History of Barron County Wisconsin, Part 158

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1922
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1767

USA > Wisconsin > Barron County > History of Barron County Wisconsin > Part 158

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John S. Brown, prosperous farmer of Section 19, Chetek Township, was born in Monroe County, Wisconsin, Feb. 15, 1876, son of Simon and Sophia (Day) Brown. Simon Brown was born in Vermont and was reared in that state. He came west to Wisconsin, and took up farming. During the Civil War he served in a Wisconsin regiment. For many years he farmed on a good place of 120 acres which he developed in Lafayette Township, Monroe County, Wisconsin. In 1900 he sold the farm and moved to Sparta, Wis., where he died in 1903. His wife was born in Ohio, came west in the middle sixties, and was a

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pioneer school teacher of Monroe County. She died on the farm in 1896. They were married about 1870. In the family there were five children: Joseph, who lives on the home farm; Nellie, who lives in Colorado; John S. of Chetek; Grace, who graduated from the State Normal School at Winona, Minn., and is now a teacher in Minneapolis; and Robert, who died in infancy. Like his brothers and sisters, John S. received a graded and High School education. He also attended the University of Wisconsin. For several years he was em- ployed by the C. A. Goodyear Lumber Co., first at Tomah, in Monroe County, and then in Bluebill, Gogebic County, Mich. In the spring of 1913 he came to Barron County, and purchased his present farm of 80 acres in Section 19, Chetek Township. A good two-story frame house, with nine rooms and a basement, was already standing on the place. He erected a number of new buildings, including a barn, 30 by 60 feet, a combined granary and machine shed, 22 by 42 feet, and an ice house. He carries on general farming and makes a specialty of dairying, potatoes and strawberries. His stock is of graded Holstein and Guernsey breed, but he is gradually working toward a full-blooded herd. He is also gradually diminishing his potato acreage and going more and more into strawberry culture. His holdings include shares in the Farmers Co-Operative Creamery Co. and the Farmers Co-operative Mer- cantile Co., both of Chetek. Mr. Brown was married April 12, 1905 at Tomah, Wis., to Bertha Muermann, daughter of Fred and Loretta (Hancock) Muer- mann. They have two children. Kenneth was born July 10, 1906, and Mar- guerita was born May 26, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are agreeable people, are prominent socially, and keep a hospitable home. They take their share in all local affairs, and enjoy an excellent standing in the community. Fred Muermann lived with his family for many years in Monroe County, this state, and brought them to Chetek Township in 1912. There were five children in the family: Bertha, Leda, John, Louisa and Carl. Bertha is the wife of John S. Brown. Leda is the wife of Leroy Colbert of Chetek. John married Lily Gregerson, and has two children, Charlotte and Levern. He works for his father. Louisa is the wife of Fred Atwood of Chetek, and has two children, Manuel and Keman. Carl works for. his father.

Welcome Phetteplace, veteran of the Civil War, and an early settler of Chetek Township, was born in New York state in March, 1832, the son of Smith and Ruth (White) Phetteplace, also natives of that state. He came west as a young man and located in this state. He enlisted in the Sixth Wis- consin Battery, Heavy Artillery, with which he served for three years and one month. While home on a furlough, he was married on Jan. 1, 1862, to Chris- tene Moore, who was born in Pennsylvania, Jan. 20, 1844, the daughter of Arm- strong and Annie Moore, who came to Wisconsin in the fifties. In 1884 Mr. and Mrs. Moore located on a tract of land in Chetek Township, this county. To this place came Mr. Phetteplace and his wife, and there they spent the re- mainder of their lives. He died March 4, 1897, and his wife died in August, 1916. They were most worthy people, who took their share in every good work, and whose lives were well spent in every way. They were the parents of nine children : Edwin, Welcome, Otto O., Jason A., Jessie P., Matilda A., Alma, Nancy C. and Phrona R.

Jason A. Phetteplace, an estimable farmer of Section 13, east, Chetek Township, was born in Sauk County, this state, Jan. 22, 1880, the son of Wel- come and Christina (Moore) Phetteplace, natives of New York state. He was brought to Chetek Township as a small boy, and was reared to manhood on the farm first taken by his grandparents. At the age of seventeen, when his father died, he started operating the home farm with his mother. After his marriage in 1901, he went to Rusk County, this state, and bought 40 acres of land in Rusk Township. In 1903 he came back to Chetek Township, and then for several years rented different farms. In 1920 he purchased 57 acres in Section 13, east, where he now lives. He successfully carries on general farm- ing, and makes a specialty of Holstein cattle and swine and horses. In pub-

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lic life he has done good service on the school board. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the American Society of Equity and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Phetteplace was married at Chetek on June 30, 1901, to Lillie Waxberg, who was born in Minnesota on July 2, 1881, the daughter of Andrew and Betsey Waxberg. This union has been blessed with three children: Verlie, Lolita and Hazel (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Phetteplace maintain a hospitable home, and stand well throughout the community.

Sankey Haugen, a prosperous farmer of Section 22, Chetek Township, has built up an excellent farm of 200 acres, well improved, and through a tenant is there successfully farming, making his home in a pleasant residence on the farm. He came to America a poor boy, only a few years ago, unable to speak a word of English, with only the clothes on his back and a few belongings in a sack, and indebted for his passage. Everything he has he has obtained by hard work, industry, frugality and good judgment, combined with a fortunate in- crease in land values, brought about by the general progress of the commu- nity in which he has had his due share. He was born in Norway, Oct. 20, 1877, son of Sankey and Christina Olson, who spent the span of their years in the old country. Sankey and his sister, Annie (now Mrs. James Risgaard, of Poynette, Wis.), came to America in 1893 to join an uncle, Alex Olson, who had loaned them the money for their passage. He located in Rio, Columbia County, and here attended school for two terms. For some years he did gen- eral farm work in Columbia County. In 1902 he moved onto 80 acres of his present farm which he had purchased the previous year. His first buildings were of logs with straw roofs. As the land was developed these were replaced with more modern structures. The original eighty acres were increased to 210 acres. Among the buildings on the place are a good frame house of ten rooms, a substantial barn, 34 by 60 feet; a granary, machine sheds and other struc- tures. The farm supports a good herd of Holsteins and a good drove of Poland- China swine. Potatoes constitute his principal crop, and he also produces a profitable amount of clover seeds. His principal success he believes is with potatoes and live stock. Mr. Haugen was married March 18, 1903, to Lena Otterholt, who was born in Maple Grove Township, this county, March 26, 1881, daughter of Lars and Betsey (Isaacson) Otterholt, natives of Norway, who came to America in the early seventies, and first located in Walworth County, this state. From there they came with an ox team to Barron County and settled in Maple Grove Township, where they secured a tract of wild land which they developed into a good farm. Mr. and Mrs. Haugen have four bright children. Cora Belinda was born Aug. 11, 1904, Simon Lyman was born Feb. 21, 1906; Esther Marine was born April 20, 1910; and Verna Gladys was born Nov. 10, 1914.

William W. Carey, who has seen the county grow since the early days and is now a retired farmer of Chetek, was born in Wausau, Wis., Nov. 15, 1851, son of James and Mary (McDaniels) Carey, the pioneers. He spent a part of his boyhood in Steel County, Minnesota, and came to this county with his parents at the age of fifteen. His first employment was on the construction work of the dam at Cranberry Creek, for Knapp, Stout & Co., with whom he subsequently remained for several years. In 1874 he took a homestead in Section 5, Township 32, Range 10, Dovre Township, and on this farm continued farming operations for many years. He broke 125 acres, erected a house, barns and other buildings, constructed fences, purchased tools, implements, and machinery, put in good cattle and swine, and built up an excellent place. April 17, 1920, he sold the place to his son, James, and moved to the city, where he now lives. Mr. Carey was married May 14, 1874, to Elizabeth Bird, born at Blue Rock, Ohio, Dec. 25, 1856, daughter of Washington and Lucinda (Mc- Guire) Bird. Washington Bird was an early settler of Barron County, a dis- tinguished figure in the early days, and county treasurer, county superintendent of schools, and county surveyor. Mr. and Mrs. Carey have had ten children : An unnamed infant; Frank, Charles, Pearl, Ethel, Theresa, James, Lucy, Lois

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and Belle. Frank, railroad man and mason, lives in Chetek. Charles is a real estate dealer and farmer of Chetek. He was married June 29, 1908, to Caro- line Lena Hanson, daughter of Hans J. and Dorothy (Larson) Hanson, now residents of Chetek. Charles and Caroline Carey have one daughter, Bernice. Pearl married Thomas Lyons, of Chetek, and upon her death left three daugh- ters, Margaret, Lavina and Lucille. Ethel married David Weldon, of Chetek, and they have two sons, Roland and Alden. Theresa married Theodore Schaefer, of Maple Grove Township, this county, and they have four children, Maurice, Ruth, Ethel and William. James owns the home farm. He married Bessie Schofield, and they have two children, Anna Belle and Dorris. Lucy and Lois, twins, are nurses in San Francisco, the former being the widow of Scott Stewart. Belle keeps house for her father.

James Carey, a pioneer hotel keeper of Chetek, was born in New York State, his father being a native of that state, and his paternal grandfather of Ireland. He came west to Janesville, Wis., as a young man, and engaged in lumbering. In that city he was married to Mary McDaniels, whose parents were of Scotch birth. From Janesville they went to Wausau, where he was similarly employed. Then they pre-empted a farm of 80 acres in Steele County, Minn., which they developed, and where they farmed for several years. In 1867 they came to Barron County, and homesteaded 160 acres of wild land in what is now Chetek Township. This farm they partly cleared, erected log build- ings, and gradually developed a fair place. They were among the earliest set- tlers, and underwent all the privations of pioneer life. In the meantime, they conducted a small log hotel at Chetek for Knapp, Stout & Co. After a busy life they retired but still retained the ownership of their farm until about the time of his death, when it was sold in two tracts of 80 acres each. He died about 1900, his wife having passed away about 1889. In the family there were seven children. William W. is a retired farmer of Chetek. Lydia died at the age of eleven years; James at the age of seven years, and Love at the age of twelve years. Pearl is in Chicago. She has been a Red Cross nurse and is now a captain in the Salvation Army. Melissa is in Minneapolis. One unnamed child died in infancy.

Frank Carey, a well-known citizen of Chetek, was born on a farm in Dovre Township, this county, May 7, 1877, son of William W. and Elizabeth (Bird) Carey. He early took up railroad work and has continued at this line of work at intervals ever since. He has also done considerable farming in Dovre Town- ship. Some years ago he learned the masons' trade and has gradually worked into the contract business, one of the buildings he has erected being the Farm- ers and Merchants Bank block. He owns a pleasant home in the city which he purchased in 1920. Mr. Carey was married Oct. 31, 1909, to Grace Balkey, who was born in Sumner Township, Barron County, March 22, 1892, daughter of Fred and Emma (Collins) Balkey, pioneers of Sumner Township, where they still own 270 acres. In the Balkey family there were four children: Dudley, who lives in Barron County; Grace, the wife of Frank Carey, of Chetek; Ira, who died in infancy; and James, a farmer, this county. By her previous mar- riage to Henry Smith, Mrs. Emma Balkey had four children: William, of Du- luth; Bert, a carpenter in Chetek; Byron, who died in infancy; and Ethel, the wife of R. E. Slayton, of Chippewa County, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Carey have five children: Frances, born Feb. 27, 1911; Eleanor, born Dec. 13, 1912; Belle, born Aug. 3, 1914; Olive, born March 10, 1916; and Patrick, born Feb. 16, 1919.

Lewis P. Charles, educator, attorney and journalist, editor of the Chetek "Alert", is one of the influential men of the community. His paper is widely read, and its opinions always respected. Especially during the war its columns did much toward solidifying the patriotic sentiment of the county into effec- tive action. He was born in Watsontown, Penn., July 9, 1876, son of Henry C. and Permelia (Potter) Charles, natives of Pennsylvania, and descended from good old Pennsylvania stock. The subject of this sketch lost his father when

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he was five years of age, and was reared to sturdy young manhood by his mother, attending the common schools, and helping the family treasury with the income from such employment as he could secure. He came to Superior, Wis., in the fall of 1896. By working at what he could find to do, and by teach- ing school at intervals, he secured sufficient funds to attend the Wisconsin State Normal School there, from which he was graduated with the class of 1902. For three years prior to graduation he taught at Grand View and Mason, in Bayfield County, and in the fall of 1902 became principal of the high school at Chetek. In February, 1904, he formed a partnership with J. W. Bell and pur- chased the Chetek "Alert" from George E. Elwood. In 1915 the Alert Publish- ing Co. was incorporated. Mr. Charles is a member of the company, and man- ager of the plant and editor of the paper. Some years ago, Mr. Charles took up the study of law. He was successful in passing the bar examination, April 6, 1914, and is now a practicing attorney. He has a good knowledge of the law, and his well-trained mind makes him a good advocate. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic Order, the Eastern Star, the Modern Woodmen and the Mystic Workers. The family faith is that of the Presbyterian Church. He was married at Tacoma, Wash., Aug. 22, 1905, to Mary Ellen Fraser, who was born in Thompson, Mich., Nov. 20, 1883, daughter of Alexander J. and Mary (Mc- Arthur) Fraser, the latter of whom is dead, and the former of whom lives in British Columbia. Mr. and Mrs. Charles have three children: Lewis J., born May 23, 1906; Harriett J., born April 10, 1908; and William F., born Jan. 14, 1910.

John Quaderer, founder of Barron, and one of the founders of Barron County, was born in Switzerland, July 16, 1829, the son of Lawrence and Mary (Yale) Quaderer. He came to America in 1852, landed at New Orleans, found his way to Chicago, and in June of the same year located in Dodge County, this state. After farming for a while, he worked on a Mississippi River drive. In 1853 he went to Dubuque, Iowa, and entered the employ of Knapp, Stout & Co. in their lumber yards. He was soon sent by them to Menomonie, in this state, and in 1854 into Barron County, at first as a foreman, and later as a con- tractor. In the sixties he opened a camp at Barron, and was thereafter iden- tified with its history. He gave the land where the courthouse is now located, and made many other benefactions. He also platted the village. He was a real leader and served in numerous county offices, including county treasurer and chairman of the county board. From 1870 to 1878 he was postmaster. He was elected alderman when the city was incorporated. He established the Quaderer House, still standing on the south side of Quaderer Creek, near the courthouse, and after the railroad came through, built another Quaderer House, still standing on La Salle Street. The Barron Co-operative Creamery is located on land leased from him for ninety-nine years. After a long and useful life, filled with good works, he died Nov. 21, 1898. A brief outline fails to do justice to this rugged pioneer. His story is inseparably recorded in the story of the progress of Barron County. Mr. Quaderer was married Jan. 14, 1872, to Mary Ross, and this union was blessed with five children: Alma, Frank, Thomas, Jacob and John. Mrs. Mary Ross Quaderer died in January, 1884. For his second wife he married Margaret Redmon, and this union was blessed with six children: William, Lawrence, Sarah, Emma, Ida and Louise. By a previous marriage to Joseph Parent, Mrs. Margaret Redmon Quaderer, had one son, Joseph.

Otto D. Kahl is one of the most prominent men in Prairie Farm Township. He is president of the Prairie Farm Co-operative Association, and of the Prairie Farm Co-operative Creamery, vice-president of the Ridgeland Shipping Association, and a stockholder in the Farmers' State Bank of Ridgeland. He has served efficiently as chairman of the township, and as such, not only did good work for the town, but also sat with credit on the county board. He has also been town assessor. The Church of the Evangelical Association at Prairie Farm has found in him a valued member, as he has been one of its efficient offi-

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JOHN QUADERER

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cials for many years, an active worker in the Sunday School, a regular con- tributor and a loyal supporter. His farm of 184 acres is a model place in every particular. He has a modern eight-room home, a basement barn, 36 by 116 feet, with full basement, a silo, 14 by 45 feet, and other suitable buildings. The house, barn and yards are illuminated with electricity, the house has a furnace, running hot and cold water and other conveniences, and there is run- ning water for the stock in the barn and barnyard. Mr. Kahl is conducting farming on a successful scale, specializes in a fine herd of Guernsey cattle, and belongs to the Guernsey Association. He is a good citizen, a good farmer and a good business man, and is a fine type of the modern scientific Wisconsin agri- culturist. He was born on Section 4, this Township, July 9, 1875, the son of Frederick and Christena (Muller) Kahl, the pioneers. He was taken to Sec- tion 26 as an infant, and was there reared, and attended the district school. He learned farming from his father. At the age of fifteen he first went into the woods to work, and was thereafter employed for nine winters, working in camps, and "toting" between the towns. For a while he was employed as a farmer for John Quaderer, the well-known lumberman. With this prepara- tion, in 1901, he bought 88 acres of his present farm. At that time only 20 acres of the place had been cleared. He set to work with a will, and his efforts have resulted in as good a farm as is to be found in the neighborhood. Mr. Kahl was married on Dec. 25, 1892, to Anna Quaderer, who was born at Bar- ron, Aug. 1, 1874, the daughter of John and Mary (Ross) Quaderer, the former of whom was the most prominent figure in Barron County history for many a long year. Mr. and Mrs. Kahl have had eleven children : Stella, Bessie, Howard, Esther, Chester, Ruth, Hope and Grace, living, and Maude, Leon and an un- named infant, deceased. Stella was born April 12, 1896, and married Bert Link, a farmer of Prairie Farm Township. Bessie was born Dec. 6, 1898, and is the wife of Frank Rassbach, of Dunn County. Howard was born July 2, 1901; Esther, and Chester (twins), Aug. 29, 1904; Ruth, Jan. 17, 1909; Hope, Jan. 9, 1913; and Grace, July 29, 1916. Maude was born April 20, 1893. Leon and the unnamed infant (twins) were born April 27, 1894.

Rev. Charles A. Slocum, now deceased, minister of the Advent Christian Church, was born in Milwaukee, June 25, 1850, son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Bodine) Slocum, the former of whom was born in England, and the latter of whom was born in the United States, of Holland-Dutch descent. The father, who was a Great Lakes fisherman, was frozen to death with one of his sons, William, while on a fishing trip. The mother then moved her large family to Broadhead, Wis. At the age of twelve, young Charles A. found a home with a family named Bailey, at Sun Prairie, Dane County, Wis. He was but a boy when he enlisted as a bugler in the 12th Ill. Vol. Cav. But his boyish strength was insufficient for the rigors of the campaigns, and after six months he was discharged on account of ill health, from which he suffered more or less for the remainder of his life. Upon his return to Dane County, he entered school at Evanston, Ill., at the expense of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to the min- istry of which church he was duly ordained. About 1871 he transferred his allegiance to the Advent Christian Church, and continued as a clergyman of that faith for the remainder of his life. He preached in La Crosse County, Vernon County, and Columbia County, and came to Chetek late in 1884. Here he preached for thirty years. He was a man of devout faith, a true father of his people, the congregation under his leadership maintained a steady growth, and the church took its place in the forefront of all good work. In his death, Feb. 6, 1904, the community lost a real influence for good. Mr. Slocum was married at Merrimac, Sauk County, this state, June 8, 1872, to Alice Ives, who was born in Madison, Dane County, Wis., Sept. 22, 1852, daughter of Norman and Rozema (Barber) Ives, early settlers, the former being a farmer, merchant and hotel man, who died in that county, after which his wife came to Chetek and died here in 1904. In the family there were five children: Alice, widow of Rev. Charles A. Slocum; Clara, wife of Carl Baker, of Sheridan, Wyo .; Lillian,

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who married Malvin Pierce and is now dead; and two sons who died in in- fancy. Mr. and Mrs. Slocum had eight children: Edith, Edna, Lillian, Maude, Norman, Dorothy, Mattie and Neil. Edith was born in 1874, married O. E. Matts, and lives in Ladysmith, this state. Edna was born in 1875, married O. E. Miller, of Chetek, and has two children, James and Alice. Lillian was born in 1877, married Charles Chaffe, and lives in Rhinelander, this state. Maude was born in 1879, married Jense Stenehjen, of New Auburn, this state, and has two children, Claire and Beulah. Norman was born in 1881, married Delia La Blonde, and lives in California. Dorothy married Irving Gavin, lives in Eau Claire, and has two children, William and Edna. Mattie died at the age of five years. Neil is an electrician at Ladysmith, this state. He married Edna Fritz, and they have two children, Beth and William. Mrs. Slocum is a mem- ber of the W. R. C. and of various church and social organizations. She was an able helpmeet, an ideal pastor's wife through the long years of her hus- band's ministry, and is highly regarded throughout the community.

Eugene Andrus, better known as F. E. Andrus, at one time a well known business man, now deceased, was born in New York State, the son of Patrick and Mary (Gilbert) Andrus, who came west in the early days and located at Oregon, Wis. He received a good common school education and was reared to farm pursuits. He was married June 9, 1881, to Charlotte Tate. About 1890 they came to Barron County and secured a farm about seven miles east of Chetek. There they opened a place of refreshment, which became a well known stopping point for the loggers and teamsters going from Chippewa Falls and other points, to the camps in the woods. They also did an extensive business in manufacturing buckskin mittens for the employes of Knapp, Stout & Co., em- ploying quite a few girls in this line. After a while they bought an old cheese factory which had not proved a success, moved it to the farm, and conducted it for several years, selling the cheese in Superior, this state. In the meantime they were gradually developing the farm. In 1893 they sold out, and bought 40 acres on Ten Mile Creek, in Chetek Township, where they established a poultry farm. About 1900 they sold out and engaged in the hotel business in Amery, Polk County, this state. There Mr. Andrus died, Sept. 17, 1905. Mrs. Andrus then conducted the hotel until 1910, when her daughter was married. She then traded the hotel for her present property in Chetek, consisting of a house and an acre of land. Here she has established a greenhouse business. She raises tomato, cabbage, pepper, cauliflower, and other plants for the spring planting, and deals in cut flowers for holidays and special occasions, as well as in set pieces and other floral tributes for funerals. She has built up a good trade, and being a woman of pleasing personality, is well liked in the commu- nity at large. Mr. and Mrs. Andrus were the parents of two children. Albert died in infancy. Bertha married Louis Hanson, a Chetek music dealer. An adopted daughter, Minnie Priganda, better known from girlhood up as Min- nie Andrus, married C. A. Abbott, a Chetek druggist. Charlotte M. Tate was born in Albany, Greene County, this state, July 30, 1862, daughter of Walter and Susan (Greene) Tate. The father was born in England, and after coming to America, found his way to Janesville, Wis., where he married Susan Greene, who was born in Wilksbarre, Penn., and was brought to Wisconsin as a child. After their marriage they settled in Greene County, this state, where they made a specialty of dairying, having an unusually large number of cows for those days. The father died on the farm, and the mother subsequently came to Barron County, where she ended her days with her children. In the family there were nine sons and daughters, Sarah Ann, Nancy, Susie, Emily Floren- tine, Clara, Henrietta, Albert D., Charlotte and Myron. Sarah Ann married Charles Covington, and died at Lexington, Ky. Nancy is the wife of Theo- dore Schaefer, and lives near Twin Lakes, Wis. Susie married John Schaefer, and died at Albany, Wis. Emily Florentine died in Chetek. Clara married Frank Gilbert, of Chetek. Henrietta married Fred Schaefer, and died at Bar-

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History of Barron County Wisconsin, Part 158

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1767

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1922
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1767