USA > Minnesota > Rice County > History of Rice County, including explorers and pioneers of Minnesota and outline history of the state of Minnesota > Part 88
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EARLY SETTLEMENT.
As we contemplate the changes of but a little more than a quarter of a century, noting the pres- ent condition and prosperity, in comparison with the trackless and apparently impenetrable wilder- ness of those days, we can scarcely realize or com- prehend how it was possible to make the transfor- mation which we now behold. Insidiously, al- most imperceptibly, has the change been wrought, yet, since the first forward step was taken, has the on ward march of progress continued its untiring tread until we find ourselves in the midst of a fer-
tile, civilized, well settled and cultivated land, from which almost all traces of the primitive, which in early days proved so glaring and painful, have vanished.
To get at the original and very first settlement of this town, we must take the reader and retrace the steps of time twenty-nine years, to 1853, when we find Wells without a single inhabitant, except natives of the forest; not a shanty, not a furrow turned, nor a sign of civilization. It was in this shape the first settlers found it, and the quietude was scarcely disturbed by the arrivals of that year, there being very few and easily noted.
Mark Wells is probably the oldest living settler, he heing one of the party who first arrived. He is a native of Massachusetts, and made his way to Minnesota as best he could. He selected a claim on section thirty-five, and put up a small log cab- in, plastering it with mud and clay. In this he made himself at home, and being a single man, in company with several others kept bachelor's hall until 1858, when he was married and moved to Faribault, where he now lives.
About the same time that Mark arrived, a man named Standish, of the same State, became his neighbor, and took a claim adjoining him in sec- tion thirty-five. He remained until 1856, when he returned to his native State.
"Bully" Wells had also made his appearance, and was making a claim in section thirty-four his home.
This, it will be remembered, all occurred in 1853, and the three settlers mentioned secured places adjoining each other in the south-eastern part of the township, this being the most inviting, because it was prairie land, and almost the only locality that was prairie in the township. With these few the settlement of the township "stood at a standstill" until 1855, and probably the fact that the remainder of the town was timber land, had some influence in keeping the influx at bay for the year 1854. In 1855, the settlement began to spread, and other parts of the town received the initiatory member of society.
William Roberds, a native of North Carolina, came in from Indiana and commenced a settle- ment near the center of the town, taking a claim in section twenty-two, on the banks of the lake which now bears his name. He put up a small log shanty the same year, erected a saw-mill, and became a very prominent man. He made this his
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home until he paid the debt of mortality in 1869.
John Wesley Cowan, a native of Kentucky, hav- ing stopped for a time in Indiana, soon swelled the Roberds' settlement by taking a claim in section twenty-two. He cleared some land and erected a log hut, and remains in the same section yet.
Thomas B. Owings also helped fill the settle- ment, and took a claim north of Roberds' Lake. He has since moved to the Roherds' settlement, and taken a claim in section twenty-two.
In the meantime a settlement had been com- menced north of Roberds' Lake. John H. Pas- son, a native of the Buckeye State, made his ap- pearance and settled on section ten. He was a millwright hy trade, and erected a number of mills in Rice county; he is now living in section fif- teen.
The same year we find the following natives of the Emerald Isle crowding into the northern part to make a neighborho. d near the Ohioan. This party consisted of James Byrnes, Michael Brazil, Thomas and Timothy Casey, and Patrick O'Brien.
James Byrnes, who had stopped awhile in Ver- mont, took a claim in section four where he still resides.
Timothy Casey made himself at home in section six, and remained there until his death, in 1869. His widow died in 1876.
Thomas Casey surrounded a claim in section five, where his lamp still holds out to burn.
Michael Brazil secured a tract of land in section nine, where he still lives.
James O'Brien made a habitation in section nine, and still occupies the log house he erected at the time of his settlement.
John L. Squier, of the Empire State, swelled the settlement in the southern part of the town by taking a farm from the prairie land of section thirty-four. where he may still be found.
Thomas Kirk had taken land on sections four- teen and twenty-three, where he made his home until the grim messenger called him hence in Oc- tober, 1868. The deceased was father of the first child born in the town.
Samuel J. Keller, a native of the good old Buck- eye State, having stopped for a time in In- diana, drifted in and dropped anchor on the only quarter left in section twenty-two, in the Roberds' settlement. He remained a few years and then retraced his steps to Indiana.
Section thirty-four received another settler this
year in the person of William McCalla, a native of Ireland, who, after remaining a few years removed to California, where he still remains.
Isaac Anderson, from Ohio, made his appear- ance and proceeded to enlarge the settlement in the northern part of the town by taking a farm from section nine, which had already received one settler.
John Manahan did his part also, securing a home in section one, in June, 1855, where he still remains.
Two brothers, John and Thomas Johnson, ar- rived in the summer of this year and both took farms in the northern settlement; John on section three, where he died in 1863; and his brother on section eleven where he remained until 1861, when he went to Vermont.
This is about the list of arrivals for the year 1855, and it will be seen that from the three settle- ments started in the township, one in the south, one in the center, and one in the north, the in- comers had branched in every direction until every portion of the township had received one or more settlers, who had gone directly to work, putting up shanties and opening land for cultivation. The following year the immigration commenced and continued with a rush until all the government land within the borders had been secured. We shall endeavor to give most of these arrivals, al- though to give them all would be almost impos- sible.
S. P. Case, originally, from Ohio, but directly from Grant county, Indiana, arrived in 1856, and planted his stakes in section three. He has since changed his location, now living on section twenty- seven.
Peter Dunn drifted in and anchored near Mr. Case, in section four, where his moorings are still intact. He was a native of the land of the Shamrock, having stopped for a time in Ver- mont.
Robert Dudley, of the same nationality, marched in and stationed himself over the farm lying sonth of the one secured by Peter Dunn, in the same section, and here he still stands guard.
Andrew Fredrickson came about the same time and declared himself at home on a farm in section three, in the same neighborhood, where he still lives.
Many others came in in 1856, many of whom have again pulled up stakes and started on with
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their faces still turned to an ever promising "West."
In 1857, John Murray, a native of the Emerald Isle put in an appearance and secured a tract of land. He is now in section one, and is a promi- nent man in the township.
Barnard Mehagnoul, a native of Belgium, also arrived about the same time and pre-empted a farm in section twenty-nine where he may yet be found. The following year, 1858, he was joined by a number of his countrymen, named Duch- ennes, who settled a short distance north of him, and about these have gathered quite a Belgiam settlement.
In 1859, we note the arrivals of many others, among whom may be mentioned John and Owen Varley, who took claims in section eleven, where the former still remains. The latter, Owen Varley, paid the debt of mortality in July, 1877.
Joseph Milliron, arrived and secured a habita- tion in section sixteen where he still lives.
W. H. Pease was a pioneer in Minnesota, ar- riving from New York State in 1855. He finally . secured the place he now occupies in section twenty-one.
A. C. Judd, another prominent man in Wells, and a native of the Empire State, arrived in 1860, aud located on his present place in section thirty- three.
E. A. Orne, of Boston; Joseph Sescoult, of Canada; and C. Meillier, of Wisconsin, have since arrived at various times and settled in the town- ship, where they are now influential men.
Joseph Ducreyt, a Frenchman, was another early settler in the county, and a prominent man. He originally took a claim in Wheatland in 1856, but finally found his way to the shores of the lake bearing the memorial name in honor of his nativity, in section seventeen, where he now lives.
Charles T. Winans, a native of New York State, came to Minnesota in 1856, and located in War- saw. In 1860, after having been engaged for several years in mercantile business in Faribault, he moved to section fifteen in Wells.
Asa Bebee, a native of Monroe county, New York, having stopped for a time in Illinois, was an- other early settler in this vicinity. He first locat- od in Warsaw, but now lives in section twenty-six in Wells township. His original slab shanty which l13 first erected, 16x16 feet, makes quite a contrast
to his present elegant residence, which is among the finest in the county. He is a prominent and influential man in the county, as well as in the township.
James G. Scott, another prominent man, came to this county in 1854, and settled first in Fari- bault, where he was engaged in various pursuits. He is now a resident of Wells township.
Many others might be mentioned here, but our space forbids, and most of them are noted under the head of biographies.
James Wells, or, as he was always known, "Bully" Wells, having been a prominent and con- spicuous figure in the settlement of Wells, which town received its name in honor of him, a few words as to a sketch of his life will not only be interesting to the residents of Wells but to the entire county. James Wells was the true name of the subject of this sketch, but he won the nick- name of Bully Wells, and insisted on being known by it. He was born in New Jersey in 1804, and when a boy ran away from home, going to sea on an American war vessel, serving as a cabin boy. He finally enlisted in the U. S. army, and served® for fifteen years, coming to Fort Snelling in 1819 with Col. Leavenworth. When his time as a sol- dier expired he started a little trading post at Lit- tle Rapids, or what is now Chaska, and remained at this point for some time. On the 12th of Septem- ber, 1836, he was married to Jane, a sister of the wife of Alexander Faribault, and a daughter of Duncan Graham. The marriage took place at the house of Oliver Cratte, at Fort Snelling, the cere- mony being performed by the Indian Agent at the fort, Taliaferro. The same year he came south- west and started a small trading post at the point where Okaman, Waseca county, now is, and re- mained here for about one year, when he again removed, this time to locate at the foot of Lake Pepin, on the Mississippi River, where he carried on a trading business until he came to Wells town- ship. Having made up his mind while passing through to take land in the vicinity of the Cannon Lake, as soon as it came into market, in 1853, he made his way to the lake and started a trading post on section thirty-four, at the foot of Cannon Lake, in Wells township. Here he did a profita- ble business for a short time, but gradually turned his attention to farming, and continued in it until the close of the Sioux war in 1863, when he was
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murdered mysteriously, the supposition being that it was the work of the treacherons Indians.
Bully Wells was a man of good impulses, rough spoken, but with a heart that always beat for dis- tress and a hand that never failed to offer relief. A friend in the truest sense of the word to a friend, and a bitter enemy to a foe. Requiescat in pace.
EARLY NOTES OF INTEREST.
The first blacksmith shop opened in the town- ship was erected in 1855 by William Roberds, in section twenty-two, on the shore of Roberds' Lake. The shop was operated by his nephew, Freeman Roherds, for about three years, when it was dis- continued, the manipulator moving to Faribault, where he now carries on a like business.
EARLY BIRTHS .- The first birth in the township of Wells took place on section twenty-three, in October, 1855, and ushered into existence Eliza- beth, daughter of Thomas and May Kirk. The father of the child died in October, 1868, and the girl is now a teacher in the public schools of War- saw.
The next event of this kind brought into the " light John, a son of T. B. and Elizabeth Owens, on the 22d of May, 1856. This child, however, died on the 11'h of December, 1864.
On the 4th of February, 1857, a son was born to Isaac and Lydia Anderson, who was christened Elias, and who now lives in Faribault a grown man.
Four days later, on the 8th of February, John C., a son of Peter and Margaret O'Brien was born. He is now teaching school in Pope county, Minne- sota.
Within a month after the arrival above men- tioned, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Peter Dunn. The child was named Maria, and is now married and living in the township of Shields- ville.
Leonora, a daughter of John H. and Minerva Passon, was born on the 19th of May, 1857. In 1877, she married Mr. Julius Ripley, and now males her home with her parents.
MARRIAGES IN AN EARLY DAY .- One of the ear- liest marriages to occur in the township of Wells was the union of Martha Roberds and J. S. Me- Cartney, by E. J. Crump, Esq., at the residence of the bride's father, William Roberds, in section twenty-two. The happy couple now reside in Lincoln county, having been blessed with an even
dozen of children, of whom ten are still in the land of the living.
In October, 1856, Joseph Byrne and Alice O'Brien were made one in the bonds of matrimony and commenced housekeeping in his log house on his farm in section four. The bride was called away by the grim voice of death in December, 1864,and the husband still occupies the old home- stead.
POLITICAL.
Pursuant to notice the first township meeting was held on the 11th of May, 1858, in the log schoolhouse in section fourteen, and organized the township by the election of the following officers: Supervisors, Thomas Kirk, Chairman, William McCalla, and Patrick O'Brien; Collector, J. W. Cowan; Clerk, S. P. Case; Assessor, T. B. Owens; Constables, William Roberds and Timothy Casey; Overseer of the Poor, S. C. Dunham.
At the twenty-fourth annual meeting of the town, on the 14th of March, 1882, the following officers were placed in charge of town affairs: Supervisors, Henry Greenwood, Chairman; Philip McKenna, and Jacob Gutzler; Clerk, A. J. Swan- son; Treasurer, A. B. Cowan; Assessor, William Hassinger; Justice of the Peace, O. F. Burgess.
The government of the town has been tranquil and even. The funds and expenditures have been managed in a frugal hut efficient manner, and on a whole, the interests of the public in town mat- ters have been taken care of in a way that is com- mendable.
In 1878, the township purchased a building, the original cost of which was $500, of school dis- triet No. 18, to be used for a town hall. It is lo- cated on section twenty-two.
INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES.
ROBERDS' LAKE MILLS .- These mills were orig- inally started in 1855, by William Roherds, who erected a saw-mill at the outlet of the lake bear- ing his name, on section twenty-two. It was run by water power, and was equipped with an old- fashioned perpendicular saw. In 1856, a run of stones for feed was placed in the mill, and in 1858, the firm became Roberds & Spear. A circular saw was put in and this firm continued the mill in this shape until 1862, when they sold it to Bebee & Wood, who ran the establishment with water as the motor until 1865, when the supply of water failed and they hired a steam engine to saw up the
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logs on hand. In 1866, Charles Wood sold his interest to Mr. Tenney, and the firm of Bebee & Tenney at once erected a flour-mill, put in one run of stones with all the necessary machinery for a first-class mill, and it was continued under this firm until 1869, when the partnership of Nutting & Carufel took hold of the property and run it until 1871. This year it was purchased by James G. Scott, the present proprietor. He put in a steam engine of forty horse-power, to run when the water was low, and constructed another saw- mill with two circular saws and an excellent run of machinery. In 1872, Mr. Scott remodeled the flour-mill, and it now has two run of stones for flour, one run for feed, two sets of rolls for mid- dlings, three sets of bolting chests for flour, one for buckwheat and rye, two purifiers, and the nec- essary cleaning machinery, and equipments for merchant and custom grinding. Altogether, the mill is justly the pride of the township, and al- though not having the capacity of some mills in the county, in quality of work it equals them, and gives perfect satisfaction to its patrons.
MELBORNE MILL .- In 1856, Mr. Graham laid the foundation for this mill by putting up a saw- mill on the Cannon River in the north western part of section thirty-five. He threw a log dam across the river and started the mill, throwing sawdust with a circular saw. In 1858, he added a run of stones for flour and feed, and as such he continued it until 1859, when he bought a small saw and grist mill of "Bully" Wells, which he made into an addition to his mill. In 1860, the dam got rest- less and started down the river with a freshet, when Mr. Graham tore down the old mill. He soon after erected another on the same stream, equipped with two run of stones. In 1861, he turned this over to G. F. Pettitt, who in 1862, sold the property to Henry Melhorne, and in a short time the establishment was destroyed by fire.
CHAPPIUS' SORGHUM MILL .- This mill was es- tablished in 1870 by J. C. Chappius on his farm in section seventeen. It bas been operated every season since its establishment, making about 1,500 gallons per season. The location of the mill is in the western part of the town just east of French Lake.
EDUCATIONAL.
Wells township is divided for educational pur- poses into seven districts, and if equally distrib- uted would give in the township an area of about
five square miles to each district. The districts are all in good condition and well attended. Dis- trict No. 18 was the first organized in the town- ship, and has the finest and most commodious school building of any of the districts. Below is given a short sketch of the organization, growth, and development of each.
DISTRICT No. 18 .- The first school was called to order in this district immediately after its or- ganization, in 1856, by Miss Sarah Owens. This same year a schoolhouse was rolled together, of logs, on Thomas Kirk's land in section fourteen, and in this building school was held until 1861, when the location of the schoolhouse was changed, and the district erected a small slab shanty in sec- tion twenty-two, where the Park now is, and used this until 1865. The shanty was then disposed of and a neat school building erected at a cost of $500. In 1878, this structure was sold to the township for a public hall, and their present hand- some brick edifice was erected near the lake, in section twenty-two, at a cost of $1,500.
DISTRICT No. 39 .- Effected an organization in 1858, and a log house was rolled together this year for school purposes in section nine. The first school was held in this building immediately after its completion, by Isiah Roberds. Their original building was used until it was burned in 1865, when one term of school was taught in Joseph Byrne's house while another log schoolhouse was rolled together. In 1877, this house was dispensed with and their present neat schoolhouse put up in the northern part of section nine.
DISTRICT No. 57 .- This district commenced its existence in 1860, when it was organized and a log house erected in the northeastern part of sec- tion nineteen. Isiah Roberds was the first instruc- tor in the district, holding school in the newly erected log cabin. In 1868, they dispensed with the old log honse, and erected the building now in use, in the eastern part of section nineteen; Miss Nellie Canley first called the school to order in this house.
DISTRICT No. 73 .- The district under this num- ber effected an organization one year later than the last mentioned, in 1861, and the following year commenced the erection of a log house in section fourteen, completing it in 1863. This school building answered the purpose until 1873, when the present neat schoolhouse was built on the old site in the northwestern part of section fourteen.
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Miss Bridget Fitzgerald first called the school to order in the new house. The territory now em- braced by this district was formerly a part of dis- trict No. 18.
DISTRICT No. 77 .- Effected an organization in 1861, comprised of the territory now embraced in district No. 100, in addition to its present limits. The same year that organizatiou took place, all the farmers in the neighborhood turned ont, furnished logs and put up a log schoolhouse in the northeast quarter of section thirty-four. In 1874, the listrict was divided by the taking off of district No: 100, the eastern part retaining the original number of seventy-seven. A new school- house was erected at this time, just over the line into the southeast corner of section twenty-seven. This schoolhonse is used very frequently by different denominations for religious services.
DISTRICT No. 79 .- The district under this num- ber includes as a part of its territory a portion of the western part of Cannon City township and the northeastern part of Wells. The district was organized in 1864, and the first school was kept in John Murray's claim shanty, with Miss Julia Grady as teacher. In 1865, they erected a school building of logs mu ection one, and the following year moved it to the eastern part of section two, where it remained in use until 1876, when the present handsome brick house was erected in the northeastern corner of section twelve.
DISTRICT No. 100 .- The territory now com- prising this district was embraced in the the or- ganization of district seventy-seven in 1861, and remained as such until 1874, when it was set off and organized as No. 100. Miss Sarah Passon was the first teacher. In 1875, the present school- house was erected in the northwestern part of sec- tion thirty-three, at a cost of about $200. Miss Sarah Owens first called the school to order in the present house, and remained for five terms teaching the young idea how to shoot.
SOCIETIES.
The close proximity of this township to the city of Faribault, relieves the necessity or need of local organization, which,as a matter of course, would be small, and makes it convenient for the inhabitants to attend in the city, where the different societies are strong, and where many of the farmers of Wells are members. We find. however, notwith- standing this fact, several organizations.here, and below give a short sketch of them, severally.
The first religious services in the town were held in the little log schoolhouse in section fourteen, late in 1857, by the Congregationalists, Rev. Mr. Armsby presiding. The same year the Methodist Episcopal denomination organized, with Rev. Mr. Day as their minister. They held services for a short time regularly, when it was suspended, to be revived during the war, when they held meetings in the new schoolhouse in section twenty-two. This organization has been rather idle for a num- ber of years.
About the same time, if not a little before the organization of the above mentioned society, the Episcopalians got together and held services in the same schoolhouse alternately with the Metho- dists. In 1875, the Episcopal society commenced the erection of a church in the northern part of section twenty-two. They raised the frame, boarded it, put up a belfry, hung a bell and then suspended the organization. Meetings of various denominations are now held in this edifice. Ser- vices of the Episcopalians are also held here irreg- ularly. A Sunday school was kept up here for a number of years after building.
German Methodist meetings were held for the benefit of the followers of this faith, in William Braun's house on section twenty-one, in 1874. Rev. Emil Uhl being the first minister. Services were held in Mr. Braun's residence until 1878, when Mr. William Bartlett's house was used for four years. In 1882, the society erected a frame church building on section twenty at a cost of about $700, where services are now held every other Sunday. A Sunday school has been organ- ized here, which is held every Sunday, with an attendance of about forty scholars, and a good library in connection. Fred Saldswedel is super- intendent.
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