USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 4
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General David Atwood, journalist and politician, was born in Bedford, N. H., December 15, 1815, the scion of a vigorous and long-lived family. The stock was good English Puritan, and the pioneer of the family was John Atwood, who settled at Plymouth in 1643. The boy David had a strain of Scotch-Irish in his blood. Such scant education as he was able to secure was obtained in winter attendance on the district school of Bedford; summers, he worked on the farm. Among his boyhood friends were Horace Greeley and Zachariah Chandler, later United States senator from Michigan. When only sixteen years of age he left home and was apprenticed to Tredway & Atwood, printers and law-book publish- ers, at Hamilton, N. Y. His brother, John, was the junior mem- ber of the firm. During the five years of his apprenticeship he be- came master of the printer's craft in all its departments. In the years 1838 and 1839 he travelled about 10,000 miles with a horse and wagon through New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and several of the western states as a law-book agent. The experiences of those years were a source of much pleasure to Gen- eral Atwood in other life, and his word-pictures of those pioneer days were always of remarkable interest. In 1839, when twenty- four years old, he joined with his brother. John, in the publication of the Hamilton Palladium, a weekly Whig newspaper. In the cam- paign of 1840 he was a vigorous supporter of General Harrison,
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and in that of 1844, of Henry Clay. His strenuous labors through these years undermined his health and compelled him to with- draw from the Palladium. He purchased a farm near Freeport, Ill., where he met with nothing but misfortune, financially, and lost his savings. However, the two years spent on the farm had recruited his health, and he was enabled to return to his profes- sion. It had long been his ambition to establish a daily paper at some state capital, and the new territory of Wisconsin, then in the full tide of western immigration, strongly appealed to him. The village of Madison was then but a name to Colonel Atwood, but he resolved to go there in the full assurance that it would develop with the territory, soon to become a state. He reached Madison, October 15, 1847, and at once became connected with the Madison "Express" at a small salary. His duties were manifold and arduous, and in his own words he was "editor, reporter, com- positor, foreman, and all hands." He reported the last two ses- sions of the territorial legislature, and was in constant attendance as a reporter during the protracted session of the constitutional convention which drafted the organic law under which Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. In October, 1848, Colonel Atwood purchased the "Express," which appeared in November as the "Wisconsin Express" with many improvements. Only the in-) domitable will, courage, judgment and industry of young Atwood sustained the Whig "Express," as there were two opposition Democratic papers published at the capital. both of which were supported by ample capital as well as state patronage. In June, 1852, a consolidation was effected with a new Whig paper called the "Statesman," which had appeared in the spring of 1850, but the new enterprise failed, and out of the wreck. General Atwood by his own efforts founded the "Wisconsin State Journal," daily and weekly, whose first number appeared September 28, 1852. The "State Journal" was the only Whig paper at the capital until the organization of the Republican party in 1854. when it espoused the principles of that party, and has ever since been its champion. In 1853 he associated with himself Horace Rublee. afterwards min- ister to Switzerland under President Grant, and long and favor- ably known as the brilliant editor-in-chief of the "Milwaukee Sen- tinel." Mr. Rublee was succeeded by Major J. O. Culver, whose association with the "Journal" continued until January, 1877, after which General Atwood was the sole proprietor until his death. During his residence in New York, Mr. Atwood had been succes- sively adjutant, major and colonel of New York militia, and in
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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
1851, in Wisconsin, was appointed quartermaster-general of the state ; in 1858 he became major-general of the fifth division of state militia. In 1861 he was chosen to represent the capital district in the state legislature, and rendered active and efficient service in the work of raising and fitting troops for the front. Lincoln ap- pointed him internal revenue assessor on the creation of that office in 1862, but he was removed from office by President Johnson in 1866 for "offensive partisanship," the first Wisconsin officer thus sentenced. He was mayor of Madison 1868-9, and in the latter year received a flattering vote in the Republican convention for the nomination of governor. Hon. B. F. Hopkins, who represented the capital district in congress, died in January, 1870, and General Atwood was elected as his successor in the 40th congress, tak- ing his seat February 23. He was an industrious and eminently useful representative, serving on the important Pacific railroad committee, and being instrumental in the passage of some of the important bills of the session. He declined re-election. From 1872 until the close of the Centennial in 1876, he served as com- missioner from Wisconsin to the great international exposition, and was 'for a time president of the full body which embraced names of national reputation. In addition to the offices above mentioned, General Atwood served in various other capacities. He was a justice of the peace in 1849; a village trustee in 1854; for thirteen years treasurer of the State Agricultural Society, and twenty-four years a director ; for sixteen years a member of and president of the board of trustees of the State Hospital for the in- sane; for many years a member of the Madison school board, and for a time its president ; long a trustee and member of the executive committee, for five years the secretary, and for a long series of years the president of the Madison Mutual Insurance Company ; for a long time the president of the Madison Gas Light and Coke Company ; a director in several railroad enterprises; after 1849, one of the most active and useful members of the State Historical Society, and for eight years prior to 1876, a member of the Republican national committee. In 1849 he married at Potosi. Wis., Mary Sweeney, formerly of Canton, Ohio. There were born to them two sons and two daughters, the eldest of them Charles David, who was vice-consul at Liverpool from 1872-76, and later an able as- sociate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal; in 1874 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. A. J. Ward, one of the leading phy- sicians of Madison : he died in 1878 at the beginning of a brilliant career ; his son David is the fourth generation of David Atwoods.
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Harry F. and Mary L. still reside in Madison at the old homestead on Monona avenue; Elizabeth G. resides in Milwaukee, having married Edward P. Vilas, a distinguished lawyer, the brother of ex-Senator Wm. F. Vilas. In person General Atwood was of me- dium size, with dark blue, expressive eyes, and a large shapely head, set off in after years by a flowing white beard and hair. His features were fine and regular, and his face beamed with a kindly expression. He had a remarkably clear. analytical mind, a very retentive memory, was a charming conversationalist, and a politi- cal journal'st of rare power. He was a politician of the best type, and never permitted partisan rancor to interfere with his kindly intercourse with men of every political creed. He was a repre- sentative of the highest type of western pioneers. and under his hospitable roof, for more than forty years, were entertained a long line of politicians, journalists, statesmen. and scholars, representing many sections and countries. In his latter years, with his snow-white hair and long, flowing beard, he bore a strik- ing resemblance to the portraits of the poet Bryant. His death created a void hard to fill. His editorial associates felt the loss of an inspiriting presence, the community at large that of a public spirited citizen, and his family lost a beloved and devoted father and husband. His death occurred December 11, 1889, after an ill- ness of brief duration, and the end came calmly and peacefully.
Aslak B. Auby, of Norwegian origin, is one of the successful young farmers of Pleasant Springs. Bjorn and Margaret (Olson) Auby, his parents, came to America from Telemarken, Norway, where they spent their youth and early married life. In 1860, they came over in a sailing vessel and landed at Quebec after a voyage of ten weeks. Thence they proceeded to Milwaukee and after a short stay decided to locate near Stoughton, where they rented a farm in section 34. After working this land for six years they were able to purchase eighty acres of farm land, which they im- proved and made their permanent home. Mrs. Bjorn Auby died in 1876 and her husband survived her until 1901. The family, con- sisting of six children, of whom four are living, has always been prominent in the Western Lutheran church. of which the parents were members. The children were educated in the district schools. Betsey, the oldest daughter. and Henry, the youngest son, died ; Annie, the second daughter, is the wife of L. L. Brote, a farmer of Pleasant Springs ; Ole operates a farm in Dunkirk and Lars is also a farmer. Aslak B. was born at Pleasant Springs February 28, 1869, and worked on the home farm until he was twenty-one years 4-iii
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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
of age. He then settled on the farm where he now lives and worked it three years. He farmed O. K. Roe's farm for three years and finally purchased the first tract of eighty acres, com- monly called the Jacobson place. Under his management the farm has been greatly improved and increased in value. Mr. Auby is a Republican in his political affiliations and was a member of the town board for two years and school treasurer for three years. September 24, 1890, he married Miss Mary Jacobson, daughter of Jacob and Mary Jacobson, also natives of Norway, who came to America in 1850. Mr. and Mrs. Auby have had four children ; John. Ruby, and Ben living, and Mildred, who died in infancy.
John H. Auby, a farmer in the town of Deerfield, was born No- vember 12, 1857, in the neighborhood where he now lives. His grandparents. Lars and Catherine (Larson) Auby, were both born in Norway, the former in 1778 and the latter in 1780. They were among the pioneers of Illinois, but later came to Dane county and there passed the rest of their lives. Hans Auby, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Norway, July 4, 1824, and the mother, whose maiden name was Helga Halverson, was born there on August 12, 1826. They were married December 13, 1847, and to them were born the following children: Helen Catherine, born August 20, 1848, married Halvor A. Nestestu and is now living a widow at Deerfield ; Louis, born December 9, 1850, married Cornetia Tarson, and lives in South Dakota; Carl Henry, born March 11. 1853, married Catherine Fairweather, and lives at Galena, Ill. ; Benjamin O., born August 2, 1855, married Henrietta Melang and resides in the village of Deerfield; John H., the subject of this sketch; Lizzie B., born April 26, 1860. now the wife of John Ollis, an attorney of Madison; Henrietta Christiana, born July 18. 1862. married Andrew Husebo, and now lives at Sioux Falls, S. D .; Marion Christene, born April 4, 1866, and died Feb- ruary 10. 1892. The father of these children came to America July 4, 1843, and made his way directly to Wisconsin. He worked as a farm hand for a year near Milwaukee, and then went to. Illinois, where he was employed in the lead mines for two years. About three years later he came to Dane county with his parents, who bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which the sub- ject of this sketch now lives. Here Hans Auby died on December 9, 1895, and his widow now lives with her daughter in Deerfield. John H. Auby received a common school education in the town of Deerfield and at the age of twenty-five years went to Clark county, S. D., where he entered three hundred and twenty acres of land
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
under the homestead law, and farmed there for two years. He then sold his land and returned to Dane county. For three years he worked his father's farm on the shares, and after his death bought out the other heirs and continues to reside on the old home- stead. He is a Democrat in his political affiliations and has been elected a member of the town board three times, now serving his second term as chairman of the board. On March 20, 1889, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie, daughter of James and Mary (Nellen) Copland,, of the town of Medina. Her father came to Wisconsin at an early date and settled in the town of Medina, where he died in May, 1905, the mother still lives on the old home- stead. Mr. and Mrs. Auby have four children: Arthur H., born June 21, 1891 ; Leonard James, born June 18, 1893 ; Gladys Evelyn, born August 20, 1897; and Lawrence C., born December 20, 1901.
Stephen C. Baas has long been a well-known citizen of Madison. For many years he owned a boat livery on Lake Monona and is an authority among fisherman and lovers of water sports. From boy- hood he learned to handle boats and to understand the vagaries of inland seas, for his father and uncles were fishermen and exporters of fish in Milwaukee. Henry Baas, father of Stephen, came to Milwaukee from Pomerania, with his parents when he was a young lad. With his brothers, Henry, Chris. and Will, he ran fishing smacks near Milwaukee and cured fish for Milwaukee and Chicago markets. Henry married Miss Sophia Siggelko, a native of Meck- lenburg-Schwerin. In 1863 they came to Madsion and opened a grocery store on Williamson street. Mr. Baas enlisted in the Ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and was sent to Little Rock, Ark., where he suffered from illness produced by the climate. In 1865 he returned to the store which he managed until his death in 1869. His widow still resides in Madison. eighty-six years of age. Of the six children, three are living. The oldest son, Willian, died in 1896. He was born in Milwaukee in 1853, married Miss Carrie Showers and left one son, Arthur, who is a book-keeper with the Marshall Field Co. in Chicago. For many years William Baas was proprietor of the Madison Hotel. Stephen C. is the sec- ond son; Amelia, the oldest daughter lives with her mother in Madison; Lucy is also at home; Minnie and Emma died in in- fancy. Stephen C. was born in Milwaukee, Jan. 3, 1855, attended both German and English schools and also the Northwestern Busi- ness College at Madison. He engaged in the shoe business for some years but his tastes led him to seek an out-of-door life and until 1905, when he sold his business, his boat-landing was a Mecca.
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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
for fisherman. May 14, 1879, he married Miss Emily F. Mayer, daughter of Casper Mayer and Elizabeth (Steinle) Mayer. Mrs. Mayer was a native of Baden and Mr. Mayer was also born in Ger- many. They came to Madison in 1853 and Mr. Mayer re- sided in the city until his death in 1884. Mr. Mayer's oldest son, Caspar A., lives in Madison. Anna is the wife of Will- iam Vallender. Theresa M. is Mrs. Peter Hoven of New Haven, Com. Emily F. is Mrs. Bass. Bertha M. is the wife of George Breitenbach of Madison. Helen L. is Mrs. Harry Hunt of Madi- son. Mrs. Baas has marked musical ability which has been inher- ited by her one son, Alexius H., who is one of the most popular singers of Madison. Alexius was born May 18, 1885, was gradu- ated from the Madison high school, and from the University of Wisconsin with the class of 1906. When he was a little lad he began to sing in the choir of St. Raphael's church and has been a member of that choir ever since. He also plays the pipe-organ and piano but is best known as a singer. Madison people always regard it a great treat to hear his wonderful voice and he is well- known in many other cities. He expects to start for Berlin soon where he will take an advanced course in music and will remain abroad in these pursuits for perhaps a couple of years.
Ulysses S. Baer, first assistant dairy and food commissioner and dairy expert of the state of Wisconsin, secretary of the state cheese makers' association (the largest organization of its kind in the world), vice president of the Wisconsin cheese and butter educa- tional scoring contest association, and associate editor of the Cheese and Dairy Journal and Creamery Reporter, was born at Ithaca, Richland county, Wis., Aug. 21. 1873. His parents are D. W. and Malinda (Daniels) Baer, the former a native of Ohio, the latter of New York state. Both came to Wisconsin when children, the Bacr family settling in Sauk county and the Daniels family in Marquette county. For several years Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Baer have made their home at Hartford, Washington county, Wis .. where D. W. Baer is a hardware merchant, machinist and contractor. U. S. Baer is the oldest of their five children, the others being Melvin (deceased) ; Lillie, now Mrs. J. K. Powell of Utica, N. Y .; Daisy, proprietor of a dress-making establishment in Milwaukee, and Edna, a student in the University of Wisconsin. U. S. Baer, the subject of this sketch, embarked in the dairy busi- ness in Richland county in the year 1887, entering the dairy de- partment of the University of Wisconsin in the winter of 1891. In 1892 he received a graduating certificate from that institution
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
and the same year was appointed to the position of assistant in- structor in dairying at the Wisconsin dairy school, serving the school in that capacity during the winter months only. During the summer months of those years he was personally engaged in the manufacture of both butter and cheese in Richland and Juneau counties. In the spring of 1893 he had charge of the instructional work in dairying, given in the "short courses" at the Minnesota experiment station, St. Anthony Park, Minn. In the spring of 1895 he was called to the Pacific coast to take charge of work of the same nature at the Washington state agricultural college and school of science, located at Pullman, Wash. Early in the season of 1895 he was employed by the Wisconsin state dairymen's asso- ciation as its expert traveling cheese-instructor, which position he held until October, 1899, when he resigned to accept the appoint- ment as chief instructor in cheese-making at the Wisconsin experi- ment station, which position he gave up to accept an appointment by Gov. Robert M. La Follette, as first assistant dairy and food commissioner and dairy expert in 1903. Mr. Baer's special fitness for the position was long recognized, and since h's incumbency of the office he has filled every requirement. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Woodmen of the World. Mr. Baer is unmarried and makes his home at 450-452 West Gil- man street, Madison, Wis. The dairy press of the entire country unanimously said of Mr. Baer at the time of his appointment : "By ability, technical training, wide and varied experience, Mr. Baer is pre-eminently qualified to perform in a highly efficient and satisfactory manner the duties of the position. He is widely known among the alumni of the dairy and agricultural college of the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, among the membership of the Wisconsin dairymen's, cheese makers' and butter makers' associations, and by dairymen generally throughout the state and country at large, among whom there was a strong sentiment favor'ng his last ap- pointment to a public office of trust."
William R. Bagley, lawyer, was born at Charles City, Iowa, on April 2, 1860. After completing his literary education he studied law and was admitted to the bar in his native state, in 1883, re- moving to Madison, Wis., in the same year, and he has practiced his profession in the capital city ever since. His family consists of himself, wife, and four children.
Nelson R. Bailey, retired farmer of Madison, was born in Essex county, N. Y., August 2, 1835. His parents, Samuel and Almira (B'sby) Bailey, were both born in the same county, there grew to
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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
maturity, and after their marriage came to Wisconsin, settling in what is known as the "Bailey neighborhood," near Sun Prairie, in 1846. Here Samuel Bailey bought three hundred and forty acres of unimproved land, which he opened to cultivation and passed the remainder of his life on the farm. He was one of the pioneers of the Republican party and held a number of offices during his life- time. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Four of their children are still living. John is a physi- cian at Sioux City, Ia .; Nelson R. is the subject of this sketch; Eugene R. is a retired farmer at Selma, Kan .; and Martha is the wife of Edgar Cobb, residing at Colby, Wis. Nelson R. Bailey lived at home with his parents until his marriage to Miss Amanda R., daughter of Richard F. and Jane (Young) Cameron, in November, 1863. She was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., her parents being nat ves of the "Empire State," the father of Morgan and the mother of Saratoga county. They came to Wis- consin in 1846. Their children were Amanda R., now. Mrs. Bailey ; J. W., a physician and dentist at Salina, Kan .; Helen F., wife of W. E. Bailey, and F. Y., who died in July, 1904. In August, 1864, Mr. Bailey enlisted as a private in Company M, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, and served until June, 1865, his regiment during
that time being stationed at Washington, D. C., on guard duty. While in the service he filled the position of clerk to the captain of his company. He was educated in the public schools and taught two terms. Until April. 1902, he continued to live on the old home- stead. He then sold all the farm except fifty acres, retired from active pursuits and took up his residence in Madison. Politically he is a Republican, and in religious matters is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has held several local offices and takes a deep interest in all questions relating to the public weal. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have had four children. Thurman C. died at the age of nine months, and Randolph A. died at the age of five years. Wallace is a dentist at Cadott, Wis. He married Antonia Rosenberg and has one son, Thurman. Ada B. is the wife of Clar- ence L. Kocher of Madison, and has one son, Russell B.
Edward T. Baillie is one or the representative exponents of the re- tail mercantile interests of the city of Madison, being junior mem- ber of the firm of Schmedeman & Baillie, merchant tailors and deal- ers in clothing and men's furnishing goods. Mr. Baillie has the dis- tinction of being a native of the famed old city of Edinburgh, Scot- land, where he was born April 19, 1866, being a son of Peter and Catherine (Tapp) Baillie, both of whom were likewise born in the
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
land of hills and heather. In his native land Peter Baillie fol- lowed the carpenter's trade for many years, becoming a successful contractor, and there he continued to reside until his death, his widow still maintaining her home in Scotland. The subject of this sketch and one of his sisters are the only representatives of the fam- ily in America, his two sisters and one brother being still resident of Scotland. Mr. Baillie was reared to maturity in his native land, receiving the advantages of the excellent schools of Edinburgh. On his twenty-second birthday he severed the home ties and set forth to establish a home in America. He landed in Philadelphia, whence he came direct to Madison. Here he secured a position as clerk in the grocery establishment of Alexander Findlay, at the cor- ner of King and Doty streets, remaining thus engaged for a period of four years, at the expiration of which he became night mailing clerk in the postoffice, retaining this incumbency about two years, then becoming bookkeeper in the dry-goods establishment of R. B. Ogilvie, who was then one of the leading merchants of the capital city. His next position was that of clerk in the clothing and mer- chant-ta loring establishment of the firm of Grinde & Schmedeman, and he continued thus engaged until the dissolution of the firm, when he entered into partnership with Mr. Schmedeman. February 18, 1904, since which time they have continued the enterprise under the firm name of Schmedeman & Baillie, the senior member being Albert G. Schmedeman. Their finely appointed establishment is located at 25 East Main street and they control a representative pat- ronage, catering to the discriminating trade of the city, the univer- sity and the territory normally tributary to the capital city. Mr. Baillie gives his support to the Republican party and both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Modern Woodmen and the Independ- ent Order of Foresters, and he enjoys marked popularity in both business and social circles. July 7, 1892, Mr. Baillie was united in marriage to Miss Julia O. O'Dea, who was born and reared in Mad- ison, being a son of Patrick and Ellen O'Dea, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom still resides in Madison. Mr. and Mrs. Baillie have three children .- Joseph, Helen and Edward.
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