History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical, Part 70

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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William T. Olson was born March 27, 1859, upon the farm in the town of Dunkirk, which is now his home, and has always engaged in farming, except for eight years which he spent in Stoughton. His father, Torgrim Olson, was born in Norway, son of Ole Han- son and Thurene Hanson, and came to the United States in 1845 ac- companied by his mother. He purchased a farm of eighty acres in the town of Dunkirk, Dane county, from the government, cleared and im- proved it and still makes it his home. He is now in 1906 in his eighty- fifth year. Torgrim Olson married Anne Wettleson, daughter of Wil- liam and Betsey (Torgeson) Wettleson, who came from Telemarken, Norway, in 1845 and located upon a farm in the town of Dunkirk. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Torgrim Olson, of whom two died in infancy; Ole T. (deceased) whose widow and three children survive him; Thurene, the wife of Albert Torgerson of Pleasant Springs and William T. William T. attended school in Dunkirk and in the public schools of Stoughton, assisted his father in the work of the farm and continued in that occupation, assuming the manage- ment of the home farm in his father's old age. For a period of eight years he resided in Stoughton and engaged in the leaf tobacco busi- nesss but the remainedr of his life has been spent on the old homestead where he carries on a general farming business and also raises consid- erable tobacco. He is the owner of twenty-four acres adjoining the original eighty. September 18, 1888, he married Miss Susie Alme, daughter of Asbjorn and Soneva .(Ladd) Alme, farmers of Pleasant Springs. Two children were born to the marriage, Statia and Amanda. The family is identified with Christ Norwegian Lutheran church of Stoughton. Mr. Olson is a member of the Democratic party, has served the town of Dunkirk as assessor one term and as supervisor sev- eral terms. While a resident of Stoughton, Mr. Olson was supervisor and represented his ward in the city council. He has always taken a great interest in farmers' organizations, particularly the Farmers' Equity, or which he was president the first year after its organization.

Thomas O'Neil is now living retired at No. 342 W. Main street, in Madison, after devoting nearly fifty years to the activities of a

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business life in the capital city. Mr. O'Neil was born in the parish of Lesrouna, near Feathert, County Tipperary, Ireland, and in early manhood migrated to America, arriving at New York city in 1852. He remained in the metropolis and at Sing Sing, N. Y., working at the foundry business for five years, and then came directly to Wisconsin, arriving at Madison on May 12. 1857. Dur- ing the first twelve months of his residence here he worked in the freight house of the Milwaukee & Mississippi railroad, and then started in business for himself, keeping a boarding house on West Main street until 1867 when he bought and built on W. Washington avenue, continuing in business there until 1901. when he retired from active participation in affairs. He received a common school education in his native land, his father having been a farmer there. Three other brothers came to America, James, in 1848, died in Salem, Mass .; William, died in New York and John in Chicago. Mr. O'Neil has three other brothers in Australia who together own 16,000 acres of land and are largely engaged in the business of sheep-raising. The subject of this re- view gives an unswerving allegiance to the principles of the Demo- cratic party, and his religious faith is expressed by membership in the Catholic church. He was first married while living in the state of New York on April 6, 1856, and the lady of his choice was Miss Constance Godfrey, a native of Ireland, born near Holy Cross, Tipperary, whose father. James Godfrey, was an extensive farmer in the Emerald Isle. The first wife died in April, 1901, and on November 14, 1904, Mr. O'Neil was married, in the Catholic church at Madison, to Miss Katie Curly, who was born in St. Louis, Mo. The father of Mrs. O'Neil was Brigadier General Thomas Curly. of the United States army, who commanded a Missouri regiment during the Civil War and died in Madison in 1904. No children have been born to either of these marriages.

Charles O. O'Neill, dealer in real estate with an office in Room 9. Fairchild block, was born in Grant county, Wis .. September 22. 1820. His parents were Edward and Elizabeth (Faherty) O'Neill. natives of Illinois. Edward O'Neill served three years in the Civil War in Company B. Ninetieth Illinois volunteer infantry. He enlisted as a private, and received three promotions, being mustered out as first lieutenant. His regiment was with Sherman's army, and Mr. ('Neill saw service in the siege of Atlanta and on the march to the sea. In 1892 he came to Madison and since that time has been con- nected with the Capital City Paper company. He is a member of the Catholic church and is past commander of the Hazel Green post, Grand

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Army of the Republic. His wife died November 10, 1902, at the age of sixty-one. Charles O'Neill was the third of five chiaren .- Oscar, died when thirteen years old; John, died when eight months old ; Charles : Stella, lives at home : and Leo, died when but eight months old. Charles received his education in the Hazel Green high school and was for two years a student in the civil engineering course of the University of Wisconsin. For five years he was inailing clerk in the postoffice at Madison, and then he went into the drug business with James MI. Sexton, under the firm name of "Sexton & O'Neill." In 1904 the business was sold and Mr. O'Neill opened a real estate office, which business is now furnishing him with an excellent means of live- lihood. In 1904 and 1905 he served as alderman from the second ward, being elected on the Democratic ticket. On June 20, 1900, he married Catherine. daughter of M. J. and Catherine (Byrne) Cant- well, natives of Ireland. Mr. Cantwell has since died, but his widow is an honored resident of the city. Mrs. O'Neill was one of ten chil- dren, eight of whom are still living. To Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill have been born three children,-Catherine Elizabeth, Edward Cantwell and Paul Faherty. The family belongs to the Catholic church.

Anton T. Onsrud is a prominent farmer of Rutland, Dane county. His parents, Thora Larsen Onsrud and Bertha (Gutormson) Onsrud, were natives of Ullensacker, Norway, where they were married and spent their entire lives. Of their four children, all except Allte, who died in Norway, came to America. Caroline is the wife of A. Halver- son of Stoughton, and Morrison lives in Minneapolis, Minn. Anton T. was born May 11, 1848, educated in the common schools of Norway and there confirmed in the Lutheran church, with whose branch in Stoughton he is now affiliated. He was left an orphan while quite young and worked out on farms in Norway until 1871, when he set sail for America. His first home was in Rock county, where he worked out for two years at Cooksville. Two years were spent in Minneapolis, after which he returned to Cooksville and rented a farm. In 1882, he purchased his present property of one hundred thirty- five acres in the town of Rutland, section 11. On it he has made many improvements and has a valuable farm. The house which was burned in 1897 was rebuilt and made much more modern and commodious. He also owns the farm in section 12, known as the Usher place. Mr. Onsrud raises considerable tobacco besides other farm produce. He is a Republican but has never been active in politics. In 1874 he mar- ried Miss Marie Johnson of Rutland, whose parents. John and N. Han- son) Johnson, came to America from Norway in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Onsrud have eight children. all of whom attended school in

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

Rutland and Stoughton and reside with their parents, except the two oldest, who have moved to other farms in Rutland. John, the oldest son, married Miss Mamie Criddle, and owns and operates the Criddle farm in Rutland and Ben is also a farmer on the Usher farm. Edon, Albert, William, Edward, Clarence and May are the younger children.

John C. Onstad, (deceased), was a pioneer farmer of the town of Christiania, Dane county. He was born in Sogen, Norway, May 2, 1828, son of Christian Onstad, who had six children: Peter, Ossie, John C., Christian, Andrew and Maria. John, Peter, Andrew and Maria came on a sailing vessel to the United States in 1851 and after a six weeks' voyage, landed in New York. By way of the Erie canal and Lake Michigan, they finally reached Milwaukee and John C. went to the northern woods of Wisconsin, where he found employment in the lumber camps. As soon as he was able to save a little money he purchased a farm in the town of Chris- tiania, Dane county, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres. The only buildings upon the property were a log cabin and a stable and all of the present substantial buildings were erected by Mr. Onstad and many other improvements made. Another tract of eighty acres was added to the farm a few years later. Until his death, December 15. 1904. Mr. Onstad carried on a successful farming bus- iness, also raising large quantities of tobacco. Mr. Onstad was a Re- pubican and always had at heart the interest of the community, serv- ing it in many of its local offices. Mrs. Onstad, who with her son Otto and daughter Nina, still lives at the old home, was Miss Anna Lee, also a native of Sogen, Norway, born in :839. Ten children blessed the marriage of John C. Onstad and wife. Christian (de- ceased ) married Miss Martha Bird ; Martha (deceased) married A !- lan Lee and left three children, Christie, Edwin and Nettie; Nettie is a teacher and lives with Mrs. Onstad ; Lena is the wife of J. R. Lien, a farmer of Christiania: Annie (deceased) married Ed. E. Norgord and her four children, Nina, Leah, Evan and Andy, live with Mrs. Onstad ; Erick J., a lawyer and principal of the Wittenberg academy of Shawano county, W.s., married Miss Olava Kittlesby and they have had a family of four children ; Bernice, Ragnar, Elsa and Johan (deceased) : Andrew and the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Onstad are deceased, and Henry, Otto and Nina are the youngest living chil- dren. All are members of the Lutheran church of East Christiania. The younger members of the family were all educated in the home schools; Christian attended Janesville college and Albion Academy : Annie attended Milton Seminary ; Erick stud'ed law at the state Uni- versity of Wisconsin and Otto attended the Albion Academy and the

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Minneapolis Lutheran college. Otto manages the farm for his mo- ther and is a prominent and leading member of the community, where he has held a number of offices. Mrs. Onstad is the daughter of Erick Johnson and Martha (Larson) Lee, who came from Norway in 1844 and obtained a farm in section 29, town of Christiania. Their family consisted of eight sons and daughters, of whom four are living. Three of Mrs. Onstad's brothers served the Union cause, one in the Wisconsin Volunteers and two from California, which was at that time their home.

August E. Ovren holds precedence as one of the successful con- tractors and builders of Dane county, havng his residnece and busi- ness headquarters in the city of Stoughton. He was born in Norway, April, 24, 1850, and is the son of Ovren Mikkleson and Marta (Tau- berg) Mikkleson. The father came to America in 1871 and took up his residence in the village of Cambridge, Dane county, where he died in 1887. The subject of this sketch was reared to maturity in his na- tive land, in whose common schools he secured his early educational training, and there also he partially learned the blacksmith's trade, under the direction of his father. In 1871, like many another of the sturdy sons of the fair Norseland, he set forth to seek his fortunes in America. He made Dane county his destination, taking up his abode in Cambridge, where he began work at the carpenters trade. In 1873 located in Stoughton, where he has since maintained his home. For eleven years he was employed in the T. D. Mandt wagon works, and since 1884 he has been independently and successfully engaged in business as a contractor and builder. He has erected many of the best business blocks in the city and more than one hundred private residences of superior type. Politically he advocates the cause of pro- hibition, and he served one term as representative of his ward on the city board of alderman. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1876 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ovren to Miss Sarah Jenson, a native of Norway, and they have two children .- John, and Hilda, wife of Johan Jacobson.

John E. Ovren is one of the prominent and successful business men of the city of Stoughton, where he is proprietor of the J. E. Ovren Boat & Motor Works. He was born in Stoughton, June 2, 1877, and is a son of Augustus E. Ovren, a sketch of whose life ap- pears in this work, so that a further resume of the family history is not demanded at this point. Mr. Ovren was afforded the advantages of the excellent public schools of Stoughton, and supplemented this by a course in the Stoughton Academy. He learned the carpenter's trade under the direction of his father, who is one of the leading con-

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tractors and builders of Stoughton, and in 1899 he went to Marinette, this state, for the purpose of learning the shipbuider's trade, serving an apprenticeship of eighteen months in that place and then going to Milwaukee, where he finished his apprenticeship, in the service of the Milwaukee Dry Dock Company. His experience was gained under the most favorable conditions and he is specially skilled in the trade of ship and boat building. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Ovren returned to Stoughton and engaged in the manufacturing of rowboats and gasoline launches, in which line of enterprise he has since continued most successfully, and in 1906 he enlarged his facilities to include the manufacturing of gasoline engines, his plant being now prepared to furnish the best type of engines of this order, up to sixteen-horse power and launches up to a length. of fifty feet. The enterprise is one which meets with especial approval and support in this beautiful lake district of Wisconsin. Mr. Ovren is a reliable and progressive young business man and enjoys distinctive personal popularity in his native city. In politics he is an advocate of the cause of the Prohibi- tion party. September 25, 1899, Mr. Ovren was united in marriage to Miss Wilhelmina Johnson, daughter of Rev. Arne and Matilda (Lewis) Johnson, of Marinette, Wisconsin, and they have two chil- dren,-Helen Marcella and Ruth Winifred.

William S. Packard, of Basco, Montrose township. is of English and Welsh extraction, and a descendent of some of the early settiers of New England. His grandfather, Gooding Packard, about 1810, came from Connecticut to Bristol Center, Ontario county, N. Y. He was a blacksmith by trade, and followed that occupaton in his young man- hood: later he took up farming and spent the latter part of his life on a farm in Ontario county, dying at the age of seventy-six. He mar- ried Miss Adeline Gooding, a new Englander of English and Welsh ancestry. His son, William G. Packard, was born, reared and edu- cated in Bristol Center, and followed the occupations of teacher and farmer. He came west in 1845, but on account of ill health returned to New York. He died in Bristol, February 16. 1895, aged seventy- nine years. He married Miss Cynthia Gooding, who was born in On- tario county, and was a daughter of Ephraim Gooding, who came from Dighton, Mass., at an early date. and settled in Ontario county, spendng the remainder of his life there. Mr. and Mrs. William G. Packard had two sons. William S. the subject of this sketch, and Gooding, of Canandaigua, N. Y. The former was born November 25, 1855, reared in Ontario county, and educated in the public schools of Bristol, Canandigua academy, Genesee Weslyan seminary at Lima, N. Y. and was graduated from Clinton institute, at Clinton,N. Y. in the

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class of 1875. He taught school in New York, and also engaged in farm- ing. In December 1880 he came to Wisconsin and in the fall of the fol- lowing year located in Montrose township, on section three, buying two hundred and thirty-five acres and has now one of the best improved farms in the county, with fine buildings, etc. He carries on general farm- ing, stock raising and dairying. Mr. Packard was married, December 29, 1880, to Miss Mary F. Ellsworth, a native of Mifflin, Iowa county, Wis., and a daughter of John and Eliza Ann (Green) Ellsworth, both natives of Penn Yan, Yates county, N. Y. Mr. Ellsworth was born June, 9, 1823, and came to Wisconsin in 1848, located near Oregon, and in 1857 went to Iowa county, where he engaged in farming. Dur- ing his residence in Dane county, and while the transportation facili- ties were still in a primitive condition, he hauled grain from Madison to Milwaukee. In later years he speculated in grain, and the farm of six hundred acres which he bought in Iowa county lay in the zinc and lead district, and proved to be a very valuable investment. He died December 2, 1901. He was a prominent member of the Masonic or- der, being a Knight Templar. His wife, born June 14, 1825, died December 7, 1901. They were both of English ancestry and belonged to old New England families. Mrs. W. S. Packard is one of a family of eight children, viz., Amanda E., married C. C. David, Alden, Iowa; H. G. Ellsworth of Barron, Wis .: John M., of Livingston, Wis .; Eliza, married E. D. Baker, of Edmund, Iowa county: Mary married W. E. Packard: Reuben, of Mineral Point; Elmer, of Livingston ; Rachel, married M. Preston, of Rewey, Iowa county. To Mr. and Mrs. Packard have been born five children, William H., Elmer E., Edna, Gooding and Rachel M., all living at home. Mr. Packard is a Republican and at present chairman of the board of supervisors; he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

Flavious B. Paine, a prominent farmer of the town of Rutland, is a native of Dane county. His parents. Joseph S. and Eliza Ann (Butterfield) Paine, were born in Buxton, Maine, where they spent their youth and early married life. Joseph Paine was by trade a tanner and active in the affairs of the community where he resided. At one time sheriff, he held many local offices during his life. In 1844, he located in the town of Fitchburg and obtained eighty acres of wild land which he afterward exchanged for an eighty-acre farm of prairie land. One of the pioneers of Fitchburg, he belonged to the Masonic Lodge when first established and was prominent in the com- munity. Mrs. Joseph Paine was an energetic worker in the Methodist Episcopal church. After Mr. Paine's death in 1857, she lived with

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her children until 1893, when she died at the advanced age of eiglity- four years. Eleven children blessed the marriage, of whom five are living ; Eliza, Charles A. and Ellen reside in Oklahoma; Joseph S. lives in Madison and Flavius in Rutland. Flavius B. was born in Fitchburg, March 7. 1854, educated in the district school and early be- gan to earn his own way. His sisters, Eliza A. and Ellen, attended the University of Wisconsin and became school-teachers, but Flavius went to work at farming when he was but seventeen years old. When he was twenty-one he went to Leadville, Col., where he worked in the mines and drove a stage. In the autumn of 1878 he drove a team from Fitchburg to Knoxville, Tennessee and soon after took up a claim near Frederick, S. Dak. Returning to Fitchburg in 1886, he rented the old homestead and in 1893 he purchased it. He also owned one hundred and thirty acres in the town of Oregon, which he improved and sold at a handsome profit. In 1904 he bought eighty acres in the town of Rutland which is the present homestead and built a fine barn and handsome dwelling. November 24, 1897, Mr. Paine married Miss Edna E. West, daughter of Henry and Phoebe Ann (Burch) West of Madison. Three children were born to them; Flavius, in 1899; Blanche, in 1900, and Edna in 1901. Mr. Paine is a Democrat and takes an active interest in local affairs. He was elected supervisor in Oregon and assessor and treasurer in Fitchburg.

Cassius M. Palmer, dealer in real estate, who makes his home at 1809 Jefferson street, Madison, was born in Erie county, Pa., September 19, 1844. His parents were O. M. and Huldah Palmer, natives of Pennsylvania, where the father was a farmer. In 1853 O. M. Palmer brought his family to Wisconsin, settling on a farm in the town of Oregon, Dane county. His parents, Daniel and Beulah (Warner) Palmer, had preceded him to this county, and in 1853 Cassius and his grandfather celebrated their joint birthday by a visit to Madison, the first opportunity either of them had of seeing the capital city of the state. O. M. Palmer was a promi- nent figure in the early history of the Methodist Episcopal church of Oregon. He cut and hauled the logs to mill for the lumber used in the construction of the first Methodist church and parson- age. He took no active part in politics until the breaking out of the Civil War, when he became exceedingly influential in the mat- ter of raising troops. He died March 22, 1898, at the age of sev- enty-six years, after having disposed of his farm. His wife died June 17, 1897, at the age of seventy-five. Their three children are still living :- Mary. widow of Cole Kierstead, lives in Oregon ;

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Cassius M., the subject of this sketch; and John, contractor and builder, living at Portland. Cassius M. Palmer received his edu- cation in the district schools of the town of Oregon. His first labor was on a farm, and he continued at it until his enlistment in September, 1864, in Company E, Thirtieth Wisconsin Infantry, serving in Sherman's army on garrison duty until the close of the war. On July 2, 1865, he received an honorable discharge and re- turned to Oregon. On November 1, 1866 he married Esther An- nette, daughter of Marvin P. and Emma A. (Rogers) Colby, the former a native of Erie county, N. Y., and the latter of England. Mr. Colby was a shoemaker of Oregon village, who died in March, 1869. He had served in Company B, Eleventh Wisconsin Infan- try, and had risen to the rank of lieutenant. His death was due to the exposure and hardships of army life. His widow is still living in Oregon at the age of eighty-three. Mrs. Palmer was the eldest of four children. The others are Elizabeth, Mrs. Samuel W. Howe, of Florence, Kas .; Charles, died in 1865, at the age of fourteen ; and Mortimer T., a traveling salesman, who makes Oregon his home. To Mrs. and Mrs. Palmer have been born three children. Arlie, the oldest, is Mrs. W. T. Lingham, of Belleville, Canada; Merle C. is principal of the high school at Boscobel, Wis; he mar- red Nina Phalen. and has one child, Genevieve ; he is a graduate of Whitewater normal school, and has taught at Lake Mills. Rochester and Sheboygan. The youngest child is Mabel, the suc- cessful teacher of music in the Richland Center schools. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Palmer is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, serving three years as commander of the O. E. Rice post of Oregon. He is little interested in politics. and is not affiliated with any party. He exercises his right of franchise as his judgment dictates.

Charles A. Palmer is a well-to-do farmer of the town of Oregon, in which he has had his residence during all the years of a life de- voted to the honorable calling of a t'ller of the soil. He was born in the town above named on July 16. 1859, and was the youngest of three children born to J. Y. and Cornel'a (Church) Palmer. Of these children, William, the oldest, is deceased, and his widow resides near Riley, Dane county ; Minerva I. is the widow of C. M. Church, and resides in Janesville Wis., and Charles A. is the subject of this review. The father was born near Erie, Pa., and came to Rock county, W.s., in 1844. first working as a farm hand one year and then buying eighty acres of land in the town of Oregon, Dane county. He

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was married the following spring to Miss Cornelia Church, a native of the state of New York, but at the time of marriage a resident of Rock county. Mir. Palmer and wife resided on the farm mentioned about five years, and then sold it and removed to his mother's farm in the same town, where they remained two years and then bought a farm in the town of Fitchburg, near Oak Hall. There his good wife died in June, 1891, and Mr. Palmer was called to his reward, March II. 1903. Charcs A. Palmer, whose name introduces this memoir, re- cevied his preliminary education in the district schools of Fitchburg and supplemented the knowledge thus gained by attending during two terms the high school of the village of Oregon. He made his home with his parents until he had attained to the age of twenty-seven years, working as a farm hand part of the time. He also worked farm land on shares for eight or nine years, and bought the farm where he now res.des in 1890. He later bought another farm of eighty acres, one mile north of his residence. On March 27, 1889, he was married to Miss Loustella Maxwell, who was born at Prairie du Chien, Wis., December 9, 1865, the daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Shap- land) Maxwell, and the only survivor of four children born to these parents. The father moved his family to Missouri in 1865, and after residing in St. Louis a short time took up a residence in Pilot Knob. After living in the latter place about six years the family .was stricken with cholera, the father and two sons dying on one day, and on the following day a daughter succumbed to the dreadful disease. The mother was also attacked, but her case developed into typhoid fever, and after partially regaining her health she took her only surviving child, who is now the wife of Mr. Palmer, and with a heavy heart re- turned to Wisconsin and located in the town of Oregon, where she then had relatives. There the good mother, who it would seem had more than her share of trouble in life, sank into the peaceful sleep of death in 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are the parents of five children, all as yet being members of a happy family circle, and their names and dates of birth are as follows: Hazel P., February 4. 1890 ; Boyd M., April 18, 1891 ; Arba C., July 6. 1893 ; Lottie I., December 15, 1894; Lynn, February 18, 1896. Mr. Palmer gives an unswerv- ing allegiance to the Republcan party, and although not a seeker of of- fice in any sense of the word he takes an active interest in local affairs, and is now serving his second term as school director.

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History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical, Part 70

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