USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 15
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Prof. Stephen H. Carpenter, deceased. for ten years prior to his death occupied the chair of English Literature in the University of Wisconsin, and in the larger portion of an active life spent in the city of Madison he became well known and highly respected by the citizens thereof. Professor Carpenter was born in Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., August 7, 1831, and his parents were Cal- vin G. and Laura (Haskins) Carpenter, both of whom were natives of New York and spent their lives in that state, the father having been a Baptist minister of considerable note. The parents died at Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y. Prof. Carpenter received his edu- cation in his native state. was graduated from the University of Rochester, and in 1852 he came to Madison and accepted a position as instructor in the University of Wisconsin. After officiating one year in that capacity he retired from the chair he occupied and be- came the editor of a periodical, known as the "Western Fireside." He edited that and other publications until 1859, and then went to Missouri for the purpose of teaching Latin in a seminary at Pal- myra, in that state. But the breaking out of the Civil War and the active military operations in that section caused the institution to be closed during the period of hostilites, and after one year spent there Mr. Carpenter returned to his home in Madison. Soon after his re- turn he was appointed clerk of the city of Madison and filled that
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position until 1868, when he again became an instructor in the University of Wisconsin, occupying the chair of English Litera- ture from that time until his death, December 7, 1878. In politics Prof. Carpenter was an old time Whig, but after the disintegration of that party he generally gave his support to nominees of the Democratic faith, although he was never what could be called an active politician or an "offensive partisan." Aside from the office of city clerk, mentioned above, he also served on the Madison school board for a number of years. His religious faith was expressed in his membership in the Baptist church, and although he was never a regularly ordained minister he preached a great deal in the vari- ous churches of Madison and surrounding country. Prof. Carpen- ter chose as his helpmate and companion on the journey of life, Miss Frances Curtis, who was also a native of Herkimer county, N. Y., being born in the village of Frankfort, and the marraige occurred on May 14, 1856. Mrs. Carpenter's father was Ira Cur- tis, who was born in Connecticut, and in early life followed the mer- cantile business. In 1853 he migrated to Wisconsin and bought a farm in Richland county, where he followed agricultural pursuits for a number of years, finally moving to the city of Madison, where he and his good wife both died at the residence of their daughter, Mrs. Carpenter. The maiden name of the mother was Nancy Myers, and she was a native of the state of New York. Although born in the same state and county, Prof. Carpenter and wife had never met until they took up their residence in Wisconsin. They saw Madison grow from a small collection of houses to a preten- tious city, and Mrs. Carpenter recalls that when she first came here there was but one little church in the village. Her husband built the house in which they still reside, at 424 Wisconsin Avenue, and he planted the seeds from which grew the stately trees that now stand in front of the residence. Prof. Carpenter was a member of the Masonic order and of a leading college fraternity.
James Carrison, a well-known and greatly respected member of Rutland's farming community, is a native of England. He is a pio- neer of Dane county and his life is typical of that of the fine old settlers of Wisconsin, and of whom so many started with only their willing hands as capital and have made the state what it is and inci- dentally gained for themselves a prosperous livelihood and many warm friends. Mr. Carrison's parents, John and Elizabeth (Car- ter) Carrison, were born in Cambridgeshire. England, and spent their childhood, youth and early married life in their native village. In 1854, they embarked for America and came west as far as Rut-
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land, bringing with them their yonng family. Mr. Carrison ob- tained one hundred and forty acres of wild land, which he imme- diately set to work to improve and it became their permanent home, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Their family were brought up in the Baptist church and of their five children, four are living. The oldest son is James, the subject of this sketch. George is a retired farmer, who makes his home in Oregon, Wis., Mary is dead. William resides in Osage, Iowa. Sarah, the young- est, makes Orleans, Neb. her home. James was born in Ramsby, Cambridgeshire, England, November 5, 1832, came to America with his parents when he was twenty-two years old but had little opportunity to go to school, as it was necessary for him to work on the farm. Until 1864 he lived with his parents and worked very hard helping to clear and improve their farm. He then bought his farm in section 14, Rutland township, and set to work upon that farm which had been very little improved. In 1859, he married and he and his wife worked together to make a comfortable home of their new property. In this they have been very successful and in 1886, they retired from active work to enjoy the fruits of their many years of industry. Mrs. Carrison was Miss Mary Ann Tibbit, daughter of Edward and Ann (Roth) Tibbit of Norfolk, Eng., and is one of a family of ten sons and daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbit came to America in 1854 and settled on a farm in Rutland. Mrs. Tibbit lives in Stoughton and his been a widow since 1889. Mary Ann is the oldest daughter; Jane resides in Mitchell county, Iowa; George in Mason City, Iowa; Becky in Northwood, Iowa; Fred- rick is a farmer in the town of Dunn, Dane county ; Sarah, Edward, Ruth and an infant child died; Susan lives in Rutland. Mr. and Mrs. Carrison have had three children. Charlotte married Peter O. Thompson, a farmer of Deerfield, Dane county, Wis. Twelve children make up their family circle; Henry, Ann, William. Emma, James, Herman, George, Clara, Chester, Raymond, Martha and Peter, Jr. Martha Carrison, the second child, is the wife of Seth Stockton, a farmer of Dunkirk and has two children, Irene, and Leslie. Annie died in infancy. Mr. Carrison is a Republican in his political sympathies, has been school treasurer and held other local offices. He is a member of the Baptist church, which his family also attend. His children have been educated in the Rut- land and Stoughton schools, in which he has taken an interest since the early days. While Mr. and Mrs. Carrison suffered many of the hardships of a young and wild country, they have likewise reaped its rewards.
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MR. AND MRS. ORSON CARSKADEN.
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Orson Carskaden was the owner of a large and valuable farm in the town of York. He was born at Salt Point, Dutchess county, N. Y., August 17, 1818, where his father, James Carskaden, was a wheelwright. James Carskaden was a native of Dutchess county and was there educated and married. His wife was Miss Harriet Adsit of Dutchess county, and nine children were born to the mar- riage, of whom two are living. Mr. Carskaden was of Scotch an- cestry and his father came to the state of New York in colonial days and served his country in the Revolutionary War under General Wayne. Orson Carskaden was educated in Dutchess county, N. Y. , and came to Wisconsin in 1848. He purchased an eighty acre farm in Dane county, improved it in every way and added to it one hundred and twenty acres, making a farm of two hundred acres in a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Carskaden raised consider- able stock and devoted special attention to his Durham cattle and Poland China hogs. He was a Republican and held office as treas- urer and supervisor in York township. For years Mr. Carskaden was in the Masonic order and was the oldest member of the Water- loo Lodge, No. 63, F. and A. M. He also belonged to the Water- loo Lodge of the I. O. O. F. during its entire existence. In Novem- ber, 1839, he married Miss Lovina Bashford, who was born in the state of New York in 1822, the daughter of George and Tamina (Woodward) Bashford, who came to Dane county from New York in the early days and spent the residue of their lives in the town of Medina. Mrs. Carskaden died May 12, 1876. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Carskaden; four are deceased, Mary, Ta- mina, Annette and William; Harriet, Laura and George are the surviving members of the family. In May, 1879, Mr. Carskaden was married a second time, his wife being Miss Amarilla Dodge, daughter of Willis Dodge, elsewhere mentioned in this work. Mr. Carskaden led a long and interesting life and took an active part in the work which built up a great commonwealth in the half century of his life in Wisconsin. He died November 23, 1905.
Michael Cashen, (deceased), was born in Ireland, January 2, 1835. His mother died in Ireland, when he was a baby, and his father, Anthony Cashen, afterward came to America and settled in Ver- mont, where he spent the remainder of his life, living to the ex- treme old age of ninety-three years. The subject of this sketch was educated in Ireland and came first to Vermont, where he was married, May 2, 1855, to Miss Margaret Dempsey, the daughter of James and Nancy (Foley) Dempsey. They came to Wisconsin the same year, and the following year came to Madison. Mr.
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Cashen bought two farms near Richland Center, Richland county, but not finding farming a congenial occupation, he sold them, and returned to the business which he had been engaged in in Vermont, before coming west, that of yard-master for the railroad. He subsequently owned a farm in the town of Blooming Grove but never lived on it. He occupied the position of yard-master for forty-two years, working up to one week of the time of his death, which occurred April 11, 1897. Mr. Cashen was in his earlier life a Democrat, but of later years voted with the Republican party ; he was a member of St. Raphael's Catholic church, and belonged to the St. Raphael's benevolent society, and to the Catholic Knights. Mrs. Cashen was seventeen years old when she came with her pa- rents to the United States; after her marraige to Mr. Cashen, in Burlington, Vt, her parents accompanied herself and husband to Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Cashen have had thirteen children: the three oldest boys are dead ; there are five sons living, James, John, Michael, Harry and Gregory, and five danghters; Mrs. P. Regan, Katherine, Mrs. Francis Cox, Margaret and Mrs. Bessie Dugan. The children were all born in Madison, except Mrs. Regan who was born in Portage. When Mr. and Mrs. Cashen came west much of the land lying between the lakes was swamp land, and they saw its evolution from that state into the beautiful city of to- day. Mrs. Cashen owns her comfortable home at 402 W. Wilson St., and other property in the city.
Hon. John B. Cassoday, chief justice of the supreme court of Wisconsin, is the distinguished successor of a long line of jurists who have, in something over the half century since the establish- ment of that branch of the judiciary in the state, handed down that long line of decisions which have given Wisconsin its high rank in the courts of last resort. He was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., July 7, 1830, and was left fatherless at the age of three years. His mother returned with him to her own people in Tioga. county, Pennsylvania, and the story of his early life is one of poverty and privation, which only strong native powers would have enabled him to overcome, and to have insured, despite hard- ships, that success which has merited and received the highest recognition. His early education was attained at the district schools at irregular intervals while he worked for his board at the same time. He took advantage, however, of every opportunity to increase his store of knowledge and managed to supplement the meager instruction of the country school of the early days with one term at the school in the village of Tioga, and another at the
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Wellsborough Academy. At the time he was seventeen years old and during the next four years, he crystallized, his elementary learning into more exact form by teaching, when opportunity of- fered, and, meanwhile,, worked at whatever employment could be obtained. Later he was able to spend four years in academic study, two at Knoxville Academy, Pennsylvania, and two at Al- fred Academy, New York, and was graduated from the latter. He spent one year at the University of Michigan and later entered the law school of Albany, N. Y., and read law with an attorney of Wellsborough, Pa. The decade immediately preceding the Civil War was one of active immigration to the comparatively new region in the upper Mississippi valley, then known as the North- west, and the young attorney followed the line of march of these soldiers of fortune, and coming to Wisconsin in 1857, settled in Janesville, and continued his study of law under the direction of Judge Conger, one of the leading attorneys of that time and place. The following year he became a partner in a local firm under the name of Bennett, Cassoday and Gibbs, and continued this associa- tion until January, 1866. The two years following he carried on his practice alone, and then formed a partnership with Mr. Mer- rill which lasted until 1873, when the latter retired from practice. The firm of Cassoday and Carpenter succeeded that of Cassoday and Merrill and continued until November, 1880, when, a vacancy having occurred on the supreme bench by the death of Chief Just- ice Ryan, in October, and the promotion of Associate Justice Cole to that office, John B. Cassoday was appointed by Governor Smith to fill the same. In April, 1881, in April, 1889, and again in 1899 Judge Cassoday was elected, each time without opposition. In 1895 he was promoted to the position of chief justice to succeed Hon. Harlow G. Orton. In 1898 he was made president of the Bar Association of Wisconsin. Judge Cassoday's political record previ- ous to his advancement to the supreme bench was one of active. though temperate support of the Republican party, with which he has been affiliated since its organization. He was a delegate to the national Republican convention in Baltimore, which renominated Lincoln in 1864, and served upon the committee of credentials. He was elected to the assembly in 1864 and again in 1876. both times filling important positions, the first time on the railroad and judiciary committees and the second as speaker of the assembly. serving in each position with credit to himself and satisfaction to his party. He was chairman of the Republican state convention for 1879 and entered actively into the campaign. The following
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year he was delegate -at-large to the national convention at Chi- aocg and chairman of the Wisconsin delegation. He presented . the name of the late E. B. Washburne as Wisconsin's choice for the chief executive and supported his nomination by a brilliant speech ; and later with fifteen other Wisconsin delegates broke the deadlock in the convention by announcing the transfer of their votes to James A. Garfield. He took a very active part in the presidential cam- paign of that year as he had frequently done on other similar oc- casions.
As a practicing attorney, Mr. Cassoday was one of the ablest and most successful in the state. Endowed with a well-balanced, keen and analytical mind, he brought to the work of his profession in addition, an abundance of hard work and painstaking industry. These qualities, combined to his ever courteous treatment of an opponent, and his conscientious attitude toward court and client, not only earned for him the sincerest respect of the profession, but brought him a great volume of business during his twenty- three years of general practice. A few of the more important cases in which he was engaged are the following: Jackman will case, 26 Wisconsin. 104; Chapin will case, 32 Wisconsin, 557; Culver vs. Palmer, Smith vs. Ford, 48 Wisconsin, 115; Rowell vs. Harris Manufacturing Co., and Sargeant Manufacturing Co. vs. Woodruff, the two last being patent cases in the Federal courts. To the bench, Justice Cassoday brought a well-stored mind and untiring energy. His decisions have been characterized by keen analysis, patient search for all the underlying facts, and a mas- terly grouping of details, which have caused his opinions to be quoted as authority throughout the land. He is widely known to the profession as an authority on the important subjects of consti- tutional law and wills; a few of the opinions he has written which bear on these subjects. and which have been widely quoted in the courts of other states and by well-known text writers, are, con- stitutional law: Wisconsin Central Railway vs. Taylor County, 52 Wis., 37; Baker vs. State, 54 Wis., 368; Cathcart vs. Comstock, 56 Wis., 390; Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company vs. Langlade County, 56 Wis., 614; State ex. rel. vs. Forest County, 74 Wis., 610; State ex rel. vs. Ryan, 70 Wis. 676 ; J. S. Keator Lum- ber Company vs. St. Croix Boom Company, 72 Wis., 62; State ex. rel. vs. District Board, 76 Wis., 203; State ex. rel. vs. Mann, 76 Wis., 469 ; State ex rel. vs. Cunningham, 82 Wis., 39 and 83 Wis., 90; State ex rel. vs. Stewart, 60 Wis., 587: On the subject of wills ; Will of Mary P. Ladd, 60 Wis., 187; Scott vs. West, 63 Wis.,
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529; Newman vs. Waterman, 63 Wis., 612; will of ward, 70 Wis., 251; Ford vs. Ford, 70 Wis .. 19, and the same case, 72 Wis., 621; will of Slinger, 72 Wis., 22; will of Ehle, 73 Wis., 445; Baker vs. Estate of McLeod, 79 Wis., 534; Burnham vs. Burnham, 79 Wis., 557; and Saxton vs. Webber, 83 Wis., 617.
In addition to his official duties, Justice Cassoday has found time to lecture for many years to the college of law of the University of Wisconsin, and has thus found means to impress upon the young men of that great institution his views of the important topics of constitutional law and wills. His well known work entitled "Cassoday on Wills" is used as a text book in the University of Wisconsin law college, and in several other law schools. No stu- dent who has ever taken work under Justice Cassoday has failed to be impressed by the profundity of his learning, or his sym- pathetic kindness as a man. He was universally beloved by all his students for his many lovable qualities as a friend and teacher, while all respected him for his scholarly attainments.
Justice Cassoday is the author of various papers which he has prepared for literary societies and other learned bodies from time to time, among which are, The Law and Lawyers, Lord Mansfield, The American Lawyer, American Citizenship, Our Magna Charta, John Scott, and John Marshall; James Kent and Joseph Story, in Yale Law Journal, volume 12, pages 146-153, and Mathew Hale Carpenter, about to appear in a book containing sketches of sixty of the most eminent American jurists, who died prior to 1900.
John Catlin, one of the earliest pioneers of Madison. was born in Vermont in 1803, and was admitted to the bar in the east in 1833. He was clerk of the territorial supreme court of Wisconsin at its first session in Belmont, 1836, and continued in that capacity in Madison until 1839. In February, 1837, when the Hon. Moses M. Strong, of Mineral Point, began to plat the town site of the fut- ure capital in the neighborhood of the Capital Park, he was assisted in the work by John Catlin. On February 15, 1837, a postoffice was first established in the town of Madison, and John Catlin was appointed the first postmaster. Owing to the lack of mail facilities, the office was not opened for business until May 27, succeeding, and then the first mail was received and distributed in Eben Peck's log house on lot 8, block 107. August 20, 1842, Mr. Catlin was again appointed postmaster, serving until December 28, 1844, when he was succeeded by his brother. Steptoe Catlin. When first ap- pointed, Mr. Catlin employed the half-breed, St. Cyr, to build him a log house where the present postoffice now stands, north corner
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of Mifflin street and Wisconsin avenue. This was the first attempt to erect a permanent building, which was not roofed and finished until summer. (The Story of Madison, by Reuben Gold Thwaites.) Mr. Catlin was admitted to practice before the supreme court in 1839, and was the first lawyer in the county and the first district attorney, (1839). He was a member of the first "Board of Visi- tors" of the University of Wisconsin, and was chosen secretary at the first and only session of the board, December 1, 1838, at which session the legislature was requested to at once appropriate the congressional land grant of two townships for the benefit of the proposed university. He served as clerk of the territorial house of representatives. 1838-1846, and was secretary of the territory, 1846- 48 ; was president of the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Com- pany for a number of years, being the first railroad in the state; was the first Dane county judge. as distinguished from probate judge, and served from January 1, 1850 to October 31, 1850; was a member of the territorial council, 1845; a life member of the State Historical Society ; charter member and first Master of Madi- son Lodge No. 5, Masons, 1844; one of the incorporators of the Madison Mutual Insurance Company, 1851 ; was one of the organ- izers of the Madison Select Female school (May, 1842), which was maintained only a year, and an incorporator and first president of the Madison Female academy, 1846. In 1846 he started the first abstract office in Dane county and the second in the state, in association with E. M. Williamson. The first church society or -. ganized in the village of Madison was one wherein sixteen of the leading pioneers, including John Catlin, unite to form a parish of the Protestant Episcopal church, 1839. Mr. Catlin died at Eliza- beth, N. J., August 4, 1874.
Chandler Burnell Chapman was born in Middlebury, Vt., July 7. 1815. He received his earlier education in his native state and was graduated from a College of Medicine in the state of New York where he was married to Miss Mary Eugenia Pease in June, 1837. The young couple settled in Trumbull county. Ohio, where Doctor Chapman practiced his profession until May. 1846, when he came to Madison, Wisconsin, then a settlement of less than four hun- dred persons. He accomplished the journey in one week's time by means of private conveyance, steamboat and stage. In addition to his practice of medicine and surgery in Madison, Doctor Chap- man devoted a part of his time to his duties as professor of chem- istry and other studies at Miami and Cincinnati Colleges of Medi- cine. At the outbreak of the Civil War he accompanied the Sixth
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Wisconsin Regiment as surgeon and later was appointed surgeon of the famous Iron Brigade, which contained among others the Second, Sixth, and Seventh Wisconsin Regiments. During the later years of the war Doctor Chapman served as medical director of the Army of the Rio Grande under General Heron,-his entire service covering the period between June, 1861 and August, 1864.
Dr. James A. Jackson. one of the most eminent surgeons of south- ern Wisconsin in speaking of Doctor Chapman said: "I have the happiest recollection of my old friend Dr. Chandler B. Chapman. I remember how in my enthusiasm I looked up to the old doctor as a monument of skill and wisdom and how I earnestly hoped that the day would come when I too would be as great and as good a man. He was a most able chemist and was recognized as one of the most capable surgeons of his time, and as I look back upon him I believe him to have been much in advance of his time in surgery. I used to listen with great intentness to his discourses on the various new chemical processes of which he was the master and nothing pleased me more than to hear him describe the steps of some difficult operation which he had performed, and not in- frequently they were operations which would be considered diffi- cult, and would be undertaken, only by the foremost surgeons of this time. From his words I gathered much of the inspiration that has been so useful to me in my later career. He was one of the organizers of the Dane County Medical Society, other members of which were Dr. Favill, Dr. J. J. Brown, Dr. Heath, Dr. Jos. Hob- bins. Dr. Wm. Hobbins and others. He was a man of courteous manner, kind and affable to his friends, associates and patients, and was held in the highest esteem by all the members of his pro- fession."
Doctor Chapman was very fond of travel and made two journeys to the Old World, spending a year and more on each trip. His observations at these times formed the subject matter of many lectures delivered at Madison and other places. During the later years of his life he became deeply interested in the development of the state of Kansas and spent much of his time in Emporia, the home of his daughter, Eugenia, who was the wife of Almerin Gil- lette, a proniinent lawyer and state official. Doctor Chapman died at his home in Madison, May 18, 1877, leaving a widow, a daughter, Eugenia Gillette, and a son. Chandler Pease, all of whom have since died.
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