USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 46
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Michael Iverson, M. D., who is engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Stoughton, where he is the owner of a finely equipped private hospital of thirty beds, is recognized as one of the representative surgeons of Dane county. Dr. Iverson was born in the city of Bergen, Norway, November 30, 1861, and is a son of Iver and Maria (Heogh) Iverson. The father, who was a leading jeweler and an honored and influential citizen of Bergen, died in 1896. His widow still resides in Bergen. She is of noble descent, the Heogh family tracing its ancestry through the nobility of Denmark for sev- eral centuries, and several representatives of the name having been prominent in Danish history. In the generation of the present day are found four physicians, four dentists and five clergymen, includ- ing one bishop. These professional men are cousins and uncles of Dr Iverson. The doctor was afforded the advantages of the Latin school in his native city and he then entered the Royal University, at Christiana, from which famous institution he was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1882, receiving the degree of Master of Arts, and passing the examination in philosophy in the following year. He then
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took up the study of medicine, in the medical department of the Uni- versity of Christiana, and was graduated in 1890, with the degree of doctor of medicine. Previously, in 1885, he had enjoyed the benefit of instruction under the well known and distinguished Professor Weidenheini, of Freiburg, Germany, assisting him in his department of anatomy for six months and gaining most valuable experience in the connection. In 1891 Dr. Iverson came to America and forthwith took up his residence in Stoughton, where he has since continued in the active practice of his profession, in which he gained marked dis- tinction and gratifying success. It is well worthy of note in this con- nection that, although the doctor's surgical cases have increased one hundred per cent he has not lost a case in the whole year. He gives special attention to surgery and to the treatment of the diseases of the eye and ear. Dr. Iverson projected, established and owns the Stoughton hospital and sanitarium, which is thoroughly modern in all its equipments and facilities. It is situated on a high hill with an exceptional view of ten miles in every direction and has roomy screened porches in all three stories. In the same are installed all kinds of therapeutic appliances. All kinds of baths are to be had in the institution, and the hospital has an excellent corps of trained nurses, who are educated in the institution, under the personal direc- tion of Dr. Iverson. The operating room is thoroughly aseptic and has the best of appliances, so that the work done in the same is of the best order known to modern surgery. The hospital is non-sec- tarian and is strictly a private institution, though some charity work is done in a quiet way. Dr. Iverson and his family reside in the building and his presence is a great convenience to his patients. The building has its own electric-lighting and steam plants, and the insti- tution is a credit to the city and to its founder and owner. August 24, 1891, Dr. Iverson was united in marriage to Miss Helga Yohane Eide, of Sondfjord, Norway, and they have three daughters,-Ingeborg, Agnes and Dagmar.
Edson B. Jackson belonged to an American family whose his- tory runs back two hundred years, to Michael Jackson, the son of one of two brothers who came to th's country from the north of Ireland, in the colonial days and some of whose descendants, including the direct ancestor of the subject of this sketch, took part in the Revolu- tionay War. His parents, John Lyman and Phoebe (Turner) Jack- son, were natives of New York and Edson B. was born in that state, in Strykersville, Wyoming county, September 29, 1843. The family came west in 1852, making the journey from Buffalo to Milwaukee via the lakes, thence by rail to Madison over the first railroad between
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these points, just then completed, and to Richland county by team. They settled in Forest township, built a log cabin and began pioneer life in earnest. It was said that "the only capital the father possessed was a strong constitution, a clear conscience, a wife, two babies and enough money to buy an ax to carve out a home in the forest, but after all, in many respects, a better capital for future American citi- zenship than many a modern Croesus can command." With the char- acteristic versatility of the "down-easter," he taught school, peddled, gathered ginseng in the woods, which being dried, sold for twelve cents a pound, and out of the hard conditions of pioneer life, com- manded success, built himself a comfortable home, and won the respect and esteem of the community, being elected to represent his assembly district in the Wisconsin legislature. Edson Jackson was a half- grown lad when he came with his parents to Wisconsin, and had al- ready received the rudiments of his education; he attended the district schools of Viroqua and Baraboo, but was very largely a self-educated man. September 3. 1864, he went into service in Company B, Forty. second Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, and remained until the close of the war, being discharged June 20, 1865. After returning from the war he made his home on the farm with his father and mother. In 1864 the family moved from Richland county, to Dane, and lived several years in the town of Sun Prairie; in 1867, they bought the "C. P. Mosely farm," of one hundred and twenty acres in section II, township of Oregon, where the family still resides. In the eighties he spent several years traveling in the interest of the Jackson Cold Storage and Refrigerator Co., of which he was manager and superintendent. Mr. Jackson was a Democrat of the old school but that did not prevent his being elected for nine consecutive years as chairman of the board of supervisors in the town of Oregon, a town strongly Republican; he also served on the Dane county board for nine years and was chairman of that body at the time of his death. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Jackson married somewhat late in life after the death of his parents. His wife was Mrs. Josephine ( Bull) Fisher, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah ( For- sell) Bull, natives of England, who came to New York before the war, in 1853, and in 1862 settled in Springfield. Dane county. They bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Oregon township, but after- ward sold it and moved to Oregon village, where they died. Mrs. Jackson was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., and came to the west with her parents in 1862. She was for many years a popular teacher in the Oregon schools, active in church circles, and a leader of the social life of the village. Mrs. Jackson is now resident of Oregon village. She
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married Mr. Jackson, September 30, 1896, and they had two children, Lyman Edson and Morris Dunn. Mr. Jackson had one sister, Helen S. Jackson Dunn, of Centralia, Ill. She belongs to the D. A. R. and is a practising physician. She graduated in medicine in Chicago, and began her independant career very carly, teaching her first school when she was fourteen years old. Mr. Jackson died at his home in Oregon, July 9, 1904. He is remembered as a man of genial char- acteristics, of exceptionally good judgment and of fearless honesty.
Robert H. Jacobs is the proprietor of a hotel and one of the lead- ing citizens of Verona. His father, William H. Jacobs, was a native of Scoharie county, N. Y., and came to Illinois when he was about twenty-five years of age. He was an active, energetic busi- ness man and carried on large real estate deals in Baraboo, Madison and Chicago. He died very suddenly while sitting in his chair ; he was an early riser and on the morning in question got up at his usual hour, apparently in his usual health. He was fifty-seven years of age at the time of his death. He married Mary E. Knowles, a native of Pennsylvania and of Quaker descent. She resides at present in Madison. She was one of a family of thirteen children, three of whom served in the Civil War; one brother died in Libby prison and one in Andersonville, the third escaped from Andersonville after having been confined there for sixteen months; he lived about eleven years, but never recovered from the rheuma- tism contracted during his imprisonment. Mr. Wm. H. Jacobs also served in the war, in Company D, First Wisconsin cavalry, and was wounded by a minnie ball, in the left shoulder. during the engagement at Chalk's Bluff, Mo. Robert H. Jacobs was born in South Evanston, Ill., August 24, 1874. He is the third in a family of five, viz., S. M. Jacobs, proprietor of a feed store, Madison , Jessie, married E. S. Barker of Madison; Robert H .; Grace, (de- ceased) ; Marion F., a teacher of Madison. The earlier part of his life was spent in Sauk and Walworth counties, and when he was twelve years of age the family removed to Dane county. At the age of twenty-two he was engaged in the feed business in Madison, under the firm name of Jacobs & Rothnick, remaining in the busi- ness for about one year, he then took up farming, for a year, in Middleton township, but returned to Madison and went into the grocery business, and later entered the employ of the Madison Traction Co., as a motorman. His last stay in Madison covered about four years and at the end of that time he went to Verona and engaged in the hotel business. He was married June 30, 1897, to Miss Nellie Buehler, daughter of Christopher and Lizzie E.
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Buehler, early settlers in Sauk county. They have two children, Hildreth, born August 19, 1902, and Robert, born September 13, 1904. Mr. Jacobs is a Republican and a member of the Henry Harnden Camp, Sons of Veterans.
Ole R. Jacobsen, proprietor of the O. R. Jacobsen grocery and crockery concern at 201 East Main street, Madison, was born in Norway, August 8, 1855. His parents, Jacob Olesen and Grete Dortea, never came to America. The father died while the sub- ject of this sketch was still a youth. The mother,, eighty-eight years of age, is still living, a resident of Norway. Her husband was a shoemaker and farmer, and followed those vocations all his life. Ole R. Jacobsen came to the New World in 1871, his destina- tion being Madison. He started in the grocery and crockery busi- ness in the firm known as Nelson & Jacobsen, and which later be- came known as Olsen & Jacobsen. Several years ago he pur- chased his partner's interest and has since managed the business alone. For over thirty years he has been identified with the grocery business of Madison, either as a clerk, in partnership or carrying on a business of his own. He has been highly successful, as is evidenced by the standard which his place of business keeps. On January 30, 1879, Mr. Jacobsen was united in marriage to Miss Tina Johnson, a native of Norway, and by this union is the father of six children. The children in the order of their ages are Gerhart, Carl, Berthe, Thora, Clara and Esther. The religious affiliations of the family are with the Lutheran church. Politically Mr. Jacobsen belongs to the Republican party. The Jacobsen's pretty home is at 20 North Franklin street and its air of quiet refinement gives ample evidence of the perfect harmony of the home life.
Johan Jacobson, member of the firm of Jacobson Bros., owners and proprietors of the Stoughton Home Bakery, the leading estab- lishment of its kind in the city, is a native of Norway. His father, Jacob Christopherson, was employed by the Norwegian govern- ment in the postal department for fifty years. In 1894 he died, aged seventy-eight years, and his widow, Karen (Johanson) Chris- topherson came to Stoughton in 1904 to join her children, Martin, Johan, Andrew and Ingeborg. Johan was born November 29, 1882, received his early education in Norway and came to the United States when he was a lad of seventeen years. He found employ- ment with the Mandt Wagon Co. and worked there until 1903, when the present firm of Jacobson Bros. was established. The new firm commenced with considerable patronage and the business has been constantly growing. April 18, 1906. Mr. Jacobson mar-
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ried Miss Hilda Ovren, daughter of August E. and Sarah (Jensen) Ovren of Stoughton. Mr. Jacobson is fond of out-of-door sports and owns a large gasoline launch, one of the finest on Lake Ke- gonsa, where he also owns an interest in a delightful summer cot- tage, which he occupies with his family during a part of each sum- mer. The family is identified with the Norwegian Lutheran church and Mr. Jacobson is a member of the I. S. W. A. He is affiliated with the Republican party but devotes but little time to active par- ticipation in politics.
Henry C. Jaquish is a pioneer of Wisconsin, who has now after a successful business career, retired from active life and makes his home in Madison. He was born at Mount Rose, Susquehanna county, Pa., March 31, 1820, son of David and Anna (Worden) Jaquish, the former a native of New York and the latter of Connecticut. Henry C. had very little opportunity for education although he attended the dis- trict school in the vicinity of his home. In 1845 he was at work in St. Louis and decided to go to Wisconsin and accordingly drove his team from St. Louis to Mineral Point, where at that time the lead mines were attracting many settlers. Mr. Jaquish remained in Min- eral Point but one year and again using his team and wagon for con- veyance, moved to Dane county and built a comfortable home in which he resided for seven or eight years. He then bought the Heyer hotel, in Madison, the name of which he later changed to that of Ja- quish Hotel, and conducted for twenty years. A member of the old Whig party, Mr. Jaquish served as constable several terms in terri- torial days. December 26, 1844, he married Miss Sally May Barnes, who was born in St. Clair county, Ill., August 11, 1827, daughter of Joseph and Betsey Barnes. Ten children were born to the marriage. Maria is deceased; Jennie is Mrs. William Stephens of New York; Joseph and Henry reside in Wisconsin; Hannah married H. Doyling, is now a widow and lives in Oshkosh; Frank resides in Baraboo; Charles resides in Madison ; Minnie is Mrs. Mitchell of Madison; John and Jerome also live in Madison.
Beverly Jefferson. Among the important business interests of the city of Madison, Wisconsin, is the one conducted by the sub- ject of the present sketch. What Frank Parmalee or Leroy Payne is to Chicago, Mr. Jefferson is to the city of Madison, conducting as he does one of the largest lines of carriages, hacks and wagons in this section. His business was begun in 1869, and is the oldest in the city, having been developed as the demands of the times required, until now his establishment is metropolitan in its appoint- ments. His stables are located at No. 12 North Webster street.
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Mr. Jefferson came to this city in the early fifties, when he was yet a boy, passing his young manhood in various occupations until he became the clerk of the old but well remembered American House. The old house has given place to the handsome First National bank building on that site. Here our subject remained until his enlistment in 1861, in Company E, First Wisconsin Regiment, under Colonel J. C. Starkweather and Captain Geo. E. Bryant. He served three months in the volunteer army, going out with the three months' men. At the expiration of his enlistment, he re- turned and bought out the American House, in which he had been clerk before entering the army. After a season Mr. Jeffer- son moved out to his farm, which is located four miles from the city, but later returned and opened the hotel known as the Capital House, being the first landlord, and here he remained for just five years. In the meantime he had seen the opening for a line of om- nibuses, and left the hotel to engage in his present business which he established before leaving the hotel. Mr. Jefferson has steered clear of local politics. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the C. C. Washburn post. No. 11, G. A. R. of Madison, of the Old Settlers Club, and the American Association of Passenger & Bag .. gage Transfer. Mr. Jefferson was born in Augusta county, Vir- ginia, in 1839, and was yet young when his parents removed to the west. Both of his parents were born in Virginia. They both died in Madison, the father when he was less than fifty years of age, and the mother when seventy-five. Her maiden name was Julia A. Jefferson. She was a member of the Congregational church. Our subject is the only surviving member of his family and was the youngest son. The oldest son. Col. J. W. died June 13, 1892, at Memphis, Tennessee. He had been a resident of Madison for some years, enlisted early in the Civil War, was commissioned major of the Eighth Wisconsin Volunteers, known as the "Eagle Eight" August 26, 1861 ; he was seriously wounded at Corinth, Mississippi, May 22, 1863 ; was promoted to the position of colonel at the expi- ration of his term of service, October 11, 1864, and at once returned to the city of Memphis, Tenn., where he engaged in the buying and shipping of cotton and for many years was interested in the raising of cotton in the state of Arkansas. Colonel Jefferson was identi- fied very closely with the history of Memphis and that city's inter- , ests and welfare were dear to his heart from 1864 until the time of his death. In Memphis he was regarded by all as a gentleman to be esteemed, as he was enterprising. liberal, progressive and warm- hearted. He was one of the original projectors and owners of the
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Continental Cotton Company, and until 1873 was one of the largest shippers of cotton in the south, and was interested in many other enterprises. He was of a genial, chivalrous disposition, and be- came well known throughout the south, his adopted home. He became wealthy and died unmarried. Our subject was married in Madison to Miss Anna M. Smith, a native of Pennsylvania, who came here when a young girl with her parents, Isaac and Sarah J. Smith. They settled upon a farm near Madison, where they be- came prosperous, but later moved into the city, where they both died and were buried upon the same day at about the age of seventy-five years. Before coming west Mr. Smith had been a prominent lumber merchant in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Jefferson died in 1880, when in middle life. She was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church and left behind her five sons: Thomas B., a messenger with the American Express Co., with headquarters at Chicago ; John F., in the passenger service of the C. & N. R. R. Co., with headquarters at Chicago; Fred A., a graduate of the Rush Medical college and a practicing physician on the north side, Chi- cago ; Harry E., deceased ; Carl, graduate from the law department of the University of Wisconsin, and is now assistant attorney in the legal department of the C. M. & St. P. R. R., at Chicago.
Griffith Jehu is a prominent and successful farmer of the town of Rutland and is a native of Montgomeryshire, Wales. He owns a fine farm of three hundred fifty-four acres in the town of Rutland, on which he carries on a general farming business, raising tobacco, hay, grain, etc., but he gives most of his attention to his fine registered Polled Angus cattle, of which he has a herd of fifty head. His par- ents, Hugh and Sarah (Evans) Jehu were born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, lived there during their youth and early married life and came to America in 1847. They lived for a time in Racine and in 1866 came to Rutland, where they obtained two hundred and forty acres of farm and in section 26. There were few improvements on the farm and its value has been very greatly enhanced by the additions to it made by Mr. Jehu. A Republican in his political sympathies. Mr. Jehu never desired office. With his family he attended the Welsh Metho- dist Episcopal church. Of the family of nine children but three are now living ; Elizabeth, whose home is in Algona, Iowa; Griffith, the subject of this sketch, and Hugh, who is a retired farmer of Esther- ville, Iowa. Griffith was born in 1846. attended the common schools and the Albion Academy and lived at home, working on the farm and taking care of his parents as they grew old. He has done a great deal of the work which has made his farm an up-to-date and valuable
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farm property and keeps well-posted in everything which concerns his business. Mr. Jehu is , like his father, a Republican and takes an active interest in local affairs. He held the office of assessor for two years and has also been chairman of the town board for eleven years in succession. In May, 1899, he married Miss Hattie Ham, daughter of Henry and Mary (Alvis) Ham, natives of Somersetshire, England. Mrs. Jehu's father is a butcher in Stoughton. Griffith, Jr. is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Jehu. Mr. Jehu is an active and energetic business man and owner of one of the finest farms in the district.
John T. W. Jennings, member of the firm of Jennings & Kronen- berg, architects, with offices in the Wisconsin building, Madison, comes of a line of New England patriots. His father, George H. Jen- nings, was in the wholesale grocery and provision business in New York state for many years. He was born November 9, 1824. Dur- ing the Civil War he was in the cotton commission business for War- ren Newcombe & Company and later was general auditor of the en- tire business of Grover & Baker, manufacturers of sewing machines and subsequently was secretary and treasurer of the Biddle Manu- facturing company of New York. The first Jennings to arrive in the colonies was Nathan, who settled in Massachusetts in 1690. Subse- quently he removed to Windham, Conn., where he was one of the pioneers. Through his brothers' descendants, Wisconsin, Iowa, Mich- igan and Minnesota became peopled with Jennings. His son Jona- than was the first white child born in Windham settlement. From the Windham Jonathan emigrated to where Sandusky, Ohio, now stands and entered a timber claim. On account of an ocular trouble Jonathan returned to New York where he died. His son Nathan, the father of George H., was a soldier in the war of 1812. A great uncle of the sub- ject of this sketch was Jay Jennings, who kept an inn and a store where Delafield is now located, it being a stopping place for stages running between Madison and Racine. Jay's descendants are scattered throughout Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Royal Jennings, a cousin of George H., was the father of two sons, Royal H. and Edward, who settled in Milwaukee in 1842. The first named was for many years treasurer of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway system. His daughter, Miss Frances, is still a resident of Milwau- kee. Edward was treasurer of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance of Milwaukee. He left three children, George, Ferguson and Clara. The latter is now Mrs. Cassius Noyes of the Cream City. Maternally J. T. W. Jennings is of Scotch descent. His mother, née Elizabeth Wilson, was a direct and lineal decendent of James Wilson, who came from Paisley, Scotland, to New York in 1740. Her
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father, John Wilson, was a major in the eleventh New York artillery in the War of 1812. Mrs. Jennings died March 14, 1861. She is survived by two other children besides the subject of this sketch,- Linson De Forest, who makes his home in Buffalo, and Mary Eliza- beth, now the wife of Wilfred Buckland, a resident of New York. John T. W. Jennings was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., May 29, 1856. His education was received in the Brooklyn public school and the polytechnic school of the same city. In 1877 he was graduated from New York university with the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Civil Engineer. When his collegiate work was over he entered the architect's office of the Astor estate under Thomas Stent. Later he be- came assistant engineer of the New York suburban rapid transit road and in 1883 accepted a similar position with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad company. From 1885 to 1893 he was the architect for the company, from the later year until 1899 was engaged in gen- eral practice in Chicago. In 1899 he removed to Madison to accept the position of supervising architect of the University of Wisconsin buildings and grounds and held that position until November II, 1905, when the firm of Jennings & Kronenberg was established. While engaged in university work he oversaw the building of the agricultural hall, the dairy barns, the university stable, the agricul- tural power house, the engineering building, the horticultural build- ing and the chemistry building. On March 11, 1886, Mr. Jennings was united in marriage to Miss Jeanette McKee Williams, a native of Milwaukee, and a daughter of Lansing and Amelia (Leland) Wil- liams. Mr. Williams is deceased, but his widow is still a resident of Ola, Ark. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings have one daughter, Ruth Leland, a student of the University of Wisconsin, and one son, John Wil- liams Jenning, born November 11, 1896. Mrs. Jennings is a com- municant of the Episcopal church. Her husband is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks and the Zeta Psi college fraternity. While a resident of of New York he belonged to the Company B. Thirteenth Regiment, state militia.
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