USA > Wisconsin > Buffalo County > History of Buffalo County, Wisconsin > Part 19
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
How it was before the era of steamboats I can but refer the reader to the chapter on " Transportation," for it would be tedi- ous to repeat what is said there. But in retrospection I have come to doubt, whether the matter of transportation was of more influ- cnce on early settlement and political history, or the reverse. For, the mode of transportation being given, it is evident that settle- ment, and political history as its consequence, will accommodate themselves to it; but a settlement existing, transportation might seek it. We must look back to the first adventures of white men upon our soil to trace the incipient steps of settlement. The In- dians were no settlers, although they were the occupants of the
212
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
country. It is true they had villages and cultivated some land, but their tenure was not intentionally permanent, and not pro- prietary. The same might be said of the traders, that came among them, and it is a matter of history that the French Government of Canada as well as of France discouraged colonization or perma- nent occupation, in another word-settlement. A few depots or entrepots, however, were absolutely necessary, and the aggregation of some settlers around such posts of trade could not be pre- vented, though it might be discouraged. The missionaries, afraid that they would have to share influence, power and profit with permanent settlers, instigated the government to its narrow policy of anti-colonization. Thus we find, that during about one hund- red and fifty years of nominal, and of eighty years of virtual pos- session of Wisconsin by the French, there was only one, still un- certain, settlement within its present boundaries. This was at Green Bay, the place first visited by an embassador of the French ·governor to the Winnebagoes in 1634. This visit is described in the chapter on Jean Nicolet. The next settlement was at Prairie du Chien. The evidence for this is not very direct, and it is rather due to the advantageous situation of the place, near the mouth of the Wisconsin River, that we are inclined to believe in a very early settlement at this point, than to any documentary testimony in regard to it. There are, indeed several circumstances, which seem to contradict this assumption. The first is that under the administration of De la Barre, the governor, who succeeded to Frontenac, an enemy to La Salle, and opposed to all colonization, sent Nicholas Perrot (not Parrot as the Blue Book says) to the Mississippi to establish a trading post on the river, which was erected on the westside of Lake Pepin, 1683. Other forts were subsequently erected by Le Sueur, Laperriere and others, and, according to the opportunities of trade and other circumstances, occupied or abandoned, while yet there was nothing said of a post at the mouth of the Wisconsin River. It seems that an offi- cial document relating to taking possession of the Upper Missis- sippi country by the French dated May 28, 1689, has among its witnesses " Monsieur De Borieguillot " commanding the French in the neighborhood of the Ouiskonche on the Mississippi. This 1
points to an establishment of some kind, perhaps only a stockade or trading fort, intended by the government to be occupied, but
213
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
certainly not by a garrison. It is true that in the same year the active Count of Frontenac had been reinstated in the government of La Nouvelle France, and there was some hope of better times, but there had been a period of inactivity for about seven years, and there were no arrangements for garrisoning so distant a post. In the same year King William's war began and lasted about eight years. The energies of the Canadian government were largely engaged in this, and distant enterprises could hardly be thought of. There were certainly always some adventurers, who preferred living at peace with the Indians of the West to fighting the English and the Iroquois in Canada; there was more gain and more fun in it. Such may from time to time have congregated at the mouth of the Wisconsin or the most favorable point of settle- ment near it, and some kind of establishment, intermittent though and unreliable, must have been at the place. It is not very ini- portant whether one Cardinelle and his wife settled at the place in 1728, the year of the great flood, but the establishment of a French trading post in 1737 with a stockade for protection seems to indi- cate some settlement previously unprotected. Another account, however, places the establishment of that post in 1755 and con- nects it directly with the village of Prairie du Chien.
All this is called in question by a circumstance mentioned by Captain Jonathan Carver, who visited these parts in 1766. He mentions a large Indian town, but no fort, and the merchants who had come with him, did not winter at the mouth of the Wis- consin, but on the other side of the Mississippi, on the Yellow River, about ten miles above Prairie du Chien. As for the last circumstance, which seems by many to be considered as proof positive, that there was no accommodation for the traders at Prai- rie du Chien, I can see nothing of the kind in it. The winter sea- son was on hand, and Captain Carver himself found his progress prevented by ice about five weeks after he had left his fellow trav- elers. The traders, perhaps, knew more about the conditions of a successful winter establishment than the Captain. In fact we find that long afterwards it was a custom .of traders in that neighbor- hood to live during the winter among the Sioux, and during the summer at the Prairie du Chien. This clinching proofagainst the existence of a settlement at the latter place is therefore not so very decisive. Another circumstance must come into consideration,
214
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
Prairie du Chien was within the territory claimed by the Winneba- goes and their confederates. Traders were most probably abundant among them, and new ones would naturally go to the Sioux, across the river. It is, moreover, probable, that Carver's companions were Englishmen, or Yankees, who might have found it uncon- genial among the Frenchmen. French tradition says that the Prairie du Chien was bought of the Fox Indians probably in 1755, the purchase being confirmed in 1802 by a Fox chief. The name of the Prairie was derived from another Fox chief, whose Indian name was " Ahin," whic the French translated by " chien," which in English means " dog." In the history of the " Indians," and in " Political History " much of the events connected with Prairie du Chien had to be related. In this chapter we propose to consider its relation to the extending settlements. In this regard it must be regretted that the inhabitants of the place were French. They were very good pioneers, or rather adventurers, but lacked one essential quality of settlers or colonists. They did not want, and could not be expected, to settle, that is to make up their minds to stay in a certain place, and to improve that place, so as to make their stay pleasant and profitable; they were too mercurial for that by inheritance, and spoiled by the allurements of the Indian trade, a trade which was a game at hazards rather than anything else, and thus just suited to French dispositions. Their farming operations were crude and limited. Hence there was no ambition for improvements in tools and implements, and the emigrant, who wanted to settle down in such a neighborhood, found, that there was no dependence on the people for many of his most urgent wants. Nevertheless, the place could not help becoming a basis of supplies for the advancing settlements as well as for Indian traders. As late as 1781, under British rule, the population being still overwhelmingly French, the more reliable history of the place begins. Four years previous, says the French tradition, the old fort had burnt. In 1781 the first purchase of land, which looked like an intention of founding an actual settlement, was -made for three traders, by Governor Patrick Sinclair of Mackinaw. Its extent was six miles up and down the river, probably from the mouth of the Wisconsin six miles up the Mississippi, at an average width of six miles from that river on the east side. In 1796 the United States took formal possession, which, however,
215
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
was quietly ignored by the French in this remote region, and it was not until nine years later that they were reminded of their political connection by the advent of Lieut. Pike's party of explo- ration, and one year after that by the appointment of an Indian agent. The population did not fancy their new sovereign, the United States, and took the first opportunity for showing their preference by piloting the British forces across the state in 1814. After peace and restoration the town continued to grow, especially after the defeat and expulsion of the Sacs and Foxes, and later the Winnebagoes. The development of the mining country did per- haps not really injure Prairie du Chien, but reduced the import- ance of it to the level of facts, from the inflation of French vapor- ing. Galena began to be a formidable rival in spite of the disad- vantages of its situation. It had never been French; that counter- balanced all! The " ancien regime," the only one they knew or cared to know, in this country, is yet sticking to the early French settlements, like the egg-shell to the newly hatched chicken, only it can't be dropped. For a time the old burg revived, when the railroad terminated in it, but when the bridge was built, and the train departed, the spirit of enterprise left on it for St. Paul and other places. In the meantime La Crosse had started up. Nathan Myrick came in 1841, but others may have located there and left, before that time. Certain it is that the permanent settlement of La Crosse is not any older than the uninterrupted settlement of Fountain City, at which place Thomas A. Holmes located in the fall of 1839. La Crosse, however, with the advantages of a convenient site, and being at the mouth of Black River, upon whose banks very soon a considerable lumber interest developed, outstripped every place above it and first of all the old French village of Prairie du Chien. It could not compete with St. Paul and Minneapolis, but has kept ahead of all the other places that started in the race at about the same time. The county of La Crosse was organized in 1849, including all of Crawford County north of Bad Axe, now Vernon County, hence all of Buffalo County below Beef River: Some settlers were present in this county, es- pecially in that part of it, which then belonged to La Crosse county. The following list gives the names of those known to have been residents of that part:
216
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
List of Settlers in the lower part of the County when La Crosse County was set off : J. Adam Weber 7 At Holmes' Landing or in the neighborhood.
Frank Weber Henry Goehrke Andrew Bærtsch Claus Liesch Caspar Wild Victor Probst
John C. Waecker & At Twelve Mile Bluff.
Joseph Berni
PIONEERS.
But the original first settler had left for the country farther up the river. It was:
THOMAS A. HOLMES.
From the moment that I had concluded to write the history of Buffalo County, I was anxious to learn as much as possible of the life and circumstances of the man, whose name precedes this article. Authorities on hand were exceedingly reticent on the sub- ject, and demonstrated their ignorance not less by contradicting themselves than by silence. That very important personage, the oldest inhabitant, even after Holmes was not on hand, and every- body told a different story. It is asserted in one place that in 1841 when Johann Adam Weber arrived at Holmes' Landing, the original proprietor or possessor of that place had been there 15 years, having come in 1826. It was further asserted that no one knew where Mr. Holmes went after leaving liis late residence; but it was darkly hinted at that lie had gone
" To the land of the Dacotahs, To the land of handsome women; Striding over moor and meadow, Through interminable forests, Through uninterrupted silence." -(Hiawatha.)
In the course of time I wanted to study the manners of the Sioux or Dakotas, and as Minnesota had been their latest abode in our neighborhood I borrowed of my friend Emil Leonhardy an old Atlas of Minnesota, expecting to find all about the Sioux, of which I was rather disappointed but in listlessly turning over the leaves, I was attracted by the article headed:
217
PIONEERS.
SHAKOPEE.
Having thirty or more years ago heard of that town, and of the Indian Chief for whom it was named, I examined closely and found the following:
Early History.
The first settlement was made in Shakopee, while the Indians were yet present in undiminished numbers on the Minnesota. Thomas A Holmes, a native of Pennsylvania, who had been a pio- neer in Milwaukee and Janesville, Wisconsin, 1835 to 1838, and a trader among the Indians at Fountain City, St. Paul, Sauk Rapids and Itasca, came in 1851, and located the land where Shakopee is situated. He was one of the original proprietors of the town, as he had also previously been of Milwaukee, Janesville, and several other towns in the Northwest.
Here, then, were several pointers which were diligently made use of. The first step was to find out whether Mr. Holmes was still alive, and whether he was, in that case, at Shakopee or some other place. Not having any acquaintances in Shakopee, I con- cluded to appeal to the liberality of the Press at that place. Rowell's Newspaper Directory showed that that there were two papers at that place: "The Shakopee Courier " and the "Scott County Argus," both of which were addressed and replied as fol- lows:
SHAKOPEE, Minn., Jan. 22, 1887.
Ofice of Shakopee Courier, C. A. Stevens, Publisher.
MR. L. KESSINGER.
Dear Sir :- Thomas A. Holmes now lives in Culman, Alabama, where he went some years ago to help built up that section of the sunny South, having completed his labors in that direction here- away in the North. You might write him, but I understand he says he can only just about write his name now, but " can skin a muskrat quicker than an Indian." I had a pretty long acquaint- ance with Uncle Tommy, and always found him "straight as an arrow," and full of fun. He was a general favorite in this section
Respectfully,
C. A. STEVENS.
218
PIONEERS.
Office of the Scott County Argus, Wm. Hinds, Editor and Publisher. SHAKOPEE, Minn., Jan. 27, 1887. L. KESSINGER, EsQ., Alma, Wis.
Dear Sir :- Thomas A. Holmes was the founder of this city, as well as Helena, Mont., and some thirty other towns, and is at present living at Culman, Alabama, to which place he moved six or eight years ago. He is as young as he was forty years ago, but as I was born some ten years after he had settled here, I can give you. but few particulars of his eventful career, although there are many here who could. Yours truly
WM. HINDS.
This led to a direct correspondence with Mr. Holmes, which on his part was carried on by Mr. J. A. Johnson, Publisher of the " Alabama Tribune " of Culman, Culman Co., Alabama. The first letter is as follows:
CULMAN, Ala., Jan. 23, 1887.
L. KESSINGER, EsQ.
Mr. Thomas A. Holmes, of whom you write, is now a resident of this place. He will be 83 years old in March. Though quite old, he is enjoying good health, and is as earnest in building towns as he was forty years ago. He is married, and his wife is a de- scendant of the Woodbury stock of Vermont, though much youn- ger than he. He does not recollect Buffalo County. I presume it has been formed since your state. He refers you to Milo Jones, now living at Fort Atkinson, on Rock River, above Janesville and near Watertown. Mr. H. is a remarkable man and has seen much of border life among the Indians as a trader.
J. A. JOHNSON .
On February 7th, I addressed another letter to Mr. J. A. John- - son, into which I included a more or less accurate and elaborate description of Holmes' Landing as it was, such names of places and persons as Mr. Holmes could not fail to remember, and which I had learned from an extended study of local histories of our neighborhood. I also suggested the gift of a photograph of Mr. Holmes for a frontispiece picture. This brought the following reply:
CULMAN, Ala., March 5th, 1887.
Dear Sir :- In reply to yours of February 7th, Mr. Holmes says, that he landed there late in the fall of '39 with Robert Ken-
219
PIONEERS.
nedy and family, the whole party consisting of thirteen. Intended to go to the mouth of the St. Croix River, but met the ice at that point and stopped. Rev. Stevens, a Presbyterian Missionary was on the other side of the river at the prairie of Wabasha, the head of the Wabasha band of Indians. He moved him to the landing and built him a house. Says the sketch is about correct, remem- bers the names mentioned, also Major Hatch, who came up to run an opposition trading establishment. Major Hatch is now living at St. Paul, and could probably be of some service to you. (See note.)
- I enclose a photograph taken from a picture of some thirty years ago. Mr. Holmes looks older now, of course, but is well pre- served for one of his age. He still champs the bit to be on the border, and points with pride and pleasure to his early and rough life. Mr. Holmes is now sitting at my side while I pen these lines.
Hoping that I have answered your demands and been of some service in your efforts to present a true history, I am Yours truly
J. A. JOHNSON.
In consequence of having received the above mentioned pho- tograph, I procured from our photographer in Alma a few copies, one of which I presented to Mr. C. A. Stevens at Shakopee, and inquired as to the faithfulness of the likeness. This I thought a necessary precaution, because the photograph was not from life directly, and the picture might not have been sufficiently recog- nizable, but I was assured by the following letter:
SHAKOPEE, Minn., May 12th, 1887.
Office of Shakopee Courier.
MR. L. KESSINGER.
Dear Sir :- I have been unable to answer your letter before. The uncle Tom Holmes picture looks like him in his old age. His friends here recognize it at a glance. Wishing for your success in your biographical sketches, and thanking you for the picture,
I remain, etc, C. A. STEVENS.
To the former letter, as far as it relates to Major Hatch, and the annexed letter of Mr. Jones as far as it relates to Robert Ken- nedy, I have to make the following note:
220
PIONEERS.
June 1st, 1887, I addressed to the Pioneer Press of St. Paul a short note, inquiring, whether the above named gentlemen, or either of them, were still alive and in St. Paul. To this I received the laconic answer: "They are both dead." From a footnote in the History of Winona County I learn that Major Hatch died at St. Paul Sept. 14th, 1882, of cholera morbus. The subsequent letters grew out of suggestions already related above, and such as occur in Mr. Jones' letter.
Letter of Milo Jones:
FORT ATKINSON, Feb. 26, '87. L. KESSINGER, EsQ.
Dear Sir :- Yours of 17th re- ceived and contents noted and in reply would say, from memory: In Sept. 1835 on my return from a survey in the north, I met T. A. Holmes in Milwaukee, who in- formed me he had purchased a piece of land on Rock River un- sight and unseen,-thought he had a town-site, and water-power, and wished me to locate it for him.
At that time the Rock River valley was unknown, as there were no settlements above Rock- ford. (Ill.)
A party was organized consist- ing of T. A. Holmes, William, John and Joshua Holmes, John Inman, Geo. Fulmer and your humble servant. After 2 or 3 days cutting and clearing in Mil- waukee woods, we succeeded in getting to what was then called Prairieville with our teams, and I think the first one through the tim ber to openings and prairie
Remarks.
This agrees with the state- ment of Mr. J. P. McGregor as to Mr. Holmes' residence at Milwaukee, but contradicts the statement of Mrs. Atwood as to her brother's removal to his land on Rock River in 1835, since it is highly improb- able that the removal took place so late in the season.
The name of Prairieville sug- gests an embryo settlement be- fore the expedition related by
221
PIONEERS.
and in due time reached the Rock and located the land, running some levels.
Laid a village plat, and named it Rockport from the fact of a Big Rock on the right bank of Rock River, near where the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad now cros- ses, and now a part of the present city of Janesville. On our return to Milwaukee with the new city in embryo, and with the glowing description of the beautiful Rock River country, all eyes along the lake were turned in that direction. Janes of Racine made his way out, and, I think, bought John Holmes' claim on the left bank of the river, where the Meyer's house now stands, and when the land was surveyed and sold, purchased it, and platted and named it Janesville. As.to the time of Holmes going up into your coun- try I will refer you to Mrs. Kate Atwood of Janesville, and Robert Kennedy of St. Paul, who are the only 2 (two) in that early settle- ment of this state in the Rock River valley.
Robert Kennedy was a brother of T. A. Holmes' first wife. From either of them I think you can ascertain T. A. Holmes' residence which, I believe, is in Alabama. I should have replied to your note sooner but have been absent on a survey.
Mr. Jones, and would so far contradict his assertion that no settlements were known above Rockford, Ill. It must be re- membered, that during the Black Hawk War (1832) the Rock River Valley had been considerably marched over by the volunteers, and that they had been encamped on the Catfish Creek, which enters Rock River about ten miles above Janesville.
By the Government.
See letter of Mrs. Atwood,
Mr. Kennedy died at St. Paul.
222
PIONEERS.
If I have written anything to help you along with your history I shall be thankful, and excuse a 79 year correspondent.
Truly yours
MILO JONES.
P. S .- I think you may safely say T. A. Holmes was the Pio- neer of the Rock River Valley in this state.
Notwithstanding this P. S. I was strongly inclined to doubt Mr. Thomas A. Holmes' residence at or near Janesville, until assured by the letter of his sister.
The doubt was reasonable enough, first on account of the let- ter of Mr. McGregor, and second on account of a map of Milwau- kee supposing to represent the situation of that place in 1836, in which there is put down the house of Thomas Holmes on what must have been Lot 1, of Section 29 of Township 7 North, Range 22 East. The house was situated on the eastside of East Water Street and but little south of Wisconsin Street.
On the same day that Mr. Milo Jones wrote the above letter, the following letter was written by Mr. McGregor:
MILWAUKEE, Wis., Feb. 26th, 1887. L. KESSINGER, EsQ., Alma, Wisconsin.
Dear Sir :- In reply to your favor of 25th inst., I have to say that Thomas A. Holmes settled in Milwaukee in 1835 and built a frame dwelling on what is now East Water Street about No. 382; and this is said to have been the first frame dwelling erected in what is now the city of Milwaukee. See Buck's Pioneer History of Milwaukee, Vol. 1. page 24. He is thought to have left here in 1839. His present location, (if still alive), is not known.
Very truly yours JOHN P. MCGREGOR,
Prest. Mil. Co. Pioneer Association.
This letter does not require any special remarks. It confirms in part the remarks made on the letter of Mr. Milo Jones, but seems to contradict the following letter of Mrs. Atwood. As Presi- dent McGregor is, however, not positive as to the removal of Mr. Holmes from Milwaukee, the different statements may easily be reconciled,
223
PIONEERS.
Letter of Mrs. C. A. Atwood or! Mrs. Volney Atwood :
JANESVILLE, June 12, 1887. MR. KESSINGER:
Your letter written June 2d, directed to Mrs. Kate Atwood, and by no one claimed, was finally brought up to me. After reading the contents I concluded it was intended for me although that is not my name. It was once Cath- erine A. Holmes, and is now Mrs. Volney Atwood. However I will endeavor to give all the informa- 'tion I can. I had five brothers who came here, and around here, in thirty-five and four of them are dead. Thomas A. Holmes is all that lives, and he is now in his 84th year. He never lived in Rock-Port, but lived just opposite, in or on his claim, that he called St. George, opposite (probably adjacent to) St. George Rapids, Rockport being situated on the west side (right bank) of Rock River, and the other on the south side (left bank after a turn west.) Their families arrived here the 1st of May, 1836. Some of my brothers came in 1835, Thomas was one of them; but his family did not come until '36. Previ- ously he lived in Milwaukee. Mr. Janes arrived at his claim with his family on the 19th of May, 1836. He was here in January, and made his claim. He never had any share in Rockport, and
Remarks:
The first impulse of a lady might be to resent a supposed offence to her dignity; but the supposed misdirection was nothing more, nor less, than the stumbling of that bright and shining light of intelligent civil service, the postmaster of Janesville.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.