History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical, Part 6

Author: Keyes, Elisha W. (Elisha Williams), 1828-1910
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Madison, Wi. : Western Historical Association
Number of Pages: 998

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Albert O. Barton, managing editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, a daily evening paper published in Madison, was born on a farm in the town of Primrose, Dane county, Dec. 11, 1869. He is a son of Ole and Mary Ann (Twedten) Barton, both natives of Norway, who came to this country at the ages of seven (1848) and three (1852) respectively. The father was educated in the schools in the town of Blue Mounds, where his father had located. In 1862 Ole Barton enlisted in Company D, Twenty-Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. This regiment participated in the disastrous Red river expedition under General Banks, in the reduction of the forts at Mobile, the fight at Spanish Fort and the other engagements of the brigade. While home on a furlough in 1863 he was married. Mr. Barton was mustered out at Mobile in 1865 and on his return from the war began farming on one of the La Follette farms in the town of Primrose. Since that time he has purchased several farms of his own, and today conducts a two hundred and twenty-four acre place in the same town. During the winter months he taught school. He was one of the first farmers to arouse an interest in the dairy business, and was very influential in the erection of the cheese factory in Primrose, Feb. 6, 1878. He is an enthusiastic and loyal member of the Grand Army of the Republic and attends all en- campments of the order. Mrs. Barton died August 16, 1878, at the age of thirty-eight years and her husband was married a second t'me in 1881 to Miss Ingeborg Oakland of Primrose. By his first wife he is the father of five children, and by his second wife of eight. He has held all the offices that it is within the power of the town elect- ors to fill. He has been justice of the peace, town clerk, chairman of the town and school district clerk. Probably no other man is more widely or favorably known over the county than Mr. Barton. Several years ago he purchased a farm in Taylor county, and has overseen the operation of it in connection with the management of the home place.

Albert O. Barton was educated in the district schools of the town of Primrose and completed his preparatory education in the Dodge- ville high school. He then entered the University of Wisconsin and was graduated from that institution with the degree of B. L. in the class of 1896. Immediately after completing his scholastic la- bors he entered the newspaper field, in the employ of the Madison Democrat. He continued thus until 1903, in the meantime rising to the managing editorship. In the spring of that year he 5-iii

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

assumed the same position with the Wisconsin State Journal and has remained with that publication ever since. During his colle- giate course he was active in journalism, being one of the editors of the Daily Cardinal, a student publication. He has frequently contributed to and corresponded regularly for St. Paul, Minneapolis, New York and Boston papers and different magazines. For some years after graduation he was editor of the Alumni Magazine, a period cal issued by the graduates of the state university. In 1895 he published a book entitled "The Story of Primrose from 1831 to 1895", being a history of the township. In 1899 Mr. Barton spent the summer abroad, visiting the British Isles, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. He has also traveled extensively through the south and Canada, contributing letters on the same to the magazines and periodicals interested. When the Ygdrasil society of Madison, composed of the Scandinavian college men of the town, was formed, he was one of the charter members. He has done considerable research work along the line of Scandinavian his- tory and literature, in which he is much interested. Politically Mr. Barton is a Republican, belonging to the dominant wing of the party. He has never aspired to public office and despite the fact that he has labored hard and earnestly in behalf of the principles he upholds he has never sought appointment to office as a reward for his work. He has the distinction of having been the last secre- tary of the Republican city committee before the operation of the new primary election law. On June 24. 1901, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Ada Winterbotham, a native of Madison, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Winterbotham of Madison. Both Mr. and Mrs. Winterbotham are graduates of the University. ' of Wisconsin, Mrs. Winterbotham finishing her course with the class of 1865, the first class which contained "co-eds" to graduate from the state institution. Mr. and Mrs. Barton have one son, Harold Edward Sharp, and a daughter. Mr. Barton is a member of the Sons of Veterans and an alumnus of the Athenaean literary society of the University of Wisconsin. His friends pred'ct a bril- liant future for him in the literary world.

Thomas Barton is one of the progressive farmers of the town of Blue Mounds, and as his entire life has been spent in that vicinity , the esteem in which he is held by his neighbors is a flattering tribute ; to his integrity and probity of character. He was born on the place where he now resides on August 1, 1866, and is a son of Ole and May (Thompson) Barton, both of whom were natives of Norway. The father came to America in 1848, and in the same year settled ",

BIOGRAPHICAL.

on the place where the son now resides and where the father spent all of his life after coming to Wisconsin. He was one of the early settlers of Dane county and lived nearly a half century within her confines, dying in August, 1895, at the advanced age of seventy- nine years. Thomas Barton, whose name introduces this review, is one of a family of six children that were born to the pioneer pa- rents above mentioned, and he was reared in the town of Blue Mounds, receiving his education in the public schools, and his occu- pation has always been that of a farmer. His well improved farm comprises one hundred and ninety acres of extremely fertile land. Mr. Barton was married on November 13, 1895 to Miss Emma Kably, daughter of Philip Kably, a long-time resident of the town of Blue Mounds but now residing in the village of Mt. Horeb. Mr. and Mrs. Barton have become the parents of four child- ren ; Adele, Oscar, Myrtle and Earl. Our subject has always been a strenuous worker in the ranks of the Republican party and con- sistently believes that continued application of the principles of that political organization will solve any problems of government that may present themselves. In addition to general farming, which he carries on quite extensively, he also devotes considerable atten- tion to the co-ordinate industries of stock-raising and dairying. Of the brothers and sisters of the subject of this review, Anna mar- ried Andrew Jacobson and resides in Richland county, Iowa ; Carrie married John Hogred and resides in Mt. Horeb ; Bennett resides at Blue Mounds; Edward at Blue Mounds and Julia at Mt: Horeb. where the mother of these children also resides. Bennett Barton, a. brother of the subject of this review, was born in the town of Blue Mounds on April 1, 1870, and was reared there, receiving his educa- tion in the public schools. He supplemented the knowledge thus gained by attending school at different times in Dodgeville and Black Earth, and the years of his early manhood were devoted to the occupation of teaching. He commenced farming for himself in 1894 on the place where he now resides, comprising one hundred and ninety-two acres, and there he has since met with flattering success. in the business of general farming and dairying. He was married Feb. 12, 1894, to Miss Julia Haakenes, daughter of Hanse Haakenes. a prominent farmer of the town of Blue Mounds, and to this union there have been born five children : Orvin, Eleanor. Harland, Benja- min and Margaret. Mr. Barton is a Republican in his political affiliations and his personal worth and ability have been recognized by election to the office of justice of the peace, which position he

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

at present fills. H's religious faith is expressed by membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church.

Robert McKee Bashford, a leading member of the Madison bar, was born in La Fayette county, Wisconsin, December 31, 1845. His father was Samuel Morris Bashford, a native of New York city who was reared by a relative, Dr. Morris, and educated as a physician. After his removal to Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1835, he discarded the practice of medicine for the more congenial pursuit of agricul- ture. His first wife died soon after his coming west and on June 27. 1843, he married Mrs. Mary Ann (McKee) Parkinson, the widow of W. C. Parkinson, the daughter of Robert McKee. of Edwards- ville. Ill., and a native of Kentucky. Robert M. Bashford is a son of this second marriage. Mr. Bashford is one of the best known of Madison's citizens, having been before that community since he entered the state university in 1863, as a student of general literature and law, as the editor of a leading paper, as city attorney, as mayor, as state senator, as well as in the capacity of a practicing attorney in a private firm for much of the time. His university studies were taken leisurely, as he was not graduated from the college of liberal arts until 1870 and from the law school in 1871. This deliberate- ness was partly the result of financial necessities, as he varied his school life by teaching and had even before graduation served as the principal of schools in Linden, Poynette and Darlington. He had, however, the advantage of entering upon his later work with more maturity of character than the young man has usually attained whose road to professional proficiency is strewn with metaphorical flowers. While' pursuing his law studies at the university, he attained practical knowledge of his profession in the office of Smith & Lamb. a leading law firm of Madison. After his graduation he did not enter upon an active practice for some years, as he formed a partnership with John B. and A. C. Parkinson and George Raymer for the purchase of the Madison daily and weekly Democrat, which occupation engaged his attention for five years. During his asso- ciation with this paper it was enlarged, changed from an evening to a morning paper and supplied with new presses and material. In its editorial management, he pursued a liberal policy and carried out his views with characterstic independence, and frequently directly against the violent opposition of certain factions of his own party. It was during his editorial connection with this paper that there was formed the coalition of the liberal Republicans and the Democrats which nominated Horace Greeley for the presidency, and also, in the state politics, that union of the Grangers and the Democratic

BIOGRAPHICAL.

party which resulted in the election of William R. Taylor as gover- nor. The subsequent legislation and the testing of its validity by the courts, has had wide-reaching results, as it established the rights of the state in the control of railway corporations. During this same time Mr. Bashford compiled the legislative manual for the years 1875, 1876, 1877 and 1878, and was engaged in the publication of the revised statutes of Wisconsin for 1878. This work resulted in a familiar knowledge of legislative enactments and methods, and with affairs of the state. In 1876, Mr. Bashford gave up his work in connection with the paper and entered upon the practice of h's pro- fession as a member of the firm of Gill, Bashford & Spilde, which . partnership he held until 1880. In 1881 he became a member of the law firm of Tenney, Bashford and Tenney, of Madison, which held his office there until 1885, when an office under that firm name was opened in Chicago,and continued until 1885, when Mr. Bashford returned to Madison and formed a partnership with Hon. James L. O'Connor, later attorney general, which continued for a number of years. Mr. Bashford is at present the senior member of the firm of Bashford. Aylward & Spenseley. Mr. Bashford's service in municipal affairs have been noteworthy. He was the city attorney from 1881 to 1886 and in that capacity defeated the propo- s'tion to give to a private corporation a franchise for the construc- tion of the city waterworks. Moreover, he secured the legislation by which the city was empowered to construct, own and operate its own waterworks, and, the year following, that work was begun. Throughout all the business of contracting and supervising the con- struction of the waterworks and sewers, he rendered efficient service to the city. In 1890 Mr. Bashford was elected mayor of the city of Madison, coming into office at a time when the conditions ren- dered that office a particularly trying one. The financial condition of the city treasury would not admit of needful improvements, or even defray the necessary expenses connected with municipal life, and at the very opening of his administration, charges were pre- ferred against two members of the council and the chief of the fire department, for corrupt practices in conection with the city finances. This investigation, resulting in the removal of all the parties ac- cused, was an unpleasant beginning for the official head of city affairs, but Mr. Bashford conducted the investigation with such thoroughness coupled with fairness. as commended him to all law- abiding citizens ; and he was supported in this action by the common council, the press and the general public, as having performed a difficult and unpleasant duty in a spirit of judicial equity. The

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

financial condition of the city treasury was met, during Mr. Bash- ford's incumbency, by the sale of certain city property, and thus he was enabled to inaugurate necessary work upon the streets. A quarry and a steam road roller were purchased, and by the aid of special assessments the work of a thorough street improvement was begun, which has been continued up to the present time, and which contributed so largely to the beauty and comfort of Madison as a residence city. Mr. Bashford's services in the larger field of state politics are considerable, and while he has labored for the suc- cess of the party with which he is politically allied, he has always reserved for himself the liberty of his private judgment, and has, on many occasions, beginning with his early editorial work, been able to influence the attitude and action of his political confreres. He has frequently been selected to serve on central committees and to act as delegate for the city, the county and the state, and in 1884 .was a delegate to the national Democratic convention at Chicago, was also served as state senator from 1891 to 1895. Previous to the last judicial election, Mr. Bashford received a very flattering endorse- . ment from the Madison bar, as a nominee for the position as judge of the supreme court, but which after consideration, he declined to accept. notwithstanding a very generally expressed opinion as to his fitness for that position. 'Mr. Bashford's legal career has been one which has developed a well-rounded character, and he is considered as one of the able members of the Wisconsin bar. He has been . associated with many cases involving large interests, and perhaps -obtained his greatest distinction as an attorney from his prosecu- tion of the suits against the ex-treasurers of Wisconsin for the recov- ery of interest upon the public funds ; he was engaged in these cases as special council by Governor Peck, and was associated with Attor- ney General O'Connor and Senator Vilas. Mr. Bashford was em- ployed as special counsel for Secretary of State Houser in the suit brought in the summer of 1904 by S. A. Cook and others to deter- mine the regularity of the state ticket nominated by the Republican convention of that year and with his associates succeeded in obtain- ing in the supreme court, a decision in favor of the ticket headed by Governor La Follette; in 1906 he was employed as special couns ?: for the state in the suit brought in the supreme court to test the val- idity of the inheritance tax and made the brief and argument on the reargument ordered by the court, the final decision sustaining the law upon the grounds for which he contended. Mr. Bashford has for many years been a professor of the college of law of the Univer- sity of Wisconsin, and his work has covered a broad field and has

BIOGRAPHICAL

been singularly acceptable to the hundreds of students who have . had the benefit of h's instruction. Mr. Bashford was married No- vember 27. 1873, to Miss Florence E. Taylor, who was born at Cottage Grove, Dane county, June 16, 1854 a graduate of the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, and a daughter of ex-Governor Taylor. She died August 16, 1886. leaving one daughter. Florence M., who was born September 4, 1875, and who was married to C. F. Spensley in 1894. February 7, 1889, Mr. Bashford married Miss Sarah A. Fuller, daughter of M. E. Fuller, one of the leading business men of Madison. Two of Mr. Bashford's brothers, John Wesley and James Whitford, and a half-brother, Samuel Whitney Trousdale, are also graduates of the University of Wisconsin. John W. Bash- ford, who died at Hudson in March, 1905, was a lawyer of promi- nence, who had served his city as attorney and mayor and also as a member of the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin. The other brothers are ministers in the Methodist Episcopal church. At the last general conference, James W. Bashford, who had occu- p'ed prominent positions in the church. was elected to the position of bishop.

George Adam Batz, the president of the Farmers' & Merchants' bank of Sun Prairie, is well-known in the community as a successful farmer and has won international recognition by some of the pro- ducts of his farm. . He is the son of Dane county pioneers, Peter and Johanna (Terronf) Batz, who were natives of Germany. Peter Batz was born in Bavaria. April 25, 1822, and came to Milwaukee in 1848. In the same year he was married in Milwaukee and came to the town of Bristol, where he obtained a farm of eighty acres. For three years he worked out, at $10.00 per month, while his wife managed the home property. Mr. Batz traded in lands, at one time owning eight hundred and forty acres in Bristol. In 1891 he went. to Sun Prairie and organized the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank. For ten years the bank was a private institution in which Mr. Batz was assisted by his sons. George P. and Erhard, and in 1901 it was incorporated as the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Sun Prairie, with George A. Batz as president, his father, Peter Batz, retiring from active business. George A. was one of a fam- ily of ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of whom are living. Two brothers, John and Valentine, I've in Minnesota. where Valentine has a seat in the state senate. The family are prominent in the Roman Catholic church, whose first log chapel and whose present edifice in East Bristol, Peter Batz a ded in erect- ing. The experiences of Peter Batz in the early days of the com-

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

munity are typical of the hardy pioneer; he was forty-eight days crossing the Atlantic and after reaching Milwaukee, walked the rest of the distance to Dane county. George Adam, son of Peter Batz, was born in Bristol, January 22, 1865, attended the Bristol district school and the Roman Catholic school of East Bristol. He has always devoted most of his attention to farming and resides upon farmi of two hundred and sixty acres in Bristol, where he raises Holstein cattle and carries on an extensive sheep-raising business. Cheviot sheep are his specialty and Mr. Batz was the second man in Wisconsin to breed this particular strain. Fine Clydesdale horses are also raised by Mr. Batz. He is a careful student of farm- ing methods and keeps well abreast of the times, employing modern, up-to-date methods. The premium on Dutch clover was awarded to Mr. Batz at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893, both for quality and for the largest yield (ten bushels to the acre), and at the World's Fair at St. Louis, he won the gold medal for his exhibit of red kidney beans and also a premium for his oats. Like his father, Mr. Batz is always active in promoting the inter- ests of the town and has served as supervisor and secretary and di- rector of the school board. He is identified with the Democratic party. January 22, 1894, occurred the marriage of George A. Batz and Miss Catherine Germinder, daughter of Alois Germinder. Four children have blessed the marriage; Peter Clements, Cita Barbara, Mary Regina and Prisca Barbara. The family attend the Sun Pra rie Catholic church. At the golden wedding celebration of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Batz. forty-eight grandchildren were present. In the bank at Sun Prairie owned by the Batz family, George A. is president, George P., vice-president, Erhard, cashier and Misses Johanna and Anna, assistant cash ers.

Hubert J. Bauhs has been a resident of Dane county from the time of his birth, is the owner of a well improved farm in Cross Plains township. He was born in this township. September 14, 1863, and is a son of Adam and Anna Mary (Jorden) Bauhs, both of whom were born and reared in Germany. Adam Bauhs came to America about the year 1851, and his future wife accompanied her parents on their immigration to the United States, about the same time. Adam Bauhs located in Perry township. Dane county, soon after his arrival in Wisconsin, and two years later removed to Cross Plains township, where he purchased a tract of wild land, in sec- tion 31, recla ming a good farm and continuing to reside on the homestead for forty years. He passed the closing days of his life in the home of the subject of this sketch, his death occurring

BIOGRAPHICAL.

November 25, 1904. He was a Democrat in his political procliv- ities, and both he and his wife, who passed away March 9, 1880, were communicants of St. Mary's Catholic church, at Pine Bluff. Of the thirteen children seven are living, namely : Mary who is the wife of Lawrence Michaels, of Barron county, this state ; William, who is a farmer of Middleton township ; Hubert, who figures as the immediate subject of this sketch; Joseph, who is a carpenter and contractor of Appleton, Wisconsin; John, who is employed as teamster at the University of Wisconsin; Elizabeth who is the wife of John Haack, of Madison ; and Frances, who is the wife of Henry Miller, of Middleton, Wis .; Hubert Bauhs was afforded the advan- tages of the public school in Pine Bluff, and he continued to be associated in the work of the home farm until his marriage, when he became concerned in the same line of enterprise on his own responsibility. He purchased one hundred and twenty acres in sec- tion 10, Cross Plains township, the tract being to a large extent in its wild state, with no improvements of more than nomenal order. He has reclaimed the land to cultivation, has erected good buildings, and he has been very successful in his operations as a general farmer and dairyman. In July, 1905, he engaged in the saloon business in Cross Plains, but he also continues to give his personal super- vision to his farm. Mr. Baths is a staunch supporter of the causes of the Democratic party, and he served twelve years as township treasurer, was a member of the town board four years, and has held other minor offices. His preferment in this way indicates the high esteem in which he is held in the community. He is a communicant of the Catholic church and is a liberal supporter and active worker in the same. He was treasurer of the St. Francis church, Berry township, for six years. November 25, 1885, Mr. Bauths was united in marriage to Miss Theresa Mary Birrenkott, daughter of Michael Birrenkott, who was one of the honored pioneers of this county, more specific mention of the family being made in the sketch of Adolf Birrenkott, on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Bauhs have seven children, namely : Adam J., John M., William H., Michael A., Elizabeth Clara, Peter J., and Victor M.

Edward Baus, a cigar manufacturer of Madison, was born in Prussia, Germany, February 13, 1846. His parents were Richard and Sophia (Hess) Baus, who came to this country from Germany in 1851. They lived first in Cleveland, Ohio, then in Watertown, Wis., and on February 18, 1853, arrived in Madison. The trip from Watertown was made with ox-teams and horses. The snow was deep and in some places the roads were almost impassable,

HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

but the hardy pioneers persisted and finally reached Madison after untold hardships. The father continued his business as cigar maker after his arrival. continuing in it actively until his death on May 8, 1880. His wife passed away some eight years later, at the age of sixty-seven. The two children were Edward and Johanna, widow of Capt. August Bartsch of Oakland, Cal., who has one son, Edward E. Bartsch. Edward Baus received his education in the common schools of Madison, and upon the completion of his school work learned his trade from Bernhardt Nienaber, a pioneer cigar- maker of the city, and in 1863 started a business for himself. Later his father assumed active control of the business, continuing it until his death, when Edward again took charge. The trade has grown rapidly and Mr. Baus and his partner, Mr. Walters, now employ seven or eight operatives the year round. On April 21, 1877, Mr. Baus married Anna, daughter of Andrew and Sophia Hippenmeyer, the latter of whom is now deceased. Mrs. Baus is the fifth of the six Hippenmeyer children. The others are Andrew, Jr., a machinist employed by the Fuller & Johnson company ; Charles, a barber at Stoughton ; Alexander, a moulder of Madison ; Clara, widow of John Ambrecht, of Madison; and Alma, wife of Henry W. Lamp, a machinist. Mr. and Mrs. Baus have two chil- dren,-Richard Edward, a graduate from the University of Wis- consin in the mechanical engineering course, now in the employ of the Western Electric company in Chicago; and Irma J., a stenog- rapher employed by the American Thresherman company. Mrs. Baus and her daughter are members of the Congregational church. Mr. Baus is a member of the Turnverein. He is an excellent marksman, and has in his possession two gold medals won in tournaments, one in the state of Wisconsin and the other at Phila- delphia during the centennial celebration of 1876.

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History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical, Part 6

Author: Keyes, Elisha W. (Elisha Williams), 1828-1910 Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Madison, Wi. : Western Historical Association Number of Pages: 998

Author: Keyes, Elisha W. (Elisha Williams), 1828-1910
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Madison, Wi. : Western Historical Association
Number of Pages: 998