USA > Wisconsin > Sauk County > A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 71
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In 1872 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bethke to Miss Mena
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Franz, a native of Milwaukee. This union was prolific of ten children, as follows: Stephen is an engineer in Milwaukee; Theodore resides at Duluth ; John and Joseph are deceased ; Leo, Bernhard, August, Therise, Mary and Dora. Mr. Bethke is independent in polities and he is an ardent supporter of all matters projected for the good of the general welfare. He and his family are communicants in the Catholic Church and they take a prominent part in the social activities of their home com- munity. Their lives have been exemplary in every respect and they are most worthy of the high esteein accorded them.
JAMES MCDONNELL. Among the men whose efforts have been longest and most continuously directed to the farm enterprise of Dellona Town- ship is James McDonnell.
He was born in that township of Sauk County in 1850, a son of Owen and Mary (MeHugh) MeDonnell. His parents were born in County Galway, Ireland, and came to America in the early forties and soon found their way to Wisconsin and cleared up from the wilderness a traet of land in Dellona Township.
It was on the home farm that James MeDonnell grew to maturity, and is now the fortunate owner of 200 acres of well developed land. His good wife died June 2, 1906. His children are Mary, John P., Catherine, Frank, all of whom are living and unmarried, and Theresa, deceased. His son John P. has taken an active part in local affairs and was a mem- ber of the town and school board in 1911 and 1912.
HENRY F. SANDER. The progressive faculty possessed by some men stands as one of their dominating characteristics and gives to them a marked advantage in gaining distinet prestige in any line of endeavor to which they may confine their efforts. A self-made man in every sense of the term, Henry F. Sander stands today as one of the worthy and in- fluential citizens of Ironton Township, where he is the owner of a finely improved farm of eighty aeres.
Henry Frederick Sander was born in Westfield Township, Sank County, December 21, 1869, and he is a son of John and Mary (Fuhl- bohm) Sander, both natives of Germany, where the former was born in 1844 and the latter in 1847. His maternal grandparents were John and Dorothy (Schultze) Fuhlbohm, who came to America and settled in Sauk County in 1861. Mr. Fuhlbohm was a farmer and brick-maker and at the time of his demise, in 1912, he resided on the Fuhlbohm farm, south of Reedsburg. He died in his eighty-fifth year and Mrs. Fuhlbohm died in 1905, aged about eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. John Sander had three children : Emma, wife of Herman Klagos, of Reedsburg: Henry Frederick, whose name forms the caption for this review; and Henry Christ, who died in 1902. The parents are both deceased, the former having passed away in 1873, and the latter in 1875.
Reared a farmer, Henry Frederick Sander grew to maturity in the home of his unele, Henry Sander, a resident of Freedom Township. After completing his education in the public schools of his home com- munity, Mr. Sander hired out and worked by the month for different farmers and for three years he was employed by Superintendent Hall
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to work on the county farm. In 1907, as a result of conscientious endeavor, he was able to buy a farm for himself, the same consisting of eighty acres in Ironton Township. Here he has since resided and he has met with marked success as a general farmer and stock raiser. In the latter line he makes a specialty of Holstein cattle. He has cleared his land and has erected an up-to-date barn and silo on same; everything about the place betokens good management and business-like methods. In polities Mr. Sander maintains an independent attitude and for the past nine years he has been a director on the school board. He and his wife are devout Lutherans in their religious faith and they are generous contributors to the good works of the church.
The marriage of Mr. Sander to Miss Maud Kinsman occurred July 5, 1905. Mrs. Sander was born on her parents' farm near Limeridge, in 1875, and is a daughter of Edward B. and Samantha (Benson) Kinsman, both of whom are now residents of Limeridge. Four children have come to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Sander, namely : Dorris Lucile, Fred- erick Edward, Maxine Marie and Harold Walter.
THEODORE BRANDT is the fortunate possessor of one of the fine farms in the community known as Limeridge in Washington Township. He is a native of that township, and during his aetive career has accumulated a substantial share of landed property and has also enjoyed the respeet and esteem of a large community of friends and fellow citizens.
Mr. Brandt was born in Washington Township of Sauk County No- vember 9, 1874, a son of Frederick and Dorothy (Weiss) Brandt. Hiş parents were both natives of Germany and came from the old country and settled in Washington Township in 1861. Here they were instru- mental in clearing up a portion of the wilderness and ordered their lives according to the principles of probity and honesty and were kindly and helpful factors in the neighborhood until they passed away. The father died in 1891 and the mother in 1894. They had a family of eight chil- dren : Mary, who married Ferdinand Hasse, a resident of Washington Township ; Frederiek, who married Amelia Redlow of Washington Town- ship; Theodore, who married Dorathea Meyer; Albert, who married Bertha Meyer; Benjamin, who married Annie Hanks; Elsie, wife of William Meyer; Walter, who married Grace Schwanke; and Simon, who married Amelia Meyer.
Mr. Theodore Brandt grew up in the county, learned farming by prae- tieal experience and received a common school education. On March 19, 1897, at the age of twenty-three, he married Dorathea Mever, daughter of Henry J. and Dora Meyer of Washington Township. Mr. and Mrs. Brandt have a fine household of children, all of them still young and unmarried, and all of them have been given the advantages of the public and Lutheran schools of their community. The names of these children are : Garfield, Rena, Rosa, Harold, Clarence, Edna, Theodore, and Ella and Esther, twins.
Mr. Brandt is a capable farmer, owning and managing 119 aeres of well improved land. He runs a dairy and stoek farm, having about six- teen cows in his dairy, and altogether has about twenty head of good
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grade cattle. He has frequently been called upon to serve his fellow citizens in offices of trust, having been a member of the town board, and supervisor. He is a warden in St. Peter's Lutheran Church and in pol- ities is a republican.
HENRY J. MEYER belongs to a group of citizens who have effected the transformation and clearing of the wilderness in Washington Township during the past half century, and he is now in a position to enjoy the fruits of his well spent earlier years.
Mr. Meyer was born in Germany, April 17, 1845, and four genera- tions of his family have lived out a portion of their lives in Sauk County. Mr. Meyer's parents were George and Margaret (Krueger) Meyer. In 1862 the family emigrated to America living at Madison for some time, and in 1881 they all settled in Washington Township. Margaret Meyer died in Germany in 1860, but George Meyer survived her until 1883. Their children were Catherine, H. J., Dora, William, George and Fred.
Henry J. Meyer received most of his education in Germany and since coming to Wisconsin has been a practical and industrious farmer. On October 13, 1867, he married Dora Kuager of Sank County. Their twelve children are Emma, Elisabeth, Annie, Dora, Ida, George H., Bertha, Henry, Amelia, Liddy, Silas and Simon. Of these Ida and Simon are deceased.
The son George H., who lives with his father and has the active man- agement of the homestead, married on June 25, 1903, Hilda Struck, daughter of Henry and Mary Struck of Dellona Township, Sauk County. George H. Meyer and wife have six children, Frona, Gertrude, Clara, Ella, Alvin and Hubert. These children, grandchildren of Henry J. Meyer, are all being educated in the public and Lutheran schools except Ella, who died in early childhood.
The Meyer family have a well improved place of 150 acres in the Lime Ridge community of Washington Township, and nearly all the land was cleared up either by Henry J. Meyer or with the assistance of his son George. Henry J. Meyer was a member of the town board and in 1907 filled the office of township supervisor.
FREDERICK BRANDT. Whether riding and working in his fields, or busy about his house and barns, Frederick Brandt gives everywhere the impression of a thoroughly methodical and efficient farmer and a man who knows his business down to the smallest detail. That in fact is the reputation he bears in Washington Township, where he has been sig- nally successful in building up and maintaining one of the best farms.
Mr. Brandt was born in that township and is a son of Fred and Dorothy (Wiese) Brandt. His parents came to Sauk County from Ger- many in 1857 and were numbered among the useful and prosperous pioneer settlers.
Mr. Frederick Brandt grew up here, and is now the prosperous owner of a farm of 255 acres, a large part of which has been cleared and improved under his own hand. He is one of the large dairymen and stock raisers, keeping about fifty head of cattle and having about
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twenty-five milch cows. Mr. Brandt is a republican and a member of the Lutheran Church.
March 14, 1895, he married Emilie Rueblow, daughter of Wilhelm and Wilhelmina Ruehlow, of Washington Township. Mr. and Mrs. Brandt have a fine family of six children, all still unmarried and still in the home circle, and the younger ones still attending the public schools. Their names and respective ages are as follows: Irwin, aged twenty-one; Herman, nineteen; Hedwig, seventeen; Alma, fourteen ; Hilda, thirteen ; and Edmund, ten.
FRED W. HARMS is numbered among the younger and more progres- sive element of the farming community of Washington Township, and is demonstrating his ability to handle a farm thoroughly and efficiently even in these times of scarcity of farm labor.
Mr. Harms is a western man by birth, having been born in Cuming County, Nebraska, June 27, 1891. His parents are F. H. and Anna (Presser) Harms. His father was born in Germany August 25, 1860, while the mother was born in Cuming County, Nebraska, December 17, 1869, her family having been pioneers out on the frontier of that state. In 1902 Mr. F. H. Harms and family came to Westfield Township, of Sauk County, and the parents are still living there. The children of F. H. Harms and wife are: Anna, Louise, Dora, Henry, Paulina, Mar- gareta and Fred W.
Fred W. Harms was eleven years old when the family came to Sauk County, and he completed his education here. Farming. was his choice of vocation, and he is now proprietor of eighty acres in Washington Township. He raises Holstein cattle and Chester White hogs and every year sees some increase in his general prosperity. Mr. Harms is a repub- lican in politics, and has served as clerk of School District No. 5, in Washington Township. His father was formerly clerk of School Dis- trict No. 2, in Westfield Township. The family are all members of the Lutheran Church.
On September 19, 1912, Mr. Harms married Mary Lawrence, daugh- ter of R. B. and Amanda Lawrence, of Ironton Township, Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Harms have one daughter, Marjorie.
FRED KOLLMEYER arrived in Sauk County nearly half a century ago, poor in purse, almost a stranger in a strange land, but with an abundant supply of that energy and determination which has sufficed to give him a secure position among the thrifty and substantial residents of this county and have enabled him to provide well for his family of children, most of whom he has seen grow up and settle in good homes of their own.
Mr. Kollmeyer was born in Prussia, Germany, April 28, 1849, a son of Gottlieb Kollmeyer. His father died in 1887. Fred was one of a fan- ily consisting of the following children: Henry, Christian, Louise, Mary, Caroline, Sophia and Fred.
Fred Kollmeyer acquired the usual education given to the German youth and in May, 1866, at the age of seventeen he arrived in Wiscon- sin. The first point of his introduction to the state was at the City of Madison, and for a couple of years he worked on a farm in that locality.
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He then removed to Washington Township, of Sauk County, and using his limited capital to acquire a tract of land he has gone steadily ahead with the work of clearing and improvement until he is now possessor of 120 acres, all of it well adapted to the uses of agriculture and situ- ated almost in the village of Hill Point. Mr. Kollmeyer has always been progressive, and one of the indubitable signs of his progressiveness is the silo that stands adjacent to his barn and is a valuable part of his cattle feeding system. He keeps about thirty head of cattle and oper- ates a first class dairy of twenty cows.
Mr. Kollmeyer is an active republican in polities and a member of the Evangelical Church.
On November 8, 1873, he married Miss Minda Schluter, daughter of Charles Schluter, of Washington Township. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Kollmeyer are Henry, Fred, Elsie, Louise and Rosa. The son Henry married Lilly Ahrens, daughter of Nanna and Johanna Ahrens, of Monroe County, Wisconsin. They were married April 16, 1902, and their home is now brightened with three children: Harold, Gladys and Rose. These are not the only grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Kollmeyer. Their daughter Elsie was married June 22, 1900, to Louis Schruder, son of Gustav and Louise Schruder, of Juneau County, Wisconsin. They have two children, Ethel and Edith. The daughter Louise married. December 25, 1912, Ed Nelson, of Racine County, and their family also consists of two children, Russell and Clifford. The youngest daughter, Rosa, became the wife of Seott Knoll on August 22, 1910. Mr. Knoll is a son of John and Emma Knoll. Mr. and Mrs. Scott Knoll have three children : Virginia, Rosalie and Carleton. Fred, at home, is working his father's farm.
HENRY F. KOLLMEYER is a native son of Sauk County, grew up in this county when it was still being developed from the wilderness and as a boy he helped his father elear some of the land around the village of Hill Point, where Henry F. is now rated as one of the largest and most prosperous farmers and dairymen.
Henry F. Kollmeyer was born in Washington Township, son of Fred and Minda (Schluter) Kollmeyer. His father came from Prussia. Ger- many, in May, 1866.
Henry F. Kollmeyer grew up on his father's farm, was well educated in the local schools and on April 16, 1902, married Miss Lilly Ahrens, daughter of Nanna and Johanna Ahrens, of Monroe County, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Kollmeyer have three bright young children : Harold, aged fourteen; Gladys, aged seven; and Rose, who was born in 1917. The older children are making good records in the local schools.
The farm presided over by Mr. Henry F. Kollmeyer comprises 280 aeres located on the edge of the village of Hill Point. Some of this land was improved and eleared by his father and some of the buildings erected there, but Henry F. Kollmeyer has shown himself a chip of the old block and is as enterprising and progressive in the matters of farm- ing as his father. He runs a fine dairy of thirty-five cows and alto- gether keeps about fifty head of eattle.
Mr. Kollmeyer has been active in local affairs, was town treasurer three years, and filled the office of town clerk a similar period.
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GEORGE F. SCHULZ has been numbered among the prosperous and progressive farmers of Washington Township for a long period of years and owns one of the estates which give character and beauty and value to the community around Lime Ridge.
Mr. Schulz was born in Germany October 13, 1851, son of George and Dorothy (Schwalb) Schulz. When he was an infant his mother died in the old conntry and his father then brought his family to America, first settling in Dodge County, at Iron Ridge, but in 1870 locating on the farm in Washington Township now owned by his son George. The father died here in February, 1902.
George F. Schulz grew up and received most of his education in Wisconsin, and since attaining manhood has applied himself with splen- did results to the business of farming and dairying. His farm consists" of 160 acres, and he has all the facilities for handling his crops and stock. He keeps about twenty head of cattle and his dairy consists of sixteen cows. Mr. Schulz is an independent voter in political matters and is an active member and an elder in St. Peter's Lutheran Church. For three terms he filled the office of trustee of the town board.
Mr. Schulz married for his first wife Mary Goetsch, daughter of Charles Goetsch, of Washington Township. They were married in March, 1873, and at her death Mrs. Schulz left four children named Albert, Otto, Louise and Mary. For his second wife Mr. Schulz married Dora- thea Meyer, daughter of Henry Meyer, of Washington Township. The children of this union are Lydia, Henry, Fred, Emil, William, Eddie, Herbert and Irene. These are all living except Fred.
FRANK J. ZAUNT, whose activities as a farmer identify him with the community of Winfield Township, was born in that township July 2, 1892, a son of Joseph and Kunigunde (Wolf) Zaunt. His parents, natives of Germany, settled in Sauk County in 1880.
Frank J. Zaunt since acquiring his education in the public schools has applied himself to the business of farming. He is the owner of eighty-two acres of land, and while he is a young man too modest to boast of his achievements or possessions, his neighbors look upon him as a hard working and capable farmer and one whose future can hardly be other than prosperous. Mr. Zaunt married Clara Larsen, daughter of Charles and Lottie Larsen. They have two young children : Harold, born in 1913; and Wallace, born in 1916.
ERNEST KRUEGER is a native of Sauk County and has been an inde- pendent farmer in Washington Township for the past seven years and is looked upon as one of the coming men of that community.
Mr. Krueger was born in Washington Township November 21, 1880, a son of August and Annie Krueger. He grew up on his father's farm and received his education in the old Sandusky public school of Sauk County. Mr. Krueger moved to his present farm in January, 1910, where he has 100 acres under his control and management. He is breed- ing and raising some good stock, and has shown unusual capability in handling a farm both from an agricultural and a business standpoint. Mr. Krueger is independent in matters of casting his vote and is a member of the Lutheran Church.
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On September 26, 1906, he married Miss Emma Vertine, daughter of Henry and Anna Vertine, of Washington Township. Her father died at Phillips, Wisconsin, December 26, 1889, at the age of forty-three, and her mother is still living at the age of sixty-three. Mr. and Mrs. Krueger have two children : Meynard, aged ten years; and Leonard, aged six.
U. T. PROUTY is a native of Sauk County and for many years has capably carried on a combined industry as a farmer, dairyman and cheese maker at the Village of Sandusky, in Bear Creek Township.
Mr. Prouty represents truly the pioneer element of Sauk County. He was born at Sandusky June 23, 1866, a son of Barnabas and Mar- garet (Fry) Prouty. Barnabas Prouty was born in Ohio in October, 1840, and his wife was a native of Indiana, born in 1842 and removing to Sauk County in 1850. Both the parents are still living.
The grandfather of Mr. U. T. Prouty came from Ohio with his wife and eight sons in 1847 and was one of the very first settlers to locate ill Washington Township. He acquired his land direct from the Govern- ment, at a payment of $1.25 per aere, and when his own life work is summed up, together with that of his sons and grandson, it is doubtful if any one family have contributed more to the permanent development of Sauk County than the Proutys. Grandfather Prouty lived a long and useful life and attained the venerable age of ninety-four, while his wife lived to be seventy-five. Their eight sons were Andrew, deceased ; John ; Stephen, deceased : Barnabas; Joshua, deceased ; Enoch ; Jeremiah ; and Hiram; all of them having been given good biblical names, indicating the strong religious nature of their parents.
Barnabas Prouty, now a resident of Spring Green, has had his home in Sauk County for over seventy years, and with his eyes has witnessed practically every phase of development of which this publication is a record. He and his wife had the following children: Uriah T., Murten R., Lottie, Edward A., Earl B. and John M.
Uriah T. Prouty grew up on the old home farm, and was educated in somewhat better schools than those which his father attended when he was a boy in Sauk County. Mr. Prouty has shown much business ability and in 1895 he bought from his father the old homestead in Washington Township. IIe is the owner of 110 acres, well improved and highly productive, and no small part of its area has been cleared and put under the plow by his individual exertions. Mr. Prouty has a high class dairy with a herd of about twenty-two cows, uses the silo system of feeding, and besides his home place he conducts a cheese factory, which cares for about 7,000 pounds of milk daily. Mr. Prouty is a republican in politics and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Order of Beavers.
On January 15, 1896, Mr. Prouty married Mary Constantine, daugh- ter of Peter and Alvina Constantine, also of Sandusky, Sauk County. Mr. and Mrs. Prouty have three children : Helen, aged eighteen; Net- tie, aged sixteen ; and Margaret, a young girl of seven just entering public schools.
THOMAS E. FARGEN. Bear Creek Township has known and honored the name of Fargen for nearly seventy years. The name is associated
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with industry, with the clearing of the land from the wilderness and with every honorable activity and influence of that community. The family was established here in early times by Martin and Mary (King) Fargen. Martin Fargen was born in County Mayo, Ireland, and came to Wisconsin in 1847. As a partner with his brother John he settled on a farm in Sauk County and these two brothers cleared up and improved a large part of the land. Martin Fargen passed away in 1901. He married April 12, 1873, Mary King, who is still living. Their chil- dren were: Mary; Martin, deceased; Henry, deceased; James; Kate; Ellen ; Thomas ; Clara ; and Bernard.
Thomas E. Fargen was born on the old home farm where he still lives on June 23, 1887. He grew up there, attending the public schools of Bear Creek Township, and has developed his opportunities and capacities as a farmer and is now the active head of one of the best farms of the township, comprising 460 acres. He has done a great deal with live stock, and at the present time has about seventy head of cattle and has a dairy of thirty-one cows. He has first-class improvements all around, and has found the silo a most satisfactory and profitable adjunct and it is one of the modern features of his farm. Mr. Fargen is a demo- crat in politics, a Catholic in religion, and affiliates with the Modern Woodmen of America.
MRS. ELIZABETH GOODELL has been continuously a resident in one locality of Washington Township for almost half a century. Her fine farm at Lime Ridge represents the toil and industry of all these years and is a beautiful home in which she expects to spend the rest of her life.
Mrs. Goodell was born in Queen's Gardens, Middlesex, London, England, October 13, 1846, daughter of Mitchell Burke and Annie Price. Two months before her birth her father died in London. Her mother afterwards married in England Patrick Shea, and in 1851 the family came to America, there being two other children besides Elizabeth, Mary A. and Patrick. Mrs. Goodell's mother died in 1905.
Mrs. Goodell was married in Washington Township May 26, 1867, to Orrin Goodell, son of Major and Deliverance Goodell. His father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Goodell had seven children : Amanda Elizabeth, ( David, John, Maryetta, Arthur F., Thomas J. and Homer L. Amanda E. is the wife of Wilbert L. Morgan and has two children. John married Anna Birney and their family con- sists of three children. Maryetta is the wife of Napoleon Trombly and is the mother of five children. Homer L. married Ada Mead and has two children. The other children of Mrs. Goodell are still single.
Mrs. Goodell's farm consists of eighty acres, and it has been her place of residence since 1868. Mr. Goodell did nearly all the clearing of this place and put up most of the substantial building improvements that now mark and give value to the home. Mr. Goodell was an active demno- crat. The family now run a profitable dairy, keeping about fifteen head of cattle and milking about twelve cows. The son Arthur F. has been town treasurer of Washington Township for the past five years.
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