A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II, Part 17

Author: Cole, Harry Ellsworth
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 608

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Mr. Whitman was married in Illinois, March 12, 1878, to Miss Kate Isabelle Fuller, of New York City. To this union there have been born three children, namely; Gertrude, who is the wife of Roy C. Jones, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has one son, Charles Whitman; Mattie, who is a graduate of the school of pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin, at Madison, and is now employed in her father's drug store; and Ada, at home. The parents of Mrs. Whitman were Ira E. and Katherine (Whitall) Fuller, the former born in New Hampshire and the latter, in 1833, at Birmingham, England. She came to New York as a girl and there met and married Mr. Fuller, they subsequently removing to Illi- nois. Mr. Fuller had been a merchant in New York and followed the same business for some years after locating in the Prairie State, but eventually turned his attention to farming and was so engaged at the time of his death, when he was seventy-five years of age. Mrs. Fuller still survives and makes her home at Baraboo. Mr. Fuller, who came of Puritan stock, was a member of the Baptist Church and took an active part in religious work. He was a republican in his political views. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller were the parents of four children : Harry H., of Prince- ton, Illinois, where he has been clerk of the Circuit Court for twenty-five

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years; Kate Isabelle, who is now Mrs. Whitman; Josephine, who resides with her mother at Baraboo; and Edgar, whose death occurred in 1910.

CHARLES MITTLESTADT, a prominent farmer in Excelsior Township, is a native of Sauk County, his birth having occurred in Winfield Town- ship June 4, 1875. He is a son of Ferdinand and Minnie (Zieck) Mittle-' stadt, both of whom were born in Germany, the former October 15, 1834. The paternal grandparents of the subject of this sketch were John and Charlotte Mittlestadt. He died in Germany and she came to Wisconsin and passed to rest in Delona Township, Sauk County. Their children were Ferdinand, Albert (deceased) and Albertina. Ferdinand Mittle- stadt passed his boyhood and youth in the land of his nativity, where his marriage was solemnized, and June 12, 1869, he immigrated to America. Landing in New York City, he proceeded thence to Sauk County, Wis- consin, and located on a farm of 120 acres in Winfield Township, near Reedsburg. Here he was engaged in diversified agriculture for a number of years. Eventually disposing of this tract of land, he bought twenty acres on the outskirts of Reedsburg and in 1901 purchased the estate, comprising 120 acres, now owned by his son Charles. His dearly beloved wife died in November, 1877, aged forty-one years, and Mr. Mittlestadt, being retired, makes his home with his son Charles. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mittlestadt: Lena (deceased), Tala, Frank, Ida and Charles.

To the public schools of Winfield Township and of Reedsburg Charles Mittlestadt is indebted for his educational training. He has always been interested in agricultural work and in 1903 bought the parental home- stead, on which he has installed many of the latest improvements and on which he is successfully engaged in farming and stockraising, keeping about fifteen head of cattle. He is a democrat in politics, is treasurer of the school board, and is a devout member of the Lutheran Church. He is broad minded in all dealings with his fellow men and is kindly dis- posed toward everyone.

In 1902 Mr. Mittlestadt married Miss Ida Wackles, and to them were born four children : Florence, Lula, Ernest and Alla. Mrs. Mittlestadt died in April, 1910, and subsequently he married Mrs. Minnie Kloop, who had one child, Lucile, by her first husband. To this second union four children have been born, namely, Leo, Hazel, Oscar and Edna.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN FARNSWORTH, M. D. The profession of medicine embraces a vast field of knowledge and the successful physician and surgeon must be a man of varied learning and attainments. Never at any time has the healing art demanded more of its practitioners than at the present period and never before has the profession given so fair an account of itself. When the leading physician in a community is found, then is found also, with few exceptions, the man of most intel- lectual attainment, an individual of keen mind, and a citizen of great public spirit. In this connection attention is called to Dr. Abraham Lincoln Farnsworth, of Baraboo, prominent member of the medical and surgical fraternity of Sauk County, a man of more than ordinary attain-

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ments, and a citizen who takes part in all the activities that make this a live and growing city.

Doctor Farnsworth was born on a farm in Caledonia Township, Columbia County, Wisconsin, May 28, 1866, his parents being John R. and Christiana (Scherf) Farnsworth. His father was born in 1808, in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, and in 1852 came to Wisconsin and settled on a new farm in Caledonia Township, Columbia County. There he succeeded in subduing the wilderness, in developing a good farm and in making a place for himself among the substantial men of his day. His death occurred in 1887, when his community lost one of its greatly respected agriculturists. Mrs. Farnsworth, who was born in June, 1846, in Saxony, Germany, still retains her residence on the old homestead in Columbia County. There were the following children in the family : Abraham L., of this notice ; John, who is engaged in farming on the home place in Columbia County; Aaron and Arthur, twins, who are masons by trade and live on the home farm; William, who is engaged at the carpenter trade at Baraboo; Edward, who is cultivating a part of the homestead farm; Walter, a practicing attorney of Portage, Wisconsin ; Grace, who is the wife of Frank Ramsey and resides at Fairfield, Wis- consin ; and Jacob, who died when 31/2 years old.

Far from selecting his life work in the untried enthusiasm of extreme youth, the choice of Abraham L. Farnsworth was that of a mature mind, trained to thoughtfulness by years of practical experience and to a full realization of the possibilities and responsibilities which he confronted when he joined the medical fraternity. He was reared in an agricultural atmosphere and passed his boyhood on the home farm, where he was reared to habits of industry. His early education was secured in the district schools in the vicinity of the homestead, and, while from boyhood he had nursed a desire for a professional career, it was not until he was twenty-eight years of age that he started upon his studies in that direction. He left the home farm in 1894 and started to devote himself to his medical books, finally entering the Milwaukee Medical College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1900, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. The City of Baraboo, a growing and prosperous community, attracted him as a likely center of success in his calling, and he has had no reason to regret his choice of locations, for here he has met with success in a material way as the possessor of a large and steadily-growing practice among the most representative families, and in a professional way by the standing which he has attained among his fellow-practitioners. While the Doctor carries on a general practice, being equally at home in the various branches of his calling, he has made somewhat of a specialty of surgery, a field in which he has secured something more than a local reputation. He has kept abreast of the developments of medicine and surgery, spends much of his time in research and investigation, and is an interested member of the Sauk County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Frater- nally Doctor Farnsworth is affiliated with the local lodges of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mystic Workers of the World. He has a number of business interests, and, as noted before, is a partici-

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pant in the movements that have been promoted to advance the best interests of Baraboo.

Doctor Farnsworth was married in 1907 to Elsie Poppe, of Stanley, Wisconsin, and they have four children : Ida May, Ruth, Beach and John.

MRS. J. U. SCHMIDT, who now lives with her daughter Mrs. Frank Rosenbaum in Honey Creek Township, is one of the splendid pioneer women of Sauk County, where she has spent nearly seventy years of her active lifetime.

She was born in Switzerland, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Obrecht, and was fourteen years of age when she accompanied her parents in 1848 to Sauk County. Her parents settled in Honey Creek, where her father took up land from the Government. There were six children in the Obrecht family: Margaret, Mrs. Henry Heiser, lives on a farm in Franklin Township; Christian, who was a lumber dealer in Sauk City; Mrs. Schmidt, the third in age; Anna, married Gottlieb Raedel and lived at Eau Claire, Wisconsin; John, a soldier in the Union army ; and Kate, Mrs. John Morf, who lived in Iowa and Montana.

Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt were married in 1856 and they at once settled in Honey Creek Township, taking up a tract of Government land. Mr. Schmidt did all the clearing and grubbing, used ox teams, and underwent many hardships to found a permanent home and provide for the future needs of himself and family.

Mrs. Schmidt was the mother of four children. Ursula, the oldest, married John Plon and lives in South Dakota. Christian, unmarried, lives with his mother. Anna C. is Mrs. Frank Rosenbaum. John U., Jr., is married and lives in Prairie du Sac. These children all grew up and received their early educations in Honey Creek Township.

Mr. J. U. Schmidt, who died twelve years ago, was a citizen above the average in ability and industry, and his name deserves recognition among the old timers of Sauk County. After his death Mrs. Schmidt lived on the old farm until six years ago, when she went to live with her daughter Mrs. Frank Rosenbaum. The late Mr. Schmidt served for several years on the school and town boards and was a stockholder in the first telephone company in Honey Creek Township and also in the first creamery and cheese factory at Sauk City. Mrs. Schmidt still owns the old homestead farm.

Her daughter Anna was married in 1897 to Mr. Frank Rosenbaum, who is one of the prosperous and influential farmers of Honey Creek Township and is now serving as township assessor and has also been a member of the township board for several terms. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rosenbaum located on the farm where they now live and have been rapidly getting ahead in the world. Mr. Rosenbaum is a son of August and Lena (Heyn) Rosenbaum, both of whom are natives of Germany. Frank Rosenbaum came to Sauk County alone in 1888. He is a nephew of Edwin Kuehn, the first settler in Sauk City and the grandfather of Adolph Ochsner.

Mr. and Mrs. Rosenbaum have a farm of 174 acres, and they devote it to general farming and stock raising. Mr. Rosenbaum has been for six years a member of the school board, five years on the town board and

Vol. 11-9

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two years as assessor. He has done much to improve his farm and has. well earned the generous circumstances he now enjoys. In matters of politics Frank Rosenbaum is an independent.

HENRY OCHSNER (deceased), one of the first settlers of the Town of Honey Creek, a man of marked intelligence and ability, a generous and helpful citizen who was often honored by public evidences of esteem and confidence, spent the last few years of his faithful and honest life as a resident of Baraboo. He was born in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, in 1825, and migrated to America and Sauk County in 1849. He spent a time with J. I. Waterbury, at Prairie du Sac, to learn both the language and the ways of his adopted country. After that short and common-sense training in the preliminaries of the life which was so new to him, and which was typical of his thoroughness, as well as wisdom, Mr. Ochsner always had his residence in Honey Creek until his retirement, with the exception of 1857-58, during which he was serving as county treasurer and lived in Baraboo. At the close of his official term he preferred to return to his home and devote himself to farming, the chosen occupation of his life. Subsequently he held a number of local offices and in 1872 was brought out as an independent candidate for member of the Assembly for the southern district of Sauk County.

In his youth Mr. Ochsner did not enjoy the benefits of a higher educa- tion, but his naturally strong intellect, his great energy and his untiring perseverance enabled him to gather an unusual fund of useful information and to train himself in the exercise of many useful talents. His public spirit and immovable rectitude completed the scope of those endowments which earned him an influence of remarkable breadth and depth. His aid was often sought by his country neighbors, and the advice and direct assistance which he gave in legal, medical and surgical cases, in business matters, and in all the little affairs of life which comprise the whole, evinced a versatility, practical skill and humane spirit of helpfulness which brought to him admiration and affection in equal measure. These neighborly favors were bestowed without price and neither was it unusual for Mr. Ochsner to give of his material means to the worthy, the manly and the womanly.

In 1883 Mr. Ochsner retired from active farm life and moved to Baraboo; but his retirement was somewhat clouded with the knowledge that he was afflicted with a complication of diseases which would not long allow him to retain a hold upon human existence, and with the belief that the death of matter ended all. Still, he passed away peacefully December 13, 1889. Of his five children none has become so famous as Dr. Albert J. Ochsner, the physician and surgeon of Chicago.

WALLACE VERA RICH is one of the clear-eyed, common sense and enterprising young farmers of Delton Township. His life has been spent in Sauk County and out of varied experience he made a definite choice of agriculture as a vocation a number of years ago and has been steadily climbing to independence and secure prosperity.

Mr. Rich was born at Kings Corners in Sumpter Township of this county October 4, 1879, son of Alfred and Johanna (Hazeltine) Rich.

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He is a grandson of Zaccheus and Flora (Ryan) Rich. Both of them were natives of England, the latter born in 1815 in the Parish of Cripple- gate. They married in London November 30, 1834, and in 1849 brought their family to America and settled at Milwaukee. In 1854 they removed to Sauk County, settling on a farm in Merrimack Township. The grand- father bought land here, but soon afterward, while in Milwaukee, was taken ill and died. The grandmother died in Baraboo. Zaccheus Rich was a carpenter by trade, and while in Milwaukee assisted in building the old Mitchell Bank of that city. The children of Zaccheus and wife were : William, born in London August 15, 1836; Flora, born June 13, 1838; Swede O'Connor, born November 26, 1840; Alfred, noted below ; Edwin, born March 23, 1846; Henry and Emma, twins, born in 1848, and both died in infancy ; and John, who was born in Milwaukee December 28, 1851.

Alfred Rich was born in London, England, August 7, 1842, and was seven years of age when he came with the family to Milwaukee, and was still a boy when they all located on the farm in Merrimack Township. Alfred Rich married Johanna Hazeltine in Sauk County May 22, 1867. She was born in Vermont June 17, 1841. After their marriage they settled on a farm in Merrimack Township, later in Baraboo Township, from there went to Sumpter Township, and after selling their Sumpter Township place to their son Edwin they returned to Baraboo Township and bought a farm. The parents finally retired to Baraboo City, where the father died in November, 1916. His widow is still living at Baraboo. Alfred Rich was a republican in politics. He saw active service through- out the Civil war as a ship steward and paymaster. His widow is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They were the parents of eight children, all of whom are still living, named William, Edwin, Lena, Mitchell, Colonel F., Wallace Vera, Orlando and Flora.

Wallace V. Rich grew up on his father's farm in Sumpter Township, and secured his education from the public schools there. For a year or so he worked at the machinist's trade but his principal business has been farming. Fifteen years ago he and his brother Orlando bought 140 acres in Delton Township. Mr. Rich has continued his activities on that place ever since and he and his brother put up all the modern improve- ments and buildings. Mr. Rich now owns his individual share of the farm, seventy acres, and is handling the land as a general farm and stock-raising proposition. He takes an active interest in everything in the community and has served as a member of the school board for the past ten years. Mr. Rich is a republican and attends the Methodist Episcopal Church.

March 3, 1902, he married Miss Emma Augusta Kutzner. She was born in Merrimack Township of Sauk County June 10, 1879, a daughter of Rudolph and Pauline Kutzner. Her parents were early settlers of Merrimack Township, and her father died there after a long and active career on November 2, 1916. His widow is still living at Merrimack with her son Herman Kutzner. Mr. and Mrs. Rich have two bright young children : Lawrence, born November 29, 1903, and Clarence, born February 19, 1910.

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HENRY BEHNKE. A man possessed of initiative and a knack for hard work can succeed in any line of enterprise to which he applies him- self. This is true in farming as well as in other fields. Mr. Behnke is a resident of Excelsior Township, where he owns an up-to-date farm of 120 acres, on which he has won marked success as an agriculturist and stock raiser. He was born in Germany, November 22, 1856, and is a son of Christian and Elizabeth (Wilhelms) Behnke. The parents were both natives of Germany, where they were reared and educated. There they were married and there they continued to reside until 1867, when they came to Wisconsin and settled in Sauk County on a farm of forty acres. Christian Behnke cleared his land and added to the original tract until he owned a farm of 200 acres. He died in 1901, aged eighty-three years, and his cherished and devoted wife passed away in 1873, aged fifty-six years. To them were born three children: Elizabeth is the wife of William Gade, of Reedsburg; William died in 1917, aged sixty-six years ; and Henry is the subject of this review.

Henry Behnke attended school in Germany prior to his coming to America, at which time he was eleven years of age, and he completed his education in the public and parochial schools of Sauk County. He worked for his father until 1880, when he purchased a farm of his own in Excel- sior Township. This estate consists of 120 acres and everything about the place is indicative of good judgment and modern methods. In con- junction with diversified agriculture he is an extensive stock raiser, making a specialty of Holstein cattle, of which he has twenty-five head in 1917. He is a republican in politics and for eighteen years gave efficient service as chairman of the township board of supervisors ; he was treasurer of the school board for nine years; and for twenty years has been a member of the, board of directors of the Reedsburg Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which position he still holds. He is a scientific farmer and a shrewd business man, making his way in the world unaided.

In 1879 Mr. Behnke was married to Miss Dorothy Holzmann, who was born and reared in Germany, where her parents passed their entire lives. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Behnke and concerning them the following brief data are here incorporated: Emma is the wife of Dick G. Krueger, a merchant in Reedsburg. William was a farmer in Excelsior Township at the time of his death, in 1914, aged thirty years. He married Lydia Block. Henry was a hardware merchant in Ableman and died in 1915, aged thirty years. His wife was Anna Beth. Walter lives in Ableman and he married Elsa Phaff. Amanda is the wife of William C. Holz, of Ableman. Arthur Reinhold and Luverne are at the parental home. The Behnke family arc devout members of the Lutheran Church at Ableman.

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OSCAR F. JAEGER, whose business enterprise as a miller and farmer at Black Hawk makes hiim one of the leading men of industry and influ- ence in Troy Township, has spent all his life in Sauk County and his people were among the pioneers.

Mr. Jaeger was born in Troy Township, three miles west of Black Hawk, in 1867. His parents, John and Emilia (Roseling) Jaeger, were

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both born in Germany. They emigrated from that country in the his- toric year 1848, the same year that Wisconsin became a state, and their first location was in Dane County, near Fish Lake. They lived there for a dozen years and in 1860 moved to Sauk County, buying 120 acres of wild land three miles west of Black Hawk. John Jaeger was a hardy and industrious frontiersman and eleared up his land by the hardest kind of manual toil. He grubbed the stumps and did much of the first plow- ing and clearing with ox teams. His first home there was a frame build- ing 16 by 20 feet in dimensions, and it served as the family abode until 1889, when it was rebuilt and remodeled, thus making a comfortable home. The father also made many other modern improvements, and in addition to his first purchase acquired eighty acres more. He lived there until his death in 1891. There were eight children in the family, the youngest dying in infancy. The others are named as follows: Fredericka, who married August Smoke, living in Minnesota, and she died there in 1882. Edith was Mrs. Fred Barlen, and both of them died in Troy Township. Mary married John Ott, and they lived in Troy Township until about thirty years ago, when they removed to Baraboo. Robert, who has never married, owns and operates the old homestead. Martha is Mrs. A. L. Washburn and lives between Devils Lake and Bara- boo. The sixth child in the family is Oscar F. Laura is Mrs. Allen Beardsley, and they live at Waukegan, Michigan. These children grew up in Troy Township and all of them had their education in the local schools except the oldest, who finished his schooling in Dane County.

Oscar F. Jaeger, after leaving school, began clerking in a store at Black Hawk at the age of sixteen. He continued working there steadily until 1896, when he became a joint proprietor of the local flour and feed mill with Conrad Adam. This partnership has been continued for over twenty years and their mill is one of the principal sources of supply for feed and grist in a large community. Mr. Jaeger is now in point of continuous residenee the oldest inhabitant of Black Hawk, no other citizen being there now who was in that community when he first located there. Besides his interest as a miller Mr. Jaeger owns a farm of 109 aeres south of Black Hawk.

In 1897 he married Miss Kate Tschirke, a daughter of Henry and Eva (Schachtler) Tschirke. Both her parents were born in Switzer- land, and she was twelve years of age when she came with her family to this country in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger have one son, Floyd. Mrs. Jaeger is a stockholder in the Black Hawk Bank. Both are active members of the Reformed Church, and in politics he is a republican.

CHARLES H. BURDICK. The vocation of railroading is one that attracts many young men when starting out upon their careers, particularly if they have been reared on the farm. There seems to be something about the occupation that holds a charm for the farmer's son, and many of the men who are today among the most thoroughly trusted employes of our biggest systems have had their early training in the country. In this class is found Charles H. Burdiek, of Baraboo, a railroader of more than forty years' experienee, who began his career, fresh from the farm,

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in the capacity of water boy for the Northwestern Railway, and who is now the possessor of a passenger engineer's run on the same line.

Mr. Burdick was born on Sauk Prairie, Sauk County, Wisconsin, June 25, 1858, and is a son of Stephen M. and Betsey (Caldwell) Bur- dick, both natives of New York State, the former born in 1823 and the latter in 1826. The parents came to Sauk County as a young married couple in 1851, first purchasing a farm in Baraboo Township, which they subsequently sold in order to move to another property located on Sauk Prairie. On that farm Mrs. Burdick died in 1863. She had been the mother of the following children: Amelia, deceased; Ira, who died March 5, 1917 ; Salome; Mary, Julia and William, who are all deceased ; Charles H., of this notice; and Peter, who is deceased. Some time after the death of his first wife, Stephen M. Burdick went to North Freedom, where he became foreman of a fence gang in the employ of the North- western Railway. In this capacity he was in charge of about thirty men, and so capably did he discharge his duties that he became one of the most dependable men in the employ of his section, and his employers relied in him implicitly to getting his work done efficiently and expedi- tiously. In his later years, when advancing age made active labor more of a hardship, he was transferred to Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he was placed in charge of gates, and this labor he continued until his retire- ment to Baraboo, where his death occurred in 1906. At various times in his career Mr. Burdick was engaged in politics and on several occasions was chosen to serve in publie office, being at one time sheriff of Sauk County, and, while a resident of Sumpter Township, was chairman of the township board and clerk of the school board. He was fraternally affiliated with Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Free and Accepted Masons. In the several communities in which he lived he impressed himself upon his fellow citizens as a man of honor and integrity and one whose public spirit led him to assist in the movements beneficial to the community. For his second wife Mr. Burdick married Amanda Roberts, who survives him and resides at North Yakima, Washington, and they became the parents of two children : Edwin and Clara, the former of whom is deceased.

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A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II, Part 17

Author: Cole, Harry Ellsworth Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 608

Author: Cole, Harry Ellsworth
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 608