USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 67
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Mr. Apker was married March 7, 1883, to Miss Anna Sands, who was born in Ironton Township, Sauk County, March 7, 1862, and is a daugh- ter of Charles H. and Elizabeth (Atkinson) Sands. Mr. Sands was born in 1830, in New York, and Mrs. Sands in 1836, in Rhode Island. John Atkinson, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Apker, was one of the earliest pioneers in Ironton Township. He became a well known man, a large landowner and for many years kept the Buck horn tavern and his grand- daughter has a piece of the old tavern sign, which she preserves as an interesting family record, for this place of entertainment "for man and beast" is mentioned in early histories. He also kept a general store and was a farmer of 160 acres of land. After the death of his wife he went to Nebraska and died there.
The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Apker were Nathaniel and Jane Sands, early pioneers from New York to Dane County, Wisconsin, where both died. Charles S. Sands, father of Mrs. Apker, settled on what was known as the Ners Stowe farm but later sold it, having been the original owner and sold it to Stowe. Later he bought the Atkinson farm of 160 acres but later sold it and subsequently went to Iowa and there he died in 1890. The mother of Mrs. Apker died February 15, 1872. Mr. Sands served in the Civil War from 1865 to its close and through his enlist- ment into 1866. He was a man of political prominence and served in numerous important offices, was township trustee for several years and
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also supervisor, and from 1863 to 1864 was chairman of the board and again held that position in 1880. Mrs. Apker was the fifth born in her parents' family of eight children : Jane, George, Orin, Flora, Anna, Charles, William and Arvin.
Mr. and Mrs. Apker have three children, namely: Verne, Gladys and Merrill. The elder son is an electrical engineer. He was born August 9, 1886, attended the grade and high schools at La Valle and took an electrical course at Kansas City. He married Elsa Rist. The only daughter, Gladys, was born May 5, 1894, at La Valle, attended the public schools here and was graduated from the Baraboo High School in 1912. She is a graduated and registered nurse and has made pathology a special object of study and is a graduate in that science. Already, she has found her life busy and useful and at the time this is written (1917) she is attached to the Memorial Methodist Hospital, at Mattoon, Illinois, her duties including the examination of young men for service in the World War. Merrill, the younger son, was born November 22, 1897, and attended the public schools at La Valle and will be graduated from the high school at Reedsburg, in the class of 1918. In politics Mr. Apker is a republican and has always been a loyal party man but has never been willing to accept preferment for himself. Fraternally he is identi- fied with the Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World. The entire family and its connections merit the high regard in which they are held.
ALFRED BEUCHAT. One of the widely known, highly respected and substantial citizens of Sauk County is Alfred Beuchat, who was born in Ironton Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, November 17, 1864. His parents were August and Mary Beuchat.
The Beuchats came to Sauk County in 1856. They were natives of Switzerland, where the father was born in 1828 and the mother in 1832. The mother's people had settled in Massachusetts, and after August Beuchat bought eighty acres of land in Ironton Township as a founda- tion for a home, he went to Massachusetts and was married there and brought his wife back with him to the pioneer farm. The building of a log house followed and his original eighty acres, together with another eighty acres were cleared through Mr. Beuchat's industry, and here both he and wife spent the rest of their lives. August Beuchat had other interests, however, during his useful life. In his own land he had been a charcoal burner and was engaged in a similar way in Massachusetts for a time and subsequently was in the employ of the furnace company at Ironton as a capable and experienced man in this line. He served as a soldier during the latter part of the Civil War, as a member of the Fifty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. In politics he was a repub- lican but was a quiet, sensible man who voted with this party because he believed in its principles and not because he desired public office. He died in 1895 and his wife in 1881. They were members of the Catholic Church. They had the following children: Henry, Alfred, George, William, Julius, Alice and Joseph, the last two dying in infancy.
Alfred Beuchat grew up on the home farm and gave his father assist- ance for many years. Later he bought the homestead of 160 acres and later sold it to advantage, after which he bought the farm he now owns,
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an exceedingly valuable property comprising 165 acres, five and a half acres lying within the corporate limits of La Valle, and on this finely improved tract stands his residence. Mr. Beuchat has carried on his agricultural activities with remarkable success, being one of the leading breeders in the county of pure bred Percheron horses and Jersey cattle. He has taken a great deal of interest in improving the standard of live stock in the county.
Mr. Beuchat was married December 25, 1895, to Miss Annie Tordoff, who was born in La Valle Township, Sauk County, a daughter of John and Fannie (Tetlow) Tordoff. Mr. Tordoff came to Columbia County, Wisconsin, in 1848, and in the same year was married to Emma Thorn- ton, who was a daughter of Reuben Thornton. Four sons were born to that marriage, namely : Edmund, Samuel, Squire and John. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Tordoff married Fannie Tetlow and five chil- dren were born to the second marriage, namely : Annie, Ledger, Harry, Thomas and Herman. Mr. Tordoff was born in England in 1831 and died in 1903. The mother of Mrs. Beuchat survives.
To Mr. and Mrs. Beuchat three children have been born, as follows : Vera M., Max H. and Kathryn. The eldest daughter, Miss Vera, was born November 4, 1896. She was liberally educated, attending the La Valle public schools and the Reedsburg High, and was graduated from the Reedsburg Normal Training School, since when she has followed the profession of teacher. Max H., the only son, was born. January 24, 1898, and was graduated from the La Valle High School and the Lane Technical School, Chicago, and is a student in the Armour Institute, preparing for the profession of electrical engineer. The youngest daugh- ter, a schoolgirl of seven years, was born January 30, 1910.
In politics Mr. Beuchat maintains an independent attitude but his good citizenship has never been questioned. He is held in very high regard in La Valle village and township and has served with great satis- faction to all concerned as village trustee and as president of the village. He is a pronounced temperance man, a prohibitionist, and takes much comfort in the probable abolition of intoxicants that the people of the United States have learned to look upon as one of the great achievements of the twentieth century. Men of the high personal standing of Mr. Beuchat have had much to do in influencing public opinion in this direction.
CHARLES E. DECOT. No condition more strongly emphasizes the remarkable changes which have taken place in Sauk County since the pioneers began taking up land here, than the fact that only thirty-five years ago many of the farmers settled on land which was still covered with heavy timber and were compelled to clear a space to build their first rude habitation of logs, and that without exception these properties are now well cultivated and productive farms, with modern buildings and splendid equipment. The Decot family has been closely identified with the agricultural interests and development of Sauk County since 1880, and its members have spanned the distance between wooded land and fertile fields and log cabins and modern residences. One of its representatives who belongs to the later generation is Charles E. Decot, the owner of a fine property in La Valle Township.
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Mr. Decot was born in Germany, April 23, 1875, and is a son of Eugene and Mary (Gasser) Decot, natives of France, the former born in 1853 and the latter in 1851. In 1888 the family came to the United States and located in La Valle, and about three years later the father purchased a farm in the township of the same name. His first tract, consisting of forty-three acres, was all in the woods, and before he could build his log home he was forced to make a small clearing, and when he made his second purchase, of eighty acres, the land was also largely tim- bered. Mr. Decot succeeded in developing a good farm and in later years he and his wife have enjoyed the comforts of a modern home and up-to- date conveniences. In 1911 he sold his eighty-acre farm to his son, Charles E., although he still owns the original forty-three-acre tract, which is being operated by his son Frank. Mr. Decot and his wife are now living in retirement and are among the highly esteemed people of their community. Politically he is a republican, and he and his wife are members of the Catholic Church. Their children have been as fol- lows: Charles E., of this notice; Theodore, a resident of Sauk City; Edward, of La Valle; Victor, of the township of that name; Mary, who died in 1917, aged thirty-three years; and Frank, who operates the home farm.
Charles E. Decot was thirteen years old when he came with his parents to the United States, and his education was secured in Nitting, Germany, and the Oak Hill public school. He was reared as a farmer, and in 1911 started operations independently when he purchased the eighty-acre farm of his father, where he has since carried on general farming and stock-raising. He has made a number of improvements on his land, and, using modern methods and improved machinery, is achieving success in his chosen vocation. He supports the republican party at elections, and belongs to the Catholic Church. His many acquaintances have entire confidence in his integrity and the number of his friends testifies to his general popularity.
Mr. Decot was married in March, 1905, to Miss Josephine Romies, who was born in Bear Creek Township, Sauk County, daughter of Joseph and Frances Mary Romies, early settlers of Sauk county, the former now deceased and the latter still living here. There were six children in the Romics family : Barbara, Sophie, Casper, Josephine, Frances and Frank. Mr. and Mrs. Decot have six children: Charley, born Septem- ber 13, 1906; Margaret, born in 1909; Frank, in 1911; John, in 1912; Frances, in 1914; and Theodore, born in 1915.
HERMAN LUCHT, of La Valle Township, is in a position to appreciate his own prosperity and the wonderful development that has occurred in Sauk County during the past half century. He was at one time a laborer himself in clearing away the woods and making the resources of the county available for settled agriculture, and though in those days he had much to contend with he has never regretted the choice which brought him away from his native Fatherland to this region of Wisconsin.
Mr. Lucht was born in Germany January 18, 1850, a son of John and Anna Mary (Kaeting) Lucht. His mother died in Germany in 1871 at the age of sixty-three. The father, in 1872, after the death of his wife, came to Sauk County to join his children and died here in 1881 at the age of seventy-two.
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Herman Lucht grew up in his native country, was given the usual education of a German youth, and in 1868 at the age of eighteen crossed the ocean and came to Milwaukee. In the course of the same year he arrived at Reedsburg and on the 12th of December, 1872, moved to the farm that he now owns. It could hardly have been described as a farm when he went there. In a few weeks a log cabin had been erected for his shelter. Then with the energy inspired by an ambition to conquer a home for himself he went to work clearing up and removing the stumps and putting the ground in cultivation, and the fine farm which he now owns is in the nature of a response to his industry and persistent efforts. He has done much to improve the land with good buildings, and has one of the fine barns of the township, 34 by 54 feet with 18-foot posts. He has for many years carried on general farming and stock-raising. His first purchase was eighty acres of land, and as his means justified it he bought another forty and then still another forty, so that his present farm comprises a complete quarter section.
Mr. Lucht is a member of the Lutheran Church and in politics a democrat. He has served on the school board and for several years past has been a side-supervisor.
In 1872, the year he occupied his present farm, he married Miss Albertina Roloff. She also is a native of Germany and came to Sauk County before her marriage. They were married in Milwaukee and their lives have been lived side by side now for forty-five years. One son was born to them, William, whose birth occurred in 1873. William was educated in the local public schools and as a practical and progressive farmer now handles the estate of his father. William married Lizzie Falk. Four children were born to their union, but three died in infancy. Peter, who was born August 14, 1898, is the only grandchild of Mr. and Mrs. Lucht.
THOMAS RUDOLPH LITZ is a native son of Sauk County and has spent nearly all his industrious and active years on the farm in La Valle Town- ship where he first saw the light of day. Mr. Litz was born April 13, 1862, a son of Sylvester and Catherine (Boyle) Litz. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1828. In Pennsylvania he married for his first wife in 1849 Miss Louisa Gardner, and the young couple soon journeycd west and settled in Dane County, Wisconsin, when all that section of the country was a wilderness. His first wife died in Dane County, Wis- consin, and he afterwards married in Sauk County Miss Catherine Boyle, a native of County Mayo, Ireland. Sylvester Litz was one of the pioneers of La Valle Township, and located there in the midst of the woods before there was any town of Reedsburg and when it was necessary to go to Baraboo for all groceries and other supplies. He used ox teams in the plowing and breaking up of his land and also for the transport of products to market. He secured and developed a farm of 120 acres, but before his death sold forty acres, leaving the homestead eighty acres in extent. The father died there in 1900 and his wife is also deceased. He was a democrat in politics and a member of the Catholic Church. The children are: Mary Jane, Sarah Ann, Thomas R., Sylvester, Catherine and U. Simon.
Thomas R. Litz grew up on the old farm, attended the local schools, and a number of years ago he bought 100 acres of land which by his
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own efforts became productive and a valuable farm. Still later he bought the homestead of eighty acres and has done much to increase its value and facilities beyond the point at which his father left it. He has erected good buildings, including a most substantial barn erected in 1902. Mr. Litz is an ambitious farmer and one of the live stockmen of the county. He keeps good grades of Holstein and Jersey cows for his dairy, usually milking about twenty-five head. He also has six or eight horses to furnish power on the farm.
In matters of politics Mr. Litz is independent and has never aspired to any office. The schoolhouse attended by his children is located on land that was formerly a part of his farm. He and his family are active members of the Catholic Church. It may be recalled that his father was at one time a factor in the hog-raising industry which was so important a feature of Sauk County agriculture in the early days.
In 1894 Mr. Litz married Catherine Conner, who was born in La Valle Township in 1865. Her parents were among the early settlers of this county and both are now deceased. Mrs. Litz, after fifteen years of mar- ried companionship, passed away in 1909. She was the mother of these children : Theresa May, wife of Henry Wright, of Beloit, Wisconsin ; John T .; Elizabeth Catherine; Mary Ruth and Thomas R., twins; Hattie; and James Edward.
JOHN GALLAGHER. In recalling the early settlers of Sauk County, James Gallagher, one of the earliest landowners in Dellona Township, comes to mind. He was the paternal grandfather of John Gallagher, who is one of the representative citizens and substantial agriculturists of La Valle Township, Sauk County. For many years he has been a public official, serving ably and honestly and few men in this section are better or more favorably known.
John Gallagher was born in Winfield Township, Sauk County, Wis- consin, July 31, 1863. His parents were Owen and Margaret (Casey) Gallagher, both natives of Ireland. The paternal grandparents, James and Kate Gallagher, came to the United States and landed in 1848 in the city of New Orleans. There James Gallagher was employed in the construction of the great levees that reach across the water front. From there Mr. Gallagher and his family came up the Mississippi river and finally landed in Sauk County, Wisconsin, where he secured a govern- ment land claim of 160 acres, situated in Dellona Township. They had many pioneer hardships to face but they were sturdy, resourceful peo- ple, well fitted to blaze the way for later civilization.
The maternal grandparents of John Gallagher were among the pioneers of the '50s in Dellona Township, Sauk County. Their names were John and Mary Casey, both natives of Ireland. They later removed from Dellona to Winfield Township and still later to Dane County and there both died. In Winfield Township John Casey had a farm of 160 acres and acquired eighty acres in Dane County.
Owen Gallagher accompanied his parents to the United States and to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and he spent the remainder of his life in this county, devoting himself to agricultural pursuits exclusively. In 1862 he bought the farm now owned by his son, John Gallagher, and he moved on the place in 1864 and from then to the close of his busy life
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he continued clearing work on his property and making improvements. He died here, October 23, 1905, and his widow on March 21, 1910, both aged sixty-eight years. They had the following children : John, James, Mary, Maggie, Katie and Annie.
John Gallagher has spent his life in Sauk County. From boyhood he has been accustomed to the industries carried on on a farm and on lıis 102 acres these are conducted along modern lines and according to good judgment and prove very profitable. Mr. Gallagher raises a con- siderable amount of stock but only first class breeds and his herd of Shorthorn cattle and his many head of Poland China hogs give proof of the wisdom of his decision. He frequently attends meetings of farm- ers where different methods are discussed and belongs to that intelligent class that believes in progress and enterprise on the farm as well as in other directions.
Mr. Gallagher was married in 1899 to Miss Cecelia Gahagan, who was born in Winfield Township, Sauk County, July 21, 1869, and is a daughter of Cornelius and Mary Gahagan, who in 1863 bought a farm of forty acres in Winfield Township, from a Mr. Delong, making their farm eighty acres. This farm remained the Gahagan homestead and was subsequently well improved, and here both parents of Mrs. Gallagher died, the father in 1878 and the mother in 1902. They had the following children : Mary, who is the wife of Joseph Corbin, of Warren, Pennsyl- vania; Nellie, who is the wife of John F. O'Brien, of Reedsburg; Cor- nelius, who is in business at Reedsburg; Michael, who is engaged at Milwaukee; Cecelia, who married John Gallagher; and John, who lives at Milton Junction, in Rock County, Wisconsin.
Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher have five children : John, who was born- Feb- ruary 3, 1901; Cecelia, who was born December 1, 1905; Philip, who was born August 17, 1907; Owen, who was born October 17, 1908; and Eugene, who was born March 12, 1911.
In his political views Mr. Gallagher has always been affiliated with men in whom he has reposed confidence and casts his vote with the repub- lican party. Personally he has long been regarded as a man of financial soundness as well as unwavering integrity and his fellow citizens have called him to positions of trust and responsibility. The office of super- visor is one that requires great good judgment and this office Mr. Gal- lagher had filled continuously for thirteen years and for five of these has been chairman of the board. He is a liberal supporter of the public schools and of religious bodies.
JULIUS SCHULZ is a resident of La Valle Township, where he is the owner of a finely improved farm of eighty acres, on which he has resided since 1900. A self-made man, Mr. Schulz has progressed steadily toward the goal of success until he is now recognized as one of the substantial farmers of the vicinity of Reedsburg, where he is known as a loyal and public-spirited citizen.
August 19, 1866, occurred the birth of Julius Schulz and his native heath is Germany. He is a son of Carl and Hannah (Semson) Schulz, who brought their family to America from the old Fatherland in 1870 and settled in Sauk County, Wisconsin. The father purchased a farm of 160 acres in Reedsburg Township and there reared to maturity a fam-
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ily of four children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : Julius is the subject of this sketch; Louis; Carl is now deceased; and Lizzie is the wife of August Mayer, of Reedsburg Town- ship. Mr. Schulz was a democrat in politics and he and his wife were devout members of the Lutheran Church. He passed to eternal rest in the year 1911 and the mother died in 1899.
Julius Schulz was but four years of age when he accompanied his parents to the United States and he was reared to maturity under the sturdy discipline of the old homestead in Reedsburg Township. He received a good common-school education in the country schools and for a number of years after reaching maturity he worked as a farm hand. In 1900 he bought a fine farm of eighty acres in La Valle Township and here he is most successfully engaged in general farming and stock- raising. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church and in politics is a loyal supporter of the principles set forth in the democratic party. While never desirous of holding public office, Mr. Schulz does all in his power to advance the general welfare of his community and he is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens.
In 1898 Mr. Schulz was united in marriage to Miss Lena Bramer, who was born in Reedsburg, in 1880, and who is a daughter of Henry and Lena Bramer. Mr. Bramer was a farmer in Reedsburg Township during practically the entire period of his active career and he died in 1917, aged seventy-four years. Mrs. Bramer, who survives her honored husband, is now a resident of the old home farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Schulz were born the following children: Alvena, Esther, Emil, Bern- hard, Edna, Harold, and Arnold.
FRANCIS MARION GROAT. Many of the old landmarks and the old names of Sauk County have disappeared in the passage of sixty-eight years, but the name of Groat has survived this long lapse of time and the Groat homestead has remained in the family for almost as long. Francis Marion Groat, for many years an extensive farmer and stock-raiser in La Valle Township, but now living retired in his beautiful home at Whittier, in Los Angeles County, California, was born in Broom County, New York, November 25, 1847. His parents were Frederick J. and Clarissa (Spurr) Groat, and the paternal grandparents were Frederick and Cornelia (Spoor) Groat. The grandfather died in New York in 1822, leaving an infant son, Frederick (who was born July 13, 1822) and other children. He grew to manhood there and was a farmer in Broom County. He married Clarissa (Spurr) Groat, the widow of his brother William Henry Groat. She was born in New York in 1819 and to her first marriage one son was born, William Henry Groat, who was a member of Company A, Sixth Wisconsin Infantry for eighteen months and later of the Thirty-fifth Wisconsin Infantry. He died in the service at Vicks- burg, Mississippi. To the second marriage six children were born, namely : Francis Marion; Cornelia, deceased; Esther; Mary; Ella; and Angeline, deceased.
In 1848 the Groat family decided to remove to Wisconsin and made their preparations so that they reached Dodge County in that year. The members of the party were Frederick Groat and wife and children, including William Henry Groat, and the grandmother, Mrs. Cornelia
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(Spoor) Groat. They were people of some means and had brought with · them from the old home sufficient household possessions to make them comfortable even in a wilderness and a year. passed by before Frederick Groat became convinced that Sauk County presented more substantial attractions for a permanent home and the family came to a farm near Reedsburg. In 1850 Mr. Groat secured by a land warrant 160 acres, situated in Ironton Township. The land was yet uncleared but appar- ently our pioneer forefathers knew no such word as discouragement, and clearing was immediately begun and carried on until a farm of 120 acres was under cultivation. That farm was the Groat home till the death of the wife and mother in November, 1888, when it passed into other hands. The father later married Mrs. Julia Greaves, who faithfully ministered to his needs for the rest of his long life, five years of which were passed in the darkness of the blind.
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