USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 48
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and Wilhelmina Sorenson, both natives of Denmark and early settlers at Madison. D. T. Sorenson subsequently removed to La Crosse, Wis- consin, where he and his wife died.
William Marriott came with his parents to Sauk County in 1872. His father, Ebenezer, was for many years store keeper for the North Western Railway Company and died at Baraboo. William Marriott and his brother Henry engaged in business together under the name of Marriott Brothers, and their partnership was uninterrupted and mu- tually pleasant and profitable for twenty-five years. The lives of these two brothers always ran closely parallel. Both of them died in 1902, within three days of each other. Through their activities in the real estate field they did much to build up the east side of Baraboo. Both were republicans and both served at different times as members of the City Council. These two brothers organized the local telephone com- pany, the canning factory and the Fair Association of Sauk County, and Henry Marriott was secretary and treasurer of the Agricultural Society and treasurer of the telephone company at the time of his death.
William T. Marriott has one sister, older than himself, Ada, wife of V. R. Harding, of Baraboo. Mr. Marriott grew up in Baraboo, attended the public schools, and after graduating from high school was a student in the University of Wisconsin for two years. In preparation for an independent business career he worked in various hardware stores in the cities of Milwaukee, La Crosse and Waukesha, and in 1909 returned to Baraboo and organized the Marriott Hardware Company, located at 112 Walnut Street. The firm occupies a large building, 50 by 80 feet, and in 1914 the business was expanded by the addition of a grocery department.
Mr. Marriott is a republican, but so far has had no time nor desire for active participation beyond casting an intelligent vote. He is af- filiated with Baraboo Lodge No. 34, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, Baraboo Chapter No. 26, Royal Arch Masons, Baraboo Commandery No. 28, Knights Templar, for five years was secretary of his Knights of Pythias Lodge, and is a member of Lodge No. 688, Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks. He is also active as a member of the fire depart- ment. His father was a Knight Templar Mason and Knight of Pythias, and also attended the Episcopal Church.
In 1908 William T. Marriott married Miss Ione E. Franklin, of Baraboo, daughter of John Franklin, who for many years was a railroad engineer and spent most of his life at Baraboo, where he died in 1914. Her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Franklin, is still living at Baraboo. Mr. and Mrs. Marriott have two children: Evelyn Lucile and Franklin William.
HENRY Osr. One of the up-to-date farmers and stockraisers of Sauk County is Henry Ost, proof of which is seen in his finely improved and carefully cultivated farm and his pure-bred stock, his beautiful herd of Holsteins being much in evidence. Mr. Ost belongs to a fine old family of the county, one that has belonged to Reedsburg Township for about sixty-two years.
Henry Ost was born in Reedsburg Township, Sauk County, Wis- Vol. II-24
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consin, October 21, 1871. His parents were Ferdinand and Frederika (Garske) Ost, both of whom were born in Germany. Ferdinand Ost came to the United States and to Sauk County in his youth and here was subsequently married to Frederika Garske, who came to Reedsburg, Wisconsin, with her parents, William and Henrietta (Koplein) Garske. After his marriage Ferdinand Ost bought a farm in Reedsburg Town- ship consisting of 120 acres, and made a number of improvements on the place and then sold it and bought another farm, the second farm con- taining 152 acres. He took pride and interest in this property and worked hard and made numerous improvements. About ten years before his death he moved to Reedsburg and there he died in his seventy- fifth year. His wife died at the age of sixty-five years. They had the following children : Augusta, Henry, Albert, William, Fred, Matilda and Anna.
Henry Ost was eighteen years old when his parents moved on the farm he now owns. He had attended public schools and was ready to give his father assistance and continued with him until the father's retirement, and at the latter's death inherited the farm. The improve- ments that Mr. Ost had made are of a substantial kind. He has erected one of the finest residences in the township, and with its equipments of hot and cold water and electric light from his own plant is not excelled in comfort and convenience by any in the Town of Reedsburg. He uses modern methods on his farm and understands the scientific advantage of them, has a silo for winter feeding and has adopted other modern plans that have been found of benefit. He takes justifiable pride in his fine herd of Holstein cattle.
Mr. Ost was married in 1894 to Miss Marie Flohr, who was born in Germany and was a daughter of Henry and Marie (Wolter) Flohr, who came to Reedsburg in 1890 and bought a farm in this vicinity, which they later sold and now live retired at Reedsburg. They had four children : Henry, Marie, Ernest and William. Mrs. Ost died in 1904, leaving two children : Hugo and Maria. In 1906 Mr. Ost was married to Miss Augusta Pufhal, who was born at Reedsburg, a daughter of Ferdinand and Henrietta (Schultz) Pufhal. No children have been born to Mr. Ost's second marriage.
Ferdinand Pufhal, father of Mrs. Ost, was born in Germany, Novem- ber 13, 1847, a son of William and Henrietta Pufhal, who in 1857 came to Sauk County and both are living near Reedsburg. Ferdinand and Henrietta Pufhal had the following children: Augusta, Emma, Her- man, Henry, Martha and Berdina. Ferdinand Pufhal accompanied his parents to Sauk County in 1857 and still resides here and owns a farm of 120 acres in this township. He is a well known and respected citizen.
In politics Mr. Ost is a staunch democrat, as was his father. The latter was a leading man in public matters while living in Reedsburg Township and served three years as a member of the board of super- visors, being a member at the time the bridge was built at Reedsburg, an important era in local public affairs, having much to do with the town's subsequent development. Henry Ost is also an active citizen and has served six years on the board of supervisors, being progressive but prudent, as was his father, and he is serving at present on the town-
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. ship school board. The Osts have all been members of the Lutheran Church. .
E. J. BATTLES. The importance of the practical real estate man to any live community is very well demonstrated in the recognition he receives in every locality, for through his efforts and honestly purpose- ful actions communities are developed and outside capital attracted. While unfortunately there are some who unscrupulously take unfair advantage of their position, the majority of the men engaged in realty transactions are men of probity, upon whose advice and recommenda- tions the investors may rely. Baraboo is one of the flourishing cities of Wisconsin which has advanced greatly through the operations of this class of men, and one who has done much for his city in this respect is E. J. Battles. During a long business career Mr. Battles has been engaged in a variety of ventures, but since 1906 has been identified with the real estate and insurance business, and has taken his place as one of the city's sound and reliable business citizens.
E. J. Battles was born on a farm four and one-half miles north of Baraboo in Sauk County, Wisconsin, and is a son of James and Rebecca (Teel) Battles. Mrs. Battles was born in New York, was taken to Illinois as a child, and in 1845 was brought to Sauk County, Wisconsin, by her parents, Benjamin and Theda (Morrill) Teel. Aaron Teel, Mrs. Battles' brother, now lives on the farm that was originally settled by her father in 1845. Mrs. Battles died in June, 1872, when her son E. J. was nine years of age, he having been born January 24, 1863. James Battles was born in Maine and when a youth, in 1847, was brought to Sauk County, Wisconsin, by his parents, James and Abigail (Hackett) Battles, who passed the remainder of their lives here. Mr. Battles met his death in 1866, while working at the Summer Mills, being drowned when the dam went out on Kickapoo Run. There were three children in the family : Barton, of Baraboo; Frankie M., who is the wife of S. A. Pelton, of Baraboo; and E. J.
E. J. Battles was but nine years of age when he was made an orphan by the death of his mother, and from that time forward until he was seventeen years of age he was reared in the home of Wyman Getchell. His early education was secured in the district schools, which he at- tended during the winter months, and for three years he was employed in working as a farm hand for monthly wages. Next he took a course at the American School of Telegraphy, at Madison, and while thus engaged worked at Brooklyn for one summer, and then resumed farm- ing operations on the homestead of his uncle, Aaron Teel, with whom he worked for two years. In November, 1886, Mr. Battles was married to Miss Elizabeth Malloy, who was born on a farm north of Baraboo, and in that same year bought a farm in Sauk County, and for the next ' fourteen years confined his efforts to agricultural pursuits. During the last eight years of this time he was treasurer of his home town of Fair- field, and the excellent manner in which he discharged the duties of his official position made such a favorable impression on the people that when he came to Baraboo in 1900 he was elected county treasurer of Sauk County. He vindicated the faith placed in him and was re-
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elected to succeed himself, being the incumbent of that office for a period of four years in all and establishing an excellent record. Following this he was made deputy sheriff, a position in which he served one full. term and a part of another, resigning during the latter to take up the duties of clerk of the County Court, to which office he had been appointed and in which he completed the term. Mr. Battles was then made oil inspector of his district, and still retains this post. In 1906 Mr. Battles embarked actively in the real estate and insurance business, to which he has given his attention to the present time with gratifying success. He has sought to keep himself thoroughly informed as to relative values' of property, and has been the medium through which some large and important deals have been consummated. In addition to city realty and farm property in and about Baraboo he is extensively interested in Montana lands. As an insurance man he represents all the old-line insurance companies. Mr. Battles and the members of his family belong to the Presbyterian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, the B. R. F. F., the Equitable Fraternal Union and the Mystic Workers of the World. In his political views he adheres to the principles and policies of the republican party. In a business way and otherwise he has done much to assist the advance- ment of his community and all public-spirited movements have his support.
Mr. and Mrs. Battles are the parents of four children, namely : Lura, who is the wife of J. S. Davidson of Fort Morgan, Colorado, and has one child, Richard B .; Tracy R., who is conducting the Montana ranch; Lloyd E., who completed his course in the graded schools and graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan, class of 1917, is now in the United States Marine Corps, Eighty-fourth Company, Sixth Regiment; and Ruth F., who resides at home and is attending school.
JOHN PAUL STABNOW. One of the enterprising men and progressive modern farmers of Freedom Township, Sauk County, is John Paul Stabnow, whose well improved farm contains 320 acres. Mr. Stabnow was born on this place, the old family homestead, May 28, 1876. His parents were Siegfred and Wilhelmina (Krause) Stabnow.
Siegfred Stabnow was born, educated and reared in Germany, his birth taking place February 5, 1826. In 1855, accompanied by his family, he came to Watertown, Wisconsin, where he resided three years, coming to Sauk County in 1858 and settling in Freedom Township. He acquired 320 acres and cleared a large acreage himself being a man of great in- dustry and robust health. He continued his residence on this property until the year 1899, when he moved to Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. re- maining there until 1908 when he removed to the old homestead where he remained until the time of his death, which occurred January 19, 1915. He was a republican in politics and was a member of the Evangelical Church. He was twice married, first in Germany, to Augusta Sastrow. who died June 28, 1866. Eight children were born to that marriage, as follows: Wilhelmina, Herman Frederick, Bertha Louisa, William Charles, Henry Ferdinand, Minna Christina, Anna
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Mary and Louisa Anna. On November 9, 1867, Siegfred Stabnow was married to Wilhelmina Krause, who was born in Germany, October 9, 1842. Her parents were Edmond and Wilhelmina (Glasnap) Krause, who came to Sauk County in 1871 and died here. To the second mar- riage the following children were born : August Frederick, Carl Albert, Amelia Augusta, Ernest Frederick, John Paul and Anna Eliza.
John Paul Stabnow has always resided on the old homestead, which became his own property by purchase in 1915. With his brothers and sisters he attended school in Freedom Township and under the direc- tion of their capable father and sons all became good farmers. Although Mr. Stabnow has not done much building since owning the property, it not being necessary because his father had put up very substantial structures, he has made other improvements, has invested in first-class farm machinery and has improved his grade of stock. He is numbered with the successful farmers of the county. In politics he is a republican and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is not married but his mother resides with him and he is thus assured as to having a comfortable home.
Ernest F. Stabnow, the fourth born in the family of Siegfred and Wilhelmina (Krause) Stabnow, was born on the old homestead in Free- dom Township, Sauk County, June 14, 1874. He attended the public schools and remained on the home farm until prepared to go into busi- ness for himself. In 1902 he bought the John Rooney farm of 200 acres, situated in Freedom Township, and has made very extensive improve- ments,recently completing a home which is one of the finest in the town- ship. Like his brother, John Paul, he carries on general farming and stockraising and has a fine herd of Shorthorn cattle.
Mr. Stabnow was married in 1900 to Miss Ida Pagel, who was born in Sauk County in 1881, and is a daughter of Frederick and Augusta Pagel, the former of whom was born in 1850 and the latter in 1854, in Germany, from which country they came to the United States, were married in 1879 and settled in Sauk County, Wisconsin. They had eight children, namely : Paul, who is deceased, Ida, Albert, Paul Carl, Herman, Emma, Elsa and Alma. Mr. and Mrs. Stabnow have two chil- dren : Clarence, who was born in January, 1904; and Lawrence, who was born September 19, 1907.
Ernest F. Stabnow, like his brother, is a republican in politics and is quite active in township affairs. He served as township supervisor and at present is clerk of the school board, an office he has held for eleven years. With his family he attends the Lutheran Church at North Free- dom. The entire Stabnow family is held in high regard in Sauk County.
ROY CHESTER STEELE. That class of citizens whose efforts are di- rected to the cultivation of the soil and raising of the food stuffs which help supply the demands of the world is represented in Sauk County by Roy Chester Steele, one of the intelligent and progressive farmers of Delton Township.
Mr. Steele was born on the old Steele homestead in Delton Township May 19, 1883, and represents one of the oldest and most prominent families of Sauk County. The founder of the family in this region was
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William; Steele, great-grandfather of Roy Chester. William Steele was known all over Sauk County as "Uncle Billy 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 set- tlement of Newport. He acquired a large amount of land there and at one time kept a hotel in the town. Doubtless his was the longest life of any man in the annals of Sauk County. At his death he had attained the age of a 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.
Mr. Steele's grandfather was James Steele, who married Sarah Ann Smith. They settled at a very early date in Delton Township, where James Steele acquired 260 acres of land, which is still in the family name. 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-eight, 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 Roy Chester, was born in Delton Town- ship on the same land now occupied by his son, 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 sixty acres, making him a full half section. This remained under his successful management until 1912, when he removed to Kil- bourn, where his death occurred November 26, 1915. He was a repub- lican in politics and for many years served on the school board in the Steele district. He married Miss Louisa 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, and later had the land included in the present farm of Albert P. Steele. 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.' Albert P., the youngest child, owns and farms a part of the old homestead.
Roy Chester Steele grew up on the land which has been occupied by the family for over sixty years, attended the Steele district school, and has made a highly creditable record as a successful farmer on sixty acres of the old homestead. In politics he is a republican, but has never aspired to any official position, though well qualified for such duty.
June 6, 1905, he married Miss Celotta L. Allen. She was born in Fairfield Township of Sauk County, September 21, 1884. Her father is Mr. Charles C. Allen, now living at Baraboo and one of the prominent old-time residents of Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Steele have three children : Lavetta, born January 21, 1907; Dean, born July 4, 1913; and Elmer, born July 14, 1915.
. FLORIAN GASSER. The name of Florian Gasser deserves to remain long in the memory of the people of Prairie du Sac, since he was an
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al ' .... man, upright and straightforward in his citizenship and pelsonal relations, and stood for the best things in the life of the community. Hardly less well known is his widow, Mrs. Anna Gasser, who for many years has conducted the leading millinery establishment at Prairie du Sac.
The late Mr. Gasser was born at Haldenstein, Graubinden, Switzer- land, in January, 1861. He was five years of age when in 1866 he accom- . panied his parents to America. The family located in Prairie du Sac Township, and there he was reared in a simple country atmosphere and attended the local schools. At the age of seventeen he went to Prairie du Sac and entered the employ of Conger Brothers as a clerk. In 1888 he formed a partnership with George Kindschi and J. B. Ragatz in their general mercantile business. The title of the new firm was Kindschi, Ragatz and Gasser. They did a large business under that title for seven years. Mr. Ragatz and Mr. Gasser then bought the interests of Mr. Kindschi, and after that the firm of Ragatz and Gasser was con- tinued until the death of Mr. Gasser on November 27, 1909.
The success and energy he exemplified in his business affairs were duplicated in his activity as a church member. He was especially well known for Sabbath School work. He and his wife were both strong and active supporters of the Evangelical Church of Prairie du Sac. At the time of his death Mr. Gasser was secretary of the Sauk County Sunday School Association. His frequent attendance upon state and national conventions, his familiarity with the best and latest literature on Sunday School methods and his activity as president of the local Young People's Alliance contributed much to making him a most ef- ficient worker among young people.
In 1887 Mr. Gasser married Miss Anna Glarner, daughter of Henry and Anna Margaret (Yagy) Glarner. Both her parents were natives of Switzerland. Her father was born August 26, 1821, and her mother March 21, 1831. Her father was born in Glarus, Canton Glarus, and her mother in Zitirs, Graubinden. Henry Glarner was a soldier in the Swiss army and spent four years in the service in Italy. He married his first wife in Switzerland and she died while they were crossing the ocean to America. He came on after this calamity and located at Galena, Illinois. In that town, on May 28, 1850, he married Miss Yagy, whose family had settled at Galena some time previously. She was a daughter of John Peter and Anna (Wilhelm) Yagy, both natives of Switzerland. John Peter Yagy died soon after he came to America. His widow sub- sequently removed to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and died there in the early '60s. In the Yagy family were six children: Barbara, Cecelia, Elizabeth, Margaret, John Peter and Anna. After his marriage at Galena Henry Glarner moved out to Dubuque, Iowa, but in 1858 located at Prairie du Sac, in Sauk County, where he continued his business as a jeweler. He had one of the pioneer establishments in that line in Sauk County, and was active at his work until his death in July, 1895. His wife died in 1902. Their children were: Barbara, wife of J. P. Witwen, of Baraboo; Anna, Mrs. Gasser of Prairie du Sac; Henrietta, of Baraboo, Wisconsin ; Emma, widow of Jacob J. Felix, of Prairie du Sac ; Henry, who died in 1884, at the age of sixteen; and Catherine, wife
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of H. L. Brethauer, of Baraboo. Henry Glarner was a republican in politics. He was especially active in behalf of temperance at a time when temperance views were not so common as at present. He was one of the organizers of the Evangelical Church and gave his liberal support to that denomination.
Mr. and Mrs. Gasser became the parents of one son and two daugh- ters. Mrs. Gasser has now been in the millinery business for thirty- four years. In April, 1883, she and her sister Henrietta, now of Bara- boo, opened a millinery shop at Zumbrota, Minnesota. They remained at Zumbrota two seasons, and in February, 1884, returned to Prairie du Sac and established themselves in the parlor of their old home. Soon afterward they moved to the quarters still occupied by Mrs. Gasser, at the time that structure was completed. The sisters were business partners for ten years, when Miss Henrietta went to Clinton, Iowa, to take charge of a similar establishment for John Conger. Since then Mrs. Gasser has been in business for herself and has made a re- markable success. She has also carried on the business of dressmaking and for years has conducted what is in reality a dressmaking school. About two hundred ladies in this section of Sauk County learned the art in her establishment, and it is especially worthy of mention that many of the mothers who learned to sew under Mrs. Gasser's efficient direction nearly a quarter of a century ago are now sending their daughters to the same skillful teacher.
Mrs. Gasser owns the old home where her father conducted the jewelry business for so many years. Her father from his work bench could view the beautiful hills across the Wisconsin River, and many times he remarked that these hills were as beautiful as the much cele- brated scenery in Switzerland, his native land.
Mrs. Gasser's three children are Henry Glarner Gasser, Ruth and Margaret. Ruth is the wife of Jacob Hatz, and they have one child, Robert.
MRS. KATE TEEL, who has spent most of her life in Sauk County, is the widow of the late Charles Teel, himself an early settler and long a prosperous farmer in Sumpter Township, where Mrs. Teel still lives.
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