USA > Wisconsin > Fond du Lac County > Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 25
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Mr. Hansen is affiliated with the republican party and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He and his wife are members of the Presby- terian church. Mr. Hansen is one of the enterprising and successful citizens of Fond du Lac county and his business as the owner and operator of a threshing machine has brought him in personal touch with the entire population residing in the territory in which he conducts his threshing business. This fact has made him one of the best known citizens of his part of the state and he is everywhere esteemed for his integrity and prompt attention to the conduct of his business affairs.
DENNIS FRANCIS BLEWETT.
Dennis Francis Blewett, attorney at law and justice of the peace in Fond du Lac, was born in Eldorado, Fond du Lac county, March 6, 1869. He comes of a family of Irish origin, his grandparents being John and Mary (Flynn) Blewett, both of whom were natives of the Emerald isle, in which the former spent his entire life, passing away there when well advanced in years. His widow after- ward came to America and died in Stamford, Connecticut, at the remarkable old age of one hundred and two years. They had a family of seven children, namely : John, Thomas, James, Michael, Pierce, Catherine and Mary.
Of these Pierce Blewett, father of Dennis Blewett, was born and reared in Ireland, whence he came to America in 1846. He was first employed in factories and wire mills of New York and Connecticut but the growing business oppor- tunities of the west attracted him and in 1852 he came to Wisconsin, settling in Eldorado township, Fond du Lac county, on a farm which he still owns. It bore little resemblance to the present property at the time of his purchase, being covered with a dense growth of timber, in the midst of which he made a little clearing and built a log house. Then acre after acre was cleared and brought under the plow and as the time passed he also added to the buildings upon his farm, the pioneer home being replaced by a commodious and comfortable frame residence in 1873. A large barn and sheds were built, affording ample shelter for grain and stock and the latest improved machinery was secured to carry on the work of the fields. It was upon that farm that he reared his family. He was married in 1859 to Miss Johanna O'Connell, a native of County Cork, Ire- land. She was one of several children, including Timothy, Martin, and Dennis, but their parents never left Ireland. The death of Mrs. Blewett occurred in 1896, when she was sixty years of age. She was a consistent member of the Catholic church, of which Mr. Blewett is also a communicant. He served as school director in Eldorado township for a number of years and has long been numbered among the prominent and representative residents there. Unto him and his wife were born twelve children: Edmund, who is deceased; Michael, who is living on the old homestead farm in Eldorado township; Martin, a prac- ticing physician of Fond du Lac; Pierce, who died at the age of two years ; Paul, who is a traveling insurance adjuster; Johanna, the wife of John Reilly, of this county ; Dennis, our subject; William, who is at home; Rose, a teacher in the public schools ; Patrick Henry, an insurance appraiser and adjuster ; Mary Agnes,
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who is a trained nurse at Charleston, West Virginia ; and Margaret, who died in infancy.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Dennis F. Blewett in his boyhood and youth. He was reared on the old home- stead in Eldorado township, dividing his time between the duties of the school- room, the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. Later he supplemented his early education by study in the Oshkosh Normal School and in the State University, being graduated from the law department of the univer- sity in 1898. The same year he was admitted to the bar and opened an office in Fond du Lac, where he has since engaged in practice. In the spring of 1899 he was elected justice of the peace and still continues in that position, his long retention in office being proof of the fact that his decisions are strictly fair and impartial.
In July, 1902, Mr. Blewett was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Elizabeth De Reamer, a daughter of Charles and Mary (Fitzpatrick) De Reamer. Mrs. Blewett was born at Meadville, Pennsylvania. Her father, however, is a native of New York, and her mother of Ireland, but they have been residents of Fond du Lac for thirty years. In their family are four children : Gertrude Elizabeth ; Laura J., the wife of William Ellis, of Knoxville, Tennessee; Theresa, a teacher in the public school of Tacoma, Washington; and Charles, of Portland, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Blewett have three children, Thomas Francis, Pierce Anthony and Charles De Reamer. The parents are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Blewett holds membership in Fond du Lac Council No. 664, K. C., and in the Equitable Fraternal Union, of which he is the president. His political allegiance is given to the progressive democratic party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but does not seek office outside the strict path of his profession. He belongs to one of the old families of the county and as such is widely known but it is his personal traits of character which have won for him the kindly regard and good-will which are uniformly given him.
BOLAND BROTHERS.
George E., John L. and William F. Boland, under the firm name of Boland Brothers, are engaged in the successful operation of one of the largest dairy farms in Fond du Lac county. They are the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Boland, both of whom are natives of Ireland. The father was born in that coun- try in 1836 and at an early age in life emigrated to America with his parents, who settled at Chilton, Wisconsin, in 1846. He remained under the parental roof until he was old enough to engage in light farm work, at which time he was employed for a number of years as a common laborer on the farm. During the winter season he worked in the lumber woods of Wisconsin and his summer months were devoted to farming. In 1894 he purchased a farm and engaged in the dairy business under the name of Boland's Dairy. He continued to op- erate that business for five consecutive years, after which he turned the prop- erty over to his sons and retired from active business life.
Patrick Boland was united in marriage to Miss Johanna Powers, a native of Ireland, who at the age of twelve years emigrated to America with her par- ents, who settled in Fond du Lac, where she celebrated her wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Boland became the parents of five children: John, who died when five years of age; Joseph, who died at the age of two years; George, John and Wil- liam, who were born respectively in 1866, 1869 and 1872. William married Isabella Ferguson, of Byron, Wisconsin, by whom he has four children, Francis, Marley, Mildred and Florence. Mr. and Mrs. Boland and their family are mem-
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bers of St. Joseph's Catholic church of Fond du Lac. Mr. Boland is affiliated with the democratic party, as are also his three sons of this review.
The Boland Brothers' farm consists of four hundred and twenty-two acres of highly developed agricultural land, on which they are successfully engaged in the operation of one of the largest dairy farms in their part of the state. They use at present in their business eighty head of well selected dairy cows and em- ploy five milkmen the year round. George E., John L. and William F. Boland were reared in their parents' home and received their early education in the pub- lic schools of Fond du Lac. They remained under the parental roof and as young men were engaged in work on their father's farm, at which they contin- ued to be employed until 1899, when they took control of the Boland Dairy Farm, which they have since successfully operated. They are among the most enterprising citizens of Fond du Lac county and as business men they are dis- tinguished for promptness and integrity in their dealings with the general public. George E. Boland is serving as township treasurer for the fifth year. The Boland brothers are always interested in the welfare and development of the community and are justly entitled to be numbered among the most desirable citizens of their part of the state.
SAMUEL BAUMHARDT.
Samuel Baumhardt, a native son and representative agriculturist of Fond du Lac county, owns and operates a well improved farm in Eden township. It was in that township that his birth occurred, his natal day being February 13, 1861. His father, Jacob Baumhardt, was born in Rhenish, Prussia, on the 12th of May, 1828, and there acquired his education. For a period of three years, from 1848 to 1851, he served in the Prussian army. In September, 1854, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, spending the first year of his residence in this country in the state of Ohio. He had been influenced to come to America by his cousin, who had been in this country for a year or two and who wrote him to the effect that he had a sawmill in Ohio and could give him plenty of work to do. Jacob Baumhardt was in search of a new home and field of endeavor and there- fore came to the United States. He found his cousin going about from house to house with a sawbuck and saw on his shoulders, sawing wood whenever the job was offered him. When he realized the magnitude of his cousin's "mill" he was much discouraged and desired to return to his native land but finally de- termined to remain in America and overcome the obstacles that confronted him by hard work and perseverance. Thus it was that Wisconsin gained a worthy and valued citizen. In 1855 he made his way to Milwaukee by train and thence came to Fond du Lac by stage, assisting in the erection of the first stone house at that place. Subsequently he was employed in Sylvester's stone quarry for four years and at that period he purchased a tract of forty acres on section 28, Eden township, all of the land being unbroken and covered with timber. During the summer months Jacob Baumhardt worked in the stone quarries but in the winter time he would clear his land from brush and timber. At that time an incident occurred which well illustrates the abundance of wild game in this region. One morning before going to work he had cut down a few trees and coming back at noon he found a couple of deer browsing among the boughs of the trees. Procuring a shot gun, he intended to bring down the game, to stock his larder, but "buck fever" caught him and he missed his aim. His gun went wild and how little used the deer were to the new danger of proximity of human habitation was shown when in mild wonderment they looked up at him and then peacefully and leisurely trotted away. He erected a log cabin on this place and resided thereon for about six years. In September, 1858, he had married Miss Elizabeth Brim, who was born in Switzerland and who came to this country
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with her mother. Disposing of his original farm, Jacob Baumhardt bought an- other tract of eighty acres on section 28, Eden township, erected another log house and resided therein until 1893. His first farm was the birthplace of four of his children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are as follows : Charles ; Samuel, of this review ; and Frederick. While residing on their second farm Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Baumhardt became the parents of three children, namely : Matilda, Carolina and Amelia. It was in 1886 that Jacob Baumhardt purchased the farm on which he took up his abode in 1893 and on which he spent the remaining years of his life, residing in a comfortable and commodious home which he had erected thereon. His demise, which occurred on the 21st of May, 1905, was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for he had gained many friends during the half century of his residence in this county. His wife, who was born on the Ist of January, 1837, passed away on the 15th of July, 1907, aged seventy years, six months and fifteen days. Mr. Baumhardt held the office of supervisor for several years and for many years acted as treasurer of the school district.
Samuel Baumhardt obtained his education in the old log schoolhouse in dis- trict No. I, pursuing his studies only in the winter months, for during all the other seasons of the year his assistance was required in the work of the home farm. He worked for his father until thirty-three years of age and then the latter gave him the property on which he now resides in Eden township. His labors as an agriculturist have been practical and productive of good results. His farm is rich and fertile and responds to cultivation in bountiful harvests.
Mr. Baumhardt gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has held the office of supervisor for two terms. Though not a member he has helped to build and maintain the Evangelical Lutheran church and is widely recognized as a man of exemplary character. Throughout the county in which his life has been spent he is known as a public-spirited man who gives his cooperation to every movement which tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material wel- fare of the community.
WILLIAM S. LITTLE.
General farming and cattle-raising are two of the most important industries in Fond du Lac county. They have a worthy representative in William S. Little, who has been engaged actively in these occupations during all of his mature life. He is a native of this section, having been born in Fond du Lac, December 10, 1882. His parents were E. S. and Ada E. (Divers) Little, the former a native of Goshen, Orange county, New York, and the latter of Ontario, Canada. The father was born on March 26, 1847. He was a pioneer settler of Fond du Lac township and is still one of its most prominent residents. He was married in this section on. December 23, 1880, and his wife is still living upon the home farm.
William S. Little received his early education in district school No. 2, Byron township, and supplemented this by a course in a business college. He has given his entire active life to the occupation of agriculture and has gained a thoroughly efficient and practical knowledge of its details. He worked upon his father's farm from the time he laid aside his books and is still managing the seventy-nine and one-half acres of land which E. S. Little purchased upon coming to Fond du Lac county. Under his direction and control the property has increased in value and the harvests have grown more abundant every year. The agricultural work is carried on along modern and progressive lines, the farm is equipped with all the new labor-saving machinery and is one of the most fertile tracts of land in the district. Mr. Little has recently added to his activities the breeding of
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high grade Holstein cattle and the raising of thoroughbred horses and is rapidly making this branch of his activities a lucrative department of his agriculture. He now owns a herd of ten cattle and five head of horses and brings to their breeding and care an intelligent interest in his work and a thorough knowledge of its details.
On November 6, 1902, Mr. Little was united in marriage to Miss Lola G. Haner, a daughter of Nelson and Venera (Williams) Haner, the former a pros- perous farmer of Cedar Creek, Washington county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Little is one of a family of three children, the other members being Jennie and Clara. To Mr. Little and his wife have been born five children, Roland W., Lawrence S., Arnon C., Earl H., and Dean B., born July 28, 1912, all of whom are still with their parents.
In his political views Mr. Little is a firm republican but has never sought pub- lic office. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and a firm believer in the doctrines of that denomination. He is one of the prominent and successful young farmers in Fond du Lac county and is bringing his youth and energy and his modern and progressive methods to the cultivation and improvement of his property.
WILLIAM B. JAEGER.
William B. Jaeger is one of the progressive and enterprising young farmers of Ashford township and is numbered among the representative citizens of the district. He is renting from his father the farm upon which he was born and is carrying on its operation skilfully and successfully. He was born on October 9, 1880, and is a son of Peter and Anna (Berg) Jaeger. His father is numbered among the early settlers in Fond du Lac county and is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Ashford township where he is living retired. He was born in Germany in 1839 and came to the United States in 1846 with his parents, Barthol and Lena Jaeger. The family settled immediately in Ashford township where Barthol Jaeger purchased forty acres of timber land and began its improve- ment and development. He cut down the trees and with the timber thus obtained built a crude log cabin in which he resided for three years. At the end of that time he sold his property and purchased one hundred acres in the eastern part of the township where his death occurred in 1889 when he was eighty-three years of age. His wife survived him a number of years, dying in 1898 when she was eighty-eight years of age.
Peter Jaeger, the father of our subject, worked upon the home farm until his marriage in 1862. In that year he wedded Miss Anna Berg and immediately afterward purchased a part of the home farm upon which he now resides. He made extensive improvements, built a fine frame house, modern and up-to-date in all its appointments, built new barns, granaries and other outbuildings and operated the farm successfully until his retirement.
In 1862 Peter Jaeger was united in marriage to Miss Anna Berg, who was born in Germany, but who came to the United States with her parents when she was only three years of age. She has lived practically all her life in Ashford township. To this union were born nine children: Martin; William, the sub- ject of this sketch; Michael, who conducts a general store in Campbellsport; Annie; Louise, who lives in Milwaukee; Katherine, who lives in St. Killian, this county ; Gertrude, who lives in Edgar, Marathon county, and Lena and Peter, who have passed away. Peter Jaeger has given up active life as a farmer and has turned over the management of his farm to his son, William. He has been a resident of Fond du Lac county since he was seven years of age and is num- bered among the earliest settlers in the district. His life was spent in progressive and modern farming and he has seen the section in which he resides expand and
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develop from a wilderness to a wealthy and prosperous agricultural district. He is widely and favorably known as one of Ashford's best citizens, having won the respect and esteem of his neighbors by a useful; active and straightforward life.
William Jaeger received his education in district school and in the Waukesha high school. His childhood and youth were spent in aiding his father in the various details incident to the conduct of a model agricultural enterprise and he has never left the home farm. Since 1908 he has rented the land which he now operates and during the intervening years has made substantial improvements. He carries on his work along lines which denote that he keeps in touch with
latest methods and discoveries made known by scientific experiment and research, planting such grains as will result in the largest returns the soil will bring forth and receiving, as a reward for his efforts, harvests which are annually increasing in abundance and quality. He is a young man but has already gained a distinct success founded upon standards of integrity and honesty which he learned as a boy upon his father's farm.
In 1907 William Jaeger was united in marriage to Miss Rozella Engel, a native of Ashford township. They belong to the Roman Catholic church. He gives his allegiance to the democratic party but, although he is public-spirited and interested in the growth and development of the county in which he was born he never seeks public office. He is alert and keen to comprehend and apply any new principle in connection with his work and is a most promising young man. He follows the standards of his father, pursuing the policies and methods which made the latter a successful man and has in this way gained prosperity and is widely respected and esteemed.
IRVING H. WRIGHT.
Irving H. Wright is one of the well known farmers of Fond du Lac county, where he is engaged in the cultivation of one hundred and forty acres of land which he owns and which is located in the township of Fond du Lac. He was born in that township August 31, 1846, and is a son of James and Martha E. (Edgerton) Wright, the former a native of New York and the latter of Vermont. The father, James Wright, was born in Whitehall, Washington county, New York, on the 10th of August, 1819. He removed to Wisconsin in the spring of 1844, settling first in Milwaukee, and in the fall of that year he removed to Fond du Lac township where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land which at that time was heavily covered with hardwood timber. He built a log cabin and there established his home and engaged in the cultivation of his farm until the time of his death, which occurred February 22, 1900. Mr. Wright was united in marriage October 20, 1842, to Miss Martha Edgerton, a native of Ver- mont, and they became the parents of four children. Josephine E., whose birth occurred in 1844, became the wife of Frank Hostettor, of Iowa, now a retired farmer, and to them four children were born, Mabel, Carrie, Elmer and May, the first named now deceased. Their home is in Grennell, Iowa. Irving H., the elder son and second in order of birth, is the subject of this review. James, an agriculturist of Fond du Lac township, married Miss Harriet Denavue of the town of Empire and they have three sons, David John, Gustav and James. The youngest and last named passed away November 10, 1892. Adela, who died February 18, 1895, was the wife of Solomon Smith, of Oakfield, and the mother of eight children, Lillie, Edward, Harry, Helen, Samuel, Bensal, Marion and William.
Irving H. Wright was reared in his father's home and received his early edu- cation in the district schools. He was later graduated from the high school of
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Fond du Lac and some time afterward became a student in the college at Ripon, Wisconsin. He completed his studies at the age of fifteen and immediately thereafter was employed on his father's farm, which work he continued until he was seventeen. He then started out in life for himself as a hardware clerk in Fond du Lac and continued in that occupation for a period of seven years. He then engaged in farming and in that business has met with very gratifying suc- cess. He is now the owner of one hundred and forty acres of highly developed agricultural land in the township of Fond du Lac, and also conducts a well equipped dairy, using thirteen head of cows.
Mr. Wright was united in marriage October 6, 1880, to Miss Hattie M. Smith, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Smith. To Mr. and Mrs. Wright five children were born: Bella, who died in 1893; James K., who is a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has charge of the credit department of Wyman Partridge & Company; Bessie, now residing in the town of Empire, who became the wife of W. C. Ingalls, of Fond du Lac, and the mother of three children, Irene C., Gordon W. and Irving W .; Leon, who makes his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is employed as order clerk in a large hardware store of that city ; and Dorothy M.
Mr. Wright is a loyal member of the republican party and has been assessor for his town. He holds membership in the Masonic lodge and the Eastern Star. He and his wife are communicants of the Congregational church. He is one of the successful and highly esteemed citizens of Fond du Lac county and a man who is always found identified with every public-spirited enterprise intended to improve the conditions of the people in his state and county.
JACOB WALDSCHMIDT, M. D.
Engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Fond du Lac, Dr. Jacob Waldschmidt is making continuous progress because of the lessons which he learned in the school of experience and by reason of his continued study of the best medical literature. He qualified for the profession in the medical depart- ment of Northwestern University at Chicago. He is one of the county's native sons, his birth having occurred in Forest township, on the 17th of May, 1863, his parents being Jacob H. and Margaret (Heinzel) Waldschmidt, both of whom were natives of Germany. The former was an only child and was about nineteen years of age when he left the fatherland for the new world. To seek better business opportunities on this side of the Atlantic, he sailed for New York, made his way into the interior of the country and took up his abode in Forest township, where he worked by the month as a farm hand until he had saved from his earnings a sufficient sum to enable him to purchase forty acres of land. He cultivated that tract for a time and then sold the property, purchas- ing eighty acres. At one time he owned about four hundred and nineteen acres, for as opportunity afforded he kept adding to his holdings until his possessions included several large and valuable farms. For three years or more he lived in St. Cloud and about nine years ago removed to Fond du Lac, where he still makes his home. In I911 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 15th of April, at the age of seventy-seven years and three months. She was a consistent member of the Lutheran church, in which Mr. Waldschmidt also holds membership, and their Christian faith permeated their lives. He was a soldier of the Civil war, doing active duty with Company H, Fourteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for a little less than a year. He was well known in connection with civic affairs, filling the office of supervisor and also that of justice of the peace for a number of years. He likewise acted as school clerk and was always greatly interested in educational
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