USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 65
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Mr. Schweke has lived at the corner of Pine and Second streets in Reedsburg for twenty-three consecutive years. He has a beautiful home there and has everything to make life attractive. In politics he is a republican and was an alderman of the city when it was first incorporated, but his aspirations have never been for political honors. He is an active member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mr. Schweke was married in 1893 to Miss Mary Roper, who was born at Reedsburg in 1868, a daughter of William and Dora (Schierwater)
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Roper. Her parents were among the early residents of Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Schweke have two children. Florence is a graduate of the Reedsburg High School and is now a junior in Downer College at Milwaukee. Antoinette is a student in the parochial schools.
WILLIAM ROPER is one of the prominent old time citizens of Reeds- burg, and became widely known both to the local and the traveling public as proprietor of one of the leading hotels of the city. He is now living retired.
He was born in Germany December 18, 1839. He grew up and re- ceived his early advantages in the schools of his native land, and in 1867 married Miss Dora Schierwater. She was born in Germany March 27, 1843.
A year after their marriage the young couple started for America. They soon located at Reedsburg in Sauk County and Mr. Roper took up hotel work and for thirty-five years was proprietor of the City Hotel of that town. He was an excellent and genial landlord, a capable business man, and from the fruits of his well earned prosperity he retired and for the past eight years has looked after his private affairs. In 1909 he built a fine brick home at 136 Second Street, and is now enjoying its comforts with his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Albert Roper. Mr. Roper is a democrat in politics, and he and his wife, who is now deceased, were very active members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church. They were the parents of the following children: Mary, wife of D. G. Schweke, one of the wealthiest business men of Reedsburg; William, a dentist, who died in 1907 at the age of thirty-five, his widow, Harriet Roper, being now a resident of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and the mother of two children, Janette and William; Albert; Laura, who died in infancy; Otto, who is unmarried and is in the offices of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company at Sioux City, Iowa; Frona, wife of George C. King, a cement contractor living in Iowa, and they have a child, George; Paula, wife of R. C. Pride.
Albert Roper, a son of Mr. William Roper, was prominently iden- tified with business affairs at Reedsburg until his death on March 31, 1916. He was born at Reedsburg April 12, 1875, was well educated in the public schools, and after leaving the high school took a course in Toland's Business College at LaCrosse. For several years he was ac- tively identified with his father in the management of the hotel and then entered the Daylight store at Reedsburg and was manager of its grocery department at the time of his death. Politically he was a republican, and filled the office of constable and for eleven years was connected with the fire department. He was also one of the early members of the State Militia and was connected with that organization about ten years. He and his wife were active members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church.
Albert Roper was married August 17, 1910, to Miss Anna Rosen- thal. Mrs. Albert Roper, who now makes her home with her father-in- law, Mr. William Roper, is the mother of one daughter, Dorothy Pauline, who was born September 5, 1912. Mrs. Albert Roper was born at Reedsburg January 4, 1880, a daughter of Gustav and Pauline
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(Collies) Rosenthal. Her father was born in Milwaukee in 1846 and her mother in Reedsburg in 1860. Her mother was a daughter of August and Pauline Collies, very early settlers of Reedsburg Township. Their home was a farm 21% miles west of Reedsburg. Both had come from Germany and both died in 1908. . Mrs. Albert Roper's paternal grandfather was August Rosenthal, who likewise was an early farmer settler of Reedsburg Township. He and his wife were also emigrants from Germany. Gustav Rosenthal, father of Mrs. Roper, was for about thirteen years engaged in the foundry business at Ironton, and for over twenty years was connected with what is now the Reedsburg Supply Company. Mrs. Roper was one of a family of nine children : Fred, who died in infancy ; Anna, Mrs. Roper; William, of Reedsburg; Edith, wife of Herbert Wischoff of Reedsburg; George, who lives at Reedsburg and married Elizabeth Wollschlager; Louis, a resident of Thompsons Falls, Montana, who married Eva Miller; Edward, con- nected with the lumber company at Reedsburg, married Freda Hue- bing; Leona; and Arthur, who is unmarried and is employed in the Daylight store.
HARRY THORNTON, who became specially well known over Sauk County during his service as register of deeds, is a business man and banker at the Village of LaValle. His own life has been lived within the boundaries of Sauk County since birth, and his people were early settlers in this region seventy years ago.
He was born at Ironton, Sauk County, November 30, 1861, a son of John and Hannah (Harrison) Thornton. John Thornton was born in Yorkshire, England, February 9, 1833, a son of Reuben and Betty Thornton. The Thornton family emigrated to America and settled in Sauk County, Wisconsin, in 1849, the same year that Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. They were pioneers at Ironton and Reuben and his wife both died there. Their children were John, who lives in La Valle, and Richard, Charles, Sarah, Hannah and Emma, all de- ceased. The daughter Sarah who died in 1915 attained the great age of ninety-five.
John Thornton was fifteen years of age when he came to Sauk County and after reaching manhood he acquired a farm in Ironton Township and conducted it until his death. Politically he was a republican. He was married in Ironton Township to Hannah Harrison, who was born in England in 1836. Her parents, George and Martha Harrison, came to Sauk County as early as 1847 and located on a tract of wild land in La Valle Township. Both of them spent their last years there. . Their children were: James, Eleazer, George, Jemimah, Rachel, Martha, Sa- lena, Hannah and Malissa. John and Hannah Thornton had five chil- dren : Rachel, Jane, Harry, Martha and Edward.
Harry Thornton grew up on his father's farm, and wisely improved his advantages in the local schools. Farming offered him his first oppor- tunities in life and he lived on and cultivated a tract of land until he was nearly thirty years of age. In 1890 he removed to LaValle and took up the lumber and produce business. Later he became one of the organizers of the State Bank of La Valle and from 1901 to 1904 served
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as cashier of that institution. In the latter year he was elected regis- ter of deeds for Sauk County and by re-election filled that position two terms, during which time he and his family lived at the county seat, Baraboo. After returning to La Valle at the close of his official admin- istration, Mr. Thornton had charge of the roller mills for two years and then resumed his position in the State Bank as cashier, an office to which he has been giving his chief time and attention.
Mr. Thornton is a republican in politics. He has served as supervi- sor of La Valle and is now treasurer of the village. Fraternally he is affiliated with Ironton Lodge of Masons, with Reedsburg Chapter of the Royal Arch and he and his wife are active in the Reedsburg Chapter of the Eastern Star. He was also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
In 1884 Mr. Thornton married Miss Sarah Pearson. Mrs. Thorn- ton was born in Sauk County in May, 1861, and her parents, Charles and Martha (Harrison) Pearson, came to this section of Wisconsin about 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Thornton have one daughter, Elsie, who was grad- uated from the Baraboo High School in 1906 and is now assistant cash- ier of the State Bank of La Valle.
CHARLES F. WILKINSON. In point of development, equipment, stock- ing and general management it would be difficult to find a more sat- isfying farm estate than that of Charles F. Wilkinson in La Valle Town- ship. This farm represents the successive and progressive efforts of three generations of the. Wilkinson family. What the grandfather won by the hardest of efforts from the wilderness his son in turn added to, and in the third generation Charles F. Wilkinson has again increased the holdings not only in extent but in value and development.
Mr. Wilkinson was born on this farm in La Valle Township Sep- tember 7, 1879. His paternal grandparents, Sammy and Martha (Pear- son) Wilkinson, were natives of England, the former born in 1814 and the latter in 1815. Martha Pearson was a sister of Manlius Pearson, a prominent Sauk County pioneer whose name occurs elsewhere in this publication. The Wilkinsons left England when in middle life and came to Sauk County, arriving here in 1857. Not long afterwards Sammy Wilkinson bought eighty acres contained in the present home- stead above mentioned. He cleared up the land and before his death had increased it to 160 acres. He lived there usefully and honored in the community until his death on January 11, 1870, his widow pass- ing away in 1874. They were the parents of eleven children, Orlando, Zena, Grace, Alexander, Patience, Isabella, Randolph, Ronald S. P., Adolphus, Sammy and Charles.
Ronald S. P. Wilkinson, father of Charles F., was born in Brad- ford, Yorkshire, England, in April, 1849, and was eight years of age when brought to Sauk County. He grew up in the midst of a pioneer environment, learned his lessons in the primitive schools, and on arriv- ing at manhood went forthwith into a career as a practical farmer. He finally bought the homestead and his management was so success- ful that he increased it to 280 acres and also erected the residence which still stands there. In his time a small building served the purposes of a
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barn. He was at one time a successful breeder of shire horses, and con- tinued his residence on the farm until 1904 when he moved to the Vil- lage of La Valle for three years and later to Augusta, Wisconsin, in which section he bought a farm of 100 acres. He still owns this land and rents it, and is now living in the Village of Augusta. Ronald Wil- kinson married Emma Lycan, who was born in Sauk County April 18, 1857, her parents having also been pioneers here. She died at the old homestead in La Valle in 1903. Ronald Wilkinson is a democrat in politics and his brother Charles was chairman of the township board of La Valle for twelve years. Charles is now living in Juneau County, Wisconsin. Ronald Wilkinson and wife had a family of eleven chil- dren : Georgia, Mattie, a son that died in infancy, Charles F., Jessie, Ronald, Alice, Cleveland, Clem, Irma and Dorothy. The father by a previous marriage had one child named Patience.
Charles F. Wilkinson has spent nearly all the days of his life on the old homestead in La Valle Township. He grew up there, his childhood associations center around it, and he attended the local schools. Only two years were spent away from the home farm while he was doing agricultural work in the State of Minnesota. In 1904 he bought the homestead and has continued its operation and has also added 120 acres, and he now has the ownership and management of 400 acres of rich and valuable land. His building improvements show to the casual visitor proof of his progressiveness as a farmer. His barn is undoubtedly one of the best in the county, its ground dimensions being 122 by 30 feet and equipped with everything that serves the purpose of a methodical and systematic farmer. He also has two silos, one 14 by 30 and the other 12 by 30. As a stockman. Mr. Wilkinson keeps good grades of Holstein and Shorthorn, and has a number of thoroughbred Hereford cattle. Through the year he usually has from sixty-five to seventy-five head of cattle, besides other stock. Mr. Wilkinson is independent in casting his vote, and his only public service has been on the school board, He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.
In March, 1911, he married Miss Lucy Gabbitas, a native of Sauk County and a daughter of John and Ann Gabbitas, who were early set- tlers here. Her father died in 1908 and her widowed mother is still living in La Valle. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wil- kinson : C. H., Gail and John Wesley, the last now deceased.
LEWIS B. ROBINSON. One of the best known residents of Sauk County is Lewis B. Robinson who, for many years, has been a repre- sentative citizen and a substantial farmer and stockraiser. For over a half century Mr. Robinson has resided here and a history of pioneer days as he endured them, would be an exceedingly interesting chapter to preserve with other county annals. A few of the early settlers came with capital and thereby had fewer hardships to face, but Mr. Robin- son came practically empty-handed and what he has acquired has been the result of his industry and good management.
Lewis B. Robinson was born in England, April 7, 1843, and came to the United States in 1861. He desired to secure a farm and a permanent home and in cherishing this ambition sought work of any kind to assist.
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him in realizing it. After he reached Ironton, Sauk County, Wisconsin, he found hard but well paid for work in the furnace there and with the money he earned and saved he laid the real foundation of his present state of financial independence. In the course of time, in partnership with Edward Briggs, he bought a tract of 120 acres, then owned by Bailey Pearsen and situated in La Valle Township. To this first tract the partners added twenty acres and worked hard and with much self denial, to develop the land.
Circumstances changing somewhat caused Mr. Robinson to sell his part of the first farm and he then bought the one he yet owns, a fine tract of eighty acres which is favorably located in La Valle Township, being well watered and thus suitable for carrying on one of his most important industries, this being the raising of high grade Holstein cattle. For many years Mr. Robinson superintended all his farm indus- tries himself but is now practically retired, his son Frank having taken over the management of the farm and is proving his business capacity. Mr. Robinson has seen wonderful changes take place here in every way and in every vocation and he has done his part in bringing about many of the admirable conditions which make life pleasant, profitable and com- fortable in La Valle Township. . When he came here in the early days there was practically no school system and he has been one of the men to give encouragement to the public schools and for many years served on the school board.
Mr. Robinson was married in 1864, to Miss Margaret Hendricksen, who was born in Ohio in 1844 and came to Sauk County with her parents when young. She died in 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson had six chil- dren, namely : Joseph, who is a resident of Tacoma, Washington ; Nellie, who is the wife of Frank Beier, residing in Wisconsin; Alfred, who lives in South Dakota; Edith, who is the wife of Franklin Borchers of Des Plaines, Illinois; Eddie, who lives in South Dakota; and Frank, who, as above mentioned, is the manager of the home farm. He married Flora Robinson and they have three children : James Edwin, Mildred and Ruth Margaret.
Nominally Mr. Robinson is a republican but he has long been a close and intelligent student of public questions and frequently votes accord- ing to the dictates of his own judgment. In addition to serving in educa- tional bodies, Mr. Robinson has been township clerk and supervisor and has been chairman of the board. Some years age he visited his native land, for which he naturally entertains feelings of affection, but in all essentials Mr. Robinson is an American and rejoices that the tie between the two countries is so close.
FRANCIS JAMES THOMPSON has been most successfully engaged in farming and stock raising during practically the entire period of his active career thus far. Honest and industrious, his success in life is due entirely to his own well directed endeavors and for that reason is the more gratifying to contemplate. A native of Sauk County, he was born in Ironton Township, October 13, 1857. His parents, Abraham and Elizabeth (Ashfort) Thompson, were both born and raised in War- wickshire, England, the date of the former's birth being August 25, 1829,
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and that of the latter May 17, 1832. They came to America and were married at Troy, New York, in 1854. In the spring of 1857 they came to Sauk County and settled temporarily in the City of Reedsburg, in the meantime erecting a house on the farm he had purchased while still in the Empire State. In due time they cleared the land and during the years 1873 and '74 made brick on the farm with which to erect a brick house. In addition to general farming and stock-raising Mr. Thompson bought and sold stock and in 1890 he located in Reedsburg, where he owned considerable property, and there confined his attention to stock dealing. His beloved wife died in September, 1912, and he passed to eternity in March, 1914. They were conscientious workers and their genial hospitality was extended to all in need. To them were born eleven children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth : Lizzie, Francis James, William A., Edward, Robert, George, Etta, Belle, Jennie, Rose and Martha. Mr. Thompson was a democrat in politics and he and his family were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On the old Thompson homestead, in Ironton Township, occurred the birth of Francis James Thompson and he was the second child in a family of eleven. As a boy he assisted his father in the work and management of the farm and he was educated in the neighboring schools. He has been identified with farming operations all his life and in 1915 purchased the Henry Thies farm, comprising 156 acres. This estate boasts every improvement and is known as one of the ideal farms of this section of the county. A republican in his political convictions, Mr. Thompson is a director on the school board and he ever manifests a deep and sincere interest in all matters forwarded for the betterment of the community.
June 29, 1884, occurred the marriage of Mr. Thompson to Mrs. Ida A. Castle, whose maiden name was Ida Babb. Mrs. Thompson was born in Indiana, August 19, 1857, and she is a daughter of the Rev. H. M. Babb and Ann (Lane) Babb, who lived in Ohio and went thence to Indiana in 1833. In addition to being a minister Rev. Babb was a skilled cabinet-maker and he also figured extensively in land deals. When he · settled in Indiana he engaged in the hotel business and followed that line of work in different states for thirty-five years. His wife died in Indiana and he passed away in the home of Mr. Thompson, in Sauk County, in 1903, at the patriarchal age of ninety-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have six children : Florence, Emmet, James, Harvey C., Frank and Richard.
PATRICK D. CARROLL. The Carroll family is one of the oldest and most substantial of Sauk County. They first arrived here more than sixty years ago, when most of the timber was uncut, the marshes un- drained, and comparatively little of the land fit for cultivation. A good many acres have been brought under the plow and made productive through the instrumentality of the people of this name. They have lived upright and honorable lives and have been valuable factors in any community.
The old Carroll homestead is in La Valle Township and its present owner is Patrick D. Carroll, who was born there May 18, 1868. He is
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a son of Patrick and Bridget (Casey) Carroll. His parents were both born in Ireland, his father in 1817 and his mother in 1830. Patrick Carroll, Sr., came to Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in 1855. His father had died in Ireland, but not long after his arrival in Sauk County he was joined by his widowed mother, Jane Carroll, his brother John and his sister Catherine. Patrick D. Carroll's maternal grandparents, John and Mary Casey, were also among the pioneers of Sauk County, living in Winfield Township for a number of years, but afterwards going to Dane County, where both of them died. For about five years after coming to Sauk County, Patrick Carroll, Sr., was employed by the Mackeys at Reedsburg, and then in 1861 he and his brother John bought a hundred twenty acres in La Valle Township. This estate they divided between them, John taking eight acres and Patrick forty acres. This forty acres is the homestead now owned by Patrick D. His father subse- quently bought another forty acres, and the present farm consists of a hundred acres, Patrick D. having added another twenty. Patrick Car- roll, Sr., was well fitted for pioneer life, was industrious and strong, and though he took the land when it was absolutely raw, he soon had a clear- ing made and a log house erected for the shelter of his family. All his children were born there and both he and his wife died in that home. Their children were John, Jane, Ellen, Mary, Patrick, Anna, William, Maggie, besides twins who died in infancy. The daughter Mary is also deceased.
Patrick D. Carroll grew up on the home farm and as a boy remem- bers when it was in the process of clearing. He attended the local public schools and since reaching manhood has given a good account of himself as a successful farmer and stockman. In 1914 he built the comfortable home where he and his family now reside.
Mr. Carroll is a democrat in politics, has filled the office of school treasurer for a number of years and was treasurer of the township for eight years. He and his family are Catholics.
June 18, 1895, he married Miss Anna Healy. She was born in Sauk County, daughter of Patrick and Anna Healy, early settlers of Winfield Township and both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll have six chil- dren, all living and named in order of birth: Gaynold, Kathleen, Byron, Ivan, Mark and Norman. The oldest, Gaynold, was educated in the local district schools, the Villa Sancta Scholastica, at Duluth, Minnesota, for two years, and also the Reedsburg High School. She is one of the most successful and popular teachers of Sauk County. The daughter Kathleen was educated in the same schools as her sister and also two years in the La Valle High School. The son, Byron, finished his education in the La Valle High School. The other children are still in the local schools.
William A. Carroll younger brother of Patrick D., was born in La Valle Township, April 27, 1871, and since leaving school has applied himself to the business of farming and owns a good place of a hundred acres near his brother. He is a democrat and a Catholic. In 1896 he married Mary McCabe of Winfield Township, who died childless in 1901. In 1905 William Carroll married Ellen Fanning, of Juneau County. Their four children are Margaret, Madeline, Agnes and Rita.
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GEORGE A. KARSTETTER. To the Karstetter family belongs the dis- tinction of building the first house in La Valle Township. It probably was a rude log cabin, as were the dwellings of the pioneers of that early day, but the fact of its construction will always link the name of Kar- stetter with the early settlement of this section of Sauk County. The family has continued to live and prosper here and one of its worthy representatives of the present day is George A. Karstetter, one of the county 's most respected citizens.
George A. Karstetter was born in Fulton County, Indiana, March 3, 1849. His parents were Joseph P. and Mary (Jackson) Karstetter. The father was born in Pennsylvania, in 1820, and was a son of Sebastian and Mary Elizabeth (Marks) Karstetter, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania and later moved to Ohio, and then to Indiana, and in 1848 they moved to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and the house they built, which was long a landmark, stood on the farm in LaValle Township that is now the property of John Carscaden. This land was entered from the government for Sebastian Karstetter by his son, Samuel Karstetter, the transaction including 240 acres for the former and 360 acres for the latter. Sebastian Karstetter and wife passed the rest of their lives oli this land and passed away about 1870.
Joseph P. Karstetter was married in Indiana to Mary Jackson, who was born in Marion County, that state, in 1828, and was a daughter of Henry and Mary Jackson, who moved from Ohio to Marion County, Indiana, and at one time they owned seven acres of the present city site of Indianapolis. Mr. Jackson was born in 1797. In 1856 he and wife removed to Wisconsin and both died in Sauk County.
In 1855 Joseph P. Karstetter and family came to Sauk County. Here he bought 120 acres of state land, later trading forty acres of his purchase for another forty-acre tract, and still later, in 1876, sold forty acres to his son George. He was a vigorous man both in body and mind and sur- vived until 1898. His widow died in 1900. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and were Christians in fact as well as in name.
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