USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 45
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Charles Enge grew up on the old homestead farm in Troy Township and attended the local schools there. In 1900 he married Miss Minnie Gasser, daughter of Jacob Gasser, who came from his native country of Switzerland and settled in Honey Creek Township of Sauk County. Mrs. Enge's mother was a native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Enge have six . children. Clarence, Howard, Carl, Ramona, Wallace and Robert, all of whom are attending school except the youngest. Clarence is a student in the Prairie du Sac High School.
Mr. Charles Enge served twenty years as school clerk, has also been
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chairman of the township board, and for the past twenty years has been secretary and treasurer of the Tryo-Honey Creek Creamery. This is one of the oldest and most profitably managed creameries in the county. Mr. Enge is also a member of the Farmers Packing Company of Sauk City. He and his family worship in the Evangelical Church. In politics he is a republican. Since early manhood his business has been that of general farmer and stock raiser, and he is one of the large dairymen of Sauk County.
W. W. FULLER has been a resident of Sauk County since 1882. He has made a success as a farmer and has reared a very capable family of children in his home in Merrimack Township.
Mr. Fuller was born in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, at Milford, October 8, 1855. He is a son of Albert and Keziah (Uda) Fuller. His parents were both natives of Vermont and were very early settlers in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, where they experienced all the hardships of pioneering. His father died March 23, 1860, and his mother married again and lived to a good old age; passing away in September, 1913. Albert Fuller and wife had the following children: W. W. Fuller; Mary E. Black, of Madison; Wesley, who lives at Aurorahville in Waushara County ; and Albert, a resident of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. There are also four half-brothers: Curtis Philips, of Sauk Prairie; Arthur Philips, living at Brooklyn in Dane County, Wisconsin ; Charles Philips, of Evansville, Wisconsin; Wilber Philips, also of Evansville.
Mr. W. W. Fuller was reared and educated in Jefferson County and in 1882 came to Merrimack Township. He bought eighty acres of land but has since sold some of it, and his present farm consists of about fifty-five acres. He has been a prosperous general farmer for many years. For three years Mr. Fuller served on the school board. He is independent in politics and votes for the candidate he thinks best fitted for office.
In Jefferson County in 1877 he married Miss Gertrude Carr, daugh- ter of James C. and Mary (Crocker) Carr. Her parents were both natives of New York State. James C. Carr was one of the most influ- ential citizens of Columbia County, Wisconsin. He located there in 1843, taking up land from the Government. He walked all the distance from Columbia County to Green Bay in order to enter his land in the land office and secure his title. He had the distinction of planting the first apple trees in Columbia County, bringing apple seed in his pocket from New York State. He also originated the plan for locating the county seat at Portage and was the first town superintendent. He died in 1894 and Mrs. Fuller's mother passed away in 1884. Their daugh- ter Hattie was the first white child born on Fountain Prairie, four miles from Columbus. James C. Carr was the first county treasurer and the first county clerk of Columbia County. Mrs. Fuller has the following sisters and brothers: Hattie, mentioned above, was for some years a resident of Baraboo, but is now a resident of Winona, Minnesota, the wife of Mr. Shepard; Mary A. Myers lives in Otsego, New York; Mrs. Fuller is the third in age; Margaret Thornton lives at Ashwood, Ore- gon ; Jessie F. Baker lives at Lucile, Idaho; James A. Carr is also a
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resident of Lucile, Idaho; while John O. Carr has his home at Linden, Idaho.
Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have three daughters: Hattie M. is the wife of Leigh Wilson, living in Minnesota, and their four children are Wardner W., Catherine M., Beatrice F. and Leigh W. The second daughter, Carrie M., is the wife of George A. Green, living at Green Bay, Wisconsin, and has one child, Wallace. Edna K. is the wife of Fred Powers, a resident of Merrimack Township. Edna K. Fuller was for twelve years a rural mail carrier from Merrimack and the only woman who ever carried mail out of that town. She was married Janu- ary 20, 1916, and the patrons and friends along her rural route held a big wedding in her honor and she received many beautiful gifts from the people she had so faithfully served along her route. About 300 friends and relatives were present at her wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller's children were well educated in the local district schools and in the Merrimack High School. Hattie studied music at home and later taught music. Edna was a graduate of the Lodi High School and took up the work of mail carrier soon after leaving school. Carrie graduated from the Portage High School and the Whitewater Normal School and taught in Columbia County and in Merrimack before her marriage.
JAMES M. TERRY. Many of the substantial farmers of Sauk County have passed their entire lives either on the homestead upon which they were born or in the near vicinity, and in this class is found James M. Terry, the owner of 270 acres of fine land in Baraboo Township. Energy and patient endeavor have been leading factors in securing for him financial and general success, and he has made the most of each opportunity that has presented itself, and where none has appeared he has made opportunities of his own. In both general farming and stock raising operations he is accounted one of the skilled and well- informed men of his community, and as a citizen has been identified with a number of movements his activity in which has testified to his public spirit and community interest.
James M. Terry was born on the Terry homestead place in Baraboo Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, October 3, 1870, being a son of John and Katherine (Dorsey) Terry. His father, who was born in 1834, in Ireland, was still a child when his mother died, and was sent to Newfoundland to be reared in the home of an uncle. There he received his education and continued to make his home until fully grown, developing qualities of perseverance and ambition and carefully saving his earnings. From his youth he had heard of the chances afforded by the United States for young men who were willing to work and who had a fair amount of ability, and during the early '60s he came to this country and located in Sauk County. With him he had brought gold worth about $500, and as this metal was very much in demand at that time he was able to dispose of it for about $1,000 in money, which he immediately invested in a farm of eighty acres, located in Baraboo Township. This formed the nucleus for his later large land holdings. When his original purchase was cleared and put under
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cultivation he bought forty acres more, and this was followed by the purchase of the old T. B. Byron Farm, a tract of 200 acres in the same township, and the Spandig Farm of 220 acres in Delton Town- ship, in addition to which he likewise owned the farm that is now the property of his son, James M. John Terry was one of the able and industrious men of his day and locality. From small beginnings he worked out a splendid success, and in its gaining was always fair and honorable in his dealings, never taking an unfair advantage of a com- petitor. When he died he not only left his children well-to-do as to material things, but also bequcathed to them the heritage of an hon- orable name. Mr. Terry's death occurred in 1908, while he was living at the home of his son James M., where he had lived from the time the house on the old homestead was destroyed by fire. Mrs. Terry died on the homestead in November, 1914, greatly respected and beloved in her community. Like her husband, she was a faithful member of the Catholic Church. Politically a democrat, Mr. Terry was not desirous of public favors, but served his locality well in the capacity of road superintendent for several years. There were ten children in the fam- ily : Edward; James M., of this notice; Alice; William; Mary; John; Nellie; Joseph P., who is engaged in farming in Baraboo Township; Ann; and Gertrude, who died in 1904, at the age of twenty years.
James M. Terry was reared on the homestead farm and was brought up with the idea of his becoming a farmer, being supplied with a com- prehensive training all the way through in agricultural work. His education was obtained in the country public schools, which he attended during the winter terms, and when ready to enter upon a career of his own started farming on the 270-acre property which is now his home. This is located in Baraboo Township, not far from the city of that name, and is a well-cultivated and productive farm, on which Mr. Terry carries on both farming and stockraising with equal success. He has made numerous modern improvements, including a substantial set of buildings, and is an adherent of progressive methods and the use of up-to-date implements and machinery. In addition to his farming activities Mr. Terry has several business connections, among them being the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company at Baraboo, of which he is a stockholder. Politically a democrat, he was for seven years a member of the township supervisors, being for six years chairman of the board, was also for several years leader of his party's forces in the first ward, and a highway commissioner, and operated the crushing plant for the township, building the first macadamized road in Sauk County. With his family he belongs to the Catholic Church.
Mr. Terry was married November 24, 1909, to Miss Julia David, who was born in Greenfield Township, Sauk County, January 16, 1875, daughter of Louis and Catherine (Bresnahan) David. Mr. David was born in Walworth County, Wisconsin, in 1841, and Mrs. David in Ire- land, January 1, 1845, she being a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Welch) Bresnahan, who came to the United States and located in Vermont in 1846 and five years later removed to Adams County, Wis- consin. There Mr. Bresnahan died in 1877, aged sixty years, while his widow survived until 1896, when she passed away at Kilbourn, Wis-
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consin, aged seventy-four years. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. David: Carrie; Louis; Arthur; Julia, who is now Mrs. Terry; Catherine; Charles, on the old family homestead at Delton; and Lawrence. Mr. and Mrs. Terry have three children : Louis, John Donald and Catherine Eileen.
HERMAN MEYER. One of the solid and representative citizens of Troy Township, Sauk County, is found in Herman Meyer, who now lives retired near Spring Green, Wisconsin. He has been a resident of Sauk County for about fifty years and during this time, through his own persevering industry, has become possessed of ample means, and through honest and upright business methods and neighborly kindness has gained the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
Herman Meyer was born in Germany, in 1850. His parents were Henry and Albertine (Jiese) Meyer, who remained in Germany until 1893 and then came to Sauk County and settled at North Freedom and subsequently died there. Herman Meyer was eighteen years of age when he came to America, at that time having little capital except good habits and robust health. He reached Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1868 and stopped at Leland, where he worked for some time. After his marriage he settled on a farm one mile south of the small farm on which he now lives, in the next year moving to the farm of 127 acres on which he remained until 1909. There Mr. Meyer developed a fine property and successfully carried on the usual farm industries. In that year he sold this farm to his son Elmer and then moved to the little farm near Spring Green, one mile north of his old place. He also owns 200 acres of valuable timber land.
In 1872 Mr. Meyer was married to Mary Nichelhouse, and they have six children, all of whom are married except John C., who resides with his parents. The others are as follows: Herman, who lives at Baraboo, Wisconsin ; Elmer, who now owns the old homestead in Troy Town- ship ; Emma, who is the wife of Julius Fuchs and lives in Troy Town- ship; Edith, who is the wife of William Fuchs, of Troy Township; and Mata, who is the wife of George Dickerson and lives at Sauk City.
In earlier years Mr. Meyer was somewhat more active in politics than now and his influence was felt in township affairs, and he served two terms as school clerk and school treasurer. The family belongs to the Evangelical Church Association.
REYNARD S. OTT. One of the large, substantial and truly worthy families of Sauk County is that of Ott. It was established here in 1857 and has always prospered because of its sterling honesty, its industry, thrift and good management. The family has been an agricultural one and its farms, stock and fine herds of cattle have been among the best in the county for years. The Otts have always also been intelligent. temperate and church-going people. A well known and highly respected member of this old family is Reynard S. Ott, who was born in 1879 on the old homestead in Troy Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, which his father bought, cleared, broke and improved. He is one of a large family born to his parents, who were Gottlieb and Mary (Hoppe) Ott.
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Gottlieb Ott was born in Germany and lived there until he was thirty-five years old. He was a shepherd, a tender of sheep in his native land, but knowing that he could never hope to own either flocks or land in Germany he decided to emigrate. As many of his countrymen had already settled in Wisconsin, when he reached the United States he also made his way here and secured employment from Wilson Cas- sel at Cassel Prairie in Troy Township, Sauk County. He worked faithfully day after day in the winter time for Mr. Cassel and on farms in the summer time until he was able to buy his first tract of land, this being forty acres of his son's present farm. He kept on buying land, the most of it being heavily timbered at the time, late in the '50s, until he was one of the heaviest taxpayers in Sauk County, and at the time of his death, March 29, 1914, he owned 642 acres. During early years times were hard and deprivations many. There were no railroads through this section and travel was by stage-coach, and this was also the means by which the mails were transported. He lived to see wonderful changes and to enjoy unlimited comfort in his old age.
Gottlieb Ott was twice married, first, in 1860, to Sarah Helf, who died 21/2 years later. His second marriage, in 1868, was to Mary Hoppe, and they became the parents of the following children: Gottlieb, who lives with his family in North Dakota; Mary, who died in 1910, was the wife of Patrick Kernan, and they lived at Donnybrook, North Dakota; Minnie, who died in April, 1917, was the wife of Bat Sullivan, and they lived in North Dakota; Gustav, who lives with his family in Troy Township; Daniel, also married, lives in Troy Township; Reynard S .;. Roxie, who is the wife of Michael Hanley, of Donnybrook, North Dakota; Lizzie, who is the wife of Frank Williams and lives in Sauk County; Elmer, who lives in North Dakota; Elias, who lives in Wis- consin Emma, who is the wife of Andrew Hansen, of Withee, Wiscon- sin ; and Sarah, the twelfth and youngest, died in infancy. All the others lived to maturity and attended school at Cassel Prairie.
Reynard S. Ott grew up on the old homestead and attended school through boyhood and then assisted his father on the farm until two years before his marriage, when he took charge and has been farming for himself ever since, his agricultural industries including crop rais- ing, dairying and stockraising, and in every line he has been unusually successful. He makes use of modern machinery, keeps well posted in relation to new agricultural methods and is a very fair representative of the prosperous agriculturist of the country as found in modern times.
In 1903 Mr. Ott was married to Miss Lena Just who is a daughter of Christ and Louisa (Moehlman) Just. Her mother was born in Germany but her father was born at Watertown, Wisconsin, where his parents settled when they came from Switzerland. Before the building of the railroad Mr. Just engaged in a draying and teaming business between Mazomanie and Prairie du Sac. Mr. and Mrs. Ott have had three children, the youngest of whom, Cyril, is the only survivor. Russell died in infancy and Violet lived to be but 31% years old. From a former marriage there was a son, Laverne, who resides with Mr. and Mrs. Ott. Mr. and Mrs. Ott belong to the Evangelical Church at Black
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Hawk. Having very strong temperance convictions, Mr. Ott, from a sense of duty, has united with the prohibition party and in the present attitude of the country on this great subject, not unreasonably believes that the time is near when prohibition principles will be accepted by every one and the world thereby will be made happier and better.
JOHN H. DIEHL. That some of the best farms in Sauk County have been developed from wild land within the past thirty years into a state of rich fertility and general improvement is a remarkable fact when one remembers the tremendous amount of labor such development required. The clearing of 140 acres, as comprises the valuable farm of John H. Diehl, one of Troy Township's most representative and substantial citi- zens, was alone a stupendous undertaking, but it was accomplished, and practically without help, by its present owner, who also did the entire sum of improving and put up all the substantial farm structures. Mr. Diehl is yet in the prime of life, his strenuous activities having been crowded into a short period, comparatively speaking, and what he has accomplished through his industry may also be credited to a large measure of good judgment and managing ability.
John H. Diehl was born in Troy Township, Sauk County, Wis- consin, in 1867, on the first farm north of where he now lives. His parents were John Peter and Elizabeth (Rudolph) Diehl, who were born in Germany. John Peter Diehl came to the United States and to Wisconsin in the '50s and for a short time remained on a place near Harrison with his brothers. He then came to Sauk County and bought a small tract of land in Troy Township, in what was known as the Patterson Pocket. This was heavily timbered and Mr. Diehl worked early and late to grub out the roots after the timber was cut on his place, in the meanwhile building himself a log house, in which he used wooden pegs in the place of nails, his German ingenuity providing him with the necessary fastenings for his logs. He also built a barn in the same way and thus had a home ready when he was married in 1859 to Elizabeth Rudolph, who had come to Sauk County at a later date. They settled on this farm of eighty acres and to this first tract he continued to add until he owned 214 acres and lived on the same place until his death, which occurred September 23, 1883. Although for thirty years his wife had been in poor health she survived him a long time, her death taking place June 7, 1916. There were the following children in their family : John H .; Lizzie, who is the wife of Fred Schweppy and lives in Troy Township; Kate, who is the wife of Conrad Laukauf and lives in Troy Township; Matilda, who is the wife of George Gasser; Amelia, who is the wife of Martin Mohley; John Peter, a first lieutenant in the present war with Germany; and Caroline, who is the widow of William Hoppe and lives in Troy Township.
John Peter Diehl, the sixth born in the above family, is married and lives at Fortress Monroe, being a soldier in the United States army and now stationed there. He has a fine record of service in the Spanish- American war and was the brave artilleryman who placed the first American flag on San Juan Hill. He has been in the artillery division since 1899. Previously, he spent five years in the infantry.
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John H. Diehl grew to manhood in Troy Township and attended school here in boyhood. The assistance he gave his father in clearing and developing land proved very useful when his time came to do prac- tically the same work. He worked on the farm he now owns for six years before he was married and for two years afterward rented the property and in the third year purchased it from the estate of Henry Patterson. It is a fine property and Mr. Diehl is justified in feeling proud of the fact that he not only developed it but paid for it without any assistance. He has always carried on general farming and has raised good stock and done dairying, making a specialty of Holstein cows for this purpose. He has grown many hogs and, in comparison with present prices on all hog products, it seems almost unbelievable that at one time he had to accept a price of 21/2 cents per pound.
Although Mr. Diehl has devoted himself quite closely to his own affairs, he has somehow managed to find time to perform public duties and has served acceptably for nine years on the school board and three years on the township board, elected to these offices on the republican ticket, of which party he is a staunch adherent. He is a stockholder in the Cassel cheese factory. In addition to his farm in Troy Town- ship Mr. Diehl owns 514 acres in Sumpter Township, Sauk County, and 1,280 acres, two sections, in Texas.
Mr. Diehl was married in 1887 to Miss Henrietta Schweppy, who is a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Yoge) Schweppy, who were born in Switzerland and Germany, respectively, and they have had children as follows: Minnie, who is the wife of Fred Braun and lives in Troy Township; Luella, who is the wife of John Bernhard and lives at Eau Claire; Richard, who now lives with his family in Sherman County, Texas; and Ray, James, Harold and Violet, all of whom live with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Diehl and their children all belong to the Evangelical Association and the older members have always attended church at Black Hawk.
ALBERT PERCY STEELE represents a family that has continuously for three generations and for a period of over fifty years been identified with one farming community in Delton Township. Of the qualities of permanence and stability no family in Sauk County has exemplified more than the Steeles. They have been practical agriculturists, fine business men and public spirited citizens since Sauk County was a wilderness.
The founder of the family in this region was James Steele, great- grandfather of Albert P. James Steele was known all over Sauk County as "Gran Steele." He was a remarkable character in more ways than one. He came to Sauk County along with the first settlers, and was closely identified with the old settlement of Newport. Doubtless his was the longest life of any man in the annals of Sauk County. At his death he had attained the age of one hundred and thirteen. His vigor and vitality were with him almost to the last. He was past the century mark when he broke a pair of steers to work. He also married his last wife after he was a centenarian, and at her death she had attained the age of one hundred and two.
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Mr. Steele's grandfather was James Steele, Jr., who married Sarah Ann Smith. They settled at a very early date in Delton Township, where James Steele acquired 260 acres of land, where they raised their family and he also acquired 380 acres of other nearby land. He also owned a large amount of land around Newport. He had some of his father's vitality and died at Kilbourn, Wisconsin, in 1911, at the age of eighty-nine, while his wife passed away in 1915 at the age of seventy-eight. Their children were : Theodore, who died in 1913; Lorenzo M .; Albert and Ida, twins, the former dying at the age of ten and the latter at nineteen; and Ella, now Mrs. W. J. Hurlbut, of Reedsburg.
Lorenzo M. Steele, father of Albert P., was born on the old home- stead in Delton Township, October 18, 1857. He grew up on that farm, attended the public schools at Newport, and was a very successful farmer. Besides the homestead of 260 acres he added another 60 acres, making him a full half section. In 1912 he moved to Kilbourn, where his death occurred November 26, 1915. He was a republican in politics and for many years served on the school board in the Steele District. He married Miss Lucy Anderson, who was born in the State of Iowa June 17, 1863, and is still living at Kilbourn. Her parents once lived in Sauk County, at Newport. Lorenzo M. Steele and wife had three children: Clara Mabel is the wife of Claud Newell, of Fairfield Township, and is the mother of two children, Genevieve and Everett. Roy Chester, the second child, owns and farms land joining the old homestead.
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