USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 32
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William Edwards grew to manhood on the home farm and secured his education in the public schools. He assisted his father on the home- stead until 1886 and then decided to investigate western lands and the possibility of better farming opportunities in Dakota Territory than in Wisconsin. Finding nothing to satisfy him there he went on to Wash- ington Territory and in 1888 took up a homestead there of 160 acres and lived on it until 1900, and then came back to Sauk County. In 1902 he bought the old homestead in Fairfield Township and has con- tinued to live here contentedly ever since. He now has 110 acres, having sold sixty-three acres of the low land, and carries on general farming and stock raising. He is a man of enterprise and thoroughly understands his business, and the excellent condition of his farm and stock and the general appearance of thrift in his surroundings testify to it.
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Mr. Edwards was married in 1913 to Mrs. Mary Lawrence, widow of August Lawrence, who came to Baraboo from Vernon County. They have three children : Leonard, Marcella and Kenneth.
The parents of Mrs. Edwards were Emil and Amelia (Brown) Shin- nick, the former of whom was born in Germany in 1838 and the latter in 1858. They were married in Germany and landed in New York Harbor when they came to the United States. Their objective point was Wisconsin, and they settled first at Sparta and then on a farm in Vernon County, on which the mother of Mrs. Edwards died May 26, 1909. She was a good wife and mother and was a faithful member of the Lutheran Church, to which Mr. Shinnick also belongs. He still survives. Mrs. Edwards was the eldest of six children, the others being: Otto, Charles, Annie, who died in infancy, Emma and Delia.
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Mrs. Edwards was reared in the Lutheran faith and the parents of Mr. Edwards attended the Calvinistic Methodist Church, but he has never united with any body, although he lends his influence to religious move- ments as moral mediums. He has given hearty support to the candi- dates and principles of the republican party all through manhood, but has never had any desire for public office. Mr. Edwards is a successful, practical farmer, belonging to a class of men now taking first rank in the world's work and faithfully doing his part as becomes a true American citizen.
FRED W. SCHULTZ. With its fortunate location adjacent to a rich and wide agricultural territory, with proximity to the nation's finest fruit belt and with water power inviting manufacturing of all kinds, Baraboo, Wisconsin, has long offered much to permanent settlers in the way of business, and here business enterprises of magnitude have been built up by far-sighted and progressive men. While business, founded on financial stability, has flourished, education and culture have devel- oped equally and now no city in the state creates a more favorable im- pression as to its residential districts or its class of people. It is no wonder then that native sons of Baraboo take pride in having been born here, as have many of its representative men, and one of these is Fred W. Schultz, who is a director of the Farmers and Merchants Bank. of this city and one of its organizers, and is also agent for the American Express Company.
Fred W. Schultz was born at Baraboo, Wisconsin, November 2, 1868. His parents were William and Minnie (Schulz) Schultz. The father was born in 1826, in Saxony, Germany, and the mother, December 31, 1842, in Pomerania, Prussia. The father came to the United States and reached Baraboo in 1854, and here he followed the shoemaking trade for many years, his shop being located at No. 116 Fourth Avenue. He was an honest, upright man and a true Christian. He was one of the organ- izers of the First Lutheran Church of Baraboo, and for many years served in the office of church treasurer. He lived a long and blameless life, respected by every one, retiring from business some time before his death, which took place June 1, 1910, when his age was eighty-four years. He was married at Baraboo to Miss Minnie Schulz, who came to tlte United States some years after he arrived, and they had one child,
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Fred W. She was a faithful wife, good mother and kind neighbor. Her death occurred May 29, 1910, her age being sixty-nine years.
Fred W. Schultz attended school in his native city and finished the high school course when about seventeen years of age and then felt ready to prepare for some line of business activity. He then learned the tele- graphic art and became an expert operator and worked with a number of the great transportation systems. For twenty-one years he continued at the key, working with the Western Union Company, the Northwestern, the Wisconsin Central, the Chicago & Great Western and the Northern Pacific railroads both as operator and station agent at different points.
In 1911 Mr. Schultz returned to Baraboo to establish his permanent home here and accepted work as relief agent for the American Express Company until 1915, since which time he has filled the office of agent for this company. He has invested capital here and was one of the four men who organized the Farmers and Merchants Bank, a sound and popular financial institution of Sauk County, and has continued one of its directing board. The bank occupies handsome quarters on the corner of Oak and Fourth streets, Baraboo.
ยท Mr. Schultz was married in 1897 to Miss Alice M. Gilman, who was born near Rosemount, Minnesota. They have one son, Fred W., who was born at Stillwater, Minnesota, January 7, 1902, and is now a student in the high school at Baraboo.
Mr. Schultz cast his first presidential vote for Hon. Benjamin F. Harrison, the republican candidate for the presidency, and ever since has maintained his allegiance to the republican party. He has never consented to accept any political office but is ever ready to assist his friends and to lend his influence to every public spirited measure that appeals to his sense of right and justice. He belongs to Cataract Lodge No. 2, Free and Accepted Masons, at Minneapolis. Courteous and oblig- ing, prompt and reliable, Mr. Schultz has always made friends wherever he has lived and he has a wide circle at Baraboo.
WILLIAM ALWIN is one of the native sons of Sauk County, and has ordered his life along the pleasant and not unprofitable lines of agricul- ture and owns one of the notable farms of Baraboo Township.
He was born in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County July 4, 1861, a son of Martin and Caroline (Radel) Alwin. His parents were born in Germany, were married there, and in 1856 crossed the Atlantic and came to Sauk County, Wisconsin. In Honey Creek Township they acquired a tract of land and developed it into a farm which has been in the family possession ever since. It is now owned by their son, Herman Alwin. They also acquired another farm about a mile away, and on that second place Martin Alwin spent his last years. He died in 1896, at the age of sixty-nine, and his widow passed away in 1903, aged sixty-nine. Martin Alwin began voting as a republican but sub- sequently became affiliated with the democratic party. He and his family were active members of the German Lutheran Church at Leland in Honey Creek Township. Their children were nine in number : Fred, Julious, Augusta, William, Herman, Martin, Amelia, Louisa and August, the last three being deceased.
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Mr. William Alwin grew up on the old homestead farmn. He at- tended the local public schools and also the Sauk City High School. For over thirty years he has been prosperously and actively engaged in farming on his own account and is now the owner of a place of 260 acres in Baraboo Township. He has thrifty and well tended fields and does considerable stock raising. He also owns a block of stock in the Excelsior Cooperative Creamery Company of Baraboo.
Politically Mr. Alwin is a republican, but active merely as a voter and never an aspirant for office. He is a member of the Lutheran Church at Baraboo.
On October 22, 1890, he married Miss Bertha Graf, who was born in Sumpter Township of Sauk County August 30, 1871, a daughter of Christian and Louisa (Diebel) Graf. Both her parents were born in Germany but came to this country and to Wisconsin when young and were married in Sumpter Township. Her mother was thirteen years of age when she came to Sauk County with her parents, Martin and Christiana (Hansen) Diebel. That was in 1848. Martin Diebel and wife spent their last years in Sumpter Township on their farm. Christian Graf was a carpenter by trade and located in Sumpter Township in 1855. Mrs. Alwin's mother had first married Carl Schied, and by that marriage there were two children: Christina, wife of Frank Eschenbeck, and Fred, now deceased. Mrs. Alwin was one of six chil- dren : Henry, Louisa, Charles, Herman, Bertha and William, Charles and William being deceased. Mrs. Alwin's father died at Prairie du Sac in 1908, at the age of eighty-three, and her mother passed away October 29, 1910, at the age of seventy-five.
Mr. and Mrs. Alwin have six children, William C., Selma, Caroline, Martin, Esther and Rodger. Selma married Fred Kuntzelman and their two children are Lasetta and Harold. Caroline graduated from the Sauk County Normal and for the past four years has taught at Baraboo Township. The youngest child, Rodger, though only fourteen years of age, is now in the third year of the Baraboo High School.
ANDREW MOELY has known Sauk County from his earliest recollec- tions. He is a native of Prairie du Sac Township and since attaining his majority he has acquired a worthy success as a practical farmer and business man in that locality and has also shown a spirit of helpfulness in all matters of community concern.
He was born in Prairie du Sac Township in 1862. His parents then lived in the west part of the township. He is a son of Conrad and Clara (Banhard) Moely, both of whom were natives of Switzerland. His father came to America five years before the mother and they were married in Prairie du Sac Township. Conrad Moely died eleven years after his marriage. He was a farmer and on coming to Sauk County he took up 140 acres of land from the Government and was indus- triously engaged in its clearing and cultivation until his death. His widow survived him until about six years ago. There were seven chil- dren in the family: Lizzie, who married William Schoephorster and died three years ago; Barbara, Mrs. Anton Norwald, lives in Sauk City; Andrew; Mary, wife of William Cook, a Texas rancher; Lola,
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wife of Chris Plots, of Prairie du Sac; Martin, who is married and lives in Sumpter Township; and Conrad, who lives in Prairie du Sac and is married and has a family.
Andrew Moely grew up on the home farm and resided there until he was twenty-two years of age. For several years he worked the homestead for his mother, and then acquired the place where he now re- sides. This contains 270 acres and is a place of excellent improvements and has been brought to a high state of cultivation under his capable management. For the first four years after buying this farm Mr. Moely had his sister Mary as housekeeper. He then married Miss Kate Caflich, who was born in Switzerland. Her parents died in the old country and later she and her brother John, now deceased, set out for America and came to Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Moely have six chil- dren : Walter, who lives on a farm in Prairie du Sac Township and is married; John, unmarried, lives at home with his father; Leona, wife of Henry Detrick, of Madison, Wisconsin, who married Marion Bergen and is living on the Bergen Farm; Emma, who attends college at Madison ; and Aaron, still at home.
Mr. Moely does general farming and stock raising and for a number of years has kept one of the good dairies of the county. He has been active in public affairs, having served seventeen years on the township board, eighteen years as school clerk, and in politics is an independent republican. He and his family are members of the Reformed Church of Prairie du Sac and he has been an officer in that church since he was twenty-one years of age.
AUGUST RUDY. A thrifty representative farmer in the fine agricul- tural community of Excelsior Township, August Rudy has lived in Sauk County more than forty years. He started life at the bottom so far as financial circumstances were concerned, and by his own work and well directed endeavor has acquired one .of the good farms of the county.
His birth occurred in Germany September 20, 1848. His parents were Martin and Rose Rudy, the maiden name of his mother being Henke. She died in Germany in 1873, and in the following year the father came with his children to America and settled in Sauk County. Here the rest of his life was spent in the quiet vocation of agriculture and he died about thirty years ago at the age of seventy-two. The chil- dren were: William and Caroline, both deceased; Julia; Rose, wife of Gottlieb Jungerman; August; Mena, wife of Gottlieb Jesse; Nettie, who lives in Caledonia, Wisconsin, widow of W. Seifert; and Fred, who lives near Lavalle in Sauk County.
August Rudy grew up in his native land, acquired a substantial edu- cation, and was about twenty-six years of age when he came with his father in 1874 to Wisconsin. Here he worked as a farm hand and sev- eral winters he spent as an employe of the railroad. Later he became a farm renter and then for five years he was employed by Risley Morley. About 1883 Mr. Rudy bought forty acres included in his present farm, As his means increased he bought another tract of twenty acres, then twenty acres more, so that his present homestead comprises eighty acres of well improved and fertile land. He also owns forty acres of timber
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in Excelsior Township near his home farm. All this represents his sturdy endeavors since he came to Sauk County and he has improved his farm with good buildings. His first house there, in which he and his family lived for several years, is now used as a granary. Mr. Rudy has fol- lowed the plan of general farming and stock raising, and he has long been considered one of the substantial men of Excelsior Township. In politics he is a republican and is a member of the Lutheran Church at North Freedom.
In 1887 he married Miss Albertine Kepp. She was also a native of Germany, and was a most capable and thrifty wife and homemaker. Her death occurred in 1909, after twenty-two years of married companion- ship. She was the mother of one child, Ida, who is now the wife of August Jungermann.
August Jungermann, who has the active management of the Rudy Farm, was born in Germany February 21, 1866, a son of Gottlieb and Gustina Jungermann. His mother died in April, 1886, and his father subsequently married Rose Rudy, a sister of August Rudy, and they now live in Baraboo. August Jungermann and wife are the parents of four children : Anna, Arthur, Martha and August Frederick.
The parents of August Jungermann came to Sauk County in 1872 and bought eighty acres of land in Greenfield Township, which was their home until the death of the first Mrs. Jungermann in 1886. Of their children, August is now the only survivor. His sisters Julia and Amelia and his brother Fred have all been dead for several years. August Jungermann was six years of age when he came to Sauk County with his parents and he acquired his literary education in the Greenfield Public Schools and has always pursued the vocation of farming. He came to the Rudy Farm on November 24, 1910, and has given his best energies to its cultivation and management.
WILLIAM P. BASSETT, a retired farmer of Sumpter Township and manufacturer of Baraboo, now a resident of the county seat, is the son of a well-known pioneer couple of Sauk County. His parents came to Baraboo in 1852 when he was seven years old, migrating from Virginia, his native state. The father, P. A. Bassett, had visited Baraboo the year before, and when he located with his family built a flour mill, later opened a store with M. J. Drown, and for a number of years was quite a factor in the development of the village. He died in 1885. William P. Bassett, the son, received his education in the private schools and at the Collegiate Institute of Baraboo. For about twenty years he was a manu- facturer of staves and a merchant, and later became a farmer in Sumpter Township. In 1914 he retired from active work and became a resident of Baraboo.
ARTHUR ATTRIDGE. One of the widely known and highly respected citizens of Sauk County is found in Arthur Attridge, whose valuable farm of 190 acres lies in Fairfield Township. Mr. Attridge is a repre- sentative of an old county family and one, on the maternal side, of mili- tary distinction, and in his own person is an honored veteran of America's great Civil war. He was born at Rochester in Monroe County, New
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York, June 8, 1838. His parents were Robert and Eliza (Malloy) Attridge, both of whom were born in Ireland.
Bartholomew Malloy, the maternal grandfather, came in his daugh- ter's infancy to the United States with his father, John B. Malloy, and they took part in the Seminole Indian war. Another son of John B. Malloy served in the Civil war. Bartholomew Malloy, with his sons Richard, Bartholomew and Ralph, came to Sauk County, and Adam, who served in the Mexican war, came later to Milwaukee. Adam was a drummer boy with the troops on Governor's Island and later at Fort Winnebago, and when sent to Mexico was a soldier in the Sixth United States Infantry and served through the entire war. At the opening of the Civil war he raised Company A, Sixth Wisconsin Infantry, at Bara- boo, of which he was made captain, and later the governor of the state made him lieutenant-colonel of the Seventeenth, which was called the Irish Brigade, and later he was brevetted brigadier-general. General Malloy died in California in 1914, at the age of eighty-two years.
The parents of Arthur Attridge passed the most of their married life at Rochester, New York, and it was in that city that the father, Robert Attridge, met with an accidental death on the railroad in 1844, after which the mother came to Sauk County with her three sons : Arthur ; Richard, who was killed in the battle of South Mountain during the Civil war; and Robert, who is a resident of the City of Baraboo, Wis- consin. Her second marriage was to a Mr. Wardwill, to which three children were born: Eliza, who died at Baraboo in 1915; Henry and Dora, of Delton Township, Sauk County.
Arthur Attridge went to school at Rochester, New York, but after- ward had but few school advantages. He was only ten years old when he accompanied his mother, his brothers and his grandfather, Bartholo- mew Malloy, to Milwaukee, reaching that county July 6, 1848. In 1852 he came to Sauk County and for two years lived at Baraboo, and then went to Prairie du Sac and started to learn the shoemaking trade with Thomas Baker. Later on he and his brother Robert decided to strike out for themselves and started for Hannibal, Missouri, by water, going down the Wisconsin and later the Mississippi River. They stopped at St. Joseph and at other points, including Fort Leavenworth, and even went on to Kansas City, at each place trying to find remunerative em- ployment. At that time Kansas City was but a small town. When they reached Lexington Mr. Attridge found work as a shoemaker, but did not remain long, returning then to Prairie du Sac and to his old em- ployer, Thomas Baker, working in his shop until in August, 1862, when he enlisted for service in the Civil war. He became a member of Com- pany K, Twenty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in which he was brave, true and faithful until he was honorably discharged March 13, 1865, after a service of two years and seven months.
Mr. Attridge returned then to Prairie du Sac in time to cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln. By this time he had some capital and decided to invest it in land, and together with his brother Robert bought eighty acres in Fairfield Township, and brought his mother and grandfather to this new home. Here his mother lived until the time of her death in 1890, at the age of seventy-three years. At that time the land was still
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virgin soil and it took many years of hard work to convert it into a profitable property, but Mr. Attridge not only accomplished that but gradually kept adding to his possessions until they amounted to 190 acres. Since Mr. Attridge retired from active work his son William operates the farm. It is well located as to markets, and because of the . eare that has always been given it it is very productive land, returning rich yields for the thorough cultivation bestowed.
Mr. Attridge was married November 25, 1877, to Miss Wilhelmina Zeigler, who was born in Germany, January 27, 1857, and is a daughter of William and Caroline (Wiesman) Zeigler. They were born in Ger- many, reared and married there, and in June, 1869, came to the United States and located first at Portage in Columbia County, Wisconsin, com- ing to Sauk County from there in September following. For three years afterward Mr. Zeigler worked for Albert G. Tuttle, but in 1873 bought thirty acres, to which he later added ten acres, all timber land at that time. He eleared off his thirty aeres and later made many substantial improvements, dying on the land he had so efficiently developed and after many years of enjoyment of it, June 10, 1906, when aged eighty- four years, having survived his wife since 1874. Their family numbered eight children, four of whom died in Germany, three accompanied them to Sauk County, and one was born here: Wilhelmina (Minnie), who is the wife of Arthur Attridge; Carl, who lives at Valley Junction; Aug- ust, who owns the old homestead; and William, who was born in Sauk County.
August Zeigler, who not only owns the old Ziegler home place but a farm of ninety acres in Fairfield Township, carries on general farming and stoekraising, keeping a first class grade of cattle and stock and making a specialty of dairying. Mr. Zeigler is. a republican in polities, and in his religious views is liberal. His father was a member of the Evangelical and his mother of the Lutheran Church. On March 26, 1884, he was married to Miss Ella Malloy, who was born in Fairfield Town- ship in 1863, and whose parents were Bartholomew and Isabel Malloy, early settlers who both died in Fairfield Township. Mr. and Mrs. Zeigler have three children: George, who lives in Baraboo, married Amanda Braun, and they have one daughter, Mildred; Otto, who is a farmer in Monroe, married Marela Jones; and John, who assists his father, mar- . ried Sebe Lusby. August Zeigler was born December 19, 1860, and thus has been a resident of the United States since he was nine years old.
Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Attridge, as follows: Mary ; Elizabeth, who is a graduate of the Baraboo High School and the Platte- ville State Normal School, and also spent two years at Mendota College, Illinois, and still furthered her liberal education through a Chicago correspondence school, and has been a very acceptable teacher at Mon- roe, Wisconsin, for some years; Ella, who resides at home; and William, who is in charge of the home farm.
In politics Mr. Attridge has always been a republican, and further than that has always been a conscientious citizen. His good judgment has many times been acknowledged by his fellow citizens and they have eleeted him to township offices, such as road master and school director,
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and during one year he served as clerk of the school board. He has never lost interest in his old comrades of army days and belongs to the post at Baraboo of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Attridge's ' name belongs to the list that most creditably represent Sauk County people.
ROBERT BRUCE CURRY. One of the well-to-do families of Sauk County is represented by Robert Bruce Curry, whose home has been here over thirty-five years and who has long been enjoying the splendid fruits of his early toil and industry. He began his career here without special advantages or capital, and has relied entirely upon hard work and good judgment to put him ahead in the world.
Mr. Curry was born in Canada March 6, 1862, a son of Samuel and Jane (Crosley) Curry. His father was a native of England, came to New York State in early life and from there moved to Canada, where he followed farming until his death about 1870. His widow passed away in Canada in 1899. They had a large family of thirteen children, Robert B. being the youngest of the sons. The others in order of age were Lizzie, Annie, Jennie, Addie, James, Catherine, Fannie, Sadie, Edward, Robert, Hattie, Margaret, and Trina Louisa.
Robert Bruce Curry grew up on the farm in Canada and was only eight years old when his father died. He received a modest amount of education, and at the age of eighteen he came to Sauk County. Here he worked as a farm hand and through that work saved the money by which he was able to buy a farm of eighty acres in Freedom Township. He kept that place and worked it for a number of years, but in April, 1915, sold and bought one of the well improved places in Baraboo Township, consisting of eighty acres. Here Mr. Curry may be found industriously occupied with his work as a general farmer and stock raiser.
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