USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Wisconsin > Part 203
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GEORGE FOX, Sec. 35; P. O. Oregon ; born in 1820 in County Westmeath, Ireland ; son of the Rev. William and Ellen (Lynn) Fox, who emigrated to the United States in 1834, with six children ; they first settled near Tecumseh, Mich., then went to La Grange Co., Ind .; in 1842 (antumn), his elder brother, Dr. William H. Fox, and himself drove a horse across the country to Chicago, and with the same horse and buggy came via Crystal Lake, Delavan and Janesville to Madison, thence by a circuitous course to the small prairie where their farms were located; Harvey Bush guided them to it, describing it as fine land, but in such an out-of-the-way place; George Fox entered 120 acres, spent the winter in Michigan City, and in June, 1843, brought out his wife and two children for permanent settlement; built a 16x20 log house, the first erected by this now noted family of Dane County pioneers-and lived in it thirteen years, it being the gathering place of relatives, who soon joined him. He married in Indiana, Catherine Keenan, who was born in King's Co., Ireland, and came to the New World in 1838; they have six living children-Philip Fox, M. D., of Madison ; Ellen (Mrs. Dr. Wilson), William Fox, M. D., of Milwaukee ; Maria (Mrs. Theodore Colladay), Katie (Mrs. G. Barry, of Oregon), and Addie; Mr. and Mrs. Fox now enjoy the comforts of a good home, a farm of 320 acres, and a substantial stone house built in 1856. Mr. Fox, hale, erect, and ruddy, is a fine representative of the pioneers of thirty-seven years ago. His wife is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. He is, in polities, Independent, supporting men and principles irrespective of parties.
WILLIAM H. FOX, M. D., is a son of William Fox, of the family of O'Sionach (angli- cized Fox)-his residence was in both Seffia and Kilconrcey, County Westmeath, Ireland, and the maiden name of his wife was Eleanor Lynn ; their son, our subject, was born September, 1814, in Moate-a-Gran- ough, County Westmeath, and received his early education there ; came to America in 1833, and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1839 removed to Lima, La Grange Co., Ind., where he began the practice of medi- cine; in November, 1842, the Doctor came to Wisconsin, and, impressed with the natural beauty of the country south of Madison, entered his present farm at the Milwaukee Land Office ; his large farm is on Sec. 35, one and one-half miles north of the thriving village of Oregon. In the spring of 1843, he settled and began making improvements here ; the Doctor is among the veteran physicians of the State, and few of the pioneers enjoy so pleasant a home; the Doctor had the good taste to preserve intact a noble park of burr oaks, which with ornamental trees planted by him, surround his large and picturesque farmhouse; sheltering in winter, and beautifying in summer. Dr. Fox was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1847; though he has seen much of frontier life and its hardships, his sixty-six years sit lightly upon him, and his strong frame and fresh, healthful face are still seen in various parts of the county, whither his large practice leads him. The Doctor has several children by a now deceased wife, his son, Arthur Fox, being one of the live and progressive young stoek-breeders of Wisconsin, he owning a farm adjoining that of his father.
NICHOLAS HAIGHT, Sec. 12; P. O. Syene; born July 10, 1818, in Westchester Co., N. Y .; son of Caleb and Sarah M. (Jackson) Haight; he attended the common schools, and for eighteen
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months the North Salein Academy; worked seven years at harness making and taught school seven years, principally in his native county and at Stamford, Conn. ; was three years an employe of the N. B. Rubber Co. of New York City; in the spring of 1857, came West, locating on Sec. 31, town of Bloom- ing Grove, paid his last dollar for 80 acres, at $11 per acre, then hired $1,000 of his father, with which he lived eighteen months, and did his breaking, building, etc .; in 1868, he sold out for $2,800, and bought his present 160-acre farm for $6,000, this left him $5,000 in debt, every dollar of which was paid in nine years; he has besides remodeled and added to his house, also raised and enlarged his barn, and made other lasting and substantial improvements. He married in his and her native town of Bedford, Miss Catherine Williamson; they have reared and educated a family of six children-James C., born in Con- necticut ; William J. and Sarah M., born in Westchester Co., N. Y .; while Thomas W., Mary J. and Lizzie M. are Badger born. Mr. H. is a Republican of Greenback proclivities, and the family are Episco- palians ; the great-grandfather of Mr. Haight cleared up a farm from what was then a wilderness, only twenty-three miles from New York City; this old homestead, near Rye, is still in the family.
J. T. HAWES, Sec, 18; P. O. Madison ; born June 17, 1834, in Erie Co., Penn .; his parents, Matthew and Anna M. (Miles) Hawes, came West in 1842, reaching Madison with a team Dec. 24, 1842; while here, J. T. attended school under tuition of Theodore Conkey ; afterward a Union Captain and member of the Legislature; he also attended the first Sabbath school, taught by the Rev. Mines, in the old capitol. The family settled in Verona in March, 1843, the second family in that town, and in their house the first religious service was held by the Rev. Stebbins in the summer of 1843. J. T. attended school in the first schoolhouse, built in 1846, near what is now the poor farm ; his father also kept open house for the traveling public; in 1849 and 1850, he kept the old National Hotel, on the site of the present Vilas House. In 1856, J. T. Hawes married Mary J. Williams, of Oneida Co., N. Y. ; she was born Sept. 27, 1834; her father, B. W., was a lineal descendant of Roger Williams, founder, of Rhode Island; and her mother, Abigail Sheldon, a native of New York. Since 1856, Mr. Hawes has lived on his present 130-acre farm ; has four living children- Estelle A. (Mrs F. A. Matts), Edith A., Mary L. and Fred W .; and lost an infant daughter, Charlotte E., died in 1872. Matthew Hawes died May 4, 1873; he was a Democrat ; and was elected Justice of the Peace and Supervisor on the first town ticket in Verona; was later Town Treasurer and one of the Commissioners to lay out the Madison and Wiota road ; his son, our subject, has made his own farm and home ; he is likewise a Democrat and has been Justice of the Peace eight years ; he served seven and a half months of the year 1865, in Co. G, 49th W. V. I .; was honorably discharged on account of disability, and still suffers much from partial loss of speech and eye- sight ; has made application and will doubtless receive a pension.
HENRY HELMS, deccased ; born Aug. 7, 1808, in Otsego Co., N. Y .; worked in early life as a farmer and miller. Married in Ellington, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., Feb. 21, 1839, Miss Lydia, daughter of Orrin and Margaret (Buchanan) Kingsley ; they were New England people, and she was born July 22, 1821, in Oneida Co., N. Y. In 1845, Mr. and Mrs. Helms came West and settled on the Helms homestead, then in a state of nature. J. French and F. W. Bird were the only settlers to the north of them till Madison was reached ; their youth and health were their all; Mr. Helms worked some- what during the harvest of 1845, and corn and potatoes were raised for food-butter, eggs, chickens, etc., were sold to pay for the first 40 acres, and money hired at 25 per cent to pay for the balance-a splendid wheat crop, sold at five shillings per bushel, paid this and opened brighter prospects, which were duly improved; Mr. Helms died June 15, 1860, leaving ten children-Marvin, Harlow, Hudson, Denzil, Dracania (first one born in Wisconsin, died in her 20th year), Salina, Homer, Andrew, Martha and Estella; the two eldest were by a former marriage with Mahala Abby, who died in 1837. Mr. H. was a Methodist and a Demo- crat. Marvin Helms was a Lieutenant in the 8th W. V. I. ; and Denzil, a private in the same regiment ; both served through, veteranized and were discharged with that grand old regiment in September, 1865.
HON. JOHN KEENAN (deceased) ; born March 21, 1816, in King's Co., Ireland ; with two brothers and two sisters he came to America in 1838, locating near Lima, Ind .; in 1843, four of them, John, George, Catherine and Frances I., came to Dane Co. Mr. Keenan at once bought part of the pres- ent homestead, and did good work as a pioneer of the times, clearing and breaking; 80 acres were under cultivation, and a good log house built at the time of his marriage with Flora McKee in 1850; she was born in County Down, Ireland, whence her parents, David and Jane McKee, came to the United States in 1844; and from New York City to the town of Dunn, Dane Co., in 1848, when Madison was the village capital of a new State. Mr. and Mrs. Keenan began in the log house and made a cultivated home- stead of the wild prairie around them ; in 1864, the pioneer house was supplanted by a large and most pleasantly located farmhouse ; Mr. Keenan died Dec. 18, 1870, leaving six children-John A., Robert
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M., Jennie I., Charles T., Agnes and George. Mr. K. was a regular attendant of the Presbyterian Church ; was a Democrat, and represented his district in the Wisconsin Legislature ; was also Chair- man, etc., of his town for many years ; no man ever filled these positions with more modesty and ability ; his widow and children now enjoy a pleasant home, and splendid 568-acre farm earned by him.
WILLIAM C. KISER, Seo. 12; P. O. Madison ; born July 17, 1828, in Rockingham Co., Va. ; has been a life-long farmer ; in 1832, his then widowed mother located on a farm, now occupied as the National Soldiers' Home, Dayton, Ohio ; eight years later, he removed to Logan Co., Ohio, and engaged in farming there until 1862, when he came to Wisconsin and bought his present farm. William Packham made the first improvements here, though Mr. K. has erected a basement barn, 56x32, and other equally substantial buildings. He married, in Salem, Champaign Co., Ohio, Miss Lucy Block ; her father, a Kentuckian, settled in Ohio in 1804. Mr. and Mrs. Kiser have seven children-Emma F., Mary, C., Jennie, James A., William C., Dora and Perlie, and have lost a daughter, Lizzie. Mr. K. is a Democrat; was Sheriff of Dane Co. in 1874, and is now serving his third term as Chairman of Fitchburg ; is a member of Madison Lodge and Chapter A., F. & A. M., and is an Odd Fellow. Mr. Kiser devotes his 250 acres to the breeding and feeding of fine stock; his first Poland-China hogs were brought from Ohio in 1862 ; and he has since dealt with the Lusson Bros., of Illinois, W. W. Ellsworth and the Newell Bros .; has also bought Berkshires of the Bow Park Breeding Association, of Canada West; his first short-horns were purchased of E. P. Brockway, and later he bought of T. J. McGibbon, Kentucky; Avery & Murphy, of Detroit; C. H. Williams, Baraboo ; and A. Strawn, of Illinois ; Mr. Kiser has held two sales-one in April, 1879, and one in February, 1880; about fifty head sold; has exhibited stock at Madison, Oshkosh and St. Paul, and never failed in winning a fair share of prizes.
JOHN McWILLIAMS, Sec. 25; P. O. Oregon ; born near Cornwall, N. C. ; his parents' Robert and Elizabeth (Brownell) Mc Williams, settled, ten years later, in Oneida Co., N. Y. ; the son grew to man's estate here; in the fall of 1843, he accompanied a family named Augur, via the lakes, to Milwaukee, thence by stage to Madison, and in September, 1843, he began work for Mr. A. on his then new farm (the present farm of Arthur & Fox) ; his rude shanty was a mile from any house; during the winter and summer he split 7,000 rails ; the next year he hired out to Dr. W. H. Fox, and continued in his employ five seasons ; bought 40 acres of his present farm, in 1845, and set out apple-trees on it, in 1846, a few of which may yet be found in his large and most productive orchard ; in 1850, he was in Janesville, and continued as a farm hand during 1851 and 1852. Married, in 1852, Catherine Travis, born in Chen- ango Co., N. Y. ; twenty-eight years ago they began life in a part of the present farmhouse ; Mr. Mc Williams then had, and now has, 165 acres, on which he has performed many a hard day's labor, resulting in a well- mproved farm, on which he has erected good buildings. Mr. and Mrs. Mc Williams have four children- Mary O. (Mrs. Albert Hook), Adelbert, Elmer arid Charles. He is a Democrat ; was the first Collector of Fitchburg, in 1848, and was Collector and Treasurer three years during the war ; personally subscribed and paid $125 to carry on the war, and did much to encourage the war spirit in his town; was Chairman in 1876, and has been Supervisor twice and Assessor three terms ; he has been successful as a fruit-grower, not failing to secure an apple crop during these twenty-eight years; 120 acres of his farm are now under cultivation. In 1844, while splitting the rails, his money gave out, and his last shirt was on his back, yet pioneer pluck never gave out. Wandering through the woods one day, rifle in hand, he descried a noble buck. His shot hit the mark, and, following the bloody trail half a mile, he came upon his game limp and lifeless. The carcass was hauled home by the breaking-team of George Watters, who was presented with the fore quarters. A yoke of oxen, hitched to the backwoods " crotch," took himself and wife for the first visit to her parents.
LEVI MUTCHLER, Sec. 17; P. O. Stoner's Prairie ; born June 7, 1834, in Warren Co., N. J. ; son of J. G. and Mary (Metz) Mutchler, both natives of New Jersey. He married, March 8, 1856, in his and her native county, Miss Anna M. Messenger ; his parents accompanied them West, they reaching Dane Co. April 12, 1856; 360 acres were bought, 40 in Verona ; the mother died in 1858, and the father Aug. 6, 1876. Levi Mutchler now owns 210 acres, on which twenty-four years ago the only building was a small log house and his frame house, which he has thoroughly remodeled; the old barn was also built, but to the present owner is due the building of two good frame houses, a barn and granary. Mr. and Mrs. M. have four children-Ida E., Lida F., Walter and Philip, all born on the Fitchburg homestead. Mr. M. is a Republican, and has held school offices; the family are attendants of the local churches.
SEWELL NYE, deceased; born in State of Maine, March 9, 1829; his parents, Sewell and Anna (Nutting) Nye, were also of Maine; the family came West in 1846, locating on several hundred
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acres of land on Nine Spring Prairie, where the old couple ended their days. Sewell Nye married, in Madison, Wis., March 11, 1868, Miss Electa B., daughter of Isaac and Electa (Edwards) Briggs; Electa Edwards was a lineal descendant of Jonathan Edwards, and Isaac Briggs, a cousin of ex-Gov. Briggs, of Massachusetts; their daughter, Maria S. (now Mrs. Hiram Johnson), came West and began teaching in Kenosha, Wis., in January, 1855; the present Mrs. Nye joined her in March, 1859, and during the next nine years taught in graded schools ; three years in Kenosha, and the remainder in Rock, Trempealeau and Dane Counties. After the marriage, Mr. Nye resided on the farm until 1873, when he went to Madison and spent about two years; at his death, March 23, 1879, he left three daughters by a former marriage, and an only son by the second, Frederic Sewell, born Aug. 14, 1873, in Madson. Mr. N. died a member of the Congregational Church ; a life-long Republican ; he was Station Agent and Postmaster at Syene fourteen years; at the earnest request of the railroad company and the neighborhood, his widow succeeded to the vacant positions, and has been very successful thus far in discharging the duties. She has also bought out the interests of the heirs to the estate, and is now sole owner of the fine farm of 172 acres ; few ladies have shown equal business tact. Mrs. Nye has been a church member since the age of 18, and for the past fourteen years a member of the Congregational Church of Madison. The first Mrs. Nye, formerly Eliza Cathcart, died in June, 1864, leaving three daughters-Mary A., Josephine F. and Almira.
E. S. POSTLE, farmer, Sec. 34; P. O. Oregon; born in 1833, in Allegany Co., N. Y .; son of Cyrenus and Olive Postle, who settled early in the " forties," in Rock Co., Wis .; four years later they settled in Fitchburg, and in 1855, in Oregon Village, Mr. P. keeping the Exchange Hotel until his death, in December, 1869; his widow has a pleasant home in the village ; Samuel Green, deceased, was born in 1807, in Washington Co., N. Y .; he married, in October, 1835, Nancy Chase, of Phelps, born in 1816, in Ontario Co., N. Y .; they came West in 1850, and settled on the Green homestead, in Fitchburg, where he died May 6, 1879, leaving three children-Mason M., Mary J. and Allen J .; the latter served from August, 1862, until July, 1865, in the Union army, and is now at Ft. Laramie, W. T. ; Cyrenus Postle left seven children-Lyman E., Ethan S., Orson M., Justin F., Cyrenus M., Olive M. (Mrs. W. H. Myers) and M. Van Buren. E. S. Postle married, Feb. 22, 1862, Miss Mary J. Green, and now resides on the Green homestead, which, with his own adjoning land, makes a 160-acre farm. The Postles and Greens were always stanch Democrats. The former were Baptists, and the latter Presbyterians.
P. M. PRITCHARD, farmer, Secs. 33 and 32; P. O. Fitchburg ; born in Solon, Cortland . Co., N. Y., Oct. 5, 1816; his parents, Harvey and Lydia (Kelsey) Pritchard, were Connecticut people ; after learning the foundry business of his father, he came West in 1842, visited Racine, Delavan, etc., and reached Janesville early in June ; William True, a former schoolmate, had made a location near Indian Ford, and Mr. P. joined him by following an Indian trail, thence up the Catfish past Third and Fourth Lakes, and by a trail to what is now known as Oak Hall ; he then entered 80 acres of his present farm and sought more civilized regions ; his skill with the clarionet was brought into requisition at Janes- ville, July 3, and Milwaukee, July 4; his affairs in the East were in a bad shape, owing to the panio of 1837, and this caused his removal with his family in June, 1843; a terrific storm burst upon the little party as they were nearing Janesville, and, the horses and wagon becoming mired down, the brave wife, after the extrication of one of the horses, mounted him and rode into the then village, though she had a narrow escape from drowning while crossing a stream swollen by the freshet ; a gloomy outlook for them, as their entire capital was $2.62 ; finally the doorless and floorless cabin of Mr. True was reached, and here with carpets hung for doors, and bedsteads made of poles, they began life in Wisconsin ; it was two or three years before Mr. Pritchard was able to build even a log house of his own ; but since this time his progress has been rapid; 200 acres of splendid land, a tasteful brick farmhouse, three or four substantial barns, with windmill, outbuildings, etc., are his reward. He married Miss Lydia Guild, in Fredonia, N. Y., July 10, 1837; she was born in Otsego Co., N. Y. ; they have four children-Helen and Hahneman, born in Perry, Wyoming Co., N. Y .; Cora and Lydia, born in Fitchburg. The Pritchard Bros. were a noted band of local musicians in the early history of Dane Co. and Wisconsin, as they played from Milwaukee to the Mississippi, and the State line to Watertown and Baraboo, all keeping the pledge made to their mother to drink only tea and coffee while thus engaged. E. P. Beebee, a cousin, was also with them, and the five were a " whole team " at music.
JESSE STEVENS, Seo. 30; P. O. Stoner's Prairie ; born in Orleans Co., N. Y., Oct. 12, 1822; he farmed it there until September, 1845, when he brought his family up the lakes to Milwaukee, and, two weeks later, settled on part of his present 177}-acre farm. He is the only son of John Stevens, who began life at 16, with an ax and a siokle for an inheritance. He married Abigail Knowles, of a
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noted Massachusetts family, Knowlesville having received its name from them. The old couple came West in 1852, and built the house where their only son, our subject, now resides. He married, Oct. 12, 1843, Miss Sarah Parsons, daughter of William and Silence (McComber) Parsons, both old residents of Conway, her native place, in Massachusetts ; Mr. and Mrs. Stevens have three living children-Sarah P. (now Mrs. Irvin Mudgett) ; Clara S., now Mrs. W. A. Vroman ; and Cora L., now Mrs. D. T. Newton. They lost their eldest, a son, John W., in Orleans Co. Mr. Stevens has proven himself one of the progressive and substantial old settlers of his town, as his farm, thirty-five years ago a wilderness, is now under cultivation, with the exception of 50 acres. Is a Greenbacker, of Whig-Republican antecedents; was Postmaster of Stoner's Prairie from 1862 to 1872. Is a Methodist, with his wife.
CHESTER SUTHERLAND, Secs. 11 and 12; P. O. Syene; born Jan. 22, 1817, in Batavia, Genesee Co., N. Y .; his father, Joshua, was born in Eastern New York, and his mother, Sarah (Wolcott) Sutherland, in Vermont; Mr. S. learned the trade of carpenter ; in 1840, through the agency of a cousin, Chauncy Sutherland, he bought the northeast quarter of Sec. 11; this was entered in June, 1837, by Elisha Starr, of Milwaukee. Forty years ago, Mr. S. paid his first tax on this land, $2.08; on the same land, in war times, he paid $200, besides revenue tax. Mr. S. began by leasing his land while he worked at his trade in the new Territorial capital. He married, Sept. 21, 1845, in Madison, Wis., Miss Sarah A., daughter of Orlin and Abagail (Geer) Rood, of Vermont ; the next October they began house- keeping in a log house, built on the farm in 1842; it stood thirty or forty rods to the northeast of the large and tasteful frame house now superseding it ; Mr. S. has added 165 acres, and has every acre fenced and producing something. Mr. Sutherland is a Republican; was one of the three County School Com- missioners when Sauk and Columbia were also under their jurisdiction, and was Town Superintendent un- der that system ; has also been Justice of the Peace and Town Treasurer. Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland have six children-Henry, Quincy, George, Albert, Frank and Anna. The eldest married Miss Sarah M. Haight, of Fitchburg, and has erected a home of his own on 80 acres of the old farm; Quincy is a doctor, and George is a lawyer, and both reside and practice in Janesville, Wis.
JAMES TERWILLIGER, Sec. 13; P. O. Syene ; horn in the town of Green, Chenango Co., N. Y., Dec. 17, 1818; spent his younger life and learned the carpenter's trade in New York State. Married, in April, 1844, Miss Emmeline Williamson, born in the town of Chenango, Broome Co., N. Y. ; in the spring of 1845, he came, via the lakes, to Chicago, thence with a team, via Madison, to the house of Chester Sutherland, Fitchburg, and spent the summer, Mr. T. buying 160 acres, on Sec. 13, that sum- mer; Eli Gill is now its owner, and Reason Runey did the first breaking ; in 1856, Mr. T. sold, and bought 160 acres of his present farm ; here his wife drove the cattle, he holding the plow ; the farm was burr-oak openings, and he has done all that has been done upon it, having the good taste to allow the noble burr oaks to stand on the gently rising knoll where his house is built; he has 230 acres, with suitable buildings ; is a non-office seeker, a Republican, and favors the greenback. Mr. and Mrs. T. have six children-Mar- cus W., Mary J., Sydney, Susan, William and Sarah A .; the two youngest are with their parents; the eldest, a merchant in Oregon ; the second, Mrs. James Lindsay, wife of his partner, and the third a farmer in Dunn Township; Susan is the wife of Theodore Wackman, a carriage-maker in Dayton, Wis.
JAMES TRAVIS, Secs. 13, 24 and 25; P. O. Syene; born in the town of Green, Chenango Co., N. Y., in 1825 ; son of Stephen and Mary (Timson) Travis ; his father was born near Peekskill, N. Y., and his mother in New York City; in 1846, they, with their children, James and Catherine, and a nephew, C. B. Travis, located on Sec. 24, Fitchburg; James Travis worked six years as a teamster, hauling produce and goods over the bridgeless roads to and from Milwaukee; thirteen days were often spent in making the round trip. He married, in the fall of 1852, Miss Laura A. Sutherland, of Genesee Co., N. Y .; they lived eighteen months on the farm of Rev. M. A. Fox ; in August, 1854, they began on 80 acres of the present farm, and in what is now the kitchen and woodhouse; Mr. Travis began in Wis- consin penniless, and worked until he was 22, before receiving a dollar; to-day he has 200 acres, 120 un- der cultivation, substantial barns, windmill, etc., and a most pleasant home. Mrs. Travis died Nov. 17, 1878, leaving four children-Julia A., Arthur L., Sadie M. and Mary A. Mr. T. is a Democrat; was Assessor one year, Supervisor three years, and Chairman two years. Is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; devotes his farm about equally to grain and stock, and, for sixteen years past, has bred fine Morgan horses. His brother, D. B. Travis, located, in 1845, on a farm adjoining his on the south.
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