USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Biographical and Genealogical > Part 88
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Hon. E. Ray Stevens, judge of the ninth judicial circuit. was born in Barrington, Lake county, Ill., June 20, 1869. He is a son of George B. and Frances Ellen (Kellogg) Stevens, both natives of New York state, where the former was born July 8, 1825 and the latter October 30, 1838. Judge Stevens' ancestors were among the early Dutch-English settlers of the Empire state, and many of them served
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in the War of the Revolution and in the War of 1812. The judge re- ceived his education in the common schools of the town of Koshkon- ong, Jefferson county, Wis., and the Janesville, Wis., high school. In the fall of 1889 he entered the University of Wisconsin and in 1893 he received the degree of B. L. from the academic department of that institution. Two years later he completed the course in the depart- ment of law and was given the degree of LL. B. All during the six years of his college career Judge Stevens did newspaper work to sup- ply the needed funds. Upon the completion of his law course he entered the law offices of Hon. Burr W. Jones and in 1896 formed a partnership with him under the firm name of Jones & Stevens. This. partnership continued until 1903, when, upon the elevation of Judge Robert G. Siebecker to the supreme bench, Governor R. M. La Fol- lette appointed Mr. Stevens to fill out the unexpired term of Judge Siebecker as judge of the ninth judicial circuit. At the expiration of that term he was elected for the full term. Politically Judge Stevens. belonged to the Republican party. In the legislative session of 1901 he represented the first district of Dane county in the assembly, and was the author of the so-called Stevens Primary Election bill, which failed of passage. In religious matters he is affiliated with the First. Congregational church of Madison. On June 23, 1898, he married. Kate, daughter of Henry Sabin, of the town of Windsor, Dane county. To this union have been born two children-Ellen, aged five, and Myron, three years old.
Thomas A. Stewart is a native of Verona, the son of John and Catherine (Gow) Stewart, both born in Scotland. They came to Verona in 1842 and located on section 27. and followed the business of farming during the remainder of their lives. Mr. Stewart was a prominent member of the Presbyterian church and held several offices in it as well as positions in local affairs. He was a large land owner having, at the time of his death. in February, 1858, five hundred and twenty acres. His wife died on May 11, 1888, and both are buried at Verona. Thomas A. Stewart has three sisters, Christine, who married John Lyle, of Montrose : Mary, of Verona ; Margaret, who married David Lyle. of Middleton. He is the youngest of the family and was born March 2, 1849. He was brought up in Verona, obtaining the rudiments of his education in the public schools, afterward attending the University of Wiscon- sin, at Madison. He began life as a general farmer and has pur- sued that occupation up to the present time. He was married March 22. 1871. to Miss Jessie Rutherford. a native of Verona. whose parents were among the early settlers of that section. They
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have three children, Alva Thomas, John R. and Frank A., the last a teacher in the Verona graded schools ; all three are at home. Mr. Stewart has been chairman of the board for seventeen years, and was justice of the peace for several years ; he has always been a Democrat, and is a member of the Presbyterian church. . Mr. Stew- art's uncle, Thomas Stewart, was among the first settlers of the county, coming in 1837; in 1849, he went to California and died there the following year.
John B. Stickney, station agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad at Mazomanie, can trace his ancestry back to the Norman kings of England. Representatives of the family came with William the Conqueror to Great Britain, where they founded the town of Stickney. Some of their descendants came to America at an early date and were conspicuous in the colonial history of this country. Capt. John Stickney, the grandfather of John B., was a captain in the militia and fought with General Warren at Bunker Hill. Jacob E. Stickney, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Brownfield, Me., April 5. 1797, and was one of a family of twelve children. He was educated at Bowdoin College, Me., studied medicine, and was known as one of the ablest and most eminent physicians in the state of New Hampshire. He twice represented Coos county, N. H., in the legislature; served on the board of medical examiners ; was president of the White Mountain Medical association, and practiced for fifty years in one place. He married Martha B. Goss, who was born at Greenland, N. H., in 1805, and to this union were born three sons, of whom John B. is the only one now living. Nathaniel G. was born April 26, 1830, and died in April, 1905. Frederick was born June 8, 1836, and died November 14, 1904. He was in the United States mail service for eighteen years. and was postmaster at Mazomanie for four years. Dr. Jacob E. Stickney died July 17, 1869, and his wife departe 1 this life August 3, 1840. John B. Stickney was born in Lancaster, Coos county, N. H., August 4, 1828. He attended the home schools and the Lancaster academy until he was thirteen years of age, when he completed the course and began life as a clerk in a dry goods store at Wells River, Vt. In 1851 he came to Milwaukee and entered the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company. Since that time he has been continuously in the service of this corporation and now enjoys the distinction of being the oldest employe. At the time he first became associated with this road the company had but twenty miles of track. He served in various capacities, such as clerk, conductor, etc .. and in
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1856 was made station agent at Mazomanie, where he has ever since remained. He has seen the little railroad of twenty miles develop into one of the great railway systems of the country, controlling over 1,000 miles of track, and in 1905-was honored by having a station named for him, viz : the town of Stickney, in South Dakota. When he came to Mazomanie there was but one house there, and in the course of its growth to a town of 1,000 population, or over, he has been a potent factor, always favoring any movement for the betterment of the social and industrial welfare of the place. At one time Mr. Stickney owned a fruit farm in Grand Traverse county, Mich., and was a large shipper of apples to Wisconsin and Iowa. It is perhaps no exaggeration to say that he has done more to improve the horses of Dane county than any other man living within the limts of the county. Being a great lover of horses he has taken an interest in raising them and some of the finest horses ever bred in the county are from his farin at Mazomanie. He is also interested in business institutions and was for some time presi- dent of the Mazomanie Knitting Company. Politically Mr. Stick- ney is one of the founders of the Republican party, and prior to its organization was a Henry Clay Whig. He has checked up the family history from the days of Queen Anne and has found but one Tory among his ancestors. He has always taken a keen interest in questions of public policy ; has served as supervisor of the town of Mazomanie ; was president of the village board for seven years, and was for fifteen years a member of the school board. He is the oldest member of Crescent Lodge, No. 91. Free and Accepted Masons, of Mazomanie. On May 3. 1850, he married Miss Char- lotte White Moore of Lancaster, N. H .. and they have three daugh- , ters. Alice was graduated from the University of Wisconsin and is now the wife of E. J. Elliott. of Dell Rapids. S. D. He is a farmer and also a dealer in grain and real estate. Their children are How- ard S .. a graduate of and now an instructor in the University of Wisconsin : Charlotte, attended the Leland Stanford, Jr. University for three years, and is now teaching in South Dakota; Fay was graduated from the Dell Rapids high school and is now a student at the state university, Vermillion. S. D. Mr. Stickney's second daughter. Mary, was graduated from the Mazomanie high school and the Milwaukee female college, and is now the wife of F. E. Bronson. of Portage, connected with the Portage Hosiery Com- pany. Nelly, the youngest daughter, attended the Mazomanie schools, taught two years in the high school, and is now the wife
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of A. E. Diment, a hardware merchant of Mazomanie. They have one daughter. Gladys. Mrs. Stickney died on October 6, 1891.
Ole L. Stokstad is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and thirty-eight acres in Albion, which was the home of h's father, Lars C. Stokstad. Lars was born near Christiania, Norway, and was em- ployed as a laborer until he came to America. He married Miss Inga Olson and they settled in Stoughton in 1867. For some years they worked rented farms and in 1880 purchased one hundred and thirty-eight acres in sections 5 and 8, in Albion. Here Mrs. Stok- stad still lives with her children. Mr. and Mrs. Stokstad made all of the improvements on the property, erected buildings and con- verted it into a comfortable home. Eight children blessed their mar- riage. Annie, the oldest daughter, married Lars Ellingsrud of Al- bion: Ingeborg is Mrs. Sevard Olson of Dunkirk; Christ resides in Albion; Ole L. is the subject of this sketch: Bertha married Hendrick Stokstad and lives in Albion; Sophia is Mrs. Anton Furcht of Dun- kirk: Mary is the wife of Mons Anderson of Rock county, Wis .; John is a clerk and painter of Morris, Minn. Ole L. was born near Christi- ania, Norway, September 25, 1863, attended school in Albion but re- ceived only a limited education. He learned the carpenter's trade at which he worked for some time and in 1899 purchased a farm and since then has been engaged in farming. Considerable attention is devoted by him to dairying and stock-raising. Mrs. Stokstad was Miss Carrie Rieser of Chicago and was married to Ole Stokstad March 25, 1899. Four children blessed the marriage; Leonard, Raymond, Howard and Hclen. The family attends the United Lutheran church of Stoughton. Mr. Stokstad votes the Republican ticket but he is more interested in school affairs than politics.
Ole Andrew Stolen is a popular young professional man of the ' village of Mt. Horeb, and although he has but recently entered upon the practice of law, his natural ability, combined with a thorough prep- aration, already gives promise of a successful career. He was born in the town of Perry. April 26, 1876, and is a son of Thor and Aaste (Hovrud) Klittleson, both of whom are natives of Norway. The father came to America and located near Stoughton, in Dane county, but later removed to the town of Perry, where he now resides and where he has been for many years successfully engaged in the basic industry of agriculture. The subject of this review is one of twelve children born to these honored parents, four of whom are deceased. Those living are Kittle T .. Knudt, Marie (the wife of A. Lindflett). Caroline (the wife of Ed. Anderson). Ole Andrew, Albert T., Jacob, and Wil- liam. Mr. Stolen was reared on the parental farm, working in the
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summer and attending school in the winter, and in this way laying the foundation of an excellent education. He was graduated from the Mt. Horeb academy with the class of 1896, as valedictorian, after which he spent one year at the Normal College at Valparaiso, Ind. He then entered the University of Wisconsin and was graduated with the class of 1900 with the degree of B. L. After completing this course in the university he turned his attention to teaching and for the ensuing two years was principal of the public schools at Mt. Horeb, after which he returned to the university and entered the law department, graduating as a B. B. L. with the class of 1905. He im- mediately began the practice of his chosen profession at Mt. Horeb and has had a very flattering clientage from the start. Mr. Stolen was married in 1902 to Miss Minnie Severson, of York, Green county, Wis., and to this union has been born two children: Robert Marion and Agnes Lenora. In politics our subject gives an unswerving al- legiance to the men and measures of the Republican party, and his re- ligious faith is expressed by membership in the Lutheran church at Mt. Horeb, of which organization he is secretary.
August Stolte, a prominent farmer of Middleton, Wis., was born in Middleton. December 14, 1854. His father. John Stolte, and his mother, née Sophia Luth, were born in Mecklenburg, Germany, and there were married. In 1854 they came to America in a sailing vessel which was ninety days en route and landed in New York. Continuing their journey as far as Middleton, Wis., they bought eighty acres of wild land and built upon the prospective farm a log cabin in which their son August was born. Three years later Mr. Stolte died and his wife was married a second time, her husband being Charles Goth. The boy. August, worked on the farm after attending for some years the county schools and, in 1877, started out for himself. For eight years he worked rented land and was then able to purchase eighty acres of land with the money he had saved. On this farm in Middleton he lived for ten years. Sub- sequently he bought eighty acres in section 4, where he now lives and which he has very greatly improved. Mr. Stolte is a loval member of the German Lutheran church, of which he is a trustee. He has also held many political offices and is a stanch Democrat. For five years he was school director: for six years road superin- tendent ; and constable several times. December 8, 1877, he was married to Miss Sophia Rode, daughter of Henry and Minna Rode. natives of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Five children were born to them : Carl, who is a clerk in a grocery store in Chicago; Herman. a farmer : Alfred, Clara and Irwin, who still remain at home. Mrs.
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Stolte died in 1895 and Mr. Stolte married Mrs. Blaumenthal, widow of Carl Blaumenthal and daughter of Frederick Ranke.
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Albert M. Stondall, representative of the twenty-sixth senatorial district, comprising Dane county, in the state senate, is a native of Dane county and is now one of the representative real estate men of the capital city. He was born on a farm in Cottage Grove township, this county, August 4, 1865, his parents having been numbered among the pioneers of that section of the county. After completing the curriculum of the common schools he attended the Northwestern Business College, in Madison. He continued to be actively engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1894, when he en- gaged in buying and selling Wisconsin lands, operating especially in Wood, Clark, Washburn and Barron counties, and his business has been extensive and successful, while at the same time he has been able to render material assistance in the development of the sections which he has covered in his operations. He is a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and in 1904 he was elected to the state senate, from the twenty- sixth district, proving an active and valuable member of the delib- erative body of the state legislature.
James B. Stone, a retired farmer of Oregon, was born March 27, 1826, on the Isle of Wight, both of his parents, Jonathan and Har- riet (Dore) Stone, being natives of that island. The father was a shepherd by occupation. He came to America about 1851 and the following year to Dane county. He first located in the town of Berry and lived there until 1853, when he moved to the place where the subject of this sketch now lives, in the town of Fitchburg. Jonathan Stone was born in the year 1790 and died in 1877. His wife died in 1883. They were both members of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Of their eight children only two are now living: James B. and George W., the latter living in the city of Madison. Those deceased were Maria, Jacob, Charlotte, Eliza, Ann and John. James B. Stone received his elementary education on his native island and attended school for a short time in the state of New York after coming to this country. He left home in February, 1842, when but sixteen years of age. and made his way to America, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, the voyage requiring six weeks and five days. He landed in New York city, and in April went to the town of Hopewell, Ontario county, and then to Water- 100. Seneca county, where he lived until November, 1846. From that time until 1853 he worked in a soap and candle factory, and in other occupations, coming to the place where he now lives in
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February, 1853. His first possessions there were eighty acres of wild land, which he improved and has added to it until he now owns two hundred and thirty-seven acres. Part of this he leases out every year, and upon the rest conducts a general farming busi- ness. though he has practically retired from the active management of the farm. Mr. Stone takes a keen interest in public affairs, though he is independent in his political views. He keeps himself well informed on the issues of the day and votes according to his judgment. In June, 1859, he married Miss Emma Dore. a native of New Haven, Conn., and a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Gradge) Dore. Her parents were both natives of England, but came to America in 1832. locating first in Connecticut, but in 1843 settled in Racine county, Wis., where her father bought a farm and became one of the pioneers of that section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Stone have two sons. Homer A. is a farmer in the town of Fitchburg. He married Miss Elizabeth Owens of Dane county. James D. is single and lives at home with his parents on the farm.
Theron G. Stone, junior member of the firm of Dunphy & Stone. owners and publishers of the Sun Prairie Countryman, was born at Johnson's Creek, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, June 12, 1870, and is a son of Chauncey R. and Helen M. (Genung) Stone. The father was born in the state of Vermont, June 28, 1844, and his mother was born in Aztalan, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, February 6, 1842. The lat- ter was a daughter of Charles Genung, who was born in New Jersey, July 24. 1808, and who was numbered among the first settlers of Az- talan, Wisconsin, where he took up his residence in 1839, about five years before Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. He there engaged in the manufacture of wagons and plows, becoming one of the promi- nent business men and influential citizens of the locality and being possessed of a very considerable property at one time. His wife, whose maiden name was Dency J. Hathaway, was born in the state of New Jersey, April 14, 1814, and she died in Aztalan, in 1857. She was one of a large family, and one of her sisters became the wife of the late Alvinza Hayward, a millionaire citizen of California. Chaun- cey R. Stone came to Wisconsin with his parents in 1857 and he was reared to maturity in Jefferson county. He learned the trades of blacksmith and wagonmaker, which he followed for many years in Jefferson, whence he removed to Waterloo. this state, in July, 1875. there following his trade until 1895. when he retired, he and his wife still residing in that village. He is a son of Elijah and Lydia M. (Bridges) Stone, the former of whom was born in Underhill, Vermont, in February, 1821, while his wife was born in Berlin, that state, in the
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sanie month and year. They located in Aztalan, Wisconsin, in 1857, passing the remainder of their lives in Jefferson county, where he died about 1863, his wife passing away in 1874. The marriage of Chaun- cey R. Stone and Helen M. Genung was solemnized November 8, 1865, at Aztalan, the latter having been a resident of Jefferson county from the time of her birth to the present. They became the parents of three children, one of whom died in infancy; Ora A. became the wife of Dudley J. Humphrey, of Waterloo, where she died in May, 1903; and Theron G., subject of this sketch, is the only surviving child. Chauncey R. Stone was one of the first Wisconsin men to tender his services in defense of the Union when his integrity was menaced by armed rebellion. On September 30, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Third Wisconsin Battery of Light Artillery, having been a member of the regimental band, and having been promoted ad- jutant. He received his hororable discharge, December II, 1862, on account of physical disability, but on the 31st of the same month, 1863, he re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company E, Third Wis- consin Cavalry. He was transferred to Company H upon the reor- ganization of the regiment, and was in active service with his com- mand, principally in the west, until the close of the war, having re- ceived his final discharge, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, July II, 1865. He is a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party, is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Theron G. Stone, the immediate subject of this review, secured his educational discipline in the public schools of his native state, having been graduated from the high school at Waterloo as a member of the class of 1888. He initiated his association with the "art preservative of all arts" by enter- ing the office of the Waterloo Democrat, on March 25, 1889, learning all of the intricacies of the printer's craft, with which he has ever since been identified. In August, 1905, he purchased a half interest in the Sun Prairie Countryman, in whose publication he has since been associated with Walter R. Dunphy. He is a Republican in his political allegiance, and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, while he is held in high regard in the business and social circles of his home village. On October 10. 1895, Mr. Stone was uni- ted in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Daum, daughter of Jacob and Charlotte (Youker) Daum, of Waterloo, Wisconsin, and they have one son, Gerald D., who was born February 4, 1897.
H. E. Story, deceased, of Belleville, was born August 18, 1820. at Manchester, Mass. He is a descendant of the Storys who came
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with the Salem colony; there were three brothers, one of whom set- tled at Marblehead, and it is from this branch of the family that the distinguished jurist, Joseph Story, of the United States supreme court, and his son, William W. Story, equally renowned in his own line as sculptor, are descended. Another brother settled in Essex and was a ship -- builder, and many of his descendants have become prominent in that business. and are conneted by ties of blood or marriage to a majority of the people of the town. The third brother was a dis- senter from the Puritan church and the rest of the family drove him to Connecticut. Later, some of that branch came to the Western Re- serve with the Connecticut Land Co. H. E. Story is the son of Stephen Story, a shoemaker, who spent his life in Manchester, dying at the age of eighty-five years ; he married Maria Revere T. Tuck, a relative of Paul Revere, of Revolutionary fame. She died at the age of eighty-six, and, with her husband, is buried at Manchester. They had a family of twelve children, five of whom are still living, and ex- hibiting three of the family characteristics of strength, industry and longevity. H. E. Story was reared in Manchester and educated in the public schools ; he had for an instructor a Mr. Hillyard, a gradu- ate of West Point, and afterward editor of the Boston Courier. Mr. Story was gifted with an active mind and a good memory, for al- though he seldom used a pencil in making his accounts. he very sel- dom made a mistake. At the age of fourteen he was one of the pro- moters of a public library in Manchester, which is still in operation. At the age of sixteen he left home and went to Beverly, Mass., where he worked for the first six months for a truck farmer. He afterward went into business as a manufacturer of shoes, and owned the first machine made for the manufacture of shoes, in this country, and made his home in Beverly for twenty years; during that time he was, for a period of sixteen years, the manager of the lyceum of the town and came into contact with the most prominent and talented men of the day, such as Webster. Phillips and Beecher. In 1858, on account of business failures, he came west, although one bank offered him assistance to the amount of $25,000, if he would remain. He came to Madison with a view to going into business there, but in- stead he bought a farm in Montrose township, for the purpose of starting in life two young men, sons of a friend of his. of Boston. In 1859 he engaged in business in Belleville, in a general store, stocked with the best quality of goods which he could obtain, and conducted a general mercantile business until 1883, when he was succeeded by his son, Charles H. At this time he built a warehouse for rent, but on account of the failure of the lessees, he assumed the management.
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