USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 5
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hood; William; Charles, of Madison, Wisconsin; Annie, who died in 1893; August; Herman; and Henry.
August Thies grew up on his father's farm and attended both the parochial and public schools. In March, 1894, at the age of twenty-one, he married Miss Dora Meyer. She was born on the farm where she and her husband now reside on July 24, 1873. Her parents, August and Dora (Fredericks) Meyer, were early settlers in Westfield Township and cleared up 100 acres of the farm now owned by August Thies. Mrs. Thies' father died there and her mother is still living.
In the year that he married Mr. Thies bought the Meyer place and has since developed it into a modern stock and dairy farm. He keeps from forty-five to fifty head of cattle, including some thoroughbred Hol- stein cows, and contributes materially to the production of Sauk County as a dairy county. Mr. Thies has all the equipment necessary for stock raising and dairying, including a large barn which in its main dimensions is 34 by 86 feet, with an addition 14 by 46 feet.
In 1917 Mr. Thies was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of side supervisor. He is a republican and a member of the Lutheran Church. He and his wife have a fine family of nine children, all of them still living. Their names in order of birth are Martin, Lena, William, Frederick, Freda, Lydia, August, Dora and Paul.
MARION LAMAR. In Marion LaMar is found a retired citizen of Fair- field Township whose industrious and well-directed efforts entitle him to a place among the upbuilders of Sauk County. During his long resi- dence within the borders of the county he has worked out an admirable destiny, and from modest beginnings has drawn about him for the comfort and happiness of his later years such compensations as wealth, the affec- tionate devotion of his well-established children, the credit for having contributed largely to the general development of the community, and the confidence and good will of his business and social associates.
Mr. LaMar was born in Baraboo Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, July 8, 1850, and is a son of James and Arminda (Rowan) LaMar, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Columbia County, Wis- consin. The maternal grandparents of Mr. LaMar; Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Rowan, were early pioneers of Sauk County, whence Mr. Rowan came to trade with the Indians, and later he assisted in the building of the first mill on the Baraboo River, in company with Abe Wood. Mr. Rowan died at Lyons, Wisconsin, and Mrs. Rowan later went to Illinois, where . she passed away. James LaMar came from Tennessee to Baraboo at an early day and entered 160 acres of land in Baraboo Township, which he sold to Mr. Wells before the Civil war. He bought another 160 acres of Archabold Barker, which he sold to Nelson Morley after the Civil war. He then bought 200 acres of land in Fairfield Township, where his son Marion now resides, and continued to make his home on that property during the remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of the following children: Carrie; Marion, of this notice; Melissa, who is the wife of A. Z. Norton and resides in Oregon ; Eleanor, who is the widow of Charles Meyers and lives in Baraboo Township; Rhoda, the wife of Charles O. Meyers and a resident of Oregon; James Frederick, who is
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deceased; Britomart, who is the wife of Bert Dodge and resides in Colo- rado; and Alfreda, who is the wife of Robert Gibson, of Delton Township, Sauk County.
Marion LaMar received his education in the country schools of Bara- boo and Fairfield townships, and when he entered upon his career adopted the vocation of agriculturist. For many years he carried on successful farming operations, demonstrating what a man can accomplish by pursu- ing practical and straightforward methods and by exercising always in his associations with his fellow men the qualities of consideration, integ- rity and honesty. At the present time he is living in retirement, and his son Maxwell is conducting the home farm. Mr. LaMar is a prohibitionist, but is interested in politics only as a voter. He and Mrs. LaMar are members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Fairfield Township.
In 1873 Mr. LaMar was married to Miss Ella Norton, who was born in Fairfield Township, Sauk County, in December, 1855, daughter of Amos and Cordelia Norton, who came to Sauk County in 1849 and settled at Peck's Corners, Fairfield Township. Mr. and Mrs. Norton passed the remainder of their lives here in agricultural pursuits, the latter dying in 1860. They were the parents of the following children : Roswald, born in 1837, who fought as a soldier during the Civil war; Eli, born in 1840, who also wore the uniform of the Union in that struggle; Nirum, born in 1842, who likewise showed his patriotism by enlisting in the struggle between the North and the South; Melissa, born in 1844; Sarah S., born in 1847, taught school at an early day until her marriage to Harry Wooden, who was born in New York, came to Illinois to work at his trade as carpenter, enlisted in the Thirty-second Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, served four years in the war and was with Sherman on his march to the sea; then came to Baraboo, Wisconsin, and died in 1907, aged seventy years, having been the father of three children, Ralph Harry, who died aged eighteen years, Viola Ione and Russell ; Charlotte, born in 1850; Amos Z., born in 1852; and Ella P., born in 1855, now Mrs. LaMar. After the death of the mother of these children Mr. Norton mar- ried Catherine Marston and had one child, William, born in 1862, and now a resident of Baraboo. Mr. Norton rounded out a long and honor- able career as an agriculturist and died in 1894.
Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. LaMar, namely : Lena, who is the wife of Wayne Newell; Ruby, the wife of Milton Holt ; James, who is engaged in farming in Fairfield Township; Clifford, a resident of Baraboo; Percy, living in Fairfield Township; Lottie, who is the wife of Carl Anchor, of Fairfield Township; and Maxwell, who is conducting operations on the home farm.
CLARE A. BRIGGS. It is known to perhaps only a comparatively few of the well-informed people of Sauk County that one of the world's ablest and most popular cartoonists was born within the borders of this county, and though his life from early boyhood has been spent in other scenes, it is appropriate to include his name and something of his career among the records of Sauk County people who have gained distinction.
Clare A. Briggs was born at Reedsburg August 5, 1875, son of William P. and Ella (Stewart) Briggs. He spent his youth and early manhood
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chiefly in Illinois and Nebraska, and from 1894 to 1896 was a student in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He began his work as a news- paper artist with the St. Louis Globe Democrat in 1896, was connected with the St. Louis Chronicle in 1898, the New York World in 1898-99, the New York Journal in 1899, and came into the early fruits of his fame in his profession while with the Chicago American and Examiner. In 1907 the Chicago Tribune attracted him to its staff, and some of his best work was done while exclusively employed by that paper. In 1914 he went to the New York Tribune and since then his illustrative genius has largely been syndicated.
He is known as the creator of "Skin-nay," "The Days of Real Sport," "When a Feller Needs a Friend," "Friend Wife," "Kelly Pool." Sev- eral of his best known series of illustrations have been compiled and pub- lished in book form.
He is a member of the Cliff Dwellers, Chicago Yacht, the Forty Club, the Press Club of Chicago, the Lambs, the Salmagundi and Press clubs of New York, the Wykagyl Country and New Rochelle Yacht clubs. His home is at New Rochelle, New York, and his present address is the New York Tribune.
HENRY HARMS. For upwards of half a century the name and career of Henry Harms have been identified with Sauk County. The first work he did in the county was as a harvest man, and the accumulations that have made him one of the most prosperous farmers in Westfield Township have been the result of a slow and toilsome progress.
Mr. Harms was born in Germany, November 14, 1852, a son of Fred- erick and Margaret (Bodenstab) Harms. The family came to Sauk County in 1869, settling in Westfield Township, where his father hired out his services to others for several years, but about 1873 bought the land where his son Henry now lives. The old homestead consisted of eighty acres and its first improvement was a log house. It was gradually brought under cultivation, and the father lived there for a number of years, finally going out to Nebraska with his son William. He died in that state in 1917, at the advanced age of ninety-three years and three months. His wife also passed away in Nebraska, aged ninety-one, in 1915. Thus they were of hardy and vigorous stock and their lives were prolonged beyond the normal expectation of years, though both of them were hard workers. They were active members of the Lutheran Church. Their five children were Henry, William, Dorris, Fritz and Catherine. Dorris died in 1915, at the age of fifty-six.
Henry Harms acquired his early education in Germany. He was old enough to do a full day's work when he arrived in Sauk County in July, 1869, and a few days later he was earning a wage as a harvest hand in Dane County, Wisconsin. For several years he worked, saved and finally invested his earnings in the old homestead of eighty acres. He has since added two other eighties, making his home farm 240 acres. Still another eighty came under his ownership, but he sold that to his son Frederick and later he bought 160 acres which is now owned by his son William. All these tracts of land are in Westfield Township and they represent a splendid estate for one family. Mr. Harms has invested much of his
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income in buildings and other improvements, and he has one of the finest barns in the township, 42 by 108 feet in ground dimensions. Many years ago Mr. Harms had some experience in hop growing, formerly one of the chief industries of the county. He runs a fine dairy of Holstein cattle, keeping about forty head of cows besides a large amount of young stock.
He has rendered public service on the school board and is an active republican. He and his family worship in the Lutheran faith.
In 1880 Mr. Harms married Miss Louisa Gade. She was born at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in 1858, a daughter of Fred and Dora (Schroeder) Gade. Her parents, both now deceased, were among the pioncer settlers of Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Harms have eight children, the four younger ones still living at home. Frederick, the oldest, married Martha Hartig, who died in 1904. The son William, another practical and progressive young farmer of Westfield Township, married Elsa Goetsch. Henry married Amanda Peters. The daughter Mary is the wife of Walter Goetsch. The four younger children at home are Dora, Ludwig, Ernest and Lydia.
JEFFERSON C. PAYNE. Sauk County has profited by the stable citi- zenship and faithful industry of the Payne family since the late '40s. Practically all bearing the name have been identified with agriculture, but their services have been extended also to politics, education and religion. Jefferson C. Payne, now living retired at Baraboo, but for many years known as one of the most extensive farmers and sheep raisers in this section, represents the second generation of his family in the county. He is a native son of Sauk, having been born on Sauk Prairie, February 12, 1850, where his parents, Charles and Orpha (Squires) Payne, had settled in March, 1848. His father was born July 16, 1824, in St. Law- rence County, New York, and was married at Massena, that state, to Miss Squires, who had been born in Vermont, February 19, 1825.
Seeking a community in which to make a home and to own property of their own, Charles and Orpha Payne came overland from New York to Wisconsin in 1846, their first settlement being in Dane County, where they took up land from the United States Government. Their property there did not prove satisfactory, and in March, 1848, they removed their household effects and small farm outfit, including stock, to Sauk Prairie, Sauk County, where the father bought a claim of 160 acres. He was enterprising and industrious and made a decided success of his agri- cultural operations, adding to his holdings from time to time until he owned 900 acres of land. In 1898 he retired from active pursuits and moved to Prairie du Sac, where Mrs. Payne died in 1899, he surviving until June 22, 1907. . He was a member of the Free Masons, a good citizen of his community, and a man held in universal esteem for his integrity and upright character. There were four children in the family, namely: William, born December 21, 1847; Jefferson C .; Isaac, born January 19, 1853; and Elizabeth, born March 8, 1856, who died in 1911.
Jefferson C. Payne was reared on the old homestead and received his education in the old Baraboo Institute and in the schools of Albion, Dane County. He remained on the farm with his parents, and after his mar-
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riage, in February, 1872, embarked upon operations of his own, having early adopted the vocation of an agriculturist as his life work. Like his father, he made it his policy to add to his land from time to time, extend- ing his holdings as his means would permit and making improvements as he gained more property, so that when he was ready- to retire he had 360 acres of finely cultivated land, with good buildings and first-class equip- ment. For a number of years Mr. Payne was a leading breeder of Shrop- shire sheep, and in this connection shipped each year a number of these animals, frequently to far-distant states. In each of his several ventures his sagacity and business ability made him successful, and at all times he maintained a reputation for strict integrity in business transactions that made his name an honored one in business circles.
In 1905 Mr. Payne purchased a modern home at No. 522 Second Street, Baraboo, but it was not until three years later that he laid aside the cares of active toil and moved to this city to live in quiet contentment, enjoying the comforts that his years of labor had brought. He has always been a republican, and while he has not been a seeker for personal prefer- ment has taken an active interest in politics in behalf of his friends and his party. His only fraternal connection is with the Modern Woodmen of America.
On February 22, 1872, Mr. Payne was united in marriage with Miss Bettie Hedges, who was born in Elkhart County, Indiana, April 14, 1850, being a daughter of Charles and Phoebe (Hoagland) Hedges, natives of Penn Yan, New York, the former born in 1805 and the latter in 1810. Mr. and Mrs. Hedges were married in their native state, and as young people went to Elkhart County, Indiana, where they made their home until 1852. In that year they answered the call of the West, coming to Sauk County, Wisconsin, where Mr. Hedges purchased a farm on Sauk Prairie. He continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until his deatlı, which occurred in 1865, when he was sixty years of age, while Mrs. Hedges survived him for thirty years and had reached the advanced age of eighty-five years at the time of her demise in 1895. They were the parents of the following children: Isaac, who died in infancy ; Ben- jamin, who also died when a babe; Jane; Dayton, who fought as a Union soldier during the Civil war and died in Idaho in 1915; John, also a wearer of the blue during the Civil war, who with his brother Dayton was wounded at Gettysburg, but who did not come safely through the struggle, meeting his death on the bloody battlefield of the Wilderness; Cela, who was also a Union soldier in that war ; Clement, who is a resident of Idaho; Bettie, who is now Mrs. Payne; Charles, who is deceased; and William, who is a resident of Idaho.
To Mr. and Mrs. Payne there have been born five children, namely : Della, born February 24, 1874, has followed an educational career, being a graduate of Whitewater Normal School, after which she taught for several years, became principal at Marinette for five years, taught five years in the eighth grade at Baraboo, took a course and graduated from the Stout Training School, and is now a teacher of domestic science at Eau Claire, Wisconsin ; Edward, born May 7, 1878, a graduate of a busi- ness college at Eau Claire, who has succeeded his father in the manage- ment and operation of the old homestead; Jennie, born March 30, 1881,
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and now the wife of C. F. Rich, who is engaged in farming in Sauk County ; Dayton, born February 2, 1884, a graduate from a Milwaukee business college, and now engaged in farming on Sauk Prairie; and Verne C., born in February, 1890, one of the enterprising young agricul- turists of Sauk County, and who enlisted in July, 1917, in Company I, 6th Wisconsin Infantry.
HERMAN HASZ, of Westfield Township, is proprietor of a thoroughly equipped small farm where he conducts a model dairy, producing milk from thoroughbred Holstein cattle.
Mr. Hasz has been a fixture in this community all his life and his people were all pioneers of the county. He was born on the farm he now owns in Westfield Township September 3, 1881, a son of Nicholas and Marie (Luehrsen) Hasz. The parents were both born in Germany, the father in 1836 and his mother in 1841. Nicholas Hasz was brought to Sauk County in 1856 by his parents, Peter and Rebecca Hasz, and they all settled on a tract of raw land in Westfield Township, where the grand- parents spent their last years. The grandmother was ninety-one years of age when she died. The maternal grandparents, Henry and Anna Luehrsen, were also among the early settlers of Sauk County, in the year 1856, and Henry Luehrsen, who died at Loganville at the age of eighty- four, was a mason by trade and did much of the pioneer work in that line in Sauk County. Nicholas Hasz and wife were married in this county, rented land for a few years, and then bought the farm now owned by their son Herman. This land has been in the family ownership for nearly fifty years, and the father cleared away much of the timber and put in the first crops. He also erected some substantial buildings, and lived there until his death in 1912. His interests were not confined to his farm. He was secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company for thirty-five years and also secretary of the Loganville Creamery Com- pany. He was township treasurer and at one time was chairman of the Township Board. Politically he was an active democrat and he and his family were Lutherans. His widow is still living, at the age of seventy- six. They had eight children: Henry, Emma, Anna, Marie, Martin, Theodor, Henrietta and Herman. Of these, Anna, Marie and Henrietta are now deceased.
Herman Hasz grew up on the old homestead farm and received his education from the parochial and district schools. He was a practical farmer before his father's death and after that event he acquired the old homestead and has demonstrated the possibilities of a place of 156 acres for farming and dairying. He has all the necessary equipment in the way of buildings, and runs a dairy of about twenty-five pure Holstein cattle. Mr. Hasz is a democrat in politics. June 7, 1916, he married Helen Sternitzky, of Clark County, Wisconsin.
GUSTAV W. HASS. Steady application to the development of an idea and persevering attention to the building up of an enterprise have brought success to Gustav W. Hass, proprietor of a flourishing meat market busi- ness at Reedsburg. Mr. Hass is of German ancestry, and from ancestors who were compelled to labor under discouraging conditions inherits char-
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acteristics of perseverance and industry, but also has an obliging nature and keen sense of humor which lubricate the wheels of his business and bring him into touch with the pleasures as well as profits of existence. In addition to being a substantial business man Mr. Hass has taken more than a passive part in civic affairs, and is also prominently identified with the Sauk County Fair Association.
Gustav W. Hass was born at Mauston, the county seat of Juneau County, Wisconsin, October 22, 1870, and is a son of Gustav and Eliza- beth (Perau) Hass. His paternal grandfather was Louis Hass, who died in Germany, following which his widow, Anna Hass, came to the United States about the year 1871 and lived at the home of her son until her death in 1872, at Mauston, in which city she was buried. Gustav Hass was born March 2, 1840, in Prussia, Germany, and was about twenty- three years of age when he immigrated to the United States, coming in 1863 to Wisconsin and first locating at Kilbourn. Subsequently he went to Ableman, and from that point to Baraboo, having formerly been in the meat business both at Kilbourn and Ableman. He remained at Baraboo for one winter. February 16, 1867, he was married at Reedsburg to Miss Elizabeth Perau, who was born October 15, 1851, in Hanover, Germany, a daughter of John and Catherine Perau. Mr. Perau died in Germany in 1862, and his widow subsequently brought her daughter to the United States, locating at Kilbourn in 1864. Mr. Hass had purchased a meat market at Mauston, and as soon as married, in 1867, went to that city and for the next forty years was a resident there and engaged in busi- ness, having for much of that time as partner Andrew Ely. On April 8, 1907, Mr. Hass came to Reedsburg and purchased a good home at No. 420 South Park Street, where he now lives in retirement from active pursuits, having sold his market at Mauston in 1916. At the time of his retirement he had an up-to-date, well-equipped meat market, with an excellent trade, and at the side of the business building was located his comfortable and commodious residence. He was a good business man, industrious, honorable and capable in handling his affairs, and the suc- cess that rewarded his efforts was his just due for a lifetime of probity and hard labor. In politics Mr. Hass is identified with no party, always reserving the right to be independent in his views and not tied down by party lines. He and his wife are faithful members of the Lutheran Church. On February 16, 1917, they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, at which their children and grandchildren, as well as many other members of the family, gathered to do honor to this worthy old Wisconsin couple. They are the parents of five children, namely : Bertha, Gustav W., of this review ; Arthur, of Tomah, Wisconsin ; Alvin, engaged in the meat business at Reedsburg; and Frederick Wilhelm, who died at Reedsburg in 1916, at the age of twenty-four years.
Gustav W. Hass was educated in the graded and high schools at Mauston, and at the age of fourteen years went to work in his father's meat market, thus early securing his introduction to and training in the business which he was to make his life work. After several years the young man showed such promise that his father admitted him to partner- ' ship in the business at Mauston, and this association continued until January 1, 1893, when it was mutually dissolved, Gustav W. Hass coming
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to Reedsburg, where he formed a partnership in the meat business with Charles Krohn, under the firm style of Hass & Krohn. This combination has continued to the present time and has grown and developed until it is now one of the most successful retail business enterprises of the city, having a large, sanitary store, well equipped with the latest appliances. Mr. Hass is known in business circles as a man of integrity, who respects the highest business ethics and fully lives up to the letter of his agree- ments .. Sauk County boasts one of the best fair associations in the State of Wisconsin. Mr. Hass was one of the organizers of this association, having formed a stock company in association with W. A. Stolte. This was sold in 1912, although Mr. Hass still remains as a stockholder in the enterprise. He has been speed superintendent of the venture for several years, and has done much to give it its prestige and reputation as a live and interesting affair. Politically a republican in sentiment, he has always reserved the right to vote independently at times, preferring to rely upon in his own judgment in certain cases. He has served excep- tionally well as city treasurer of Reedsburg and in other offices. Mr. Hass is also well known in fraternal circles, being a member of Reedsburg Lodge No. 157, Free & Accepted Masons; Reedsburg Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Reedsburg Commandery No. 21, Knights Templar; Mil- waukee Consistory, and Tripoli Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; of the Order of the Eastern Star, to which his wife also belongs; and of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
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