USA > Minnesota > Rice County > History of Rice County, including explorers and pioneers of Minnesota and outline history of the state of Minnesota > Part 92
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FRANKLIN AUSTIN was born in New York on the 29th of December, 1816. He moved to Ohio in 1841, and there married. Miss Harriet Hively in October, 1847. In 1856, they came to Minne- sota, located first in Dakota county until 1867, and then purchased the farm which has since been their home. Mr. and Mrs. Austin have had six children, of whom three are living.
ORLIN AVERY is the only son of John Avery, who was born on the 8th of January, 1827, in
Ohio. He married in May, 1846, Miss Lidia Kechum and their son, Orlin, was born on the 2d of January, 1854. The following spring they re- moved to Wisconsin, and in 1857, came to this place, his parents moving to Lyons county in 1871, and still make it their home. Orlin, the subject of this sketch, resides on the farm which his father took. He was married on the 7th of July, 1880, to Miss Frankey Aldrich. They have one child.
GEORGE W. ALDRICH, a native of New York, was born on the 17th of September, 1836. In 1856, he came with his parents to this place, and has since måde it his home. Miss Jane Gilhousen became his wife on the 5th of June, 1860. Of six children born of this union, five are living.
NORMAN BEMIS, proprietor and manager of the hotel of this place, was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, on the 20th of March, 1847. He was united in marriage on the 15th of September, 1869, to Miss Augusta Getchaw and they have a family of three children. They moved from the latter State to this place in 1873, and engaged in the hotel business as previously mentioned.
JOSIAH BAILEY was born on the 7th of October, 1844, in Indiana, where he remained until coming with his parents to Minnesota in 1856. The following year he purchased a farm in section six- teen which has since been his home. In 1862,he en- listed in the First Minnesota Mounted Rangers, Company H, was discharged on the 28th of May, 1863, and re-enlisted in the Minnesota Heavy Ar- tillery, Company L, and served till the close of the war. After his discharge he returned to his farm, and on the 1st of February, 1867, married Miss Lusetta Gilhousen, who has borne him three children. Mr. Bailey has been a member of the school board several times.
J. P. BUSH, whose parents were among the first to locate in this place was born in Oswego county, New York, on the 1st of March, 1847. He came with them to Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1850, and to this township three years later, locating in section three. In 1856, he returned east and resided in Canada two years, then came again to his home here and has since engaged in farming, his mother living with him.
PETER BUSH, one of the earliest residents of Faribault and also one of the pioneers in this place, was born on the 1st of August, 1808, in St. Hugues, Quebec, He was married on the 4th of
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WARSAW TOWNSHIP.
July, 1845, to Mrs. Emily Grassett. The follow- ing year they moved to Oswego county, New York, and in 1856, came west to Beloit, Wisconsin. Mr. Bush located in section thirty-one, where Faribault now is, in 1853, but soon after sold his claim to Indian traders and in the fall located in this township. He built a blacksmith shop and worked at the business until 1856, when he went to Le Sueur county and platted Lake City. The same year he returned to his native place in Can- ada, remained until 1858, and came again to Lake City, where he was engaged at his trade several years. In 1878, he returned to his farm in this place, and has since made it his home. Mr. and Mrs. Bush have had seven children, only one of whom is living.
D. C. COATES, an old resident of this State, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of September, 1839. In 1844, he came west with his parents and located near Black Hawk, Iowa, thence, in 1852, to St. Paul, and four years later to Morristown, Rice county. On the 13th of Au- gust, 1862, he enlisted in the Eightlı Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Company B, was in some im- portant battles in the north and south and in a number of skirmishes. After his discharge on the 31st of May, 1865, he came to this place and on the 16th of November, 1869, was joined in matri- mony with Miss Mary A. Green. The union has been blessed with one child, Martha Irene. Mr. Coates was elected a member of his school district in 1881.
DAVID DAVIS was born in New York on the 12th of May, 1831. When he was seven years old his parents removed to Illinois and in 1850, to Iowa. David learned the carpenter and joiner trade and in 1855, came to Faribault where he worked at the same, building the first house in the place after the town was platted. He was married on the Ist of April, 1858, to Janette Vansdal. Of eight chil- dren born of this union, seven are living.
PETER DALCOUR, one of the first settlers in this place, was born in lower Canada in the District of Montreal on the 18th of March, 1832. He left his native place in 1854, and came to Warsaw which has since been his home. He first built a log house 14x16 feet, cutting the logs and carry- ing them on his back. On the 7th of December, 1857, he married Miss Lucia A. Walleat, who has borne him seven children, five of whom are living. In 1874, he erected the fine brick building in which he now lives.
ALFRED DAWS is a son of Henry Daws, who was born on the 27th of February, 1795, in Lon- don, England; left his native place and emi- grated to America in 1848. He remained in New York one year and came from thence to Wisconsin where he lived until coming to Warsaw in 1853, and settled in section seventeen, being among the first to locate here. He died on the 18th of Jan- uary, 1880. His son Alfred, the subject of this sketch, was born on the 31st of July, 1839, in England and came with his father to America and to this place, which has since been his home, com- ing into possession of the old homestead at the death of bis father. He was married on the 16th of March, 1866, to Miss Austena Thrown. They have had three children, of whom two are living.
MOSES F. DEPATI, JR., was born in Montreal, Canada, on the 15th of April, 1852, and left his native home in 1869, coming to Faribault. In 1870, he moved to Warsaw and for ten years worked at his trade, that of house and sign paint- ing, which he learned in Canada. He was united in matrimony on the 9th of December, 1876, to Miss Anna Smith and they have three children. In 1880, Mr. Depati bought the Lake House of which he has since been landlord.
P. GRIFFITH was born in New York on the 10th of June, 1809. He was reared in his native State and married on the 31st of October, 1830, to Clarissa Barnes. In 1852, he moved to Illinois but re- turned to New York two years later. He then made a trip to Minnesota, pre-empted land and in the spring of 1857, moved his family to the claim and two years later removed to the village. In 1862, he returned to his farm but came again to the vil- lage in 1867, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. Since retiring from business in 1877, he has filled the office of Justice of the Peace and been a mem- ber of the board of Supervisors. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith have had seven children, five of whom are living.
ELIAS GILHOUSEN, one of the pioneers of this place, was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, on, the 11th of October, 1817. He was married on the 22d of February, 1838, to Miss Elizabeth Siford, who bore him ten children, nine of whom are living. In 1854, Mr. and Mrs. Gil- housen emigrated to Minnesota, resided in St. Paul until the 1st of March, 1855, when they came to this township. Mrs. Gilhousen died on the 30th of November, 1881.
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HISTORY OF RICE COUNTY.
JACOB HERSHEY was born in Wisconsin on the 28th of December, 1844, and came with his par- ents to this place on the 10th of May, 1855. Ou the 13th of January, 1867, he married Miss Lu- cilia Clemmer and two years later his father pre- sented him with a farm in section seven. In 1876, Mr. Hershey moved to Chippewa county and while there was school Director three years and a member of the board of Supervisors three years. He returned to Warsaw in 1882, and is engaged in the cultivation of his farm.
N. N. GRAVES, one of the earliest pioneers of this place, was born in Oneida county, New York, on the 18th of November, 1814, and at the age of ten years removed with his parents to Jefferson county, where he grew to manhood and learned the carpenter trade. He 1835, he moved to Michi- gan, and on the 18th of November, of the same year married Miss Emily Welch, who has borne him nine children, three of whom are living. In 1843, he returned to his old home in Oneida county and engaged in blacksmithing four years, then came to Wisconsin and farmed until 1852, when he moved to this place in section one. Mr. Graves built many of the first buildings in the county. Until the last town meeting, when he re- signed, he has held some local office, has been Supervisor and Justice of the Peace.
EDWARD HOLLISTER, one of the first settlers of this place, is a native of New York, born on the 27th of November, 1832. In 1853, he came to Wisconsin but the following year returned to New York. In October followiug he made another trip west to Minnesota and located a claim on the shore of Cannon Lake in this township, where he lived until 1856, then went to the village of Warsaw and engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1861, on the 29th of April, he en- listed in the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Company G, and participated in the first battle of Bull Run, was discharged for disability the last of August of the same year, with the rank of Fourth Corporal. He was married after returning from the army on the 24th of February, 1862, to Miss Rowena Coats, who has borne him six chil- dren, four of whom are living. Mr. Hollister was a member of the Legislature in 1869 and '70, has held the office of Town Treasurer eight terms and is at present Postmaster and Notary Public. He again engaged in mercantile business in 1881.
W. H. HULSE was born in New York on the 16th
of March, 1846, and when ten years old came with his parents to Minnesota Territory, and located in this place, where they were among the early set- tlers. Mr. Hulse eulisted in the First Minnesota Mounted Rangers, Company H, in 1862, and serv- ed fourteen months, then re-eulisted in the Elev- enth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Company D, and received an honorable discharge in 1865. He immediately returned to Warsaw, and in 1876, was united in marriage to Miss Marinda A. Har- per, the ceremony taking place on the 26th of February. The result of the union is one child. Mr. Hulse's farm is located in section thirteen, which he has owned since before the war.
WILLARD HUGHSON, one of the pioneers of this . place, was born at Hamilton, in Upper Canada, on the 7th of February, 1824. In 1833, he moved with his parents to Michigan,and in 1837, to Mil- waukee, Wisconsin. On the 17th of January, 1850, he was united in marriage with Miss Harriett E. Love, who has borne him four children, of whom one is living. Mr. Hughson came to this township in 1855, and pre-empted land in section twenty-eight, upon which he lived until 1868, when he moved to the village of Warsaw, but in 1871, returned to agricultural pursuits, this time locating his present farm in section eight. He was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors in 1859, and Chairman of the same in 1876 and '78, and in 1865, '66 and '67 was Assessor.
LORENZO JACKSON, one of the pioneers of Rice county, was born in Manchester, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire, on the 26th of Septem- ber, 1819. He was engaged in farming until 1845, then clerked, and a year later started a dry goods store for himself. He was united in marriage on the 28th of November, 1850, with Miss Caroline S. Bartlett, who has borne him six children, two of whom are living. In 1856 he came to Cannon City, where he was in the same business five years, then came to Faribault, and entered the employ of a mercantile house. Ten years later he engaged in farming in Warsaw, where he still resides. In 1881, he was elected County Treasurer, and still holds the office; also has been a member of the board of County Commissioners.
CHRISTIAN Low was born in Germany on the 2dl of February, 1838, and in 1852 emigrated to Wisconsin. On the 2d of February, 1864, he was married to Hannah Guitchel. In 1867, they moved to Warsaw, and located in section twenty-seven,
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WARSAW TOWNSHIP.
which has since been their home. Mr. and Mrs. Low have had eight children, six of whom are living.
JAMES A. MORGAN, one of the early settlers of Warsaw, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylva- nia, on the 1st of March, 1832. He was married in his twenty-second year, on the 16th of May, to Jane Denison. In an early day Mr. Morgan made a trip through Maryland and Virginia, and in 1855, came to this township and pre-empted land in section six. In 1859, he went to Pike's Peak, but returned shortly, and in 1862, enlisted in the Eighth Minnesota Regiment, Company B, and served till the close of the war. He then returned to his farm, to which he has since given his atten- tion. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have had fourteen children, nine of whom are living.
JOHN NUSBAUM is a native of Prussia, born on the 13th of April, 1834, and at the age of twenty- one years emigrated to America. He first located in Toledo, Ohio, but a year later came to Wiscon- sin, and in 1864, to Warsaw, where he still resides. He was married on the 22d of October, 1870, to Miss Kaeynah Richard, who has borne him six children.
HOWARD RAND was born in Nova Scotia on the 11th of March, 1836, and in 1847, left his native place and moved to Massachusetts. On the 25th of December, 1858, he was joined in matrimony with Miss Mary Reynolds, and they have had seven children, six of whom are living. In 1861- Mr. Rand came to Minnesota, first settled in Good- hue county, and in 1867, moved to Warsaw, where he has since lived.
ANDREW SWANSON, a native of Sweden, was born on the 24th of July, 1823. He was married near his birthplace on the 26th of December, 1848, to Miss Betsy Mary Morgulson. They sailed for America on the 17th of April, 1852, and located in Illinois. Iu 1856 they moved to Red Wing, Min- nesota, and in 1860 rented a farm at the head of Spring Creek, upon which they lived until coming to this place in March, 1868. Mr. Swarson owns a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section thirty-six. He has a family of seven chil- dren, one having died.
H. SANBORN was born in New York on the 4th of March, 1827, and moved to Wisconsin in 1844.
He was married there on the 20th of September, 1857, to Melittia A. Hull. The following year they came to Blue Earth county, Minnesota, and resided on a farm until 1860, then came to this township and bought land in section seven, where they have since made their home. They have had four children, three of whom are living. Mr. San- born has beenTown Clerk, and also School Clerk.
W. S. SNYDER was born in Albany county, New York, on the 22d of November, 1840. He removed to Wisconsin, and thence, on the 11th of June, 1856, to Warsaw. On the 10th of August, 1862, he enlisted in the Eighth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, served three years; was wounded in the third battle, and still carries the ball in the left shoulder. Miss Maggie Wood became his wife on the 1st of January, 1872, and they have one child.
W. S. WEATHERSTON was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, on the 16th of July, 1844. Ou the 9th of September, 1861, he enlisted in the Sixth New York Cavalry, Company K, went south, ' and was in the battles of Williamsburg,Fair Oaks, Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancelsors- ville, and the three days' fight at Gettysburg. Having been discharged, and re-enlisted in the winter of 1862, under Gen. Sheridan, he was in the battles of the Wilderness, in front of Rich- mond, thence to Malvern Hill, and joined the army under Gen. Grant. Mr. Weatherston after- ward had charge of seventy men who were sent to secure a supply of corn. While making the journey they were engaged in a severe fight During all the battles and skirmishes in which Mr. Weatherston participated, he received but one mark, a ball at one time grazing his left leg and leaving a black and blue spot. On receiving his discharge, he came to Rice county, Minnesota, and located in Wells township, where he resided until returning to his native State in Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence county, where he was joined in marriage with Miss Laura C. Lytle. In 1873, he returned to this county, and settled in Warsaw, where he engaged in grain raising until 1881, since which time he has been engaged in the dairy business, having some very fine blooded cattle, and has sold one thousand pounds of creamery butter. Mr. and Mrs. Weatherston have had four children, one of whom is living.
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HISTORY OF RICE COUNTY.
CANNON CITY.
CHAPTER LXI.
DESCRIPTIVE-EARLY SETTLEMENT-EARLY ITEMS OF INTEREST - POLITICAL - EDUCATIONAL- VARIOUS MATTERS-VILLAGE OF CANNON CITY- EAST PRAIRIEVILLE -- BIOGRAPHICAL.
Cannon City is one of the center towns of Rice county, lying in the second tier from the south and west county lines, and the smallest town in the county. Its immediate surroundings are, Bridgewater on the north; Wheeling on the east; Walcott and Faribault on the south; and Wells and Faribault on the west, embracing an area of 19,840 acres. The city of Faribault takes from its southwest corner 3,200 acres, or sections twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two and the southern halves of sections nineteen and twenty. Of the area mentioned, considerable is taken up by town lots and some is covered with water, which leaves the township exclusive of these, an area of 13,243 acres.
Here we find both timber and prairie land; the entire western portion being covered with timber, in places heavy and again light, and interspersed with meadow and timber openings. The eastern and northeastern parts, extending from the north to the south line of the town, is a rolling prairie, with here and there fine groves of timber. This is called East Prairie, for the reason that it lies east of the Cannon River timber. Little Prairie is a small prairie in section four. The - greater part of the town is under a high state of cultivation, and many of the oldest and finest farms in the county are located here. The soil is rich and well adapted to the crops and agricul- tural modes of to-day. A dark loam is the cover- ing of the prairie, and as you approach the timber a lighter nature of soil is visible, with a tendency to clay and sand. Along the Cannon River, which enters the township from Faribault and crosses the western part in a northerly direction, the sur-
face is more or less broken, and in some places enough so to be termed hilly, although there are few places so abrupt as to be detrimental to till- age. An abundance of excellent limestone is found in various localities in the western part of the town, and several have burned kilns with the most satisfactory results, there being a number of these enterprises now in operation. It is also val- uable for building purposes, for which it has al- ready been used quite extensively, several stone quarries being now at work.
The town is well watered, but has not as many lakes as the surrounding townships. Chrystal Lake is the only one of note, and is located in the central part, just north of the village of Cannon City. Prairie Creek rises in section twenty-three, and taking a northern course hastens its way to Northfield township, from whence it enters the county of Goodhue. The Cannon River has been mentioned as traversing the western part. Otto Falls Creek, or, as it is generally known, Pond's Creek, rises in Wheeling, and flowing westward, crosses the southern tier of towns and eventually becomes part of the Straight River. Several small streams traverse the northwestern part of the township on their way to the Cannon River.
A sketch of the town, published in 1868 by F. W. Frink, says that "Cannon City township occu- pies the larger part of the same township in which the town of Faribault is also located. The num- ber of acres of taxable lands within its limits, ex- clusive of town lots, is 13,243. Some of the oldest and most valuable farms in the county are located in this town, and in no part of the county can more favorable locations be found with regard to timber, meadow, water, and arable land. Its pop- ulation is mostly emigrants from eastern and mid- dle States."
In 1860, the population was 600; in 1865, 667; in 1870, 497; aud in 1880, the last census, 1,188.
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CANNON CITY TOWNSHIP.
At the census taken in 1870, the values in Cannon City, as given to the ceusus takers, were as fol- lows: Real property, $265,600; personal prop- erty, $58,800; total, $324,400. The total value of property for the seme year, as per assessment rolls, was $126,139. In 1882, the total value as- sessed was $318,850, of which $263,309 represented tl:e real, and $55,541, the personal property. This shows an increase of property assessed, during the past twelve years, of $192,711.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
To get at, with any degree of accuracy, the real first settler of a section that has been settled for a generation is a more difficult matter than would be imagined by one who has never undertaken to determine such a case, for, no matter how authen- tic the source, or how conclusive the evidence brought to bear, there will be a certain number of men who will emphatically deny the assertion, and bring up another candidate for patriarchal hon- ors, so to speak. Therefore, to avoid any mis- understanding, or any chance for dispute, that course has been adopted whereby the date of ar- rival is given, as near as can be ascertained, and the reader can select therefrom a first settler to his notion. In the language of Mark Twain, you "read the facts and take your choice," or words to that effect.
The actual settlement of Cannon City township commenced early in 1854, and it is claimed there were one or two arrivals late in the year previous; but of such we can learn nothing. Among the first to locate was Mr. John Corsett, a native of Ohio, who got into the town in the spring of 1854, and took a claim in section thirty-five. He built a little shanty covered with what he called "shakes," and at once commenced putting up hay, succeeding in securing about twenty tons. After he had been there a short time a number of others swelled the settlement in this part of the township. The entire force that arrived in this year were from Dunkirk, Wisconsin, but they have now all removed to other towns or counties, except one family.
William N. Owens and family were natives of New York, having left the place of their nativity early in the forties and removed to Wisconsin. Here they remained for ten years, in Dunkirk, and in 1854, when the Minnesota fever first began to find root in the minds of the eastern people, they decided to join the throng. A number also came,
among whom were Isaac Hamlin and his parents, George Marks and his family, John Pratt and family, Samuel Howe, John Rahier, A. Renslow, and some who are mentioned elsewhere, and who took claims in adjoining towns. These all started about the same time, and came straggling along on their way to the Cannon Valley. When they got to the Root River, in Fillmore county, where Forestville now is, the typhoid fever took hold of some members of Mr. Owens' family and he was detained there some time, Mrs. Owens being con- fined and delivered of a child during the deten- tion. This, however, although it detained the family, did not hinder the balance of the party, and Mr. Owens with his teams assisted the others to get into the country, his eldest coming up to drive one of the teams. When the boy got back he reported not very flattering news to his parents, and they seriously entertained the plan of retrac- ing their steps to their former home, but finally overcame their scruples and pushed on, arriving on East Prairie, on the 1st of October, 1854. They here found that those who had preceded them had failed in their agreement to select a good claim and cut hay for the detained party, and as they had four yoke of oxen, two cows, and one horse, they were obliged to secure hay or suffer severe loss. After looking abont for a short time, he (Owens) made Corsett, who is mentioned above as having put up twenty tons of hay, an offer of $250 for his claim and hay, which offer was accepted and Mr. Owens moved his family into Corsett's doorless and floorless cabin. This was soon remedied by making a floor out of slippery elm bark, and door of slabs. The roof of the cabin was very poor, as it was made of clap boards, and Mr. Owens says that often has he heard the chil- dren in the night crying, "Ma, Ma, it's snowin' in my face!" and he determined to fix it, so he went out on the prairie, cut sod and packed it in layers on the roof of his house. This remedied the evil for the present and "kept the snow out of the chil- dren's faces," but when the spring came and the drenching rain washed crevices through the sod, great haste was required in shoveling it off the roof to prevent the shanty from being transformed into a mud hole.
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