USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 36
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Francis Waterbury Hall, an attorney-at-law, member of the firm of Tenney, Hall & Tenney and one of the leading members of the Madison bar, is descended through a long line of American ancestry,. being the eighth generation of the Waterbury family in America. He was born in the town of Medina, Dane county, Wis., Feb. 4, 1853, and is the son of Sylvester and Rebecca (Waterbury) Hall, the father being a native of Deerfield, N. Y., born August 23, 1807, also belong- ing to an old colonial family, and the mother a native of Massena, N. Y., born June 24, 1810. Sylvester Hall was the son of Benjamin G. and Esther (Taylor) Hall, the former having been born in Rhode Island in 1772. The Waterbury family-the maternal ancestry-was
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founded in America by John Waterbury, who came to Massachu- setts, and a little later to Stamford, Conn., in 1646, and the com- plete ancestral line from him to Francis W. Hall is as follows: 1st, John; 2nd, David; 3rd, John; 4th, Isaac; 5th, Peter; 6th, Shadrach; 7th, Rebecca ; 8th, Francis Waterbury. Sergeant David Waterbury, the second in the American line, was an officer in the colonial wars. and it is from his services that the descendants of the present gener- ation are entitled to membership in the colonial patriotic societies. The Waterbury family rendered conspicuous service during the Revo- lutionary War. In "Heroes of the Revolution" the following state- ment is found: "There were four John Waterburys in the army, known as John, John, Jr .; John, 2nd; and John, 5." Of the one known as "John 2" it is said, "Although he was fifty-eight years old at the be- ginning of hostilities, he shouldered his musket and marched with the younger men." There were a number of other Waterburys in the Revolution,-most of them from Stamford, Conn., and among them Gen. David Waterbury, who raised the first regiment for the defense of New York, and Peter Waterbury, of whom there is found the fol- lowing in the Public Records of Connecticut, Vol. 2, under date of October, 1779 : "Upon a memorial of Peter Waterbury, of Stamford, and Jesse Waring of Norfolk, showing the assembly that they be- longed to the coast-guards and were captured at Stamford and are now confined in the sugar-hause in New York and held as hostages," etc. Then follows an appeal for an exchange for two men named Hoit, and the record concludes: "Resolved by this assembly that his Excellency, the Governor, be, and hereby is, empowered and requested to make an exchange of said Waterbury and said Waring for said Hoits." Add:tional authority obtained from the town clerk's office of Stamford, from the "History of Stamford" and from the family records, identify this Peter Waterbury as the son of Isaac Waterbury the great grandfather of F. W. Hall of this sketch. Francis Water- bury Hall received his education at the Waterloo academy, the Eau Claire seminary and the University of Wisconsin, receivng from the last the degrees of A. M. and LL. B. He fitted himself for the practice of the legal profession and was admitted to the bar in 1876, in Madison, where he practiced until 1879, and then removed to Portage, Wis., where he entered the ministry and officiated as pas- tor of the Methodist Episcopal church of that place for the ensuing three years. In 1883 he returned to Madison and resumed the prac- tice of law and has since been so engaged, his business connections having been as follows: Hall & Hand; Sanborn & Hall; Smith, Rogers
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& Hall; Rogers, Hall & Donovan ; Bushnell, Rogers & Hall ; Hall & Sheldon ;F. W. Hall ; Tenney, Hall & Tenney ; Tenneys, Hall, & Swan- son; and Tenney, Hall & Tenney. Any sketch of Mr. Hall's life which excluded his work as a teacher of Biblical law and literature would be incomplete. For a number of years he gave a course of lec- tures before the students of ancient classical literature of the Univer- sity of Wisconsin, on "Spirit and Prominent Characteristics of the Hebrew Code," "Public Insitutions Developed by the Code," "Com- parison between the Hebrew Code and the Fundamental Elements of Common Law," and "Hebrew Law in Civilization." A similar course developing somewhat more the literary characteristics of the Bible was given before the Biblical Literature department of the Downer College Endowment Association .and at Lawrence University. Pres- sure of other work has compelled Mr. Hall to decline many other invi- tations to lecture along this and other lines, although he has fre- quent calls both as a lyceum and campaign speaker; but he still re- tains his position as teacher of the students' class in the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and has won in that work a national reputa- tion. The class grew from about forty to one hundred and fifty with an average attendance of about one hundred. Mr. Hall uses the methods of the lawyer in the presentation of his lesson. A correspon- dent of the Sunday School Times says, "The central theme is seized upon at the start, details being grouped so that it progressively stands out in bolder lines. Vividness is at the same, still farther in- creased by keen analytical questions, aptly put, that connect the theme with events within the experience, reading or imagination of his class." His "Lawyer's Notes on the International Lessons" have received very wide and favorable comment. Many of his students be- long to the law college and through them he exerts a wide influence which will be felt in the moral attitude of the Wisconsin bar of the im- mediate future. In politics Mr. Hall is independent, although in re- cent years he has usually voted with the Republican party and was a delegate to the national convention at Chicago in 1904 He has al- ways declined to enter the field of politics as an aspirant for office, but ,has nevertheless taken an active part in all movements, political or other, pertaining to good government and the betterment of social conditions. During the struggle over the freight commission bill in 1903, in his speech before the assembly committee, the press of the state accredited him with "a speech so much more able than any other that has been made before any legislative committee recently as to be in a class by itself," and also "that it is sufficient for any one man to
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be known as the man who made that speech." He has contributed much to the advancement of the city of Madison, especially in the movements connected with the development of the public library and the establishment of the city hospital. The former he served as sec- retary for nineteen years, during which time the beautiful new build- ing was erected; on the board of the latter he has served since its in- ception, selecting the site, and obtaining an option upon it. He was secretary for about three years-the difficult years of establishing the enterprise in public favor-and has since served as vice-president, treasurer and president, having held the last position for two years, and being at the present time at the head of the hospital board. His versatility is shown by his activities in these widely varying lines, in all of which his personality is strongly felt ; and to intellectual ability of unusual grasp and analytical power he has added the culture of ex- tensive travel and wide reading. Mr. Hall was married, November 26, 1875, to Miss Mary J. Tuttle, a class-mate in the University, and a daughter of Stephen L. and Ann (Brabb) Tuttle, of Rockford, Kent county, Mich. Mrs. Hall belongs, on her father's side, to one of the most widely-known of the colonial families, and on her mother's, to one of the "county" families of Yorkshire, England. No children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hall but they have an adopted son, Laur- ence Waterbury Hall, born March 15, 1899. Mr. Hall is a member of the Madison Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons.
George W. H. Hall has spent all his life in Albion on the farm where he was born and is a well-informed and successful farmer. His farm contains two hundred and seventy acres, of which about two hundred and thirty are under cultivation and he has a fine equipment. Mr. Hall raises good crops of tobacco, grain, hay, etc., but devotes himself particularly to his stock, raising fine pure-bred short-horned cattle and Poland China hogs. Part of his large property he leases to a tenant and manages the remainder himself. George W. H. is the son of Samuel Hall of England and Ann (Wright) Hall, second wife of Samuel. Mr. Hall was a farmer in England but became dissatisfied with his prospects there and came to the United States in 1844 before his marriage. With his brother George, who accompanied him on the voyage he purchased one hundred acres of land from the United States government, located in the town of Albion and this was his home until his death. The property was afterward divided between the brothers. Three chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hall; Martha, who married Dexter Wilson of Edgerton; George W. H., who lives at the old home;
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Sarah (deceased). George W. H. was born in Albion on the farm September 11. 1869, attended the district schools and the Albion Academy and early engaged in farming. February 22, 1893, he married Miss Jessie B. Green, who was born in Dayton. Wis., daughter of Thomas Green of Albion. Two children blessed the marriage; George H. and Dorothea Genevieve. The family are prominent members of the Primitive Methodist church of Albion, which Samuel Hall aided in organizing in the early days. Mr. Hall is an independent voter, preferring to vote for whom he considers the best man rather than to ally himself with any political party.
Rev. Hans H. Holte, pastor of the United Norwegian Lutheran church of America at Mt. Horeb, is a native of Norway, born December 15, 1867. He came to the United States with his parents when he was but one year old ,and they first located at Spring Grove, Houston county, Minn. The father's name was the same as that of his son, and he followed the occupation of a tailor in his native land; but became a farmer after coming to America. The family remained in Minnesota about twelve years and then re- moved to North Dakota, locating near Noble, in Cass county, where the parents resided until a short time ago. The subject of this review is one of a family of eight children-five sons and three daughters-that were born to these parents. Mr. Holte remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, and then attended school until he was ordained for the ministry. His education was received in St. Olaf college at Northfield, Minn., where he took a three-year course. and this was supplemented by attendance upon the Concordia college at Morehead, Minn., for three years; and he also spent three years at the United Church Seminary at Minneapo- lis, from which last named institution he was graduated with the class of 1899. He was ordained at Minneapolis on September 14, 1899, and immediately came to Mt. Horeb, where he has officiated ever since. He has a congregation that includes about eighty families, and he preaches each alternate Sunday in the Norwegian language. all other services. Sunday school work, etc., being in English. Rev. Mr. Holte was married on June 1I, 1900, to Miss Min- nie Thompson, of the town of Blue Mounds, and to this union there have been born two children: Esther Monica (died at the age of nine months), and Herman James, at home.
Burton J. Halverson is one of the leading young farmers of the town of Medina and represents the third generation of his family in
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Dane county. His father, Asmund Halverson, was born in Norway in 1839, came with his parents to the United States in 1843 and lo- cated in Waukesha county. In 1848, the family moved to the town of Medina, where they obtained one hundred acres of government land. Asmund Halverson attended the district school and always worked upon the home farm, aiding his father to clear and improve it. He married Miss Louisa A. Ellis, who was born in Waterbury, Conn., in 1840, and six children were born to the marriage, of whom three are living. Asmund was prominent in the community and ac- tive in political affairs, a member of the Republican party and the representative of Medina township upon the board of supervisors. He attended the Baptist church, of which his wife was a 'member. Mrs. Asmund Halverson died in 1891, and her husband in 1905. Burton J. Halverson was born in Medina, on the old farm, May 23, 1877, educated in the home schools and the Medina free high school. He early engaged in farming and is now the owner of the old home- stead, a fine farm of one hundred twenty-six acres with many modern improvements. Dairy farming is his specialty and he keeps well- posted on everything which leads to the improvement of methods and equipment for that business. Like his father, he is a Republican, interested in the welfare of the community, which his forefathers were instrumental in founding.
George F. Halverson, general agent for Wisconsin for the Walter A. Wood Mower and Reaping Machine Company of Hoosic Falls, N. Y., was born in Dane county, Wis., December 27. 1864. He is a son of Osmund Halverson Sobier and Louise Ellis. the former a native of Norway, the latter of Connecticut. The father came to the United States with his parents when but three years of age in 1837, locating in Wisconsin. He was a farmer all his active life and held many offices of trust and honor, although he never sought them. When the sons became of age they changed the name from Halver Sobier to Halverson. The father died Jan- uary 1, 1905, at the age of sixty-eight. His wife's death occurred in her fifty-second year. She was a devout member of and earnest worker in the Baptist church, her father. Rev. Harmon Ellis, being a minister of that denomination who came to Wisconsin as a mis- sionary in the early days. The subject of this sketch is the oldest of five children. Harmon, a traveling salesman, makes his home in Sun Prairie. Vinnie died in her third year. Burton J. is oper- ating the home farm in the town of Medina. Vinton died when fifteen years of age. George F. Halverson received his scholastic
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education in Lake Mills, Wis. He remained on his father's farm until 1892 when he came to Madison to learn the machinist's trade. He acquired a knowledge of farm implements and machinery which induced him to enter that line of business and for the past fourteen years he has followed that line. On December 7, 1892, Mr. Halver- son was united in marriage to Miss Flora A., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Cobb of Sun Prairie. Five children have been born to this union, Lyne Harvey, Helen Jeanette, Ellis Cobb, George May- nard and Mary Lucile. The parents are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church and the father of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons and of the the Union Commercial Travellers. Mr. Halverson is considered one of the rising young business men of the community.
Gunder Halverson, a prosperous farmer of the town of Pleasant Springs, was born near Shearne, Norway, June 25, 1835. He is the son of Halver and Margaret (Halverson) Jergunson, natives of Norway, who were devout members of the Lutheran church. Of their eight children only two are now living. John is farming in Norway. Gunder, the subject of this sketch, was the only member of the family to come to America, arriving in 1861 after a stormy passage of eight weeks. From Quebec he went to Whitewater, Wis., and from there to Menomonie, where he enlisted in the fall of 1862 in Company B, Fifth Wisconsin Infantry. His regiment took active parts in the bat- tles of Gettysburg and Fredericksburg and minor skirmishes and engagements. Gunder was overcome by heat during one of the campaigns and was sent to a Washington hospital. In 1864 he re- ceived an honorable discharge from the army and soon after purchased the place where he now lives, one hundred twenty acres in the town of Pleasant Springs. When he first moved onto the farm there was only a small clearing and a log house. All the improvements on the place were made by Mr. Halverson ; the bank barn, thirty-six by fifty-four fee: was built in 1891 ; the home, an elegant structure, was erected in 1897. 'While tobacco is the chief product of the farm, there are many other crops raised. Politically Mr. Halvorson is a Republican. Like his parents, he is an ardent Lutheran and worships at the Western Lutheran church of Pleasant Springs. He has been twice married ; his first wife was a Miss Oleson, who died in 1868, two years after her wedding. By his second wife, née Betsy Holton, he has had six children,-Martin, educated at Stoughton Academy, a farmer in the town of Christiana; Nora, Edwin and Rosella, all at home. The children have all attended the district school. Mr. Halverson is a member of the Stoughton post, Grand Army of the Republic.
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Hiat Halverson, deceased, was born in the town of Dunn, Dane county, Wis., May 20. 1850. He was a son of Stener and Dogena (Qualey) Halverson, natives of Norway. Stener Halverson came to Wisconsin in 1345, settling in Milwaukee. After a short resi- dence there he went to Chicago, where he did teaming with oxen, often hauling loads of hay over what are now Chicago's principal thoroughfares. Land in the vicinity of what is now the business district of that city was selling at $1.25 an acre. After a few months of this labor Mr. Halverson came to Wisconsin again settling in Stoughton, on eighty acres of government land. For some two or three years he acted as a kind of guide for new set- tlers; he would haul grain to Milwaukee and then conduct emi- grants to their new homes near Stoughton. An opportunity was offered to secure a larger piece of land, so he sold his Stoughton farm and purchased one hundred and sixty acres in the town of Dunn, a portion of it on Lake Kegonsa. Here he built a log hut, making the roof of sod. The nearest neighbors were the Stough- ton people. It was not an unusual occurrence for the Indians to visit Mrs. Halverson while her husband was away. On one oc- casion a party of them came begging and Mrs. Halverson gave them some bread and pork. Not satisfied with that they demanded the blankets and when refused them they raised their tomahawks and threatened Mrs. Halverson's life. She was equal to the oc- casion, however, and snatching a large knife from the table she raised is above her head and drove the Indians from the yard in confusion. As an illustration of the laziness of the red man, Mr. Halverson often told of an Indian who came to him one day while he was threshing beans and begged for some. Mr. Halverson agreed to give him the beans, but told the applicant that he would have to thresh them himself. The Indian spread his blanket, put the beans into it, took the heavy flail and started to work. He had taken no more than half a dozen strokes, when he threw down the flail in disgust, caught up his blanket, scattering the beans to the right and the left, and strode away. Mr. Halverson remained on this farm until his death, having added to it from time to time until it contained four hundred and six acres. His estate also in- cluded two hundred acres in the town of Dunkirk, part of which is now Halverson's addition to the city of Stoughton. In 1889 he divided his estate among his four children, remaining of the eight born to him, two sons in the town of Dunn, a daughter in Stough- ton and a son in Boone county, Neb. Hiat Halverson received his
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education in the Albion Academy. When a mere boy he started life as a farm hand, and later went to Nebraska. Five years of his life were put in here as a farm hand; at the end of that time he returned to Wisconsin where, on March 1, 1887, he married Martha, daughter of Andrew and Sigre Maria (Larson) Torson, natives of Norway. Mrs. Halverson first saw the light of day in Norway on September 1, 1854. Of her father's family of ten children, seven are living, five in this country,-Louisa (Mrs. Andrew Johnson) of the town of Rutland; Josephine (Mrs. Lewis Johnson) of the town of Dunn; August and Samuel, of Taylor county, Mich .; and Mrs. Halverson. Shortly after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Halverson went back with a brother of Mr. Halverson to Nebraska, where the two brothers purchased one hundred sixty acres of land in Boone county. Upon the division of the father's estate in 1889 Hiat Halverson received the homestead and one hundred and seven acres of land. He immediately returned and took up his residence there. On November 13, 1899, Mr. Halverson died, leaving a widow and one child, a daughter, Dogena, eleven years old. Mrs. Halverson and the child still occupy the old homestead.
Louis A. Halverson is the buttermaker of the Medina Cheese and Butter Company, which he has managed successfully for some years. He was born in Waukesha county, Wis., Aug. 30, 1858, of Norwegian parentage, lived with his parents at Deerfield, Dane county, Wis., where he engaged in farming for a number of years. Since 1893, he has been occupied with the manufacture of dairy products, especially butter and cheese. Dec. 15, 1897, he married Miss Fannie Griffin, who was born in Illinois, daughter of Winston J. and Anna (Thomp- son) Griffin. Three children were born to the marriage: Leo Griffin, Neal Fenton and Ethel Anne. Osborn Halverson, father of Louis A., was born in Norway in 1833, came to the United States with his parents when he was ten years old, lived for a short time on a farm in :Waukesha county and later in Deerfield, where he died in 1889. Halver and Betsey Aspenson, the first representatives of the family in Dane county, came to the United States from Norway, in 1843 and settled in Medina in 1848, where they owned a farm of one hundred twenty-six acres and there resided the remainder of their lives. Their son, Osborn Halverson, married Miss Olena Heimdal, also a native of Norway, who came to Dane county with her parents in 1843. Of their family of six children but three are living. Osborn Halverson was a farmer and he and his wife were associated with the Lutheran church. Winston Griffin, father of Mrs. Louis Halverson,
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was the son of John and Martha (Winston) Griffin, Virginians of Irish ancestry. The father, John Griffin, was born in Culpepper county, Va., in 1770, and died in 1851. He married Martha Winston, who was born in 1774, near Richmond, Va., as was also their son, Winston J., in 1810. The family moved to Kentucky in 1815 and settled near Harrodsburg. Winston Griffin married Miss Anna Thompson who was born near Zanesville, Ohio, May 22, 1824. Her father was also born near Zanesville, Ohio, in 1790 and died in 1876 aged eighty-six. Her mother née Lydia Bowers, born in 1792, was a native of the same place, and died in Edgar county, Ill., in 1846. Winston J. Griffin died in his seventy-sixth year, but his widow is still living, well and hearty at the advanced age of eighty-onc years. Mrs. Halverson is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Halverson is a Democrat but does not take a very active part in political affairs.
Melvin S. Halverson, a representative furniture dealer and fu- neral director of the city of Stoughton, claims the old Badger state as the place of his nativity, having been born in Manitowoc, Wiscon- sin, November 7, 1879. He is the son of Simeon and Matilda (Ter- kelson) Halverson, both native of Norway, and his paternal grand- father was Halver Oaas, who came from Norway to America and set- tled in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, about 1855, there purchasing; and reclaiming one hundred acres of land and becoming one of the in- fluential farmers of that section, where he continued to reside until his death, in 1899. Of his children Ole and Simeon are deceased, and those living are Aslak, Christopher, Gurine (Mrs. Thomas Aslakson), Annie M. (Mrs. Christian Jacobson), and Karen. Simeon Halverson, father of him whose name initiates this sketch, was reared to man- hood in Manitowoc county, and his entire active career was one of close and successful identification with the great basic industry of agricul- ture. He cleared and improved a farm of one hundred acres, and on this homestead he remained until his death, which occurred in 1895, at which time he was fifty-seven years of age. His widow died twelve days later at the age of fifty-four. They reared a family of seven children: Hans, Anna (wife of Oscar Gunderson), Christopher, Louis, Martin, Melvin S. and Norman. Melvin S. Halverson was reared to manhood in his native county, where he early became inured to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and where he received the advan- tages of the public schools. At the age of seventeen years he initi- ated his independent career, taking up the vocation of chimney sweep- ing and following the same for four months. He then secured a po- sition as clerk in one of the larger merchantile establishments in Man-
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