USA > Wisconsin > Green County > History of Green County, Wisconsin > Part 5
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
7*
74
History of Green County.
Hiram Calkins, the latter gentleman afterwards taking into partnership with him Alvinza Heywood, who has since made one of the largest fortunes made in the gold mines of California.
In 1841, a traveling Mormon preacher stopped at the school house in the village, and preached the first ser- mon preached in the township. Like many subsequent religious meetings, the services were attended by the miners, who are described as making a model audience, listening attund very to the sermon, and giving generous- ly when the hat was passed around.
In 1842, Exeter had her first dance. It was at one of the averne, for there were two taverns at that time, kept respectively by Ezra Durgin and Brainard Blod- gett. People were in attendance from Beloit and Illi- nois. They ate supper in the kitchen, and then took out the table and danced, two sets at a time, till morning.
Most memorable of all gatherings in Exeter is a fourth of july celebration held there in 1843. The orator was a man known to fame as " the wild Yankee." He stood on a barrel of whisky; and, while he spoke, Tom Somers, cup in hand, sat by the faucet, and, for a consideration, gave drink to the thirsty. Gentlemen who attended the celebration say that the following are some of the sentences they applauded: "Let us carry our thoughts back to that time when our forefathers, led by Columbus, crossed the pathless ocean, without star or compass to guide them, and landed on the desert rock of Plymouth." "Let us recount the history of that great struggle in which they so nobly fought, bled,
75
History of Green County.
and died. The hand of Omnipotence was against them, but, by the grace of God, they conquered."
In 1843, Exeter was platted, and, at the same time, transformed into the proudest of all little villages. She cherished the hope of becoming the metropolis of the county. Her pride was fed by Tom Somers, who said that though Monroe might fill her public square with court houses, she could not keep the county seat away from Exeter. For a number of years there were two furnaces, high hopes, a great deal of money, and mouths enough to drink five tons of coffee in a year, at Exeter. Then, lead grew less abundant; and, though Exeter would not see it, it was evident that the heyday of her youth and pleasure was ended. Her oldest friends left her, one by one, for California, and Tom Somers, her truest admirer, died; there were none to sing her praises, and Dayton, her irrepressible younger sister, hinted that she was passé, and had better retire. The hint was re- ceived as a belle of acknowledged position is likely to receive such a hint from one who first disputes her sway. But, in the rivalry that ensued, the advantages of wealth and natural fitness for the desired pre-eminence were all with Dayton, and Exeter soon gave up the struggle. Yet Exeter has not now the appearance of a defrauded sister. Unlike Decatur, she makes no show of having known better days. All traces of the old life have passed away, leaving her, instead of the bitterness of disappointment, untroubled quiet and content.
Dayton had its origin in a saw mill, which it is thought Samuel Leland built. In 1847, P. P. Havens of
76
History of Green County.
New York and Lorenzo Fuller of Ohio bought the mill of Samuel Leland and Mahlon Lewis. The only building near the mill was a log house occupied by Mrs. Lewis and her sons. After a year or two the new mill owners wanted a school house. They gave the lumber, and the few farmers who lived near enough to send their children there to school assisted in the erec- tion of the building. When it was done, all concerned felt that the love they bore to learning was expensive; but they hired their teacher, and took her to the village of Exeter to be examined. Exeter had for some time been negligent in providing for her school, for which reason Mr. Heywood, the town superintendent, gave all the money in his hands to the new school, and it proved to be enough to pay the teacher three terms. To meet a want of that part of the county, Messrs. Havens and Fuller, with William and Amos Kirkpatrick, decided to transform the saw mill into a grist mill. Before the change was effected, Amos Kirkpatrick became sole own- er of the mill, which he finished and sold in 1850 or '51. While the mill was building, Mr. Havens laid out a vil- lage, which, at the request of one of the mill hands who had lived at Dayton, Ohio, was called Dayton. Im- provements began at once. The first building de- signed for a store was built by Harvey Church. Be- fore the completion of mill and store, Wm. Rhinehart and Samuel Gracy began to build a hotel which was finished in 1851. One of its rooms was rented to Geo. Duncan for a store, and he was soon after appointed Day- ton's first postmaster.
77
History of Green County.
Dayton is now a flourishing village. The flour mill of Thomas Green and the cheese factory of Ross and Richmond, with the stores and shops of Messrs. V. Ross, Wm. Green, Dick, Ellis, Doolittle, Wackman, and Rutty make the place an important one to the towns of Brooklyn and Exeter. The addition known as East Dayton was platted some years since by Mr. M. T. White.
The first town meeting in the town of Exeter was held at the house of L. D. Barnes, in the village of Ex- eter. For a short time after the rise of Dayton, town meetings were held alternately at Exeter and Dayton. As late as 1850 Exeter had twenty-two dwellings, two stores, one hundred and four inhabitants, and some rights that Dayton respected. But now that Exeter has no store, no post office, and not even a blacksmith shop, town meetings are always held at the Dayton hotel, which for twenty years has been owned by A. D. Hymers.
Among the first farmers who gave their attention to the improvement of the stock of the county, was Mr. Lysaght of the town of Exeter. His sheep and blood- ed horses, are said by stock-raisers to be exceptionally fine. Other large stock-growers are Messrs. Ferguson, Magec, Ross, Ruff, and Wade.
LARGEST FARMERS IN EXETER IN IS76.
Nanes. No. of Acres.
Names.
No. of Acres.
Henry Aebly,
- 335
Geo. Magee,
- 500
Whos. Bradbury,
160
Jas. Marshall, 240
M. Clark, -
220
Marshall estate, - 271
John Crawford,
I71 W. W. & G. W. Morse, 410
Jas. Cunningham,
200
P. H. Multer, 170
78
History of Green County.
Names.
No. of Acres.
Names.
No. of Acres.
D. D. Day, - 170
Isaac Norris, 160
Jos. Dunbar,
240
W. B. Norris, - 287
Wm. Edgar, -
240
N. S. Park, - 220
A. J. Edwards,
160
Sarah Patterson, - 200
M. Ellis,
200
John Richards, 192
Nicholas Elmer,
460
Leonard Ross, - 237
Estee estate, -
320
M. Ross,
160
A. Fulton,
160
Wm. Ross,
182
John Ferguson estate,
400
Ruff estate, 280
L. Gassett, -
160
W. A. Smith, - 160
Joseph Green,
293
Jerry Staley, 160
P. P. Havens,
250
J. S. Staley, 238
Henry Hefty,
320
W. A. Smith, 160
Balthazar Hosly,
471
Melchoir Steussy, 183
Dennis Kerwin,
190
John Vance, 200
F. Laroque, 160
E. Wade, - 340
Jas. Lewis, -
200
Alex. Wallace,
260
Robert Lynn,
160
J. D. Wallace, - 234
John Lynn, -
160
Robert Wallace, - 160
Wm. Lysaght, -
- 1,085
H. B. Winston, - 215
OFFICERS OF TOWN OF EXETER FROM 1849 TO '77 INCLUSIVE.
CHAIRMEN.
CLERKS.
JOHN PORTER.
A. K. STEARNS.
JAMES HARE, (3 years).
JOHN B. PERRY.
W. C. KESLER.
A. K. STEARNS.
JOHN FERGUSON.
JOHN BURT.
C. D. W. LEONARD.
GEO. C. DUNCAN.
JAMES HARE.
W. W. SHEPHARD.
M. M. MORSE.
GEO. E. DUNCAN.
C. D. W. LEONARD, (2 years).
J. B. ORMSBY.
MARTIN FLOOD.
JOHN NORTON.
J. W. NORTON.
JAS. NORRIS, (2 years).
J. W. NORTON, (2 years).
M. T. SMITH.
J. W. SMITH.
H. G. SILVER, (6 years).
A. W. HEAL.
C. D. W. LEONARD.
WM. RHINEHART.
E. C. MORSE, (4 years).
B. B. BROWNELL.
L. D. DALRYMPLE.
H. G. SILVER.
VOLNEY Ross, (4 years).
B. B. BROWNELL.
OTIS Ross, (2 years).
D. D. DAY.
E. C. MORSE, (3 years).
J. W. SMITH.
J. W. SMITH, (2 years).
MONROE.
Monroe has disputed with Exeter the honor of being the first abode of white men in the county. The first comers were miners, John B. Skinner and Thomas. Neal. They discovered mineral on the banks of the stream since called Skinner, erected a smelting furnace there, and had been working in the vicinity several years when the Black Hawk war began. The general opin- ion of the old settlers seems to be that the first discov- ery of lead on the Skinner was in IS29; but Mr. Stew- art, in his sketch of Green County published by the State Historical Society, says "some of them say it was in IS27." In 1834, Hiram Rust and Leonard Ross came together from New York state, and built a cabin on what is known as the Pratt farm, east of the village of Monroe. In the spring of 1835 they broke thirteen acres where the barn is on Wm. Brown's farm. Their claim also included a part of the land now in the county fair ground. In 1835, Mr. Rust examined the old Skin- ner mines, which he found deserted. They were on sections three, ten, and thirteen; some of them were seventy feet deep. On section three there were a dozen shafts which were about twenty-eight feet deep, and which Mr. Rust supposes were abandoned for a reason
So
History of Green County.
which is readily understood after a moment's considera- tion of the order in which the rocks of the lead region are arranged. Though the thickness of each layer is variable, the order is invariably as follows: surface, clay and soil; hard, white limestone; shale; gray limestone, the ordinary surface rock of the mines, containing veins of lead, and, in its lower beds, zinc and copper; blue or brown limestone, cutting off the veins; yellowish lime- stone, in which the veins are renewed; sandstone, con- taining no veins; lower magnesian limestone. In the shafts referred to, the sandstone was reached after dig- ging about twenty-eight feet. They were undoubtedly abandoned then in obedience to the general belief of that time that no lead could be found below the sand- stone. Mr. Rust and Joab Enos sank these shafts three or four feet lower and struck rich veins. They con- tinued to mine here through 1835-6, being joined in the latter year by N. Cornelius, who came from Illinois to Wisconsin some years before; and Mr. Rust thinks they raised more lead than has ever been raised in the county since, in the same length of time.
In 1835, Joseph Paine, having removed from Clarno, began to farm where the village of Monroe is now. About the same time, Jarvis Rattan, an Illinoisan who had been for many years a miner, built the second house in the village, and Julius Austin settled just west of the village-his brother, Elijah Austin, who came with him from Illinois, settling in Clarno. Jacob Andrick came the same year from Ohio, and made a farm in that part of Clarno which is now included in the southern part of the
SI
History of Green County.
village of Monroe. There were at this time two cabins at the Skinner diggings, occupied by Nicholas Hale and Richard Palmer, and their families. Mr. Hale cul- tivated a small tract of land which miners, of whom Mr. Hale may have been one, broke before the war. In 1836, the brothers Robert and Hiram Delapp came from Illinois. The former made a farm where Mr. Cornelius now lives, Mr. Cornelius being farther west, on what is called the Chamness place. Daniel S. Suth- erland came in 1836, from Illinois, to the farm where he still resides. At the land sale in Mineral Point, when a friend bought the farm for Mr. Sutherland, there was quite a strife for it. The price of land, good or bad, was $1.25 an acre, except where more than one person wanted it, in which case it was sold to the highest bid- der. The price of Mr. Sutherland's land was run up to $2.50 an acre, by a man who kept a little store at Mineral Point. He did not pay for it that day, and, according to the rule in such cases, the land was offered for sale the next day. Before the hour of the sale a number of Mr. Sutherland's friends gathered in the store, and, by one pretext and another, kept the mer- chant busy until the farm was bought at the usual price. Land purchases were often attended with excitement, and sometimes with danger. One Monroe farmer, while on the way to Mineral Point to buy eighty acres which joined his farm, learned that one of his acquaintances had started on the same errand two hours before him. At first he was in despair, for he had only the money to pay the government price, and the success of his
3
82
History of Green County.
whole life seemed to him, then, to hinge on his poses sion of the eighty acres. But the bearer of the bad news had these words of comfort: "You will neither of you reach the Point before the office is closed; to- morrow I will lend you all the money you need to bid against him, for you are a farmer and he is a speculator." The farmer arrived at Mineral Point after dark, and went to bed, but not to sleep. The suspense was too great to be endured. A little after midnight he arose, and, with his money and the description of his land in his hand, went to the land office. He felt around in the dark until he found the door, which he pounded with the energy born of a last hope; and when, after a time, a few horrible oaths told him there was some sleepy wight within, he was filled with a wild delight which " the sweetest music had never given him before. Then followed a practical exemplification of the text, though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him. First, the deafened man opened the door, swear- ing he would not do business in the night; then, swear- ing still, he took the description and the money. The farmer went to sleep then, but, rising betimes, went again to the office to see the discomfiture of his specu- lating rival, who had relied so much on his earlier start from Monroe that he stopped for the night eight miles this side of Mineral Point. At another time, two would-be purchasers started together from Monroe. The one who had least money knew a shorter road to Mineral Point than the other knew, but the knowledge
S3
History of Green County.
was of no advantage for he could not get away from his companion. In vain he stormed and declared that no one who bought the land away from him should ever return to Monroe alive. Greek had met Greek, and the victory was not to be gained by threats. Final- ly, when the greater part of the road had been traveled over, the involuntary guide turned back, and the other went on and bought the land.
With Mr. Sutherland came Thos. Bragg of Vir- ginia and Geo. Nobles of Illinois, both of whom were, after a few years, at work on their own farms near the village. In 1837, Chas. S. Wilcoxon bought Mr. Rust's farm, and Mr. Rust moved to his present residence. A. J. Sutherland and Geo. Reeder, both of whom made farms in the eastern part of the town, came in 1837- the former from New York, the latter from Ohio.
The next farmers were Asa Brown, Dixon Bailey, Mrs. Morton, and Thomas Morton, who all removed here from Illinois in 1839. So much for the beginning. In contrast with this list of early farmers is given now a list of the largest farmers of to-day.
Names. No. of Acres.
Names.
No. of Acres.
John Bleiler,
- 392
Geo. Poff,
210
T. J. Bragg, Sen., -
420
A. Rust, -
225
J. M. Chadwick,
240
C. J. Simmons, -
I80
Peter Chandler, 80
J. S. & L. S. Smock,
280
D. W. Clark,
380
D. S. Sutherland,
167
H. G. Cleveland,
220
J. B. Stearns' estate, 380
Robert Crow,
322
P. & N. B. Treat,
165
C. Delano, 240
S. Truax, 320
M. Geigle, 160
F. M. Wagner,
225
Jacob Kundert,
560
Thos. Walker,
185
A. Ludlow,
1,766
John Wenger, - 220
R. Nalty,
320
W. S. Wescott, 350
Henry Parr, -
120
Wescott & Chandler, 200
84
History of Green County.
The following are the principal stock-raisers and dealers in Monroe: J. M. Chadwick, who, with his brother, J. C. Chadwick, of Juda, ships about three- fourths of the stock that is shipped from the county; J. S. and L. S. Smock, importers and dealers; Wm. Brown, one of the first in the county to import fine cattle; A. Ludlow, who shipped to New York the present year the largest drove of Durham cattle ever shipped from the state by one man; T. J. Bragg; G. O. Stearns; Hodge Bros.
There are four cheese factories in the township, of which Jacob Kundert, George Figy, G. O. Stearns, and W. S. Wescott, have each one factory. Two of them make Swiss, and two of them make American cheese.
Monroe held her first town meeting April 3, 1849, at the court house. One hundred and forty-nine voters were present, but hardly any of them had ever attended a town meeting, and no one seemed to know how to proceed. After an awkward pause, some one, tired of playing Mr. Micawber, exclaimed, " What do they do at town meetings ?" Mr. Daniel S. Sutherland, who, when a boy, had attended town meetings in New York, re- plied, "first, they put some one in the chair, and then they go to work." Mr. Sutherland was then called to the chair, and this is the work they did: Taxes of $125 for contingent expenses, $25 for the support of the poor, $200 for making and repairing roads and bridges, and $300 for schools were voted; the running at large of domestic animals, and, as the record says, other inci- dental questions were considered, and the usual town officers were elected.
History of Green County. 85
OFFICERS OF TOWN OF MONROE FROM 1849 TO '77 INCLUSIVE.
CHAIRMEN.
D. S. SUTHERLAND.
H. RUST.
C. S. FOSTER, (2 years). A. L. CLEVELAND, (2 years).
T. N. MACHIN. SAMUEL TRUAX.
C. S. FOSTER, (2 years).
WM. BROWN, (2 years).
JAS. BINTLIFF.
NORMAN CHURCHILL.
L. HURLBUT.
J. V. RICIIARDSON.
S. TRUAX, (vice L. H.resigned). JAMES H. VAN DYKE. E. T. GARDNER. W. H. PIERCE.
HIRAM RUST.
JOHN BOLENDER, (2 years.)
F. H. WEST.
LEWIS MCKAHAN.
A. L. CLEVELAND.
JOHN BOLENDER, (3 years).
CLERKS.
H. B. POYER, (3 years).
B. DUNWIDDIE, (2 years).
J. C. RICHARDSON.
D. B. PRIEST. JOSEPH PETERS, (2 years).
E. C. MOULTON, (vice D.B.P.)
J. JACOB TSCHUDY.
J. C. RICHARDSON, (3 years). LEWIS ROTE, (14 years).
DANIEL S. SUTHERLAND.
W. W. WRIGHT, (2 years).
-
8*
EARLY HISTORY OF THE VILLAGE OF MONROE.
READ IN MONROE MARCH 21, 1876.
"The first house in the vicinity of the Village of Mon- proe was that built by Hiram Rust and Leonard Ross, in the summer of 1834. In the winter of 1834-5, these two bachelor housekeepers were the only white men in the township, and they had a full taste of the pleas- zures of solitude. They had little work;to do, and were entirely free from that anxious hurry and bustle that cheats most housekeepers out of the calm, peaceful hour which should follow a good dinner. After each meal they sat back comfortably from the table to talk and "# feed their fancies with sugared suppositions." Some- times while they were thus engaged, the squaws came zan, and, dipping their fingers into the pork dish on the : table, transferred its contents to their hair. When the Feminine love of ornament had been thus gratified, Mr. Rust usually gave his visitors bread, with which they : sopped out the remaining gravy, and made a good din- ner. Though they did not use them themselves, the squaws conceived a violent fancy for the knives seen on the white men's table. Frequently, after their visits, two or three knives were missing; but, in a day or two,
87
History of Green County.
one of the noble braves, æsthetically weaker, if not morally stronger, than his squaw, would come in, and, without any talk about the woman's tempting him, lay the knives on the table and go away in silence. The chief sometimes compelled Indians to return stolen arti- cles. When Mr. Cornelius was numbered among the bachelor housekeepers of this vicinity, an Indian bor- rowed a gun at the cabin to shoot a deer which he said he had seen but a minute before. Mr. Enos went with the Indian to see him shoot. They went cautiously, so as not to alarm the deer. Sometimes the Indian stopped and listened, always making Mr. Enos stop too. At each of these pauses he contrived to increase the dis- tance between him and Mr. Enos. When they were several feet apart he lay down in the tall grass, pretend- ing he wanted to listen with his ear on the ground. Mr. Enos waited until his patience was exhausted and then went on; but the Indian was not in the place where he had dropped down, and though three white men looked for him all night, they could not find him. The next winter, for two bushels of corn, the Winnebago chief had the gun returned. The Indians had a sense of honor which made an Indian's promise as reliable as a white man's, and, as far as they could be, they were hospitable. The squaws were much more willing to give away their maple sugar than the whites were to eat it, and when they had soup, visitors were always in- vited to partake. A volume might be made of the early settlers' reminiscences of the Indians, and the habits of the vanished race are curious enough to warrant a still
:88
History of Green County.
further digression from the history of our own town and village. One gentleman observed the progress of an Indian courtship. The girl proposed to her hesitat- ing admirer that they should take a march of twenty- five or thirty miles to see how well she could do the work of a squaw. They went, she carrying all the things usually carried on a march, and doing all the work. He was satisfied with this trial of her strength, and soon after their return to the camp they were married.
In 1835, Mr. Paine built the first house built in the village. It was near the place now occupied by the house on what is known as the Capt. Foster place, and it marked the spot where Mr. Paine had concealed him- self from the Indians in the Black Hawk war. A little later in the season, Mr. Jarvis Rattan built the second house. A house of that day was a log house. A year later, Milwaukee contained only two frame, and Chicago only two brick houses. The first white child born in Monroe was a daughter of Mr. Paine's, and the last Indian born here was born on the sunny side of Mr. Paine's house, the first winter of his residence here. The Indians had only stopped there to cook something which they had shot, and, when the pappoose was but an hour old its mother bathed it in snow and swung it over her back, and its journey west began.
In 1836-7, Robert Ream, George McFadden, and Mordecai Kelly settled here with their families. Mr. Ream was the father of Vinnie Ream, and was the first postmaster in Monroe. In the spring of 1838 he moved
So
History of Green County.
to Madison to keep tavern in a log house, which was then just a year old, and which was the first house built in Madison.
In IS37, two frame buildings, one a store the other- a tavern, were erected here by the firm of Bininger, Smith & Paine. The lumber was brought from Penn- sylvania, down the Alleghany and Ohio rivers to the Mississippi, then up the Mississippi to Galena, whence it was hauled across the country. The firm failed, and in less than a year the store was closed; but soon after the failure, Mr. Jacob Ly Brand opened a store in the same building.
In the spring of 1838, Mr. John Hart, now of Mil- waukee, started with a stock of ready-made clothing from Milwaukee to Galena, where he intended to open a store. When he had advanced on his journey as far as the hill which is south of the railroad in Monroe, one of his horses suddenly sickened and died. The only man in the village who had horses was Joseph Paine, and he had so few that Mr. Hart could neither buy nor hire one for the remainder of his journey. Mr. Paine said, however, that this was probably as good a point as Galena for a store, and that he had a log house which might be appropriated to that use. As it was impossi- ble to go on with one horse, Mr. Hart remained. He sold on credit, and so, when horses became more numer- ous, there was still a reason for his remaining; but in time all bills were paid. The year 1838 also brought to the village Mr. John Porter and his family from Missouri.
90
History of Green County.
The next year there was a school. It was taught by Miss Lucy Goddard, whose home was in "the state," as Illinois was called then. Everybody contributed something towards her salary, and the contract pro- vided for her to board 'round. About twenty children were in attendance, several of them coming from Clarno. The same summer the Rev. James Ash, who lived on Mr. Austin's farm just out of the village, and who be- longed to the Rock River Conference, organized the first religious society in the town. It began with less than a dozen members, but is still in existence, and is now the oldest society in the county. The first meeting was held at the house of Dixon Bailey, northwest of the village. None of the villagers joined the society, but most of them attended its meetings.
[The contest for the county seat, which convulsed the village from 1838 to '40, having been already described in the sketch of the county, is omitted here.]
Let us now picture to ourselves this place as it ap- peared in 1840. The typical log house of that time contained but one room. This room had one window, one door, and a fire place with an outside chimney, which was built of sticks and mud. Other features of the domicil were less uniform. If the occupants were wealthy and somewhat inclined to luxury, they had a board floor. If they made no pretensions to wealth or elegance, they dispensed with a floor or had one made of split logs called puncheons. The great fault of the house was that, when the door was open, the smoke from the fire place was very likely to enter the room.
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.