History of Iowa County, Wisconsin, Part 135

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 958

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J. J. HOSKINS, attorney at law ; is a son of John Hoskins, who was a son of James Iloskins, and one of a family of thirteen ; of these, seven sons have been residents of Dodgeville, viz .: James, John, Samuel, Peter, Thomas, Josiah and William ; the second, John Hoskins, born in Cornwall, England, married Elizabeth Hoskins, of Cornwall, and at his death, in 1851, left an only son, the subject of this sketch, born June 15, 1849, in Dodgeville ; he attended the village sehools, graduated in 1874 from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis., entered the Albany, N. Y. Law School, graduated in the spring of 1875, and has since practiced in his native village. He is an ardent Republican, and Chairman of the Republican County Committee, and now represents the village in the County Board ; is a Freemason ; up to 1869, he was one of the firm of Hoskins, Thomas & Co., and, since the union of the two old min- ing and smelting firms of Hoskins, Thomas & Co., and Bennett, George & Co., has retained his interest.

THOMAS HOWELL, retired miner, Dodgeville ; was born in Glamorganshire, South Wales, June 16, 1814; his early life was spent in Monmouthshire ; came to America in 1833, spent a few months in Pennsylvania, thence to the coal and iron mines of Kentucky, returned again to his relatives in Pittsburgh ; in 1843, he came to Dodgeville, having spent a few months at New Diggings ; up to 1850, he worked in the mines here, boarding and keeping " bach's hall; " in 1850, he went overland to Cali- fornia, spent two years, and returned by water ; his second visit to the Golden State was in 1853, he re- maining until 1856, then returning to Dodgeville ; he married, Aug. 13, 1861, Miss Anne Howell, she was born in Wales, and came to the United States with her parents when 12 years of age, or in 1831 ; in 1862, with his wife, Mr. H. again crossed the plains to Oregon, thence went to Idaho, and in 1865 returned; all bis time while on the Paeifie slope, was spent in the gold mines ; he bought his present home in 1866, has improved it by re-habilitating the house, planting shade and fruit trees, laying out walks, etc. Himself and wife are members of the Welsh Baptist Church. He is, in politics, a Republican.

THOMAS E. JAMES, carpenter, Dodgeville; is a son of Joseph James, a Cornish miner, who settled in Dodgeville in 1830, and was stationed in the fort at Mineral Point during the Black Hawk war; his wife was formerly Maria Eva, and they had six children; of these, T. E. was born Sept. 26, 1838, on his father's farm, one and a half miles west of Dodgeville ; here the father died of cholera Aug. 20, 1850. His son, our subject, began learning his trade at 14; was in California from 1863 until 1866, and, two years later, went into partnership with R. D. Davis (whose sketch see). Mr. James is a Free- mason. He married, May 26, 1869, Miss Mary, daughter of Joseph Davis, a pioneer of 1847, in Dodge- ville; she was born here in 1849, and is the mother of three children-Joseph H., Annie, and an infant son, as yet unnamed; all were born, as were the parents, in Dodgeville.

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ALDRO JENKS, attorney at law, Dodgeville ; was born Jan. 18, 1855, in Watertown, N. Y .; in 1857, his parents, Alonzo and Matilda Jenks, came West, settled, and still reside, in Darlington, Wis. Aldro worked on the farm and attended school up to his 18th year, then began teaching; worked on the farm in summer and taught winters, and, at the end of four years, held a first-grade certificate; while teaching, he read law with Cothren & Lanyon, Mineral Point, and was admitted the bar at the March term of the Iowa County Court, 1876, and, that summer, began practice in Highland, where he continued up to Angust, 1878, when the firm of Briggs & Jenks was established. Mr. Jenks is a Democrat, and is somewhat noted as a political orator, or " stump speaker ; " he represented the village of Highland on the County Board in 1877. He married Miss Laura, daughter of Hon. E. B. Goodsell (deceased), the first settler and founder of Highland; he was a Vermonter ; came to Wisconsin prior to the Black Hawk war, and held many positions ; was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1846, etc.

WILLIAM JOHNNS, See. 23; P. O. Dodgeville; was born in Tavistoek, Devonshire, Eu- gland, May 18, 1812. He married, in Exeter, England, Miss Anne Jones, who was born Feb. 7, 1817, in Black Torrington, Devonshire. They came to the United States in 1853, with five children, and. in August, 1853, settled in Dodgeville; Mr. Johns worked at his trade of blacksmith here until 1867, when he settled upon his present farm of 80 aeres ; he served seven years as a blacksmith's apprentice, and fol- lowed the business forty years; his farm was, thirteen years ago, open prairie, and his labor and money have made all the improvements. Mr. and Mrs. Johns have seven children-Elizabeth (Mrs. James Rodgers), William, Thomas, Samuel, Henry, John F. and Ellen ; one of their children died while cross- ing the sea ; J. F. and Ellen were born in Dodgeville ; Samuel and Henry are now in Iowa.

D. G. JONES, Register of Deeds of Iowa Co .. Dodgeville; was born Nov. 16, 1831, in Car- marthenshire, North Wales ; his parents, John and Mary (Griffiths) Jones, came to America in 1842 and settled in Tioga Co., Penn., where both died. The son came West in the fall of 1855 ; lived in Nicollet Co., Minn., until 1858, when he came to Ridgeway, Iowa Co .; worked among the farmers of that town until September, 1861, when he enlisted as a private in Co. C, 12th W. V. I .; when the regiment left Madison in 1862, he was 5th Sergeant; later, he was made 2d and 1st Sergeant, and, after the fall of Vicksburg, 2d Lieutenant. The regiment joined Sherman at Big Shanty, and, at Bald Hill, Capt. Wilson was wounded, which placed Lieut. Jones in command of Co. C; while on the march in South Carolina, he was commissioned Captain, which office he held at his honorable discharge in August, 1865. Return - ing North, he settled in Arena ; was elected Register in 1878, and is now the Republican candidate for re- election. Capt. Jones married Rosanna Morris, who was born near his birthplace; they have a son- Adelbert D., born March 4, 1867, in Arena. Capt. and Mrs. Jones belong to the Congregational Chureli of Arena ; he is also one of the A. O. U. W. of Dodgeville.

D. J. JONES, miner, Dodgeville ; was born in Wales Aug. 15, 1845; came with his parents to America when about 15 years of age, an l'resided in Dodgeville up to August, 1862, when he enlisted in Co. C, 31st W. V. I., serving through with his regiment to the close of the war ; returning, he lived in Dodgeville until 1868, when he went to Colorado, and has since spent his time in the mines of that State and Nevada, where he now is. IIe, however, did return to this pleasant Wisconsin village and remain long enough to marry, on the 17th of March, 1872, Miss Maggie Wickham, she accompanied him to the West, and remained there until April, 1879, when she settled in the elegant home where she and the three children await the coming of the husband and father; two of the children-Charles W. and James A., were born in Gold Hill, Nevada, while the youngest, Leonard A., was born in Milwaukee, Wis. The Wiekham family, parents and ten children, came to America in 1840, from Wales; of the four sons, David and Daniel served in the Union army during secession times, and Daniel was killed in action near Gettysburg; David is farming in Ridgeway, and William is now in the employ of Penberthy, Pearce & Co. Ile married Mary Griffiths, and has two children-Anna M. and Daniel W. Messrs. Jones and Wiekham are Republicans.

EDWARD R. JONES, Secs. 18, 7 and 13; P. O. Dodgeville; was born Sept. 6, 1812, in Merionethshire, North Wales. Married, in May, 1840, Margaret Edwards, and started the next day for America ; resided, until 1845, in Oneida Co., N. Y., then came to Dodgeville; in the spring of 1846, Mr. Jones claimed 160 aeres of his present farm, and afterward bought it of the Government; the logs for his house he cut himself; during the next few years he worked on his own land, and some for John Messersmith. Mrs. Jones died May 21, 1858, leaving five children-Robert, Mary, David, Elizabeth and John; the two eldest were born in Oneida Co., N. Y., and the others in Dodgeville; by the present Mrs. Jones (formerly Mary Jones), born July 17, 1823, he has five children-Theophilus, William, Margaret, I'ddie, Sarah, all born on the old farm. Mr. Jones now has 200 acres, and good buildings; himself and

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wife are members of the Bethel Church (Welsh Presbyterian), of which he has been Trustee, ete. He is a Republican, and has held local offices ; is a genuine old-time pioneer, and need have no regrets in looking over the record of his long and useful life.

HUGH W. JONES, merchant, Dodgeville ; was born in Anglesea, North Wales, Feb. 26, 1838; his early life was spent on a farm and at school; in 1853, he came to America and settled at Waterville, N. Y .; hired out at $6 per month as a farm hand, and also worked one summer in a saw-mill near Trenton Falls, N. Y., where he also attended a winter school ; in the fall of 1855, he came West and began in Oshkosh, Wis., as a carpenter, then as a elerk and employe in the saw-mills until his coming to Dodgeville in 1857; here he clerked for Hoskins, Thomas & Co. until the firm of Jones & Owens was established in 1863; up to May, 1871, they dealt in produce only, then went into the Morris building with a stock of merchandise; the United States Centennial was celebrated by them in the building of the handsome briek block which bears their name; they occupy both the lower and part of the upper floors with the largest stoek of goods in the village. He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, in 1860; has for several years served as member of the Village Board. Mr. Jones married, Oet. 25, 1871, in Dodge- ville, Miss Mary E. Owens, of Llandudno, North Wales ; they have eight children-Willie C., Winnie May, Jenpie, Mary Ellen, Maria, Robbie, Arthur R. and an infant unnamed, all born in Dodgeville.

JOHN T. JONES, County Judge of Iowa County, was born May 21, 1836, in Anglesea, North Wales; he attended school in Carnarvon, then entered a printing office and learned the printer's trade ; when about 16. he came to America ; entering the office of the Utica (N. Y.) Herald, he worked for a time, then began study in the Whitestown Seminary in order to fit himself as a teacher ; in 1856, he came to Wisconsin and alternately taught, and attended the Platteville Academy until the outbreak of the rebell- ion; enlisting Aug. 6, 1862, in Co. E, 30th W. V. I., under Co .. D. J. Dill, he served on the plains until 1864; the predatory Indian warfare there fitted the regiment to cope with the guerrillas of Ken- tueky, where the boys served out the remainder of their time; for three years following his discharge in September, 1865, aeted as agent for the Northwestern Life Insurance Company, meanwhile studying law; in January, 1870, he entered the office of Ll. Breese, then Secretary of State, and devoted his spare time for four years to the exclusive study of law ; in 1871, he graduated with the University Law Class ; at the expiration of Gov. Taylor's term, he went to Mineral Point, where he practiced law until his election to his present position, in the spring of 1877. The Judge is a Republican. He married, while on a fur- lough in 1864, Miss Anne Oldham, a native of Cheshire, Eng .; they have five children-Thomas W., William W., M. Charles, Arthur L. and John T., Jr .; all were born in Wisconsin, as were Llewellyn Breese and George Lloyd, both of whom died in Dodgeville.

WILLIAM T. JONES, Sec. 6 ; P. O. Dodgeville; was born Dee. 24, 1836, in Denbigh- shire, North Wales; came to America, and to Dodgeville, in 1857; engaged in mining a year ; worked two years for Capt. William Jones, then went to Pike's Peak ; thenee to Montana ; spent five profitable years in the gold mines ; returned, and bought his present farm of 156 acres. It was then a brushy, grubby prairie, he having eleared, broken and feneed it. His large farmhouse was built in 1873, and his barn in 1879. Mr. Jones helped to build and attends the Salem Church ; is a Republican. Married Annie Harris, who was born in Ohio ; they have six children-William, Elizabeth, Ellen, Mary A., Sarah and Marion, all born in Dodgeville.

THOMAS KENNEDY, merchant, Dodgeville ; is a son of James and Catherine (Ryan) Kennedy ; a great grandfather of his was one of the Revolutionary patriots ; he returned, however, to Ireland, where the next two generations were born. James Kennedy came to America when a young man, and at different times resided in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, where he married, and where two children-Richard and Margaret-were born. In 1844, the family settled in the town of New Diggings, La Fayette Co. (then Iowa C'o.), where our subjeet was born, Oet. 3, 1845. The father died Aug. 24, 1878, leaving seven sons and four daughters. Thomas Kennedy was educated in Highland, Iowa Co .; came to Dodgeville in January, 1874 ; was appointed Deputy Sheriff in 1875 ; eleeted Sheriff in the fall of 1876, by the Democrats, and was re-elected in 1880. The firm of Bilkey, Kennedy & Co. was founded in 1878 ; earries a general stock, and is regarded as among the soundest. Mr. Kennedy married Mar- garet Duffy, in Highland ; they have two children-Maria E. and Margaret J., and lost a son, Richard M.

CHRISTIAN KESSLER, Dodgeville ; was born in Kuhr Hessen, Germany, Nov. 12, 1832. He came to America in 1857; first settled at St. Louis ; thence, came to Blue Mounds, Wis .; thence, to Madison, and again to Blue Mounds and St. Louis, finally settling at Mineral Point. He enlisted as a private in Company I, 2d W. V. I., in 1861, and received a bullet through the left shoulder at the battle of Bull Run ; was captured, and, while a rebel prisoner in Richmond, had one of the bones

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taken from the upper part of the arm, rendering it almost useless ; was paroled, exchanged and discharged, aud is now a pensioner. Returning to Mineral Point, he attended school for a time; was City Treasurer from 1862 to 1868; was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court, Iowa Co., in IS6S, and served three terms ; was then elected County Treasurer, and served two terms. Mr. Kessler is a Republican. He married Matilda Hoffman ; they have four children-Henry, Elizabeth, Freddy and Archibald. Mr. Kessler belongs to the A. O. U. W. of Dodgeville, where he now resides, having recently opened a meat market.

RICHARD LANE, of F. W. Stratman & Co , Dodgeville; was born in Queen's Co., Ireland, Dec. 26, 1842 ; is of English descent on the paternal side, while his mother was of the Champ family, of France. While he was yet in his boyhood, his parents settled in Canada, where he remained up to May, 1865, when, after spending some time in the Lake Superior mines, in Warren Co., Ohio, and in Dubuque, Iowa; he came to Dodgeville in the spring of 1868 ; hired with Spang & Stratman, and, after the disso- lution of that firm, joined Mr. Stratman as a partner, in May, 1872. The firm occupied five buildings, and have made their wagon factory one of the large industries of Dodgeville. The main factory is 30x80 feet, and thirty men are employed in turning out wagons, carriages, sleighs, cutters, harrows, plows, cultivators, etc. Mr. Lane married Adele, daughter of Joseph Ranger, one of Dodgeville's pioneer settlers ; they have five children-George W., Henry H., Lottie, Howard and an infant. The eldest was born in Spring- field, D. T., where the parents lived for a time, and where Mr. Lane now owns a tract of land.

LOUIS LAUN, Secs. 21 and 22; P. O. Dodgeville ; was born in the Kingdom of Saxony, Germany, Oct. 9, 1840. His parents, Henry B. and Sophia (Schwartzman) Laun, came, with six chil- dren, to America in 1855, landing, in June, at New York City ; they came to Milwaukee. Louis spent about ten years on his father's farm, near that city, and was in a Chicago distillery three years ; settled on his present farm of 256} acres in June, 1867, 200 acres of this is of the old Jenkins farm, and the gray old barn, built by the pioneer Jenkins, was one of the first of its size erected in Iowa Co. Mr. Laun mar- ried, in Mequon, Ozaukee Co., Wis., Miss Lucy A. Shunk, born Oct. 4, 1843, in Germantown, Wis .; they have five children-Amelia (born in Germantown), Jessie A., Laura J., Mary and Jennie, all born on the Dodgeville farm. Mr. Laun is independent in politics, and a Lutheran in religion.

JOHN H. LEWIS, shoemaker, Dodgeville ; was born Dec. 17, 1837, in Bergen, Norway ; came to America in 1857; located at Stoughton, Wis., and began working at his trade, which he had learned in Norway; had served five or six years in the Norwegian navy and merchant service. At the outbreak of the rebellion, in 1861, he was in Arkansas ; came north and worked successively at Wheeler's Prairie, Wis., Janesville and Monroe ; went to Dodgeville in 1870, and has since followed his trade there. Married, April 24, 1870, in Dodgeville, Caroline Tangleson, born in Palmyra, Wis. They have five chil- dren-Clara L., Luman B., Mary A., John H. and an infant, all born in Dodgeville. Mr. Lewis is liberal in politics, and, with his wife, a meuiber of the Lutheran Church. He is a Freemason of twenty-three years' standing, having united with a Janesville Lodge in 1857.

WILLIAM B. LEWIS, Secs. 5 and 6 ; P. O. Dodgeville ; was born March 23, 1824, in Carmarthenshire, South Wales; is a son of James and Margaret Lewis ; came to America in 1852 ; located at Philadelphia, and worked about two years as a roof-slater, he having served a three years' apprentice- ship as mason in Wales. He came to Dodgeville in 1854, and, eighteen months later, to his present farm of 280 acres. He began with 160 acres and a log bouse, which stands as a reminder of old times, near the handsome modern farmhouse, which supplanted it in 1859. Mr. Lewis has made good progress as a farmer, and is one of the respected citizens of his town. He is a member, with his family, of the Bethel Church (Welsh), and has been Clerk for many years. Is a Republican in politics. He married, in his and her native shire, Elizabeth Evans. They have six children-Charles H., James and Mary, born in Carmarthenshire ; Samuel, born in Philadelphia, and William and John. born in Dodgeville.

E. H. McELHOSE, photographer, Dodgeville; was born June 12, 1840, iu Paterson, N. J. His father, a machinist by trade, removed in 1841 to Mexico, where he spent a number of years, and is now living in Chicago, Ill. His son, our subject, began life at 15 as a carpenter's apprentice. In 1860, he took his first lessons in photography, in Paducah, Ky. The outbreak of the war found him in Trenton, Tenn. During the war, he was at various points in Illinois and Missouri, coming to Avoca, Wis., in 1866, and from there to Dodgeville in 1869. Twenty years of constant experience enables him to do excellent work in sun photos, as may be seen by samples in his rooms. He married, in Avoca, Miss Mary Frost, a native of Ill .; they have three children-Arthur D., born in Avoca ; Sarah J. and Mary A., both born in Dodgeville. Mr. and Mrs. McElhose are members of the M. E. Church. He is a Republican and an Odd Fellow.

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TOWN OF DODGEVILLE.

GEORGE MICHEAL, butcher, Dodgeville ; was born, Oct. 6, 1846, in Dodgeville ; is a son of George and Eliza (Smitherm) Micheal, who came from Redruth, Cornwall, to America in 1846, settling in Redruth Hollow, north of Dodgeville Village. The father engaged in mining until 1852, the last two years in California. Up to 1861, he kept a saloon in Dodgeville ; was then, for two years, in the mines of Pennsylvania, and, from 1867 until 1870, in Dodgeville. In 1870, he went to Colorado; returned in 1872 to Dodgeville, where he died, April 27, 1875. His son, our subject, grew to manhood in Dodge- ville, accompanied his father to Colorado, was two years in the Lake Superior iron mines, and, in May, 1875, began his present business in his native village. He married Miss Jennie, daughter of Charles Bilkey, the pioneer butcher of the place ; they have two children-George W. and Charles-both born in Dodgeville. Mr. M. is a member of Iowa Encampment, No. 27, I. O. O. F., and a Democrat.

JOSEPH MITCHELL, Secs. 13 and 24; P. O. Dodgeville; born in Camborne Parish, Cornwall, June 21, 1829. After spending his early life as a miner in England, he came to America with his wife in 1848, buying the farm of George Messersmith, one of Iowa Co.'s earliest pioneers. Mr. Mes- sersmith had erected a log cabin about half a mile north of Mr. Mitchell's frame residence. The latter gentleman now owns 160 aeres, and his son and son-in-law own an adjoining farm of 204 acres, where Messersmith last lived in the State. Mrs. Mitehell was Jane Hooper, born in Camborne, and married there May 14, 1848; she died May 14, 1874, leaving six children-Elizabeth J. (Mrs. N. Bailey ), Joseph, William, John, James, Mary and Anne. Joseph and William live on an adjoining farm. The latter was so unfortunate as to lose his left arm in a threshing machine, in 1878. John Mitchell married M. A. Griffiths, and Joseph married E. J. Cutler. Mr. M. is liberal in politics and religion.

PETER J. MORRIS, retired blacksmith, Dodgeville; was born in Carmarthenshire, South Wales, June 28, 1828. On leaving the farm of his ancestors, he served a three years' apprenticeship as blacksmith, which trade he followed until 1852, when he came to America. Reaching Summit, Waukesha Co., Wis., he devoted his time to his trade and to learning the English language. In 1854, he went to Platteville, Wis., and the next year to Cottage Inn, Wis., for a short time. The next removal was to his native Wales, where he married Rachel Evans. Their wedding tour was the voyage to their new American home. After eighteen months in Platteville, or in the year 1858, Mr. Morris and wife eame to Dodge- ville. He at onee bought the lot on which the Iowa Co. Court House is built, it then being occupied by a small blacksmith-shop and numerous " sucker holes." The only semblance of a street was one running in the direction of the Roberts Hotel. The old liberty-pole stood on ground now occupied by the court house portico. Mr. M. built his house in the rear, or to the west, of his shop, digging the eistern, which is still in use by the county officials. Iowa Co., having decided to make a change in the location of the eounty-seat, bought the lot of Mr. Morris, thus causing his removal across what is now Iowa street-his house to where it now stands, and his shop to ground on which, in 1860, he built the shop now occupied by Prideaux & Kelly. In this shop he worked until his retirement from business, in 1875. Much is due Mr. Morris for his publie spirit in building up his part of the village. In 1861, he built the Hahn store, then bought the lot adjoining his shop, and sold it to one Midbow, on condition that he build upon it, he (Morris) agreeing to take a mortgage upon the property. In 1868, he built the store now owned by him and occupied by Bilkey & Kennedy. He also bought and sold the lot where Joseph Rogers now lives. Ilis plan was to buy lots, and either build upon them or to sell only on condition that the buyer should build, thus promoting the healthy growth of the place, instead of a spirit of speculation. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have eight children-James (born in Platteville), Frances, Margaret, Lemuel, Peter, John, Clarence and Hannah J .-- all born in Dodgeville. Mr. Morris is independent of churches and societies, and a Republican.

T. R. MUNDY, of Mundy & Pearce, Dodgeville, is a son of William Mundy, who was born, in 1829, near Penzance, Cornwall, Eng. ; he resided several years in Scotland. At 22, married, in the Isle of Man, Miss Deborah Milburn ; they came to America in 1855, where Mr. M. engaged in mining up to 1867, when the firm of Hendy, Mundy & Co. was founded and the present furnace built ; Mr. Hendy retired, as did the Milroy Bros., who were at one time partners; Mr. Pearce. the present partner, joined Mr. Mundy in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Mundy have five children-Thomas R., born Oet. 28, 1855; Annie, born April 30, 1858; John J., born Dee. 30, 1860; Deborah, born June 15, 1868, and George W., boin July 30, 1873-all in Dodgeville ; the eldest son, William H., born on the Isle of Man, was educated at Lawrence University, and became a practical druggist; in company with the brother whose name heads this sketch, he went to Texas, and died in Kansas on the return trip ; Thomas R. was educated in Dodge- ville, and is a jeweler by trade, working at it four years in his native village, but has of late devoted him- self to the smelting business. owning an interest. He married Clara Hoskins Dee. 11, 1879, in his and

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her native village. Mr. Mundy is a Freemason and a Good Templar ; his parents both belong to the M. E. Church.

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History of Iowa County, Wisconsin, Part 135

Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 958

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 958