USA > Wisconsin > Buffalo County > History of Buffalo and Pepin Counties Wisconsin (Volume 2) > Part 11
USA > Wisconsin > Pepin County > History of Buffalo and Pepin Counties Wisconsin (Volume 2) > Part 11
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Dutee A. Whelan, cashier of the First National Bank of Mondovi, was born in what was then the village of Mondovi, March 25, 1879. He attended the public schools and in 1896 was graduated from the Mondovi High School. Thus prepared, he entered the Department of Letters and Science, of the University of Wisconsin, where in 1900 he was graduated with the degree of B. L. Returning home, he spent a year of vigorous work on the home farm, and then became assistant cashier of the First National Bank. January 1, 1915, he succeeded Ryland Southworth as cashier. He later became a director in the First National Bank of Fairchild, Wis. As a public-spirited citizen he has served as treasurer of the Mondovi School District, of the Buffalo County Agricultural Association, and of the Mon- dovi Red Cross Society. He is also treasurer of the Mondovi Dairyman's Association. In the Great War he has taken his part in serving on vari- ous committees, and is chairman of Buffalo county in the War Savings Stamps Drive.
Thomas Dillon, who takes high rank among the hardy and industrious pioneers of northern Buffalo county, was born in Ireland, and was brought to America by his parents when still an infant. He early turned his atten- tion to tilling the soil, and as a young man engaged in the nursery business near Binghampton, Broome county, New York. His nature, however, craved the wider opportunities of a newer country, and in the winter of
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1857-58 he came to the upper Mississippi region, looking for a suitable location. He was directed to the Beef River valley in Buffalo county, Wis- consin, and after looking over the land he fixed upon a location in what is now Mondovi township, where he obtained a tract of 720 acres in sections 13, 14, 24 and 36. The deed, signed by President James Buchanan and J. Albright of the Land Department, is still one of the cherished possessions of the family. Making a contract with James Cathcart and Delos Bump, of Mondovi village, to clear and break a portion of the land, Mr. Dillon returned to New York to close out his interests there. In the spring of 1859 he brought his family here and took up his residence permanently on his Buffalo County farm. Here he erected a log house for his family, and crude sheds for his stock, and started his life as a pioneer in a new country. His experiences in subduing the wilderness would form the mate- rial for an interesting volume. A thorough believer in the future of the Northwest, and an advocate of constant improvement in agricultural con- ditions, he worked early and late, and was ever the leader in every move that had for its object the betterment of the community. His log house was soon replaced with a two-story farm residence, the first frame house on the south side of Beef River in this vicinity. The other improvements also kept pace with the progress of the times, and when he retired in 1886, he had a well-tilled, well-fenced, well-equipped and well-stocked farm as good as any in the county. After turning the farm over to his son, James, in 1886, he continued to make his home there until his lamented death, April 17, 1892. His life was a useful one, well and worthily led, and he had the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. Thomas Dillon had nine children, five of whom died in infancy. The two eldest were born in Broome County, New York, and the three youngest in Buffalo County, Wisconsin. By his first wife, Lavina Hulbert, he had one son, Curtis, born Sept. 4, 1852, and now a farmer of Barron County, Wisconsin. By his second wife, Amelia Hulbert, he had three sons and one daughter, Frank H., James, Lucy, and Thomas A. Frank H. was born June 29, 1857, and in early life engaged in the mercantile business in Mondovi, later becoming cashier of the First National Bank of Mondovi, which he helped to found. He died Jan. 1, 1892. James was born Feb. 6, 1862, lives in Mondovi, and is, together with his sons, still engaged in agri- culture. Lucy was born Feb. 14, 1864, and is the wife of S. N. Stanley, a farmer of Mondovi Township. Thomas A. was born Jan. 15, 1869, and died in Silver City, New Mexico, after a year's residence there, Jan. 27, 1905.
James Dillon, well known throughout the state as an agriculturist and breeder, and honored in Buffalo County for his work along educational and patriotic lines, was born on the historic Dillon homestead, in section 13, Mondovi Township, Feb. 26, 1862. He was reared to agricultural pursuits and thus acquired that love of farm life which has since characterized his career. At the age of eighteen he entered the general store of his brother, Frank H., at Mondovi, with which he was connected for several years, in the meantime, however, attending school at Ripon College, Ripon, Wiscon- sin, taking charge of the Dillon & Schilling general store at Fairfield, Wis.,
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and also working at times on the parental farm. In 1884 he went to what was then Dakota Territory, and pre-empted 160 acres of land, about a mile from what is now Bradley, in Clark County, South Dakota. There he had all the experiences of a pioneer, living under the crudest conditions, and carrying his own supplies on his back from Clark or Henry, each about twenty miles distant. But he persevered in his effort, proved up, and obtained full possession. In 1885 he returned home, and in December of the following year assumed full charge of the home farm, which upon the death of his father in 1892 he purchased, continuing to make a home for his mother until her death in 1906. On this place he continued the im- provements started by his father, adding a number of buildings, augment- ing the equipment, and remodeling and practically rebuilding the barn. The house, erected by his father, is a comfortable homelike structure; the barn is spacious, with full stone basement, and all modern appliances, while the other buildings are fully in keeping. Of the 470 acres in the estate, 250 are under the plow, and the remainder in timber and pasture land. As a general farmer, stock raiser and dairyman his activities have been varied. His chief specialty has been the breeding of Shropshire sheep. One of the first in the county to raise pure-blooded sheep of this breed, he has gained a wealth of experience through 25 years of continued study and experiment, and there are probably few men in the state who exceed him in knowledge in this line. His rams are in wide demand, and his exhibits at various fairs have won many prizes. His registered and graded Jersey cattle are justly sources of pride, and in recent years he is giving more attention to the breeding of Percheron horses. He is in fact a leader in every branch of agriculture for which this region is suited. Active as he is in these lines, it is natural that he should have allied himself with various farm associations. He is president of the Buffalo County Agri- cultural Society, and of the Buffalo County Jersey Breeders' Association. For fifteen years he has been in charge of the Swine Department of the Wisconsin State Fair. In appreciation of his work, the College of Agri- culture of the University of Wisconsin conferred upon him in 1918 a cer- tificate of recognition for efficiency in agricultural activity. In public life he has likewise taken a prominent part. For six years he was chairman of the town board, one of which he was chairman of the county board. For fifteen years he was town clerk. As clerk of the Mondovi City School District for twelve years, he has been an important factor in the educa- tional life of the younger generation, and in acknowledgment of this the Class of 1917, Mondovi High School, dedicated to him its annual issue of the "Mirror," characterizing him as one who, "with his public spirit of usefulness, has helped to make possible the educational system of the Mondovi School, under which we have secured a larger capacity for living." During the Great War, Mr. Dillon has done more than his share of patriotic work, and has devoted much of his time to the various "drives" necessary to the successful outcome of that conflict. In October, 1917, Mr. Dillon moved to the village of Mondovi. His sons, John, Harry, and Fred, are associated with him under the firm name of James Dillon & Sons, and to them he has turned over the active management of the home farm. James
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Dillon was married Dec. 16, 1886, to Addie Fuller, daughter of Stephen G. and Sarah (Ellis) Fuller, of Mondovi, and this union has been blessed with four children : John, Harry, Fred, and Margaret. John was born Nov. 26, 1887, married Emily Holmes, of Kadoka, South Dakota, and is on the home farm. Harry was born March 25, 1890, graduated from the Agricultural College of the University of Wisconsin in 1913, and took up work on the home farm. Having entered the United States service in the War with Germany, he was graduated from the Second Officers' Training Camp at Ft. Sheridan, becoming a second lieutenant, and has been reported killed while in command of Company C, 26th Infantry, Oct. 2, 1918, in the Argonne sector. Fred was born Aug. 29, 1898, and graduated from the Mondovi High School in 1917. Now in the Students' Army Training Corps at Madison, Wis. Margaret, born June 14, 1905, is still at her studies. The family faith is that of the First Congregational Church of Mondovi, of which Mr. Dillon has been a deacon a number of years.
Edwin F. Ganz, of Alma, was born in the town of Waumandee, June 13, 1859. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Johann Kasper Ganz, who came from Switzerland in 1857, were among the early settlers of the Garden Valley and did their share in assisting in the development of that region. The subject of this sketch, after completing his education in the public schools and the Platteville Normal, taught for fourteen years in the schools of Buffalo County. September 1, 1887, he was married to Kunigunda Wald, of the town of Alma. To them five children were born, one of whom, Armin Arnold, died in 1892, aged one year. Of those surviving, the two oldest, Rosalie Agnes and Olga Louise, have entered the U. S. Army Nurses' Reserve, both serving their country in that capacity at Camp Grant, Illinois. Alma May, the youngest daughter, is teacher of Domestic Science in the Buffalo County Training School for Teachers. Armin Edwin, the only surviving son, is associated with his father in conducting the stock farm known as "Buena Vista," bordering on the City of Alma. This farm, which was purchased and fitted up to gratify the wishes and inclinations of the junior member of the firm, which ran entirely to agri- cultural pursuits, is the home of a fine herd of pure-bred Aberdeen Angus cattle, which are a source of pride and satisfaction to their owners. Duroc Jersey swine are also kept on the farm and some choice animals of that breed have just been added. In 1890, Mr. Ganz bought the Buffalo County Journal, published at Alma, which he conducted until 1913, enlarging and otherwise improving the paper in many ways. In 1897, he was appointed postmaster at Alma, which position he held until 1913. He was, for a number of years, chairman of the Republican County Committee and repeatedly represented the county at State, Congressional and Senatorial conventions. For over twenty years past he has held the position of Court Commissioner. He is a member of the Training School board and has also served on the school board and in the city council of Alma. In 1917, he was appointed by Governor Philipp as a member of the Selective Service Board, in which capacity he served to the end of the war. He is also chairman of the County Council of Defense. In 1918, he was nominated and elected, without opposition, to represent the district, com-
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prising the counties of Buffalo and Pepin, in the state legislature. He has always taken an active interest in the advancement of education and agriculture, as well as in all other matters pertaining to the public welfare. In connection with the different positions of trust that he has held, it has always been his aim to so shape his course as to serve the best interests of the greatest number. Mrs. Kunigunda Wald Ganz is the daughter of Ulrich and Agnes (Ruedi) Wald, the pioneers, natives of Canton Graubuenden, Switzerland, who were married in Sauk City, Wis., lived for a while in Grant County, and came to Buffalo County with a party of relatives in 1855. The Wald home was always open, all the people in the neighborhood lived as one family, and anxious to surround themselves with people of similar inclinations, they encouraged all the young Swiss they knew to settle in their neighborhood. Jacob Wald, in particular, an uncle of Mrs. Ganz, was active in locating newcomers on land. In fact, to the efforts of the Wald family is mainly due the fact that the town of Alma is so largely populated by settlers of Swiss descent. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ulrich Wald, the oldest died in infancy, while one son, August, died in 1898, aged 25, and one daughter, Marie, died in 1917, aged 46. Those surviving are: Conrad, Ulrich, John, Jacob, Peter, and Anton Wald and Mrs. Henry Lehman, Mrs. E. F. Ganz, and Nini Wald, all residing in the city and town of Alma, near where their ancestors located over sixty years ago. Of Mr. Wald's brothers who came here with him, the younger, Peter, still lives with his children at Carbondale. Colorado. where he went with his family over thirty years ago, while Jacob, the oldest, died in 1914, aged 87. Mr. Wald died in 1883, aged 53, while his faithful life's companion, who lived to the ripe old age of 82, died in 1914.
Johann Kasper Ganz, one of the pioneers of the town of Waumandee, was born March 9, 1812, at Embrach, Canton Zurich, Switzerland, and was educated in the public schools there. His father died when the subject of this sketch was but four years old, and he went to live with an uncle, who was a miller and drover. Mr. Ganz well remembered the famine which prevailed in Europe after the Napoleonic wars and reached its height in 1817. He often related how, on playing in the mill after school, his play- mates used to help themselves to handfuls of bran from an open bin, and, considering it a lark, he joined them in doing it, but when his uncle in- formed him that they were driven by hunger to do this, the lunch which always awaited him at the house and was generally overlooked by him, was thereafter always accepted by him and divided among his hungry play- mates. On growing up he learned the trade of harness-maker, saddler and upholsterer, and after serving his apprenticeship, traveled as a journeyman, covering the greater part of Switzerland and a large part of Germany. The chicaneries that he was subjected to by petty officers of the last named country bred in him a bitter hatred for its governing classes, which was accentuated by the atrocities practiced by the Hohenzollern dynasty in 1848 and reached its climax when, in 1857, he was called to the border in defense of his country against a threatened Prussian invasion. He served in the Swiss army as a sharpshooter and took part in the suppression of an attempted secession of seven cantons in 1847. . In 1857, with his
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second wife, nee Louisa Kuederli, and four children of a former marriage, he emigrated to America, arriving at La Crosse in the spring of that year. After a short stay there, he came to Waumandee and bought a quarter section of land in the heart of that valley. Here he went to work erecting a log cabin and breaking the sod for future crops. He shared with his neighbors all the responsibilities and hardships of pioneer life and cooper- ated with them in the material and social advancement of the community, joning at an early day with a number of his Swiss neighbors, among them John and Conrad Ochsner, Conrad Ulrich, Henry Waelty, Henry Manz, Ulrich and Henry Knecht, and John Farner, together with a few of other nationalities, in establishing a school modelled after the village schools of Switzerland. The schoolhouse which they built was a two-story frame building, the second story being divided into dwelling rooms for the occu- pation of the teacher, and at different times used as such, a move which resulted in giving the pupils of that district educational advantages rather in advance of those enjoyed by other rural communities, as some very good teachers were induced to come there and remain for years. This is mentioned because it was the only attempt of this kind in the county and bore good fruits. Of the children from his first marriage, the oldest son, Arnold, enlisted as a volunteer in Co. K, 48th Regiment, Wis. Infantry, and died of typhoid fever contracted in the service at Ft. Scott, Kansas. The oldest daughter, Mrs. Anna Maria Doenier, died at Arcadia, Wis., Nov. 12, 1918, aged 63, while those surviving are Mrs. John Farner, of Cochrane, and Alfred Ganz, of Fountain City. Of those from his second marriage, all of whom were born in the town of Waumandee, the oldest daughter, Louisa (Mrs. John Schmitz), died in 1895, aged 38, while Lydia, the sec- ond youngest daughter, died in 1893, aged 26. The oldest son, Edwin, resides at Alma, Casper resides at Arcadia, and the youngest, Adolf, also resides at Alma, while the surviving daughters are Mrs. Alwina Farner, of Gilmanton, and Mrs. F. L. Mattausch, of Rosalia, Wash. Mr. Ganz died in 1875 and is buried in the town of Waumandee, where he wrought and labored as a pioneer, and there rests also she who so ably assisted him and stood by him, her demise having occurred in 1913.
Edward Lees, pioneer, whose life and work are interwoven in the foundations of Buffalo County history, was born in Scotland, where he was reared to sturdy manhood. In 1848, with his wife, Catherine Dobie, and three children, Robert, Alexander, and George, he set out to try his fortunes amid the wider opportunities of the new world. After a voyage of 48 days aboard a sailing vessel, the family landed in this country and found their way to Ottawa, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, where for a time Mr. Lees found various employment. While thus engaged he devoted his spare time to the study of law in a law office, and in due time was admitted to the bar. A man of superior attainments and sterling worth, in a small community he soon attracted the attention of his fellow men, and in 1853 he was sent to the assembly as a representative from that county, an unusual record for a man who had been in this country but five years. While serving in the assembly, he heard of the tracts of fertile lands in Buffalo County, and at once made his plans to cast his lot here.
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Accordingly, in 1855, he landed at Fountain City with his family, and after looking about for a while, secured some good land three miles east of that place. In 1856, when the town of Belvidere was created, he was elected its first chairman, and upon taking his seat as a member of the county board, was named as chairman of that body. In a community where nearly all the pioneers were people of alien tongue and customs, his legal knowledge was of much importance in shaping the official des- tinies of the county. When Cross was set off from Belvidere the following year, he was made its chairman, and continued in office for many years, likewise continuing his position as chairman of the county board. Soon after his arrival, he had formed a partnership with Ferdinand Fetter, and with him established a law office in Fountain City, continuing, however, to devote much of his attention to developing his farm. He was elected district attorney in 1859 and served until 1867, and during his term of office in 1860 endeavored to enlarge the boundaries of Buffalo county by proving that the creation of Trempealeau county had been illegal. Elected to the office again in 1871, he served four years more. In 1875 and 1876, he served in the assembly of which he had been a pioneer member twenty- three years before. After a long and useful career, he died on his farm at the age of seventy-four years, one of the most honored and respected citizens in Buffalo county. His good wife lived to be seventy-nine. They left six children, Robert, Alexander, George, John, Isabella, and Mary.
Robert Lees, for nearly three decades county judge of Buffalo county, which office he was honorably holding at the time of his lamented death, was born at Coatbridge, near Glasgow, Scotland, July 3, 1842, son of Edward and Catherine (Dobie) Lees. He was still a young boy when he was brought to Waukesha county, this state, in 1848 and to Buffalo county in 1855. Reared in a pioneer community, he received such education as the district schools afforded, and supplemented this first by association with his learned father and later by wide reading and observation. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he enlisted in Co. H, 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and with that company saw active service in the Iron Brigade. Wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, in the heroic charge of that brigade, he was sent to the hospital, where he was mustered out July 16, 1864. Incapacitated for farm work, he returned home and devoted the next twelve years of his life largely to educational work, teaching in various rural schools and in 1864-5 and again in 1869-71 serving efficiently as county superintendent. In 1873 he represented his district in the state assembly, and in 1887 and 1889 in the state senate. In the meantime he had given up his educational work, and having been admitted to the bar, opened an office in Alma. As a lawyer he was able and conscientious, and though an excellent court pleader, it is said that he settled more litigation in his office than was settled in the district court. In 1881 he was elected county judge and continued in office the remainder of his life. He also served in various local positions, including excellent work on the Alma school board. His death, Sept. 21, 1908, was widely mourned. Robert Lees was married March 4, 1865, to Mary Baertsch, who was born at Galena, Illinois, April 28, 1845, daughter of Andrew and Mary (Perry)
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Baertsch, earliest pioneers of Buffalo county. This union was blessed with six children: Edward, Mary, Isabella, Andrew, Alice and Cora. Edward is now on the supreme bench of Minnesota and has recently moved to St. Paul. Mary is a retired school teacher. Isabella is the wife of Norman Fetter, St. Paul attorney. Andrew is a leading attorney of La Crosse. Alice is dead. Cora is the wife of Robert Gasell, a well-known educator who holds the degree of Ph.D. from Washington University at St. Louis, Missouri.
Edward Lees, commissioner of the Supreme Court of Minnesota, was born at Fountain City, Wisconsin, Dec. 1, 1865, son of Robert and Mary (Baertsch) Lees. He was educated in the Alma schools and in 1886 gradu- ated in law from the University of Wisconsin. With this preparation he moved to Winona and started practicing in the law office of W. A. Finkeln- burg. In 1895 he formed a partnership with M. B. Webber in the law firm of Webber & Lees, one of the best known firms in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In 1916 he was tendered the appointment as judge of the Third Minnesota District Court, but declined the honor. Nov. 12, 1918, he was appointed commissioner of the Supreme Court of Minnesota, and soon after moved to St. Paul. For many years Mr. Lees was a leader in Winona in all civic, philanthropic and patriotic work. He was associated with the Margaret Simpson Home, the Board of Park Commissioners, the Winona Park and Drive Association, and other similar activities. He was director of two campaigns of the Red Cross for funds in Winona county, and was connected in a legal capacity with many commercial and industrial enterprises there. For twenty years he was a member of the Minnesota State Board of Law Examiners. Mr. Lees was married Oct. 9, 1894, to Katherine E. Ernst of St. Louis, daughter of Gustave and Johanna (Ficke) Ernst, and has two daughters, Flora Elizabeth and Jean.
Lieut. Benjamin Harrison Mueller .- When the future history of this country-of the world-is written, the great catastrophe from which we have just emerged will stand out in bold relief, for nothing that ever hap- pened in the way of a struggle between belligerent peoples can in any way be compared with this great world's war, and one need not be a prophet to foresee that nothing ever brought about such colossal changes as will result from this gigantic upheaval. Since millions of our best young men took part in this war for the liberation of mankind, directly or indirectly, and since among them there were hundreds from Buffalo county, ready to bring that supreme sacrifice which a few of them were chosen to make, it seems not unmeet that in honor of Buffalo county's sons who served as soldiers and sailors, and her daughters who served at the front and in cantonements, as well as aboard ship, a fit tribute be paid to the memory of him who was first to give up his life in the defense of his country on the field of battle, namely, to die of wounds received in action, Lieut. Benjamin Harrison Mueller.
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