USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 56
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Frank Pieper grew to manhood in Greenfield Township and in boy- hood attended the district schools. He assisted his father on the farm until his marriage and then began operations for himself and continued to live in Greenfield Township for the next eight years, moving then to Baraboo Township and was engaged in farming there for five years before coming to Troy Township and settling on the old homestead here.
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During his many years of agricultural experience, Mr. Pieper became known as a capable farmer and an expert judge of stock. For some years he was also a stockholder in a local creamery, but this stock he recently transferred to his son Herman. . For some time Mr. Pieper has been retired from active labor but still keeps interested in everything about the farm, which now belongs to his son Herman, who is one of the progressive and enterprising farmers and stockraisers of Troy Town- ship.
Mr. Pieper was married in 1879 to Miss Bertha Yerke, a daughter of Gotlieb Yerke. She was born in Germany and was seven years old when she accompanied her parents to Waukesha County, Wisconsin. They lived in that county for four years and then moved to Sauk County and Mr. Yerke bought forty acres in Merrimack Township, and on that farm both he and his wife died. Mr. and Mrs. Pieper have had six children, namely : Anna, who died when fifteen years old; Martha, who died at the age of fourteen years and fourteen days; Amelia, who died in infancy ; Mary, who is the wife of Arthur Marquardt, lives at Plain in Franklin Township; Herman, who now owns and capably operates the' farm of about one hundred acres; and Elsie, who lives with her husband at Castle Rock. Mr. Pieper has one grandchild, a son of Herman, who married Laura Myer, a daughter of William Myer. Mr. Pieper and his son vote the republican ticket. The whole family belong to the Lutheran Church and in every way are people who may be justly classed with the representative citizens of this rich county and great state.
FRED KRAFT. Among the substantial farmers of the present time in Sauk County may be found some who came here with not a penny of capital, and now their name on a legal paper will be gladly accepted in any financial institution in the country. Such an one is Fred Kraft, the owner of one of the finest farms in Troy Township, well improved and well stocked and so valuable to its owner that it is not for sale. Mr. Kraft is a man who has made his own way in the world and for many years of his earlier life worked early and late and often under conditions that were most discouraging. He was born in Pomerania, Germany, in 1841.
In 1870 Mr. Kraft came to Sauk County, his parents coming in the same year. They all lived in Honey Creek Township for a time and then they moved to Nebraska and there both died. Mr. Kraft has one brother in California, two brothers and a sister in Nebraska, and one sister, Mrs. Fred Guetzkow, in Honey Creek Township, Sauk County.
Fred Kraft has always been an indutrious man and when he first came to Sauk County looked about to find something to do while acquiring enough money to make a purchase of land. He rented a house in Honey Creek Township, for he had a wife and one daughter at that time, and then secured grubbing work by the day from other settlers who were clearing farms. Afterward he secured a job in a sugar factory at Black Hawk and then moved to. Harrisburg, and during the first winter walked the distance of a mile and a half night and morning. He then moved east of Black Hawk and through the next winter worked in the sugar factory, and when work was slack there returned to grub-
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bing. In this manner, with the closest kind of economy, Mr. Kraft by 1875 was ready to purchase eighty acres of wooded land. He built his own log house and then with a will began to clear his land, in the earlier stages using oxen because of their great strength. In the course of time he added a second eighty acres to his first and has never parted with any of his holdings. Being thorough in his farming methods, Mr. Kraft has prospered in his undertakings and now has everything com- fortable around him.
Of Mr. Kraft's family of ten children six are living, namely : Bertha, who was born in Germany, is the wife of a Mr. Dodd; Anna, who is the wife of Aaron Middleton, lives in Illinois; Rhynold, who is unmarried, lives at Black Hawk; John, also unmarried, lives with his father; Emma, who is the wife of Lewis Fuchs, lives just across the road from her father; and Ida, who lives on the home farm, is the wife of Erwin Elsing. All the children, except Bertha were born in Troy Township and all attended school here. Mr. Kraft is a republican in politics. He and all his family are members of the Evangelical Church, in which he has been a class leader for many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Fuchs have three children : Mabel, Benjamin and Machim, the eldest of whom was graduated with credit from the public school quite recently. Lewis Fuchs is a son of Theobald and Caroline Fuchs, natives of Germany, who were married in 1866 and settled in Troy Township, Sauk County. The father has served three years in the German army. They had the following children: Carrie and Emma, both of whom died in infancy: Robert, who married in Troy Township, lives at Harrisburg; George, also married, is a rural free delivery post- man out of Sauk City; William, also married, is a farmer in Troy Town- ship; Lewis, who married Miss Emma Kraft; Julius, who lives with his family in Troy Township; Millie, who is Mrs. Henry Sarg, lives at Sauk City; and Benjamin, who is a merchant in Sauk City. Theobald Fuchs lived on his farm until within a few years of his death and then moved to Sauk City and was given a commission by the Government as mail carrier over route No. 1, and died at the post of duty in February, 1902. He was somewhat prominent in township politics and served for several years as clerk of the school board and as assessor and treasurer. The mother of Lewis Fuchs died February 12, 1917. For some time Mr. Kraft has lived retired but he still feels an interest in all that goes on on the farm he worked so hard to secure. The whole family are well known in this section and their hospitable homes are ever open to kindred and friends.
WILLIAM HENRY CAFLISCH. Sauk County being such an important dairy center in Wisconsin, it is appropriate that some space should be devoted to some of the leading creamery, cheese and butter makers, and perhaps there is none with a larger and more varied experience and more of an expert in that line than William Henry Caflisch of Baraboo.
Mr. Caflisch belongs to the pioneer element of Sauk County. He was born on what is known as the old English farm in Baraboo Town- ship September 4, 1877. His parents were Christian R. and Barbara (Aukenbrandt) Caflisch, both of German stock. His father was born
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in Switzerland in 1842 and the mother in Germany in 1852. Christian Caflisch came to Sauk County when a young man, and at once signalized his patriotism to his adopted country by enlisting in 1861 in the Union army. He gave four years of gallant service as a soldier and on return- ing to Sauk County he married and took up farming, which he has followed now for half a century. For the past twenty years he has lived on his farm in Fairfield Township. He is a republican in politics, and was reared a Lutheran, while his wife was brought up as a Catholic. Aside from their material achievements this worthy old couple deserve great credit for the splendid family of fourteen children they have reared. Some reference to these eight sons and six daughters and their positions in life is here made. Anna, the oldest, is the wife of Harry Brown, of Chicago. Frank married Bertha Thomas, daughter of B. F. Thomas, of Baraboo, and they have five sons, Betie, Everett, Dean, Gordon and Glenn. Mary, living at Baraboo, is the widow of J. B. McIntyre, who died in 1907, leaving two children, Bessie and Fred- erick. The fourth in the family is William Henry. John, a farmer of Fairfield Township, married Avis Bump and has three children, Floyd, Vivian and Kenneth. Lula is the wife of Joseph Postner, of Chicago. George, in the draying business at Baraboo, with home on Oak Street, married Millie Thomas, and their children are Roger, Bryan, Robert, Rodney, Donald, Lucile and Wilbur. Della married C. J. Cook, of Lyons, Iowa, and has three children, Lola, Thelma and Rudolf. Christian H., a farmer in Fairfield Township, married Bessie Turner and has one child, Genevieve. Anthony, who was born in Baraboo Town- ship October 7, 1887, is a buttermaker by trade and assisting his brother William, and in 1912 married Miss Louise Weber. Catherine is un- married and lives in Chicago. Vern is a clerk with the Lee Radke Hard- ware Store at Baraboo. The two youngest children, Marjorie and Archie, are still living at home with their parents.
William Henry Caffisch grew up on a farm and attended public schools in Baraboo, Greenfield and Fairfield townships. His years were passed uneventfully on a farm until he was twenty-three. In 1900 Mr. Caflisch began learning the creamery business with the Elgin Creamery Company. In the fall of that year the company sent him to North Freedom as foreman of the local plant, and little later he went to Bara- boo and worked a year, until the Elgin Company failed. Its interests were acquired by the Continental Company, which in turn sold to the Baraboo Company, with whom Mr. Caflisch remained nine months. Then came an interruption to his career as a creamery man and for a vear he was a locomotive fireman with the Chicago and North Western Railway. He resumed his regular business with the Excelsior Creamery Company for seven months, and on March 1, 1906, took employment with John Barker in the creamery at North Freedom, where he remained thirteen months. On March 19, 1907, Mr. Caflisch bought the Baraboo Creamery and opened up the business under his management, April 6th of that year. The plant was exclusively devoted to the making of butter and ice cream until February 1, 1917, since which time they have also manufactured cheese and at present there is a large output of these three important commodities.
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Mr. Caflisch is also one of the organizers and a director of the Farm- ers and Merchants Bank of Baraboo. He is independent in politics, and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Equitable Fraternal Union. In 1900 he married Miss Eva Powell, of Fairfield Township. Their four children are named Aylmer, Virgil, Audrey and Elva.
FERDINAND HARDER. Farming and stockraising are old industries and in no section of the country have they brought in their train more substantial and satisfactory rewards than in Sauk County, Wisconsin. One reason may be that many of the agriculturists here are steady, hard- working men who give their entire attention to their business and through thoroughly understanding it make it profitable. One of the successful farmers of the county who came here thirty-four years ago, with but small capital, is now the owner of one of the finest farms in Reedsburg Township. He acquired his property through his own efforts and what he has accomplished is creditable to him in every way. This well known farmer and stockman is Ferdinand Harder, one of the county's most respected citizens.
Ferdinand Harder was born in Germany, October 28, 1856. His parents were Christian and Wilhelmina Harder, who spent their entire lives in Germany, the father dying in 1882 and the mother in 1884. They had eight children, namely: William, August and Albert, all de- ceased ; Ferdinand; Franz, who is deceased; Henry, who is a resident of La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Bertha and Wilhelmina.
Ferdinand Harder grew to manhood in his native land and was married there in 1882 to Miss Minnie Manska, and in the same year they came to the United States and located in Sauk County, Wisconsin. Mr. Harder soon found employment with a Mr. Gale, for whom he worked for eight and a half years, being careful and saving in the mean- while, and by 1893 was in a position to buy a farm for himself. He found a tract of ninety-two acres situated in Reedsburg Township that suited him, and soon the transaction was concluded that made it his property. Mr. Harder has done a great deal of improving here. He has cleared a part of his land and has put up substantial buildings. He raises grain and other products and keeps excellent stock. Mr. Harder may be called a modern farmer because he uses modern methods intel- ligently and has plenty of first-class farm equipments.
Mr. and Mrs. Harder and their children are members of the Lutheran Church. They are nine in number, as follows: Henry, Walter, Meta, Arnold, Esther, Otto, Ida, Rudolph and Elva, a fine family reflecting credit upon their parents and the neighborhood. . Mr. Harder votes the republican ticket. He has never accepted any political office, although he keeps well posted on all that occurs in a public way in the township, for he is a good citizen and desires to lend his influence to promote the best interests of this section.
CONRAD KRUSE is one of the youngest independent farmers in Sauk County, but, regardless of age, there is no one who shows more com- petence and ability to manage a good farm than he. Mr. Kruse is both
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a practical and scientific farmer and is getting ahead in the world because he is willing to study and learn not only from his own experi- ence but from the experience of others.
Mr. Kruse was born in Westfield Township October 20, 1893, a son of F. C. and Anna (Hasz) Kruse. His parents are well known people of Westfield Township, and more extended reference to the family will be found on other pages of this publication.
Conrad Kruse was educated in the Loganville public schools and in order the better to equip himself for the vocation he had chosen he has spent two winters in a course in agriculture at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. On March 1, 1916, Mr. Kruse located on his present farm of eighty acres in Westfield Township and though the two seasons he has spent there have not been altogether ideal from, a farmer's standpoint, he has already laid a good foundation and success with him is only a matter of time. Mr. Kruse handles high grade Hol- stein cattle, keeping about twenty-three head of that fine stock and has a dairy herd of fourteen cows. Besides the other general equipment of the farm he has two large silos.
Mr. Kruse is a republican voter and a member of the Lutheran Church. He married Miss Elsie Feldmann, daughter of George and Dorothy (Kohlmeyer) Feldmann, of Westfield Township. Mrs. Kruse has the following brothers and sister : Edward, Henry, August, George, all of whom live in North Dakota; William, of Loganville; Otto, of Loganville; Ernest, of Reedsburg, and Emma, also a resident of Sauk County.
J. STEPHEN TRIPP. In the contemplation of such a character as was the late Hon. J. Stephen Tripp realization comes as to the great loss sustained by his city and county in his death. His was a life of signal usefulness and its influence was potent and beneficial. Fidelity to trust and conscientious performance of every duty formed part and parcel of his very nature. Highly gifted, he exercised his talents nobly. Be- nevolent in a great degree, he distributed his donations wisely, and his public spirit led him to make gifts to his city and his state which will stand as monuments to his progressive nature in years to come. A resi- dent of Sauk County from 1853 until his death in 1915, the greater part of this time was spent at Prairie du Sac, where he was favorably known not only as a capable banker and as an excellent citizen, but as a friend . to those who needed and were worthy of friendship.
J. Stephen Tripp was born at Duanesburg, Schenectady County, New York, July 5, 1828, and was a son of Benjamin and Martha A. (Stephen) Tripp. His father was a farmer by vocation and the youth was reared on the home place, but cherished greater ambitions than the opportunities which seemed to be offered in an agricultural career, and when still a boy made plans to break away from the implements of the soil. He was fortunate in securing a good educational training, first at- tending the public schools and subsequently entering Schoharie Academy, one of the most noted educational institutions in the Empire State. Having been attracted by the law, at the close of his academic course he applied himself assiduously to the study of his chosen calling,
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with the result that he mastered its complexities and perplexities suf- ficiently to pass the examination, and in June, 1853, was admitted to the bar.
While there were numerous opportunities for him to establish him- self in practice in a community where he was known and where he would have had the support, moral and material, of friends, the young lawyer preferred to make his way without this kind of assistance. He answered the call of the West soon after being given permission to practice, and in 1853 arrived in Sauk County, his first settlement being at Baraboo, where he remained only one year, being in partnership with his cousin, Giles Stephen, now Judge Stephen, of Reedsburg. In 1854 Mr. Tripp located at Sauk City, where he hung out his shingle and solicited law business, and the people of that city soon came to know that the young man from the East was possessed of more than ordinary legal knowl- edge and acumen, and with his success in a number. of cases came an added patronage that soon placed him well upon the high road to suc- cess. In 1867 he was sent from his district to the General Assembly of his state, and while in that body was made chairman of the committee on contingent expenses and a member of the committee on corporations and others. He gave his district good service and his record in legis- lative halls was an eminently honorable one.
While engaged in the practice of the law, Mr. Tripp had acted as counsel in a number of cases where he was compelled in the course of his legal activities to familiarize himself with the working machinery of the banking business, and in this way he became more and more interested in financial affairs until he finally decided to venture into that difficult field on his own account. In 1868, therefore, he established his first banking enterprise, a private institution at Sauk City, which grew and developed from small proportions into extensive and important ones, the magnitude of which finally engrossed his attention to the ex- clusion of all else. From that time forward he was not engaged in the practice of law, but his knowledge thereof was of great help to him in his business, and his advice and counsel were always at the disposal of his fellow bankers. During the twenty years that he was engaged in the banking business at Sauk City he discharged the duties of citizenship by serving in the capacity of city clerk, his incumbency in that office extending over a period of sixteen years. In 1888, or thereabouts, Mr. Tripp changed his center of operations to Prairie du Sac, and that city continued to be his home during the remainder of his life, his death occurring there in July, 1915. He had rounded out a long and useful life, in which he had contributed materially to the welfare of his fellow men, and the closing years of his career were characterized by public and personal philanthropies. Among these was his gift; March 4, 1912, of $10,000 to the Village of Prairie du Sac for the erection of a public library, which threw open its doors to the public in October, 1913. In 1915 Mr. Tripp added to the beauty and value of this institution by the presentation of a number of handsome and highly valuable paintings which for years had graced the walls of his own home. Shortly before his death he donated $40,000 to the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. In Mr. Tripp's death the Village of Prairie du Sac lost a true friend,
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a citizen who had done much for its welfare and progress, and a man who always shouldered more than his share of civic responsibilities. His memory, however, will long be kept green in the hearts of his fellow- citizens who knew his sterling qualities and admired them.
Mr. Tripp was married first in 1857 to Miss Fannie W. Hallett, of Fairfield, New York, daughter of Sheriff Hallett. She died without issue in 1865, and Mr. Tripp was again married, in 1874, being united with Miss Nellie M. Waterbury, daughter of the Hon. James I. Water- bury, of Prairie du Sac. They had one son, who died in infancy, and Mrs. Tripp passed away in 1893.
FRANK KANEY is a native of Wisconsin and has lived steadily on one farm in Franklin Township for the past forty-three years. He has made the land respond to his capable efforts as an agriculturist and from it has been able to provide for his growing family and at the same time perform his share of responsibilities as a public-spirited citizen.
Mr. Kaney was born in Whitewater Township of Walworth County, Wisconsin, June 4, 1855. He is a son of James and Annie (McGuire) Kaney. Both his parents were natives of Ireland. His father came from County Leitrim in 1847 and his mother from Kings County, Ireland, about the same time. They married in this country in 1850. James Kaney was a cooper by trade and for some years followed that occupation at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In 1867 he located on a tract of land in Sauk County, partly cleared and improved, and had it well developed as a good farm before he passed away. Both parents died in the same year, 1887, the father on April 3d and the mother on July 28th. Their children were named Alice, Frank, Elizabeth, Anne, Mary, Margaret, James and William, all still living except the oldest and the youngest.
Frank Kaney was educated chiefly in Sauk County and he learned farming by practical experience from his father. In November, 1874, he located on his present place and is now the owner of 120 acres, devoted to general farming and stock raising. He keeps about forty head of cattle and has a dairy herd of sixteen cows. Mr. Kaney has manifested a commendable interest in the welfare of his community, is an active republican, a member of the Catholic Church and has filled several church offices.
He married Anna Walsh, daughter of Peter and Catherine (Curran) Walsh, both of whom came from Dublin, Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Kaney have the following children : James, Catherine, John, Mary, Anna and Leo. These children were all well educated in the local schools and all of them are still unmarried except James, whose wife was Margaret Doyle.
M. R. PROUTY. Since pioneer times the name Prouty has stood for success and extensive holdings of land in Sauk County. It is in many ways an honored name. Hundreds of acres of the fertile soil of this section have been developed by Prouty enterprise and the members of the family have also borne a worthy part in every movement for com- munity betterment.
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M. R. Prouty was born in Bear Creek Township of this county January 18, 1868. He acquired a good education, and starting out with limited capital he has found a way to success by industry and by a growing knowledge of farming and all its kindred industries.
Mr. Prouty located on his present place in Franklin Township near the Town of White Mound in 1898. Some of the lands which he acquired he cleared by his own efforts and has become one of the largest land holders in that section. His first purchase was 200 acres, and later he bought another tract of 220 acres, and finally 120 acres. While he has sold some of this he still owns a magnificent place of 440 acres and . is using it to provide feed and room for his extensive operations as a breeder and raiser of Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Prouty has about 100 head of cattle, and is one of the recognized experts in this field of stock husbandry.
Mr. Prouty married in February, 1889, Miss Wilda Jane Henry, daughter of Jacob and Jane Henry. They are the parents of three children, Robert, Walter and Marion. Robert, a capable young farmer in his own right, owns eighty acres adjoining the old homestead. Wal- ter is also a farmer on his own account, and has a place of eighty acres near his father's home. Robert married Julia Carpenter, daughter of Charles and Rachel Carpenter, of Spring Green. Walter married Ella Welsh, daughter of Mike and Mary Welsh.
Mr. Prouty has busied himself with local affairs, served as town treasurer four years, and for twenty-seven years has been school clerk. In politics he is a republican.
GUSTAV C. SCHWEKE. A member of that old family of Reedsburg which has played so important a part in its commercial and civic affairs, Gustav C. Schweke has been a resident of Sauk County most of his life, for many years was a prosperous merchant at Reedsburg, and is now living retired in that city.
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