USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 19
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Cooley L. Comstock, a retired farmer and merchant, residing in the village of Oregon, was born fifteen miles from Erie, in Erie county, Penn., August 16, 1844. His father, William Comstock, was born in Rhode Island, and his grandfather, Aaron Comstock, was a native of the same state, moving from there to Otsego, N. Y., and thence to Wisconsin, and spent his last years in Rock county. William Comstock was a natural mechanic. and followed the trade of stonemason and carpenter, in connection with farming, all of his life. He was maried in Otsego county, N. Y., to Miss Fanny Cha- pin, a native of that county, where she was born, in the town of Butternuts, July 5, 1810. Soon after their marriage, Mr and Mrs.
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Comstock removed to Erie county, Penn., where he resided for a. few years, and then, in 1844. emigrated to the territory of Wiscon- sin. He came by team to Lake Erie. and there took a boat for Mil- waukee, landing in the latter city with but $1.50 in his pocket. He came by team from Milwaukee to Dane county, and having a good trade he secured employment and was soon living in comparative comfort. At that time this section of country was but sparsely settled, and the greater portion of the land belonged to the govern- ment domain. Mr. Comstock was a very useful adjunct to the re- gion in which he settled, by reason of his mechanical skill, and a number of the log houses and barns which he erected are still stand- ing as silent mementoes of his handiwork. Game was very plen- tiful in those days, and the family larder could easily be supplied with meat from the surrounding forests. Mr. Comstock selected forty acres of government land in section 31, in what is now Dunn township, and at once built a log house and commenced to make a farm. He bought a cow and a pair of oxen, and as there were no. railroads he was compelled to haul his grain to Milwaukee, and with the oxen this meant a trip of six or seven days, when the weather was good. Wheat sold as low as twenty-five cents a. bushel, but Mr. Comstock usually managed to get a load of mer- chandise, to haul back for Madison parties, Bean & Rogal, and thus added to the profits of his trip. As his means accumulated he bought other land, until his farm contained two hundred acres, and at the time of his death, in February, 1873, he was one of the well-to-do farmers in that section of the county. His wife was the daughter of Luke Chapin, who was a native of Connecticut, but in early life he moved to New York and spent his remaining years. there. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812. The maiden name of his wife was Thirza Shaw, and she also died in the town of Butternuts. N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. William Comstock were the pa- rents of four children : Francis C., deceased ; Melissa A .. now Mrs. Grout, of Monroe, Wis. ; Cooley L., is the subject of this review, and Edgar W. residing in the village of Oregon. They were all ed- cated in the schools of Dane county. Cooley L. Comstock, to whom this memoir is especially dedicated, was but an infant when he came. to Wisconsin with his parents, hence he has no recollection of any other home. He attended the pioneer schools of Dunn township. his father being a warm friend of the common school system and donated the land on which to build a school house. The son com- menced life as a farmer and remained with his father until he reached the age of twenty-five years. He then bought farm in sec-
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tion 32, of Dunn township, where he resided for three years, and then selling it he returned to the old homestead, where he resided until four years ago, and of which property he is still the owner. The farm contains two hundred acres of fine land, well improved. In 1902 Mr. Comstock removed to the village of Oregon and en- tered the mercantile business, which he followed for two years, and then retired from active participation in affairs and is living in quiet enjoyment of the fruits of an industrious career. He has recently erected a fine dwelling house in the village of Oregon, where it is hoped that many years of happiness will yet be the lot of himself and his estimable wife. Mr. Comstock was married, February 28, 1866, to Miss Demarius Johnson, who was born in the town of Dunn, daughter of Solomon and Polly (Baker) Johnson, prominent citizens of that locality, the father having migrated from the state of New York to Dane county in 1845. Mr. and Mrs. Comstock are the parents of two daughters,- Leila, who resides at home, and Fanny J. who is the wife of Russell Jones, an extensive farmer and blooded-stock breeder of Oak Hall, Wis. Each of the daughters received an excellent education in the schools of Dunn township and the village of Oregon. Mr. Comstock was form- erly a Democrat, but in the more recent years has assumed an inde- pendent attitude in political matters. He served two terms as chairman of the town board of Dunn, and has also held school offices. The family is connected with the Methodist church in Oregon, and Mr. Comstock has membership with the Modern Woodmen of America.
Rev. M. A. Condon, who has been for the past seventeen years the pastor of the church of the Holy Mother of Consolation, at Oregon, in Dane county, is a native of Dodge county, Wis., hav- ing been born at Hustisford on December 1, 1885. He was born of Irish parents and his boyhood days were spent on the farm, and in the district schools he received his preliminary education. He was one of the first students to be enrolled at the Sacred Heart college, of Watertown, Wis., opened in September, 1872, and he re- mained as a student there for five years, completing the classical course in June, 1877. In September of the same year he entered the seminary at St. Francis, near Milwaukee, and there took a four years course in philosophy and theology. There he received his sub-deacon and deaconship on April 2 and 3, 1881, from the Most Reverend Archbishop Heiss. Father Condon was ordained to the priesthood in the seminary chapel by Bishop F. X. Krautbauer on June, 26, 1881. His first mission after ordination was at Maple-
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ton, in Waukesha county, where he was a pastor for eight years, and in 1889 he was transferred to Oregon, Dane county, where he has since been located as pastor of the church of the Holy Mother of Consolation. Under his pastorate the congregation has in- creased in numbers and a prosperous condition generally is evi- denced on every hand.
Henry Clinton Cone is a successful farmer and stock-raiser of the town of York, where his family have lived for many years. He was adopted by G. A. Cone and his wife Aroxia (Porter) Cone, daughter of Garett Porter, whose biography appears in this work. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cone were natives of Cattaraugus county, N. Y., and Mr. Cone's parents, Massena and Elizabeth (Purple) Cone, were born in New York and came to Kenosha county, Wis., in 1838. They moved to the town of York in 1845. Of their six children. G. A. Cone, born April 8, 1829, is the only survivor. He attended school in Kenosha, and in Marshall county, Ind., and learned the blacksmith's trade. He and his wife are both prom- inent in the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Cone is a member of the Prohibition party. For some time he held the office of justice of the peace. His home is a fine farm of one hundred and thirty-three acres in the town of York, which he worked for many years, but which is now managed by his son Henry. Mrs. G. A. Cone was born May, 31, 1830, and died July 25, 1901. Henry Clinton Cone was born in Dodge county Wis., October 5, 1862, attended school in York, also at the Marshall Academy and the Waterloo high school. He owns a farm of forty acres and likewise manages his father's farm and makes a specialty of fine short- horned cattle and Poland China hogs. Like his father, Mr. Cone is allied with the Prohibition party and is active in political affairs. He has twice been assessor of the town. In March, 1888, he mar- ried Miss Minnie Cone, daughter of Sterling and Mary (Wood- bridge) Cone, of Oshkosh, Wis. Sterling Cone was a prominent member of the Jefferson county bar and a member of the state legislature from Dodge county. He died in 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Cone have had five children. The oldest, Roxie M., is a senior in the Medina high school ; Evaline and an infant child are deceased ; Hattie Bell is a freshman in the high school and Merrill S. is in the grade schools. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church and are active in church work. Mr. Cone is a member of the Mar- shal branch of the Modern Woodmen.
James Conklin (deceased), was from sturdy and naturally pro- gressive stock, the son of John and Catherine Conklin, and was 13-iii
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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
born in Burlington, Chittenden county, Vt., June 12, 1831. The family left the somewhat restricted conditions of the east to find broader fields of industry in the west, and arrived in Madison, (then a village), in October, 1849. The subject of this brief sketch soon found work which, although hard at times, he followed with a will, obeying the scriptural injunction, "Whatsoever thy hand find- eth to do, do it with thy might." But there soon appeared before him more prosperous fields. As early as 1854 the firm of Conklin & Gray (Neely Gray) was established, and in a short time became extensively known and very freely patronized. In fact it was the most prominent house in this section in handling wheat and other cereals. This being the time that the Milwaukee & Prai- rie du Chien Railway reached Madison and remained here for sev- eral years, it was the grand opportunity for Mr. Conklin to demon- strate his business abilities. His manly appearance, his good, calm nature, affable and honest manner soon attracted the attention of farmers who came in for many miles and from all points of the compass with their products. The business of the firm rapidly increased, and it became prominent as the headquarters for farm- ing implements. Later the railroads branched out in all directions and cut off the market trade to a great extent. The firm changed to Conklin & Sons, and the rapid growth of Madison (then a city) required that wood, coal and the staple articles necessary in business houses and in homes, should be handled. Extensive yards, with the latest devices, were established; and the yards at West Madison are today and for a long time have been on a par with any to be found in much larger cities. Another large yard is established in the sixth ward. At these headquarters all kinds of building mater- ial are found, such as brick, cement, lime, sewer pipe, etc. The firm is also engaged in the ice business, the largest in any city in the. state outside of Milwaukee. This great plant is found at the foot of Hancock street. on the shore of Lake Mendota,and the main office is at 105 East Washington avenue. But James Conklin had a high and honorable standing in the social and political world. He. ably represented the capital city district in the state senate in 1885 and 1887 when important matters were before it for consideration. He was elected for the occasion and his work was decidedly effec -. tive. He was mayor of the city in 1881, 1882 and 1883, and again in 1887. In 1882, when he was at the head of the city govern- ment our efficient water-works were established; and it was. greatly owing to his constant work and influence that the handsome site was secured,-a whole block, now a splendid park,-for a trifle.
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over $4,000, each lot being now worth that sum. He represented the fifth ward, when it was first formed, in 1876, and again in 1877; and was a member of the board of water commissioners from 1884: to 1889 inclusive. As a member of the board of education he served in 1843, 1881-83, 1893,and 1894-98. In February, 1894, he was appointed postmaster of Madison, and a grand ovation followed. He served the full term,-four years. The large and handsome business block on the corner of State and Johnson streets was built by Mr. Conklin. He was one of the organizors of the Bank of Wis- consin, Madison, and a director of it for many years. Mr. Conklin was married in Madison, January 29, 1853, to Miss Mary Egan, and for almost half a century their home was a happy one. The faithful husband died February 28, 1900, and his loving helpmate followed eighteen months later. There were born to them seven children-James E., Margaret E., Matthew H., Kate, Mary Jane, Lucy and John W. Four are living. The sons have conducted the business since the death of their father.
Edward J. Conlin is a native of the town of York and resides upon the farm which was his birth-place, where he engages in gen- eral farming. His parents, Bartholemew and Catherine (Bolger) Conlin, were born in Ireland. educated there and came, at different times, to the United States. Bartholemew Conlin was born in 1820 and embarked for America in 1848. He obtained a large farm of unimproved land, improved it himself and established a com- fortable home. He married Miss Catharine Bolger, who came to. Dodge county with her parents in 1848. Nine children were born to them ; the oldest died in infancy ; the others are Bridget, Thomas, Mary, James, Michael. Theresa, Edward and Banty. Mrs. Conlin died in 1871 and her husband in 1894. The family is prominent in the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Conlin was a Democrat, as is his. son, Edward J. The latter was born in the town of York, Feb. 22, 1867. attended the district school and the Columbus high school and pursued a course of study at the Northwestern Business Col- lege. He takes an active interest in politics and has served three years as town clerk and is now chairman of the town board. He has a pleasant home on the farm which his father labored to clear and has improved and added to it many modern conveniences. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church.
Hiram Conry, of Sun Prairie, comes of good fighting stock. His maternal grandfather took part in the American Revolution; and his father, although Irish by birth, and fifty-one years old at the breaking out of the Civil War, enlisted in the Eleventh Wisconsin
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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
Infantry, 1861, and served during the war. The subject of this sketch also enlisted as private in Company F, Sixteenth Wisconsin Regiment, December, 1863 and served until the close of the war, taking part in the Atlantic campaign, the famous march from At- lanta to the sea and also the march from Buford to Washington, D. C. His brother Benjamin also enlisted with the first three- months men, in Company A, Thirty-third Illinois Volunteers Infan- try, and reenlisting, served during the war. Thomas Conry, father of Hiram, married Miss Jane Moretts, a native of New York, born in 1800; they came to Dane in 1856. He was at that time a Democrat, but the stirring events of the years soon following changed his political attitude, and he cast in his fortunes with the newly organized Republican party ; although for many years a resident of Dane, both Mr. Conry and his wife died in Chippewa county.
Hiram Conry was born in Franklin county, Vt., June 25, 1836, and received his education in the common schools of his native state ; he came to Wisconsin with his parents in 1856 then a young man of twenty. With the exception of the years that he served in the war, a year and a half in Evansville and a year and a half in the town of Burk, his residence has been in the town and village of Sun Prairie ; he owns seventeen acres about his home, and eleven acres within the corporation of the village. In politics, Mr. Conry is a Prohibitionist and is an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church. The family into which Mr. Conry married,-July 3, 1859, -is equally noted for the characteristics of courage and patriotism. Miss Eunice Churchill, born in Niagara county, N. Y., Oct. 23, 1839, daughter of Enos and Nancy (Searls) Churchill, had ancestors on her father's side who came over in the Mayflower, and she is also a direct descendant of Gov. Bradford of the Massachusetts colony. The paternal great grandfather of Mrs. Conry also served in the Revolution; from him the genealogical line is, a son, Seth Churchill, who married Eunice Dergee; his son, Enos Churchill, born in Vermont 1797, married Nancy Searls, born in Massachu- setts 1797, and removed to New York; they came to Dane in 1844 settled on a farm in Sun Prairie, and here died, he in 1891 and his wife in 1885. He was a carpenter by trade, a Whig in early life and later a Republican ; he and his wife were spiritualists. To Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Conry have been born seven children, all living, Myron W .; Mary ; Mervin ; Elmer ; Oscar ; Ida ; Lena.
William Cook, a prosperous farmer of the town of Springdale, was born on a farm near where he now resides, July 20, 1852. He
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is the son and only surviving child of John and Margaret (Ingles) Cook, an older sister, Margaret, having died when sixteen years of age. The parents were both natives of Scotland, the father having been born in the Highlands of that country and the mother in the city of Edinburgh. They were married in their native land and came to America in 1850. The father gave his attention to farming, followed that occupation in Scotland, and upon coming to Dane county took up eighty acres of government land in the town of Springdale, which has been the place of residence of the family during all the succeeding years. The father died on July 30, 1865, at the age of thirty-seven, the result of being kicked by a horse, and the mother passed away in 1892, aged eighty years. The sub- ject of this review was reared in Springdale and received his edu- cation in the public schools of that town. After the death of his father, his mother rented the farm out for three years, and then the son, although but sixteen years old, purchased a team and took upon himself the responsibility of cultivating and managing the place. Success attended his efforts from the first, and he has never regretted the fate that cast his lines with the basic industry of agriculture. He now owns a finely-improved farm, comprising two hundred and eighty acres, and aside from the general farming of the same he gives a great deal of attention to stock-raising and dairying. In the latter industry he has his own separator and ships the cream. He is also engaged in the business of buying and ship- ping grain at Riley's Station, and in this as in all of his other ven- tures he has won pronounced success. Mr. Cook was married. August 18, 1871, to Miss Nancy Jane McCaughey, who was born on the place where she and her husband now reside. Her parents were James and Maria McCaughey, both of whom were natives of Ireland. They migrated to America and located in the town of Springdale, Dane county, at an early date, and there spent the re- mainder of their lives, the father dying in 1852 and the mother in 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Cook are the parents of eight children, the names and more particular mention of whom follow: Sarah J. married Martin F. Krueger and resides in the city of Madison; John remains at home with his parents; Maggie married William Salmon of the town of Springdale, and is deceased ; James is in the grain-buying business with his father at Riley's Station; and Wil- liam, Agnes, Marie and Marjorie are at home. . Mr. Cook is a Re- publican in his political affiliations and has served as a member of the school board. Fraternally he has a membership in the lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America at Verona.
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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
Col. Charles F. Cooley is a descendant of an old New England family. The family records go back four generations to Alex- ander Cooley, a native of Connecticut. He removed from Con- necticut to New York in the early part of the nineteenth century, was a volunteer in the War of 1812 and was severely wounded in the battle of Sackett's Harbor. His son, Alexander Cooley, Jr., was also a native of Connecticut and took part with his father in the war. He was engaged in both farming and the lumber busi- ness, first in Lewis, then in Livingston and finally in Chautauqua county. He moved to Villenova in the last named county in 1822, and made his home there the remainder of his life. He was en- gaged in farming and in the lumber business with his brothers, Robert and Harry, during their residence in Lewis county, and the whole family was included in the subsequent removals. They built their own log houses, spun and wove the cloth for their garments and furnished their larder by their skill in the huntsman's craft.
All of the experiences of pioneer life, which their descendants re- peated in the forest wildernesses of Wisconsin, were theirs. Alex- ander, Jr .. married Miss Lydia Soloman, a native of Lewis county, who reared a family of five sons and three daughters. She spent her last years at the home of one of her sons in Chautauqua county. Warren Cooley, the son of Alexander, Jr., and father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Livingston county, N. Y., May 16, 1822. His early education was of the primitive sort that was ob- tainable in the backwoods schools seventy-five years ago, but fol- lowing the death of his father in 1837. he made his home with a family of Friends, and later went with them to live in Utica, where his educational opportunities were greatly improved. He began the carving out of his own fortunes two years before he became of age, entering first into the employ of a general merchant. Shortly afterward he went into the lumber business, subsequently going into mercantile business for himself in Utica, in 1855. Not long after he moved to Wisconsin, locating in Columbia county, first near Fort Winnebago, and afterward near Lodi, following agricul- tural pursuits, until 1885, when he moved to Madison and there spent the remainder of his life. He was married, November 5, 1844, to Miss Harriet Isabella Martin, the daughter of Andrew and May (Wilkins) Martin, all natives of England. From this union five children were born; Charles F., the subject of this sketch; An- toinette, Edward, Oscar and Minerva H. Mrs. Cooley died in August, 1877. Charles F. Cooley began his school life in Utica N. Y .. and received his later instruction in the schools of Portage,
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Columbia county. He worked on the farm in the intervening va- cations of his boyhood, until the stirring events of 1860 and 1861 brought him to a premature manhood, and he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-third Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers. After one year's service he was obliged to return home on account of ill health and received his discharge, being at that time only sixteen years of age. After recuperating by a short rest he again entered the army in Company A, Thirty-seventh Infantry, and remained in active service until the close of the war. He belonged to the Army of the Potomac, and took part in the battle of Petersburg, June, 1864, and witnessed the mine explosion on July 30, of the same year. The hardships of army life, however, proved too great for a boy of his years and he left the army at the close of hostili- ties, somewhat shattered in health, and sought to repair it by a resi- dence of some years in the bracing climate of what is now North Dakota. While there he was in the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad. His residence as a citizen of Dane county began in 1872 when he established himself in the city of Madison as a dealer in fuel, and from a small beginning, gradually built up his, present flourishing business. Colonel Cooley is a Republican and a mem- ber of the G. A. R. but has never occupied himself actively in poli- tical affairs. He was married May 12, 1872, to Miss Julia Frederick- son, a native of Dane county, and a daughter of Peter and Julia Frederickson. They have six children, Harry, Alexander, Fanny, Ida, Sarah and Charley. Colonel Cooley received his military title and commission as a member of the staff of General Rusk.
Dayton Benjamin Coon carries on a successful general farming business on the old Coon farm in the town of Utica, Dane county, where he was born October 1. 1854, son of Captain Wm. Henry Harrison Coon and Harnia (Burdick) Coon. The Coon family were originally named Macoon and came to Rhode Island from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. John Macoon with seventy-five other men obtained a large tract of land in Rhode Island in 1661, and was made president of Westerly village. This was the first community of Seventh-day Baptists in the United States. The name became corrupted to Coon in the last century and Joshua Coon, a descend- ant of that family left Rhode Island for New York and settled in Brookfield, Madison county, where he became prominent and suc- cessful. Joshua Coon, generaly known as Squire Coon, married a Miss Brown, daughter of a Baptist minister and they were active in the work of the Baptist church, the first one in the vicinity of Brookfield. Their grandson, W. H. H. Coon, was born in Brook-
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