USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 23
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At the International Live Stock Show at Chicago in December, 1916, he gained the distinction of winning both the championship and reserved championship on fat steers, shown by him; these animals having been bred and fed under his direction at the university farm at Davis, Cali- fornia.
GEORGE H. LEPPLA. Sauk County is admirably adapted for the suc- cessful proscention of farming operations, for the soil is fertile and . productive, the climatic conditions are excellent for the growing of certain crops, and transportation facilities have been developed to a very satis- factory stage. However, although the agriculturist here has these ad- vantages, he cannot hope to compete successfully with others unless his operations are carried on in line with modern ideas, both as to methods and machinery. That the majority of the farmers in this section are progressive is shown by the number of finely improved properties to be found all over the county, a fact that has very materially elevated the standard of excellence here and has placed Sank among the leading agricultural counties of Wisconsin. One of the men who have assisted in bringing about this desirable condition of affairs is George H. Leppla,
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who is the owner of a fine farm in Sumpter Township and who is one of his community's representative men.
George H. Leppla, like numerous others of his fellow citizens in the county, has passed his entire life on the property he now owns. He was born in 1870, in Sumpter Township, being a son of Peter and Christiana (Zerbel) Leppla. Peter Leppla was born November 24, 1827, in Ger- many, and in 1852 immigrated to the United States, first locating in New York City, where he made his home for three years. Feeling that he was making no headway there, in 1855 he came to Sumpter Township and settled in the locality known as Stone's Pockets, where he started agricultural operations on 160 acres of unimproved land. In 1859 he was married to Christiana Zerbel, who was born February 23, 1838, at Stettin, Pomerania, Germany, and in 1846 came to the United States with her parents, who first settled near Milwaukee and later moved to Mazomanie, Dane County, where she was living at the time of her mar- riage to Mr. Leppla. They continued to be engaged in farming in Sump- ter Township until 1892, when they retired and moved to Prairie du Sac, where the mother died November 4, 1910, the father surviving until 1915. They were the parents of four children : Carrie, who is the wife of George Prano and lives at Merrimack; Emma, deceased, who was the wife of the late George Huber; Matilda, who is Mrs. Dan Crosby and resides at Merrimack; and George H. The parents of these children were honorable, hardworking people who labored faithfully and indus- triously to make a good home for their children, and who taught the latter to live honest Christian lives. They were greatly respected in the community in which they spent so many years.
George .H. Leppla received his education in the public schools of Sumpter Township and was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation which he has always followed. At the time of the retirement of his parents he took entire charge of the homestead, and this he has developed into a handsome and valuable farm, on which he carries on general opera- tions, in addition to which he is interested to some extent in stock raising. He has succeeded in both departments of his work and also has outside interests, being a stockholder in the Sumpter Creamery. Politically he is republican. He has been identified with local public affairs, and has served acceptably in the capacities of clerk of the school board and member of the board of township supervisors from the west side of Sump- ter Township. He and his family are faithful members of the Evangelical Church. His standing in the community is that of an industrious agri- culturist, an honorable man of business and a good and public-spirited citizen.
Mr. Leppla was married in 1900 to Miss Sulla Accola, a daughter of John and Agnes (Nigg) Accola. John Accola was born October 4, 1849, in Prairie du Sac Township, Sauk County, and has been engaged in general farming on the same property all his life. Mrs. Accola, who also survives, was born November 26, 1847, in Switzerland, and was eighteen years of age when she accompanied her mother to the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Accola are members of the Reformed Church and their children have been as follows: Anna, born in 1868, the wife of Andrew Hosig and a resident of Black Hawk; Lizzie, born in 1870, who
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is single and resides with her parents; Sulla, now Mrs. Leppla, born in 1874; Valentine, born in 1876, married and a resident of Sumpter Township; John, born in 1878, married and a resident of Merrimack; Agnes, born in 1880, the wife of Fred Haberman and a resident of Prairie du Sac; Barbara, born in 1882, the wife of George Lusby, of Black Hawk; Lena, born in 1885, residing in Idaho and the wife of Frank Potinger; George, born in 1888, single and living in Montana; Mary, the wife of Ed Reckord, living in Montana; and Kate, born in 1894, who is Mrs. Gilbert Gasner and a resident of Black Hawk.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leppla, namely : Lewis, who is seventeen years old; Bernice, who is fifteen; Aaron, who died at the age of two years; and Glen, who is twelve years of age.
WILLIAM J. POWER. For so many years that the memory of living citizens in Baraboo runs not to the contrary, a large part of the local tailoring business has been in the hands of the Power family. William J. Power is perhaps the oldest merchant tailor in continuous business at Baraboo, and his father was in business before him, beginning nearly half a century ago. It is one of the old and substantial family names of Sauk County.
The City of Baraboo was the birthplace of William J. Power, where he was born September 28, 1865. His parents were William and Catherine (Mitchell) Power, both natives of Ireland. His father was born in 1828 and his mother in the same year. William Power came to Baraboo in 1854. Miss Mitchell after coming to America lived a few years in Massa- chusetts and in 1859 came to Baraboo, and in that year they were married. William Power had learned the trade of tailor and in 1869 he established a tailoring shop in Baraboo and continued actively in business until his death twenty years later, in 1889, at the age of sixty-one years. His widow survived him until 1913, and her death came at the age of eighty- six. They were the parents of three children: Mary F., wife of J. W. Moran, of Baraboo; Nellie A., who died in 1903, the wife of C. J. Sharkey, of Portage, Wisconsin ; and William J., the youngest.
Reared and educated in Baraboo, William J. Power after leaving the public schools learned the tailor's trade by a thorough apprentice- ship under the direction of his father. He entered business with his father and continued it after his death and for many years his shop at 410 Oak Street has been the headquarters for the men of taste and dis- crimination in good clothes.
Mr. Power is a republican in politics. He has served as alderman from the second ward and for a number of years was chief of the fire department of Baraboo. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He and his family are active in the Catholic Church.
He was married July 29, 1908, to Mrs. Jane Hopkins, of Baraboo, who was born in Ireland. They are the parents of one son, James Wil- liam, born August 5, 1909.
Among other distinctions associated with this name in Sauk County was a creditable military service rendered by the late William Power during the Civil war. At Madison in January, 1862, he enlisted in
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Company H of the Seventeenth Wisconsin Infantry and bore himself as a courageous and faithful soldier for one year and ten days. He was always an esteemed member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Both he and his wife were very loyal Catholics.
FRED WOFFENSCHMIDT. One of the agriculturists of Sauk County who has spent his entire life within its borders is Fred Woffenschmidt, who, beginning without capital, has progressed through his innate quali- ties of industry, perseverance, economy and integrity to the owner- ship of a highly productive and valuable farm and the position of a substantial, influential and useful member of the community. Mr. Wof- fenschmidt is a representative of a family which has resided in Sauk County since the early '50s and whose members have been, in the main, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has kept pace with the advance- ments made during the long period of years in which his home has been located here, and, having made the most of his opportunities, has steadily risen to the accomplishment of a worthy and honorable success.
Fred Woffenschmidt was born on a farm in Sumpter Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, November 19, 1858, and is a son of Christian and Catherine (Murphy) Woffenschmidt. Christian Woffenschmidt was born at Heilbronn, Germany, and was a young man when, during the '40s, he immigrated to the United States in search of the opportunities which he had heard were offered to those with ambition and energy. He first made his home in the State of New Jersey, where he remained for about ten years, but decided that he was not making rapid enough progress and accordingly set his face toward to West and eventually located in Sauk County, Wisconsin, taking up land in Honey Creek Township. There he became, through purchase, the owner of a good farm, which he sold in 1862, in which year he moved to Merrimack Town- ship, in the meantime having spent a short period in Sumpter Township. The Township of Merrimack continued to be his home until his death, which occurred in 1884. Mr. Woffenschmidt was a man of tireless in- dustry, and while he spent the spring, summer and fall months in farm- ing, in the winters he worked at his trade, that of a cooper, which he had learned in his youth in his native land. He was a republican from the birth of that party, and while he never sought public office was a stanch supporter of his party's principles and candidates. Through- out his life he was a faithful member of the Methodist Church. In 1849 Mr. Woffenschmidt was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Murphy, who had been born in Ireland and came to this county as a young woman, and they became the parents of the following children: John, who is a resident of Minnesota; Henry, who was living in Sumpter Township at the time of his death in 1891 ; Laura, who is the wife of Frank Wheeler and resides at Muscoda, Wisconsin; Fred, of this review; Mary, who died in 1913, as the wife of William Organ, of Barron County, Wisconsin : Christian, who is engaged in farming operations in Merrimack Town- ship : Emma, who died at the age of fontteen years; Minnie, whose death occurred in her twelfth year : one child who died in infancy ; and Carrie. who is the wife of Ed Gattwinkle and lives on a farm in Sumpter Town- ship.
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Fred Woffenschmidt grew up on his father's farm and during the winter terms attended the district schools of Sumpter and Merrimack townships. From the start of his career farming has been his vocation, and the success that has attended his efforts has been brought about through his willingness to work hard, his ability to recognize opportuni- ties, and the able manner in which he has managed his business affairs. He is now the owner of 250 acres of land, the property formerly known as the Young farm in Sumpter Township, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation and upon which he has made numerous modern improvements, including a good and substantial set of buildings. He uses modern methods in his general farming, and is considered one of the best stockmen of his community, his pure-bred Clydesdale and Nor- man horses being a particular feature of his work. While he has al- ways been a stanch republican and a citizen who has realized and taken care of his civic responsibilities, he has found no time to engage in the game of politics.
Mr. Woffenschmidt was married in 1883 to Miss Rosella Gattwinkle, and they have four children : Arthur, who is married and superintends the work on his father's farm; Guy, who is single and works at farming in the county; Fred, who assists his brother Arthur; and Maud, the wife of Ed Muckler, who owns a farm in Sumpter Township and has one child, Dean Edward.
GEORGE SCHWARZ. One of the prosperous farmers of Freedom Town- ship, Sauk County, who conducts his extensive operations with method and good judgment, is George Schwarz, who is also one of the county's most respected residents. He was born in Freedom Township, on his present farm, May 26, 1867. His parents were George and Philapena (Cook) Schwarz.
The parents of George Schwarz were born, reared and married in Germany and from there they came to the United States in 1864, and settled at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That was only a temporary home, . however, because Mr. Schwarz wanted to secure a farm and establish himself permanently, so that in 1866 the family came to Sauk County, Wisconsin. Here Mr. Schwarz bought a farm of eighty acres situated in Freedom Township and set about clearing it and subsequently bought another tract of eighty acres and cleared that also and made of his hold- ings a very valuable estate. His death occurred on this farm September 7, 1901, when he was aged sixty-four years. His widow yet survives, at the age of eighty-two years, and lives at Westfield, Wisconsin. They had the following children : Bertha, George, Emma, Philapena, William and Clotilda, two being deceased.
George Schwarz, bearing his father's name and having a like enter- prising and industrious spirit, attended the public schools in Freedom Township and has been engaged all his life since boyhood in agricul- tural pursuits. He is the owner of the old homestead of 160 acres and to this has added what is known locally as the Judvine farm, a tract of eighty-four acres, and has placed modern improvements on the entire property. He is a general farmer, dividing his time between grain and stock.
Vol. II-12
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Mr. Schwarz was married December 3, 1890, to Miss Emma Voss, who was born in Germany, February 12, .1871, and is a daughter of Christof and Dora (Bogeman) Voss, who came from Germany to Sauk County in 1878. The mother died here and the father resides at North Freedom.
To Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz eight children have been born, as follows : William Herman, Selma, George Walter, Bertha, Harry, Edward, Ella and Arthur Christof. William Herman, the eldest born, is his father's valued helper on the farm.
In politics Mr. Schwarz is a republican and for sixteen years he has been a member of the school board, a careful, intelligent man who realizes that this is an important responsibility. Mr. Schwarz and family belong to the Lutheran Church. They are kind, hospitable people and have many friends in the county.
AUGUST L. MANTHEY, who is now living retired in the Village of Able- man, has been a resident of Sauk County since 1865. He was born in Prussia, August 10, 1852, and was there reared to the age of thirteen years, at which time, in 1865, he accompanied his parents to the United States. His father was a farmer and Baptist minister and was a man of considerable influence and prominence in this county. His name was Carl Frederick Manthey and further data concerning his career are given elsewhere in this work in connection with the sketch of his son Henry F. Manthey.
On coming to Sauk County August Lorenz Manthey attended several sessions in the log schoolhouse in Excelsior Township and his teachers were John Young and Myra Wetherby. After leaving school he assisted his father in the work of the old homestead, of which he and his brother Henry F. each received eighty acres. He has since purchased additional land and now owns a finely improved estate of 160 acres. He cleared most of his land and erected several modern buildings and devotes his time to general farming and stock raising. In politics he is a stalwart republican and he has served his home community in several official positions of importance. He was chairman of the Excelsior board of supervisors for one year and has held a similar office in Ableman for two years, but recently resigned from that position. It was he who made the motion to erect a bridge across the Wisconsin River at Spring Green. His residence is in the Village of Ableman.
In the year 1878 Mr. Manthey married Miss Sadie Veith, whose birth occurred in Dane County, Wisconsin, August 18, 1854, and who is a daughter of Hironnius and Frances (Herkins) Veith, pioneer settlers in Dane County. Mr. and Mrs. Veith were married in Dane County and to them were born the following children : Bernard, Anna (deceased), Sadie, Dina, Frank (deceased), George and Gerhardt (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Manthey have no children. They are kindly, hospitable people and are always ready to lend a helping hand to the poor and needy. They are members of the local Baptist Church, to whose good works they are liberal contributors, and they command the high esteem of all with whom they have come in contact.
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Alger C. Pearson
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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY
JAMES CURRY, now living on a small farm in the outskirts of Baraboo, is one of the few living old-time stage drivers in Sauk County. An addendum to that statement should include Mrs. Curry in the list; for she was not only the domestic head of the household, but, upon numerous occasions, proved that she was about as good a driver and all-around horseman as Mr. Curry himself. Mr. Curry is an Ohio man, his parents coming to Janesville, Wisconsin, when he was about thirteen years of age. That, however, proved to be only a temporary stopping place; for within a month or so the family continued their wagon trip to Baraboo. The father was a plasterer and busied himself at his trade all his manhood life. Jim naturally assisted him, and, as a side issue, commenced to drive stage for Moore & Davis's old company. After the death of Mr. Davis, and later, he acquired a stage and mail route of his own, as elsewhere narrated in detail. After the railroad crowded him out of that business, in the fall of 1873, he engaged in farming, and in 1891 bought about five acres on Fourteenth Street, Baraboo, which, with the still faithful assistance of his wife, he has since cultivated. Mrs. Curry, formerly Miss Elizabeth McCann, is a Canadian of good Irish ancestry. They were married in 1864, have a married son and three grandchildren, and one would have to go far and search carefully before a more wholesome and contented old couple could be found.
ALGER C. PEARSON. One of the youngest of the United States Gov- ernment's appointees of the year 1916 was Alger C. Pearson, who on July 10th of that year, when but several months past his majority, was appointed postmaster of Baraboo. Prior to this time his experience had been entirely of an agricultural character, but on assuming the duties of his office he at once showed himself possessed of the abilities neces- sary to the proper handling of the mails of this live and enterprising city, and the people of Baraboo have had no reason to complain of the service that they have thus far received under his administration.
Alger C. Pearson was born on a farm two miles south of Baraboo, February 19, 1895, a son of Charles L. and Blanche (Hesselgrave) Pearson. He belongs to a pioneer family of Wisconsin, his grandfather, Levi Pearson, a native of New York, having come to this state during the frontier days and settled on a property fourteen miles northeast of Portage. There he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness, devoted him- self to agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life, and in later years moved to the farm on which his grandson was born. He became one of the substantial men of his community and died in comfort- able circumstances and with the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, among whom he was known as a reliable and honorable man of business. Charles L. Pearson was born on the farm which was originally settled by his father, and was nine years of age when he accompanied his parents to the property south of Baraboo. Here he has since passed his life. When he came to an age at which he was expected to make a choice of vocations he adopted that of agriculture, and that his course was well chosen is shown in the fact that he is now one of the substantial farmers of his locality. He has brought his property to a state of fertility and pro- ductiveness that makes it one of the most valuable in this section, and
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his various commercial and financial interests make his name well known in business circles. Mr. Pearson has been a lifelong democrat, and has been frequently honored by election to offices of importance. After serv- ing in a number of township and county positions he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate, and during his term in that body represented his constituents' interests well and established a good record for con- sistent and energetic work. Mrs. Pearson was born on a farm near Lodi, Wisconsin, and made her home there until her marriage. She and Senator Pearson became the parents of six children: Gladys, who is the wife of Hardy Spencer, of Baraboo; Alpha, who is the wife of Russell Tye, of Hazelton, North Dakota; Alger C., who is a twin of Alpha; and Armour, Helen and Berenice, who live with their parents on the farm.
Alger C. Pearson received his education in the country schools of Sauk County, was reared as an agriculturist, and remained under the parental roof until his appointment, July 10, 1916, to the office of post- master of Baraboo. He at once took charge of the duties of the office in an energetic and conscientious manner, and under his direction the mails are being handled expeditiously, accurately and smoothly. This is a second-class office, and the duties are important and exacting, but in spite of his youth Postmaster Pearson has discharged them in a satisfying way. He is courteous and obliging and has already attracted to him numerous staunch friends among the people of Baraboo. Mr. Pearson cast his first vote in 1916 and supported President Wilson. He is a member of the Congregational Church.
JUDSON W. WATERBURY. One of the names that is well known to the people of Sauk County as standing for expert agricultural ability and sound citizenship is that of Waterbury, which was established in this county as early as 1842 by a pioneer settler, J. I. Waterbury. From that day to the present those who have borne the name have been men of stability and character, for the greater part agriculturists who have helped to develop to county's farming interests and at the same time have contributed to its progress as a lawful and desirable part of the country. A worthy representative of this old and honored Sauk County family is found in the person of Judson W. Waterbury, whose entire life has been passed here and who is now the owner of a handsome farm in Sumpter Township.
Mr. Waterbury, who is a nephew of the pioneer above named, was born on the farm which he now owns in Sumpter Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, July 1, 1867, and is a son of George W. and Jennie (Frizzell) Waterbury. George W. Waterbury was born in Saint Lawrence County, New York, and in 1848, acting upon the advice of his brother, J. I., who had come here six years before, he journeyed to Sauk County and secured 160 acres of land, on which he remained for a short time, then returning to the Empire state. In 1850 he again came to Wisconsin, that time to remain permanently, and, having developed his first property, during the period of the Civil war he purchased an additional 160 acres from Mr. Underwood, for which he paid $2,500, the top-notch price 'at that time. He continued to follow farming until 1895, in which year he retired from active work and moved to Prairie du Sac, where his
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death occurred July 9, 1911, when he was eighty years of age. His early years here had been passed with his parents, with whom he lived until his marriage to Jennie Frizzell, who was born at Montpelier, Vermont. They became the parents of six children, namely: Clayton, who is mar- ried and resides at Knapp, Wisconsin; Charles F., who was married and resided in Minnesota until his death in 1912; Judson W., of this notice; E. S., who is married and lives at Chicago, where for the past twenty years he has been connected with the big packing and provision firm of Morris Packing Company; I. J., who is a resident of Minnesota and a machinist in the employ of the Big Four Tractor Works; and Mary E., who is the wife of William B. Anderson, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, who did seven years of post-graduate work and is now head of the Physic department of the University of Oregon and resides at Crovallis, where their home has been for three years.
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