USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 59
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Albert Wood was educated in the common schools of that day and he also attended Milton College of Wisconsin. Though very young at the time he joined the Union army and fought for the preservation of the Union. For many years he taught school, and his education was largely self acquired. He was naturally studious, and directed his studies to such good purpose that he secured a life certificate as a teacher. Along with teaching he combined farming and he finally retired to the old homestead in Washington Township, where he looked after his parents during their declining years. There was never a time when his interests slackened in the welfare of his community educationally and otherwise. At one time he was his party's candidate for county superintendent of schools. When well advanced in years he took up the study of law. In 1906 he was admitted to practice in the courts of this state and though his legal career was brief he distinguished him- self by his industry and careful and efficient management of all inter- ests entrusted to him. All his life he enjoyed communion with the great spirits of the world through books, through active contact with men, and acquired a great fund of general information which was available when he took up the profession of law. After his admission to the bar he opened an office in his home town and acquired a favorable clientage.
Albert Wood died at his home in Washington Township March 9, 1914, leaving his widow, his son Edgar A., and two daughters, Estella and Mabel. Estella is the wife of Byron Chapin.
The Sauk County Bar Association, under date of April 18, 1914, prepared resolution, from which the following is a quotation: "There- fore be it resolved that in the death of Albert Wood the bar of Sauk county has lost an honest, conscientious member. Resolved further, that we extend his widow and family the sympathy of this association and
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that this memorial be spread upon the minutes of the court and a copy presented to the family."
Mr. Edgar A. Wood, who is unmarried, now occupies the old home- stead of his father with his unmarried sister Mabel. He has a farm of 120 acres, and is operating it along general lines, keeping about fifteen head of cattle and having a dairy of about ten head. He uses the silo system of feeding, and enjoys a justly earned place among the progressive farmers of Sauk County.
Mr. Wood is a director of the school board and for five years was road commissioner in his district. From 1905 to 1908 he served as post- master of Woodlawn. He is an active republican, a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and is secretary of the Beavers Lodge.
THOMAS MORLEY, whose name is numbered among the successful farmers in Sauk County, was born in Excelsior Township March 31, 1859. He comes of a widely known family, conspicuous among whom was his father, the late Isaac W. Morley, who served as the first county superintendent of schools of Sauk County.
Isaac W. Morley was born at Mentor, in Lake County, Ohio, Septem- ber 2, 1820, a son of Thomas Morley, who is elsewhere mentioned in this publication. Isaac W. Morley came to Sauk County in 1849. He acquired 160 acres of Government land. His brother Russell also took a quarter section and another brother, Alvin, took the farm where Isaac's son Harvey now lives.
Isaac W. Morley taught school from early youth and did considerable work as a pioneer educator in Sauk County. November 5, 1861, he was elected county superintendent of schools, and had the distinction of putting the county school system into operation. He also conducted a farm and a sawmill, and was a man of good ability in every line. He married in Ohio Mary F. Smith. Isaac Morley was a republican, but later became stanchly aligned with the prohibition party. He and his wife had a large family of children : Mary, wife of A. C. Cole, of Excel- sior Township; Alvin, deceased; Lucian, who died at the age of three years; Lucius, who died in November, 1916, at the age of sixty; one that died in infancy ; Thomas; Harvey, who now owns the 200-acre home- stead which his Uncle Alvin once had; Leaphe, who is unmarried; and Minnie, wife of Arthur Stanley.
Mr. Thomas Morley grew up on his father's old farm, was educated in the public schools, and in passing years has acquired a fine estate of his own in Excelsior Township, consisting of 130 acres. He devotes this to general farming and stock raising. He has served as a member of the school board and is an active republican.
In 1890 Mr. Morley married Miss Addie Crater. She was born at Reedsburg in Sauk County, daughter of Levi Crater. Mr. and Mrs. Morley have eight children: Ralsa; Sidney, who died in infancy ; Reuben, Pearl, Eva, Alice, Lena and Rose.
GEORGE T. HORKAN is one of the live and enterprising business men of Reedsburg, being member of the firm Siebert, Horkan, Verthein & Company, proprietors of what is known as the Daylight Store.
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Mr. Horkan was born in Dellona Township of Sauk County October 27, 1884, a son of George and Bridget (Davenport) Horkan. His father, who was born in Canada in 1841, has long been prominently identified with Sauk County affairs, and further reference to his career will be found on other pages.
George T. Horkan grew up on his father's homestead, attended the local schools and the Reedsburg High School, and early chose a business career. For a year and a half he was an employe of the Kelley Mercan- tile Company of Reedsburg. In 1904 the present firm was organized, with him as an active partner, and they bought out the Kelley Store and Mr. Horkan has been an active factor in its management and develop- ment ever since.
In matters of politics he is independent. He and his family are Catholics and his fraternal affiliation is with the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Horkan married in June, 1908, Miss Helena Walsh, of Reedsburg. They have one daughter, Mary C.
HENRY GROTE. Among the men who have contributed to the agri- cultural development of Sauk County and who have now passed to their reward was the late Henry Grote, who for many years was the owner of a farm located 11% miles from Reedsburg in the township of the same name. When he first came to this locality, not long after the Civil war, in which he had fought valiantly as a soldier of the Union, he settled on a property which was almost totally unimproved, and during the years that followed, through industry and steadfast effort, he succeeded in the development of a valuable farm and in establishing himself thoroughly in the confidence of the community as a reliable and useful citizen. In 1911 he retired from agricultural labors and took up his residence at Reedsburg, where his death occurred in 1915.
Mr. Grote was born at Hobenbernsdorf, Germany, and was a young man when he immigrated to the United States. His residence in Sauk County began in 1859, when he secured employment on the farm of a Mr. Coddington in Reedsburg Township, for whom he continued to work until he entered the army, enlisting February 22, 1862, in Company A, Nineteenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. With this organi- zation he participated in numerous engagements, including the bloody battle of Fair Oaks, and when he received his honorable discharge at Richmond, Virginia, August 5, 1865, he had an excellent record as a brave and faithful soldier. Returning to Sauk County, he became the owner of a farm in Excelsior Township, and in 1867 was married. About three months after this event he sold his Excelsior Township farm and moved to Reedsburg, soon thereafter purchasing a farm 11/2 miles from town, in Reedsburg Township. About ten acres of this property had been cleared and Mr. Grote made an additional clearing upon which to erect his home and other buildings, following which he settled down to the serious business of developing a productive and paying farm. In this effort he succeeded admirably, becoming one of the township's skilled and successful farmers. After his first home was destroyed by fire he built another residence, and as the years passed and he accumulated more means he added to his buildings, improvements and equipment.
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He continued to be engaged in general farming and stock raising opera- tions until March, 1911, when he retired from active work and moved to Reedsburg, where he purchased a comfortable home at No. 433 North Locust Street. Here his death occurred November 7, 1915, and here his widow still resides. Mr. Grote was a republican in his political sym- pathies and support and took an active part in local affairs, being for several years chairman of the township board of Reedsburg. His stand- ing in the community was that of an honorable and substantial man, honest in his engagements and faithful in his friendships. A supporter of good movements, he was also one of the founders of St. Peter's Church, of which he and his wife were faithful members.
On October 13, 1867, Mr. Grote was married to Miss Dorothea Hue- bing, who was born September 6, 1849, in Germany, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Harms) Huebing. The parents of Mrs. Grote came to the United States in October, 1861, and located in Westfield Township, Sauk County, where Mr. Huebing worked on a farm until he had accumulated sufficient means with which to purchase a property of his own in Reedsburg Township. His first residence was a log house, but after he had cleared and improved his farm he erected more com- modious buildings. In the evening of life this reliable citizen and sub- stantial farmer moved to Reedsburg, where his death occurred in Janu- ary, 1913, when he was eighty-six years of age, Mrs. Huebing having died aged eighty years, November 25, 1902, while living on the farmn in Reedsburg Township with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Grote. Mr. and Mrs. Huebing had the following children: Dorothea, now Mrs. Grote; Catherine, who is the widow of Bernhard Conerus; William, who is the owner of the family homestead in Reedsburg Town- ship; Henry; and Annie, who is the wife of Fred Schutte, of Reeds- burg. Mr. and Mrs. Grote became the parents of seven children: Levi, who died at the age of twelve years; Bertha, who is the wife of John Sherhorn, of Reedsburg; William, resident of Reedsburg; Albert, twin of William, who died in infancy; Pauline, who is the wife of Charles Bodenstab, a lawyer of Chicago; Otto, who owns the Grote homestead in Reedsburg Township; and Walter, who is employed at the sheet metal works at Gary, Indiana.
Mrs. Catherine (Huebing) Conerus, sister of Mrs. Henry Grote, was born February 17, 1857, in Germany, and was married March 10, 1880, to Bernhard Conerus, who was born May 1, 1851, at Wittmund, Hanover, Germany. He was a son of Herman Martin and Frances (Harkens) Conerus, both of whom died in Germany. They had two children : Gerhardt and Bernhard. Bernhard learned the blacksmith trade in his youth, and in 1870 immigrated to the United States and located in Dane County, Wisconsin, subsequently moving to Ableman, Sauk County, and in 1878 to Reedsburg, where he followed his trade until his death, September 9, 1884. He was a republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church. Mrs. Conerus is now the owner of a comfortable home at No. 431 Vine Street, Reedsburg. To Mr. and Mrs. Conerus there were born two children : Arnold Martin and Bernhard Henry, the latter born April 22, 1883, died in July, 1895. Arnold Martin, born at Reedsburg, May 26, 1881,
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was educated in the public and high schools, and is now a jeweler and optician of Elroy, Wisconsin. He married Caroline Schultz, of Reeds- burg, and has two children, Tevna Catherine and Caroline Velma.
GEORGE YOUNG. One of the substantial citizens of Sauk County is George Young, who is a member of an old settled family in the neigh- borhood of Reedsburg, and whose extensive farm and stock operations have given him much prominence here. He was born on his present farm in Reedsburg Township, January 23, 1866. His parents were W. Henry and Lydia (Dewey) Young.
W. Henry Young was born in Montgomery County, New York, May 10, 1824, and was a son of John C. and Hannah (Dingman) Young, who, when he was ten years old, moved to Otsego County, New York, and he lived there until 1847. In that year W. Henry Young went to Jefferson County, New York, and from there in 1854, came to Wiscon- sin and settled at Reedsburg and lived there until in July, 1856, he moved on the farm which is now the property of his son, George Young. He was a man of consequence in Sauk County, serving as district clerk for sixteen years, for four years was supervisor of Reedsburg Town- ship and for one year was chairman of the town board. Mr. Young fell heir to eighty acres of his land and later bought 120 acres, and in the course of time made many improvements. He lived to an unusual age, ninety years and eighteen days, passing away in 1914. He was twice married, first in January, 1856, at Reedsburg, to Adaline Crawford, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of James Crawford, and died July 10, 1861. Two children were born to this marriage, Clarence and Howard. Mr. Young's second marriage took place on December 17, 1863, to Lydia Dewey, who was born at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and is a daughter of Henry and Mary A. Dewey. She resides at Reeds- burg, where she has a wide circle of friends. Three children were born to this marriage : George, Charles, who is deceased, and Winnie . F.
George Young was educated in the public schools and after complet- ing his studies in the high school at Reedsburg assumed the duties and responsibilities he has borne ever since, these including operating a 200-acre farm, and since 1892 he has been a breeder of pure strain Holstein cattle. At the time of writing he has twenty head, fine animals that would undoubtedly bear off many prizes if exhibited. All his agricultural industries are well directed, Mr. Young being a very capable business man, and he is credited with much enterprise in his efforts to improve the standard of stock generally through the county.
Mr. Young was married in 1897 to Miss Gertrude Mason, who was born in Ohio, and they have five children: Helen, Ethel, Vera, Henry and Emma. Mr. Young is an important factor in the democratic party in this section. He has served as township clerk for sixteen years. Per- sonally he is held in high esteem as an honorable and upright man, one who is ever ready to do his part in protecting and promoting the best interests of the section in which his family has been favorably known so long.
GEORGE WEIDENKOPF, formerly identified with the farming inter- ests of Sauk County and now a successful real estate and loan broker at
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Baraboo, is a native of the county and his family has had interesting relations with this country from pioneer times forward.
Mr. Weidenkopf was born on the old homestead of the family in Sumpter Township April 7, 1872. The homestead was the northeast quarter of section 22. His parents were John and Florentina (Gossen- schmidt) Weidenkopf. His father was born near the River Rhine in Germany in 1822, while the mother came from the famous Schwartz- wald or Black Forest district, where she was born in 1826. John Weiden- kopf came to America and located in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1842, and some years later married there, his wife having come to America several years after him. Her father, John Gossenschmidt, maternal grand- father of George Weidenkopf, was a man of exceptional attainments. He learned the trade of blacksmith, afterwards took up veterinary surgery, and finally acquired a thorough knowledge of medicine in the old country. On coming to America he located in Ohio, lived with his daughter, Mrs. John Weidenkopf, and subsequently came to Sauk County and practiced his profession here for two years. He doctored. many of the early families. His death occurred in 1866.
John Weidenkopf enlisted for service in the Mexican war with the Fifteenth Ohio Regiment and was in service until that brief but decisive conflict was ended. For his service the Government gave him a land warrant, and in 1852 he located it in Sauk County, in Sumpter Town- ship. His first place was 160 acres but in 1864 he moved to the old homestead above noted. The first home of the Weidenkopf family in Sauk County was a house of hewed logs, 22 by 26 feet in ground dimen- sions, and being twelve feet high furnished a story and a half of room. That building is still a landmark in the county and still in use. The property was in the family ownership until 1907. On this farm, which he had brought to a high state of development John Weidenkopf died in the spring of 1890. His widow passed away at Baraboo in June, 1906. They were the parents of nine children. Minnie, who died in 1893, was the wife of A. F. Herfort. John, Jr., lives at Badger, South Dakota, where he was a pioneer settler in 1879. Caroline is the wife of Paul Herfort, of Baraboo. Charles lives at Highland, South Dakota, where he was a homesteader in 1879. Mary is the wife of Jerry Cough- lin, of Baraboo. Elizabeth, the first of the family born in Sauk County, is the wife of John Franklin, of Baraboo. Josie married Emil Reinke, and they live at Portland, Oregon. Julia is the wife of Oscar Altpeter, of Baraboo.
Mr. George Weidenkopf, the youngest of the family, grew up on the old homestead farm and acquired his education in district school No. 7. He finely acquired the homestead and worked it as a practical farmer until he sold the property in 1907 and moved to Baraboo. At the county seat he has conducted a successful real estate and loan business and is a member in good standing of the Wisconsin Association of Real Estate Brokers.
Mr. Weidenkopf lives at 714 Eighth Street, and has a good home and grounds of an acre and a quarter. In politics he is a democrat, having cast his first vote for Bryan in 1896. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.
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October 26, 1898, Mr. Weidenkopf married Miss Blanche Hoover, of 'Sumpter Township, a daughter of Martin Hoover and a granddaughter of John Hoover, one of the real pioneers of Sauk Prairie. Mr. and Mrs. Weidenkopf have two children, Vane Hoover, born October 9, 1902; and Arlene born December 30, 1904.
HENRY W. MEYER. The connection between the growth and devel- opment of the interests, industries and institutions of a community and its agricultural affairs implies so close a relation that it cannot be lost sight of by the intelligent observer. Unless the farms are prosperous and the farmers progressive the community will not grow. Therefore, the men who are engaged in the tilling of the soil are very important factors in the scheme of things, and their lives are connected indissolubly with the history of their localities. Accordingly, in writing of Sauk County, and particularly of Reedsburg Township, mention should be made of Henry W. Meyer, who is successfully engaged in farming, stock-raising and dairying, and whose progressive methods and good business management have assisted in building up his county's prestige.
Henry W. Meyer was born November 5, 1869, in Germany, a son of August and Maria Meyer, the latter of whom died in Germany in 1885. Three years later the father, with his children, immigrated to the United States, his first settlement being at Nicollet, Nicollet County, Minnesota, where he remained nine years. In 1897 he came to Sauk County, Wis- consin, then returned to Minnesota for a time, only to again come back to Sauk County, where he made his home with his son and died in 1906, aged eighty-one years. There were four children in the family, namely : August, who is deceased ; Maria; Henry W .; and William.
Henry W. Meyer received the greater part of his education in the schools of Germany, and was nineteen years of age when he accompanied the family to the United States and located at Nicollet, Minnesota, where he attended school for two months. Mr. Meyer first came to Sauk County in 1893, bringing with him a capital of $500, which he invested in a farm of eighty acres. This land he put under a good state of cultivation, making numerous improvements and erecting substantial buildings, and in 1904 was able to sell this property at a good figure. In that year he bought 120 acres of land in Ironton Township, which he still owns and upon which he carried on operations until 1914, when he bought his present farm in Reedsburg Township, a property 130 acres in extent. Immediately upon locating upon this tract Mr. Meyer began to improve his surroundings, and ere long had impressed his progressive spirit and industry upon the buildings and equipment of the place. He made improvements upon a number of the structures and in 1917 erected a handsome and commodious residence, modern in every particular and attractive in appearance. As a farmer Mr. Meyer has won success through his industry and able business judgment, and in addition to raising the standard crops of the locality has met with pros- perity in the breeding of Holstein cattle and in his dairy work, in which he milks twenty-two cows. He is a man who has the respect of those with whom he has been connected in business enterprises, and his integ- rity in this direction, as in others, is unquestioned. In civic affairs he
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has taken an interest in all that pertains to the welfare of his com- munity, and while residing in Ironton Township served as a member of the board of school directors for several years. His political support is given to the republican party. With Mrs. Meyer and their children he attends the Lutheran Church.
ยท Mr. Meyer was married in 1901 to Miss Ida Thiemann, of Reeds- burg, daughter of W. A. and Dora (Von der Ohe) Thiemann, the former deceased and the latter a resident of Reedsburg Township. Three chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Meyer: Paul, Emma and Olga.
ANDREW NELSON. One of Sauk County's substantial citizens is Andrew Nelson, a successful general farmer in Excelsior Township. He was born at Kongsberg, Norway, December 28, 1846, and his parents died in that country.
Andrew Nelson attended the public schools in his native land. In 1866 he came to the United States and went to work for farmers in Columbia County, Wisconsin, near Kilbourn, and also worked along the Mississippi River and spent one summer at Dubuque, Iowa. In 1872 he bought 160 acres of wild land in Excelsior Township, Sauk County, and has cleared seventy acres and made excellent improvements. In addition to general farming Mr. Nelson raises high grade Durham cattle. A republican in politics, he has always been loyal to party and friends but has never been willing to accept public office. He is a mem- ber and liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church of North Freedom.
In 1871 Mr. Nelson was married to Mrs. Sophia (Halversen) Hart- wig, who was born in Norway and died in Sauk County, March 2, 1916, when aged seventy-six years. She came from Norway to Dane County, Wisconsin, with her parents when four years old. They died in the Moe settlement at Newport, near Kilbourn, Wisconsin. Her first mar- riage was to Morton Hartwig, and they had two children : Julius, who is state chemist for Minnesota, having filled that office for sixteen years and resides at St. Paul; and Isaac, who died when aged nine years.
To Mr. and Mrs. Nelson two sons were born:' Carl Morton, who resides with his father and operates the home farm; and Tunis Nor- man, who resides at Gays Mills in Crawford County, Wisconsin. He married Grace Mccullough, and they have two children: Max and Claire.
Morton Hartwig was a son of Isaac Hartwig, who was one of the pioneers of Sauk County. When the Civil war came upon the country Morton Hartwig entered the Union army and was a brave soldier. He died in a military hospital in the City of St. Louis, Missouri.
EDWARD KRUEGER. Few farms in Sauk County are better improved than the one owned by Edward Krueger, which is situated in Reedsburg Township, a part of it being the old Krueger homestead, which was pur- chased by his father, the late Edward Krueger, more than forty years ago. Edward Krueger, the younger, was born at Reedsburg, October 4, 1872. His parents were Edward and Minnie (Schroeder) Krueger.
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They were natives of Germany, where the father was born April 14, 1827, and the mother, January 20, 1845.
The elder Edward Krueger lived in Germany until he was thirty- one years old, in the meanwhile serving for four years in the German army. When he came to the United States he located in the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained for twelve years. He had left his parents in Germany and when his father died there he sent for his mother and he cared tenderly for her until her death. Mrs. Wil- helmina Krueger was born October 31, 1805, and died on the farm which her grandson, Edward, now owns December 31, 1895. Edward Krueger came to Reedsburg when forty-three years old and resided in the vil- lage for four years and during this time put up the first brick building in the place. He was in the bakery and saloon business with a Mr. Rheneke. In 1877 he traded his Reedsburg interests for a farm of eighty acres in Reedsburg Township and moved on the property, which he subsequently improved. In 1903 he moved back to Reedsburg and his death took place there in August, 1910, when he was aged eighty- three years.
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