USA > Wisconsin > Fond du Lac County > Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 26
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matters. In fact, he stood for progress and improvement along many lines and his labors were far-reaching and beneficial. To him and his wife were born ten children, of whom five are now living: George; of Milwaukee; Charles, who resides on the old homestead in Forest township; Jacob, the subject of this re- view ; Margaret, the wife of Henry Grebe, of Fond du Lac; and Catharine, who married Louis Scherer, also of Fond du Lac.
Dr. Waldschmidt was reared on his father's farm in Forest township and attended the district schools and the public schools of Fond du Lac. Desirous of entering upon a professional career and thinking to find the practice of medi- cine congenial, he then entered Northwestern University at Chicago and was graduated with the class of 1893. He began practice at St. Cloud, Wisconsin, where he remained for a year and at the end of that time took up his abode in Marshfield, Wood county, Wisconsin, where he spent nine months. He then returned to St. Cloud and practiced there for about ten years. In 1904 he came to Fond du Lac, where he has since remained. In the intervening period of eight years he has made continuous advancement in his profession and the pub- lic indicates its confidence by a liberal patronage. He has read broadly, thinks deeply and is most conscientious and able in his service, prompted in all of his acts not only by a legitimate desire for success but also by a love of the science of medicine and more by broad humanitarian principles.
Dr. Waldschmidt has been married twice. On the 3d of June, 1896, he wedded Miss Mary Boll, a daughter of Erasmus and Susan (Franzen) Boll. Her death occurred July 23, 1897. On the 28th of March, 1910, he wedded Miss Huldah Hartung, a native of Fond du Lac and a daughter of Emil and Catharine (Leitzinger) Hartung. Her father came from Saxony, Germany, while her mother was a native of Switzerland. They were the parents of five children, of whom four are now living: Hugo; Ida, the wife of Henry Lensch, of Milwaukee; John, who resides in Fond du Lac; and Huldah, now Mrs. Wald- schmidt. Dr. and Mrs. Waldschmidt are earnest Christian people. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, yet never seeks nor desires public office, pre- ferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional duties, which are dis- charged with a sense of conscientious obligation and in strict conformity to a high standard of professional ethics.
DE WITT C. EDGERTON.
De Witt C. Edgerton is one of the well known and prosperous agriculturists of Fond du Lac county, where he is successfully engaged in the cultivation of his highly developed farm of two hundred and eighty acres located on section 26 in Fond du Lac township. He is a son of Charles F. and Matilda (Hamil- ton) Edgerton. The father was a native of Oneida county, New York, and early in life removed to Wisconsin, settling on a farm located on section 26 in the township of Fond du Lac. After establishing his home on that property he continued to give his attention to its development and cultivation until the opening of the Civil war. In 1861 he enlisted in Company B, First Wisconsin Cavalry, and while engaged in the battle of L'Anguille Ferry, Arkansas, received a wound which disabled him for further continuance in the service. He later received his honorable discharge and returned to his home in Fond du Lac county where he continued to live until his death which occurred April 18, 1901. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, being affiliated with the post at Fond du Lac. He was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Hamilton and they became the parents of two children, Kate M. and De Witt, of this review. The mother passed away July II, 1897.
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The last named was reared in his parents' home and received his early edu- cation in the district schools and later was graduated from the high school of Fond du Lac. He afterward pursued a short course at the Madison Univer- sity, from which institution he was grduated with the class of 1895. After com- pleting his studies he was engaged at work on his father's farm until the death of the latter, at which time he and his sister, Kate, came in possession of the homestead by right of inheritance and have there since continued to reside.
De Witt C. Edgerton is a member of the republican party and has been clerk of the school board for several years past. He is also a member of the Masonic lodge. He is one of the well known and successful farmers of Fond du Lac county and the old homestead of his father upon which he now resides is one of the most highly developed and beautiful farms in that part of the state. His sister, Kate Edgerton, received her education in the Merrill Institute of Fond du Lac and at the time of her father's death she became joint owner with her brother of the old homestead, and since that time has been associated with De Witt C. in the care and operation of that valuable property.
ALBERT L. MAUDLIN.
Albert L. Maudlin, secretary and treasurer of the Ripon Produce Company, one of Fond du Lac county's thriving enterprises, was born in Adams county, Wisconsin, on the 15th of April, 1855. He is a son of Axiom and Ruby Ann (Burlingame) Maudlin, natives of Indiana, who came to Wisconsin in 1848, locating in Green Lake county. They subsequently removed to Marquette, going from there to Adams county, whence they came to Ripon in 1856. The father, who was a farmer, was for many years successfully identified with the agri- cultural development of Fond du Lac county. Here both he and the mother passed away, her death occurring in 1910. They were the parents of five chil- dren, two of whom died in infancy. In order of birth the others are as follows: John, who is a resident of Green Lake county, this state; Alice, who married James Bonnell, of Ripon ; and, Albert L., our subject.
Albert L. Maudlin was an infant when brought to Fond du Lac county with his parents. Here he was reared to manhood, obtaining his education in the common schools. He remained on the farm and assisted his father with its cultivation until he was twenty-five years of age when he came to Ripon, and engaged in the wall paper and decorating business. He subsequently withdrew from this line of work and six years ago he became identified with the Ripon Produce Company, of which he is now secretary and treasurer. This enter- prise was founded in 1870, and was formerly known as the J. J. Powers Com- pany, being incorporated as the Ripon Produce Company in 1902. Louis Pynch is president of the concern and W. J. Hobbs, vice president. They occupy a two-story and basement building sixty-six by one hundred and forty feet and have the only cold storage plant in Ripon, the capacity of which is ten car loads. They have a creamery here and also at Marshfield, and deal exclusively in farm produce. Their goods are purchased direct from the farmers and shipped to retailers throughout this section of the state. They do a business of over seven hundred thousand dollars annually, and give employment to sixty people.
In 1870, Mr. Maudlin was united in marriage to Miss Ruby Graham, a daughter of John C. and Ruth M. (Look) Graham, who are mentioned at greater length elsewhere in this work, and to them have been born two children : Elsie R., the wife of George M. Bonnell of Kansas; and Bert, who is engaged in business in Ripon.
The fraternal relations of Mr. Maudlin are confined to his membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a veteran of the Spanish-
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American war, both he and his son having gone to the front in 1898 and re- mained until the close of hostilities. In matters of citizenship, Mr. Maudlin is public-spirited and progressive, freely giving his services wherever they can be used to the best advantage. He has been a member of the Ripon fire depart- ment for twenty-five years, during the last twenty of which he has been secre- tary. His political allegiance he gives to the republican party and has for many years represented his ward in the city council, the length of his service in this connection substantially evidencing the efficiency with which he has discharged his duties.
JOHN LONERGAN.
John Lonergan, in association with his two brothers, David and Edward, and with his sister Mary, is now engaged in the operation of one of the finest and most productive farms in Fond du Lac county. The property descended to the Lonergan brothers and their sister upon the death of their father in 1879 and all have contributed their full share toward the successful development of their holdings. John Lonergan was born in Washington county, Wisconsin, March 10, 1850, and is the son of Michael and Elizabeth (Corcoran) Lonergan, both natives of Ireland, The father left his native country in 1841 and crossed the Atlantic to America. He settled in New York in the same year, remaining in that state only a short time. In 1842 he came to Wisconsin, where he took up a homestead claim of eighty acres and lived in a log cabin upon his holdings for many years. He died in Fond du Lac county in March, 1879. His wife left Ireland when she was still a child and came with her parents to Canada. They settled in the United States in 1841, locating in Missouri. Mrs. Lonergan met her future husband in Washington county, Wisconsin, in 1848 and their marriage occurred in January of the following year. They were the parents of ten children: John, of this review; David, who was born July 26, 1851; Mary, born February 14, 1853; Frances, who passed away in 1878; Anna, who became the wife of Thomas Costello, of Byron township; Dennis, who died at the age of ten years; Edward, who was born February 19, 1860; Michael, whose birth occurred April 29, 1864; and two children who died in infancy.
John Lonergan was educated in the district schools of Fond du Lac county but his advantages along this line were not extremely extensive. He laid aside his books at the age of sixteen years to assist his father in the work of the farm. When Michael Lonergan died in 1879 his holdings descended to his chil- dren, David, Edward, John and Mary, and they have made their home on the place and been associated in the operation of the property ever since. The Loner- gan farm is prosperous and productive and is well known throughout the county as a model agricultural property. The family's holdings lie in two townships. They own one hundred and fifteen acres in Byron township and one hundred and ten acres in Fond du Lac and their property at present aggregates two hundred and twenty-five acres of the finest farm land in Wisconsin. The united efforts of the brothers and sister and their harmonious association have resulted in their individual prosperity and they are known throughout the district in which they live as enterprising, progressive and scientific farmers. David Lonergan has recently added to his holdings by the purchase of a half-section of land in Saskatchewan, Canada. His property in that section consists of fine prairie land and has on it a large tract of timber. He is not associated with his brothers and sister in this enterprise but carries it on by himself.
In his political affiliation John Lonergan is a consistent democrat and has served his party in various positions during the course of his career. He was town clerk of Byron for seven years, from 1879 to 1886, and at the end of this period was appointed chairman of the town board and served in this capacity
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with much success for one year. He was reelected for a two-year term in rec- ognition of his able services. He served as clerk of Fond du Lac township from 1896 to 1906 and his public career has always been distinguished by un- questioned integrity and intelligent political ideas. He is a member of St. Joseph's Catholic church and is active in the affairs of that organization. He is one of the leading agriculturists of Fond du Lac county and in his farm life has exemplified with much success his modern and progressive ideas.
LOUIS P. HINN, M. D.
Thorough college training, completed by graduation in 1885, qualified Dr. Louis P. Hinn for the practice of medicine and surgery to which he has now devoted his time and energies for twenty-seven years. His success indicates the breadth of his knowledge and his ability to carefully and correctly diagnose his cases. He has gained a good practice in Fond du Lac, his native city, where much of his life has been passed. He was here born June 2, 1857, being one of a family of eleven children, whose parents were George and Elizabeth (Seibel) Hinn, natives of Germany. The father was a farmer by occupation and in 1849 he crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in the township of Forest, in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. There he resumed farm work, clearing a tract of land in the midst of the wilderness and converting it into rich and pro- ductive fields. He afterward purchased the Johnson place in Empire town- ship, comprising four hundred acres of valuable land, to the further develop- ment and cultivation of which he devoted his energies until his life's labors were ended in death in 1899, when he was seventy-five years of age. His wife passed away at the age of sixty-three years in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which both Mr. and Mrs. Hinn were loyal members. Of their family of eleven children five are living : Louis P., of this review ; Charles, a coal dealer of Fond du Lac; Elizabeth, the wife of Fred Kraemer, of Empire township; John; and Otto, also of Fond du Lac.
On the old home farm in Forest township Dr. Hinn spent his boyhood and youth and in the district and German schools he acquired his education. He early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops but not desiring to engage in farm work throughout his entire life he went to Chicago, where he took up the study of medicine in Hahnemann Col- lege, being graduated therefrom in the class of 1885. Immediately afterward he located for practice in Kohlsville, Washington county, Wisconsin, where he remained for six years. He then went to Theresa, where he also practiced for six years and about 1897 he came to Fond du Lac, where he has since been located.
On the 9th of October, 1885, Dr. Hinn was married to Miss Augusta Block, a daughter of Gottlieb and Fredericke Block, both of whom were natives of Germany. Her father died in Fond du Lac at the age of seventy-two years but her mother is still living. The three children of their family are: Louisa, the wife of Gottfried Klaus; Otto; and Mrs. Hinn. The last named was born at Watertown, Wisconsin, but was reared to womanhood in Fond du Lac and by her marriage has become the mother of one daughter, Minnie. Dr. and Mrs. Hinn hold membership in St. Peter's Lutheran church, are generous contributors to its support and take an active and helpful part in its work. Dr. Hinn is deeply and helpfully interested in many measures and projects for public prog- ress and improvement along various lines. He is president of the Kinderfreund Gesellschaft. He is serving on the board of trustees of the Northwestern Col- lege at Watertown and his benevolent spirit is indicated by the active work
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which he is doing as a member of the Board of Associated Charities. Along professional lines his membership relations are with the Fond du Lac County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is well informed concerning their proceedings and keeps in touch with the most advanced work of the profession as exemplified in the labors of its representatives throughout the country.
JAMES B. PERRY.
The stations in the ordinary progressions of James B. Perry are easily dis- cernible, bringing him through various intermediate positions to the presidency of the First National Bank of Fond du Lac. He was born at Green Bay, Wis- consin, on the 25th of August, 1834, and in the summer of 1849, when in his fifteenth year, he started out in the world on his own account by entering the office of register of deeds. In that connection he worked his way upward, be- coming deputy and his capability and efficiency were indicated in the fact that he remained in the office for almost six years, or until January, 1855, when he entered the First National Bank as a clerk. Promotion came to him from time to time in recognition of his efficiency and indefatigable industry and energy. He has filled the various positions of bookkeeper, teller, assistant cashier and cashier and in 1903 was called to the presidency of the bank of which he is still the executive head.
On the 26th of September, 1864, Mr. Perry was united in marriage to Miss Clara N. Cary and unto them have been born two children: Clitz Edwin, who was born August 2, 1867, and died on the 13th of July, 1894; and Ernest James, who was born May II, 1873, and is the present cashier of the First National Bank of Fond du Lac. He was married November 8, 1906, to Miss Jeannette Andrea and they have one child, Andrea James, born August 20, 1910. Mr. Perry is a prominent and active member of the Protestant Episcopal church of which he has been a communicant for more than forty years. He has frequently been a delegate to its general conventions and at the present writing, in 1912, is a member of the Cathedral Chapter of St. Paul's cathedral, a member of the standing committee of the diocese of Fond du Lac and also a member of the board of trustees of the diocese. His work is, therefore, one in which business interests and religious activity constitute well balanced forces. To each he has given due prominence and has thus contributed in large measure to the material upbuilding and the moral progress of his community.
ARTHUR F. OLMSTED.
Arthur F. Olmsted has the distinction of being the son of one of the earliest Wisconsin pioneers. His father made his first trip to this state in 1845, bring- ing with him his father and sister. They located in Fond du Lac county, where the father remained only a short time. He almost immediately returned east to Middlebury, Addison county, Vermont, where his son, Arthur F. Olmsted, was born on the 17th of March, 1847. The parents were Erastus and Alma T. (Husten) Olmsted, both natives of Middlebury, where the father was born June 7, 1809, and the mother on May 22, of the same year. They were married on May 21, 1835, and lived in their native section until the father's first trip to Wisconsin. When Erastus Olmsted returned east after his first journey to Fond du Lac county, he remained two years and at the end of that time again traveled westward with his wife and family, arriving in Wisconsin for the sec-
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ond time on September 22, 1847. Here he took up a farm and cultivated the soil until his death, on June 27, 1897. He had survived his wife for ten years, her death having occurred on the 25th of December, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Eras- tus Olmsted were the parents of three children: Harriet A. and May A., both of whom are now deceased; and Arthur F., of this review.
Arthur F. Olmsted was educated in a private school in Fond du Lac county and later attended the public schools of the district until he was twenty years of age. He then assisted his father in the work of the farm and gained a practical working knowledge of the details of agriculture. He had been a farmer during his entire active career with the exception of seven years during which he worked at the carpenter's trade. When Erastus Olmsted died in 1897 his son took entire charge of the management of his large holdings and has improved and cultivated the two hundred and fifty acres of fine farm land in Fond du Lac county of which he is now the owner. Under his management many progres- sive features were added to his farm, improved machinery was installed and modern buildings erected on the land. Mr. Olmsted was so successful in his agricultural career that in 1890 he was enabled to retire from active life and has been living on the old homestead since that time, his residence being situated across the road from the old house formerly owned by his uncle, Charles Olm- sted.
On March 7, 1868, Mr. Olmsted was united in marriage to Miss Eliza May- hew, of Empire, Wisconsin, a daughter of Thomas and Betsey Mayhew. Her father was a prominent farmer living near Empire for many years and active in the affairs of that district. Mr. and Mrs. Olmsted became the parents of four children : George H .; Lamar A .; Nettie H., who died on May 12, 1905, and Nellie, the wife of Harry Retzleff.
In his political views Mr. Olmsted is consistently republican and takes an active part in local public affairs. He served as town clerk for three years and was supervisor for six years. He is interested in the cause of education and served as a member of the school board and was clerk of that organization for many years. Mr. Olmsted has been retired from active life since 1890 but in the course of his career as a farmer he did much by his energy, activity and broad intelligence to raise the standard of agriculture and to put it upon a higher and more scientific basis.
JOHN DULEY.
John Duley is a native son of Fond du Lac county where he was born and educated and where he has spent his life up to the present time in the cultiva- tion and improvement of the soil. He was born on October 18, 1877, and is a son of Michael and Maggie (Ryan) Duley. His father was born in Ireland in 1847 and came to America when he was a small boy. He settled in Wisconsin and spent his life as a farmer in that state where he cultivated the soil until his death in 1907. The mother of our subject was born in Taycheedah, Wisconsin, in 1837, and is still living with her son on the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Duley were the parents of thirteen children, ten of whom are still living: Frank, Michael, George, William, Edward, Peter, John of this review, Sarah, Annie and Nettie.
John Duley was educated in district school No. 20, Fond du Lac township, and pursued his studies until he was twelve years of age. From that time until he was eighteen he worked on a farm in Eldorado and this training gave a de- cided bent to his ambitions. He gained a thorough knowledge of the details of agricultural life and learned to love the work of the fields and the labors inci- dent to the care of grain and stock. When he was eighteen years of age he went
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to California and farmed in that state for eight years. In 1901 he returned to Fond du Lac county and rented a farm which he has been operating since that time. The agricultural industry of Fond du Lac county has many rewards for the man who pursues it conscientiously and intelligently. Mr. Duley has exem- plified in his career his possession of those qualities of concentrated industry and of discriminating sense of land values and his success has been rapid and well deserved. He is one of the most prosperous of the younger generation of farm- ers in this section and owes his rapid rise to his scientific and progressive ideas and to his development of his land along modern lines.
Mr. Duley was married in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1901, to Miss Mary Boehlen, a native of Forest, Wisconsin, and they are the parents of three chil- dren : Albert, Bernice, and Aloces. Mr. Duley is a consistent democrat in his po- litical views and is a firm believer in the principles for which that party stands. He takes an intelligent interest in public affairs but he has never sought office for himself, preferring to concentrate his attention upon making his farm one of the model properties of his section. He is a member of the St. Joseph's Catholic church in the faith of which he was reared. Mr. Duley is only thirty-five years of age and has already gained a prominent place among the progressive agricul- turists of Fond du Lac county. His farm is operated along progressive and intelligent lines and his success has been in direct proportion to his energy and ability.
BRUNO SCHALLERN, M. D.
Dr. Bruno Schallern, now a practicing physician in Ripon, is well known in that city as one of its most able and successful doctors. He has been a resident of Ripon since 1892 and has built up an extensive practice by his industry, indefat- igable activity, his thorough knowledge of his profession and his honorable and ethical methods. He was born in Mansfield, Ohio, June 22, 1856. His par- ents were Dr. Reiner and Anna (Von Hirschberg) Von Schallern, both natives of Germany. The father, a prominent physician in his native country took an active part in the revolution of 1848. At this period all his goods were con- fiscated by the German government and he was obliged to flee for his life. He landed in America with his wife in 1849 and located in New York. After a short period of residence in that state they moved to Ohio where Dr. Von Schallern practiced his profession for many years. He joined the Federal forces in 1861 and served as surgeon of the Fifty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry until 1864 when he was mustered out with honorable discharge on account of his failing health. In the same year he returned to Germany to redeem some of his confiscated property. He was successful in this endeavor and when he re- turned to the United States he invested the money thus obtained in Indiana farm lands. He practiced his profession in that state for some time and later removed to Mount Vernon, New York, where he died at the age of sixty-four years. He was one of the pioneer doctors of America and was prominent in the medical profession at a very early date. The tradition of honorable activity in this line came to him from his father, who was among the first to perform cataract opera- tion in this country. Dr. Reiner Von Schallern's wife was Anna Von Hirsch- berg, the daughter of a very prominent family in Germany. She was a countess in her own right, her father being Count Von Hirschberg. She was the mother of the following children: Eugene, deceased; Ida; Ottman; Bertha, deceased ; Bruno, the subject of this review ; Arthur, the sixth in order of birth ; Lillie, who lives in Mandan, North Dakota; and Victor, the youngest member of the family.
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