USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 82
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100
794
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
of two children. George and Francis. the latter of whom is de- ceased. George, the surviving son, was born in Sauk county, Wis., and now lives in Nebraska, where he fills the responsible position of book-keeper for a large lumber firm. He was educated in the high school at Ord: Neb., and at the Grand Island Business College in the same state. Francis, the other son, was born in 1894, and died in 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Schwaner also have an adopted daugh- ter, Ruth Hardesty Schwaner.
John Schwenkert, a thrifty German farmer of the town of Madi- son, was born at Bavaria, Germany. May :, 1821. His father was Joseph Schwenkert, a native of Bavaria. Both of John's parents died when he was three years old, and until he was sixteen he lived with an uncle, a brother of his mother. Then for seven years he "worked out" and in 1850 came to the United States. The passage over took fifty-eight days. For two months after his arrival he worked in Hudson, on the river of that name, and then drifted to Columbia county. N. Y. John's residence there continued for six years, and then with his wife he came to Madison. After a year's hard labor he purchased forty acres of wild land, and started in to make a home for himself. Later he purchased forty acres more in the town of Madison. Mr. Schwenkert's education was very meagre because of his hard struggle for bread. Politically he is a Republican, but has never aspired to office. He is a member of the German Methodist Episcopal church of Madison. On August 28, 1856, he married Hannah, daughter of James and Catherine (Miller) Allen, of Columbia county, N. Y. Mr. Allen died in 1838. Mrs. Allen was twice married, her second husband being Philip Fritz. By her first husband she had two children and seven by her second. Mrs. Fritz died in 1853. Mr. and Mrs. Schwenkert have two children. Ida, the wife of Forrest Hunt, a farmer near Canton, S. D., and George, now working his father's farm. Mr. Schwenk- ert is one of the type of citizens who by their thrift and earnest- ness contribute so much to the prosperity of a community. For several years the subject has been president of the board of trus- tees of the East Middleton cemetery.
James Harvey Scott, who is now living retired, in the village of Mount Horeb, comes of English stock and his ancestors were num- bered among the early Massachusetts colonists. He is the great- grandson of Lemuel Scott who was born on May 13. 1762, in Mas- sachusetts, but who was compelled to leave that state in 1783 on account of his loyalty to England during the War of the Revolu- tion. He was but twenty-one years old at the time of leaving his
795
BIOGRAPHICAL.
native state, and he went direct to Guysboro, in the eastern part of the province of Nova Scotia, and settled at the head of Cheda- bucto bay. being a resident of that province until his death in 1850. He was married on April 10, 1787, to Miss Ruth Godfrey, who was born March 19, 1770, and died in 1851. These parents reared twelve children, the eldest of whom. Abijah Scott, was born on February 4, 1788, and died in December 1823. in Nova Scotia. A son of Abijah Scott was Lemuel Scott, born April 6, 1814, the father of the sub- ject of this review, and who was also a native of Nova Scotia. There he learned the trade of a shoemaker and followed that occu- pation during the early years of his life, but after his migration to the United States he followed farming. He came to Wisconsin with his family in the autumn of 1857 and settled in the town of Vermont, in Dane county, where he purchased a farm and lived thereon for nine years. In 1866 he removed to Mazomanie and lived in that village until his death, which occurred on April 22. 1893, at the age of seventy-nine years, his good wife having passed away on April 22, 1877. He was married to Isabella Morrison and they became the parents of four children: Charlotte resides at the old homestead in Mazomanie: James H .. is the subject of this re- view: Isabella married George Theobald and died at Zion City; and Harriet married William Reeves and resides in Mazomanie. James Harvey Scott was born in Guysboro, Nova Scotia, on Janu- ary 1, 1844, and was not quite fourteen years old when the family removed to Dane county. He remained at home assisting his father on the farm, until December 15, 1861. when he enlisted in Company M, Third Regiment of Wisconsin volunteer cavalry, and he served with that command until February 15, 1865, being mus- tered out as corporal upon that date, his term of service having expired. He served with his regiment in the Trans-Mississippi de- partment and participated in the engagement at Cabin Creek in the Indian Territory, also in the battle of Honey Springs, and was in almost constant skirmishing. The regiment came frequently in contact with Quanrell's guerrillas. After being mustered out and later discharged, the latter occurence being on March 9, 1865, Mr. Scott returned to the town of Vermont. engaged in farming with his father and remained there until 1870. He then removed to northwestern Missouri and remained four years in Gentry county, that state. after which he returned to Wisconsin and located at Edgerton in Rock. county, where he remained four years. He then removed to Mazomanie, and after one year in that place returned to the old family homestead in the town of Vermont. and remained
796
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
thereon until 1899, when he took up his residence in Mt. Horeb and erected a commodious house in which he now resides. He was married on December 10. 1865, to Miss Mary McKinney, a na- tive of Philadelphia and daughter of John and Sarah Ann (Arnold) Mckinney. Both of these parents were natives of Ireland, the fa- ther being of Scotch descent, and they settled in Milton Junction, Wis., in 1850. The father died in 1895, aged seventy-five years, on a farm in the town of Springdale where he had resided since 1852. He and wife were among the earliest settlers of Springdale, and for a long time after locating in that town their nearest neigh- bor was two miles away. To Mr. and Mrs. Scott there have been born five children: Sarah Belle married Ira Smith and resides in Duluth, Minn .; John Lemuel resides on the old homestead ; Char- lotte Annie married Robert Scott and resides in Klevenville, Dane county ; Mary Elizabeth married George Martinson and resides at Black Earth; and James Franklin resides in the city of Madison. The subject of this review is a member of Gen. Dickinson post, G. A. R. and Mrs. Scott is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
John W. Scott, a farmer of Fitchburg, was born in the city of Madison, Wis .. November 1, 1861. His father, Archibald Scott. was born near Belfast, Ireland, on July 26, 1828. At the age of twenty years he came to America and for some time followed the occupation of gardener in the vicinity of Boston. Mass .. and came to Madison, where he was for some time engaged in business of drayman. He married Esther Welsh, a native of England. He is a member of the Episcopal church and now lives retired in Ireland. He and his wife had seven children. Those now living are John W., the subject of this sketch : William F., a painter at Mount Horeb ; and Walter, who lives in Chicago. At the age of eighteen years John W. Scott began learning the trade of shoemaker, but later learned the trade of iron molder and worked at that occupation for five years. On September II, 1888. he married Miss Anna, daughter of Andrew L. and Isabella ( Knapp) Mann, the former of whom was a nat've of New York. In 1848, Mr. Mann, who was at that time living in Athens, Mich., came to Madison : he returned to Michigan, but came again to Madison in 1849. and purchased a one-half interest in a livery business. After another brief sojourn in Athens, he, in 1852, located permanently in the capital city and bought out h's brother's interest in the livery business and also bought a home in the city. For a time he was in partnership with Charles Stafford, but in the spring of 1857 he rented his livery stable to Andrew Kentzler and lo-
797
BIOGRAPHICAL.
cated on a farm at Fitchburg. He sold the livery business in 1863 and remained on the farm until 1882, when he removed to Madison for the purpose of educating his children. In 1888 he returned to the farm. He died in Madison in July, 1893, aged seventy- four years. His wife died in 1880 at the age of forty-nine. During his life he was an ardent Democrat and held successively the offices of justice of the peacc, town treasurer and town clerk. He was a member of the Episcopal church, was for some time the postmaster at Rock Side, and was universally respected. He and his wife had two children. Julius K., who died in 1895, and Anna, now Mrs. Scott. After the death of Mrs. Scott's brother, John W. Scott removed to the old Andrew L. Mann homestead, known as the "Rock Side Farm," near Fitchburg. This farm, which contains two hundred and thirteen acres, was entered by Mr. Mann, who improved it. and it has always been in the possession of the family. Politically Mr. Scott is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party, and in church mat- ters affiliates with the Episcopal church of Madison. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have the following children; Andrew A., Francis M., Isabella E., Ethel L., Erma J., and Edwin J.
Ole Semonson, one of the leading farmers of the town of Pleasant Springs, was born on June 1. 1838, in the Bergen stift, Norway. both his parents, Simon and Christina (Anderson) Oleson, being natives of that district. The mother died in 1845 and the father married Betsy Erickson, of Norway. but no children were born to this second marriage. The children of the first wife were: Andrew, who died in Norway; Mary, wife of Ole Swenson, now living in Polk county, Minn. ; Isabelle, who married Ole Barsness and is now deceased ; and Ole, the subject of this sketch. In 1867 the family came to America and upon arriving in this country came directly to Stoughton, where the father had friends. He died in 1895. Ole Semonson attended school in Norway, and was confirmed in the Lutheran church, to which his parents belonged. When he was old enough to earn money he went to work on a farm in his native land and came to America with his father. After reaching this country he worked on farms, in a pinery, frequently going as far as St. Louis with rafts of logs. He finally got a team and rented some land upon which he began the life of a farmer. Later he bought a farm in the town of Dunn and lived there for four- teen years, when he traded for one hundred acres in Pleasant Springs. He now owns three hundred and eighty acres of fine land. well im- proved, upon which he carries on a general farming business. He is one of the largest growers of tobacco in his part of the county, and de- votes considerable attention to stock raising. In politics Mr. Semon -
798
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
son is a Republican, but has never been a candidate for any office. He is a member of the Lutheran church at Stoughton and is active in church work. On January 14, 1872, he was united in marriage to Miss Isabelle Johnson, daughter of John Quam, a native of Norway, and to this union have been born the following children : Carl, Simon, John. Oscar, Andrew. David, Joseph, Martin, Ole, Edward, Dena, Ada, Annie, Christina, and Mary. All are living except Dena.
Dan. A. Sessing is an experienced and successful farmer of the town of York, where he was born April 5, 1851. His parents, Lud- wick and Eva ( Miller) Sessing, came from Germany to the United States in 1842 and located in Dane county. Mr. Sessing was born in Germany in December, 1805, and his wife in May, 1809. They were both educated in Germany and in their early married life determined to try their fortune in the west. They obtained one hundred and thirty-two acres of wild land in the town of York, cleared and improved it and made it a substantial and comfortable home. The remainder of their lives was spent on this farm and there Mr. Sessing died in 1873 and his wife in 1894. Their family consisted of four children, of whom all are living. The family belongs to St. Joseph's Catholic church. Dan. A. Sessing, the subject of this sketch, attended school in the town of York and has always resided in the township. He has a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres with many modern im- provements, which he has owned since 1872. He carries on a general farming business and is also a breeder of Shropshire sheep. He is a member of the Democratic party and has served the town as super- visor for five years in succession. February 27, 1872, he married Miss Margaret Fox of Columbus and ten children blessed their union ; Annie. Jacob, Addie, Gertrude, Frank, Menia, William, Henry (de- ceased). Laura and Lewis. They are members of St. Joseph Catho- lic church. Mrs. Sessing was born in Columbus, daughter of Jacob and Magdalina ( Naiser) Fox, who were born and married in Ger- many and came to Columbia county in 1842, where they spent the residue of their lives. Mrs. Sessing died September 17, 1905.
Abraham Lincoln Severson of the firm of Oftelie and Severson, prominent real estate dealers of Stoughton, is a native of the town of Dunkirk, Dane county, son of Sever H. and Gurina (Peterson) Sever- son. The pioneers of the family in Wisconsin were Helga Sigurdson Severson and Birgih (Oldsdotter) Severson, who came to the United States from Telemarken, Norway, in 1842, and located in Racine county, Wis., where they resided two years. In 1844 they moved to Pleasant Springs and obtained a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of gov- ernment land, the first land purchased from the government in that
793
BIOGRAPHICAL.
township. Sever H. Severson, son of Helga, was born in Telemarken, Norway, November 2, 1840, and came to America with his parents when he was but two years old. He attended the district schools of Pleasant Springs and worked on the farm with his father until he was seventeen years old, when he went to Stoughton and was employed as clerk in a general store. In 1860 he went to Colorado and was en- gaged in mining in the vicinity of Pike's Peak for six years. Return- ing to Stoughton in 1866. he engaged in the lumber business in which he remained until 1886. From 1886 to 1890 he was occupied in deal- ing in leaf tobacco and was then for two years a grocer. From 1892 un- til his death in August, 1897, he was engaged in the marble business for one year and the rest of the time in the coal business. To Sever and Gurina Severson were born four children; Hattie B., the wife of John H. Holtan, Henry C., Abraham L. and Theodore B. (deceased). Abraham L. was born July 25, 1874, attended the public schools and the Stoughton Academy and in 1897 entered the coal and wood busi- ness, which occupied him until 1901, when he engaged in farming.
After two years he became associated with his present partner in the real estate business. August 22, 1900, he was married to Miss Emma Asbjornson, daughter of Christ and Hilabor (Kahland) Asbjornson, pioneers of Dunkirk. Two children have blessed the marriage; Gladys H. and Ingebor. Mr. Severson is associated with the Repub- lican party, served two terms as city clerk of Stoughton and was elected city treasurer in 1906. He is a member of the K. of P. The family are members of the Norwegian Christ Lutheran church.
Henry Severson is one of the representative citizens of the city of Stoughton and is the owner of a fine landed estate in Dunkirk township, being largely interested in the cultivation of tobacco. Mr. Severson has passed his entire life in Dane county and is a representative of one of its worthy pioneer families. He was born in Pleasant Springs township, this county, January 21, 1857, being a son of Helge and Berget (Olson) Severson Gremrsud who came to America from Tellemarken. Norway, in 1842. They located in Muskego, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, where they remained until 1844, when they came to Dane county and located in Pleasant Springs township, where the father secured one hundred and sixty acres of prairie and timbered land. He had the distinction of be- ing the first man to receive from the govenment a deed to land in that township, where he was one of the earliest settlers. He re- claimed his land from the wilds and developed the same into a valuable and productive farm adding to his possessions until he
800
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
was the owner of two hundred and eighty-seven acres, at the time of his death. He was born April 10, 1296, and died in 1856, at the age of sixty years. Of his seven children four attained to maturity, namely: Sever H., who is now deceased ; Adeline, who is the wife of O. K. Lunde : Ole. who was a member of the Eighth Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War, being killed in an engagement near Memphis, Tenn. ; and Henry, who is the immediate subject of this review. Mrs. Severson later married Ole Anderson and by him became the mother of a son, Andrew. who died at the age of seven. Mrs. Anderson died on November 25, 1887, and Mr. Anderson in June. 1900. When Henry Severson was a child of four years his parents removed to their farm in Dunkirk township, where he was reared under the sturdy discipline of the farm and was afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period. He continued to be actively identified with agricultural pursuits until 1904 and he still owns two fine farms, one comprising two hundred and forty acres and the other one hundred and fifteen acres, in Dun- kirk township. In 1903 he erected his present fine modern resi- dence in Stoughton, the same being attractively located on East Main street. He still continues to be largely interested in tobacco culture, utilizing a considerable portion of both of his farms for this purpose. He is a loyal and progressive citizen of his native county, is a stanch adherent of the Republican party and both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. In 1882 Mr. Severson was united in marriage to. Miss Mary Halverson, daugh- ter of Stener and Dorcas (Evans) Halverson. and they have had eight children five of whom are living namely: Stephen B., Burns O., Della M., H. Marcus and Segur H. Those deceased are Henry, Dagne Matilda and Reuben. Mrs. Severson's father was born in Norway, March 22, 1822, being a son of Halvor and Marie (Quale) Jonsaas, the latter being the family name, and the son being given a surname according to the custom of the country, adopting the Christian name of his father. Mr. Halverson came to the United States in 1845, his wife having come the preceding year and their marriage was solemnized in Dane county. Mr. Halverson purchased forty acres of land in Dunkirk township, two years later removing to a farm of four hundred acres, in Dunn township, where he continued to reside until 1819, when he re- turned to Dunkirk township, locating on a farm of two hundred acres, which he had purchased in 1868. In 1848 he was united in marriage to Miss Dorcas Evans, daughter of Evan and Aslaug (Quale) Evans, who came to Wisconsin in 1844. Mr. and Mrs.
801
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Halverson became the parents of eight children namely: Hyatt and Morris, both now deceased: Martin, a farmer of this county; Mary, wife of the subject of this sketch ; Abner. a resident of Dane county ; Matilda, now deceased ; Enoch, likewise a resident of Dane county ; and Alfred, deceased. Mrs. Severson's father died in 1906, aged seventy-four and her mother in 1844 at the age of fifty-one.
Sever M. Severson was born in the town of Christiania not far from his present residence, and has always been a farmer of that lo- cality. His father, Mons Severson, was born in Sogen, Norway, and took passage for the United States in 1855. For the first few years he worked out, but when he was able to save enough money he pur- chased a tract of wild land containing one hundred and sixty acres to which he added from time to time until he owned in all two hundred and sixty acres in section 13, Christiania. Mons Severson married Miss Lukris Vuem, who was also a native of Sogen, Norway, and seven children were born to them, of whom Sever is the only sur- vivor. Mr. and Mrs. Severson worked hard to make a home in the new country and were successful in their labors. They attended the Norwegian Lutheran church of Cambridge, of which their son is also a member. Mrs. Severson died in 1895 and her husband in 1897. Their son Sever lived with them at the old home and cared for thent during their lives and only recently has leased the old homestead which he still owns and has purchased a farm in section 14, Christ - iania. Here in 1899 he built a pleasant home and has made many im- provements. Sever was born March 30, 1872, received his early edu- cation in the home schools and also attended the Red Wing seminary of Red Wing. Minn., for two years. June 7, 1899, Miss Matilda Nordle, the daughter of Christian Nordle, of Christiania, became the wife of Mr. Severson. Both Mr. and Mrs. Severson are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Cambridge. For a few years Mr. Severson engaged in threshing but has almost always been occupied with the duties of the home farm. In 1900, he was so unfortunate as to lose one hand, which was badly mangled by being caught in a corn shredder. Mr. Severson is a member of the Republican party but is not active in politics and has never desired office.
Patrick Sheil is numbered among the progressive farmers and extensive stock raisers of the town of Oregon. and his success has been chute entirely to his tireless industry and natural ability, assisted in no small way by the wise counsels of a faithful wife. He was born the county of Wicklow, Ireland. March 16, 1857, and is the youngest of four children born to James and Anna ( Higgins) Sheil, both of 51-iii
802
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
whom were natives of the Emerald Isle. The children are all living. but the subject of this review is the only one of the family to seek a home in America, the others still residing in their native land. Pat- rick Sheil received his education in the county of his birth and fol- lowed the occupation of a farmer until his migration to America. He sailed from the shores of his native land in 1881 and landed in Amer- ica on June 25, of that year, the date being just one week in ad- vance of the assassination of President Garfield. He came directly to Chicago and worked in the Union stock yards in that city during the first year, and then came to Wisconsin and worked as a farm hand in Dane county for two years. He then purchased eighty acres of land, the same on which he now resides, and has since been successfully en- gaged in the business of general farming. Later he added eighty acres more to this farm, then twenty, followed by the purchase of a forty- acre tract, and still later he purchased eighty acres adjoining, so that his total landed possessions amount to three hundred acres of well improved land. He possesses exceptionally shrewd business abilities, and in addition to the routine of general farm work he deals very ex- tensively in stock. His political principles are represented by an un- swerving allegiance which he gives to the tenets of the Democrat party, and he and his wife are consistent members of the Catholic church. Mr. Sheil was married, January 27, 1883. the lady of his choice being Miss Rosanna Cullen, who was born in the town of Fitch- burg on July 1, 1852. Her parents are Daniel and Anna (Carwin) Cullen, and of the five children of these parents all are residents of Dane county. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sheil -- James Robert, Anna Theresa, Daniel Ambrose, and John Patrick. The daughter married Bernard Fisher and resides in the town of Fitch- burg, and the sons as yet remain at the old homestead.
Charles Stuart Sheldon, A. M., M. D., one of the leading physi- cians of Madison, is a native of the manufacturing town of New York Mills, in Oneida county, N. Y., where his father was for a number of years the secretary of the New York Mills Manufacturing Company. His parents, Stephen Smith and Lemira (Harris) Sheldon, were mar- ried in Rupert, Bennington county, Vermont, and made their first home in Massachusetts, but afterward moved to New York Mills where Charles S. was born January 14, 1842. When his little son was about three years old, failing health compelled a change of occupation and Mr. Sheldon with his family moved to a farm in the vicinity of Brockport, N. Y. Charles received his early education in the schools of Brockport, and followed the usual custom of the farmer lads of that time, when they became old enough to be of service in the work
803
BIOGRAPHICAL.
of the farm, and gave only his winters to study, spending the summer months in the vigorous employ of his physical powers. This custom was, perhaps, the reason why the men of that generation have been able to defy the approaches of age so much more successfully than their sons, less inured to hardship, are able to do. The young man's mental training was not neglected, however, as is shown from the fact that he was graduated from Brockport Collegiate Institute in 1858, when he was sixteen years of age. Following this he was graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, of which Dr. Samuel H. Taylor was the head. and then, in the autumn of 1859 entered, as a classical student, Yale College, from which he was grad- uated in 1863 with the degree of A. B. Among his classmates were a number who attained distinction in their several professions, of whom Hon. William C. Whitney, ex-Secretary of the Navy, and Professor William G. Sumner, of Yale, may be mentioned. Three years later Mr. Sheldon received his degree of A. M. During his university course, his parents had moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and the young student followed them at the conclusion of his studies at Yale, and, while he was finding himself, turned to the usual refuge of the young man during that critical period when the choice of a profession must be determined, and entered the ranks of the teachers for two years, spending the first as principal of the first ward grammar school of Madison, and the second as principal of the state reforin school, or as it is now known, the industrial school for boys, at Waukesha. Hav- ing by that time decided upon his future work he entered the medical department of the Buffalo University, where he completed the course in 1867, receiving the degree of M. D. While a medical student at Buffalo he received the appointment of the position of resident physi- cian in the Buffalo general hospital, a position eagerly sought by med- ical students and young physicians, as affording an opportunity for ob- servation which might not come to them in many years in a general practice. In 1867-68 he took a post graduate course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city, receiving h's diploma for this work upon its completion. Dr. Sheldon began the practice of his professional life at Winona, Minnesota, where he remained three years when he went to Greenville, Michigan, (January, 1872) and entered into a partnership with Dr. John Avery, a man promment not only in his profession but in pol tical and social life. He remained in Greenville thirteen years. building up an extensve practice and enter- ing largely into the social and religious life of the community. In 1885 Dr. Sheldon came to Madison where he has practiced success- fully for over twenty years, filling, in that time, many official positions
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.