USA > Wisconsin > An illustrated history of the state of Wisconsin : being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875 > Part 63
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In December, 1846, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Withington of Ashland, and in May, 1847, emigrated to the Territory of Wisconsin, and settled at Janesville, where he has ever since resided. His business has been that of a bookseller and stationer; and liis store now ranks among the first of its kind in the State.
He was a member of the State Mass Convention when the Republican party was organized in Wisconsin, and has always been one of its warm adherents, as well as a firm advocate of its prin- ciples.
ures he prepared and introduced while a member of the senate, was the bill setting apart one-fourth of the net pro- ceeds arising from the sale of swamp and overflowed lands to the founding and support of normal schools. But for the timely introduction of this measure, this fund, together with our normal schools, would have been lost to the cause of education.
He is a life-member and one of the vice-presidents of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, and has evinced his interest in its welfare by contrib- uting towards its support. Besides serving the people of Janesville several years as superintendent of schools, and member of the board of education, he was elected in 1872. and re-elected in 1873, mayor of the city of Janesville by larger majorities than were ever given to any other candidate for that office.
In whatever capacity Mr. Sutherland acts, he is industrious and faithful, and is one of the enterprising citizens of Janesville who have given it a new impetus in business and prosperity by building up its present magnificent manufactories.
HON. EDWARD V. WHITON. - Among the earliest settlers of Wiseon- sin, Judge Whiton has been one of the most prominent men for many years. He settled in Janesville in 1837, and purchased a tract of land near the present city. Here he built his rude log-cabin, as was the fashion of the day, living in it alone, being, at that time, ummarried. Ile immediately en- tered upon the practice of the law. In 1838 he was elected to the lower house of the legislature, that being the first session which convened in this eity. He was re-elected to the first session in 1839, and was the speaker of the house during the second session of that year. During the same year, he went to Albany, and supervised the publication of the Territorial Statutes. Hle con- tinued to represent his district in the sessions of 1840-41, and of 1841-42.
In 1842 he was elected to the Terri- torial council, and continued in that body during the years 1843, 1844, 1845, and 1846. Subsequently he was chosen a member of the second constitutional convention, of which body he was one of the most prominent and influential members. Immediately after the adop- tion of the constitution. he was brought forward as the candidate of the people
In the fall of 1854 he was elected to the State senate from the seventeenth district, and was re-elected in 1856. While in the senate, he served three years as chairman of the Committee on Education, School and University I for judge of the first circuit against the
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nominee of the Democratic convention ; | he removed to Wisconsin, then a part and though a Whig, with decided Whig of Michigan Territory, and settied near Dodgeville, in the mining-district, and engaged in the business of mining. About this time, he took a prominent part in the Winnebago Indian war. He was appointed major of the United States Rangers in June, 1832, and coionel of the First Dragoons on the 4th of March, 1833, which position he resigned abont three years afterwards. views, such was the universal confi- dence in him, and so great his popniari- ty, that he was elected by a handsome majority, notwithstanding the circuit was at that time strongly Democratic. At that time the Supreme Court was composed of the circuit judges; and he was, for a time, chief justice of that court. In 1852, the law organizing the present Supreme Court was enacted. Judge Larrabee was nominated by the Democrats for chief justice. The State was then strongly Democratic. But the people revolted against their lead- ers. Everywhere public sentiment pointed to Judge Whiton, as, above all other men in the State, the inan to fili that responsibie position. A people's convention was the consequence of that sentiment, at which he was nomi- nated by acciamation; and his election over the candidate of the dominant party, at that time, in the teeth of party driii, was a triumphant vindication of the system of an elective judiciary. His term expiring in 1857, he was re- elected by a majority of some tweive thousand, and upwards, over the regu- lar nominee of the Democratic party.
Judge Whiton was a native of Lee, Berkshire County, Mass., and at the time of his death, April 12, 1859, was in the fifty-fourth year of his age. In his daily walk and conversation, he secured the respect of ali men. On the bench he was an exemplar of judicial propriety and judiciai impartiality. All men confided in him: all men that knew him honored him; and his loss to the State is a public calamity.
HON. HENRY DODGE .- Henry Dodge, one of the pioneers and prominent men of Wisconsin, was born Oct. 12, 1782, at Vincennes, in that portion of the North-western Territory which now constitutes the State of Indiana. He removed to Missouri, where he passed considerable of the earlier portion of his life. In 1808, he held the office of sheriff of Cape Girardeau County. In 1812 he was chosen captain of a mounted rifle company; and, in Sep- tember of that year, he was appointed major of the Louisiana Territorial militia. He continued in service dur- ing the war until October, 1814, rising to the rank of iientenant-colonel; and in 1814 he commanded an expedition sent up the Missouri River against the Indians, and he participated largely in the trials and difficulties incident to the early settlement of that State. In 1827
Afterwards he heid the position of colonel in the Black Hawk war, and distinguished himself for the prompt, energetic, and decisive manner in which he conducted the part assigned to him. He acquired a high reputation as a military officer in conducting cam- paigns against the Indians; and in this department he had few, if any, supe- riors. He became at this time inti- mately acquainted with the country, and one of its most prominent and usefuri citizens. Upon the organization of the Territory of Wisconsin in 1836, he was appointed by Pres. Jackson its first governor, and continued to hoid that office until the 30th of September, 1841, when he was elected deiegate to - Congress from Wisconsin Territory, and continued in that office until the Sth of Aprii, 1845, having been re-elected in September, 1843. On the 8th of Aprii, 1845, he was again appointed governor of the Territory, and continued to be its governor until the 29th of May, 1848, when, upon the admission of Wisconsin into the Union, he was suc- ceeded by Hon. Neison Dewey, who had been elected under our State con- stitution. Upon the organization of the State government in June, 1848. he was elected as one of its first senators to represent Wisconsin in Congress, and was, on the twentieth day of Jannary, 1851, re-elected to the United-States senate for the term of six years. At the expiration of this term in 1857, he retired from public life, and afterwards, and until the time of his death, he resided part of the time at Mineral Point, in this State, and part of the time in Burlington, Io., where his son, Hon. Augustus C. Dodge, resides.
GEN. WILLIAM R. SMITH. - Gen. William Rudolph Smith was born Aug. 31, 1787, at La Trappe, Montgomery County, Penn. His ancestors on his father's side were from Scotland, and on his mother's were the Rudolphs from Sweden, early settlers in Dela- ware. He was educated under the care of his grandfather, Rev. Dr. William Smith, the first provost of the college,
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now University of Pennsylvania, who was a noted writer in his day, and whose works were published in two volumes in 1802. Gen. Smith's father was William Moore Smith, a distin- guished lawyer and poet, whose works were reprinted in London in 1786.
In 1803 William Moore Smith went to England as the agent for claimants under the sixth article of the "Jay Treaty" of 1794; and his eldest son, the subject of this notice, accompanied him as his private secretary, and re- mained two years. During this sojourn in England, young Smith commenced the study of the law under the direction of Thomas Kearsey of the Middle Tem- ple; and, returning to Philadelphia, he completed his legal studies with James Milnor, and was admitted to the bar in 1808. While prosecuting his legal studies, he found time to devote much attention to polite literature, in which he was encouraged by many Icading men of Philadelphia, particu- larly by his Intimate friend, Joseph Dennic, the "American Addison," and the first cditor of " 'The Portfolio." At this period, he wrote a great deal of fu- gitive poetry, - a dramatic monologue, which was printed and performed; a translation from the French of Sir William Jones's Essay on Oriental Poetry, which was published in a series of numbers in "The Portfolio;" and many of his literary essays found their way into the magazine publications of the time; but they have never been collected and embodied in book-form.
Marrying In 1809, he settled at Hunt- ingdon, on the Juniata River, pursuing his profession for the next twenty years. During this period, he had, at different times, represented his county and dis- trict in the house of representatives and senate of Pennsylvania. Such was his standing, that, while a member of the house In 1826, he was appointed one of the managers on the part of the house to conduct the impeachment of Judge Walter Franklin before the State senate. He held, at varions periods, a large number of military offices. from lieutenant up to brigadier-general. He removed, in 1830, to a farm in Bedford County, in that State, and still followed his profession ; and, in 1836, he was chosen one of the electors of President and Vice-President of the United States for the State of Pennsylvania. and cast his vote for Van Buren and Johnson.
In 1837 he was appointed a commis- sloner, in conjunction with Gov. Henry Dodge of Wisconsin, to negotiate a
treaty with the Chippewa Indians, who were convened at Fort Snelling, and which resulted in the purchase of a territory embracing much of the pres- ent State of Minnesota, including the rich pine-forests of the St. Croix and its tributaries. Having his attention thus attracted to the boundless re- sources of the great North-west, he prepared an interesting work, entitled "Observations on Wisconsin Terri- tory," which was published the fol- lowing year. In 1838 he removed with his family, to Mineral Point, in Wisconsin, where he made his home the remainder of his life.
He was appointed adjutant-general of that Territory in 1839, which office he held until 1852. In 1846 he was elected secretary of the legislative council, and the same year was chosen a member of the first constitutional convention. In 1849 and 1850 he was chief clerk of the State senate; and in 1855 he was chosen attorney-general of the State, and served for the term of two years. In 1854 Gen. Smith was chosen president of the State Historical Society, of which he had been one of the founders in 1849, and before which he delivered the first annual address. He held this position nntil 1860, having been annually re-elected. At the re- quest of the State, Gen. Smith collected materials, and prepared a history of Wisconsin from its earliest French ex- ploration to the organization of the Territory In 1836, which was published by the State in 1854, in two octavo volumes.
Gen. Smith has filled, with ability, prominent positions in the Masonic fraternity from 1822 to 1858, when, from advancing years, he declined fur- ther official services; having served as Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, Grand Secretary of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State, and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin. He was elected a mem- ber of the National Institute at Wash- ington in 1841, of the Royal Society of Antiquaries at Copenhagen in 1854, of the Historical Socicties of Pennsyl- vania, Florida, Michigan, and of other States, and of the New England His- toric-Genealogical Society of Boston, Mass.
Gen. Smith died at the residence of one of his children, at Quincy, Ill., Aug. 22, 1868, in the eighty-first year of his age.
DR. JOHN WARREN HUNT. - Dr. John Warren Hunt was born at Upper
Dore
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Lisle, Broome County, N.Y., Feb. 28, | Here he purchased the water-power, 1826. and was the son of Dr. Samuel and, removing a distillery, erected a flouring-mill, which he carried on in connection with his mercantile pur- suits. M. Hunt of the same place. He was educated at Homer Academy, New York, and studied medicine at the Castleton Medical College, Vermont. In 1849 he removed to Wisconsin, and located at Delafield, in the county of Waukesha, where he practised his profession. In January, 1851, he was appointed by Hon. W. A. Barstow, secretary of state, as assistant secre- tary, and removed to Madison, and entered upon the duties of his office. He held this position (with a short interruption) for five years, until Jan. 1, 1857. Dr. Hunt was an active and influential member of the Masonic Fraternity, and, at the time of his de- cease, was the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the State, of the Grand Chapter, Royal and Select Masters, and Grand Commandery. He took an ac- tive part in the re-organization of the State Historical Society, In 1854, and was elected recording secretary ; which office he held until his death, - a period of five years. In 1853 he published his Gazetteer of Wisconsin, -a volume of two hundred and fifty-six pages, a work of much merit, and which had the effect to draw the attention of emigrants to the State; and in 1856 his Wisconsin Almanac and Annual Register of ninety-six pages, -a work of much statistical value, and which has been subsequently republished. Dr. Hunt died at Madison, Dec. 12, 1859, in the thirty-fourth year of his age.
HON. LOUIS P. HARVEY. - Louis Powell Harvey was born at East Haddam, Conn., July 22, 1820, and removed with his parents, in 1828, to Strongsville, Cuyahoga County, O. Ile entered Western Reserve College at Hudson in 1837, and pursued his studies two years, when he left on account of ill-health. He then en- gaged In teaching, which he followed in Kentucky, and, subsequently, as a tutor in Woodward College, Cincin- nati. Marrying in 1841, he removed to Wisconsin, and settled first In Southport (now Kenosha), where he was engaged for six years in teaching, and in editing " The Southport Amer- ican" newspaper. In 1847 he settled in Clinton, Rock County, where he engaged In merchandise, and where he continued four years, when he removed to Waterloo, now known as Shopiere, where he made his residence during the remainder of lus life.
His first advent Into public life was as a member of the Constitutional Convention which framed the State Constitution in 1847; and, although one of the younger members, he took an active part in its deliberations, and assumed a leading position. In the fall of 1853 he was elected a State senator of the southern district, Rock County, and continued in that position four years, having been re-elected in 1855, and the last term of which he was president pro tem. In 1859 he was elected to the responsible position of secretary of state, which office his held two years. He was also a mem- ber of the Board of Regents of the State University, and was ever found a true friend to the cause of popular education. In 1861 he was elected chief magistrate of the State by a large majority, and entered on the duties of this position on the sixth day of January, 1862. On the receipt of the news of the battle of Shiloh, Gov. Harvey felt it to be his duty to repair at once to the scene of action, and to do what was in his power to alleviate the sufferings of the many loyal sons of Wisconsin who had been wounded on that occasion. His mission was emi- nently successful; and after having faithfully performed this duty, greatly to the satisfaction of the soldiers, he prepared to return home. Having bade them adieu, he repaired to a boat in the harbor of Savannah, to await the arrival of another that was soon expected, and which was to convey him and his friends to Cairo on their homeward trip. It was late in the evening, and the night was dark and rainy. The boat soon arrived; and as she rounded to - the bow touching the one upon which he stood - he took a step, as it would seem to move out of danger ; but by a mis- step, or perhaps a stumble, he fell overboard between the two boats into the Tennessee River, where the current was strong, and the water over thirty feet deep. Every thing was done to save his life, but to no purpose. His body was subsequently found and brought to Madison for Interment.
Gov. Harvey was in the forty-third year of his age.
Gov. LEONARD J. FARWELL. - Leonard J. Farwell was the son of
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Capt. James Farwell and Rebecca Cady, his wife; and was born at Watertown, N.Y., Jan. 5, 1819. His father died in 1830, and his mother in 1824. After a short experience as clerk in a dry-goods store, he became ap- prentice to a tinsmith, and followed that occupation until the age of nine- teen. He first removed to Lockport, Ill., with a small stock of hardware and a few tools of his trade, and, for the time and place, soon established a thriving business. In January, 1840, he sold out his stock and store, and removed to the then new village of Milwaukee, in the Territory of Wisconsin, and embarked in business on a larger scale, and in a few years was at the head of one of the largest wholesale houses in the West. Ten years later, owing to impaired health, and having secured a large fortune for those days, he withdrew from mercantile traffic to engage in other enterprises. In 1847 he visited Madison, and effected a large purchase of village property, including the unoceupled water-power, and soon after made a trip to Europe and Eastern countries, returning in 1849. On his return, he began the improvement of the water-power, the erection of mills, the opening of streets, draining of low lands, and other measures designed to benefit the village. Perhaps no one person did more to promote the interests of Madi- son than L. J. Farwell. No impor- tant interest, structure, or association was inaugurated, which he either did not originate, or contribute to its suc- eess by his means or influenee. He not only built mills, to which allusion has been made, but started the first woollen-factory, and the first machine- shop and foundery. He set the ex- ample of first grading and filling streets, and building side and eross walks; and, In the projected railroad enterprises designed to benefit Madi- son, he embarked heartily and liber- ally. The citizens of Madison will always bear cheerful witness to the greatness of his efforts, which had for their object the promotion of her best interests.
by the unanimous nomination of Mr. Farwell: a single name, presented at the right moment, raised the enthu- siasm of the party. Of the public career of Gov. Farwell, it is not neces- sary to speak at any considerable length. The structure of the gov- ernment was then immature, the population scanty, and the policy of development undefined. To lay the foundation of the new republic deep and wide, to establish a policy of eom- prehensive statesmanship that should provide for the present. insure the future, and prove enduring as time, was the important duty of the Execu- tive. How well and wisely this was done is attested by the development of the State in all its varied interests, and the widespread prosperity that is now visible in all its parts.
Gov. Farwell was married Sept. 20, 1853, to Miss Franees A., daughter of Gen. A. N. Corss of Madison, for- merly of Watertown, N.Y. She died at Washington, D.C., April 15, 1868. The financial revulsion of 1857 proved very severe on the fortunes of Gov. Farwell, as he was largely interested in railroad enterprises ; and, their value being depressed, he was obliged to suspend and close up his business. In the spring of 1863, he was appointed by Pres. Lincoln as assistant examiner in the Patent Office, Washington, and, three months later, was prinelpal ex- aminer of inventions, - a position he held for nearly seven years, when he resigned to re-embark in the same business at Chicago: at the latter place, he suffered by loss at the great fire in October, 1871. He has sinee that time lived at Grant City, Worth County, Mo.
GOVERNOR EDWARD SALOMON. - Edward Salomon was born near Hal- berstadt, in Prussla, In 1828; received an academic edueation in the same city; and, when sufficiently qualified, entered the university at Berlin, where he directed his attention principally to mathematics, philosophy, natural his- tory, &e. Having finished his college course, and taken hils degree, he pursued his favorite studies till he came to America in the fall of 1849. On his arrival here, he lived at Manitowoc for three years; where he discharged the duties of school-teacher, county-sur- veyor, and deputy clerk of the eircuit court, In succession. At the end of that time. he came to Milwaukee, where he studied law with E. G. Ryan, Esq.,
In 1851 he was nominated for governor by the Whig party, and was elected: the remainder of the State ticket was Democratic. The Whig party of that day was but a weak and feeble minority. It had few elements of strength, and less sagacity of man- agement. In the State Convention of 1851, however, it received an impetus and was admitted to the bar in 1855.
Digitized by Gopull
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He practised law in Milwaukee till, | Fenwick. After officiating for a time upon the death of Gov. Harvey, he in St. Peter's Church, in Cincinnati, assumed the executive office as gover- he was transferred to Canton, O., where he, in company with another priest, performed arduous duties be- tween that town and Lake Erie. nor of the State of Wisconsin. After having served two years in that capa- city, he resumed the practice of law in Milwaukee; and is now engaged in the While Bishop Fenwick was return- ing from a visit to the missionary sta- tions in the State, he was stricken with sickness in the neighboring town of Worcester. Henni hastened to minis- ter to the wants of his sick patron, but too late: the soul of his friend had left its tenement of clay, for brighter worlds above. same in the city of New York, a field fit for his talents, which are of no ordinary degree. Immediately on the death of Gov. Harvey, which took place soon after the battle of Pittsburg Landing, Lieut .- Gov. Salomon took possession of the executive office, at Madison. During his term of office, he supported the general government en- In 1834 the first German Catholic church was consecrated in Cincinnati. Bishop Purcell, Fenwick's successor, finding his field of usefulness enlarged, soon recalled Father Henni from Can- ton, and elevated him to the important position of vicar-general of the see. In 1835 he made a tour to Europe, with the view of interesting the Church in the American missions. He succeeded admirably, and on his return to Cin- cinnati established an orphan-asylum, and a German Catholic journal, the "Wahrheits Freund," now one of the leading church journals in the country. The orphan-asylum, the "St. Aloy- sius," is still in existence, and is one- of the oldest German institutions in the United States. gaged in a bloody war with the South, and proved himself faithful, energetic, and persevering in his endeavors to supply a large element of support from the State he governed, to subdue the enemy. In 1862 his services were especially required to fill up the deci- mated ranks of the several regiments, and the draft found necessary. In this emergency the governor discharged his duty with distinguished ability. The Indian disturbances in the State during that year imposed additional labor on the executive. The massacres by the Indians in Minnesota, the threatening aspect of the Wisconsin Indians, and the gloomy aspect of public affairs, required troops at home; and, by the advice of the governor, a militia was organized for the emergency. In every exigency the governor was found at his post.
ARCHBISHOP JOHN M. HENNI. - The new archbishop of Milwaukee, John M. Henni, was born in Upper Saxony, Canton Graubunden, Swit- zeriand, on the 16th of June, 1805, and is consequently seventy years of age. He began his studies in St. Gallen and Luzerne, and npon his graduation pro- ceeded to Rome. Here he fortunately met the first bishop of Cincinnati, Ed- ward Fenwick, who was on a visit to the holy see. He needed young work- ers in his flourishing vineyard in the New World, and was not long in secur- ing young Henni to aid him in the work of carrying the cross and civiliza- tion into the wilds of America. With his friend Martin Kundig, who was also studying in Rome, he crossed the sea, and arrived in Baltimore in 1829. After a short stay in that city, he, in company with several other candidates for holy orders, proceeded to a semi- nary in Bardstown, to prepare for ordi- nation. In the following year they were ordained to the priesthood by Bishop
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