Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II, Part 36

Author: McKenna, Maurice
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : Clarke
Number of Pages: 738

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also is treasurer of the Ripon Telephone Company and he is interested in the North Dakota Telephone Company. His realty holdings include large tracts in the state of Washington planted as apple orchards.

Willie T. Runals was united in marriage to Miss Mary S. Warner, a native of Chicago, Illinois, and they are the parents of six children: Dora E., who lives at home; Edward L., who died at the age of fourteen; Clara L., Guy W .; Irene, a student at the Wisconsin State University in Madison; and Wil- liam T., who resides with his parents at Ripon. Mr. Runals is prominent in the Masonic order and has taken the thirty-second degree in that organization. He belongs to Chapter No. 30, R. A. M., holds membership in the Berlin Com- mandery, Knights Templar, and Tripoli Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Milwaukee. He is one of the prominent and well known men of Ripon and has gained a reputation for intelligent interest and cooperation in the welfare of the city.

JOHN KIND.

John Kind is one of the prosperous merchant of Van Dyne, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. He was born near Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1855, and is a son of Charles and Rose Mary Kind, both of whom were natives of Germany and who emigrated to America in 1849. John Kind was reared in his parents' home near Ripon, Wisconsin, where he received his early education in the public schools. After starting in life for himself he was engaged for a number of years as an employe of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and later estab- lished himself in the general merchandising business at Van Dyne, Friendship township, where he has since continued to devote his attention to the interests of that business.

John Kind celebrated his wedding in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and has a family of three children, as follows: Adeline, thirty-one years of age, who is the wife of Richard Hartman; and Nellie and John, who are twenty-eight and twenty-five years of age respectively. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Van Dyne. John Kind has always lived up to his reputation which stands for honor in all business transactions and upright- ness in all social relations. He is among the prosperous and respected citizens of Fond du Lac county, in which he is widely and favorably known as one of its enterprising and successful business men.

THOMAS ROACH.

Thomas Roach, who has been for many years prominently identified with the farming interests of Fond du Lac county, was born in Horicon, Wisconsin, in 1856. His parents were John and Bridget (Coston) Roach, natives of Ire- land. The public schools of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, afforded Thomas Roach his educational opportunities. When he left school he engaged immediately in general farming and this occupation he has followed since that time. He has the distinction of being the first breeder of registered Holstein cattle in his township and makes a specialty of Berkshire hogs. He gives much of his at- tention to fruit-raising and has the largest apple orchard in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. He takes an intelligent interest in local political affairs and held the office of chairman of the township for several years. He is a devout member of the Church of the Presentation in his native city and his religion is an active force in his life.

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Thomas Roach was married October 20, 1891, to Miss Mary Doyle, of Waupun, Wisconsin, and they have become the parents of seven children; John, James, George, Eileen, David, Thomas and Emma. Mr. Roach's life has been a serene and happy one with no misfortunes of any serious nature to mar its long-continued success. He is respected and esteemed by his many friends and he has handed down to his children traditions of loyalty and industry, which were the basis of his prosperity.

ALFRED BELLMER.

Fond du Lac county is and has been since its founding essentially an agri- cultural district. The wealth of the section as well as the power in local af- fairs is in the hands of farmers and the markets for the products of their cul- tivated acres are limited only by the boundaries of the country. Prominent in this line of activity and a well known native of the county is Alfred Bell- mer, who is engaged in the occupation of general farming in the town of Friend- ship. He was born on the old homestead in Fond du Lac county and is a son of Frank and Zoe (Dufrane) Bellmer. His educational advantages were limited to the opportunities which the public schools of Friendship township afforded. As he grew up he learned the trade of carpentering in which he soon became a master workman. He followed this trade for eight years in his native town, but gave it up at length to engage in agricultural pursuits in which he has been prominent and active ever since.

Alfred Bellmer was united in marriage in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, January 30, 1896, to Miss Catherine Dunn, a daughter of John and Catherine Dunn, of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Bellmer have one child, Marguerite, twelve years old and a pupil of the public schools of Friendship.

Alfred Bellmer, although not active in political affairs, takes an intelligent interest in national issues. He votes the republican ticket consistently and is a firm believer in the policies and principles of that party. He is recognized to- day as one of the most promising of the younger generation of farmers in this county and his past success in the cultivation and improvement of the soil fore- tells prosperity in the future.

WILLIAM S. DIXON.

William S. Dixon is one of the most important breeders and importers of Jersey cattle in Wisconsin and has gained a reputation throughout the state for his success in raising high-grade registered animals. He owns one hundred and seventeen acres on section 26 of Metomen township and has equipped his farm with all the accessories and conveniences necessary to the conduct of his busi- ness. His progressive spirit, his constant attention to business and his distinct and substantial success in his chosen line of activity have gained him a. high place among the men whose individual activities in important industries make them valuable factors in public growth and development. Mr. Dixon is a na- tive of Fond du Lac county, having been born in Springvale township on May 20. 1867. His parents were John and Isabel (Murray) Dixon, natives of Eng- land. The father was born August 10, 1831, and came to the United States with his brother Joseph at an early date, settling first in Fond du Lac and later in Brandon. In this village he worked for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, aiding in its construction, and afterward obtained employment on a

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farm near Picketts. In 1857 he joined his brother in the purchase of forty acres in Springvale township, section 30, and kept adding to his holdings until they were the proprietors of three hundred and sixty acres, well improved and de- veloped. Upon this farm he remained until his retirement from active life in the spring of 1898, when he moved into the village of Brandon, where he died in 1904. His wife was also a native of England, born August 28, 1838, a daugh- ter of Daniel and Jane Murray, who left their native country in the early '50S and came to America, settling in Springvale township upon a farm. Daniel Murray cultivated the soil upon his original tract of land until his death, which occurred in 1862. His wife passed away on the 18th of October, 1872. To Mr. and Mrs. John Dixon were born four children: Joseph, who is a well known sheep breeder in Springvale township; Jennie, who has passed away; William S., of this review; and Anna, who married Leonard Engle, a retired farmer living in Brandon.

William S. Dixon attended the district schools of Springvale township and supplemented this by a course in the Brandon high school. His early life was spent upon his father's farm and he remained at home until his marriage. Af- terward he moved upon a neighboring property owned by his father and here remained until he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in the same township, which two years later he sold. He then bought his present farm of one hundred and seventeen acres on section 26, Metomen township, and since that time has gained prosperity and success in his special line. Since the beginning of his active career he has been interested in stock breeding and raising. At first he gave his entire attention to thoroughbred sheep and continued his identifica- tion with this line of activity until 1900, when he sold his flock and began im- porting and breeding Jersey cattle. He first purchased three heifers from John Campbell, one of the veteran breeders of Shelbyville, Kentucky, and re- tained these animals until the spring of 1909, when he sold his entire herd at auction and went himself to the Isle of Jersey, in the English channel, and pur- chased forty head of young animals, paying from seventy-five to five hundred dollars per head. When he disposed of his first herd he obtained for its head, Ibsen, seventeen hundred dollars, selling him to John Camden, of Versailles, Kentucky. For this animal he obtained the first prize at the Royal Jersey show in Shelbyville.

At the present time the head of Mr. Dixon's herd is Majesty's Oxford King, purchased in 1910, a member of one of the most noted families on the Jersey Island, which has always been noted for superior qualities and for beauty. His dam sold at T. S. Cooper's sale in Coopersville, Pennsylvania, for seventeen hundred and fifty dollars, and his granddam brought a like amount at Shelby- ville, Kentucky. Mr. Dixon goes every year to Jersey Island and imports high- grade animals. At the present time he owns a herd of forty-two head and his most valuable breeding cow, Mourier Lass, was purchased on his first journey. She is a daughter of Golden Jolly, one of the best breeders on the island. Mr. Dixon has besides his Jersey cattle three thoroughbred Percheron breeding mares, which he has exhibited at various state fairs with gratifying results. He has shown his stock at these fairs for six vears and previous to that time exhibited his sheep, having now a record of twenty years upon the circuit. His animals have taken prizes at Des Moines. Iowa; Hamline, Minnesota ; Milwaukee, Wis- consin ; Indianapolis, Indiana ; Louisville, Kentucky ; Nashville, Tennessee ; Water- loo, Iowa; Detroit, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; Springfield, Illinois; and at the Chicago National shows. Mr. Dixon's unusual success in raising thor- oughbred cattle has gained him a place among the substantial and representa- tive men of his section and his activities have marked a distinct advance in methods of scientific breeding. It is hard to estimate the importance of his work, since he has built up in the course of years an enterprise based on sys- tematic efficiency and operated along lines of advancement and progress.

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On November 1, 1888, Mr. Dixon was united in marriage to Miss Nellie V. McClaughry, a daughter of David T. and Susan E. (Knight) McClaughry. The father was born in Washington county, New York, December 20, 1824, and is of Scotch ancestry. He came to Wisconsin with his parents in pioneer times, settling on Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha county, where he remained until the sum- mer of 1846, when he came to Alto township and took up five hundred acres of government land. In this section he was married on March 13, 1849, to Miss Susan Knight, who was born in Vermont, November 26, 1833, and who came to Wisconsin with her parents in the early days of the settlement of the state. After his marriage Mr. McClaughry became a partner in the operation of the first hotel in Alto township, and served as supervisor and township treasurer for several terms. He remained upon his farm until his retirement from active life, in 1882, when he came to the village of Brandon, where he resided until his death, which occurred on October 30, 1895. He was survived by his wife till March 2, 1908. They had six children : Angeline B., the wife of James Burman, who is engaged in farming near Waupun; Martha A., the wife of Lionel Conklin, a retired farmer of Newell, Iowa; Daniel W., deceased; Maria S., now deceased, who became the wife of Maurice Wadleigh, a farmer in Iowa; Jessie F., the wife of Clinton Mony, a retired farmer residing in Waupun, Wisconsin; and Nellie V., the wife of our subject. Mrs. Dixon was born in Alto township, November 16, 1868. She attended the district schools of her native section and was graduated from the Brandon high school in 1887. She engaged in teach- ing for one year, first in Green Lake county and then in Fond du Lac county. She and her husband became the parents of three children. Jennie I., born March II, 1892, was graduated from the Brandon high school in 1910 and is now attending Lawrence. University at Appleton. John, born November 16, 1893, is a student in the Brandon high school. David Mc., the youngest member of the family, was born March 10, 1902.

Mr. Dixon gives his allegiance to the republican party and has served as assessor for two years. He is a shareholder in the Farmers Elevator Com- pany of Brandon, and active in the affairs of the Masonic order. He, however, concentrates his attention upon the conduct of his business and has been re- warded for his industry and progressive methods by gratifying success. The importance of his work in stock-breeding and in the management and control of a representative enterprise entitles him to a high place in the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens as a man who has made his progressive, modern and scientific labors not only a private resource but a public asset.

WILLIAM BRAATZ.

William Braatz has been identified with progressive farming in Fond du Lac county since he was twenty-one years of age and has achieved through thirty- two years of gradual success a position of importance in agricultural circles. His farm comprises three hundred and forty acres of the most fertile and productive land, is well improved and in excellent condition and entitles him to rank among the men who are raising the standards of farming in all sections of the country. Mr. Braatz was born in Quebec, Canada, January 26, 1858, and is a son of William and Johanna (Penn) Braatz, both natives of Germany. The father was a shepherd and a goose-herd in his native country and settled in Canada at an early date. He worked in a sawmill at night for one year and then engaged in wood chopping, receiving for his arduous labor twenty-five cents per cord and taking his pay in groceries. He was poor but ambitious, and his energy at length led to success. A year and a half he followed this occupation in Canada before he came to Dodge county, Wisconsin, and in 1860 engaged in farming

MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM BRAATZ

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for three years with satisfactory results. At the end of that time he moved to the vicinity of Neosho, Wisconsin, where he worked for four years in a saw- mill before moving to Clyman township, Dodge county. Here he purchased forty acres of land and established his first home in America upon this tract. He lived upon this property until 1896, constantly adding to his holdings and improving them along modern and scientific lines. He owned two hundred acres, highly developed and improved when he abandoned agricultural pursuits and sold his land in order to move to the village of Brandon where he lived retired. He died in 1905. His wife survives him and has reached the age of seventy-eight years. She is in good health and remarkably active and has made her home with her son William since her husband's death. She is well known and widely beloved in the section in which she resides and has many warm friends.

William Braatz attended school in Clyman township, Dodge county, Wis- consin, and from his childhood assisted his father in his various enterprises. When he was twenty-one years of age he started with a good team of horses and a lumber wagon for the northern Wisconsin pineries in order to gain a livelihood. for himself. The journey took him through the village of Brandon where his uncle, Ferdinand Braatz, was located. The latter persuaded his nephew to lo- cate in Fond du Lac county, pointing out the agricultural advantages, the fer- tility and productiveness of the soil and the success which was constantly re- warding well directed labor. Mr. Braatz was pleased with the prospect and determined to try his fortune in this district. He rented a farm on section 30, Springvale township, owned by E. Lampher which he operated for two years. He was successful and his agricultural methods were consistently progressive. He later rented the Norris farm west of the village, carrying on general farming upon this property for one year. At the end of that time he returned to Dodge county where he took charge of a farm owned by his father-in-law, Carl Zim- dars, and after two years' identification with this enterprise returned to Spring- vale township where he purchased land. He bought the George Gould farm of two hundred acres on section 26, which he operated and improved for some time. He added to his holdings at various periods and at one time owned five hundred acres. The farm now comprises three hundred and forty acres of valuable land. For twenty-three years Mr. Braatz lived upon this property and gave his supervision to the management of the farm and then rented it to his son William and came to his present home on section 35 where he has since resided. He remodeled all the buildings upon his property, fenced, tiled and improved it and now has one of the most attractive homes and most highly improved farms in Fond du Lac county. He at one time owned an extensive tract of land but has sold at different times portions to his sons. He is recog- nized as one of the really progressive, up-to-date and scientific stockmen in the district in which he lives. He is engaged with his son Charles, in breeding registered Holsteins and has a fine herd of dairy cattle. He raises full-blooded Poland-China hogs for the market and has beside a fine team of full-blooded Percheron brood mares. He has been successful and become prosperous through practically scientific methods and is one of the few farmers who study agricul- ture in its different phases. He reaps the results of his efficiency in constantly increasing harvests and in the improved quality of his stock.

In 1881 Mr. Braatz was united in marriage to Miss Louise Zimdars, a daugh- ter of Carl and Mildred Zimdars, both natives of Germany. Mrs. Braatz's parents came to the United States in 1856 and her mother died in Dodge county in 1897. Her father is surviving and makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Bertha Friday of Rubicon, Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Braatz have been born nine children: William F., who is farming in Springvale township and who married Miss Ruth Griffith, by whom he has two sons, Robert, who is nine years old, and Donald, aged five; Edward, who also follows agriculture in Vol. II-16

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Springvale township and who married Miss Hattie Tutloff, by whom he has one son, Glenn, six years of age; Charles, a ranchman of Hubbard county, Minnesota, who married Miss Dora Baxter, who died in June, 1912, leaving two sons, Orville, aged six, and Floyd, aged four years; Albert H., a farmer of Lamartine township, who married Miss Lydia Snyder, by whom he has two children, Ethel, three years old and Ruby, who is one year ; Adelbert, who passed away when he was seventeen years of age; Walter, who died when he was six years; Harry, who is associated with his father in the conduct of the farm; Ruth, born February 25, 1900, who is attending school in No. 10 joint school district in Springvale township; and Lottie, born September 25, 1903, who is also in school. There is hardly a line of legitimate activity in Springvale town- ship or in the surrounding country in which William Braatz is not prominently and intelligently interested. He is a man of true public spirit ready to see opportunities for advancement and eager to do his best in promoting them. He gives his allegiance to the republican party in national questions but never allows political lines to influence his convictions in local affairs. For years he has been chairman of the board of directors of school district No. 1, Springvale township, and his labors along this line have been a material aid to the further- ance of education. He was vice president of the Rosendale State Bank for many years and was one of the organizers of that institution, resigning that position two years ago to devote more of his time to scientific agriculture. He is a stockholder and was one of the organizers of the Brick Cheese Company of Springvale township and served for two years as vice president of the corpora- tion. He is today serving as its secretary and treasurer and has held the office for many years. He is a man of varied interests, all of which by intelligent management he has made forceful and important as factors in the general ad- vancement. He has promoted his own prosperity earnestly and sincerely by constant laboring along progressive lines and welcomes his success not only as a private advantage but as an asset in public development. His ideas and his open and liberal mind have combined with his experience in agricultural mat- ters to form a success which has been an addition to the resources of his state. He is of value to his community by reason of his high principles of conscien- tiousness, and his knowledge of his occupation since it has been gained through hard experience, has been retained in its fullness and expanded to meet the needs of modern activity.

LOUIS POSTEL.

Louis Postel, the proprietor of a road house in Rodgersville, is also active as a general farmer. He owns seventy-one acres of land in Lamartine town- ship, which he plants in the grains and vegetables to which the soil is best adapted. He is successful because he brings the desirable qualities of industry, intelligence and business sagacity to his work in every operation which he under- takes. He was born in Germany, October 17, 1883, and is a son of Daniel and Mary Ann (Hoppe) Postel. The father was born in Germany in 1854 and was engaged in the butcher business for a number of years. His death occurred in 1888 but his wife survived him until 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Postel were the parents of two children: Daniel, who is engaged in agricultural pur- suits in the employ of others in Lamartine township; and Louis, the subject of this sketch.

Louis Postel attended school in Port Washington, Ozaukee county, until he was fifteen years of age and from that time until he was nineteen worked as a laborer upon neighboring farms and acquired some knowledge of the machin- ist's trade and worked at this occupation in all about eleven years. He finally,

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however, gave it up and came to Lamartine township, settling on a farm which was left him by his mother. He is the owner of seventy-one acres, highly im- proved and developed, and is numbered among the representative agriculturists of this section. He also conducts a road house in Rodgersville and has been prosperous in this undertaking.

On February 23, 1911, Mr. Postel was maried at Oconto Falls, Wisconsin, to Miss Anna Wandka, a daughter of Julius Wandka, of Sheboygan. Mrs. Postel is one of a family of four children, the others being Ella, Flora and Esther. Mr. and Mrs. Postel are the parents of a son, Elton Rodger.

In his political views Louis Postel is consistently republican and votes the party ticket. He belongs to the Lutheran church. He is still a young man and the success which he enjoys forecasts his coming prosperity. His success is the natural result of his well directed labor along progressive lines, aided by thorough experience in the details of agriculture and supplemented by busi- ness sagacity and integrity of a high order.

GEORGE GIBSON.

George Gibson is one of the successful and well known merchants of Van Dyne, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. He was born in the state of New York in 1850 and is a son of John and Mary (Grogan) Gibson, both of whom were natives of Ireland and who emigrated to America in 1847. He was reared in his parents' home and received his early education in the public schools of Fond du Lac. As a young man he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for a number of years on his father's farm and later took up work as a telegraph operator, in which occupation he continued for some time. In 1904 he established himself in the general merchandising business in Van Dyne, Fond du Lac county, and to the details of that business he has since given his entire attention.

George Gibson was united in marriage to Miss Esther Mitchell, who is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Milton Mitchell. The father was one of the old settlers of Eldorado township, where he died in 1864. The mother passed away November 25, 1909. Mr. Gibson politically is affiliated with the republican party. He and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic church of Van Dyne. He is numbered among the best known citizens of his section of Fond du Lac county and is a man who is highly respected by all his friends and as- sociates.

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Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II, Part 36

Author: McKenna, Maurice Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago : Clarke Number of Pages: 738

Author: McKenna, Maurice
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : Clarke
Number of Pages: 738