USA > Wisconsin > Biographical sketches of old settlers and prominent people of Wisconsin > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15
Isaac, the eldest, was a farmer and miller, and was heir to his Grand- father Huddleston's farm. He married Betty Rathmell of Stainburn, in the same parish, and they had six children, only one of whom ever mar- ried, viz .: the eldest daughter, who married Mark Wade of Arthington. Sarah, the second daughter of William Knapton, married Robert Naw- son of Arthington, and they had sixteen children. Hanna, the third
158
PROMINENT PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN.
child, married Seth Claughton of Horsforth, without issue. Elizabeth, the fourth child, married Richard Shackleton of Yeadon Gill, and they had four children. Matty, the fifth child, married James Wilkinson of Leeds, and had six children. William, Jr., the sixth child, a tobacco- nist who learned his trade at Leeds and Dorcaster, married, in 1821, Jane, the second daughter of John and Margaret Joy Carnley, who were Quakers; she was born near Sheffield, December 4, 1801, and had three brothers and one sister; her brother John was the Chief of Police of Barnsley for forty years. Mary, the seventh child, married Joseph Wade of Arthington, and had five children. Grace, the eighth child, married George Woodall of Leeds, but had no children. John, the ninth child, was a practicing physician at Bramley, and died, unmarried, at the age of 34. Joshua, the tenth child, got the Wasco Hill farm; he married Han- nah Wilkinson, of Rigton, and had seven children, all deceased but two daughters and one son, the latter, John, married in June. 1885, at theage of 50. This is all of that branch of the family left in England. Priscilla, the eleventh child, married Stephen Breacliff of Harewood Parish and had four children; Jane the twelfth child, married Joseph K. Brown of Yeadon, a cloth manufacturer, and had seven children.
William Knapton, Jr., the father of our subjects, the second son and sixth child of William and Grace Huddleston Knapton, was born Decem- ber 20, 1797, and was married in 1821 to Jane, the youngest daughter of John and Margaret Jay Carnley. She was born at Owlerton Hall, near Sheffield, December 20, 1801; her ancestors came from Carnley, in Ire- land, and settled near Doncaster in the sixteenth century, and were members of the Society of Friends. William Knapton, Jr., first started in business as a tobacconist at Newark, in Notts. From there he went to Doncaster, in Yorkshire, where he kept a provision store. In 1830 he removed to Otley, a village near his native place; in 1833 he took a farm at Bramhope, distant three miles from Otley; in 1840 he moved back to Otley and opened a provision store, in which business he was engaged till 1848, when he disposed of his property in Otley, consisting of seven houses, prepatory to emigrating to America.
He had twelve children, namely: Mary Ann, born at Doncaster in 1822, never married; John, who learned the milling trade, and married Sarah Bulmer of Wetherby, was born at Doncaster in 1824; Priscilla, born at Doncaster in 1826, married Robert Mandsley, a boot and shoe- maker of Barnsley, and died in 1860, leaving four children: Jane, born, 1828 and died 1830; William, born 1830, served seven years learning the harness trade; Sarah, born 1832 (all of whom were baptized in the Don- caster Church); Thomas, born 1835 at Bramhope; Isaac Christopher, born 1836; Jane, born 1838 (the last three were chistened in Bramhope Church, Otley Parish); Joshua, born in Otley in 1840, was drowned in 1842; Joshua Carnley, born in 1843, and Francis, born in 1846 and bap- tized at Otley.
April 19, 1848, William Knapton, Jr., left the place of his nativity for America, arriving at Liverpool April 22, 1848; he purchased passage for himself, wife and nine children, and also his son John's wife and one grandson, paying one hundred pounds for the passage of the party to New York. He left England on an emigrant ship called the Oregon, and
JANE CARNELEY KNAPTON.
(From a picture taken over 80 years ago in England.)
1
161
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
after a stormy passage of seven weeks and three days, landed at New York June 1, 1848. The next day he sailed up the Hudson river to Al- bany; from there he went by canal to Buffalo, thence by the lakes to Milwaukee, where they landed after a six days' voyage and remained eleven days, while John and one Thomas Fallows of Manchester, Eng- land, went some seventy miles in the country prospecting for land. In the town of Medina, Dane County, they bargained for a pre-emption right of Nathaniel Larabee for 160 acres for $50. They then returned to Milwaukee and paid the United States Government $200 for the same piece of land, situate in the N. W. } of Section 17, town of Medina.
June 26, 1848, they started for the "land of promise " in two wagons, and were three days meandering through forests and mud holes, reach- ing their new home June 28, and obtained lodgings at one Woodard's for four days and nights, being compelled to sleep in a log stable, and dur- ing the whole time it rained, accompanied by thunder and lightning, and many of the articles which they brought from England were ruined.
They hauled lumber from Milford, and cut logs to put up a house, but the Larabees, of whom there was a "gang," refused to stick to their bargain, and demanded $100 for their claim, which was rejected, so they drove the Knapton party from the land by force. They then bought 40 acres in Section 7, with a house, and 6 acres broken, for $140, from the heirs of Daniel Moore, and the family lived there until December, 1852. The Larabees having no legal claim on the 160 acres, the Knaptons took possession of the lund, built a house and moved into it in the winter of 1852.
For seven years the times were very hard, there was but very little money in the country, and if a man had to have money he was compelled to pay 25 per cent., and in many cases 50 per cent., and prices on every- thing were very low. A good cow could be purchased for $10 and a yoke of oxen for $40, and land could be bought for less than the improve- ments cost. But our subjects struggled on and became well trained in the rough life of the pioneer, and were hardy settlers amid the primeval forests.
One of the most strongly marked features of the English people is their spirit of industry standing out prominent and distinct in their past history, and as strikingly characteristic of them now as at a former period.
Some writer has said that London was not made great by the men who were born there, but by those who, as boys and men, came to the British metropolis, and as this was doubtless true in England, so is it true of America, and by just such men as the Knaptons.
WILLIAM KNAPTON.
William Knapton was born in England October 26, 1828, and was baptized in Doncaster Church, coming to America with his parents when 19 years of age, having learned the harnessmaking trade after a service of five and a half years.
He was married October 16, 1853, to Anna, daughter of Thomas Fal- lows, and sister of John, Daniel, William Fallows, and Bishop Samuel F. Fallows of Chicago. Soon after marriage he purchased 40 acres of land in Section 7, town of Medina, Dane County, Wisconsin, which he
162
PROMINENT PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN.
cleared of burr and white oaks, and began the life of a farmer in earnest.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs .. William Knapp were as follows: William Thomas, born April 6, 1856, married Della Roberts of Lincoln, Nebraska, July 18, 1896, and two children were born to them, Orris William, born September 1, 1897, and Maria Nellie, born March 1, 1899; Samuel Fallows, born November 19, 1857; Anna Jane, born July 21, 1859, married Moses Files of Nebraska September 28, 1887, and she died in Nebraska August 8, 1891, to whom two children were born, Ellery Knapton, born October 13, 1888, and Ruth Emma, born May 17, 1890; Emma Louisa, born June 11, 1861, married Benjamin Franklin Judkins in Deansville, Wisconsin, October 16, 1884, and they had five children, Paul William, born August 1, 1885, Mila Ann, born October 16, 1887, Erma May, born October 3, 1889, Abbie Lillian, born March 29, 1894, and one who died in infancy; Erma May, died October 30, 1897; Charles Carnley, born August 26, 1863, and died December 5, 1863: George Henry, born November 3, 1864, married Viola Thomas March 21, 1889, in Custer County, Nebraska, and they have four children, Bessie Viola, born December 21, 1889, Dean Russel, born September 25. 1893, Freda, born De- cember 3, 1895, and Rexford, born January 15, 1898; Lillian May, born August 12, 1866, married Moses Files September 12, 1893, and now re- siding at Eagle, Nebraska; Heber Ashworth, born August 18, 1869, married Josephine Langlotz September 4, 1892, and they had four chil- dren, Harrold William, born in 1893, Walter, born September 15, 1894. Ethel Rachel Mabel, born June 2, 1898, and Emma Gracie, born October 7, 1899; Ezra, born August, 1869, died September 28, 1869.
William Knapton, by industry, perseverance and some self-denial has succeeded in securing a nice farm of one 140 acres in the town of Medina, Wisconsin, and a comfortable home in the Village of Marshall, where he now resides, and as the shadows of life lengthen he looks back over a busy life, with its attendant cares, and feels that he is justly en- titled to take things easy the remainder of his days.
William Knapton has always had a good standing among his neigh- bors, and was for nine years a member of the School Roard. For fifty- six years he has been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and held various offices in the Church. In politics, like the rest of the family, he is a Republican. He is an ardent temperance ad- vocate, and is always found on the right side of all the moral questions of the day; never yields his integrity, or compromises with a wrong.
ISAAC CHRISTOPHER KNAPTON
was born at Bramhope, England, December 26, 1836, and when 11 years of age came to America with his parents, settling on a farm located in Section 7, town of Medina, Wisconsin, where he assisted his father in clearing the farm and breaking the land, until he was 21 years old. His father, having a large family and being limited in means, was not able to give his children such an education as he would like to have done. Isaac got the most of his education in England, and only received six months' schooling in this country. After attaining his majority he worked out by the month, teaming, at $12 per month, which occupation he followed through the winter. March 1, 1858, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Agnew, daughter of Robert Agnew, who came to
I. C. KNAPTON.
L
165
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
America in 1853 from the Parish of Donaghdee, Ireland, twelve miles from Belfast. Mrs. Knapton was born November 1, 1840, in the County of Down, Parish of Donaghdee. After their marriage they lived on a rented farm for three years, during which time a daughter was born to them, Priscilla Ann, who was born December 14, 1858, and died of diph- theria July 19, 1861, aged 2 years, 7 months and 5 days. Mr. Knapton worked the farm on shares until 1861, when he purchased 80 acres in the town of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, and moved on it in March, 1861. April 26, 1861, their son, Edward Robert, was born, who married Anna Cripps, who was born in the town of York February 3, 1871, and they have two children, Edith Knapton, born April 20, 1892, and William Knapton, born September 13, 1895. In Novomber, 1861, Mrs. Knapton was taken sick with inflammation of the bowels, which terminated in ty- phoid fever, from which she was an invalid all winter. In March, 1862, Mr. Knapton sold his farm and removed back to to the town of Medina, and followed breaking in the summer and threshing in the fall for about twenty years. In the fall of 1862 he rented the Agnew farm for 3 years, and in 1866 he purchased 95 acres in the town of Medina, Wisconsin for $850. January 20, 1867, their son, John Harvey, was born, who married Anna Orton, born in Milwaukee September 7, 1872. In September, 1893, John H. bought a house and lot in Deansville, Wisconsin, where he lived for three years. He then moved to his father's farm, which he works on shares. They have four children, Ruby P., born September 18, 1894; Isaac C., born May 18, 1896; Frank, born April 18, 1897, and Nellie Armenia, born December 20, 1898; Priscilla Ellen, born January 1, 1874, who married James A. Wood April 6, 1895, and now re- sides in the town of York on the old Wood homestead. She was a very successful school teacher for five terms. August 20, 1869, their daugh- ter, Edith Perry, was born (she had been an exceedingly successful school teacher for three terms), and died of diphtheria September 6, 1887, aged 18 years and 17 days.
In 1878 Mr. Knapton purchased 20 acres of wood land in Deerfield, Wisconsin, which he still owns. In November, 1883, he purchased the Agnew farm of 90 acres, and in September, 1895, bought ten acres of W. H. Porter, that joins the Agnew farm, and built a house and barn, and lives there at the present time. It is known as "Mile End."
During the Civil War Mr. Knapton was drafted and paid $300 for a substitute. At a succeeding election objections were interposed to his voting because of the claim that he had never been naturalized, so he took out his "papers."
Isaac C. Knapton is a strict temperance man, and was a charter member of the Temple of Honor of Marshall; is a staunch Republican. He is a self-made man, and but few men have had a more successful life. He is the owner of 215 acres of fine farming land valued at $60 per acre, all paid for. He also has a one-ninth interest in the old homestead which is valued at $10,000, but which is subject to a life lease in favor of his sister Sarah.
In the spring of 1867 he was elected Sealer of Weights and Meas- ures for his town; in 1868 he was elected Town Treasurer; was District School Clerk for seventeen years; Deputy Sheriff for three years. In
166
PROMINENT PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN.
the spring of 1871 he was elected Assessor of the town, and during the next thirteen years he held that office nine terms; was Master of the Marshall Grange of the Patrons of Husbrandy, and during the Blaine campaign was Chairman of the Town Committee and a member of the Republican County Committee. He was one of the organizers of the Town Fire Insurance Company, of which he has been the agent since its organization, and was its Treasurer for four years and Secretary for five years.
The success of Issac C. Knapton is emphasized by the fact that he began life under conditions which would have kept most men from be- coming successful. But by energy, perseverance, integrity in word and deed, and good business judgment, he has succeeded in attaining a position which any man might be justly proud of.
JOSHUA CARNLEY KNAPTON
was born November 7, 1843, in England, and came to America with his parents when but five years old. His carly history, like that of his family, consisted of hard work, as was the case with all the boys whose parents came to Wisconsin when it was a comparative wilderness. His opportunities for education were exceedingly limited, but being an ac- tive, persevering, pushing young fellow, he made the very best use of the oppportunities presented. As he approached manhood his love for his adopted country grew stronger, and the fires of patriotism kindled in his breast, and he showed love for the old flag by enlisting in the Civil War January 4, 1864, in Company A, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteers, was sent to the Western department and was in the Red River campaign, where, in the battle of the Cross Roads, he was taken prisoner and sent to Tyler, Texas, and from there to Dallas, where. after eight months in the stockade in the open air, he was exchanged December8, 1864. He then went to the Marine Hospital at New Orleans, where he remained until March 1, 1865, when he was given sick fur- lough for sixty days. Returning home he was finally mustered out May 15, 1865. He soon after purchased 100 acres of land adjoining the old homestead, where he still resides, and having purchased 60 acres from the homestead, now owns 160 acres of excellent farming land. and takes life as it comes, without fretting or worrying. Being a bachelor, his sisters, Mary Ann and Sarah, make their home with him and look after the household affairs.
Joshua C. Knapton wasa staunch Republican and always strictly loyal in his party affiliations until 1896, when he became a Silver Republican. and has since voted with the party advocating the silver cause. He is not a member of any church, but has always given them his support.
Mr. Knapton is very much interested in music, and aside from several instruments which he owns, he has a fine cabinet organ in his home, on which he plays, and thus passes many pleasant hours. The writer has known Joshua Knapton from boyhood, and cheerfully bears testimony to his estimable qualities and kind, generous heart. He is now the Supervisor of the town of Medina, Wisconsin, and is exhibiting good judgment in conducting the affairs of his town. He is a man who is universally respected, is upright in all his dealings, and a worthy citizen.
DAVID J. HOYT.
169
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
DAVID J. HOYT,
EN who are resolved to find a way for themselves, will always find opportunities enough; and if they do not lie ready to their hand, they will make them. Such a man we find in the subject of our sketch; and one of the rules of his life has been to deliberately consider the practicability of a thing before he undertook it, he then felt that with perseverance, the odds and ends of time could be worked up into valuable results.
David J. Hoyt was born in the town of Wheelock, Vermont, August 1, 1842, and is the son of Captain David M. Hoyt, who was born in Can- terbury, New Hampshire, in 1799, and Mary (Sanborn) Hoyt, who was born in Sanborntown, New Hampshire. They were married in Wheelock, Vermont, where both were living at the time, and where the Captain was engaged in farming. In the spring of 1845, with his family, he emigrated to Wisconsin, settling in Jefferson. The same year, soon after locating in Jefferson, he met with a double bereavement, first by the death of his infant son Charles, then by the death of his wife. He then removed to Lake Mills and located on a farm in Section 16, where he spent the remainder of his days. He died October 3, 1865. The children born to Captain and Mary (Sanborn) Hoyt were: Juliet, mar- ried I. W. Wardwell, who now lives in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin; Oscar was born in Wheelock, Vermont, January 26, 1829, coming to Wisconsin with his parents, and in 1849 went to California, where he was fairly successful. Remaining there about three years, he returned to Lake Mills, where he purchased a farm and spent the remainder of his days, He was married to Emeline Doolittle and five children were born to them, and his only daughter, Inez L., is the wife of Frank K. Ryder of Waterloo. He died in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. Fittzlan Amanda, who died when quite young; Amanda Fittzlan, born in Ver- mont, married Alpheus P. Ellerton of Lake Mills, and died in Waupaca, Wisconsin, about 1862; William Sanborn, born in Lyndon, Vermont, in 1835, and at the age of 16 went to New Haven, Connecticut, where he took a position as brakeman on the railroad. By carefulness, industry and zealous care of the company's interest for two years he was re- warded by an appointment of conductor, which position he held for seventeen years. During that time he married Miss Libbie Miles of Mamaroneck, Connecticut, and soon after resigned his position and went to Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, to engage in the oil business, and with his family now resides at Burning Well; Annette, born in Lyndon, coming with her parents to Wisconsin, was married to Daniel Seldon of. Cleveland, Ohio. He died, and several years later she married William Hoag of San Jose, California, where she is now living; David J., our subject, and Charles, an infant son.
170
PROMINENT PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN.
David J. Hoyt came to Wisconsin with his parents in the spring of 1845, settling 23 miles north of Jefferson on a farm. His mother dying soon after, the care of the family devolved upon his elder sister, Juliet, for about one year, when she married, and Amanda assumed the care of the home until David was 8 years old, when his father married Mrs. Polly Allerton, who died in Lake Mills about 1870, surving her husband about five years. David remained at home until he became of age, working on the farm. He then took the farm on shares, but owing to many discouragements, chiefly the invasion of the chinch bugs, which destroyed his crops, and an accident which crippled his hand for life, which happened when he was about 15 years of age, caused by the ac- cidental discharge of a gun while climbing a fence, he resolved to quit farming and seek a living, if not a fortune, in some other direc- tion. In the spring of 1865 he went to New Haven, Connecticut, and got a job of breaking on the N. Y. & N. H. R. R., where he worked for one month, then engaged with Rawlin Bro.'s to go to Pitt Hole Center, Pennsylvania, in the oil regions, to run a stationary engine at a compen- sation of $6 per day. He had been with this firm but a short time when he was called to Wisconsin by the death of his father, but did not arrive until after his burial.
Feeling the need of an education, he theu attended school at the Jefferson Liberal Institute for two years, excepting winter months, when he taught school to pay his tuition and living. He also attended school in Waterloo for a time, after which he engaged with Jardee Bro. 's of Madison, at a salary of $45 per month to sell agricultural im plements, and so successful was he as a salesman, the second year they gave him $800, and the third year $900. At the end of that time he en- tered into contract with S. L. Sheldon of Madison in the same line of business, at a salary of $1,000 per year, which was increased to $1,200. and he held that position for nearly twenty years, and it was said of him that he was the best business man and salesman they ever had in their employ. During that time Mr. Hoyt was married to Martha P. Bishop, and resided in Madison. Two sons were the result of this union, Charles, who died when six months old and is buried in Madison. and Heber Bishop Hoyt, who was born April 23, 1877, in Madison. Heber moved with his parents on a farm in Lake Mills which his father owned, and after three or four years removed to Waterloo, Wisconsin, where he attended the High School in that village. from which he graduated in 1893, after which he entered the University of Wisconsin, from which he graduated in 1897, and immediately entered the Law School of the University, from which he graduated June 1. 1899. Heber then went to California, thence to Seattle, Washington, where he located in the prac- tice of the law, being the senior member of the firm of Hoyt and Frye.
In 1882 David J. Hoyt purchased the old Union Block in Waterloo, and in 1887 purchased the implement business of his employer, Mr. Sheldon, in Waterloo, and has successfully carried on that business ever since.
Mr. Hoyt's maternal grandparents were Elisha and Agnes (Moore) Sanborn, who spent all their days in Vermont, and the following chil- dren were born to them: Thomas, who died at sea; Daniel, who died in
171
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Wisconsin; Benjamin, died in Lyndon, Vermont; William, died in Jef- ferson, Wisconsin; Elisha, died in Lyndon; Moore, died in Wheelock, Vermont; Charles, died in Lyndon; Lucy, died in Lyndon; Mary, mother of David J. Hoyt, died in Wisconsin; Elmira, died in Sheffield, Vermont, and Ann, who died in Wheelock.
David J. Hoyt was married, the second time, May 8, 1889, to Miss Lillian J. Ingalls of Janesville, Wisconsin. She was the daughter of Chauncey Langdon and Nancy Morgan Ingalls, and was born in Ver- mont January 9, 1857. Attending school at the Lyndon Seminary, she graduated from that institution June 8, 1877. Mrs. Hoyt is a most esti- mable lady, a worthy helpmeet, taking a deep interest in her husband's affairs, and is highly esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaint- ances.
Mr. Hoyt is a staunch Republican, and while he has never sought office of any kind, his fellow-citizens of Waterloo, without regard to party, unanimously elected him President of the village in 1893. He was also a member of the School Board for eight or nine years.
In religious matters, while Mr. Hoyt is not a member of any church, he is a firm believer in the existence of an overruling power, and fully subscribes to the teachings of the Golden Rule, "As ye would that others should do unto you, do ye so even unto them."
David J. Hoyt is regarded as among the best business men in the county of Jefferson, and is an example of patient and laborious effort, and the diligent cultivation of opportunities. He is a man who never waited for extraordinary occasions, but seized the common occasions and made the most of them, and is one of the best known dealers in agricultural implements in the state.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.