USA > Wisconsin > Fond du Lac County > Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 53
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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY
In his political views August Borchardt is consistently republican and he is well informed upon public questions although he is not an office seeker. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Brandon, and one of the well known and successful farmers of Springvale township. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran church of Rosendale. Mr. Borchardt is a representa- tive of one of the principal industries of Wisconsin, and his career has been dis- tinguished by an intelligent grasp of local conditions and an expert knowledge of agriculture, controlled and directed by good business ability which has made his prosperity a valuable asset of the public resources.
WILLIAM H. WARNER.
William H. Warner, general farmer, stock-raiser and dairyman, is one of the most enterprising and prosperous citizens of Fond du Lac county. His life in its various activities has always been connected with representative indus- tries, all of which have contributed to make him today an expert in his special lines. His father was a pioneer in Wisconsin's settlement and he himself grew up on a farm. He later herded cattle through Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, has been an independent dealer in graded stock and is now making this experience useful in the operation of two hundred acres of land on section 15, Springvale township. Mr. Warner was born in Byron township, July 20, 1855, and is a son of William S. and Hannah (Kregg) Warner, natives of Ohio. The father was of New England stock and came to Wisconsin in the early '40S, settling in Fond du Lac county at a time when there was but one house in the section. The nearest gristmill was located at Milwaukee and he was obliged to make the necessary journeys to that city with ox teams, bringing back grist for the whole neighborhood. Upon his first arrival in the county he took up a preemption claim of one hundred and sixty acres and upon this he carried on successful general farming for ten or fifteen years. He subsequently pur- chased ninety-seven acres in Lamartine township and after twenty-five years of activity, during which he gained prosperity as a general farmer, he retired from active life and moved to the city of Fond du Lac. He afterward traded his town property for some land just outside the city limits and then moved upon this and there resided until his death. His wife was of Scotch ancestry and came to Byron township at an early date. She died in 1859. The father of our subject was not only a pioneer in the settlement of Wisconsin, but was also all during his life a progressive, enterprising and worthy man. He was interested in the growth of the section which he had seen develop from an unorganized community and for several years was chairman of Lamartine town- ship. He was a member of the Fond du Lac county board for two terms and represented his district in the Wisconsin general assembly at different times. His . political career was marked by the same sturdy qualities of conscientiousness and integrity of purpose which made his agricultural enterprise so successful and his private life honorable and worthy.
William H. Warner attended the district schools of Byron township and pursued his studies until he was sixteen years of age. At an early date he deter- mined to gain his own livelihood and in pursuance of this purpose went to Brown county, where he obtained work in the pineries. He was active as a lumberman for fourteen years, returning to Lamartine township at the end of that time and renting a tract of land which he cultivated and improved for one year. At the end of that time he went to Lincoln county, Wisconsin, where he took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, returning to his father's farm after seven years of successful identification with general farming in that section. Two years later he went west and obtained a position herding
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cattle on the Nelson Morris property, one of the largest cattle ranches in the United States. He herded through Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah and was engaged in this line of activity for five years, gaining during that time invaluable personal experience with the different phases of stock-breeding, herding and raising. He also obtained a knowledge of practical business meth- ods and standards of operation which has influenced his activities since that time. He came at the end of five years to Fond du Lac county, where he started an independent business of his own, operating a sales stable. This he continued for two years, at the end of which time he moved upon a farm in Springvale township, comprising two hundred acres belonging to his wife. Here he has remained since that time carrying on general farming. He has been successful because he has always adhered to practical and systematic methods. He makes a specialty of stock-raising and his expert personal knowledge and experience are factors in his prosperity, while his dairy, always clean and sanitary, is an important branch of his enterprise. He keeps for this purpose a fine herd of graded Holstein cows and his dairy products find a ready sale upon the market.
Mr. Warner has been twice married. His first union was with Miss Cornelia Soles, a daughter of William and Anna (Northrup) Soles, of Lamartine town- ship. To this union were born four children : Nathaniel, who is engaged in farm- ing on the home place; Walter, who is deceased; Norris, who is engaged in the cement business in Fond du Lac; and Nettie, the wife of Earl Cox, a farmer in the same section. Mr. Warner's second marriage occurred in 1898, in which year he wedded Mrs. Maria Ray, a daughter of Henry and Charlotte (Claggett) Blythe. Her father was born in England, December 2, 1813, and came to the United States, settling in Sheboygan county at the time when the old Sheboygan plank road was in course of construction. He teamed in the interests of the builders of this enterprise for a short time, later engaging in the buying and selling of grain. He afterward established a grocery and liquor business of his own, operating it successfully until he went to Eldorado, where he took up farming. He remained there for several years, retiring eventually and moving to Fond du Lac, where he resided until his death, which occurred on January 5, 1906.
Mr. Warner does not affiliate with any political party, preferring to vote according to his personal ethics. When he was a resident of Lincoln county he served two terms as constable with great ability. He is a member of the Fra- ternal Order of Eagles of Fond du Lac, his only fraternal affiliation. He is an enterprising and progressive farmer, intelligently interested in each new development of agriculture. His property is well equipped, highly cultivated and in excellent condition, the result of his personal supervision.
FRANK BRINKERHOFF.
Frank Brinkerhoff is a native son of Fond du Lac county and his agricul- tural labors which have ably supplemented his father's work of development have for many years been factors in expansion. He is one of the best known breeders of fancy stock in this section of the state and his one hundred and ninety acres of excellent land are cultivated and improved in a progressive way. Mr. Brinkerhoff was born on the farm where he now lives, on section 29, Spring- vale township, on March 20, 1849, and is a son of Herman Camp and Clarissa (Cheney) Brinkerhoff, the former a native of New York state and the latter of Vermont. The father of our subject comes of a long line of Holland ancestors. Representatives of his family three hundred years ago came to the Mohawk valley, New York, and the name has been known in that section for centuries. When the father of our subject was thirteen years of age he rode a horse on the
MR. AND MRS. FRANK BRINKERHOFF
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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY
Erie canal where his father, Isaac Brinkerhoff. owned and operated a line of tow boats. He came to Wisconsin in 1847 and was among the early pioneers in that state. He located on section 29, Springvale township, buying a tract of land under a warrant signed by President James K. Polk, paying one hundred and forty dollars for one hundred and sixty acres. He married in Fond du Lac in 1848 Miss Clarissa Cheney. She was of English ancestry and her brother William Cheney was one of the first white men to settle in Springvale township. They lived upon the farm during the remainder of their lives, with the exception of three years from 1861 to 1864, which they spent in Brandon. Both died upon the farm, the mother in 1884 and the father in 1889.
Frank Brinkerhoff was the only child born to his parents. He was educated in district school No. 5, Springvale township, and in Brandon schools, and later was a student in Cornell College, Iowa. When he laid aside his books he re- turned home and began an agricultural life which has contributed in no incon- siderable degree to the agricultural development of his section. He managed the home place for some years before his marriage and after that event took complete charge. He is now the owner of one hundred and ninety acres of highly improved and developed land and is widely known as an expert breeder of fancy stock. He raises full-blooded short horn cattle and is one of the most extensive breeders of this kind of stock in the county. He began on a small scale in 1877, purchasing at that time five cows from the herd of Hon. John Went- worth.of Chicago and he is still breeding this line of stock. He has added to his activities along this line the raising of high-grade Berkshire hogs and has been thus engaged for thirty-three years. His stock is of the finest and most improved quality and finds a ready sale. A number of years ago he included in his activities the breeding of high-grade Spanish Merino 'sheep, operating on a small scale but of late years he has specialized in the coarser wool grades, giving his attention to the breeding of Shropshires and Southdowns. He also raises for the market Shetland ponies and this branch of his activities furnishes an important addition to his income. His dairy is one of the largest and finest in Fond du Lac county and it is operated along the most sanitary, progressive and modern lines. He keeps a fine herd of milch cows for this purpose and sells his product readily.
On the 22d of April, 1874, Mr. Brinkerhoff was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Jane Grennell, a daughter of Sylvester H. and Mary (Whetsel) Gren- nell, the latter a descendant of the family made famous by its representatives who fought in the Indian wars. Mrs. Grennell was born in Ohio and is of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Her husband was a native of Rutland county, Vermont, and came from fine old Puritan stock. He was an agriculturist and came to Wisconsin in 1854, locating in Waupun township where he purchased land. He lived upon the one farm for sixty years and died upon his holdings on the 26th of August, 1904, when he was eighty-six years of age. His wife survived him until February 19, 1910, passing away when she was in her nine- tieth year. To their union were born five children: Harvey, who is a resident of Humboldt, Allen county, Kansas; Nancy Jane, the wife of our subject; Ella, who married Ethan Whiting of Waupun township; Minnie, the widow of James Cook, who now makes her home at North Fairfield, Ohio; and Amanda, now Mrs. Heman Eells of Waupun township. To Mr. and Mrs. Brinkerhoff were born seven children: Frank H., a farmer in Waupun township, whose birth occurred on the 23d of August, 1876, and who later married Miss Ida Whiting, by whom he has three children, Ruth, Verna and Maude; Edith, born on the Ist of December, 1878, and who married John Arthur Loop, a farmer of Spring- vale township, by whom she has one child, Grace; David W., born May 28, 1881, who died on March 3, 1883; Arian, whose birth occurred on the 21st of December, 1883, a graduate of the Brandon high school in 1902, and a student for two years at the Oshkosh Normal School, who is now teaching in the district school No. 3, Springvale township; Mary, whose birth occurred July 18, 1886, Vol. II-23
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who is living at home; Bessie, born May 4, 1890, who is also with her parents ; and Neil, born March 29, 1894, who is assisting his father in the work of the farm.
Frank Brinkerhoff is recognized as one of the important stock-raisers in Fond du Lac county. His success is founded upon the scientific operation of his farm, his personal care and supervision, and his progressive standards which make him successful in his agricultural pursuits.
WILLIAM HENRY MEADE.
William Henry Meade, who follows general farming and stock-raising on section 8, Byron township, is a native of Fond du Lac county, his birth having occurred in the town of Eden on the 15th of May, 1871. He is a son of Patrick and Catharine (Kernen) Meade, natives of Ireland, the father's birth having there occurred in 1818. The family resided in Eden township until 1873, when they removed to Byron, the father always engaging in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Meade were the parents of six children, of whom our subject is the youngest. In order of birth the others are as follows: Thomas F., whose first wife, Mary Dolan passed away in 1880, following which he married Martha Burns, who died in 1886, leaving a daughter, Eugenia; Mary Ann, who became the wife of Thomas J. Kelley, of Fond du Lac county, by whom she had four children ; Charles L., who married Rose A. Dolan, of Byron township, and has become the father of four children; John, who died in 1874; and Andrew, who resides with his brother William. The parents are both deceased, the father having passed away in 1882, and the mother in 1908. They were communicants of the Roman Catholic church.
William Henry Meade was a young child when his parents removed to Byron township, where he pursued his education in the district schools until he was sixteen. His early life was passed in the uneventful routine of the average country youth, much of his time when not in school being spent in the fields. He thus became familiar with practical methods of tilling the land and caring for the crops. For several years after leaving school he worked for his father, but he subsequently went to Fond du Lac and engaged in shipping hay. He met with fair success in this business, which he followed until 1910, when he again turned his attention to farming. Mr. Meade is enterprising and pro- gressive as well as systematic in his methods, and is numbered among the efficient agriculturists and capable business men of his community.
For his wife and helpmate Mr. Meade chose Miss Margaret E. Kelroy, a daughter of Michael and Margaret Kelroy, well known farming people of this vicinity. The father was born in Ireland in 1837, and at the age of seven years was brought to the United States, becoming a citizen of Fond du Lac county, which has since been his home. When he was fourteen he began earning his own living, his first employment being that of cart driver for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company. He later engaged in farming, successfully following this vocation for many years, but is now living retired. On the 17th of January, 1862, Mr. Kelroy was married to Miss Margaret Clark, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and to them were born ten children: Mathew, John P., Mi- chael, James H., Mary A., Frances J., Mrs. Meade, William, Sarah A. and Edward C. On the 17th of January last Mr. and Mrs. Kelroy celebrated their golden wedding, all of their children and grandchildren being present at the event.
Mr. and Mrs. Meade have one son, Roland A. The family are all members of the Catholic church, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Catholic Order of Foresters of Eden. He is a republican in his political views, but has never
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held a public office. Mr. Meade is widely known in this vicinity, where he has passed a large portion of his life, and has many stanch friends, who accord him the respect he justly merits by reason of his honorable, upright methods of conducting his transactions.
WILLIAM T. MILLER.
William T. Miller is living retired in Ripon after twenty-three years' identi- fication with agricultural pursuits as an active and progressive farmer. He is one of the foremost men in Fond du Lac county and has but recently given up the personal management of his fine tract of land on section 21, Metomen town- ship. Upon this he carried on general farming and stock-raising, developing his land progressively and scientifically and directing his agricultural pursuits by experience, knowledge and business ability of a high order. For almost twenty-five years he was recognized as one of the leading and representative farmers of his district and he is still a factor in its growth and development. He is a native son of Fond du Lac county, having been born in Alto township on March 24, 1857, a son of William and Ann (Conly) Miller. His father was a native of Ireland of Scotch-Irish ancestry. He was thirteen years of age when he came to America, settling in New York in 1835. Here he learned the car- penter's trade and followed it for a short time before he began farming. His residence in Fond du Lac county dated from 1856, in which year he settled in Alto township upon a farm. He cultivated and developed the tract of land which he purchased and brought it to a high state of improvement. Upon it he lived until the death of his wife which occurred in 1881 after which he made his home with our subject until his demise in 1894. The mother of our subject was also a native of Ireland and came to the United States in 1848. Her mar- riage occurred in New York and she and her husband became the parents of five children.
William T. Miller attended district school No. 9, Alto township, and com- pleted his education in Ripon College. He taught school for a short time but when he attained his majority went west spending one year in the Dakotas. In 1889 he came to Metomen township and purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres which he now owns. He developed the land and cultivated it along the most modern and scientific lines, planting his fields in the most suitable grains and being rewarded for his labors and care by excellent harvests. He erected the necessary barns and outbuildings and always kept his property in good condition. He did general farming and stock-raising and operated a dairy, keeping fourteen graded Durham cows for this purpose. In 1912 he rented out his land and moved to Ripon, where he lives retired.
In 1885 Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Addie E. Wood, a daugh- ter of Hon. Uriah and Agnes (Mares) Wood. Her father was born in Scho- harie county, New York, December 25, 1830, and came to Wisconsin, settling in Kenosha county in 1844. In the following year he came with his parents to Fond du Lac county where the family located upon a farm in Alto township. When he came of age he drove across the plains to California and after a short residence in that state returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York, resuming work on his farm in Alto township. Previous to this time he had purchased a yoke of oxen and had broken one thousand acres of raw prairie land upon which he settled and engaged in general farming. He married on June 17, 1855, Miss Agnes Mares, a daughter of Henry and Charlotte (Jenkin- son) Mares, and they became the parents of seven children: C. H., who has passed away ; Charlotte, the widow of E. B. Carter, and who resides" on a farm near Ripon; Addie E., the wife of our subject; Agnes Adele, who resides at
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home in Brandon; Dora, the wife of Robert R. Miller, the brother of our sub- ject, of Moose Jaw, Canada; Uriah D., a resident of Waupun; and Margaret Maud, who also resides at home. Mr. Wood is one of the highly respected and public-spirited men in Fond du Lac county today. In 1878 and 1879 he repre- sented his district in the Wisconsin general assembly and was mayor of the village of Brandon for six terms. About the year 1887 he left the farm and moved into the village where he is now living retired. His wife died in Brandon, November 27, 1897. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born two children: Jennie A., born January 31, 1887, who married Edward B. Barr, of Marshfield, Wisconsin, the editor of the News of that town; and Eileen Agnes, who was born March 14, 1892, and who was graduated from Ripon College with the class of 1912. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Brandon.
Mr. Miller gives his allegiance to the republican party and served as asses- sor in Metomen township for two years. For three years he was township supervisor and is a member of the school board of district No. 6, having served for twelve years as clerk of that body. He is a shareholder in the Brandon Farmers Elevator Company, and well known in the affairs of the Modern Wood- men of America. His retirement has not in any way lessened his interest in agriculture nor in the progress and growth of his section. He has given his active aid in the past to farm development by making his property one of the finest and most efficiently managed tracts of land in the district and he still retains his interest in everything pertaining to the modern and scientific aspects of agriculture and his activities have been an important influence on standards of business and methods of operation in the last quarter of a century.
WILLIAM E. SMITH.
Byron township and Fond du Lac county owe their present prosperity to the number of fertile and well cultivated farms within their boundaries. The men who cultivate the soil in this district are progressive, enterprising and efficient men who bring to their agriculture the modern methods which are rapidly raising that occupation to the level of a scientific profession. Among the young men of this class is William E. Smith, who now operates one hundred and twenty acres of fine Fond du Lac county land. He was born in Oakfield, Wisconsin, September 5, 1878, and is a son of William A. and Sophia (Gates) Smith. His father was born in England in 1831 and came to Byron township in his childhood, in the early days of its pioneer settlement. He farmed in this district during his life and died in 1885, when he was fifty-four years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith were the parents of seven children: Ada, who married Walter Worthing, a prominent farmer in Fond du Lac county, by whom she has two children; Wallace, who is a practicing physician in his native district and who married Miss Gertrude Fisher; Irving, who is engaged in farm- ing near Oakfield; Marian, who is now teaching school in Buhl, Idaho; William, the subject of this sketch; Nellie, who resides in Oakfield; and Hiram, who is married and is practicing medicine in Rock Island, Illinois.
William E. Smith received his early education in the public schools of Oak- field and later attended the high school in that city. He pursued his studies until he was eighteen years of age and acquired a thoroughly efficient education in all the important branches of study. He spent two years with his brothers in the work of the farm and gained a personal experience in the details of agri- culture which has been a valuable asset to him all during his later life. At one period in his career he took up the study of pharmacy and worked at this occu- pation for two years. He was successful as a butter-maker for three years
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and worked in the express business for a similar period of time. He went to Milwaukee and followed butter-making in that city for three years and then returned to Fond du Lac county, in March, 1912, when he purchased his present holdings. He owns one hundred and twenty acres of the finest farm land in the district and has given to its cultivation his personal knowledge and his broad minded and energetic intelligence. He has been prosperous and successful as an agriculturist and his farm is one of the most modern and efficiently equipped properties in Byron township. He is now constructing a new and modern eight-room residence upon his farm and expects to make his home one of the most completely furnished and modernly equipped houses in his part of the country.
On December 9, 1903, Mr. Smith was united in marriage in Oakfield, Wisconsin, to Miss Mary Tulledge, the daughter of Charles and Esther Tulledge of that city. Mrs. Smith is a charming and thoroughly hospitable woman and is making her husband's house a delightful and comfortable home.
In his political views Mr. Smith is a firm republican and takes an intelligent interest in the affairs of his district, although he has never been an office seeker. He gives his allegiance to the Methodist church and is active in the affairs of that organization. Mr. Smith is one of the representative men of Fond du Lac county. He is successfully engaged in. its most important industry and is de- veloping his farm along progressive and efficient lines in a scientific and modern way. He is one of the many who bring to the cultivation of the soil a thorough equipment, a personal experience and a broad and liberal intelligence, which are the foundations of success in agriculture as they are in professional or business life.
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