USA > Wisconsin > Columbia County > A history of Columbia County, Wisconsin : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests > Part 34
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CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AGAIN
"In the spring of 1862, I was reelected to the office of chairman of the board of supervisors of De Korra, and in the autumn of the same year, I was nominated for candidate of the State Legislature, by the democratic party. The party, however, was so hopelessly in the minor- ity at that time in the district in which I lived that an election was impossible. The vote I received, however, was a very flattering one and highly gratifying in point of numbers as it was considerably
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in excess of a regular party vote. Mr. A. J. Turner, who at that time- was editor of the Wisconsin State Register was my opponent and as the people of our district were a very intelligent people, and knew and could keep a good thing when they had it, they made up their minds to let him go and represent their interests at Madison and keep me at home, and I am satisfied they never had any occasion to regret their choice, as Mr. Turner made a very able and efficient legislator and understood the wants and interests of our district perhaps as well as any man that lived in it.
"During the winter of 1862 and 1863, I was chosen by the stock holders of the Sugar River Valley Railroad Company at their annual meeting as a member of the board of directors of such company. What little was done, however, during the year 1863, except to meet and dis- euss propositions made to and received from other railroad corpora- tions. In the spring of 1863 I was again elected chairman of the board of supervisors and had that duty again to perform. During this year also times were good, money very plenty, and but for the dark spots made by the cruel war which was then raging and which was to be seen in nearly every community all over the land, the people of these United States might have been regarded as prosperous and happy. On the seventeenth day of July of this same year, our sixth child and fifth son was born. We named him John C., John being the name of his mother's only brother, and also of my only brother.
RAILROAD WORK RESUMED
"In the spring of 1864, work was again resumed on our railroad, and some grading done under the superintendence of Mr. Peck. The object in starting the work was that it might possibly have some effect in helping to sell the company's bonds which had been prepared, and an effort was to be made to place them on the market. The effort to negotiate the bonds failed, however, and the work was again stopped. With this failure to sell the company's bonds, all hopes of ever getting a railroad through our little village seemed to be at an end. During this year also a suit had been instituted against the company by Mr. Mills for a small amount, which he claimed the company owed him, and a judgment was rendered in his favor against the company. Mr. James Campbell of Green County, who had been the prime mover in the enter- prise, and who had done more to forward it than any other man, and had been president of the board of directors for a number of years, also had a claim against the company, and as he had good reason to believe that efforts had been made and would be continued to be made by parties in Madison who were unfriendly to the road to place it beyond Vol. 1-22
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his control and prevent its completion, he also commenced an action in the courts, and took judgment against the company.
SUGAR VALLEY RAILROAD SOLD
"Some time after this the road was advertised and sold, Mr. Mills selling that portion of it lying between the north lines of Dane County, and the city of Madison, and Mr. Campbell selling that portion of it lying between Portage city in Columbia County, and the south line of said county. Mr. Campbell also bought in that part of it sold by Mills, and by this means secured control and became the owner of the entire property of the company between Madison and Portage. And although all of his efforts to sell the company's bonds had failed, and he had removed all tools and everything that had been used in doing what work had been done, he still claimed that he would in time complete our road, but no effort was again made until the year 1870. In the year 1866, however, the company was released from build- ing that part of the road lying between Columbus and Portage. Mr. Campbell was a man of considerable energy and determination, and when he undertook to do anything he was very likely to succeed, and some things were done by him that were even regarded by many of the wise- acres at the capital as being impossible.
IMPROVEMENT OF SOUTH POYNETTE
"For the past two years our village had not improved very much. A Methodist church had been built and some few small dwelling houses put up, but the fear of not getting a railroad soon prevented some from locating in the village that would have done so, had our railroad pros- pects been brighter, and others that had lived in the village for some time were deterred by the same cause from extending their improve- ments. The prairie south of the village, however, had changed greatly in this time. For in crossing it in the autumn of the years 1863 and 1864, where a few years before a house could not be seen, now they were visible iu every direction and stacks of grain could be seen and counted up into the hundreds. The settlement of this prairie did much towards the improvement of our village, which in turn was a great convenience to the farmers who had settled on it.
FALL OF RICHMOND CELEBRATED
"In the spring of 1865, I was again elected to the office of chairman of our town board, and was continued in said office for the four suc-
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ceeding years until the spring of 1869. On the evening after our election had been held in 1865, news was received of the downfall of Richmond, and one of the most exciting evenings was spent by our townspeople that I ever witnessed. There seemed to be a unanimous desire to bury the hatchet, and let all past political difference of opinion cease. Anvils (for we had no cannon) were brought out and considerable powder burnt. Beer was also lavishly produced and freely drunk. Old men became orators and made pacific and patriotic speeches, while younger men charged the anvils and touched them off, which with their yells filled the air with noise that has not since then been heard in our village. It was even hinted that one of our oldest and most partiotic citizens was found early the following morning addressing a wooded hill, which he sup- posed to be a regiment of returned, scarred and war-worn veterans. On the fourth day of October this year (1865), our seventh child, a boy, was born. We named him Samuel for his grandfather, and our second boy, the little Samuel who was dead.
DECLINE OF WAR PRICES
"For several years past the farmers had been selling their products for very high prices. And although gold and silver had become an arti- cle of merchandise and traffic, and at one time had reached the enormous price of two dollars and eighty cents per dollar, or in other words taking two hundred and eighty cents of the money we had in circulation to buy one hundred cents in gold, and might almost have been said to have ceased to exist, so far as the farming community was concerned, still the paper money answered every purpose and circulated very freely and the farms were bought and sold and paper money paid for them just as gold and silver had been before it ceased to circulate. The war was ended and the soldiers returned to their homes, some of them bringing considerable money with them, and although times were good and money plenty, the general impression was that a reaction would sooner or later set in, and in the opinion of many the time was not very far distant. The reaction, however, was not so sudden or injurious as many had antici- pated. The vast amount of paper money that had been put into circu- lation and the return of the soldiers with their pockets generally pretty well filled kept money plenty, and times though changed were not what might be termed hard. Prices, however, of farm produce, as well as all classes and grades of manufactured goods began to decline. Wheat, which at one time during the war brought as high as three dollars a bushel fell to less than a dollar within less than three years after the war closed, and all other grains suffered a marked decline. Wool also,
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which at one time, sold for one dollar a pound, fell to from forty to fifty cents during the same time. Of course such a decline in prices, coupled with the ravages of the chintz-bugs in our crops, and which had but a short time before made their appearance, made farmers somewhat discouraged, and the people in our village and country adjacent felt the effect of the decline in priees and the destruction of our crops as much perhaps as other agricultural communities were likely to do. Still we had passed through harder times than we were then experiencing and did not feel at all alarmed, or did we hesitate to improve or increase our property whenever a favorable opportunity occurred.
LOCAL IMPROVEMENTS AFTER THE WAR
"But few buildings were erected in the village during the two or three years succeeding the close of the war. We had commenced agitating the building of a more commodious school house, but the difference of opinion in the choice of a site made the discussion both bitter and acrimonious and kept back the building for some time. It was finally built, how- ever, in 1867, and oceupied that same year.
"On the fourth day of December of this year (1865), we formed a cemetery association under the general law of the state and a board of trustees was elected, consisting of Phineas Watson, Isaac C. Sargent, H. J. Sill, Stephen Brayton, and myself. We purchased from Messrs. Brayton & Tomlinson seven acres of land at fifty dollars an acre and had it surveyed and platted for burial purposes. A child of Rev. Rufus Fancher was the first buried therein."
During the winter of 1865-66 Mr. Jamieson was first severely afflicted with the rheumatism, a disease which caused him much trouble nearly every successive year, and nearly every winter had to be spent in the South or at least away from business affairs.
"It had been decided at the annual school meeting held the past autumn (1866) to proceed with the building of our school house. Quite a respectable minority favored building it on the old site about half a mile south of the village, while the majority voted to have it built in the village. The contest over the site was fast and keen, and the corres- pondence in regard to it, with the state superintendent, was bitter, somewhat personal, and must have been amusing in some respects to that official." The decision to locate the school in the village was finally taken to the courts and an injunction procured forbidding the district officers from signing a contract for the building. Two of the three directors, including Mr. Jamieson, attached their signatures in spite of the injunction. "The contract having been signed, Mr. Green furnished
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his bond for the erection of the building, in accordance with the con- tract, and the building went on and was finally finished and occupied and paid for by the district without further opposition. It is a large and commodious two-story building, capable of seating about one hundred and seventy to one hundred and eighty scholars. And R. M. Bashford, of Madison was the first principal in our new school house."
HEALTH FAILING
Mr. Jamieson's health was seriously impaired in 1867 by rheumatism, and on the advice of a specialist he spent the following winter in the South at Hot Springs. "I had made up my mind that as no perma- nent cure could be expected for some considerable time at least, that if an opportunity occurred, I would dispose of my hotel property, and if possible shape my business so as to take matters a little easier. Such an opportunity occurred sooner than I had expected. I had been home but a short time when an offer was made me by Messrs. Tomlinson and Hudson, which I accepted, and in the month of May, 1868, I transferred the hotel and some sixty acres of land to the above named parties, upon the payment of five thousand dollars. At the same time I purchased of them the home they had formerly occupied for eight hundred dollars. I built an addition to the house and lived in it for several years.
SIXTEEN YEARS A HOTELKEEPER
"I had kept hotel from August, 1852, until May, 1868, a period of nearly sixteen years, with the exception of one year, when Samnel Wil- kins kept it and I visited Scotland. During this entire time, notwith- standing the general impression that prevailed in regard to the character of the first settlers of a new country, and also of those who usually work in the pineries and the general traveling publie on the frontier, I never saw but one man knocked down in or about my house, during the time I was engaged in that business, and the little affray which caused him to be knocked down was a slight misunderstanding that arose between two young men who lived near the place, and not between travelers, who as a rule, I found to be sociable, intelligent and well-behaved. There are of course, always enough disagreeable people in any country to make matters at times unpleasant. Having thrown off the burdens and responsi- bilities connected with hotel keeping, for some time, I felt as though my occupation was almost entirely gone, but I turned my attention more closely to my farm and in time this feeling wore off, and I have never had any desire to engage in that business.
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AGAIN DEFEATED BY MR. TURNER
"In the autumn of this year (1868), I was again placed in nomiua- tion by the Democratic party, the political organization to which I belonged, as a candidate for the state legislature. Mr. Turner was again the opposing candidate and although the result of the vote showed that quite a number of those who had opposed me in politics had voted for me, the Republican majority was still too great to be overcome, and Mr. Turner was again elected. During the year 1869, my time was princi- pally occupied in attending to my farm, and by reference to my books I find that I was amply rewarded for my labors. My old land, upon which wheat was so good, yielded on an average of fifteen bushels per acre, and upon my new land, the yield was a trifle over twenty-eight and a half bushels per acre. Oats, corn and other crops were also good. The difference in the yield between the old and new ground is worthy of note. The old land was equally as good as the new, but some ten or a dozen crops of different kinds had been taken from it, while this was the first crop only from the new land. The comparison showed plainly that the elements for the production of wheat had been gradually absorbed, and unless something could be done to restore to the soil, the necessary elements that produced that cereal its cultivation would soon become a thing of the past.
"On the 5th day of September, 1868, our eighth child, and second girl was born. We named her Amy Veola, for her mother's step- mother, whose name is Amy, and her aunt Veola.
FORMATION OF THE MADISON & PORTAGE RAILROAD
"During the latter part of this year I was again visited by Mr. James Campbell, who informed me that he intended to secure the passage of an act the coming winter incorporating the now owners of that part of Sugar River Valley Railroad, lying between Madison and Portage (which meant himself principally ), as the Madison & Portage Railroad Company, and to secure a transfer if possible of all the rights, grants, etc., that had been conferred upon the Sugar River Valley Railroad Company by its charter and amendments thereto, so far as related to that portion of the land, and that he intended to organize by electing a board of directors and proceed to build the road, at the same time asking me to take a place in the board of directors and render them what assistance I could. At the time of his visit I did not give him any decided answer, but told him that I would consider the matter and write him at Fort Howard, where he intended to remain a part of the winter. After prop-
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erly considering the matter I made up my mind that the condition of my health was such that I could not do justice to the active duties of a director, and so wrote Mr. Campbell. He replied by saying that he did not think the duties would be so laborious, but that I would be able to perform them, and rather insisted on my taking the position. He again wrote me from Madison, during the winter after he had secured the needed legislation, saying that a meeting would be held in that city for the purpose of organization and the election of a board of directors on a stated day, and urging me to be present on that occasion, and hoping that I had reconsidered my determination not to go into the board, and if possible to meet him at Madison the day before the election that we might consult each other about the matter. I had fully determined not to go into the board however, and so wrote him at Madison to that effect promising at the same time to render him all the assistance that was within my power to secure the completion of the road. The organiza- tion was effected, and Mr. Campbell as a matter of course was chosen president of the board.
"In the month of March, 1870, he again visited Poynette, and after some time spent in consultation, concerning his views as to the best course to pursue, to secure the final completion of the road, we decided to call as many of the citizens together as we could reach readily, and present such matters for their consideration in regard to the enterprise as was deemed necessary. This preliminary meeting was held at the school house in the village, and quite a large number attended it. Mr. Campbell explained to those present that to complete the grading and tieing of the road, it would require, on a close estimate, abont one hun- dred thousand dollars: that he proposed to put into the work about fifteen thousand dollars, and that other assistance might possibly be got to bring the amount up to some twenty-five thousand dollars, which would leave a deficiency of seventy-five thousand dollars to be raised in some other way. To consult with those who were interested in the completion of the work, and to make such suggestions as he thought would aid in bringing this about, was the object of his visit. It was also stated that under a former organization, efforts had been made to secure subscrip- tions to the capital stock of the company, and that such efforts had almost proved a failure, as but very little had been subscribed except at Poynette, and that amounted to some four or five thousand dollars only. It was of no use to again resort to this method to raise the required amount and the only possible way it could be raised was to have it done by the cities and towns along the line in their corporate capacity.
"From my experience with the Sugar River Valley Company, I was well satisfied that these statements were correct, and that if we got a
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railroad at all, we would probably have to get it in this way. I also knew something about Mr. Campbell's financial standing and knew that he was unable to complete the road without aid from some source. The simple question then was should we favor extending the aid in the manner suggested, or will we give up all thoughts of ever having the railroad ?
TOWN VOTES AID TO THE RAILROAD
"After a full and fair discussion of the matter, and various sugges- tions having been made, it was finally decided to present a petition to the board of supervisors of the town, praying them to give notice to the qualified electors of the town that at the next annual town meeting to be held on the 5th day of April a proposition should be submitted for ratifieation or rejection to the effect that the town in its corporate ea- pacity subscribe to the capital stock of the Madison & Portage Railroad Company, in the sum of $8,000, and H. J. Sill and myself were appointed by the meeting a committee to prepare a resolution embodying the above proposition in accordance with a state law that had been enacted some few years before, whereby towns, eities, incorporated villages, ete., on the line of a projected railroad were empowered to extend aid to railroad corporations by taking stoek in the manner above referred to. The reso- lution was carefully prepared and submitted to the people at an ,adjourned meeting, when it was unanimously adopted. The supervisors were next called upon and a notice prepared in which was embodied the resolution above referred to. In the notice it was set forth that all who were in favor of the resolution should vote, for the railroad, and those opposed to it should vote against it. This notice was dated the 24th day of March, 1870, and was signed by John McKenzie, who had been elected chairman of the board of supervisors at the annual meeting in 1869, and by William Buckley, another member of the board, and William Hastie, clerk. Mckenzie and Buckley were both opposed to the road, and signed the notices simply because the law required them to do so.
"After the notices were posted, every argument was used by the friends of the enterprise to present their views, and give their reasons why the road should be built, and the advantages the town would derive from the road when once completed. The opposition on the other hand, did all in their power to influence the vote against the proposition. Mr. MeKenzie was placed at the head of the tieket for chairman, by the party opposing the resolution, and I was placed at the head of the ticket for the same offiee by those favoring the resolution. The contest was ani-
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mated and keen, and at no time in the history of our town had so much interest been manifested nor the excitement consequent upon an election run so high. The field was thoroughly canvassed and nearly every voter was out. It was a day of earnest work and intense excitement, although the excitement was of the character that neither any great amount of noise or confusion prevailed, but a firm determination seemed settled upon every voter's countenance as he walked up to the polls and depos- ited his ballot. During the day, the vote was known to be close, and as dusk approached, the friends of the measure felt some uneasiness as to its faith. All interests, however, were centered in the result as to whether the resolution to take stock in the railroad had been carried or defeated; other interests which usually arise at an election were buried beneath this, and few cared about the result of the ticket further than that if the resolution was carried those who favored it hoped the officers nominated by them would also be elected, and those who opposed it hoped if it was defeated, the officers nominated by them would be elected. The sun was fast sinking towards the western horizon, five o'clock, the time fixed by law, for the closing of the polls, was near at hand. Each party had its lieutenants out watching to see if any voter was still back or could be found or approaching the polling place and if so to hurry him forward. The clock struck the hour of five, and with its closing stroke, the polls were declared closed. The excitement was now intense. It appeared from the poll list that two hundred and eighty- nine votes had been cast. The crowd was so great around the table where the votes were being counted, that it became almost impossible for the officers to perform their duties, and when at last the result was finally reached, it proved that two hundred and eighty-four votes in all were cast on the railroad question; and that one hundred and forty-six were for the railroad, and one hundred and thirty-eight against the railroad, making a majority of eight in favor of the resolution.
"The majority for the board favoring the railroad was much greater. The total number of votes cast for chairman was two hundred and eighty-nine, of which number John McKenzie received one hundred and seventeen and I received one hundred and seventy-two. Majority in favor of the railroad board was fifty-nine. The vote was conclusive, and had it been so accepted by those opposed to the railroad it would have been much better both for themselves and those who favored it. But the result of the election had scarcely been declared before murmurs of dis- satisfaction and threats of hostile action were to be heard among the vanquished. An effort had been made by the officers of the road to get the question of extending aid in this manner presented to the people of all the towns and cities on the line of the road at their spring elections,
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but the effort had been delayed too long to have the proper notice given, as the law required ten days notice to be given before a vote could be taken. And it was some time after our vote had been taken, before a vote was reached in the other places interested.
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