USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 53
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HENRY STECKELBERG has been more than a prosperous farmer in Westfield Township and has carried some of the heavier responsibilities in connection with public affairs in the community. For the past twenty- five years he has been chairman of the town board, and that has made his influence and prosperity a means of general advancement.
Mr. Steckelberg was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1850, but has lived in Sauk County since early manhood. His parents were George and Mary (Leicht) Steckelberg, his mother passing away in the old country in 1858. George Steckelberg brought his family to. America and to Sauk County in 1868 and lived here until his death in 1905. There were the following children: William, Elizabeth and Henry. William married Etta Loving. Elizabeth became the wife of Henry Schultz.
Mr. Henry Steckelberg was educated in the old country and since coming to Sauk County nearly fifty years ago has been steadily improv- ing his opportunities and his interests as a practical farmer, and is now owner of 240 acres of well cultivated land in Westfield Township. He is a republican in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church, in which he was reared.
In 1876 he married Kathleen Meyer, daughter of George Meyer, who also came from Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Steckelberg have had the following children: Henry, who married Anna Schuette; Ida, wife of Herman Leicht; Emma, wife of Gus Schranke; and Rosella, Ernst and William, deceased.
L. E. MONTGOMERY, whose work for many years has identified him with Dellona Township as a general farmer and stock raiser, belongs to an old-time family of this county and is himself a native son.
He was born in Excelsior Township December 9, 1859, a son of L. B. and Achsah (Peck) Montgomery. Only a very small area of the forest of Sauk County had been cleared away when the Montgomery family arrived here from New York State in 1850. They went through the trials and adversities of pioneering in Dellona Township, where the father in course of time cleared up and developed a splendid farm. He lived a useful and honorable life and passed away at a good old age July 4, 1914. His widow is still living, making her home with her son, C. L. There were four children: L. E., Isabella, Sarah and Charles, all living except Isabella.
L. E. Montgomery grew up on his father's farm, attended the local schools, and from an early age has applied himself to the work and busi- ness of farming. He now owns a well improved place of 230 acres, devoted to farming and stock raising. He breeds some high-grade Holstein cattle. Mr. Montgomery is a republican in politics. He has been twice married. His first wife was Annie McIntosh, daughter of L. McIntosh of Winfield Township, Sauk County. In July, 1915, Mr. Montgomery married
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Minnie Krug, daughter of H. Krug. His children are all by his first wife, who passed away in June, 1900. Their names are Frank J., Ger- trude, Florence, Walter, Vernie, Gladys and Paul. They have been well educated in the local district schools and the high school.
WILLIAM CLARIDGE. One of the true pioneer families of Sauk County is that of Claridge. The founder of it in the wilds of this state was William Claridge, and his son, Mr. George Claridge, now living retired at Spring Green, has lived here since early childhood and is thoroughly competent to speak by personal experience of pioneer conditions as they were sixty or seventy years ago.
The family are English. William Claridge was born in Leicester- shire, England, April 14, 1816. On April 19, 1841, he married Eliza- beth Felstend, who was born April 10, 1810. Their four children and the dates of their birth were: George, November 19, 1842; Ann, Janu- ary 30, 1845; Alice, March 27, 1849; and William, Jr., April 20, 1852. George and Ann were both born in England, while Alice was born in Dane County, Wisconsin, and William in Sauk County. The daughter Ann is still living at Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Alice died in 1869. William is a farmer near Ableman.
William Claridge left England on a vessel at Liverpool May 9, 1847, and after a long voyage landed at New Orleans. He came north up the Mississippi River, partly on a steamboat. By way of Mineral Point he reached Dane County, Wisconsin, and located on a farm and cultivated the soil near Sun Prairie in that county until July, 1850. At that date he established a new home in what is now Franklin Township of Sauk County, and some years later he removed to Spring Green. By trade he was a shoemaker, which he followed as a vocation in England, but in this country was a practical farmer. He died April 23, 1898, his wife having preceded him in death on February 13, 1881. They were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. William Claridge was a member of the township board and school board and for nine years was treasurer of Franklin Township.
Mr. George Claridge was about five years of age when he accom- panied the family on its trip to America and has lived in Sauk County since he was eight years old. He grew up on the farm and many is the pioneer condition registered upon his mind and recollection. When the family arrived here there was not a single flour mill in the entire county. Wild game of all kinds abounded. Mr. George Claridge when a boy killed three deer with an old army musket. He also caught in traps thirteen wolves and took their scalps to Baraboo. Few farmers used any other kind of work animals than oxen. They drew the plow through the heavy soil and also hauled the wagons of produce to market and very frequently they were driven to the wagon on occasions of ceremony such as church attendance and social occasions. Mr. Claridge spent his early youth in the log cabin days of Sauk County. The modern farmer would be completely at loss to do any work if he had to depend upon such few and crude instruments and machinery as the pioneers had. Scythes and cradles were used instead of mowers and self binders, and in hun- dreds of ways Mr. Claridge might graphically represent the transfor-
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mation in industry as well as in social and economic life. He recalls the interesting fact that some of the first wheat raised by his family was eaten somewhat as a modern breakfast food, being boiled and mixed with milk. The old Claridge home offered little protection against the elements, and in the winter the cold winds would come so freely through the cracks that the cups would freeze to the saucers while the family were at table. Mr. Claridge recalls that the first school in Franklin Township was taught in the kitchen of William Hinneman by Elizabeth Cooper in 1851. In 1852 the community built a log schoolhouse and Mr. George Claridge received some of his early instruction there.
He remained at home until February 24, 1864, when he enlisted in Company A of the Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry. He was in the Union army until discharged August 30, 1865. He saw some of the hard fighting during the last year of the war. He was at Spottsylvania Court House and at Cold Harbor, and on the fifth of June, 1864, sus- tained a scalp wound, while three days later, on June 8th, he was shot through the side. For eight months he was in a hospital at Washington and on partially recovering was transferred to Company A of the Tenth Regiment, Veteran Reserves. With this command he did guard duty in Washington. His company was selected as guard of honor to accom- pany the body of Lincoln from the White House to the Capitol, where it lay in state. The Ninth and the Tenth regiments of Veteran Reserves were assigned to guard duty at the arsenal prison while the conspirators who had been involved in the widespread plan to kill Lincoln and mem- bers of the cabinet were on trial. These regiments guarded the prison alternately, one regiment one day and the other the next. A guard stood at the cell door of every prisoner. This guard was changed every two hours, and no man was allowed to guard a prisoner more than once. It fell to the lot of Mr. Claridge to stand guard at the cell door of the noted prisoner, Herold, for the limit of two hours.
On the thirtieth of August, 1865, Mr. Claridge returned home from the war and resumed his place on his father's farm. Then, on November 19, 1867, he married Miss Elizabeth Born, of Franklin Township. She was born at Canton, Ohio, September 12, 1846, a daughter of John and Annie (Angel) Born, both natives of Switzerland. They were married in Columbus, Ohio, and they subsequently traveled by railroad with their family from Ohio to Milwaukee and from that city went by team to Sauk City, where they arrived in 1853. John Born was a tailor by trade, learning that occupation in Switzerland. He was born in 1820 and died May 10, 1891. Mrs. Claridge's mother was born in 1808 and died in February, 1888.
To Mr. and Mrs. Claridge were born ten children. Ellen married L. C. Tupper, of Sioux City, Iowa, and they have two children, Omer A. and Amy. John W. is a carpenter at Reedsburg, and his two children are Vera and Elizabeth. George H. lives at Sioux City, Iowa, and has two children, Walter E. and Laverne. Annie is the wife of William Weston, a carpenter at Spring Green. Albert L. died at the age of twenty-one years. Alice O. died aged one year and seven months. Bessie H. died at the age of three years and seven months. Wallace E. and Walter F., twins, the former a farmer in South Dakota, at Hettinger,
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and the latter died at the age of twenty-two. Erwin, the youngest of the family, died when only eighteen days old.
In 1867, the year he married, Mr. Claridge bought 160 acres in section 17 of Franklin Township. That was fifty years ago and the land responded to his diligent efforts and good management and returned him bountiful crops and made him financially independent. He continued his farming there until 1901 and then sold out and retired into Spring Green, where he owns a comfortable home and finds employment for his leisure hours as a gardener. He and his wife are members of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. For nine years he served as pathmaster of Franklin Township.
PATRICK CROAL. Two vocations, those of railroading and farming, have occupied the energies of Patrick Croal since he started upon his wage-earning career as a mere lad. For many years he traveled all over various parts of the country while acting in numerous capacities in the service of railroad companies, but in middle life settled down in Sauk County and became a farmer, and this occupation engaged his attention until 1916, when he retired, and took up his residence at Reedsburg. He is one of the substantial citizens of this thriving community, and whatever success has come to him has been the result of his own unaided efforts.
Patrick Croal was born in County Leitrim, Ireland, in 1843, and is a son of John and Catherine (Clinton) Croal, also natives of Erin's Isle. He was but four years of age when brought to the United States by his parents, the first place of residence of the family being the City of Danbury, Connecticut, where they lived until 1851. In that year they migrated to Wisconsin and located on a farm in Jefferson County, where they established at first a humble home and began the cultivation of the soil. They were hard-working, God-fearing and industrious people, made the most of their opportunities, and through their continuous labor man- aged to develop a good farm and establish a comfortable home. While they spent many years in Jefferson County, the parents died at Milwau- kee, the father in 1873, at the age of sixty-nine years, and the mother in 1878, when seventy years of age. They were devout members of the Catholic Church, and were laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery. John and Catherine Croal were the parents of ten children: Honora, James, Cath- erine, Andrew, Ann, Mary, Hannah, Rose, John and Patrick, of whom all are now deceased except the last named.
Patrick Croal enjoyed the educational privileges afforded by the country schools of Jefferson County and was brought up on the home- stead, it being the assumption of his father that he would adopt the vocation of farming when ready to start upon his career. However, like numerous other country boys, he was early attracted by the railroad, and, grasping the opportunity, managed to master the art of telegraphy. Thus equipped, he was qualified for a position with the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul Railroad, and entered the service of that line as a telegrapher, but this work did not prove congenial, and the youth gave up the key to become a brakeman. By the time he was seventeen years of age he was earning a man's salary as a conductor, and continued in
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that capacity for several years, the period of his connection with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul covering eight years. At the end of that time Mr. Croal went to California, where he secured a position as conductor on a line running from San Francisco to San Jose, and during the years that followed he covered a rather wide stretch of country in the extreme West, being at various times employed by most of the leading systems.
After a quarter of a century of railroading Mr. Croal returned to Wisconsin, and April 8, 1892, at Winfield, was united in marriage with Miss Maria Daly, who was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1857, a daughter of Patrick and Jane (Moran) Daly. Patrick Daly was born in 1807, in County Mayo, and was there married to Jane Moran, who was born in 1820, and in 1862 they immigrated to the United States and located on a farm in Winfield Township, Sauk County. They succeeded in the cultivation of a good property and rounded out their lives there, the father dying in 1880 and the mother not long thereafter. Patrick Daly was an exceptionally well informed man, a profound student and a reader of the classics. He was a democrat in politics, and he and Mrs. Daly were consistent and devout members of the Catholic Church. Their children were as follows: Michael, who died as an infant in Ireland; Maria (1) and Jane, who also died in infancy; Catherine, who is the wife of John Loughney, of Ironton, Wisconsin; Maria, who is now Mrs. Croal; Patrick, who became one of the leading lawyers of Reedsburg and died here in 1911; John, who died in infancy ; John (2), who is engaged in farming near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Frank P., M. D., a leading physician and surgeon of Reedsburg; and Martin, who died in infancy.
In 1893 Mr. Croal purchased the Patrick Daly homestead in Winfield Township and settled down to farming operations, in which he was very successful. While his training up to 1893, with the exception of several years in his youth, had been along entirely different lines, he proved himself capable of managing and directing a farm, and during his occu- pancy numerous improvements were installed which enhanced its value, while at the same time le produced good crops and made his land pay commensurately for the labor he expended upon it. In March, 1916, Mr. Croal retired from active labor and came to Reedsburg, where he now resides at the corner of Dewey and East Main streets. He is a demo- crat in politics. With his family he belongs to the Catholic Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Croal are parents of the following children : John, who was educated in the public schools and is now engaged in operating the homestead farm in Winfield Township; Jane, who was educated in the schools of Winfield Township and Reedsburg, and is now in charge of a school at Lime Ridge; Agnes, a graduate of the Reedsburg High School and now a teacher at Lavalle, Wisconsin; Mary, educated at the Reeds- burg High School, and teaching at Lime Ridge; Rose, a junior at the Reedsburg High School ; and Rita, a sophomore in the same school.
JOSEPH B. RAGATZ, for many years one of the leading merchants of Prairie du Sac, is now retired from merchandising, but has recently become president of the People's State Bank. He is a member of one
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of Sauk County's oldest families, and his individual career has been in keeping with the high ideals and standards of previous generations.
Mr. Ragatz was born in Sauk County, in Honey Creek Township, December 16, 1862. He is a son of Thomas and Catherine (Bueliler) Ragatz, both natives of Switzerland. His father was born in 1837 and his mother in 1840. The Ragatz family was established in this country by Bartholomew and Agnes Ragatz, who arrived in Sauk County in March, 1842. Bartholomew Ragatz took up land from the Government in Honey Creek Township and also had landed possessions in Prairie du Sac Township. His home was always in Honey Creek Township, and from the condition of the wilderness he developed his land until it made a splendid farm. Perhaps more than any one else he was re- sponsible for establishing the worship of the Evangelical Church in his community. The early meetings of that church were held in his own home. Subsequently he donated six acres of his land to build the Evangelical Church, known as the Ragatz church. At first the wor- shipers met in a log building, that gave way to a frame structure, and in'1875 the present church home was built. Bartholomew Ragatz and wife lived out the rest of their days on the old farm. Their children were: Christian, Jacob, Bartholomew, Henry, George, Oswald, Thomas, Julius and two daughters. Of this family Henry and Oswald both be- came ministers of the Evangelical Church.
Thomas Ragatz was eight years old when brought to Sauk County and the homestead farm which was the scene of his early childhood also became the stage of his mature endeavors as a prosperous farmer. He attended the public schools, was well read and a man whose character made him a distinctive influence in the community. While a farmer, he possessed the genius of a natural mechanic and did practically all me- chanical work required about his own place. For over twenty-five years he acted as superintendent of the Sunday School in the Ragatz church. He was an advocate of temperance and in politics a republican. His death occurred at the old home farm in 1890. His widow is living in the Village of Prairie du Sac. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Buehler. Jacob Buehler came to Sauk County in 1847, locating in Honey Creek Township on Government land. His farm, on which he died, is now owned by his son Ulrich, former county clerk of Sauk County. Jacob Buehler and wife had a family of eight children : John, Elizabeth, Ulrich, George, Sadie, Catherine, Maggie and Christian.
Mr. Joseph B. Ragatz was the second in a family of seven children. The names of the others are Sarah, Rosana (deceased), John J., Henry, Lydia and Edward J.
On the old farm where both his grandfather and father spent so many productive years, Joseph B. Ragatz lived until he was twenty- one years of age. He received his education in the local schools. In 1884 he removed to Prairie du Sac and started his business career as clerk for Mr. Jacob Hatz. In four years' time he had mastered the funda- mentals of mercantile life, and he then invested his modest capital in a store of his own. He continued actively in business at Prairie du Sac for a quarter of a century, finally retiring on January 1, 1914. Pos- sessed of considerable means, and with a judgment matured by long
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experience, he became one of the leaders in the organization of the People's State Bank in 1916, and when that bank opened its doors for business, March 5, 1917, he was the president.
Mr. Ragatz is a republican in politics and has become well known over Sauk County as a useful man in any position to which the people appoint him. In 1905 he was elected a member of the State Legislature and served one term with credit. He was elected supervisor of Prairie du Sac Township in 1901 and, except for the time spent in the Legis- lature, has been in that office continuously to the present. For about twenty-three years he was a member of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Ragatz is affiliated with Eureka Lodge No. 113, Ancient, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and with the Modern Woodmen of America, and is a member in the church of his father, the Evangelical. On June 14, 1892, he married Miss Cora M. Reese. They have one son, Joseph B., Jr., born March 21, 1910.
FRANK BROTHERS. The Frank Brothers have developed an im- portant business enterprise at Spring Green, where they conduct a garage and machine shop. The firm comprises John and Alphons Frank, and they organized under the present partnership in April, 1915. By the following May they had their splendid building erected and ready for business. This is an absolutely fireproof structure of vitrified tile and consists of two stories and is 48 feet wide by 72 feet long. It is located at the corner of Lexington and Monroe streets. The plant is perfect, and the service rendered by the Frank Brothers also has an excellence and efficiency which have had much to do with their pros- perity. The brothers sell Buick cars and all kinds of automobile and gas engine accessories. The equipment consists of an Oxy Acetylene welding apparatus, tire vulvanizing facilities, storage batteries, and a general service station. They do all kinds of repairing both of automo- biles and other machinery. The garage is one of the best in Sauk County and has many conveniences, including a ladies' waiting room.
Mr. John A. Frank, senior member of the firm, was born on his father's farm in Spring Green Township, April 27, 1887. He is the third of ten children of Joseph and Mary (Soeldner) Frank. He grew up on his father's farm, but early showed a special genius and inclina- tion for mechanics and machinery. He acquired his education in the local schools, and worked at home until he was twenty-four years of age. He then bought a farm of 160 acres in Spring Green Township, and followed farming four years. At the same time he maintained a gen- eral repair shop on his land and his success with that enterprise caused him to sell his plant and establish his garage and automobile service station at Spring Green.
On June 20, 1911, John Frank married Margaret Guerten, who was born at Cross Plains, in Dane County, Wisconsin. She is a daughter of Fred and Mary (Rauls) Guerten, her father now deceased and her mother a resident of Madison.
Alphons J. Frank, junior member of Frank Brothers, was born in Spring Green Township December 24, 1888. He also spent his early
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life on the farm, attended the local schools, and left the farm to join his brother in the garage in April, 1915. He is still a young bachelor.
GEORGE SCHWARTZ represents the second generation of an enterpris- ing family of agriculturists in Bear Creek Township and has applied his efforts to good advantage in the locality where he was born and reared.
Mr. Schwartz was born in Bear Creek on May 13, 1874, son of Joseph and Catherine Schwartz. His parents came from their native land of Germany in 1871 and located in a comparatively new and unimproved district of Bear Creek Township, where they bought eighty acres. Much of this land was cleared and improved by the father, who spent an in- dustrious life here and died April 16, 1913. The widowed mother is still living. Their children were George, Katherine (deceased), Eliza- beth, Augusta, Annie, Joseph, Mary and Christina.
George Schwartz grew up in his home locality, was educated in the local schools, and on March 19, 1902, bought his present farm of 230 acres. A better and more profitably managed farm it would be difficult to find anywhere in Sauk County. Mr. Schwartz is a democrat and a member of the Catholic Church. June 23, 1897, he married Miss Joseph- ine Meister, daughter of Martin Meister, of Bear Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz have the following children: Roselia, Bertha, Grace, George and Eleanor.
ARTHUR CLAUDE WITHINGTON. The late Arthur Claude Withington spent practically his entire life at Baraboo, where several evidences of his civic spirit are to be found in the grouping of the shrubbery on the grounds surrounding the public library, as well as in the buildings themselves, much of his time during his later years having been devoted to work in this direction. He was also greatly interested in church work, and as a citizen contributed materially to the welfare of Baraboo along civic, educational and moral lines.
Mr. Withington was born in England, February 8, 1855, a son of Arthur Harding and Emma (Marzetti) Withington. His parents, na- tives of England, were married in that country, and in October, 1857, came to the United States and located on a farm near Baraboo, where Arthur H. Withington carried on agricultural operations for some years. A sister of Mrs. Withington, Louise Marzetti, who was born in England December 22, 1829, was married July 19, 1859, to W. Gowan. On August 23, 1859, they came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and purchased a farm near to that occupied by the Withingtons, and there Mr. Gowan died in 1867, leaving no children. Mr. and Mrs. Withington then went to live with Mrs. Gowan, and at her home Mr. Withington died in 1872, following which the sisters resided together until Mrs. Withington's death in 1891. Mrs. Gowan now lives at No. 424 Fourth Avenue, Bara- boo, which has been her home for twenty-two years.
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