USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 60
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Joseph B. McChesney, of Dane, was born in Vienna township, July 19, 1866. He is of English and Irish ancestry, the son of Ru- dolph McChesney, mentioned in this work, whose grandfather took part in the Revolutionary War. He attended the common schools of Vienna township, but when he was nineteen years of age the ill- ness of his father threw upon him the care of the farm of eight hund- red and forty acres. He followed farming for eighteen years, and in 1903 he moved to the village of Dane and engaged in the agricultural implement business. He still owns one hundred acres of land in Vi- enna township. Mr. McChesney is a Republican, and was for years a member of the school board in Vienna; he is at the present time a member of the board of trustees for the village of Dane. November 24, 1887, he was married to Miss Frances DeBower, to whom three children were born, Edna Mabel; Viola Blanche; Lesley Dwight, (de- ceased). Mr. McChesney married as his second wife, Miss Fannie R. Hyslop, January 29, 1896. She was born in Dane, August 19, 1868, and was the daughter of Robert Hyslop, born in Lanarkshire, Scot- land, September 25, 1830, and his wife Martha (Anderson) Hyslop, born in Dumfrieshire, Scotland, August 12, 1837. Mr. Hyslop came to Peoria, Ill., in 1857, and in 1858 to Vienna township; later he set- tled in Dane township where he died. He was a farmer. Mr. Mc- Chesney has three children by his second wife, Robert Gray, born
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December 14, 1897; Annie Elizabeth, born August 9, 1899; Martha Ruth, born November 8, 1901.
B. McDermott Sons is the firm name of the leading mercantile establishment in the village of Oregon, and it is now being success- fully managed and kept up to the high standard attained, by George and William McDermott, sons of Bernard McDermott, who was the founder of the establishment. Bernard McDermott was a native of Vermont, and lived in the Green Mountan state until his removal to Wisconsin in 1881. His occupation in early life was that of a marble- cutter, but after coming to Wisconsin he entered the merchantile business at the village of Orgon, in Dane county, and successfully conducted a department store until his death, September 5, 1901. To his energy, honesty, and superior intelligence is due the extraordin- ary success with which he met in the mercantile business, and his sons, who took charge of the business at the time of their father's death, have found no better talisman than the precepts of their sire. Bernard McDermott chose as his helpmate in life Miss Sarah Mc- Nulla, who is also a native of Vermont, and who still lives with her children at Oregon. She is the mother of two sons and one daughter, the latter being the wife of J. F. Litel, Jr., who is given more ex- tensive mention upon another page of this publication. George Mc- Dermott and his brother, William B. McDermott, were both born in Rutland, Vermont, the former on February 19, 1876, and the latter on January 9, 1880. As will be seen they were very young when their parents removed to Wisconsin, and they received their education in the high school at Oregon, each of them supplementing the knowl- edge obtained there by a course in a commercial college at Madison. Thus they were splendidly equipped, both in the matter of experience and scholastic training, to take up the work of their father at the time of his demise, and since that sad event they have given their undi- vided attention to mercantile affairs; and it should be added, with very gratifying success. Neither of them are married. In politics they maintain an unswerving allegiance to the Democratic party, and in religious affairs they are members of the Catholic church.
John McDermott, deceased. was one of the most promising young farmers of the town of Fitchburg, where he had lived from early childhood. and by industry, integrity and neighborly kind- ness had won the high regard of a large circle of acquaintances who sincerely mourned his untimely taking off. He was born in the state of Vermont, January 6, 1860, of pure Irish lineage, his parents John and Mary (Kivlin) McDermott both having been natives of the little green island. The subject of this review came
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to Dane county, Wis., with his parents about 1866, and his educa- tional training was received in the district schools of Lake View. The father purchased a farm in the town of Fitchburg, which he operated until his death in November 1892, and after his demise the son took charge of affairs, and purchased the homestead, the mother continuing to reside there until her death. in 1902. After the death of our subject, which occurred July 26, 1893, his widow remained on the farm until 1905, when she removed to the city of Madison, for the purpose of giving her children the excellent edu- cational advantages there afforded. Mr. McDermott was married in February, 1885, to Miss Catherine Kivlin, of the town of Fitch- burg, and to the union there was born three children: Francis Bernard, May Myra, and Lawrence John. A more extended sketch of the Kivlin family appears in the biography of John Kiv- lin, elsewhere in this volume. Mr. McDermott was a Catholic in his religious faith, and his political views were expressed by an un- swerving allegiance to the Democratic party.
William H. McFarland, after whom the village of McFarland is named, was born in London, England, March 6, 1820. His parents were John and Elizabeth McFarland, natives of England. When fourteen years old William McFarland came to America on the largest vessel then plying between the two countries. He had shipped as steward of the ship, which touched at Charleston, S. C .. for a cargo of cotton. When it was learned that the cotton had been shipped otherwise the crew were released from their con- tracts. Mr. McFarland started in to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he worked for three years. Owing to three attacks of fever, he gave up his life in the south and went to New York From there he drifted to Albany, then to Buffalo and by steamer to Milwaukee. The carpenter's trade offered a livelihood for three years. About this time the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company was building its line and Mr. McFarland secured em- ployment with it. He built the first box car used on the line and was later made construction superintendent. After four years at this kind of work he tendered his resignation, wishing to have work which would allow him to remain at home. The railroa 1 company which later became the Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul. desired a station between Madison and Stoughton and proposed to McFarland that he should buy land and build a depot and the company would make him agent and pay him a salary. The first part of the agreement was duly carried out and the latter carried out its part. naming the place McFarland. The old depot which
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Mr. McFarland built is still standing, though not used by the com- pany. In political matters he is independent, and with character- istic self-reliance, he backs his opinion with his vote. In church affairs he works with the Congregational society. Mr. MeFarland has been twice married. By his first wife he had three children, only one of whom is now living, a daughter, who is married and resides in the east. In 1879, Mr. McFarland married Mrs. Celia Nelson, daughter of Nels and Martha (Olson) Aagerson, natives of Norway. By her previous marriage Mrs. McFarland had had seven children, five of whom are now living,-Martha (Mrs. Scru- ven), Osage, Ia .; John, a liveryman of McFarland; Louis (married Laura Johnson), McFarland; Eddie, at home; and Mary (Mrs. William Mack), of Dunn township. To Mr. and Mrs. McFarland have been born three children: William, born April 15, 1880, died at the age of ten ; Joseph, born October 7, 1881, married Mary Hovey, and lives in McFarland; and Charles, lives at home. Of his original purchase of one hundred and sixty acres of govern- ment land Mr. McFarland still retains three lots, and on them has built the home where he expects to pass the remainder of his days. Besides his other attainments he is something of a poet, and has written some very clever verses about the village bearing his name. Though well advanced in years he is still keenly alive to everything of interest in the village. Beloved and respected by his neighbors he is passing his last years among the scenes of his youthful labors.
Stewart McGaw is a prominent farmer of Fitchburg, in which town he has had his residence since the days of his childhood. He was born in County Derry, Ireland, in September, 1843, and his par- ents were Samuel and Mary (Hughes) McGaw, both of whom were also natives of the Emerald Isle. In 1849 the father migrated with his family to America and for a time worked as a helper in a foundry at Patterson, N. Y. He then continued his journey westward to the city of Chicago, where for one year he was employed in the McCor- mick machine works, having charge of the entire plant. He had been an acquaintance of the senior Mr. McCormick in Ireland. After leav- ing the McCormick Machine Co., Mr. McGaw came to the city of Madison where he was first employed as a carpenter assistant in the erection of buildings, and later worked as a common laborer for two years, after which he took a farm on conditions of taking good care of the timber and paying the taxes. On this place he broke forty-five acres of new ground, and he lived thereon until 1867, when he bought a tract of ninety-five acres in the town of Fitchburg. where
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the subject of this review now resides. There the father and mother lived the remainder of their allotted years, the mother dying in Feb- ruary, 1874, and the father passing away in 1892. They were the parents of eleven children, only three of whom are now living: Eliz- abeth, who is the wife of Thomas McFadden; James, who resides in Patterson, N. J., and Stewart, whose name introduces this memoir. Our subject received his education in the district schools of the town of Fitchburg and remained at home with his parents uuntil the death of his mother, soon after which he was married and has since con- tinued to reside at the old homestead. The date of his marriage was May 14, 1874, and the lady of his choice was Miss Mary Steele, who is also a native of Ireland, born September 15, 1854, daughter of Wil- liam and Margaret (Cammel) Steele ; her parents now reside in Evansville, Wis. Mrs. McGaw is one of eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Steele, and eight are now living : Jennie, Thomas, Margaret, William, Robert, Ida and Tina-all residing at or near Evansville,- and Mary who is the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. McGaw are the parents of eight children: Mary married Edward Haight, and resides in Milwaukee; Lizzie M. married John Sommers, and resides in Syene; James is deceased; Matilda resides at home; Jennie is deceased; Sam- uel and Ida M. reside at home, and Cecil is deceased. Mr. McGaw is a Democrat in his political affiliations, but has never aspired to official position, preferring to give his undivided attention to his agricultural interests.
John A. McGuiggan, cashier of the bank of Verona, was born in Hastings, Dakota county, Minn .. January 8, 1880. He is the son of Anthony and Anna (McDermott) McGuiggan. His father was born in Dunmore, Lackawanna county. Penn., and his mother is a native of Hastings, Minn. They now reside at Delevan, Minn., where Mr. McGuiggan is engaged in a general blacksmith and ma- chinery business. They have a family of ten children, all living, of whom the subject of this sketch is the oldest. He was educated in the high schools of Winnebago City and Delavan, Minn. After leaving school he entered the bank of Delavan as clerk, from there he went in the same capacity to the Faribault county bank, at Win- nebago City, and from there to Wells National bank at Wells. Minn. On April 1, 1903, he accepted the position as cashier of the bank of Verona, which position he has since held. He is a mem- ber of the F. H. C., of Delevan, Minn. When a resident of Dele- van he served as treasurer of the village and was elected town clerk of Verona in 1906.
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William J. McKay, dealer in real estate and insurance in Madi- son, was born in County Down, Ireland, near Belfast, May 29, 1847. He was a son of William and Margaret Mckay, natives of Ireland, but of Scotch-Irish extraction. In 1852 William McKay brought his fam- ily to this country. Their first home was near Port Washington, where the father owned a farm. In 1856 they moved to Dodge county, where the father died just before the war, at the age of forty- five. In early life he had been a member of the Presbyterian church, but had later united with the Baptist society, in whose church he was for several years a deacon. The mother was also a member of the Baptist society. She passed away in 1893 at the age of seventy-nine. Of the eight children in the family, six are living. They are Agnes, resides with a sister, Mrs. Jones, in Madison: William J .; James, lives in Oklahoma; Sarah H., now Mrs. D. W. Jones, lives in Madison; Robert, a prominent merchant of Los Angeles, Cal. The deceased are Mary, Mrs. W. H. Pier, of Richland Center, Wis .; Sarah, the eldest, killed in a railway wreck at Niles, Mich., on the arrival of the family in this country; and another child who died in infancy. Dr. McKay received his early education in the common schools of the state. In February, 1865, he enlisted in Company I, Forty-fourth Wisconsin Infantry, and did service in Tennessee, Kentucky and Ala- bama, and though but seventeen years of age he stood the service well. In 1869 he received a license to preach the gospel from the Methodist Episcopal church. After three years spent in the ministry he took further studies at Northwestern University in Evanston. His first pastorate was at Mount Sterling, Wis., where he remained three years; the second was Avoca, a circuit charge; then he was stationed at Liberty Pole, Richland Center, Eau Claire, Lake street church and Baraboo; at the end of two years' service at Baraboo he was made presiding elder of the Eau Claire district, but the duties of the posi- tion were too arduous for Dr. Mckay's impaired health and he was obliged to resign. He accepted a call to the church at Merrimac, where he remained a year and then returned to Baraboo. Then a ycar at Portage followed, and four years were spent as pastor of the Madison church. During his incumbency of the Madison charge the auditorium of the present magnificent church was completed. From Madison he went to Sparta and then to Chippewa Falls, staying three years in the two places, at the end of which time he was again made a presiding elder, this time of the Madison district. He served the full term of six years and then was appointed pastor of the First Methodist Episcopalian church at La Crosse. After two years he was transferred to the Rock River conference and was appointed to
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the church at Waukegan. In the fall of 1902 Dr. Mckay gave up his active work in the ministry because of failing health and suc- ceeded to the real estate business of C. F. Cronk in Madison. Since that time he has been supernumerary of the church, responding to extra service calls and assisting in various church functions. During his thirty-three years in the Methodist ministry he has united in mar- riage nearly four hundred people and has said the last words of con- solation over the remains of many departed souls. Four times he served as delegate to the general conferences of his church,-at Phil- adlphia in 1884, New York in 1888, Cleveland in 1896, and Chicago in 1900. He has always been deeply interested in temperance and Sunday school work, and for a number of years did considerable ef- fective lecture work in these causes. Political he is a Prohibitionist and has a number of times been the candidate of his party for office. In 1881 he was the nominee for assemblyman and polled nearly six hundred votes, the issue being the submission of the prohibitory law to the people of the state. The second time he was the nominee of his party for the same office the issue was the general principle of the temperance law. In 1904 he was the Prohibition candidate for congressman and polled nine hundred and fifty-eight votes. In 1894, Lawrence University, of Appleton, Wis., conferred the degree of Doc- tor of Divinity upon Mr. Mckay. On January 1, 1875, Dr. Mckay married Mrs. A. A. McKendric, a native of West Virginia, and a daughter of Dr. Isaiah and Malinda Roberts. They are the parents of five children .- Helen L., lives at home and teaches music ; Evarts S., a printer in Rockford. Ill. ; Raymond R., a mechanic in Chicago; William, and Paul W., in business with his father. All the children are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. Mckay is a member of Lucius Fairchild Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Madison, and is at present serving his second term as its commander. He has been a member of the old Washingtonians, Good Templars, Sons of Temperance and the Temple of Honor. Dr. Mckay is recog- nized as a great success in his present business as he was in the min- istry He is accounted one of the leading citizens of Madison.
Jerry V. McKee, D. D. S., is one of the rising young professional men of the city of Madison, and during the four years in which he has been engaged in the practice of dentistry he has by his super- ior skill and close attention to business secured a patronage that would do credit to an establishment much older; but added to the qualities mentioned, that have been so conducive to his success, is the fact that Dr. McKee is a Dane county boy, and by a life of rectitude and moral probity he has won a place in the esteem of
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a large circle of acquaintances that would have been a valuable asset in any vocation that he might have decided to follow. He was born on a farm in the town of Fitchburg, where his parents then resided, December 3, 1878, and is one of eleven children born to Dennis and Bridget( Sweeney) McKee, both of whom were na- tives of Ireland. The father came to the United States in early manhood, and after a residence of three years in the state of New York, came to Madison, Wis., in 1859, making the trip by way of Chicago and driving overland most of the way. He lived in Madi- son about three years and then located in the town of Fitchburg, where he purchased forty acres of land and began the life of a far- mer. By close application to business and tireless industry he met with success from the very start, and was soon able to add forty acres more to his landed possessions, then an eighty-acre tract, followed by another of one hundred and sixty acres and then the addition of eleven more, making a total of three hundred and forty- one acres of well-improved farming land which he still owns. The father cleared and improved the land himself, and now lives in re- tirement in the city of Madison, quietly enjoying the fruits of his early toil and endeavor, while two of his sons remain upon the old homestead and superintend the management of its affairs. The names of the children of Dennis McKee and wife, with other facts concerning them, are given as follows: William resides at 129 North Franklin street in the city of Madison; Bridget is the wife of a Mr. Frenzel and resides in St. Paul; Margaret is also a resident of St. Paul; Nora makes her home with her parents and is at present a teacher in the schools of Green Bush. Wis .; Cather- ine is the wife of a Mr. Swedlend and resides at Evanston, Ill .; Sarah I'ves in Durand, Wis .; Jerry V., is the subject of this re- view ; and Anna, Bess, Mary and Julia reside at home. Dr. J. V. McKee, whose name introduces this review, received his primary education in the Fitchburg district schools, and was afterward gradu- ated from the accademy in the city of Madison. During the school va- cations he remained at home, working on his father's farm until he had reached the age of twenty years. Then, after completing his course at the Madison academy, he entered the Chicago Dental College for the purpose of making himself proficient in his chosen profession, and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1902. He then returned to Madison and opened a dental office at No. 3, West Main street, where he has since given his undivided attention to the practice of dentistry, and, as heretofore, stated, with very gratifying success. In politics he maintains an inde-
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pendent attitude, supporting men and measures as they meet his. approval, and his religious faith is expressed by membership in the: Catholic church. His fraternal affiliatinos are with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Sigma Delta fraternity of Chicago and the Knights of Columbus at Madison.
William F. McKee takes his place in that large and highly re- spected portion of the population of the city of Madison, commonly spoken of as retired farmers, and although he is yet a compara- tively young man he has achieved success and distinction in the. affairs of his life. He was born in the city of Madison. November 1, 1860, and is the son of Dennis and Bridget (Garen) McKee, bothr. of whom were born in Ireland. The father and mother each came to the United States from their native land about 1855, and were married in Madison a few years later. After his marriage the. father worked by the month in the city for the first three years, and then bought land in and moved to the town of Fitchburg, in 1864. As a farmer he was very successful and has accumulated a fine tract of land, comprising three hundred and thirty acres, in Fitchburg, besides owning property in the city of Madison, where- he has lived in retirement since 1902. His wife died in 1871, and although he married a second time he was again widowed in 1891. William F. McKee received his education in the district schools. of Fitchburg, and upon reaching manhood decided upon the occu- pation of a farmer and entered upon his life's work with zeal and enthusiasm. He had supplemented the knowledge gained in the. district schools by attendance during two winters at the Commer- cial college in Madison, and was thus equipped to employ business methods in the conduct of his affairs. He owns two hundred and eighty acres of fine farming land in the town of Fitchburg, upon which he has made extensive improvements. until it has all the ap- pointments of an up-to-date farmstead. He also owns two nice. properties in the city of Madison, in one of which he has lived since he retired from the farm in 1904. the location of h's residence being 129 North Franklin street. Mr. McKee was married Octo- ber 3, 1893, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary A. Smith, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Garrahan) Smith, both of whom were natives of Ireland, but they were married in the state of New York, and Mrs. McKee was born at Cahoes. in that state. The father died in New York and the mother removed to Madison, where she was married to Patrick Duffy, of the town of Westport, where the family continued to reside after the marriage. Mr. Duffy was one of the pioneer settlers of Dane county, locating
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first on land which he had purchased from the government. Mrs. McKee had one brother. Wlliam Smith, who died in Madison in 1887, and she has one half-brother, the Rev. Joseph F. Duffy, the mother and step-father being deceased. Mr. and Mrs. McKee are the parents of one daughter, Lillian, born in the town of Fitchburg, in 1896. Mr. McKee gives an unswerving allegiance to the prin- ciples of the Democratic party, and during his residence in Fitch- burg served in the position of town treasurer for one year. He and wife are members of the Catholic church.
John McKenna, a'prominent real estate dealer of Madison, was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, February 1, 1834. His parents were Francis and Sarah (O'Neal) McKenna. . Francis McKenna came to this country in 1840 settling on a farin of 1,500 acres in Iowa county, this state, where he remained until his death, December 29, 1885, at the age of eighty-five. He was a highly cultured gentleman and broadly educated, having received a priest's training in an Irish col- lege. As a Democrat he was elected to practically all of the town offices at different times, and for a number of years was chairman of the Democratic, county committee. On the material side Mr. John McKenna is a nephew of Capt. John O'Neal, one of the commis- sioners appointed by President Andrew Jackson to locate the terri- torial capital in 1836. Several years previous he had passed over the site where Madison now stands in the famous pursuit of the Fox and Sac Indians under the leader Black Hawk. An old flint-lock horse pistol which the captain carried during this uprising is in the pos- session of the subject of this sketch. Capt. O'Neal built the shot tower on the bluffs of the Wisconsin river, near Helena, Wis. He died in 1875 in h's seventy-sixth year. Mrs. Sarah (O'Neal) Mc- Kenna was born in 1798, the year of Emmett's Rebellion in Ireland : she died in 1849. John McKenna is the only survivor of a family of three girls and two boys. His education was received in a log cabin school three or four miles west of Mineral Point, in a settlement known as O'Neal's Grove. Upon the completion of his studies he worked on his father's farm until 1846, when he moved to a farm in the southeastern part of Iowa county. There he remained until 1901, removing thence to Madison to engage in the real estate business. Politically he is a Democrat. For some time he was chairman of the town of Moscow and for thirty years was school treasurer. He has also served a chairman of the Democratic county committee. On June 24. 1864, Mr. McKenna was united in marriage to Ann McNeill, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Hugh and Margaret McNeill, both deceased. To this union have been born eleven children. Mary
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