USA > Wisconsin > Biographical sketches of old settlers and prominent people of Wisconsin > Part 8
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JOHN HELMES.
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trade in that line; in 1874 he built the fine brick block on Madison street now occupied by F. J. Vick as a general store; in 1875 he built the store on the bank of the creek now owned and occupied by L. A. Fiebiger; in 1879 he erected the brick block on the south side of Madi- son street now occupied as a store and meat market; in 1881 he pur- chased the old Waterloo House, on the corner of Madison and Washing- ton streets, which had been built in an early day by John Walker, one of the earliest settlers of the town, and which was the first hotel in the place. He remodeled this building and converted it into a neat and com- modious dwelling, which is now occupied by himself and family as a home. In 1892 he purchased the brick hotel in the center of the Village, which he at once put in a first-class condition, and which at this time is operated by Ed. Peters as the Commercial House. Many other smaller buildings were erected by Mr. Helmes, and the writer has frequently heard it remarked that if the houses built by him were removed out of town, there would not be much left of Waterloo.
Mr. Helmes was married the second time, April 13, 1880, to Mrs. Lavina C. Whitney, who was born in Bainbridge, Chenango County, Pennsylvania, April 12, 1834. She removed to Illinois with her parents in 1840, coming with them three years later to a farm near Jefferson, Jefferson County, Wisconsin. In 1847 her father purchased a farm of his brother, 2} miles south of the Village of Waterloo, where she resided until her marriage to John I. Whitney; three children were the result of this union-Emma, John Duain and Adeline, the latter two having died. Mr. Whitney having received an appointment from the Government as Inspector of Cotton Plantations, was taken sick on his way to fill his position, and died at Helena, Ar- kansas in 1865.
Mr. and Mrs. Helmes, in their declining years, are striving to make them the happiest years of their lives, and having gained a fair competency, the cares of life weigh but lightly upon them. Mr. Helmes still exhibits a keen interest in the business affairs of life and shows by his every act that he thinks that "it is better to wear out than to rust out."
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PROMINENT PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN.
EDWARD JULIUS BRANDT,
ONSCIENTIOUS development of mind and heart, according to all the laws of mental and moral philosophy, constitute the distin- . guishing characteristics of manhood, and the subject of this sketch, though yet a young man has followed closely along these lines, and thus has risen rapidly from a comparatively poor, obscure youth, to a man of prominence, both socially and in the business world.
Edward Julius Brandt, son of William Frederick and Wilhelmine (Brueck) Brandt, was born in Watertown, Jefferson County, Wisconsin, July 18, 1859, in which city he has spent all his life. His parents were born in Germany, but came to America during the early years of their life, the father arriving, via the Gulf of Mexico. His first occupation was as a yellow fever nurse in New Orleans, afterwards going to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he engaged in the saw mill and lumber business, pur- chasing a tract of land in the immediate vicinity of the present State Capitol building. A few years later he journeyed to Watertown. Wiscon- sin, of which place he is one of the few remaining early citizens. When he went to Watertown, then only a small hamlet, the surrounding lands were covered with woods and underbrush, which he assisted in clear- ing. The "Record of Wisconsin " says: "He was the owner of the first dray ever used in the place, which was an old fashioned two wheeled cart, drawn by one horse, which he ran for a few years himself, after which he opened a mercantile establishment, and kept a well stocked general store for a number of years. In this business he was succeeded by his son William F. Brandt, who still carries on the business. Mr. Brandt has for many years been retired, and is enjoying his well earned rest after the burden and heat of the day, and the pleasure and comforts to be derived from a comfortable income, the result of his early labors."
Edward Julius Brandt, the subject of this sketch is a university man, having received his education first in the Public schools of his own town, then a collegiate course in the Northwestern University, after which he was selected for the very responsible position of bookkeeper in the Bank of Watertown. Being only eighteen years of age he felt some- what timid in accepting so responsible a position, but he had adopted the motto that "nothing succeeds like success, " and the result was that his services were so acceptable to the directors that he was promoted to assistant cashier, and in 1884, such had been his success that the officials recognizing his ability and faithfulness promoted him to the position of cashier, which position he filled with entire satisfaction, both to the directors and the patrons of the bank, until December, 1898, at which time he was elected second vice-president, and after twenty-one years of successful service, retired from the actual management of the bank in order to give his attention to the Edward J. Brandt-Dent Company
EDWARD J. BRANDT.
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with a capital of $10,000, which he had organized and of which he is president, manager and principal stockholder.
Mr. Brandt, from boyhood, had an inventive mind, and in his banking experience felt the need of a machine, which would make change rapidly and correctly, and at odd hours applied his inventive genius to this end, with the result as shown in "Brandt's Automatic Cashier " which his company manufactures, and of which the treasurer of the Society for Savings of Cleveland, Ohio, an institution having de- posits of nearly $25,000,000 says: "We have given it a thorough trial. It has won a place for itself on its merits." Mr. Brandt has just rea- sons for feeling proud of this special invention, as the writer was shown orders from several different foreign countries, and they are es- tablishing or have already done so, offices in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Cleveland and London, England. The "Brandt Automatic Cashiers " have been ordered by the United States Govern- ment for actual service at the Paris Exposition.
Mr. Brandt is an accomplished musician and a fine musical critic, having spent three years in the Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. He is a gentleman of rare good taste in musical selections and rendi- tions, and by the way of recreation, directs the choir of the St. Ber- nard's Church in Watertown, which has an enviable and wide spread reputation for the excellence of its music.
Mr. Brandt was married September 12, 1873, to Miss Thelka Wig- genhorn, daughter of Aug. Wiggenhorn, Esq., one of the most prom- inent citizens of Watertown, and to this union, one daughter, Eugenia, has been given, who was born June 28, 1885.
Mr. Brandt's life has been successful, and his career well rounded, and his example one that young men would do well to admire and imi- tate. We bespeak a more brilliant future for him, as do all who know him, and who have watched his steady, honest growth.
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PROMINENT PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN.
DANIEL BULLOCK.
OME one has said that the man who accomplishes much in this world, is the man who can climb the stairs when the elevator has stopped running. This applies well to Daniel Bullock, who was born November 24, 1827, in the town of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massacusetts, and is the son of Cyrril Bullock, who was born in 1788, in what is now the town of Seekonk, Massachusetts, and Betsey (Perry) Bullock, who was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, June 26, 1790, being the daughter of Ezra and Betsy (Bliss) Perry of the same place. Cyrril and Betsy Bullock were married at Rehoboth, June 9, 1809, and she died March 27, 1849, at Canton, Massachusetts, and was the mother of twelve children, ten boys and two girls. She was a lov- ing wife and mother, and lived in the enjoyment of the highest re- spect of her acquaintances, and in the undying love of her children; she was a living illustration of the beauty and tenderness of a mother's love, the purest and holiest trait of a woman's character.
Cyrril Bullock, the father of Daniel, died in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1865, about 77 years of age. He was the son of Thomas Bul- lock, who was born in January, 1761; during the war of the revolution the family resided in the Southeastern part of the State of Connecticut, a few miles back from Long Island Sound. His father was a farmer, and all of his sons were in the Federal army, except Thomas, who was the youngest. But he ran away and enlisted at New London, Connecti- cut, when 15 years old, but his father followed and took him home, say- ing he must have one boy at home. Thomas was not to allow his patri- otism to be thus easily squelched, and made two more unsuccessful at- tempts to enlist, when he abandoned the idea of trying to be a soldier, and remained at home. He married a Miss Peck of Rehoboth, and died in November, 1860, at Seekonk, being nearly 100 years old.
Daniel Bullock, our subject, was not the recipient of a college edu- cation, but had to be contented with a very meager common school edu- cation, such as befell the lot of country youth in the days when the "three R.'s-readin', 'ritin' and 'rithmatick " constituted an education, and when the momentuous question of the school directors, was whether to hold school three or four months in each year. Having completed his "education, " Daniel, at the age of 15, started out alone to make his way in the world, with good muscle, and confidence in himself as his stock in trade.
Daniel Bullock was married June 4, 1848, to Miss Caroline Augusta Rowe, of Farmington, Connecticut, daughter of Ira and Julia Miller Rowe, prominent and life long residents of Farmington. One son, Daniel Adelbert, was the result of this union; he was born at Chicopee, Mass., July 30, 1850, and November 4, 1879, married Julia, the only daughter
DANIEL BULLOCK.
MRS. DANIEL BULLOCK.
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of David G. and Julia M. Snover of North Prairie, Wisconsin; she died March 11, 1885, without issue, and June 4, 1886, he married Eva, daugh- ter of John and Christian A. Burnham of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and two children were born to them, Adele B., born April 13, 1894, and John Daniel, born September 3, 1897; both born in Fort Atkinson.
After a few years' residence at Chicopee, Massachusetts, and Co- hoes, New York, Mr. Bullock came West in 1853, to see the wonderful country he had heard and read so much about. He traveled, hunted and fished in Southwestern Wisconsin, and then took a trip of 400 miles through Iowa in a buggy, there being no railroads in that state at that time. Returing East, after having spent ten delightful weeks in what was then known as the "Far West," he determined to make the West his future home, as soon as possible. The next year, 1854, with his wife and child, he came to Wisconsin, settling in Jefferson county, at Hebron. Having acquired some knowledge of manufacturing, he was engaged by Charles R. Barnes to Superintend his Bedstead and Lumber Manufactur- ing Works at Hebron, where he remained two years, when he removed to Whitewater, when for four years, he was the Superintendent of the Esterly Reaper Works. After this, for a few years, he spent his time in various enterprises, and in traveling, including two years spent in the Oil regions of Pennsylvania.
In November, 1866, Mr. Bullock engaged with the Northwestern Furniture Company (now the Northwestern Manufacturing Co.) as Gen- eral Manager of their business, then just organized at Fort Atkinson. This position he has held for more than thirty years, and the growth and prosperity of this enterprise, to which he devoted the best efforts of the best years of his life, has been exceedingly gratifying to him. He was for many years the President of the Company, and to his careful management, is largely due the success and prominence it has attained.
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PROMINENT PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN.
ASA E. DEWEY.
HE knowledge of the true worth of a man, and the realization of the depth of his nature, can best be ascertained from his associates, and the community in which he has resided for many years. It was through these channels of information that we are enabled to present a sketch of Asa E. Dewey. He was the son of David and Patty (Eggleston) Dewey and was born in the State of Vermont, Febru- ary 27, 1823. His father's line of ancestry, extending back through a number of generations, were all Vermonters, but his mother came from good old Connecticut stock. When but a boy about five years of age Asa's parents removed to Jefferson County, New York, where they re- mained until he was twenty-one years old, when in the spring of 1844 they emigrated to the territory of Wisconsin, settling on the tractof land still owned by him, and where he lives at this time-Section 2 of the Town of Medina, Dane county, and with Marshall as his Postoffice.
Many were the hardships endured by the Dewey family in these early days of Wisconsin history, but being of the hardy Green Mountain stock, they accepted of the privations and hardships. and entered into the work of providing themselves with a home, with a hearty good will. Asa, finding frontier life rather irksome without a companion, wooed and won for a wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sardine and Elorsey C. (Lum) Muzzy, whom he married August 2. 1846. Three children were theresult of this union. one son and two daughters-Orin Adelbert, married and living at Marshall; Sarah Jane. now the widow of John Wilt and resid- ing at Red Wing, Minnesota, and Amy Caroline, now the widow of Charles Porter, and living with her father, making a pleasant home for him in his decling years, his wife having died May 21, 1898, after 52 years of constant companionship.
Mr. Dewey has always been a lover and admirer of horses. and no man knew a good horse better than he. His pride was in taking a young horse and developing him, and in this special line he was always very suc- cessful, and in his younger days much of the fine stock in his vicinity was brought to a degree of perfection by his judicious and careful training, and in the early days when oxen were used as much as horses, his pride was making them work true and obediently.
Though seventy-six years old, Mr. Dewey does not look it and is yet as active as many men of younger years, and bids fair to live many years, a comfort to his family.
Mr. Dewey has never been known as a politician, but has always taken a deep interest in political affairs, as a Democrat of the old Jeffer- sonian school, but never was an offensive partisan.
The writer, in conversation with one of Mr. Dewey's daughters, earned that one of the foundation principles of his life, was honesty,
ASA DEWEY.
MRS. ASA DEWEY.
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not only in act, but of purpose, and he often said in speaking of others, that he considered it as great a compliment as could be paid indi- viduals, to say of them that they were honest and truthful, and thus he ac- cepted the aphorism, that "an honest man is the noblest work of God," and endeavored to carry out this sentiment all through his life; as his own word was always accepted with confidence by his friends and neighbors. Another characteristic of Mr. Dewey is his strong advo- cacy of the temperance cause and its principles. He has thus not lived in vain, for no doubt, by principle and example, the world is better for his living.
ADELBERT DEWEY.
HE useful influence which a righthearted man of energy and indus- try may exercise among his neghbors and friends, cannot, perhaps, be better illustrated than by the career of Adelbert Dewey, of Marshall, Dane County, Wisconsin, who is the son of Asa and Elizabeth (Muzzy) Dewey and was born in the town of Medina, Dane County, Wisconsin, May 2, 1847, and united in marriage to Abby Jane Pierce, who was born Dec. 22, 1869, in Danville, Caledonia County, Ver- mont, April 20, 1852, and came to Wisconsin with her parents when but two years of age. She is the daughter of Willard A. Pierce, who was born in Vermont in 1812, and died in Wisconsin June 3, 1869 at the age of 57 years, and Mary Jane (Northrup) Pierce, who was born in West Dan-
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ville, Vermont, September 13, 1822. They were married in Vermont September, 1843, and had seven children, namely: Elvira L., Charles P., Daniel W., Abby J., wife of our subject; Ida E., Clara V., and Albert H.
Adelbert and Abby Jane Dewey had five children born to them, George W., born August 26, 1871, married to Cora Mitchell, February 24, 1897 and is now a practicing physician in Burnett, Wisconsin; Edith O., born April 17, 1873, and married to William Pyburn, April 21, 1896, and they have three children, Elvira A., born March 27, 1897, Olive E., born May 27, 1898, and Stanley T., born June 2, 1899; Frank A., born December 12, 1876, and died August 22, 1888; Lida J., born November 7, 1879, and Leon H., born June 2, 1899. The last three are living with their parents.
Mr. Dewey has always been a tiller of the soil, following the plow and doing other work which falls to the lot of an industrious farmer boy, and now owns a fine farm in the town of Medina, besides a house and lot in the Village of Marshall, where he resides. Mr. Dewey is a man of en- ergy, and has learned that the way to overcome obstacles is to grapple with them; and believes that there is honor in every right walk of in- dustry, whether it be tilling the soil, in the work shop, or behind the counter.
The citizens of his town have shown their confidence in him by se- lecting him for several offices which he has filled to the entire satisfac- tion of his constituency-Town Treasurer for two years, Supervisor for three years and treasurer of the High School.
In politics Mr. Dewey allies himself with the Democratic party, but makes no pretensions to being a politician in the modern acceptation of the term, and in religion he is a liberal.
Adelbert Dewey, as we said before, has always been industrious, and has accomplished only what hundreds of others have done, but never thinks of claiming any special credit or reward for it, but he always had the instinct which seemed to direct him, or lead him to know what was the best thing to do.
ADELBERT DEWEY AND WIFE.
JOHN BASHFORD.
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JOHN BASHFORD.
ETTER "to wear out than rust out " seems to be the motto of the subject of this sketch. Although past the 75th milestone on the voyage of life, there are but very few persons known as old men who can do a harder day's work.
John Bashford was born in Columbia County, New York, July 31, 1824, and is the son of Byaly Bashford, who was born October 14. 1798, and Betsy Bashford, born June 5, 1800. They were married February 24, 1822, and spent all their married life in the state of New York. They had twelve children-William, born October 12, 1822; John, the subject- of this sketch; Hannah, born November 30, 1826; Almyra, born October 11, 1828; Mary, born May 23, 1830; Nancy, born August 31, 1832; George, born April 14, 1833; Katharine, born October 11, 1834; James Lonson, born June 18, 1836; Peter Edward, born November 30, 1839; Tammy, born November 30, 1841; Emeline, born June 25, 1845.
The great grandfather of John Bashford died at sea while sailing for this country with his family. Three little boys were thus left fath- erless and upon landing were "bound out" to parties in Peekskill, New York. One of these "little boys" became the grandfather of John Bashford, and was a soldier in the Revolution, acting as scout, and in one of his skirmishes captured several horses from the enemy. Whilst not being able to recall the given name of his grandfather, he well re- members his grandmother, whose maiden name was Nancy Smith.
John Bashford came to Wisconsin in 1850, settling in the town of Portland, Dodge County, where he "kept batch " and boarded around for eight years, when he married, January 12, 1858, Phoebe Jane Stan- ford (Babcock) a widow, who was born in Ohio, and died in the town of York, Wisconsin, December 3, 1886. Three children were born to. them-James Byaly, born March 26, 1859, married Nettie J. Beaver January 19, 1897, she was born April 20, 1867. They had four chil- dren-Hester Jane, born September 14, 1889; Sadie May, born May 22, 1893, died July 2, 1896; Edna Amelia, born July 29, 1895; Earl Marshall, born March 1, 1899. Clara, born June 4, 1861, married Louis Weber No- vember 15, 1882, he was born March 6, 1857. After their marriage they settled in South Dakota, where he engaged in farming and stock raising. In 1892 moved to Alexandria, South Dakota, and engaged in the hard- ware business and in 1899 purchased a department store, in which busi- ness he is now engaged. They have five children-Lewis Arnold, born January 8, 1887; Vincent Augustus, born April 13, 1889; Anna Rosella, born August 27, 1891; George Frederick, born May 19, 1894; Lee Clare, born September 22, 1895 .- Sherman, born September 25, 1865, married Emma Rushford September 29, 1887, she was born January 3, 1868, and they have one child, Belva, born August 10, 1888.
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When John Bashford first came to Wisconsin, he engaged in team- ing from Portland to Watertown and Milwaukee. On one of his trips, in crossing the Crawfish river on the ice, his big load of barley broke through and he got rather a cold bath, they fished the bags of thoroughly soaked barley out of the river, and the next day he went on to Water- town, where he sold his load for 20 cents per bushel.
In 1855, Mr. Bashford purchased and settled on 80 acres in the town of York, Dane County, where, as he was prospered he added a few acres at a time until he was the possessor of a splendid farm of 244 acres. In 1881 he sold this farm and moved to Waterloo, Wisconsin, where he purchased 43 acres in the north part of the village and now lives the quiet life of a retired farmer.
Mr. Bashford married again in July, 1887, in Canton, South Dakota, to Miss Lena Cane, who was born in Waterloo, Wisconsin, December 10, 1868. The result of this union is two children-John, born May 19, 1888; Frank, born February 14, 1893, and died January 18, 1896.
Mr. Bashford has always been a horse fancier, and says he never owned a poor horse in his life, if by chance he got one, he quickly dis- posed of him. To Mr. Bashford belongs the honor of being one of the prominent men of Dane, Dodge and Jefferson Counties, in raising the standard of good horse flesh-and today is the owner of some splendid horses and takes great pleasure in exhibiting them to his friends. As a farmer, Mr. Bashford was systematic in his work, and always used ex- cellent judgment in his farm work, and it was to his close attention to the business affairs pertaining to his farm, that enabled him to score the success which he attained.
WILLIAM KNAPTON, JR. (From a picture taken over 80 years ago in England.)
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
THE KNAPTONS.
NGLAND never contributed to America a more honest, upright, sturdy, hardworking, temperate set of people than the Knaptons, and none better calculated to make good citizens of their adopted country. Their ancestry originally lived at the Village of Knap- ton, near the City of York, in the East Riding of the County of York- shire, England, about the year 1540.
Thomas Knapton, the great-grandfather of Isaac C., William, and Joshuas C. Knapton, the subjects of this sketch, was a farmer, and born in Wharfdale, County York, England, and had three sons, John, Thomas and William, and were tenants on the Earl of Harwood's estate, whose surname was Lascalles, in the same county, at Wesco Hill, in the West Riding, about forty miles west of York, 12 miles north of Leeds and 5 miles east of Otley, where he rented a farm of about 100 acres. At that place there were only eight houses, all occupied by farmers. It was the custom in those days to build in. communities for protection of their land lying outside of the villages and reaching on the lands belong- ing to other villagers.
That branch of the family which remained on the farm at Wesco Hill, namely: William Knapton, Sr., was born in 1768, and died Janu- ary 25, 1845, aged 77 years. His other brother, John, lived on an ad- joining farm, and died at the age of 79 years. His wife was Mary Swale, who was born at Wesco-Hill, and -died at the same place at the advanced age of 96, and was a member of the Wesleyan Society for 76 years.
William Knapton, Sr., third son of John Knapton, was born about 1767, and was married November 6, 1787, to Grace, the only daughter of Isaac Huddleston of Bugaridge Farm in the Parish of Kirkby Overblow, which farm belonged to the Fawkes' estate of Farnley Hall. She was born in 1766 and died August 29, 1845, aged 79 years. They had twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, all of whom lived to manhood and womanhood, namely: Isaac, born April 27, 1788; Sarah, born Sep- tember 3, 1789; Hannah, born April 20, 1791; Elizabeth, born June 24, 1793; Matty, born April 27, 1795; William, Jr., born December 20, 1797; Mary, born December 20, 1799; Grace, born March 30, 1802; John, born January 7, 1804; Joshua, born April 15, 1806; Priscilla, born April 30. 1808; Jane, born June 13, 1811.
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