History of Dane County, Wisconsin, Part 167

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1304

USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Wisconsin > Part 167

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In this connection, it may not be out of place to refer briefly to Col. Gill's course politically. He was raised in the Democratic faith, and, when he became a voter, continued to act with that party. He was, however, always opposed to slavery, and nover failed to condemn it in all public discussions relating to that subject. He supported the Douglas doctrine of non-intervention, as a compromise between the North and the South, and because he believed that under its operation the cause of freedom was quite as safe as in the hands of Congress. In 1860, at the opening of the Presidential campaign, he supported Senator Douglas; but, as the election drew nearer, and it became apparent that the country must make choice be- tween Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Breckenridge, between Congressional interference against slavery and Congres- sional interference in its favor, he acted with characteristic decision and firmness, and took his stand on the side of liberty and justice. At that time he resided in a Democratic city, county, Assembly, Senator- ial and Congressional District, and stood high in the Democratic party. He was Chairman of the Dem- ocratic County Committee, and President of the Douglas Club at Watertown. He was a member of the State Senate, and on the high road to political preferment in his own party. Notwithstanding all these considerations of a personal character, he abandoned the Democratic party and came out openly for Mr. Lincoln, and, in a number of public speeches, advocated his election upon the ground already stated. He has since continued to act with the Republican party, and has been recognized as one of its most able, independent and progressive leaders in Wisconsin and the Northwest.

Col. Gill was elected Attorney General in 1865, and re-elected in 1867. He discharged the duties of the office with marked ability and success for four years. At the expiration of his term, he purchased a fine farm in the town of Blooming Grove, near the city, and fitted it up for his home and opened a law

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office at Madison. He still suffered from the disease contracted in the army, and could not devote to his profession the same zealous and untiring labor that characterized his early practice. He worked at a dis- advantage, but he achieved a success in his profession that would have excited pride in the breast of any man of less brilliant talents.

In 1875, he was appointed Attorney for the United States Government upon the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers improvement, a position he held till January, 1876, when he was appointed by President Grant Commissioner of Pensions. Owing to the condition of his health, he was not able to discharge the arduous and exacting duties of this office, and, in a few months, he was compelled to resign and retire to his home. His official conduct in both of these positions was characterized by integrity, fidelity and ability, and met the highest approval of the Government.

Oa receipt of Gen. Gill's resignation, Secretary Chandler addressed him the following kind and appre- ciative letter, requesting him to continue in the public service :

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, WASHINGTON, March 9, 1876.

Hon. Charles R. Gill, Commissioner of Pensions :

SIR : I am io receipt of your communication of the 8th instant, inclosing your resignation of the office of Com- missioner of Pensions, for the reason that your health will not admit of the proper discharge of its duties.

Permit me to say, in reply, that [ have observed, with great satisfaction, the faithful, conscientious and able manner in which the arduous duties of your office have heen performed during the brief period since your appoint- ment.

I am exceedingly unwilling to lose the services of so efficient an officer as you have proved yourself, and I therefore have the honor to request that you will re-consider your determination and recall your resignation, with the hope that, by devoting yourself less assiduously to your official Inbor for a time, your health may hecome restored. I nm, Sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. CHANDLER, Secretary.

The New York Times, of March 20, 1876, contained a special dispatch from Washington announcing Gen. Gill's resignation, which shows the reputation he had acquired at the national capital during the few weeks he was there employed in the publie service. It is as follows :

It is announced that Mr. Gill, the Commissioner of Pensions recently appointed from Wisconsin, is about to resign. He finds the work of the bureau such as to require very great and continuous labor on the part of the Com- missioner, and his health is not equal to the task of making straight, and conducting with sufficient thoroughness, the business of the bureau. This seems to be unfortunate for the service, as Mr. Gill is showing that he compre- hends the situation of affairs in the bureau, which no recent Commissioner has given signs of understanding, and if he were able to work ten or twelve hours a day, instead of the time usually spent in Government offices, he would probably he able to put the burenu in excellent condition.

The law was the chosen field of Gen. Gill's life work, and here his labors have been rewarded with its honors and its more substantial rewards. He is a man of quick perception, of strong reasoning faculties, of excellent judgment, and possessing remarkable oratorieal powers and a deep sense of justice that is the surest guide to truth ; in a word, he is a natural lawyer. To his native talents were added years of pro- found study ; he thoroughly mastered the science of the law before he engaged in the practice. He was not, however, overwhelmed with his attainments, but employed his learning as a skillful artisan his tool- as a means to accomplish an end. As an advocate, he is always brilliant and effective ; as a jurist, profound and logical. Hon. Carl Sehurz, who for a time resided at Watertown, pronounced one of Col. Gill's speeches, in a criminal defense, the finest forensic effort he ever heard ; and the late Hon. J. C. Hopkins, Judge of the United States District Court, said to the writer of this sketch, that the ablest and most effective argument he ever heard in a court-room was made by Col. Gill before the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. The estimate placed upon his ability by these distinguished gentlemen sufficiently attests his high standing at the bar, and that, too, acquired before he had reached the full maturity of his powers.

As a popular stump speaker, Col. Gill soon acquired a wide reputation, and his services have been in demand in every political campaign since 1856. In the discussion of public questions he is always origi, nal, forcible, eloquent. He possesses in a remarkable degree the power to reach the understanding and to arouse the feelings of his audience; to uproot opposition, to remove doubt, to strengthen conviction and to awaken enthusiasm. He never loses sight of the fact that the true object of oratory is to persuade to action.

The style and effect of his stump speeches may be judged from the following notice of a meeting held at La Crosse, in October, 1872, from the La Crosse Republican :

Gen. Charles R. Gill was the closing speaker, and he made it " red hot." It is as impossible to report one of his speeches as to photograph the fragrance of a flower or imprison a gleam of lightning. Humorous, satirical, half impudent, and wholly eloquent hy turns, he makes an audience " pay attention " when he has business with them. His expose of the weak, illogical, untrustworthy character of the Liberal party, was absolutely terrific at times and convulsive at others. He designated it as the "grub-worm party," because the gruh was " biggest when it was

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born." He dissected the Greeley doctrine of reconciliation-an oblivion of all that could remind the rebels of their disgrace and defeat -- with a vigor and irony which called out a tumult of applause. Gill " filled the bill," and the meeting closed with an enthusiastic vote of thanks to the speakers and rousing cheers for the Republicau ticket.

It may safely be asserted that no young man in Wisconsin ever entered upon a more brilliant career> either in war, in politics, or in his chosen profession, and naught but the withering hand of disease could have blasted the highest expectation of future honor and distinction. His constitution, naturally strong, was badly shattered by hardships and exposure in the army, and he has never since fully recovered bis former health and strength. And thus in the contest with the talented and ambitious who are to be found in every profession, has Col. Gill been weighed down with infirmities and disease, and that, too, before his vigorous powers had reached. their full maturity. If, however, he has not realized the brightest hopes of youth in the distinction of the highest public station, he has enjoyed in an unusual degree the honors and rewards of his chosen profession, and the purer and more enduring pleasures that center around a happy home. There have been born to Charles R. and Martha A. Gill the following children : Evelyn Louise, born July 29, 1856 ; Eugene D., May 23, 1858; Clark L., May 27, 1861 ; Ralph C., March 27, 1864 ; Hiram C., Aug. 23, 1866; Alice M., Aug. 24, 1868 ; Olive E., Oct. 19, 1870 ; and Martha A., Dec. 11, 1874. All the above-named children are still living, and at home with their parents, except Eugene D., who departed this life on Nov. 10, 1858.

HALVER HALVERSON (Kalstad), farmer, Sec. 23; P. O. Madison ; was born in the town of Blooming Grove, April 22, 1853 ; son of E. Halverson, a native of Norway, who came to America in 1847 or 1848, and is now living on Sec. 23 at the age of 72, and his wife, whose maiden name was Anna Oleson, is now living at the age of 60 ; they have six children-Carrie, Halver, Ole, Anna, Kanudt and Sarah, all married but Halver and Kanudt, who are single and living with their parents. They are members of the Lutheran Church. They have 110 acres of land. Halver Halverson is a Democrat, and was Town Treasurer of Blooming Grove two years.

WILLIAM HARNDEN, gardener, Sec. 6; P. O. Madison ; was born in Wilmington, Mid- dlesex Co., Mass. May 13, 1817; son of Jonathan Harnden. His wife, to whom he was married in 1840, was Hannah, daughter of Jesse Harnden. Mr. Harnden worked at bridge-building in Massachu- setts, and was for twenty years engaged on the bridges of the Boston & Lowell R. R .; he came to Wiscon- sin in the fall of 1859 with his family, though he had been in the State winters for several years previous to that, and bought a farm of 340 acres in the town of Sullivan, Jefferson Co., in 1852 or 1853; when the war broke out, his three sons went into the army, and, in 1863, he sold his farm and bought one of 228 acres in the town of Hebron, same county, as soon as his boys got home from the army ; he kept that till 1869, then sold out and bought 18 acres on Sec. 6, Blooming Grove, Dane Co., on the lake shore, just outside the city limits of Madison, where he is engaged in gardening and small fruit culture, in company with his oldest son, William Henry ; he has only three children, all sons, and all of whom were in the army. William Henry enlisted in 1861, in Co. A, 1st Wis. Heavy Artillery, and was in the service three years. He was married in 1866, to Miss Sarah Starnes, of Jefferson Co., and is now in business with his father ; he has an adopted daughter, Myrtie, but no children of his own. Edward enlisted in July, 1864, in the same regiment and company as his brother William Henry, and remained in the service till the close of the war; he is married, and living in Palmyra, Jefferson Co., on a farm, and has one son, Frank. The youngest son, William, enlisted in 1861, in the 1st W. V. C., under his uncle, Capt. (now General) Henry Harnden, and was in the service till the close of the war ; he is now married, and has four children, and is farming in Chippewa Co., Wis. Mr. H. and his sons are all Republicans. His first wife died Aug. 23, 1869, aged 55; he was married to his present wife in August, 1880 ; she was Permelia Henry, of Cold Spring, Jefferson Co., Wis.

J. R. HIESTAND, farmer, Sec. 3 ; P. O. Madison ; has been a resident of Blooming Grove since 1864, and of Dane Co., since 1852 ; has been engaged in farming ever since he came to this State; has been several terms Chairman and one year Superintendent of Schools; was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Jan. 7, 1823. Was married in Dayton, Ohio, in 1847, to Mary Ann Stutsman ; she was born in Dayton, Dec. 10, 1829 ; has six children-Lizzie, now Mrs. William M. Gay, of Blooming Grove ; John E., Fannie, Harry, Willie and Carrie, the last five at home ; Mr. Heistand, father of John Heistand, was a native of Lancaster Co., Penn., and Mrs. Hiestand's father, Jacob Stutsman, was a native of Hagers- town, Md. Is a Republican, and has 80 acres of land worth $50 per acre ; he was in the dry goods bus- iness in Dayton, Ohio, for five or six years previous to his coming to Wisconsin ; he brought some tobacco seed with him from Ohio, and, in 1852, in company with Ralph Pomeroy (now of Rock Co., Wis.), raised ten acres of tobacco just south of Madison, which was the first tobacco raised for market in this

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State; he has dealt largely in that article since, and has carried on the manufacture of tobacco and cigars about four years since he came to this county.

FRED C. HORSTMEIER, farmer Sec. 15 ; P. O. Madison ; born May 8, 1856, in Prussia ; his father, Fred W. Horstmeier, came to America in 1857 ; settled in Blooming Grove, and lived there about three years, and in Cottage Grove two years, and since that time in the town of Sun Prairie. Fred C. was married, Nov. 6, 1879, to Mrs. Minnie Pepper, daughter of Casper Starck, and widow of Fred Pepper ; she had four children by her first husband -- Mary, Sophie, Henry and Freddie; and one by her second marriage-John, born Aug. 6, 1880. Mr. H. is a Democrat, and member of the Lutheran Church. Has 120 acres of land, worth $50 per acre. Mrs. H. was born April 1, 1855, in Blooming Grove.

P. HURD, farmer, Sec. 35 ; P. O. McFarland; came to Dane Co. and settled on his present farm in October, 1847 ; he was born May 5, 1822, in the town of Ira, Cayuga Co., N. Y .; lived in his native county till June, 1845 ; then came to Wisconsin and settled in Rock Co., where he resided till he came to Dane Co. He was married, June 28, 1851, to Malvina C. Sawyer, who was born in Windsor Co., Vt., Aug. 29, 1826, daughter of Thomas Sawyer, who came to Wisconsin in October, 1847, and died May 20, 1848. Mr. Hurd has two children, both daughters ; the oldest one, Isadore, is now Mrs. Lawrence Eighmy, of the town of Dunn, and the youngest, Eloise, is at home. Republican, and has been Town Treasurer several terms ; has 860 acres of land, 320 in his home farm on Secs. 34 and 35, and balance on Secs. 21 and 28.

NIELS JOHNSON ELLSTAD, farmer, Sec. 23; P. O. Madison ; born Aug. 9, 1841, in Norway ; his father, John Nielson Ellstad, came to America in 1847, and settled in Blooming Grove, where he still lives, at the age of 74. The subject of this sketch was married April 17, 1862, to Mary, Anna Thompson, a native of Norway, daughter of Thomas Nelson, who came to America in about 1855, and now lives in Crawford Co., Wis .; Mr. Johnson has eight children, as follows : Julia, Mary, Anna, John, Thomas, Niels, Peter and Martin, all at home. He is one of the present Supervisors of the town, and has held the office three terms previous to this ; was Treasurer two years. Is a Democrat, and mem- ber of the Lutheran Church ; has 173 acres of land, worth $30 per acre.

S. D. LIBBY, farmer, Sec. 32; P. O. Madison; came to Madison May 25, 1851; worked there at the carpenter's trade for ten or twelve years; was born Nov. 26, 1827, in Buxton, Me.,; learned the carpenter's trade of George W. Cobb, of Portland, Me .; worked there two years, then in Saco, Me., two years, and came to Wisconsin in 1850, arriving in Milwaukee on the 26th day of October ; he im- mediately went to work at his trade for Benjamin Judkins, and continued with him till he came to Madi- son; in 1860, went to California, starting April 16, and returned the next September. Was married, in 1861, Dec. 25, to Mary E. Hall, who was born March 30, 1836, in Hardwick, Vt .; her father, John Hall, was a native of Oxford, N. H., and died in Vermont, in October, 1848; Mrs. Hall came West and died Jan. 17, 1873, in Evansville, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Libby have four children, all boys -- Charles, born Nov. 28, 1862 ; John, Oct. 29, 1864; Edward, March 9, 1867, and Benjamin, born Sept. 9, 1874. Mr. L. held the office of Assessor one term ; was formerly a Republican, now Greenbacker, and has 120 acres of land in his farm, worth about $5,000. Both himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episco- pal Church.

GEORGE W. MCDOUGAL, farmer, Sec. 32; P. O. Madison ; born July 9, 1823, in Franklin, Vt .; lived there till 18 years of age, and lived abont a year in Massachusetts, and came to Wis- consin in 1843; first lived in Milton, Rock Co., four years, then removed to Albion, Dane Co., and farmed it four years ; then lived in the city of Janesville two years, and returned to his farm in Albion ; in 1858 he came to Madison as Deputy Sheriff and Jailer, in which capacity he acted till 1862, then Under Sheriff and Jailer till 1864; was then elected Sheriff of Dane Co., and held that office two years, after which he acted as Under Sheriff and Jailer another term of two years, and Deputy U. S. Marshal two years, under Gen. Hamilton; in 1874, removed to his present farm, which he had purchased in 1873. Was married, in 1844, in Milton, Wis., to Hannah Green, aged 37, leaving three children-Abbie. Clara and Charles. His present wife, to whom he was married March 2, 1868, was Mary E. Lake, of Madison; has five children by the second marriage-Ella E., Emma, Arthur, Georgie May and Albert. Republican, and has 143 acres of land, worth about $8,000

REV. MANOAH D. MILLER, retired Baptist clergyman ; was born Feb. 15, 1811, in Essex Co., N. Y. ; son of Manoah and Elizabeth Miller. He received a common-school education in his native county ; was educated for the ministry at Madison University, Hamilton, N. Y., and became Pastor of the Baptist Churches in the following places in Vermont : Monkton, Springfield, Danville, Windham, Wilmington and Addison; in January, 1853, he came from Addison to Wisconsin and settled as Pastor

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of the Baptist Church at Madison ; here he immediately commenced the work of raising means to erect a suitable church edifice; in this he succeeded, his untiring energy and zeal surmounting all obstacles, but the incessant labor in raising the necessary funds, and personally superintending the work, together with his pastoral duties, so impaired his health that he was obliged to retire from the pulpit in 1856; partially regaining his health, he rendered efficient services in the erection of Wayland University, at Beaver Dam ; in 1857, he engaged in the business of banking, in the city of Madison, continuing that business in con- nection with life and fire insurance till 1870; he then retired from business to a small farm, just outside the city limits, in the town of Blooming Grove, where he is spending the evening of his busy life in ease and quietness. His wife, to whom he was married in November, 1831, was Miss Phoebe, daughter of Deacon John Ensign, of Essex Co., N. Y. ; she was a faithful wife and mother, and emphatically a help- meet in all the varied duties of life, both public and private; her death occurred in August, 1879, at the age of 68. Mr. Miller has two sons; the eldest, Charles B., is married to Lucy McConnell, has four children and lives on the homestead ; Carleton E. is married to Lottie E. Rice, and is doing business in Madison.

ABRAHAM MORTON, Sec. 5 ; P. O. Madison ; was born in the Connecticut Valley, town of Whately, Franklin Co., Mass., July 4, 1804; went to Pittsfield, Mass., at 15 years of age; attended school there, and remained fourteen years. Was married there at 25 years of age; in 1833, removed to the town and county of Medina, Ohio. Having in boyhood been brought up to the brick business, be engaged there in making brick, and continued in the business fourteen years, holding at the same time various official positions, civil and militia; at one time held the offices of Constable, Deputy Sheriff, Marshal of the village, Secretary of an agricultural society, and Colonel of a military regiment; in the meantime studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1844, but, being County Treasurer at the time, he devoted but little time to the practice of his profession. Moved to Wisconsin in 1847; lived a short time in Sheboygan, then one year in Milwaukee in the wholesale and retail grocery business ; sold out, went to Pardeeville and clerked for Pardee awhile, and then engaged in law practice and farming till 1852; went to California in November of that year and returned, in 1854, to Wisconsin, and carried on the brick busi- ness in Madison till 1875; then, in consequence of an injury by which he lost in part the use of his right arm, he retired from all business except a small farm and garden ; has had many narrow escapes from injury and death ; received two revolver-shots from a ruffian, one lodged in a book under his arm, and the other passed through both vest pockets and through the right arm ; on a train of cars was thrown off the track amid five cars in a pile; was on the steamer Charles Townsend on Lake Erie, in 1836, when she burst her boiler in a race with the steamer North America; was a passenger on the steamer Georgia, crossing the Gulf Stream in a storm, but landed before she was wrecked ; was on the steamer Yankee Blade, the trip previous to the one in which she was wrecked on the Pacific ; at one time, crossing the Vernon hills in Ohio, by stage, was thrown with the stage body off the road, down among the trees below ; went through all this and escaped with only a bullet through his right arm at one time, and a dislocated elbow joint at another, and now, at 76 years of age, retains considerable vigor, and is active about his little farm and garden ; has devoted much time to reading and is still a vigorous writer. Ha has had an eventful life ; he was married, to Miss Lavinia Doolittle, of Pittsfield, Mass., 21 years of age, well educated, and employed as a teacher ; they have two children, a son and a daughter, both educated with great care; the son, Charles Carroll Morton, a prosperous commission merchant in Oswego, N. Y. ; the daughter, Kate Courtland Morton, lives single, a studious scholar and writer. Col. Morton, like all Massachusetts young men, was a teacher for four winters ; his theory has ever been that farmers and mechanics should be, and had the chance to be, as well educated as lawyers or men in any profession ; unassuming in his manners and appearance, his great distinc- tions of men and women consists in their intelligence and moral worth, and he holds dishonesty in utter con- tempt ; he has always been successful in business, but unfortunate in speculation ; active in building up places where he has lived ; always punctual to fulfill his engagements and to meet his obligations; kind to his employes and to the poor; sincerely devoted to his family, his home is his kingdom ; he devotes much time now, in his advanced age, to reading and writing ; keeps up a constant correspondence with the friends of early life, now widely separated ; he is the most appreciated by those in his confidence who know him best. His mother-in-law, Mrs. Cynthia Chapman, was born in Pittsfield, Mass., May 14, 1783 ; married at 16 years of age to a man named Doolittle; was the mother of seven children, three sons, four daugh- ters ; left a widow at 32 years of age ; afterward married William Francis ; left a widow again at 60 years of age, since which she has lived with her son-in-law, Col. Morton ; in her 98th year she retains her fac- ulties, particularly her sight and memory ; reads much, constantly employed, is cheerful, well informed in the history of the country, its incidents and events, from its settlement to the present time ; converses

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freely and fluently on all subjects, and walks out in the yard daily. Such is a brief sketch of the life of Mrs. Cynthia Francis ; still living.

GEORGE M. NICHOLS, farmer, Sec. 20; P. O. Madison ; has been a resident of Dane Co. since October, 1842 ; he was born in the town of Nassau, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., June 1, 1806; when 2 years old, his father, John Nichols, removed to Cayuga Co., N. Y. George M. went to the city of Rochester when about 19 years of age, and, soon after, was married to Mary Cressy, of Phelpstown, Ontario Co. In 1829, removed to Michigan, and lived in Oakland Co., near where Pontiac now stands; cast his vote there for Michigan to become a State, and, in 1842, came to Wisconsin, and, in 1848, had the privilege of doing the same thing for this State ; he first settled on Sec. 30, in the town of Burke; lived there nine years ; then removed to Blooming Grove, and lived on Sec. 17 till 1878, when he sold out and came to his present location ; his first wife died in Michigan in 1837, aged 24, leaving one son ( William), who died at 19 years of age, in November, 1853. His second wife, to whom he was married in 1837, was Phiantha Rowley, of Monroe Co., N. Y .; have had three children by the second marriage, the eldest of whom-George-enlisted, in August, 1862, in the 23d W. V. I., and died in the hospital at Mound City, Ill., the next February, of lung fever ; Louis and Marion are both at home. Politics, Republican. Has 200 acres in his farm on the southeast shore of Lake Monona, where he has a full view of the lake and the city of Madison.

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History of Dane County, Wisconsin, Part 167

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1304

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1304