USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 55
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He was born there December 3, 1870, a son of William and Mary (Holton) Hurley. His parents were among the pioneers of Winfield, where they located in 1860. William Hurley cleared up the land and developed a good farm in that locality, and lived there until his death on November 18, 1902. His widow passed away January 30, 1909. They had a large family of children, named Patrick, Margaret, James, Mary E., Frank, Neil, Kate, Carrie, Teresa and Florence. James and Mary E. are both deceased. The daughter Margaret married Waldo Fessey. The son Frank is still unmarried. Neil married Elsie Hirst, who is now deceased. Kate is the widow of Robert Whitty. Carrie married Joseph Fessey. Teresa became the wife of Arthur Kranz. Florence is still unmarried. Mrs. Kate Whitty, now a widow, with her daughter Estella lives with her brother Patrick, who has never married and is success- fully pursuing the business of farming on a place of 160 acres in Win- field Township. He is both a farmer and stockraiser. Mr. Patrick Hurley votes independently in matters of politics.
GODFRIED RETZLOFF. An enterprising agriculturist and representa- tive citizen whose interest in public affairs has ever been of the most sincere order, Godfried Retzloff commands the unqualified respect of his fellow men. He was born in Germany, January 23, 1859, and was there reared to the age of fourteen years. In 1873 he accompanied his parents, Charles and Eva (Preskorn) Retzloff, to America and the family located in Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1879. Here the father was engaged in farming operations until his demise in 1911. Further data concerning the Retzloff family is given in the sketch of Herman Retzloff on other pages of this work.
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Godfried Retzloff maintained his home in the Keystone State for six years after his parents departed for Wisconsin. There he was married and after that event. in 1885, he, too, came to Sauk County. He pur- chased a farm of eighty acres in Excelsior Township and subsequently added to that estate so that his present farm comprises 139 acres. He has some fine buildings on his place and recently erected a new barn, 30 by 70 feet. He raises Holstein cattle and has a herd of about thirty head. He is a republican in his political proclivities but votes for the . man rather than the party. He has never aspired to public office of any description but gives a whole-hearted support to measures projected for the public good.
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Mr. Retzloff has been twice married. In Pennsylvania was celebrated his marriage to Miss Bertha Snyder, who bore him ten children : William and Charles are deceased; Mary is the wife of Orlan Brimer and they have five children; Herman is mentioned on other pages of this work; Louise is the wife of Adolph Krueger and they have one child, Milton ; Marthy married Henry Ashenbach and they have one child, Henry ; Alta is deceased; Caroline and Eva are at home; and a son died in infancy. Mrs. Retzloff died in 1893. Mr. Retzloff married for his second wife Mrs. Lena Buhr, who had four children by her first husband : Alta, Della, Lillian and one deceased. There were no children born of this second marriage and Mrs. Retzloff died in 1911.
Mr. Retzloff is a man of marked enterprise and initiative. Self made in the most significant sense of the word, he has progressed steadily toward the goal of success until he is recognized today as one of the prominent farmers of Excelsior Township. He is warm-hearted and generous in disposition, is fond of home life, and is held in high esteem by all who know him.
WILLIAM S. PIERCE. To look back over sixty-seven years of life in Sauk County is the privilege of William S. Pierce, one of the highly respected citizens and well known farmers of Troy Township. He was born in Cortland County, New York, in 1842. His parents were Abra- ham and Priscilla (Saulsbury) Pierce, who, with their three children, started for Wisconsin in 1848. In those days ordinary travel was necessarily slow, for the roads were mostly poor and streams were but indifferently bridged, if at all. The family reached Ohio and spent a year there and then proceeded on their western way until they came to Evansville in Rock County, Wisconsin. During the year they lived there the father sought out a tract of land that he believed desirable on which to settle permanently, and in December, 1850, preempted sixty acres of Government land in Troy Township, Sauk County. This was both prairie and river bottom land and was a wise selection. The parents passed the remainder of their lives on the place, the father dying in 1887 and the mother two years later. They had three children only: Hannah Janette, who lives near Spring Green, Wisconsin, is the widow of Edward Talbert, who died in 1909; Eliza, who was Mrs. Jacob Proctor, lived in Kansas until her death in 1917, and her husband was accidentally killed in a coal mine; and William S. All were reared and attended school in Troy Township.
During many years of his early business life Mr. Pierce operated rafts on the river, running to and from many points, including Grand Rapids, Stephen's Point and Warsaw. He owns 100 acres of land in Troy Township and when he began to cultivate it, in 1865, he used oxen. He has witnessed wonderful progress in farming methods and many of these have greatly eased the labor that once had to be performed by the farmer himself or remain undone. Modern machinery and the building of good roads have been boons to the farming community.
In 1865 Mr. Pierce was married to Miss Mary Patterson, who was born in the city of Bangor, Ireland. Her mother died when she was young and she came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, with an aunt. Her father, William Patterson, came two years later with the other children,
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two sons and one daughter, one brother of Mrs. Pierce, Robert Patter- son, still surviving and living in Kansas. William Patterson settled when he came to Sauk County in what was called Patterson Valley, but is now known as Fox Valley. He took up land there and engaged in farming until his death, at the age of forty-four years.
Mr. and Mrs. Pierce had two children born to them, a son and a daughter. The daughter, Ada, resides with her parents. The son, Wil- liam, went to Kansas and was married there and died in that state in 1911. In politics Mr. Pierce has kept to an independent attitude, with good judgment weighing public questions as they come up and casting his vote for the candidate he deems best fitted for office. He has served twelve years as a school director, two years on the township board, and was postmaster of the Cassell postoffice twenty-eight years. He is a member of the Adventist Church.
FRANK TENNANT. An able representative of the agricultural inter- ests of Sauk County, Frank Tennant owns and operates a large, well appointed and well managed, farm in Bear Creek Township.
He was born in Herkimer County, New York, May 3, 1852, son of Cyrus and Rosina (Campbell) Tennant. His parents were also natives of New York State. In coming West they spent one year in Illinois, and in 1854, when Frank was two years of age, they located in Sauk County. Both parents are now deceased. Their children were: Bur- rell, Olive, Frank, Malvin, Daniel, Lafayette, Hannah, Ella, Cyrus, Rex- ville and Bertha. Cyrus and Rexville are now deceased.
Mr. Frank Tennant grew up in Sauk County, attended the local schools and has given his best years to the prosecution of farming. He located on his present farm in 1887. He found the land partly cleared, and has since put many acres under the plow and has otherwise in- creased its value by good buildings and the wise and capable manage- ment of its resources. He has 180 acres and is giving considerable atten- tion to Holstein cattle. Mr. Tennant is a republican and has served his township as supervisor one year.
He married Miss Mary Cummings, who was born January 1, 1857, daughter of Denis and Mary Cummings, another pioneer family of Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Tennant have four children : Cora, deceased : Roy, who married Iola Knudson; Lucy, wife of Bert Anderson; and Dora, now Mrs. Reinfeldt.
AUGUST BEHN. Among the native sons of Sauk County who have gained success there are to be found many who have adopted the voca- tion of farming, and their broad fields indicate their prosperity and yield them handsome incomes. Their trim farm houses, commodious barns, neat premises and well-fed stock all give evidence that those in possession understand the business and are making it pay. These de- sirable conditions have not been brought about without an expenditure of considerable hard work and energy and the exercise of rigid economy, but the success attained well repays the owner for his outlay. Sank County, located as it is in the center of a fertile farming county, num- bers among its residents a number who have made their own way in this direction, and among them is found August Behn, representing the
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third generation of the family to engage in agriculture here, and a man who has brought his property to a high state of cultivation, being num- bered among the skilled agriculturists of Reedsburg Township.
August Behn was born September 9, 1880, in Reedsburg Township, and is a son of Carl and Caroline (Burmaster) Behn. His paternal grandparents were Carl and Dora (Gans) Behin, who came from their native Germany to the United States in 1867 and settled in Sauk County, buying twenty-five acres of land in Reedsburg Township. Here they passed the remaining years of their lives in the peaceful cultivation of their small tract, and the grandfather died about 1887, aged sixty-eight years, while the grandmother at her death in 1913 had reached the ad- vanced age of ninety years. Their children were four in number: Charles (Carl), W. F., August and Henry, the last named of whom is deceased. One of these sons, W. F. Behn, was born in Germany, May 18, 1850, and arrived in Sauk County on his seventeenth birthday, May 18, 1867. He was reared and educated at Reedsburg, where for several years he worked at the trade of carpenter, but in 1873 turned his atten- tion to farming in a small way, when he purchased nineteen and one-half acres of land located in Reedsburg Township. This furnished the nucleus for his present farm, he having attained eighty acres in 1878, and at the present time he is one of the successful farmers and stock growers of his locality as well as a substantial and public-spirited citizen. He was married in 1873 to Dora Meyer, who was born in Germany, July 23, 1846, and they have three children: William, Albert and Freda.
Carl Behn, the father of August, was born in Germany, July 7, 1848, and was nineteen years of age when he came to the United States with his parents, having received his education in his native land. He as- sisted his father in the cultivation of the first small family tract in Reedsburg Township, of which- he later became the owner, and subse- quently purchased other land, which he continues to cultivate in a mod- ern and successful manner. Mr. Behn is well known as a reliable, dependable citizen, whose integrity in business matters and probity in private life are unquestioned. Of his ten children, five sons and two daughters are still living.
August Behn was reared on the old homestead, in the vicinity of which he attended the public schools, and when he entered upon his independent career it was as the owner of a farm of 120 acres lying in Winfield Township. This he sold and came to Reedsburg Township, where he, with his brother Willie, first rented 160 acres of land and in 1914 they became its owners by purchase. He is a general farmer and stockraiser who has met with success in his operations because they have been carried on in a methodical, practical and progressive manner, and the prosperity which he has gained is all the more satisfying because it has been achieved without outside assistance and because it has been won in an honorable way. He is a republican in politics, but has not sought nor cared for public office, being content to follow the life of a private citizen. With his family he belongs to the Lutheran Church.
In Ironton Township Mr. Behn was married to Miss Aura Hineman, of Sauk County. Mrs. August Behn is a native of Sauk County, Wis- consin, and was born September 16, 1884. She is the fourth in a family of five children, two sons and three daughters, born to Daniel W. and
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Mary (Fry) Hineman, and all the family are living. Her parents are also yet living and are residents of Ironton Township. Mr. Hineman is one of the progressive agriculturists and dairymen of Sauk County and has a good farm of 133 acres. Mrs. Hineman, the mother, is a mem- ber of the United Brethren Church at Reedsburg.
Mrs. Behn is a lady of more than ordinary education. She was educated in the Lime Ridge graded schools of Sauk County and received her teacher's certificate and taught successfully for three years in her native county. She attends the German Lutheran Church with her husband, but formerly affiliated with the United Brethren Church. She is a lady who aims to keep abreast of the times and she loves good literature and books of an elevating character.
Mr. and Mrs. Behn have three children : Wilma, born February 19, 1907; Mary, born February 16, 1910; and Agnes, born November 30, 1912. Mr. Behn is optimistic in regard to the agricultural future of the County of Sauk, and in his own operations has always been more or less of a philosopher, being glad to accept the full and bounteous seasons and not finding it worth while to grumble over the poor ones. In this way he maintains a cheerful outlook upon life and really helps him- self to a fuller success.
Mr. Behn is an honored member for years of the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 2246, of La Valle, Wisconsin.
Mr. Behn's brother, Willie H., was born on the 28th of August, 1888. He resided with his father until 1911, when he became a partner with his brother August. In 1914 they purchased the farm they now own. On September 18, 1917, Willie Behn was called to be a soldier. He be- longs to Battery D, Three Hundred and Thirty-first Field Artillery, Camp Grant, at Rockford, Illinois.
HENRY LESLIE SARRINGTON. The commercial and industrial inter- ests of the Village of Delton has for many years been largely in the hands of the Sarrington family. The grist mills there have long been turning out a high grade of flour and other food stuffs, and these mills have successively been under the ownership of the late Henry Sarring- ton and now his son Henry L. Sarrington.
The latter was born in Delton Township, April 1, 1871, being a son of Henry and Susan (Balderson) Sarrington. Henry Sarrington was born in England, December 25, 1835, and in early manhood came to America, first locating in Neshkoro, Wisconsin, where he married. For one year they lived in Watertown, Wisconsin, and in 1866 came to Sauk County, locating on the site of the present Village of Delton. Henry Sarrington was employed for a time in the old grist mill at that point and he also conducted a store for a few years. He finally traded his farm in that vicinity for the mill which is known as the Delton Queen Roller Mills. He continued the ownership of this milling property until his death in June, 1914, but had retired from active business in 1903. In matters of politics he was a democrat.
Henry Sarrington married Susan Balderson. She was born in England January 4, 1846, and came with her parents to Wisconsin in 1850. She was a daughter of Kent and Elizabeth (Jack) Balderson,
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both natives of England, her father born in 1805 and her mother in 1808. After the Balderson family located in Milwaukee Kent was employed for a couple of years by the old-time packer of that city, John Leighton. He then moved to a farm eighteen miles from Milwaukee, two years later rented another farm, and from there moved to Neshkora, where he had a farm and cultivated it until his death in 1864. His widow survived him until 1874. Their children were: Henry, William, Elizabeth and Joseph, all deceased; Jolin; Susan, Mrs. Henry Sarring- ton, now deceased; and Rebecca, deceased. Of these children, John Balderson was born in London, England, January 3, 1844, and has been a resident of Delton Township since 1866. He was a carpenter by trade. He married Josephine Frances Good, daughter of Benjamin F. Good, one of the early settlers of Sauk County. John Balderson and wife had three children, Fred, Arlena and Benjamin, all now deceased. Mrs. John Balderson died December 4, 1904, and since her death he has made his home with his nephew, Henry L. Sarrington.
Mr. Henry Sarrington married for his second wife Mrs. William Mash. His children, however, are by his first marriage and are three in number: Evelyn Elizabeth, wife of J. I. Sumner, of Detroit, Miehi- gan ; Henry Leslie; and Grace Susan, wife of M. J. Wolcott, of Necedah, Wisconsin. The mother of these children died in 1888.
Henry Leslie Sarrington grew up at the Village of Delton, attended the public schools there, and from the age of fifteen was working in his father's mill and acquired a thorough knowledge of the milling in- dustry before he reached his majority. In 1903 he took the active man- agement of the mills and is now sole proprietor. In addition to this enterprise he owns forty acres adjoining the mill property and another farm of seventy-three acres adjoining the Village of Delton. He is a very capable miller and business man, and is one of the citizens of high standing in that community. In political matters he votes as a democrat and has served as township clerk and for the past ten years has been township treasurer. He is affiliated with Dells Lodge of Masons at Delton.
On April 12, 1892, Mr. Sarrington married Miss Laura Harrison. She was born in Excelsior Township of Sauk County June 3, 1872, daughter of John and Mary (Tucker) Harrison, now of Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Sarrington have children: Vera Susan, Ralph Leslie, Charles Oliver, Harold Dolaver and Genevieve.
JOHN W. HERRINGTON. Though he served nearly three years in the Union army during the Civil war, John W. Herrington is still on the active list and has not yet celebrated his seventieth birthday. He is not only a veteran of the war but also a veteran in the railway service, and has been with the Chicago and North Western Railway upwards of half a century, being now head of the telegraph office at Baraboo.
Mr. Herrington is a Canadian by birth, having been born March 10, 1848, but in the following year his parents, John and Julia Ann ( Hill) Herrington, moved to Wisconsin and located at Janesville in Rock County. His father was a tailor by trade and was in business at Janes- ville until his death in 1896. The mother died there in 1873. Their
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five children, all living, are John W., W. F., Blanche, Roland G. and Ida.
Jolm W. Herrington grew up at Janesville, where he attended the grammar and high schools. He was just fifteen years old when in March, 1863, he enlisted in Company M of the Tenth Illinois Cavalry, a famous regiment that did a great deal of active service in the middle West and the far South. Mr. Herrington served as a soldier two years, seven months, twenty-two days, until the close of hostilities.
Following the war he returned to Janesville and soon entered the employ of the North Western Railway, and that employment has seen no important interruption to the present time. He came to Baraboo in 1880 and for many years has been telegraph foreman at this point.
Mr. Herrington's residence has always been on the south side of Baraboo. He served as an alderman in the city council three years, and in voting cast his ballot independently. He is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has served as commander of the Baraboo Post. He is also active in Masonry, having affiliations with Lodge No. 34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Chapter No. 49, Royal Arch Masons, Commandery No. 28, Knights Templar, and Chapter No. 21 of the Eastern Star, all at Baraboo.
In 1882, a year or so after he came to Baraboo, Mr. Herrington mar- ried Miss Lettie E. Roberts, of Ridgeway, Wisconsin. She died Decem- ber 2, 1911, the mother of four children: Ida Elizabeth; Blanche, who died in infancy ; Lucile Virginia ; and John W., Jr.
TOBIAS C. CLAVADATSCHER. While agriculture is the oldest of in- dustries and is the most indispensable one, it has never been so scien- tifically carried on as at present, nor has it ever before claimed so many educated, college-bred young men's interest and attention. A member of one of the oldest families in Sauk County who belongs to the above class is Tobias C. Clavadatscher. He is personally conducting his fine farm of 220 acres situated in Troy Township, and is proving that intel- lectual acquirements and thorough agricultural training are great assets in the business of modern farming.
Tobias C. Clavadatscher was born on his present farm in Troy Township, Sauk County, in 1883. His parents were Martin and Barbara (Geyman) Clavadatscher. The father was born in Prairie du Sac Town- ship, Sauk County, Wisconsin, and was a son of Nicholas Clavadatscher, who was one of the first settlers in this county. The other children of Nicholas were: Mrs. John Schneller; John, who lives at Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin ; Tobias, who lives at Baraboo; and Christian, who died at the age of twenty-one years. Martin Clavadatscher was married in 1878 to Barbara Geyman, who was born in Greenfield Township, Sauk County, and resides at Prairie du Sac. Of the four children born to them, two died in infancy, the two survivors being Tobias C. and Amelia, the latter being the wife of Walter Baumgarth, who lives at Black Hawk in Troy Township. From the time he was eight years old until his death, Martin Clavadatscher lived on the same farm in Troy Township and for many years was considered one of the leading farmers of this section. He was a man of sound business sense, and in addition to his farm enter-
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prises owned stock in a large mercantile concern and in the Honey Creek Creamery. He was a republican in politics and frequently was selected by his party to serve in important local offices. For two years he was supervisor and for six years was a member of the township school board, his public duties at all times being performed with the strictest sense of honesty. He was a faithful member of the Evangelical Church at Black Hawk.
Tobias C. Clavadatscher grew up on the home farm and attended the public schools and later became a student in the agricultural engi- neering department of the Wisconsin State University at Madison, and afterward, because of his proficiency in this line, was accepted as an instructor there in the gas engine department (as pertaining to the carrying on of modern agriculture) and taught in the university for four years. In 1913 Mr. Clavadatscher went into the automobile busi- ness as a salesman through Sauk and Dane counties and continued in that line for two years, becoming well known all through this part of the state and making both business and personal friends. He returned then to Troy Township and since 1915 has been devoting himself to farm industries, including stockraising and dairying with general crop grow- ing. He has gone about his business in the right way and in practically applying his university training has prospered.
On May 11, 1916, Mr. Clavadatscher was married to Miss Ella Klebesadel, a daughter of William Klebesadel, who was born at Mazo- manie, Wisconsin. They are members of the Evangelical Church. In politics Mr. Clavadatscher is a republican and his good citizenship can- not be questioned. He has never been willing to accept any public office, his preference being for the quiet, useful life of a farmer.
FRANK PIEPER. One of the highly respected retired farmers of Sauk County is found in Frank Pieper, who has been a resident of this county since he was seven years old. He was born in Germany in 1857 and in 1864 accompanied his parents to the United States. They came imme- diately to Sauk County and the father bought a farm of 120 acres in Honey Creek Township. During the following eight years he did some clearing and then took advantage of an opportunity to sell at a profit, moving then to Greenfield Township. There he purchased a farm on which the family lived for seventeen years. The last farm that Father Pieper bought was a tract of ninety-nine and one-half acres situated in Troy Township. His death occurred two years later, in 1895, and the death of the mother of Frank Pieper occurred seven years later. Of their family of ten children the following are living: Fred; August, who lives on the old homestead in Greenfield Township; Frank; and John, who lives at Castle Prairie in Troy Township. A number of the children died in infancy but Matilda lived to be thirty-one years old.
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