USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 85
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
823
BIOGRAPHICAL.
church, and also holds membership in the patriotic societies- Daughters of the American Revolution and Colonial Dames.
Matthew Smith, deceased. who met his death a few years since while in performance of duty, was an honorable citizen and a kind and loving husband and father, and well deserves recognition in a volume devoted to memoirs of a county in which he spent all of his life after becoming an American citizen He was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1853, and although his opportunities were very limited he managed to get such schooling as was af- forded in the community in which he lived. He was the only one of his immediate family who came to America, and he was brought here by an uncle before he had reached the full years of manhood. His first work after coming to Dane county was as a farm hand and he continued so employed for the first seven years of his residence here. He then entered the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern . Railroad Company as a brakeman with headquarters at Madison, and continued so engaged until his death, which occurred March 10, 1899. While running ahead of a car in the performance of his duties he was tripped in a cross-frog and fell on the track, and be- fore he could rise he was caught by the rapidly moving cars and four of them passed over his prostrate form killing him almost in- stantly. The wife, to whom he was married on February 5, 1884, resides in the city of Madison with her two sons, George Stanley and Matthew Vincent, a daughter, Mabel, being deceased. The maiden name of Mrs. Smith was Bridget Kivlin, and she is a daughter of Michael Kivlin, a prominent farmer of the town of Fitchburg. Mr. Smith was a Democrat in his political affiliations and his religious views of those of the Catholic faith.
Thore Erickson Smithback, who was born in parish Nowe near Christiania, Norway, March 27, 1842 and died November 9, 1905, was a well-known farmer of Dane county for many years. He came to the United States with his parents, Erick Thoreson and Aase (Olds- datter) Smithback and his sister Anna in 1845. After a long and ted- ious voyage the family landed at New York and proceeded by way of Buffalo to Milwaukee where a strong team was procured which took them to Koshkonong, their journey's end. The home of Nels Olson Smithback, brother of Erick, sheltered them for a year, after which Eric purchased a farm in Christiania township near that of his brother. Six years later the farm was sold and the family moved to one in sec- tion 6, which was their home for a long period. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smithback; Thore. Anna, Ole, Nels, Aasil, Tosten, Erick and Ragnil. With his uncle Nels, young Thore began
824
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
to operate a threshing outfit when he was but sixteen years of age and for eighteen years was engaged in this business. In 1865 he went to the northern woods but after six months returned and purchased the paternal homestead where from that time he carried on a general farming business. He owned two hundred and four acres of fine farm property and also two hundred acres of South Dakota farm land. Mr. Smithback was a Republican but not an office-seeker and never took an active part in politics. January 18, 1867, he married Miss Martha Anderson, born in Albion, March 23, 1842, daughter of Amund Anderson and Ingobar (Johannesdatte) Anderson. Mrs. Anderson's first husband was Erick Johnson, with whom she came from Norway to La Salle, Ill. where she married Mr. Anderson. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, all of whom live in Al- bion, which was the home of their parents after 1840. Mrs. Anderson died in 1884 and her husband in 1886. To Mr. and Mrs. Smithback were born eleven children; Erick, the oldest, born in 1868, lives in Kingsbury, S. D .; Andreas Cornelius, born in 1869, died in 1870; Albert E., born in 1871, is a farmer of Cottage Grove and married Christina Midland; Oscar Edward, born in 1873, is a farmer in Cam- bridge: Ingeborg Marie, born in 1875, married Dr. John Bell and died in December, 1905: Tilla Margaret, born in 1877, is the wife of William Meyers of Cottage Grove; Sina Louisa, born in 1879. Otto. born in 1881, Thorval, born in 1883, and Marckus Neal, born in 1887, all live in Albion : Netta, born in 1885, died in 1885. All of the chil- dren were educated in Albion, at the district schools or the Academy and are members of the Lutheran church.
Seth B. Snyder, superintendent of the Stoughton water works, is a native of the city of Stoughton. His parents, Washington and Julia (Buckman) Snyder, were residents of Ogdensburg, St. Lawerence county, N. Y. In 1855 thty broke up their home in Ogdensburg and journeyed west, locating in Stoughton, where Mr. Snyder engaged in the business of moving and raising buildings. Stoughton became their permanent home and there Mr. Snyder died in 1886. There were six children in the Synder family: Catherine (deceased), John, Sarah, who married William Coates, Augustus, Philo and Seth B. Seth B. was born May 15, 1861, was educated in the Stoughton public school and when he left school learned the cigar-maker's trade at which he worked for seventeen years. In 1897 he was appointed assistant superintendent of the water works which he has brought to a high state of efficency. In recognition of his excellent service he was appointed superintendent in 1901 and has been reappointed every year since. March 2, 1898, he married Mrs. Eliza (Brown) McVain
825
BIOGRAPHICAL.
of Madison, S. Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Synder are prominent mem- bers of the Stoughton Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Synder is a Republican in his political affiliations but does not take an active part in politics. He is a member of the Stoughton branch of the I. O. O. F. and also of the Knights of Pythias.
Knute K. Soiney is the owner of a farm of eighty acres located in section 26, Blooming Grove township, and he is a representative of one of the pioneer families of Dane county, which has been his home from the time of his birth. He was born in Pleasant Springs town- ship, this county, February 20, 1854, and is a son of Knute Austinson and Christian Soiney, both of whom were born and reared in Norway, whence they immigrated to America, taking up their residence in Dane county, where the mother died when the subject of this sketch was a child. He was reared on the home farm, in Pleasant Springs town- ship, and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the district schools. He continued to assist his father in the work of the farm until 1882, in which year he was married and removed to his present farnt. which he then purchased. He has made excellent im- provements on the place, which is now equipped with good buildings and maintained under a high state of cultivation, and the passing years have brought increasing prosperity to the enterprising and energetic owner. Upon his removal to his own farm he was accom- panied by his father, who passed the remainder of his life in the home of his son, his death occurring December 8, 1896. Mr. Soiney and his wife have worked side by side, and the fine equipment of their farm and home bears evidence of their splendid energy and careful management. Mr. So'ney is active in connection with political affairs of a local nature, being an uncompromising advocate of the cause of the Republican party, but he has invariably refused too become a candidate for public office of any description. He and his wife are zealous members of the Norwegian Lutheran church. In the year 1882 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Soiney to Miss Martha Asbjorn- son, daughter of Hans and Emma Asbjornson, residents of Dunkirk township, this county. They have eight children, whose names, with respective dates of birth, are here entered: Kenus Harvey, February 9, 1883: Clarence Alfred, May 4, 1885: Charles Morse, March 8, 1887 ; John Elvin, November 15, 1889: Jovie Alelia, May 7, 1893: Ernest Delin, April 19, 1896; Lillie Luella, February 25. 1898 ; and Clara Ma- tilda, May 4, 1900.
Ernest Sommers is now living retired in the city of Madison after long years spent in the useful occupation of a gardener, in which he achieved both material success and, that which is more valuable, the
826
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
respect and esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances. He was born in Calbe, a town of Prussian Saxony, on December 7, 1822, and is the son of Henry and Dorothea Sommers, both natives of the German empire, the father, who had been a soldier in the German army during the Napoleonic war, dying in 1830, and the mother in 1834. Our subject had good advantages in his youth and received a very fair ed- ucation by attendance upon a boarding school in the town of his birth. He migrated to America in 1846, landing in New York city on Sep- tember 14 of that year, and then came directly to Wisconsin. He se- cured employment in a nursery at Milwaukee and remained in that city thus engaged, for about three years. Then in January, 1850, he he came to the city of Madison with Governor Farwell, and continued to work for him, superintending all outside work, for about three years. He helped lay out all the streets in East Madison and set out all the shade trees in that part of the city, placing about 3,000 cotton- wood and soft maple trees between East Madison depot and the Cat- fish, and he put out hundreds of trees in the park and other parts of the city proper. In 1853 he purchased of Governer Farwell the land upon which has ever since stood the Sommers residence, and where the subject of this review is spending his old age in comfort and quietude. Soon after purchasing the land he erected a dwelling, and the remainder of his active life was devoted to gardening, in which he met with flattering success, the capital city furnishing a ready and convenient market for his varied products. Mr. Sommers is a man of much natural ability, unusual determination, and has always taken an active interest in affairs of a public nature, giving a hearty support to whatever met his conscientious approval. In politics he has been an unswerving adherent to the time-honored principles of the Demo- cratic party, and his worth as a citizen has been recognized by election to various positions of trust. He served two years as supervisor for Madison, when the village and town were one, was town treasurer of Madison, assessor of the same for two years, was four years treasurer of Blooming Grove during the war, and has held at different times nearly all the offices in that town. He was one of the founders of the Madison Horticultural Society, and has always given his cheerful sup- port to enterprises of a public nature. He was married on December 8. 1851, by Judge William Welsh, to Maria Eva Fuchs, a native of ' Germany, born in 1829. Mrs. Sommers died on September 14, 1895. having become mother of twelve children, of whom the following in- formation is given: Josephine is now the wife of Conrad Hoffman of Madison: Clara died at the age of three years; Ernest died at the
*
827
BIOGRAPHICAL.
age of one year; Leo is the editor of the Madisonian, at Madison; Max is in the real estate and insurance business in the city of Madison; Otto is in the United States mail service, and resides in the city of Madison: Herman died in infancy; Anna is the wife of Thomas F. Teirney and resides in the city of Madison; Julius is a practicing physician in Madison; Frank J. resides in Madison, and one child died unnamed in infancy.
J. C. Sommers, M. D., one of the leading young physicians of Madison, was born in the town of Blooming Grove, August 5, 1869. He is a son of Ernest and Eva (Fuchs) Sommers, both natives of Germany. Dr. Sommers received his preparatory education in the public schools of Madison. In 1901 he was graduated at the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons, the medical department of the University of Ill'nois. Immediately after his graduation he started a general practice in his home city, and has continued it successfully since. Dr. Sommers is a member of the Dane County, the Central Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State, and the American Medical Associa- tions. He is examiner for the Wisconsin Mutual Life Insurance com- pany of Madison. Like his mother he is a member of the German Catholic church.
Nels Sorrenson, of Oregon, was born in Denmark, November 21, 1871. He is the son of Soren and Anna Sorrenson, natives of Den- mark. His father is a farmer and still living, but his mother is dead. They had a family of six sons, four of whom live in the United States and two are still in Denmark. . Mr. Sorrenson was ninetcen years old when he came to Dane county and settled in Oregon township ; after a residence there of ten ycars, he made three moves in a period of five years, going to Fitchburg, then to Rutland and then back to Fitcit- burg ; he then again changed his residence to Oregon where he has lived for the past two years. He owns a farm, mostly improved, of one hundred and sixty acres, and is extensively engaged in raising cat- tle and horses. In politics he fraternizes with the Democratic party. He married Miss Maggie Hanner, daughter of Jolin and Ella (Put- nam) Hanner, November 12, 1895. Mr. Hanner 's a native of New York, and his wife, and also their daughter, of Wisconsin. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Sorrenson. Earl J. and Archie V., make the third generation on the maternal side born in the town of Oregon. Mr. Hanner and his wife still reside in Oregon township; he came to Dane as a small boy, some time in the fifties, and both he and his wife were reared and educated in the state. Mrs. Sorrenson is their only child. Mr. Sorrenson is a good type of independence and energy, his present prosperity being the result of his own efforts ; he was thrown
828
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
largely upon his own resources from the time he was ten years old and early developed the characteristics of diligence and self-relance. He is a member of the fraternal order of Modern Woodmen.
Franklin Soule, a prominent farmer of Rutland, is of Puritan an- cestry He is a direct descendant of George Soule and of the eighth generation in America. ' George Soule was the founder of the family in America and was one of the passengers who came in the Mayflower. The Soules took a prominent part in the Revolutionary War and the early Indian wars. Sullivan Soule, father of Frankl'n, was a native of Penobscot, Me. and engaged in lumbering in that vicinity. His mother was Temperance Crowell before her marriage and was born in Penobscot. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan Soule had six children, Hannalı, Lucinda, Samuel, Franklin and two who died in infancy. Franklin is the sole survivor. Sullivan Soule married again and his second wife was Miss Hannah Bowker, also a native of Maine, and to this marriage were born two daughters, Melinda and Henrietta. The lat- ter died : the former lives in Wheeling, West Virginia. After the death of the second Mrs. Soule, Mr. Soule married Miss Esther Adams of Syracuse, N. Y. In 1846, the family left Maine and lo- cated at Joliet, Ill., where they lived for a year. After that they made Rutland, Wis. their home and owned a large farm in section 2. Franklin Soule was born in Rutland, November 22, 1849, attended school in Stoughton and worked on the farm as a boy. The care of his parents in their old age devolved upon the son and he has always lived on the old home farm. It consists of three hundred acres with many improvements and upon it Mr. Soule raises tobacco, grain, hay, etc., and considerable fine stock, making a specialty of high grade poultry. March 7, 1875, he married Miss Malvina Huff, a native of Maine. Mrs. Soule's parents. the Rev. Asa Huff and Louisa (Libby) Huff, resided in Wellington, Me., where Mr. Huff was a minister of the Free-will Baptist church. Of their seven children but three are living ; Israel and Julia, in Wellington, Me. and Malvina, (Mrs. Soule). Mr. and Mrs. Soule have three children. The oldest, Lois T .. is the wife of Everett Devoll of Rutland and has one daugh- ter, Lucile. Samuel is a farmer of Rutland and married Miss Carrie Emmons. Three children make up their family circle ; Ralph, Robert and Myrtle. Sullivan, the youngest son, lives with his parents and is a student at the Stoughton high school. The family are devoted members of the Free-will Baptist church. Mr. Soule is a Republican but has never devoted much time to politics or desired to hold office. He is a member of the Stoughton chapter and of the Blue Lodge of the Masonic Order and he and his wife belong to the Eastern Star.
829
BIOGRAPHICAL.
James Spalding is a retired farmer who has resided for many years in Dane county and since 1890 in the town of Burke, where his property is also the site of the Token Creek Creamery. Of New England descent. Ezra Spalding, grandfather of James, was a soldier in the War of the Revolution and lived in Cornish, New Hampshire, where his son Lemuel was born September 13. 1787. Lemuel was educated in New Hampshire and there married Miss Lucy Pierce, who was born in New Hampshire, July 6, 1790. They had ten children, of whom James, the subject of this sketch, and his brother Charles are the only survivors. James was born in Clare- mont, New Hampshire, July 4. 1829, was taken by his parents to Harland, Vermont, to live, when he was but three years old. He attended school in Hartland and at the age of seventeen years he entered the woolen mills of Bridgewater, Vermont, where he was employed as a spinner for six years. In 1850 he came to the town of Windsor and obtained a farm in section 35, which was his home until 1890. when he moved to the present home in Burke. He has been allied with the Republican party since its organization but has not devoted much of his time to active politics. November 29. 1849, he married Miss Electa Hunt, who was born in Windsor, Ver- mont, September 2. 1824, daughter of Joseph and Tirzah (Barber) Hunt, both natives of Springfield, Mass., who came to Windsor. Vt., to live, and thence to Windsor. Dane county, Wis. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Spalding; Ella, born November 25. 1857, and died February 10, 1874: Harry, born June 25. 1859. a farmer of the town of Burke, who married Miss Helen Bird, daugh- ter of WV. D. Bird of Madison : Mrs. Harry Spalding died February 22. 1892, leaving one son, Earl Wayne. Emma. the youngest daughter was born August 18, 1860. Mrs. James Spalding died in Windsor, February 11, 1890.
Hiland J. Spaulding is the postmaster at Windsor village and has lived in Dane county for many years. He was born in Ludlow, Windsor county, Vermont, son of Warren and Almira ( Spafford) Spaulding, who were also natives of Windsor county. Warren Spaulding was a farmer in Vermont and in 1856, came to Dane county and purchased a farm in the town of Burke. His first wife was a Miss Sanderson and four sons were born to the marriage, of whom but two are living. Two sons and a daughter blessed the second marriage. Mr. Spaulding enlisted in the War of 1812. Hi- land J. Spaulding was born October 16, 1841, attended school in Ver- mont and in Dane county and was employed in Token as a clerk for three years. April 17, 1861. he enlisted under the call for three
830
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
months troops as a private in Company E of the First Regiment Wis- consin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until mustered out August 29, 1861. He participated in the battle of Falling Waters. After his return from the front he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in the town of Vienna and there resided until 1895. Forty acres were added to the property during that time and many improvements made. In 1895, Mr. Spaulding moved to the village of Windsor and was appointed postmaster. Mr. Spaulding is a Repub- lican in his political affiliations and has held the office of teasurer of the town of Vienna for seven years, chairman of the town board for four years and has been school clerk for sixteen years. In 1893, he represented the district in the state legislature and is now serving his second term as supervisor at Windsor. November 15, 1863, he mar- ried Miss Cornelia Farwell, who was born in Vermont, March 4, 1842, daughter of James Farwell, who brought his family to the town of Windsor in 1846 and there spent the residue of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding have had two children; Arthur, the oldest son, married Miss Bird Fisher, of Illinois, and is engaged in farming in Minnesota, and Charles W .. the second son, died at the age of seven years. The family is prominent in the Congregational church. Mr. Spaulding is a member of the Masonic order and of the Madison branch of the G. A. R.
George A. Speckner, retired, who makes his home at 7 North Franklin street, was born in Bohemia, Germany, July 18, 1829. His parents were Joseph and Anna ( Houswitz) Speckner, natives of Ger- many. The father was a miller, who died in the old country at the age of seventy-five. The mother also passed away in the Fatherland in 1852. George A. Speckner was one of two children. A sister, Mrs. John Rhode, died a few years ago. He received his education in Germany and in 1852 served nine months in the army. In 1854 he came to America, landing in New York on October 7. For nine months he worked in Ashiville, N. C., and then started for Madison. The trip from Charleston. S. C., to Lexington was made on foot, and from there was by way of Cincinnati, Ohio, Chicago and Milwaukee, by rail arriving in Madison July 18, 1855. Here he was employed as a clerk in the store of Samuel Klauber for some six or seven years. Then he was employed as upholsterer in the state capitol for nearly fourteen years. Following his capitol employment he did odd jobbs of upholstering and carpet laying, until his retirement. In 1859 he married Miss Sophia Brecknar, a native of Germany. Her parents died across the water, where one brother still resides Mr. and Mrs. Speckner have had eight children, of whom five are living,-Joseph L.,
831
BIOGRAPHICAL.
a railway employe living at Joliet, Ill. ; Anna M., wife of E. H. Nebel, a barber of Madison ; Gorge L., a photographer in the employ of Hon. Joseph C. Schubert ; Susan, wife of George W. Levis, a land agent with offices in Madison ; Frances, wife of John C. Prien, Madi- son agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway. Edward died at the age of nineteen, and Frank at the age of fourteen. The other child died in infancy. Mr. Speckner is one of the respected pioneers of Madison. He came to Madison early enough to become acquainted with the hardships with which the early life of the city was fraught and has lived to see Madison grow into one of the most beauti- ful and cultured cities of the west.
Ransford W. Speer of the town of Rutland, is a well-known far- mer of American birth and ancestry. His father, John D. Speer, was born near Newark, N. Y., and went to New York state with his parents when a boy. There he grew up and learned the black- smith's trade. He married Miss Maria Johnson of Monroe county, N. Y. and together the young couple went to Washtenaw county, Mich., leaving their home there to come to Rutland in 1854. A farm of one hundred and twenty acres was bought in section 32 and Mr. Speer started a blacksmith shop. They joined the First Bap- tist Church of Union, Wis. Ten children were born to them, of whom four are living; Jane married John Hutchinson, Quincy, Mich .; Maria in Columbus, Ohio; Harriet, in Janesville, Wis. ; and Ransford. The father died in January, 1888, aged eighty-four years, and the mother died in 1899, aged ninety-three. Ransford was the youngest son and was born February 26, 1844, at Lodi, Mich., came to Wisconsin when he was eight years old and attended the Rut- land schools. He learned the blacksmith's trade at his father's forge, and, like his brothers, became a skilled workman. The du- ties of the farm have, however, always occupied his time, and he lived on the old homestead and took care of his parents as their years advanced, and he now owns the old homestead and has added to it until he has a fine farm of two hundred and thirty-five acres. In December, 1866, he married Miss Sarah R. Colburn, daughter of Hobart and Catherine A. (Witt) Colburn, the former a native of Putney, N. H., and the latter of Wilmington, Vt. They came to Rutland in 1847 and later lived in Brooklyn. They were among the early settlers of Rutland and took up government land. Mr. Colburn is now a member of her daughter Sarah's family, her hus- band having died May 28, 1888 aged sixty- seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Speer have had eight children. Elvira, the oldest, died; Wal- ter C., is a watchman at the State Institute for the Blind at Janes-
.
832
HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
ville; Grace married William Pratt of Stoughton; Lewis, Glenn, Arthur, Dora and Edith E., reside at home with their parents. Glenn is a member of the organization of Beavers of Brooklyn, Wis. Mr. Speer is a Republican but has never been an active poli- tician. The family belong to the Congregational church.
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.