History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical, Part 1

Author: Keyes, Elisha W. (Elisha Williams), 1828-1910
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Madison, Wi. : Western Historical Association
Number of Pages: 998

USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 1

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M. L

GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00828 6210

HISTORY

DANE

COUNTY,

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL

MADISON Western Historical Association

1906

History of Dane County.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

1218174

Elling B. Aaker is one of the prominent farmers of Dunkirk township, where he owns a well improved landed estate of two hundred acres. Like many others of the leading agriculturists of Dane county, Mr. Aaker is a native of Norway, where he was born May 12, 1837, and he is a son of Botton and Martha (Elling- son) Aaker, who immigrated to America in 1857 and became pioneers of Dane county, settling in Pleasant Springs township, and later removing to Dunkirk township, where they passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of seven chil- dren, of whom only thre attained to years of maturity : Julia, who became the wife of Lewis Iverson, is now deceased; Elling B. is the subject of this sketch, and Susan is the wife of Nels Jenson. Elling B. Aaker preceded his parents in immigrating to America, having come in 1856, and having been twenty years of age at the time. He proceeded directly from New York city to Dane county, Wisconsin, and purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres of wild land, in Pleasant Springs township, reclaiming the major por- tion of the same and there continuing to reside until the spring of 1885, when he sold the property and purchased his present fine homestead, of two hundred acres, in Dunkirk township, being the owner of twenty acres in Pleasant Springs township also. His farm is equipped with good improvements in the matter of build- ings and is maintained under effective cultivation. In politics Mr. Aaker is affiliated with the Republican party, and he and his family hold membership in Christ church. Norwegian Lutheran, in the city of Stoughton. June 13, 1868, Mr. Aaker was united in

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

marriage to Miss Anne Quale, daughter of Andrew and Christy (Nelson) Quale, who were natives of Norway and who settled in Pleasant Springs township, this county, in 1858, here passing the residue of their lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Aaker have been born ten children : Andrew and Martha are twins, the latter being now the wife of John Bakke, of Iowa; Ben is deceased; the next two in order of birth are Carl and Christian : Marie is deceased; Henry is a resident of Stoughton; Emma is the wife of Ferdinand Rasmus- sen ; and the two youngest children are Lydia and Caroline.

Herman Aaroen is one of the worthy citizens contributed to Dane county by Scandinavia, a source from which Wisconsin has drawn much of its best citizenship and gained much of its material and civic prosperity. He has for a number of years been num- bered among the successful farmers of Blooming Grove township. and has won success and independence through his own efforts,. having come to the new world as a young man without financial means and having worked his way upward through earnest and honest endeavor. Mr. Aaroen was born in Sogendahl, Norway, in August, 1857, and is a son of Johan Ingebret Aaroen and Mar- garet (Olson) Aaroen, who passed their entire lives in Norway. He received limited educational advantages in his youth, and con- tinued resident of his native land until he had attained the age of twenty-one years, when he immigrated to America, being com- pelled to borrow. from a friend. sufficient money to pay his pas- sage across the Atlantic. From that time forward he has never received any assistance from extraneous sources, and he is deserv- ing of credit for the determination and worthy effort which have brought to him so marked prosperity within the intervening years. He has been a resident of Blooming Grove township since 1894, and of his original homestead farm he now retains twenty-five acres, to which he devotes his attention as a general farmer. On the place he has made good improvements, and he is also the owner of a nice residence property in the neighboring village of McFarland, where he expects to take up his abode eventually. For some time he did contracting on a small scale, but his princi- pal vocation has been that of farming. Mr. Aaroen is held in high esteem in his community and is an unassuming and worthy citizen. He gives his support to the Republican party and he and his family hold membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church. December 23, 1886, Mr. Aaroen was married to Miss Anna Sko- gen, daughter of Serum and Maggie (Kleven) Skogen, of Pleasant: Springs township, and following is a record of the names and re-

BIOGRAPHICAL.

spective dates of birth of the ten children of this union, only one of the number being deceased. Samuel Johan, May 3, 1887; Mar- tin Olous, January 11, 1889, died January 13, 1898; Maria Jose- phine, November 15, 1890; Gerhard Martin, October 10, 1892; Albert Herman, August 22, 1894; Andrew Oliver, July 28, 1896; Martin Olous (2d), December 31, 1898; Bordina Luella. February 6, 1901; Serina Rebecca, December 14, 1902, and Idella Helena, October 29, 1904.

Hon. Henry Cullen Adams, congressman from the second dis- trict, was a typical example of the kind of man to whom Americans are fond of referring as a natural result of peculiarly American in- stitutions. He was a native of Verona, Oneida county. N. Y., and was born November 28, 1850. His parents, B. F. and Caroline M. (Shepherd) Adams were also natives of the same place. He was. one of the line from which President John Adams sprung. His father, Benjamin Franklin Adams, was a graduate of Hamilton College, New York. While in Hamilton College the elder Adams was a charter member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and, as principal of an academy at Oneida, N. Y .. was instructor of the late B. J. Stevens of Madison. His mother was Eunice Webster a first cousin of Noah Webster of dictionary fame and Mr. Webster was a frequent caller at the Adams home. The family came west in the early fifties settling at Beaver Dam, then coming to Liberty Prairie, near Madison. The father died in 1902, the mother some years before. They were carried to Wisconsin by the tide of im- migration which swept westward about the time of his birth. and he became a resident of Jefferson county at the age of six months. In that county and in Dane he spent his boyhood years, supple- menting his instruction at the district schools with the more prac- tical knowledge of farm life in all its details, which knowledge be- came in later years the instrument which led to his political pre- ferment. His later achievements, if they formed a part of his plan of life. were to have been reached by other means, and his early efforts were all directed toward advancement through the usual methods of scholarly attainments. His first academic work was done at Albion Academy, Dane county, in 1868 ; the following year he entered the University of Wisconsin, but after two years of study he was compelled on account of failing health to give up his work; and a second attempt to complete his collegiate course. even after a three years' rest. resulted in a second physical breakdown. In spite of these discouragements he subsequently read law in the offices of Nathaniel W. Dean and Gregory & Pinney. In 1875,

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

realizing the necessity of an active out-door life he purchased a farm near the city of Madison, set it out to small fruits, and ap- plying to its management the business methods for which his studies had laid the foundation, he soon began to realize a good return for his investments. He also stocked his farm with a herd of thorough-bred Jerseys and added a dairy to his establishment. He not only personally superintended his fruit and dairy business but actually performed many of the laborious duties connected with it. He varied the work of this period by occasionally teach- ing; in the winter of 1877 he taught a country school in the town of Burke in which his immediate predecessor was F. W. Hall and the one before that was Senator R. M. La Follette. Mr. Adams was always actively interested in political affairs and in 1880 en- tered the arena as a stump speaker, a part which he filled in every subsequent campaign up to the present time. In 1883 he was elected to represent the southeast assembly district in the state legislature, by a majority of over seven hundred votes and was re- elected the next term, increasing his majority to over a thousand. During the later term he served as chairman of the house commit- tee on claims. For three years following this legislative ex- perience he spent the winters in company with Mr. Morrison, in conducting farmers' institutes throughout the state, and while giving in this work the results of his own experience and observa- tion, he incidentally formed a wide acquaintance throughout the agricultural communities, and made many friends who rallied to his support when he became. later, a candidate for congressional honors. Three years as president of the state dairymen's associa- tion, and two years as secretary of the state horticultural society, supplemented this acquaintance and made his name a household word among the farmers. About this time, (1887), he entered the editorial field, for which he was somewhat prepared through act- ing as correspondent for a number of agricultural periodicals, and became, for a short time, manager and editor of the Western Farmer, published in Madison. In 1888 he was a delegate-at-large to the convention which nominated Benjamin Harrison for presi- dent, and the same year was appointed superintendent of public property by Governor Hoard, serving for two years. At the ex- piration of this time he became associated with C. M. Dow & Co., and later with Mr. Vernon, and divided his attention between his farming interests and a real estate business. Governor Upham ap- pointed Mr. Adams as dairy and food commissioner, in 1894, and the wisdom of his selection for this important position was en-

BIOGRAPHICAL.

dorsed by two of his successors in office, Governors Scofield and La Follette. It was during his incumbency of this office that he rendered such efficient service to the farmers of this state by his efforts in the passage of the law which prohibited the manufacture of filled cheese and colored olemargerine. At the time of Mr. Adams' appointment, Wisconsin dairy products had fallen from the high grade which had established for them an international reputation to a very low place, on account, especially, of the pro- duction of filled cheese, and it has taken years to restore to them the confidence of the public, and for this restoration the dairymen are largely indebted to Mr. Adams. Following the agitation in Wisconsin most of the other dairying states have passed stringent laws along the same line, and these were supplimented, after a three years' struggle, by the enactment of a national law putting an almost prohibative tax upon the production of oleomargine. In this agitation Mr. Adams took a very active part, and his many visits to the national capital in the interests of pure food enact- ments, made him familiar with life in Washington, and gave him the wider outlook upon affairs which that familiarity brings, and when in 1902. his name came before the voters of the second con- gressional district as a national representative, he had fully demon- strated his ability to fill it, and the confidence of his constituency in him has been shown by two re-elections to the same office. Mr. Adams came before the public eye during the most recent session of congress more than at any time in his political career, through his work for the meat inspection law now in effect. During the latter part of the session. after President Roosevelt exposed the packers, Senator Beveridge formulated an amendment to the agri- cultural bill, providing for inspection of packing houses. This amendment caused a bitter fight, especially the clause providing that the packers pay the expense, and one providing for both day and night inspections. When the fight was at its bitterest point. Mr. Adams saw the president and they agreed upon the measure which is now a law. His reputation for honesty and fair dealing was such that in the very storm center of politics he was always trusted and sometimes feared by both factions of his party. His taste and judgment in literature was excellent and he was possessed of a dry humor, slightly tinged with good-humored sarcasm, which made him an exceedingly entertaining companion. and his self-poise under the trying conditions in which an aspirant for political honors is sometimes placed was remarkable. During a recent campaign an uncompromising friend demanded of him, "Are

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

you a Stalwart or a Half-Breed?" With a twinkle of his eye he gravely responded. "I'm running for congress." Mr. Adams was married October 15, 1818, to Miss Annie B. Norton, who was born in Lowell, Mass., and reared in Madison. Their four children, Benjamin Cullen, Frank Shepherd. Mabel and Carrie were all born in Madison. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Adams had not been in robust health for many years the announcement of his death, July 9. 1906, came as a shock to his many friends. He died at the Auditorium, Chicago. on his way home from Washington. Speaker Cannon appointed as members of the house funeral com- mittee the following congressmen : John J Esch, Wisconsin ; J. W. Babcock, Wisconsin; W. E. Brown, Wisconsin; C. H. Weisse, Wisconsin ; J. H. Jenkins, Wisconsin ; James H. Davidson, Wiscon- sin ; H. A. Cooper, Wisconsin ; E. S. Miner, Wisconsin ; W. H. Staf- ford, Wisconsin ; Theo Otjen, Wisconsin : James S. Sherman, New York; J. Adam Bede, Minnesota : James A. Tawney, Minnesota ; A. L. Brick, Indiana : Martin H. Madden, Chicago ; John Lamb, Vir- ginia; H. S. Boutell, Illinois; J. V. Graff, Illinois; William Wil- son. Illinois; A. F. Dawson, Iowa: H. P. Goebel, Ohio; Thomas Marshall, North Dakota; A. J. Barchfeld, Pennsylvania; Jesse Overstreet. Indiana; Harry C. Woodyard, West Virginia; E. L. Hamilton, Michigan. Mr. Adams' death called out many expres- sions of appreciation from prominent men, not only in his own state, but from those who had become acquainted with him in the wider circles into which his position in congress brought him. The limits of this brief memoir prevent their reproduction here, but the spirit which animated them is well represented, especially in regard to his later work, in two or three excerpts. Governor Davidson said: "I have known Honorable Henry C. Adams for many years. On my first acquaintance he impressed me as a man of unusual talent and wide attainments. Mr. Adams was a most genial gentleman and readily made friends. As a member of con- gress he took a commanding position, and his battle for the agri- cultural interests of the country will cause him to be long and gratefully remembered. The death of Mr. Adams at this time is a distinct loss to the state and to the country." Colonel Casson : "As a public speaker Congressman Adams attracted more atten- tion in the house than any other man in twenty years. On sev- eral occasions, notably when he spoke on the Philippine tariff bill, was this shown. On the conclusion of that speech the house took an informal recess and the entire house crowded around to con- gratulate him. He was intensely popular and I considered him

BIOGRAPHICAL.

the best talker in the house. He was emphatically a growing man. He had much yet to develop. He had made a very successful member of congress. He had a way of doing things, of getting there. He had a tact and talent which eminently fitted him for successful work in a legislative body. It can truly be said of him that he was an orator, that in debate he was always ready for the occasion."

Michael Adler, of Waunakee, born in Germany July 13, 1853, is the son of Germans, Nicholas and Mary (Michaels) Adler. The father died in Germany in 1860, and some years after the widow and her two sons, John Adler, now of Cross Plains, and Michael, the subject of this sketch, came to America. Michael came to Berry township, Dane, in 1868, and went to work on a farm; two years later he went to Springfield and in 1882, joined his mother and brother in Cross Plains, where they had located in 1873. At the latter place he bought forty acres of land, to which he has added from time to time, and is now, through his own diligence and good management, the possessor of a farm of two hundred acres. He is actively interested in the welfare of the Democratic party, and has held many offices of political trust, having served five years as justice of the peace, two years as trustee of the village of Waunakee, five years as supervisor of Cross Plains township. and three years on the county board. which last position he holds at present. He married January 11, 1876, Miss Annie Mer- gen, who was born in Dane, March 3, 1855. She is the daughter of Jacob and Mary (Schauffhausen) Mergen, both born in Ger- many ; he came to Dane in 1853 and she in 1854, and on April 24, of that year they were married. Mr. Mergen's first wife, (who was a Miss Biddinger) died in New York City in 1853. Of the six children of the first marriage, three are living, and of the nine children of the second marriage, of whom Mrs. Adler is one, seven are living. To the subject of this sketch and his wife, twelve chil- dren have been born of whom five died in infancy ; those living are, Michael P., who lives on the old homestead; John J .. of Vienna township; Henry, of Madison; Math. F .. Joseph. Mary and Anna. Mr. Adler has retired from active life and resides in a beautiful home in the village of Waunakee.

William Albers, farmer and teamster of the town of Madison. was born in Hanover. Germany, May 28, 1841, his parents, William and Catherine (Rinkhoft) Albers, both being natives of that province. The father died before the subject of this sketch was born and the mother afterward married William Mollenbard, a

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

carpenter by trade. In 1858 the family came to America and set- tled in Dane county. There the stepfather bought a large farm and followed farming and carpentering the rest of his life. Wil- liam Albers is the only child of his parents, though his mother had four children by her second marriage. As a boy he had but little opportunity to acquire an education, being compelled by circum- stances to work on the farm. At the age of eighteen years he left home and went to work in a brick-yard at St. Louis. In 1861 he returned to Dane county, bought a team and has been engaged in teaming more or less ever since. Some time later he bought the farm where he now lives, and upon which there is a sand and gravel pit. from which he derives considerable revenue. Mr. Al- bers is a fine example of that industry and thrift which is a dis- tinguishing characteristic of the German people. Beginning life with small capital and limited opportunities he has achieved suc- cess through his own efforts. In political matters he is classed as a Democrat, though in local elections he votes for the man rather than for the candidate of any party. He is a member of the Turner society of Madison, and of the old fire company No. 2. He has been twice married, first in 1861 to Augusta, daughter of Fritz Smith, a native of Saxony, and his second wife was Sophia Smith, daughter of Philip Smith. She died July 2, 1902, aged fifty-one. By this second marriage he has five children living and one deceased. viz: Charles, Susie, George, William, Kate, all living at home. and Margaret, the last named dying in early child- hood.

Fritz Albrecht, Sr., a retired farmer, whose home is in Middle- ton, was born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin and came to America with his father, Carl Albrecht. when he was three years old. The latter was born at Bresegardt, Mecklenburg, was married at Middleton to Miss Maria Hinrechs of Bresegardt, and was a foreman on the German roads. In 1855 he set sail with his family for America and was seven weeks en voyage. They located at Middleton and obtained a farm of forty acres in section 14, having nine acres un- der cultivation, and a log dwelling. This farm Mr. Albrecht pro- ceeded to clear during the hours when he was not active in his duties as an employee of the C., M. & St. P. R. R. He was a stanch Democrat and with his family supported the German Lutheran church. Mr. Albrecht died in 1878 aged sixty-five, his wife in 1874, aged fifty-six. Of their seven children but two (John and Fritz) are living, both at Middleton. Fritz Albrecht was born November 3. 1852, and grew to manhood on his father's farm, re-

BIOGRAPHICAL.

ceiving such education as the country schools of that time af- forded. He worked the farm for many years and was also em- ployed in threshing for seventeen years. At the present time he is the owner of a splendid farm of two hundred and seventy-two acres just south of Middleton and a pleasant home in Middleton, which he has occupied since 1905. He is a Democrat and has al- ways been much interested in politics, but more in school affairs, in which he has been active as clerk of the school board of Middle- ton for twelve years and clerk of the district school board for nine years and treasurer for twelve years of high school. For three years he was chairman of the town board also town treas- urer 1883-4 and served on county board 1886-7 and 1892. October 5, 1873, he married Miss Mary Hinrichs, daughter of Jacob and Marie (Rieland) Hinrichs of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Nine chil- dren were born to them, of whom four sons are now living; W.Il- iam, who is a carpenter of Madison, Wis .; Fritz, Jr., who farms the old home farm; Emill, who is a painter by trade and lives at home; and Frank, the youngest, also at home. All of the sons have the best education afforded by the Middleton schools, for whose welfare their father has always labored.

Orin Alderman, a farmer in the town of Pleasant Springs, was born in the neighborhood where he now lives, February 14, 1858, and is of German and Norwegian descent. His father, Walter Al- derman, was born in Baden, Germany, February 14, 1822, his par- ents being John and Frances Alderman. The father died while Walter was still a small boy, and in 1830 the widow and her son came to America. After living two years in Buffalo, N. Y., they went to Detroit, where they remained for six years, Walter find- ing employment in a hotel. Then they removed to Milwaukee, where he worked in a hotel until 1845, when they came to Dane county. About this time Walter Alderman married Caroline Wit- tleson, who was born in Norway but came to Wisconsin in 1840. He obtained forty acres of land in the town of Dunkirk, upon which he built a shanty and began farming. Later he bought some land in the town of Pleasant Springs, and added to his first purchase until he owned over two hundred acres. He was a Re- publican in political matters and a member of the Lutheran church. The children of Walter and Caroline Alderman are as follows : John, who now runs a hotel and hardware store at Crookston, Minn. ; Catherine, wife of Iver Johnson, of Avon. Wash .; Adeline, now deceased, was the wife of Iver Anderson, of Pleasant Springs ; Mary Ann, wife of Ole Lothe, of Pleasant Springs; Frances, living

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

at Crookston, Minn .; Orin, the subject of this sketch; Julia and Frederick, now both deceased: Turena, living at Crookston; and Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Martin Mickelson. Orin Alderman at- tended the schools in Pleasant Springs in his carly boyhood, but the death of his father restricted his opportunities to acquire an ed- ucation, as he had to begin work at an early age. In 1889 he bought one hundred and twenty acres of the old home place, and here he carries on a general farming business. He raises a con- siderable quantity of tobacco, and also pays some attention to stock raising and dairying. In politics and religion he has fol- lowed the affiliations of his father, being a Republican and a mem- ber of the Lutheran church at Stoughton. He has never married.

Edwin K. Allandslee, proprietor of the "Central Restaurant" in Stoughton, was born in Telemarken, Norway, September 6, 1853. He is a son of Knud and' Rannae Allandslee. His widowed mother, with her nine children, immigrated to the United States in 1866, coming direct to Wisconsin, where she purchased eighty acres of land in the town of Dunn, Dane county. Subsequently she made her home in the town of Rutland with the subject of this sketch and died there. Her children were Osman, George, Stener, Edwin K .. John. Dagna, Gunhild, Aslong and Rannae. Edwin K. was brought up in Dane county from the time he was thirteen years of age. receiving such educational advantages as the schools afforded. One year of his life was spent in Pleasant Springs and twenty-five years on the old homestead in the town of Dunn. In 1862 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in the town of Rutland, where he lived until 1900. In the latter year he removed to Dunkirk, purchasing fifteen acres, of land just out- side of the corporation limits of Stoughton. This he now uses as a market garden to supply the restaurant which he has conducted since August. 1905. His place of business has now become one of the principal centers of a growing city. In 1881 Mr. Allandslee was united in marriage to Gunhild Berge, a native of Norway, and to this union have been born eight children, Rannae, Oliver, Julia, Anna. Signa, Clarence. Alfred and -Arthur. The family are all communicants of the Lutheran church. In his political connec- tions Mr. Allandslee is a Republican.

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History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical, Part 1

Author: Keyes, Elisha W. (Elisha Williams), 1828-1910 Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Madison, Wi. : Western Historical Association Number of Pages: 998

Author: Keyes, Elisha W. (Elisha Williams), 1828-1910
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Madison, Wi. : Western Historical Association
Number of Pages: 998