USA > Wisconsin > Fond du Lac County > Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 73
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Dr. Smith was united in marriage at Oakfield, September 13, 1892, to Miss Gertrude M. Price, who was born in England, and is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Price, both of whom were natives of that country. Her father died in that country many years ago while her mother is still living and maintains her home at Chepstow, England. To Dr. and Mrs. Smith two children have been born: Vern, who was born March 31, 1894, a graduate of the Waupun high school and now a student at Chicago University ; and Edith, whose birth occurred April 28, 1896, and is a student in the high school of Waupun.
Dr. Smith is affiliated with the republican party and has been a member of the Masonic lodge for the past twenty-three years. He and his family are members of the Episcopal church of Waupun. Dr. Smith is one of the well
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known and successful physicians of Fond du Lac county, and a man who is always to be relied upon to give his influence for the advancement of any measure of public interest seeking the improvement and progress of his state and county.
OSCAR HANISCH.
Oscar Hanisch is one of the respected and influential business men of Wau- pun, where he is engaged in the general banking business, having been for some time assistant cashier of the State Bank of this city. He was born in Waupun, May 13, 1858, and is a son of Charles and Wilhelmina (Schumann) Hanisch, both of whom were natives of Saxony, Germany, where they celebrated their marriage and later emigrated to the United States in 1844, settling first in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They later established their home in Waupun, where the father was for many years engaged in the pursuit of his trade as a stone and brick mason. He later built the hotel known as the Gast House, and sub- sequently changed the name to that of the Railroad House, which he continued to conduct until the time of his death, which occurred December 7, 1876. The mother died November 30, 1888. Mr. Hanisch was a loyal member of the democratic party and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. They became the parents of five children: Charles, of Waupun; Oscar, of this review; William, of Waupun; and Annie, and Arthur both deceased.
Oscar Hanisch was reared in his parents' home and received his early edu- cation in the public schools of Waupun. At the time of his father's death he took charge of the hotel which belonged to his father's estate and later changed the name from the Railroad House to that of the Commercial House, which he continued to manage until the property was sold in July, 1904. He then ac- cepted the position of assistant cashier of the State Bank of Waupun, and has since given his entire attention to the interests of that business.
Mr. Hanisch was united in. marriage September 22, 1887, to Miss Emma Zimmermann, a daughter of Frederick Ferdinand and Ernestine (Geidel) Zim- mermann, a more extended sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Hanisch became the parents of four children: Clara, who died at the age of four years; Arthur, a student in the high school; Harold and Melita, both of whom are pupils in the public school. Mr. Hanisch is a demo- crat and is a candidate on the democratic ticket for assemblyman of his district. He has served as alderman of his ward and has been city treasurer for the past twenty years. He is interested in music and is at present a member of the Prison City Band, of which he was at one time director. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and Mrs. Hanisch holds membership in the Episco- pal church. Mr. Hanisch is one of the valued citizens of Fond du Lac county and one of the best known and most successful men in his portion of the state.
JOHN NELSON.
John Nelson, who is living retired in Lamartine township, was for many years successfully identified with the agricultural development of Fond du Lac county. He is a native of Denmark, his birth having occurred near Copen- hagen on the 22d of January, 1854, and a son of Nels and Ellen B. Anderson. The parents, who were farming people, passed their entire lives in Denmark, where the father, having been born in 1808, attained the venerable age of
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eighty-two years. Four children were born to this worthy couple: Hannah, Anna, Andrew and John.
The first fourteen years of his life John Nelson passed at home with his parents, his boyhood being similar to that of other youths in the same sur- roundings. The means of the family were limited and he early began assisting with the work of the fields and care of the crops, and upon starting out to make his own way in the world worked out for four years as a farm hand in Denmark. At the expiration of that period he resolved to come to the United State, where many of his fellow countrymen, of whom he knew, were meet- ing with excellent success. He came direct to Fond du Lac county, and soon after his arrival obtained employment on a farm. Five years later he went to. Polk county, where he continued to work out as a farm hand. He was diligent and thrifty and in 1883 returned to Fond du Lac county and invested his sav- ings in forty acres of land in Lamartine township. As he is a practical man and directed his undertakings with foresight and intelligence he prospered, gradually accumulating a competence that warranted his retirement. He with- drew from active work in 1911, but still resides in the country. His homestead comprises forty acres of well improved and cultivated land, and he also owns ten head of cattle and a horse.
At Lamartine on the 21st of November, 1876, Mr. Nelson was united in marriage to Miss Mary Rousch, a daughter of Mathias and Kathryn (Theelan) Rousch, for many years residents of Milwaukee, where Mrs. Nelson was born. The parents were natives of Prussia, whence they emigrated to the United States in 1852. They are now both deceased, the mother having passed away in 1900, and the father in 1905. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nelson. Kathryn, who is the eldest, married Denite Trescott, a railroad conductor, by whom she has had two children, Harold and Mary, and now resides in Highwood, Illinois. Anna became the wife of James Bucy, a native of Indiana, who is engaged in farming in Lamartine. John, Jr., who is also farming in this township, married Gertrude Byer and they have two children, Leo and Alvina, Mathias, who is a farmer of Lamartine township, married Tillie Fisher and they have one daughter, Luella. Andrew, the young- est son and seventh in order of birth, married Viola Fisher and is living on a farm in this township. There are four other daughters, Ellen and Mary, the fifth and sixth in order of birth, and Helen and Susie, who are the two youngest members of the family.
Mr. Nelson belongs to the Lutheran church and his wife is a Catholic, the children having been reared in that faith. Politically Mr. Nelson endorses the republican party and served for six years as road supervisor in Lamartine township, while for one term, while residing in Polk county, he was chairman of the township board. Although Mr. Nelson endured the usual hardships and privations experienced by all who strive to establish themselves in an alien land during the early period of his residence in this country, he has not regretted that he came to America, as he has here found the opportunities he sought.
SHERMAN W. PEEBLES.
Sherman W. Peebles has long been actively identified with the agricultural and dairying interests of Taycheedah township, where he owns a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He was born in this township, August 30, 1864, and is a representative of one of the well known pioneer families, the town of Peebles having been named for his father, who was one of the most extensive landowners in this section of the county at that time. Mr. Peebles has three brothers: Sanford, John and Oscar, who are also residing in this vicinity.
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There was nothing in the early life of Sherman W. Peebles to distinguish it from that of the average youth who was reared in the rural sections of Fond du Lac county at that period. He attended the district schools in the acquire- ment of an education, and while engaged in the mastery of the common branches began qualifying himself for the duties and responsibilities of an agriculturist by assisting his father in the cultivation of the home farm. At the age of seventeen years he learned the cheese-maker's trade and was identified with the factory of his father for thirteen years. He now owns a well improved and equipped farm, comprising a hundred and twenty acres, which is largely planted to such cereals as are best adapted to the feeding of stock, as he makes a spe- cialty of dairying. In connection with his agricultural pursuits, Mr. Peebles has for the past eight years been in the rural mail service at Taycheedah. He is one of the well known and highly regarded citizens of his community in the progress and development of which his family has actively cooperated for more than half a century.
For his wife and helpmate Mr. Peebles chose Miss Ada L. Sweet, a daugh- ter of B. F. Sweet, who is engaged in the wagon business in Fond du Lac. Four children were born to them: Mary, who is twenty-three years of age; Ada, who has passed the twenty-first anniversary of her birth; Margaret, who is nineteen; and Herbert, who has entered upon his sixteenth year. The wife and mother is now deceased, her death having occurred in 1905.
In his political views Mr. Peebles is a republican, giving his stanch support to the men and measures of that party. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and belongs to the Equitable Fraternal Union. He has never figured conspicuously in local affairs, although he is not remiss in the duties of citizen- ship, but gives his support to movements which will promote the welfare of the community.
CASPER P. AMRHEIN.
Casper P. Amrhein is successfully identified with the general farming in- terests of Lamartine township, where he owns eighty acres of well improved and cultivated land. He is a native of Michigan, his birth having occurred on the shore of Lake Superior on the 30th of March, 1866. His father, Conrad Amrhein, was born in Germany in 1839, and there passed the first twenty years of his life. His life was devoted to agricultural pursuits until 1902, when he withdrew from active work and has since lived retired. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary Stuck, came to Wisconsin when she was eighteen years of age and here passed the remainder of her life, her death occurring in 19II, at the age of seventy-two years. Our subject is the third in order of birth in a family of seven. Amelia, who is the eldest of the family, married Herman Toll, a farmer of Lomira township, Dodge county, by whom she has had three children. Minnie is the wife of John Pfeiffer, a farmer of Lamartine town- ship, and the mother of three children. Anna married Charles Krueger, a farmer of Eldorado, this county, and they have two children; May became the wife of Frank Benecke, who is farming in Lomira township, Dodge county, and they have two children; Charles married Minnie Marshall of Chicago; Bertha is the wife of Charles Marshall, a cheese-maker, by whom she has had one child.
Casper P. Amrhein was reared in Dodge county, acquiring his education in the district schools of Lomira township, which he attended until he was four- teen years of age. In common with the majority of youths who are reared in the country he early began assisting with the work of the fields and care of the stock, and after leaving school devoted his entire attention to the operation of
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the home farm until he was eighteen. He then left the parental roof and started out to make his own way in the world and for nine years thereafter worked out by the month. At the expiration of that period he began farming for himself as a renter, continuing to cultivate leased land until 1901, when he bought the place he now owns. It is comprised of eighty acres of substantially improved and cultivated land, which he is devoting to diversified farming and stock-rais- ing. He owns fifteen head of cattle and four horses and is numbered among the prosperous citizens of his community.
On the 19th of November, 1894, Mr. Amrhein was married to Miss Anna Benecke, a daughter of Gottfried Benecke, a well-to-do farmer of Lomira town- ship, Dodge county. The parents were both natives of Germany, whence they emigrated to the United States in early life, locating in Fond du Lac county during the pioneer days. To Mr. and Mrs. Amrhein have been born two chil- dren, Olga and Clarence.
Mr. and Mrs. Amrhein are members of the Lutheran church, in the faith of which denomination they are rearing their family. He votes the republican ticket. He is leading a life of intelligently and capably directed activity as is substantially evidenced by the appearance of his farm and the condition of his stock, and is meeting with a corresponding degree of success in the devel- opment of his undertaking.
REV. SYLVESTER J. DOWLING.
Rev. Father Dowling has the distinction of being the first Catholic priest to receive the appointment as chaplain of the State Penitentiary at Waupun, and is perhaps the first priest ever appointed in this country having full charge in one of the state penal institutions. He is also the pastor of St. Joseph's church and as one of the popular lecturers employed by the standard lecture bureaus has traveled extensively throughout the entire country. He was born in Racine, Wisconsin in 1874, and is a son of Sylvester and Miria (Hughes) Dowling, both of whom were natives of Killarney, Ireland. The father emigrated to America with his parents in his childhood and with them settled in the city of Racine, where he later became the superintendent of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul car shops. He and his family were always active members of the Catholic church.
Father Sylvester Dowling was reared in his parents' home and received his elementary education in the public schools and also in the parochial schools of Racine, and in 1891-92 was a student in the State University at Madison, after which he entered the St. Francis Seminary, from which he was graduated with the class of 1896. Immediately following his graduation he accepted the pas- torate of the church at Whitewater, Wisconsin, where he remained for one year and was then transferred to St. Patrick's church, Milwaukee, as assistant pastor, remaining there for one year, after which he accepted a pastorate in Argyle, and later was pastor of the church at Adams, Wisconsin, for a period of six and one half years. While serving in the pastorate of the two churches last named he was successful in building a church and parsonage at cach place and served as pastor at those points with great acceptability to his parishioners. At the close of his pastorate at Adams he removed to Fort Atkinson, where he served the church for one year and then took up his work as pastor of St. Joseph's church of Waupun in 1905. In that year he received the appointment of chaplain at the State Penitentiary at Waupun, which office he has since con- tinued to hold with entire satisfaction to the state officials having control of that institution. St. Joseph's church of Waupun, of which he is the pastor, is one of the oldest congregations in the state of Wisconsin, and under the watchful
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care and efficient service of its popular pastor, is numbered among the devout congregations of the old mother church. Since Father Dowling's incumbency he has built a new church and parish house at a cost of $31,000. While not large edifices, they are exceedingly fine from an architectural point.
In addition to his many cares and responsibilities in the important fields of service with which he is identified as above recited, Father Dowling is also a widely-known and popular lecturer, having been connected with the leading lec- ture bureaus of this country, such as Ridpath, Morgan, Staton, and others of equal reputation. As a lecturer he has been before the public for the past eleven years, and his lectures on Realized Ideals, Christian Teacher, Crime and Criminology, My Country 'Tis of Thee, The Dawn of Hope, The Unit of the Nation, Twilight and others have been received by the critical public with un- stinted praise for their high moral tone, evident scholarship and practical value.
Father Sylvester Dowling is respected and beloved by all his friends and associates, and while never lowering or compromising the standard of his faith and the usage of his church, he is nevertheless equally popular among both the Catholic and Protestant people in the community in which he lives. He is now in the prime of his manhood with many useful years before him in which to enrich the people of the state with the moral and intellectual influence and help of a cultured Christian priest.
SIDNEY E. McCUMBER.
Sidney E. McCumber, who for twelve years has been postmaster at Lamar- tine, where he also engages in the general mercantile business and is identified with various other local interests, is numbered among the foremost citizens of the township. He was born in Springvale township on the 6th of November, 1863, and is descended from one of the pioneer families, his people having located here nearly sixty years ago. His father, William McCumber, was born in the state of New York, his natal year being 1828. He came to Wisconsin in 1853, locating in Springvale township, where he purchased some land, in the cultivation of which he successfully engaged during the remainder of his active life. He passed away in 1902, at the age of seventy-five years. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary Jane O'Neal was likewise a native of the Em- pire state. Their family numbered three children, of whom our subject is the youngest. Emoroy, their only daughter and eldest child, married A. C. Perry, a retired farmer of Lamartine township, now residing in Rosendale. To them was born one child, Elmer, who married Gertrude Shurett of El Dorado and has four children. Charles, the second member of the family, married Mertie Moore of Springvale, and they have three children: Beatrice, Perry and Mil- dred. He is engaged in the general mercantile business at Rosendale.
Reared on a farm, the education of Sidney E. McCumber was begun in the district schools of Rosendale township, and completed in the Fond du Lac business college, which he attended for one term. In common with the majority of boys who reside in the country he was early trained in the tilling of the fields and care of the crops, and after leaving school assisted his father with the work of the farm for seven years. Having decided that he preferred a com- mercial to an agricultural career, he later turned his attention to mercantile pursuits and in 1891 bought a general store at Lamartine, better known as Seven Mile Creek. His choice of a vocation has proven to be most fortunate, as he has prospered and he is regarded as one of the foremost business men of the township. He carries a large assortment of merchandise, carefully selected to meet the various needs and circumstances of his patrons, and as he is gracious and accommodating and offers his wares at reasonable prices, he is accorded a grati-
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fying patronage. Mr. McCumber is an enterprising man and takes an inter- est in promoting the development of various local activities. He is the presi- dent of the Lamartine Creamery Company and a director of the Oakfield Tele- phone Company and of the Minnehaha Oil Company of Oklahoma, all of which are yielding good dividends.
At El Dorado, this state, on the 26th of October, 1887, Mr. McCumber was united in marriage to Miss Sadie Nash, a daughter of Lyman and Mary (Moore) Nash. The parents located in Fond du Lac county about 1850, and here for many years the father engaged in farming. He passed away in 1904 at the age of seventy-six years, being survived by the mother who had passed the seventy-second anniversary of her birth when she died in 1907. To them were born two children, one of whom is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. McCum- ber have become the parents of two sons, Earl and Bertie.
The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally Mr. McCumber is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and is a past grand master of the Odd Fellows lodge, from which office he resigned when he removed to Lamartine, as he was unable to attend the meetings. Politically he supports the republican ticket, but although he takes an active and helpful interest in all local affairs, he has never held any public office save that of post- master, and chairman of the township board for six years. Mr. McCumber is a capable business man of unremitting energy, to whose integrity and upright principles as well as his sagacity and sound judgment must be attributed his success.
WILLIAM H. PREHN.
William H. Prehn, who is living retired in Taycheedah township, was for many years identified with the agricultural and commercial interests of this section of Wisconsin, and as he was prosperous in his undertakings is now able to spend his latter years in well earned rest. He is a native of Germany, his birth occurring in 1838, a son of Joseph and Friedericka (Berg) Prehn.
The first twenty-eight years in the life of William H. Prehn were passed in the land of his nativity, whence he emigrated to the United States in 1866. He came direct to Wisconsin, first locating at Waupun, where he remained a month. From there he went to Fond du Lac, and after a five years' residence there removed to Dodge county, where he built a gristmill, which he operated for three years. Disposing of this industry at the expiration of that period he settled in El Dorado, but six months later he purchased the place where he is now living and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He located here in 1874, but subsequently disposed of the property, which he bought back in 1900. After a brief residence he removed to New Cassel, where he remained for almost five years, going from there to Rush Lake, Wisconsin, where he bought a farm of five hundred acres. He later sold this place together with stock and machinery to Charles Bowman for twenty-five thousand dollars. His next business venture was at Omro, where he bought a coalyard, store and lumberyard and built a gristmill and conducted a hardware store. He has since disposed of all of his interests there with the exception of the hardware store, which he still owns, but he makes his home on his farm. His holdings here only comprise sixteen acres, the cultivation of which he leaves to younger hands as he is now in his seventy-fifth year, and by reason of his well spent life has a competence that more than meets the needs of himself and family. He owns a hundred and twenty acres of land at New Cassel, this state, and also a gristmill, and a farm in Nebraska, which comprises about five hundred acres, and also a coal elevator at Campbellsport.
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Mr. Prehn has been twice married, his first union having been with Miss Caroline Clifford, who passed away in 1882. For his second wife he chose Miss Mary Tilka, and to them were born seven children, five sons and two daughters.
The family are members of the German Lutheran church, and his political support Mr. Prehn gives to the republican party. He has always taken an active interest in local affairs, and at one time discharged the duties of justice of the peace, while for more than twenty years he was a school director. He is a man of more than average business sagacity, diligence and enterprise, whose well directed activities place him among the prosperous citizens of the community.
WILLIAM B. FRANK.
Diversified farming, stock-raising and dairying engage the energies of Wil- liam B. Frank, who owns and cultivates eighty acres of well improved land in Lamartine township, where he was born on the 26th of August, 1866. His father, John D. Frank, was born in Germany in 1829, and there he passed his boyhood and early youth. At the age of fifteen years he emigrated to the United States landing in New York city, where he made his home for two years. Sub- sequently he enlisted in the First United States Cavalry, holding the rank of private until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he was made captain of Company A, Battery G, Light Artillery and went to the front, where he re- mained for three years. In 1864, he came to Wisconsin, purchasing fifty acres of land in Lamartine township, in the further improvement and cultivation of which he engaged during the remainder of his active life. He passed away on the 22d of September, 1909, at the venerable age of eighty years. The mother, whose maiden name was Amelia Betz, was a native of Baltimore, Maryland. She was seventy-four at the time of her death, which occurred on May 22, 1910. To them were born the following children: Elizabeth, the deceased wife of George Roberts, a farmer of Forestville; John, a clerk, who married Jennie Mereton, of Algoma, and has become the father of four children; Emma, the wife of J. B. Doolan, a retired farmer of Oak Center; William B., our subject ; Edward, a farmer, who married Edna Foster of Silver Lake and has two chil- dren; Harry, proprietor of a creamery at Neenah, this state, who married Martha Larson and has two children; Fred, who died at the age of fifteen years ; and an infant who died two days after birth.
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