USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895 > Part 8
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While there was no law but that of necessity for the election of these officials, it is reasonably certain that there was not much necessity for the election of some of them. There were no schools to inspect and that office would unquestionably have been a sinecure had any emoluments attached to it. There were no fences in Milwaukee or in Milwaukee county for that matter, and " fence- viewers " were therefore hardly essential to the welfare of this new community, but these early settlers were from Eastern States and the official roster was of the character with which they had been familiar in older communities.
That there had not been a large addition to the
30
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
population of the settlement during the spring and summer months of 1835 is evidenced by the vote cast at this election and by the heaped-up official honors of George H. Walker, Enoch Chase and U. B. Smith. Others came later, however, and before the close of the year, there had been a considerable influx of immigrants. While it is not possible to give, in this connection, the names of all who became settlers in Milwaukee during the pioneer period, a peculiar interest attaches to those who came here as early as 1834 or 1835. The following list of those who became actual settlers of Milwaukee in 1835 is believed to be approximately correct :
Aldrich, Owen. Harrison, Worcester.
Barber, Lucius I.
Hawley, Cyrus.
Breed, A. O. T.
Hathaway, Joshua.
Bunnell, Wm.
Hodge, P. W.
Bigelow, Hiram.
Holmes, Thomas.
Burnham, Hiram.
Hoyt, Henry H.
Brownell, Chauncey.
Hoyt, Thos. D.
Brazee, Benson. Hubbard, H. M.
Bowen, John. Balser, P.
Hyer, N. F. Jackson, David. Judson, Isaac B.
Burnett, Elsworth.
Burdick, Paul.
Lowry, J. K.
Brannon, H. H.
Mahoney, Jacob.
Burdick, Samuel.
McFadden, James.
Baumgartner. Wm.
Mc Millen, B. S. McNeil, James.
Cornwall, N. W. Chase, Enoch. Castleman, Alfred L. Cole, Parker C. Cole, Luther.
Morgan, David. Murray, James. Murray, Patrick. Ogden, John. Olin, Nelson. Orendorf, Alfred.
Cawker, Mathew.
Childs, Luther. Childs, John.
Osborn, Almon. Packard, Zebedee.
Church, Harvey.
Church, Benjamin.
Carleton, Loren B.
Charnley, Frank.
Chamberlain, Wm. H. Clark, Wm.
Richards, D. H.
Riddle, Thos, M.
Ross, Hiram.
Rowley, S. .
Sanderson, Edmund.
Douglas, Andrew. De Laney, Martin. Davis, John.
Shattuck, Walter.
Edgerton, B. H.
Shaft, Henry. Shields, Robert. Shields, Wm.
Edgerton, E. W. Ebel, Andrew. Eseling, N. Estes, E. S.
Sivyer, Henry. Sivyer, Samuel.
Sivyer, William.
Skinner, Wm.
Smart, Isaac. Smart, Joseph.
Smart, Richard.
Weisner, E.
Smith, Uriel B.
Stewart, Alexander.
Stewart, I.
Stone, Samuel, Strothmann, Wilhelm.
Sweet, Alanson.
Tuttle, Joseph.
Woodward, Wallace.
Underwood, Wm. O.
Woodward, William.
Vliet, Garrett.
Not much was done in the way of making build- ing improvements in 1835, and not much real es- tate changed hands, the speculative fever not hav- ing become epidemic as it did the following year. The most important improvements of the year were the fitting up of a temporary tavern, by J. and L. Childs and of another by Jacques Vieau. The tavern kept by Vieau, which became some- what famous as a pioneer hostelry, was known later as as the Cottage Inn and was destroyed by fire in 1845. The building of the Bellevue -- calied later the Milwaukee House-another of the noted pioneer hotels, was begun by Juneau and Martin in 1835, but it was not completed until 1837. This hotel was located at the northeast corner of Broadway and Wisconsin streets.
Another evidence of the advancement of civili- zation during the year was the establishment of a postoffice and the appointment of Solomon Juneau as postmaster. Religious services were held for the first time in the new settlement in the month of May under Methodist auspices, and in July the first Presbyterian church service was held with Rev. A. A. Barber as the offici- ating minister. Several dwellings had been erected during the year, Juneau had moved into a new frame building, and Horace Chase, who had formed a business partnership with Archibald Clybourn, of Chicago, had built a warehouse and was prepared to engage in the forwarding trade as well as merchandising. The greater number of those who came to Milwaukee in 1835 were unmarried men, or if married, they left their wives behind until they had selected a place for settlement. A few of the new settlers, however, had families, and the first child born in Milwaukee which was without a trace of Indian blood, was a daughter of Uriel B. Smith, born in 1835 and christened Milwaukee Smith.
Of the pioneers of '35, it may be said that they were in the main, brave, hardy and intelligent, and they came here prepared to endure hardship,
Clyman, James.
Parsons, S. Piper, Wm. Porthier, Joseph.
Reed, George.
Dousman, George D.
Dousman, Talbot C.
Sanderson, James.
Farmin, Iliram. Farmin, Uriel. Foltz, Jonas. Fuller, Elon.
Wells, Daniel, Jr.
Wentworth, George H. West, George S.
West, Henry. Wilcox, Joel. Williams, Joseph.
Mu P. Morvill.
31
LAYING THE FOUNDATION OF A CITY.
to suffer numerous privations, to overcome difficult- ies and to contribute their full share to the build- ing up of a new commonwealth. Some of them were long-time residents of the city and a few have acquired unnsual distinction. Most conspicuous of them all, perhaps, is Daniel Wells, Jr., who at this time (1895) still lives to link the past with present history. Of New England origin and antecedents, he came west well equipped, so far as economic training and natural endowments were concerned, to participate in the development of a new country. Although he had not been liberally educated, his broad common sense, tact, sagacity and good judgment, commended him to the pioneers with whom he became associated, and he became at once conspicuous in the con- duct of public affairs. He was identified with legislation of vast importance, as a member of the Territorial Council, served with distinction as a member of the national House of Representa- tives in later years, and has achieved unusual dis- tinction as a business man and financier. Joshua Hathaway was for thirty years one of the most conspicuous figures among the pioneers and his name and fame are perpetuated in substantial im- provements as well as in official records attesting his public services. Doctor Enoch Chase was another of the pioneers of 1835 who contributed largely to the upbuilding of the city, and who was
prominent in public life for many years. He had pioneer experiences both in Michigan and Illinois, was a strong, self-reliant and capable man, who always wielded an important influence in the community, and was the recipient of many testi- monials of public confidence and esteem.
Talbot C. Dousman, Alanson Sweet, George D. Dousman, Doctor Alfred L. Castleman, Garrett Vliet, John Ogden, William Sivyer, Henry Sivyer, James Murray, Joel S. Wilcox, Daniel II. Rich- ards, George Furlong and Uriel B. Smith were other settlers who came to Milwaukee in 1835, who wrought worthily and well in laying the founda- tion of the present metropolis, and appropriate mention of many others will be found in other portions of this history.
When they began their settlement here, the surrounding country was in a condition of primi- tive wildness and the Indians were by far the most numerous of their neighbors. As a rule, how- ever, the relations between the settlers and their uncivilized neighbors were of a friendly character, and only once during the year were they called upon to mourn or avenge the loss of one of their number. This was in the case of Elsworth Bur- nett, a young land-seeker from the East, who was ernelly murdered by two Indians, while on an exploring expedition in the Rock river country.
CHAPTER X.
A YEAR OF WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENT.
BY THE EDITOR.
W THEN navigation opened, in the spring of 1836, a season of phenomenal develop- ment began in Milwaukee,
By act of Congress Wisconsin territory was segregated from Michigan in 1836, and the in- flux of immigrants into the new territory dur- ing the year was probably without precedent in the history of Western immigration. In De- cember of 1835 and January of 1836, contracts were let by the government for the survey of public lands within the boundaries of the pres- ent county which had not been surveyed prior to that time. Elisha Dwelle made the survey of the towns of Lake, Oak Creek, Franklin and Green- field, completing it in June of 1836. Garrett Vliet surveyed the town of Wauwatosa, and William A. Burt the town of Greenville, both surveys being completed in May. By an act of Congress, ap proved June 15th of the same year, the Milwaukee land district was established, and on the 15th of September following, an office was opened for pre- emption entries, with A. D. Morton as Register of the Land Office, and Rufus Parks as Receiver of the Public Moneys. The district covered a large area of territory-it being practically the same as that of the original county of Milwaukee-and persons seeking lands within the limits of the dis- trict, gravitated naturally to Milwaukee. Para- phrasing a familiar quotation from the Latin, it may be said that they came, they saw, they specu- lated. It seemed that everybody who came to Milwaukee that year purchased one or more town lots, and scores of persons who did not come sent their money here to be invested. There was a carnival of speculation, which continued well into the winter, and had its effect on every branch of business. Everybody was full of hope, enthusiasm and enterprise, and could see nothing but flatter- ing prospects for the future. It developed a little later that a very large proportion of this pros- perity was ephemeral, but nevertheless substantial
progress was being made. Streets were being graded, Juneau and his partners had the erection of a courthouse well under way, and buildings of various kinds were springing into existence as if by magic. Two or three sawmills had been gotten into operation, and the timber-lands adja- cent to the town were being denuded of forests to supply building material. Nearly all the build- ing in 1836 was of cheap structures, hurriedly put up, to supply an imperative demand for dwellings and business quarters, but in the fall of that year William Sivyer took a step in advance of his con- temporaries and erected a substantial brick build- ing, the first of its kind in Milwaukee.
In July the first newspaper established in this city made its appearance, and the first vessel built at this port-a schooner of ninety tons burden- was built for Solomon Juneau during the summer. Of greater consequence, however, than the build- ing of this schooner, so far as the marine interests of the town and commercial interests as well, were concerned, was the fact that steamers from the lower lakes began making regular trips to Milwaukee, or at least began stopping here on their way to Chicago, instead of passing this port as most of them had done the previous year.
In the fall of 1836 a census of Wisconsin ter- ritory, taken by direction of Gov. Henry Dodge, first Territorial Governor, showed that Milwau- kee county had a population of two thou- sand eight hundred and ninety-three, and the estimated population of the town of Milwau- kee was one thousand five hundred persons. On the 10th of October, an election was held for the purpose of choosing members of the Territorial Legislature and a delegate to Congress, and at that election six hundred votes were cast. This was the first general election held in the place, and hardly a more turbulent one has been held since, if the testimony of the most important resident official, at that time, is at all
33
A YEAR OF WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENT.
reliable. The rivalry which had sprung up between the East and the West sides was then for the first time injected into politics. The inhab- itants of "Junean's Place" and " Walker's Point," had combined against those of " Kilbourntown," and in the county convention held some days earlier, in another part of the county, had suc- ceeded in having Alanson Sweet and Gilbert Knapp nominated as candidates for the Legislative Council. This action of the convention or caucus as it was called, was repudiated by Byron Kil- bourn and his friends, and they nominated as a candidate against Sweet-who was particularly objectionable to them-George Reed. The elec- tion was held in the courthouse, and so intense was the sectional feeling and so numerous the clashings of partisans, that long before the polls closed, the primitive jail of the village was crowded with disturbers of the peace who had been taken into custody. In this contest the East side gained a substantial victory over the West side, and precedents established that year have been far-reaching in their consequences. The building of a courthouse and donation of grounds to the county by Juneau and his partners was a shrewd move to promote the growth of the East side. The establishment of the postoffice on that side contributed to the same result. Early settlers became accustomed to transacting their public business on the "east side," and the same force of habit seems to have influenced the public in later years and caused the grouping of the government, county and city buildings in that division of the city.
Of the thousands of settlers who came into Wis- consin in 1836, a large proportion entered the ter- ritory by way of Milwaukee. It was the gateway through which many of them passed into the " back country," and no inconsiderable number of men who were temporary sojourners here were conspicuous citizens of other parts of the State at a later date. A few of those who saw, upon their arrival here in 1836, a straggling frontier village, have lived to see that village become (in 1895) a city having a population of more than two hun- dred and fifty thousand people.
Although the Government Land Office was opened in Milwaukee in the fall of 1836, a pecu- liarity of the land laws of that period made it im- possible for settlers to obtain even the shadow of a title to the lands which they occupied until such
lands were offered for sale in 1839. Comparative- ly little of the land included in what became the Milwaukee district had been surveyed and made subject to entry before this district was segregated from the Green Bay district, and hence only a very few of the early settlers had rendered them- selves secure in their possessions through pur- chase at the Green Bay land sales of 1835. No permanent pre-emption laws were in existence when Milwaukee was settled, and no matter what improvements a settler may have made on lands which he occupied, he was a trespasser upon the public domain, in the eyes of the law, until such lands had been surveyed and offered for sale at public auction. A short-lived pre-emption act was passed by Congress in May of 1830, which gave to a person who had cultivated any quarter- section of public land the previous year, and occu- pied the tract at the date mentioned, the right to purchase it at the minimum government land price-one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre -at any time before the date fixed for the public sale of such land. This law expired by limitation one year from the date of its passage, but in 1834 it was revived and continued in force two years, its benefits under this revival extending only to those who had settled and cultivated lands during the year 1833. Junean was about the only settler of Milwaukee who could have derived any bene- fit from this act, as hardly any other could have furnished evidence of having cultivated ground or made other improvements on lands during the years 1829 and 1833. Those who came here in 1834, 1835, 1836, 1837, and 1838, except such persons as purchased lots from Juneau and Kilbourn, were all "squatters " on public lands, in danger of being compelled to pay for the im- provements which they themselves made, when the lands were offered for sale at public auction, or of being ousted from their possessions by those who could outbid them. Nor was this the only danger to which they were exposed. Many claims had been located in the old Green Bay land district in advance of the survey of the lands claimed, and it frequently happened that two or more persons found themselves on the same quar- ter-section, after the survey had been made. Un- der the pre-emption act of 1830, and the revival of that act in 1834, any two claimants of the same quarter-section were permitted to divide it equally, each taking half, and each receiving from
34
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
the Government Land Office, in lieu of the other half, a certificate authorizing him to locate an- other eighty acres, elsewhere in the same land district-" not interfering with other settlers hav- ing the right of preference"-for which he was required to pay only the minimum price of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. The right thus acquired became known as a "floating right," and claims filed in pursuance thereof came to be known as "floated claims," or "floats." The understanding was that only such "squatters" on the public domain as could furnish evidence of having made the required improvements on their claims during the years 1829 and 1833, were protected by the clause of the pre-emption law of 1830, which "provided for non-interference" with other settlers having the right of preference, in the location of "floated" claims. Milwaukee county settlers were not therefore protected against this invasion of their rights, and were liable at any time to have the lands, to which they only await- ed an opportunity to acquire title, covered by " floats " which would dispossess them or involve them in vexatious litigation. "Float " rights were transferable, and a large proportion of those which came into existence in the Milwaukee land district, soon passed into the hands of watchful speculators and designing persons, who sought to make use of them in obtaining possession of valu- able lands to which titles had not been perfected. A large portion of the south side of what is now the city, was " floated " and a controversy began in the courts which lasted until 1845, when Col. George H. Walker and others who had contested the validity of these claims, were finally allowed to perfect their titles, upon payment to the gov- ernment of two dollars and fifty cents per acre for the lands which they had occupied. The cloud which thus rested for more than ten years upon the titles to lands in Walker's subdivision of the city, seriously retarded its growth, and it has never fully recovered from the sinister effects of those unfortunate complications.
The dangers which threatened them made it necessary for the early settlers to organize them- selves into associations designed to facilitate the settlement of disputes among themselves, to pro- tect their claims against lawless adventurers, and for the maintenance of their rights against the unrestrained competition of speculators.
The first meeting to consider the practicability
and advisability of effecting such an organization, was held .in Southport (now Kenosha) February 13th, 1836. Soon afterward a meeting was held at Root river (now Racine) at which there was a much larger representation of settlers of the Mil- waukee land district, and as a result of which the "Milwaukee Claimants' Union"came into existence. The constitution of this association was a unique instrument and is of such historic importance that we preserve the full text of it in this connection, as follows:
"We, the undersigned, as settlers of public lands within the County of Milwaukee, deem it of vital importance that there should be for the interest of the settlers, cordiality of feeling among them. That if Congress should refuse to extend the pre- emption law, our whole dependence is upon union and our respect for each other's rights; if we go on contending and striving, one against another, un- til the day arrives when it shall be decided whether we are to have a home upon the spot that we have selected, there will be no hope of success. And now let us come forward determined to pro- tect one another, and our success will be complete; let not the imprudence of any one destroy the fair prospects of the whole. What must be the condition of those who have expended their last farthing in reaching the spot they claim, if they are to be driven from their temporary refuge by a mob or the unfeeling speculator? To the instiga- tor of the mob we would, say, beware. To the speculator, remember the mournful feeling of the emigrant, sobbing adieu to the tombs and temples of his fathers, his toils and sufferings in building up a new habitation; and gathering the manna of heaven, like the Israelites, from the bosom of the wilderness. 'And now, as American citizens (and there is a charm and magic in the word,) we pledge ourselves to support and protect each other in holding our just and lawful claims against all op- position; also to support and abide by the follow- ing resolutions. For the support of this we solemn. ly vow to each other, and call upon God to wit- ness our truth and sincerity, and invoke disgrace upon our heads, should we prove guilty of du- plicity.
"ARTICLE 1. Resolved, That the county be di- vided into two districts ; that the first district shall include all that part of the county north and east of the township line of township four
;
Respectfully Luis Ludington
35
A YEAR OF WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENT. 1339442
second, all that part of the county south and west of the north line of said township.
"ART. 2. That each district shall be entitled to a registrar, who shall be a surveyor, legally ap- pointed by the county surveyor, by the recom- mendation of the district in which he may reside, whose duty it shall be to make a correct plat of his district, and record the same upon a book of record, which said surveyor shall keep for the recording of claims, which shall be subject to the inspection of any person holding or wishing to make a claim, who has or may hereafter sign this constitution. Said surveyor shall attend to all calls to examine and survey any premises applied for, and in case there is no previous claim upon said premises, the surveyor shall make a survey of the same, and keep a record of all such surveys, and give a certificate to the said applicant for said premises to the same effect; which certificate shall be filed in the treasurer's office of the same district ; and upon application to the treasurer, to file said certificate, the party applying for it shall pay to the treasurer two dollars, and it shall be the duty of the treasurer to give a receipt for the same.
"ART. 3. To constitute a claim, there shall be a house erected on the same, at least twelve feet square, with roof covered with boards or shingles ; also, if in timber lands, there shall be at least one acre chopped for cultivation, and fenced seven rails high ; and if on the prairie, there shall be at least two acres fenced, as above; all to be per formed within forty days from the adoption of this constitution. The first claimant shall be the person who shall have made the first improvement -without evident design of relinquishing the same, by absence, or by making other claims- that within forty days from this time, or forty days from time of making the claim, shall have the same recorded by the district recorder, and pay the sum of two dollars to the district treasurer.
"ART. 4. That all male citizens over the age of eighteen, and females over the age of sixteen, shall be entitled to hold a claim by complying with the foregoing resolutions.
"ART. 5. That every person wishing to make or hold a claim within this county, shall make such claim in person, and comply with the second and third resolutions, except females who shall
reside within the county, who may employ an agent to reside on said claim.
"ART. 6. A treasurer shall be appointed in each district by their own delegates in this con- vention, who shall receive all money paid into the treasury, and give a receipt for the same, a copy of which shall be filed in the office of the re- corder. The treasurer shall keep a true account of all the moneys received and expended by him, applied to the purposes ordered by this constitu- tion, and if the same shall not be wholly expended when the land shall be obtained by sale or pre- emption, and all difficulties settled, shall refund the remainder to each person who has signed this constitution, in proportion to the amount received from each individual. Said treasurer shall give to the board of arbitrators a good and sufficient bond, amounting to two thousand dollars. Each treasurer shall provide himself with a book suf- ficiently large to record all claims, and enter upon the same all testimony and decisions of the com- mittee, with the certificate of the presiding officer within his district, which shall be kept subject to the inspection of all persons, as specified in article second. He shall keep in his possession this constitution and resolution; and every person shall, before paying in his money, sign the same. Any person complying with the foregoing shall be considered a member, and equally protected by the same. Said treasurer shall be entitled to twenty-five cents for every certificate he may legally issue; and for all recording, the same fee as the county recorder, to be paid by each indi- vidual that may require such recording to be done.
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