before they had got enough to build, the Vermillion River rose suddenly and be- came so much of a torrent that they were obliged to give it up for fear of drowning their horse, so they abandoned the log idea entirely and resorted to a shanty built of sods.
480
HISTORY OF RICE COUNTY.
They remained in Hastings for some time, but finally the Indians became so troublesome, and both the brothers being taken badly with the ague, they decided to leave and look for "pastures fresh." This they did, John W. making his way eventually to his present home in Forest township, and his brother Joseph going back to his former place of residence in New York. The former ar- rived and permanently located in May, 1856, hav- ing been through the township twice previous to this. He brought with him some furniture and at once put up a small log shanty and commenced opening the farm he now lives on. His farm near Hastings he sold for $283, and a few years later it was sold for $12,000.
We will now carry the reader back to the time of our digression, when we left a little settlement of pioneers in the northeastern part of Forest, in the Union Lake region. In the meantime the set- tlers had made themselves very comfortable, con- sidering their circumstances, and all were living principally on deer meat and other wild game. In this manner they spent the summer, a few of them having put in a few potatoes, rutahagoes, etc., and a rich harvest rewarded them; there were none, however, but opened and prepared some land for crop the following year.
In the fall of that year (1855) a number of ar- rivals were marked on the corner stakes of claims. Leonard and Jacob Balyet, Joseph and Elijah Houck, and John Craven, came together, and all took claims near Millersburg, a little south of the settlement mentioned above. Of this party only two now remain in the town, they are Leonard and Jacoh Balyet who are still on their original claims.
Zebulon Sargent and John Jones came shortly afterward and located in section twenty-seven, and both with their families remain on their original claims. They, in common with the rest of the hardy pioneers, commenced Minnesota life in log huts.
A few days after the arrival of the above par- ties, there appeared three Norwegian families on the scene, freshi from the pioneer life in Wisconsin, and in covered wagons. As the season was getting late and they had their stock with them, they con- cluded to put up hay to last through winter be- fore they erected cabins. This they did, and while they were at work in the hay field the wife of one of the emigrants was taken sick, and there, in the
covered wagon, was delivered of a girl baby. Both mother and child lived, and the girl grew to womanhood, was married, and now lives with her husband and a large family of children on the identical spot where the wagon stood when the birth occurred. This was the first birth in the township.
This occurred in the fall of 1855, and brings the settlement up to Christmas of that year, which was observed in a limited way by most of the set- tlers.
Early in 1856, Albert Fillmore and family, and the following week, H. A. White, arrived and lo- cated near Millersburg; and crowding after them came James Fitzimmons and commenced laying plans for the village of Millersburg. At the " same time should he chronicled the arrival of George and Milo J. Sellon, John Wood, and E. F. Taylor, who were brought in by J. W. Thompson. and all took claims, most of them in the neighbor- hood of Millersburg.
August and William Demann took places on section twenty, where August still remains. In the fall their brother Christian made his appear- ance and still lives there, all of the brothers being well-to-do farmers. When Christian first arrived he purchased a fifteen-acre corner of his brother's farm for $25 per acre, this being before the land came into market; he could have secured a whole quarter for the same amount of money, but not knowing it he paid the money for fifteen acres. This amount of land being gone from the corner of his brother's farm "spoiled the sale of the quarter," and Christian refused to sell the fifteen- acre corner at any price, saying that if he was cheated at first he would come out ahead at last. The farm his fifteen acres infringes on is now without tenants.
This brings us to a period when the rush to this country became a sort of stampede, and as it will be impossible to trace them in regular order, we will only mention the arrival of a few notable personages.
The richest man that ever lived in the town made his appearance in the latter part of 1856, in the person of Frederick Fisher, from Milwaukee. He brought with him forty-one head of stock, and two large wagon loads of furniture and goods. It being late in the season he decided to follow the example of the Norwegians in the fall before, and put up hay for his stock before he erected a cabin,
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FOREST TOWNSHIP.
and afterward put up a substantial log house. Here he lived for a number of years, but was very unfortunate in almost all his undertakings. His wife was burned to death a few years after his ar- rival, by the explosion of a kerosene lamp-such a thing as a lamp being at that time a novelty and a curiosity. He expended all of his means in a few years and removed to parts unknown. One inci- dent connected with his early pioneering may prove of interest. He brought in with him a very large and fierce dog which it was said could "down" an ox, and intended it for protection against the wild beasts. One noon, at the time when Fisher and his family were living in wagons and making hay, immediately after their arrival, they left the hay field, and while gone to dinner the large dog went down to the field where a pack of wolves were heard howling and barking, and from the high point where the wagons were, over- looking the meadow, they saw a fierce fight going on between wolves and dog, and by the time they got upon the ground all that was left of the dog was the shining skeleton which had been picked clean by the voracious pack.
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