USA > Wisconsin > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Wisconsin, past and present : including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county [microform] > Part 47
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Dr. Scheurich is a man of fine personality, courteous, affable and pleasing in manner, with the ability both to make and hold friends, of whom he has a wide cirele. In love with his profes-
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THE MEDICAL FRATERNITY
sion, he devotes himself to it with fidelity and gives promise of a successful and useful career.
Vernon W. Stiles, M. D., who has attained to a position of prominence in the line of his chosen profession, is the youngest of a family of five sons and two daughters born to Cornelius C. and Cornelia (Phelps) Stiles, both of whom were natives of central New York. Besides our subjeet, the others are: Emma G., widow of J. C. Taylor, Oceanside, Cal .; Luther II. Stiles, of Minneapolis; William H., of San Bernardino, Cal .; Dr. Fred P. Stiles, a practicing physician of Racine, Wis .; Susie C., widow of E. W. Ilills, Redlands. Cal., and Henry A., who is a druggist at Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The paternal grandparents of our sub- jeet were Luther Stiles and Clarissa Pierce, natives of Massa- chusetts ; the grandfather on the maternal side was also a native of Massachusetts. Cornelius Stiles, father of Dr. Stiles, went from New York, his native state, to Coldwater, Mich., when fourteen years of age. Remaining there for six years he then removed to Elgin, Ill., where he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner and also engaged in farming. It was while living at Eigin that he met and married Cornelia Phelps, and where the family was born. In about the year 1864 he moved his family to Kankakee, and ten years later to Sandwich, Ill., where he died in 1907 at the age of eighty-three years, having been born in 1824. Ilis wife, mother of our subject, was born in 1827 and died in 1905. aged seventy-eight years. They were successful, liberal, broad-minded. public-spirited and influential citizens and enjoyed the confidence of all who knew them.
Dr. Vernon W. Stiles was born at Elgin, III., January 31, 1861, receiving his education in the publie schools of Kankakee and the Sandwich high school. Completing his studies he went to Chicago when seventeen years of age and secured a position as elerk in a drug store. At the end of three years he entered the drug store of his brother in the same capacity, and later opened a drug store on his own account at Manteno, Ill., which he sold one year later and came to Sparta, where he was employed for two years in the drug store of Fred Newton. He was offered and accepted a position with Hemphill & Woy and established a drug store at the Cheyenne Indian ageney in the Indian Territory, and two years later began the study of medicine. He matrien- lated with the Hannemann Medical College, in Chicago, where he was graduated with the class of 1888, receiving his degree of M. D. He spent one year as house physician in the Hannemann hospital in Chicago, and located in 1889 at Riverside, Cal., where
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
he continued a successful practice for ten years. In 1899 he came to Sparta and entered into a co-partnership with his brother, Dr. Fred P. Stiles, in the practice of medicine, and has since con- tinned his professional work with gratifying results.
Dr. Stiles is a man of intense energy and activity and devotes much time to affairs outside of his professional duties. He is a member of the California State Medical Society, the Southern California Medical Society, the Wisconsin Homeopathie Medical Society, and the American Medical Association, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias order.
In 1905 Dr. Stiles was united in marriage with Miss Helen Frances Dodge, daughter of the late Rufus S. Dodge, of Sparta. They have one daughter. Frances Stiles.
CHAPTER LI. TOWNSHIP HISTORY.
It is with the deepest regret that the editor finds it necessary to record the meagre historical data concerning some of the town organizations. The passing away of so many of the pioneers in various parts of the county has deprived us of the means of gathering historical facts concerning the early days in several communities, facts which would, no doubt, be of great interest and value; interesting indeed because of the conditions which existed, the privations endured, the difficulties overcome by the first settlers furnishing the individual experiences which go to make history.
Through all the events of the past we make our way to the present, but how the pioneer lived, the kind of house he man- aged to ereet, the political events surrounding the newly formed municipalities, the story of how the pioneer saw the wilderness gradually transformed into fine farms, prosperous villages, busy cities, all paying tribute to their creative energy and untiring perseverance, is one which always brings its lessons to the pres- ent, lessons taught by the hardest and sternest of all teachers, experience. But the lessons are rich in results.
At the organization of the county, as appears in another chapter. there was but one town, which included the whole county, the town of Leon. As the years went by and circumstances warranted it, the county board created new townships, setting them off from those already established. It is difficult to follow the records concerning territory embraced in the limits of each town, for of necessity newly created towns were composed of parts of others so that no attempt will be made to do so in this chapter. There are now twenty-four townships, four villages and a part of a village, Ontario, and two cities.
ADRIAN.
In 1854, at the first meeting of the board at which anything was done with reference to dividing the county into townships. the county board created five towns, including the town of Adrian, it being set off at the same time as Angelo, Sparta and
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
Leon. The two persons mainly instrumental in the settlement of this town were W. W. Jackson and Webster Kenyon, who settled there in 1854, together with a number of others, and com- menced at once laying plans for a village in the township to be called Jacksonville. As has been told elsewhere the coming of the Milwaukee and LaCrosse railway raised great hopes in the breasts of these pioneers, that it would come through their town and proposed village, but fate had decreed it otherwise. The town was settled quite rapidly, however, and farming lands opened up for settlement. The life of W. W. Jackson has been told elsewhere, and here we record a short sketch of Webster Kenyon. He was born in New York state, November 18, 1830, coming west in 1854. In 1863 he enlisted in the army, remaining until the close of the war. Mr. Kenyon was by profession a civil engineer and held the office of county surveyor of Monroe county for eighteen years. Having retired from active work on his farm and in surveying he moved to the city of Tomah and there passed the remainder of his days. He died Wednesday, December 6, 1911. The township of Adrian contains fine farming land and many valuable farms have been developed. The history of this progress is that of about every other township, one of struggle and privation for a time with the rewards of earnest labor reaped by succeeding generations. The present town officers are: Geo. P. Stevens, chairman ; William Bakkhouse and M. Kroener. supervisors; George Falkner, clerk; John Edminster. treasurer; W. C. Kirst. assessor: E. C. Cole, justice of the peace. The pop- ulation at the census of 1910 was 806.
TOWN OF ANGELO.
The story of the race between a man by the name of Scarl and Dr. Seth Angle to the land office in Mineral Point to locate the present site of the village of "Athens," in the town of Angelo, has already been told. Angle came out ahead by one hour and located the land upon which the water power was situated and proceeded to ereet a sawmill, which at that time was the only one in this part of the country except the one erected by Esau Johnson in the southern part of the county, on the Kickapoo, and the lumber business was lively in those days at the doctor's mill. so much so that at times settlers were obliged to get in line and wait for hours for their turn to get a load of lumber. Loyd Angle, a brother of Dr. S. P. Angle. also came about the same time, and in 1852, with his son, O. F. Angle, settled on a farm located near the mill. O. F. Angle some years later came to
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TOWNSHIP HISTORY
Sparta and went into the livery business and was elected sheriff of the county, serving one term. Dr. Angle, however, did not stay a great while in the sawmill business, but sold out to Ed- ward Canfield, brother of Lee Canfield, Sr. Edward Canfield had one of those dreams which came to many enterprising settlers in the days of the early settlement, a dream which pictured a city on the site occupied by his mill and the two or three stores and dwellings of the then inhabitants of the village, and so he had a plat made of the land, streets and alleys regularly set out and dedicated, had the plat duly made by the county sur- veyor. Seeking to give it a name equal in fame with "Sparta," he called it "Athens," so those two famous cities of Greece find their namesakes in America, but history was not kind. Sparta became a city, but Athens still remained a country village, and its shadow gradually grew less from a business point of view, as in 1856 there were more stores there than there are now. It is a mistake made frequently and very commonly in alluding to Athens as "Angelo," but that is not correct, as the settlement retains upon the records to this day its original name and all conveyances of property in the so-called village are made under its name of Athens. Originally the village was laid out in gen- erous proportions. It had its public square, now occupied by a church ; and its "State street," and to its credit be it said that at the time the county was organized this little group of settlers put up a very good fight to have the county seat located there. The plat of Athens was recorded in the offices of the register of deeds, May 13, 1856, made by C. C. Miller, the then county sur- veyor. Early settlers were numerous. Among them may be men- tioned L. M. Huntley, who arrived in 1854, as did George Shepherd and John W. Smith. In 1859 Rev. Robert Williams, a Welsh minister, settled in the town and established a Welsh church. His son, W. G. Williams, now prominent in banking circles, farmed it with his father as well as attended to his ministerial duties. The old Angelo water power is now the property of the O. I. Newton's Sons Company and is used for furnishing power for the electric light and power plant, in connection with the power in the city of Sparta. Within the town are many valu- able small fruit farms, many in a high state of cultivation, and this industry is a large source of revenue to its inhabitants. The present officers of the town are: J. W. Leverich, chairman ; George Kronberg and Jenk Williams, supervisors; Wilber S. Fish, clerk; Fred Hutson, treasurer; Fred Heilman, assessor ; E. T. Hanchett, justice. Population census of 1910, 666.
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
BYRON.
At a meeting of the county board of Monroe county on Jan- mary 6. 1863, a petition having been presented by the inhabitants of the proposed town. a resolution was passed detaching town- ship sixteen, range three west, from the town of Leon and creat- ing it the town of Byron, and provided that the first election should be held at the house of Frederick Swartslow on the first Tuesday in April. 1863, which was accordingly done and the town organization perfected. Originally the town comprised the entire territory of what is now the town of Scott and Byron. A large portion of the then town, in the northeast part especially, is low land and at the time there were large cranberry marshes in their wild state, except that as the industry developed ar- rangements were made by ditching so that the marshes could be flooded whenever there appeared to be danger of frost, and it was during the height of this business that a station and post- office was established at Dodge's mill and called Norway Ridge. the name it still bears. Cranberry culture is still a large factor in the commercial life of the town. Several very productive marshes have been brought to a high state of development and are situated near Valley Junction, but perhaps the most valuable are to the east and north in Juneau and Jackson counties. The town was not settled as thickly as some other portions of the county until after the war, and is now rather thinly settled in some portions. There has been for some years quite a sale for the peat lands around Valley Junction. Drainage ditches have been constructed. which developed some of this land so that dry farming is carried on successfully. Of those who went into the rebellion from this town their record. if they were enlisted in the county. appears elsewhere; outside of that there is no record. The present town officers are: C. T. Melteson, chairman ; super- visors. Odis MeLin, A. Anderson ; clerk. F. Muerman : treasurer, A. M. Christensen : assessor. F. A. Bennett.
Population census of 1910. 806.
CLIFTON.
Clifton was one of the early towns being organized by a resolution of the county board on Angust 14. 1855, and the an- mal meeting ordered to be held in the home of A. Heath on the first Tuesday in April. 1866. The meeting. however, was held at the home of L. A. Farr. The first town officers elected at that time were John Foster, chairman: Andrew Lansing and A. H.
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TOWNSHIP HISTORY
Isham, supervisors; G. B. Holden, town clerk ; L. A. Farr, treas- urer; Edward Masters, school superintendent; Leonard Phillips, assessor; justices, J. L. Sargent, Charles Dickinson and Edgar H. Eddy; constables, Roswell Smith, A. M. Baldwin and Henry F. Dresden ; sealer of weights and measures, Smith Anstin; so the town started out with a full equipment of officers. There were twenty-four votes cast at that election, six of whom are still living. The oldest settler in the town was Lyman Prescott. who came in 1853 or 1854. Industries began early, for we find that in 1856 L. A. Farr erected a sawmill, and in 1858 A. A. Noyes built a grist mill. The first farm house in the town is said to be the one erected by Lody Angle before its organization. It will be noted that this town was very large and took in territory afterwards cut out for other towns, so that many familiar names of other towns appear. School was commenced in a building built in 1856 for that purpose. There are at present three school buildings in the town, all first-class distriet buildings. The pres- ent town officers are: Vincent Arzt, chairman ; Wm. Vonhaden and Cr. Johnson, supervisors; Oscar Blaschke, clerk; Frank Blaser, treasurer; Edwin Eirschele, assessor; Charles F. Froh- mader, justice of the peace.
Population at census of 1910, 934.
GLENDALE.
This town was organized November 13, 1855, and the first town meeting was held on the first Tuesday in April, 1856, at the home of Samuel C. Lyon. The officers elected at that time were Samuel C. Lyon, chairman; Gaines Phillips and C. D. Bradley, supervisors; Charles Tollard, clerk : Hiram Driggs, treasurer; HI. J. Moore and L. Johnson, justices; J. R. Lyon, J. G. Moore and S. Worden, constables ; R. II. Benedict and S. D. Moore, assessors. The first store building was built by J. R. Lyons in 1871, and a mercantile business conducted by him there for a great many years. Mr. Lyons, at the preparation of this work, is still living, making his home at Kendall. He has held many official positions. being at one time member of the assembly, and served two terms as register of deeds of the county. A postoffice was first estab- lished at the home of S. C. Lyon in 1872 with him as postmaster. Glendale has a noble record of enlistments in the army during the rebellion, and here is the roll of honor: William Harland, John Harland, Henry Davis, Richard Windson, John Brigham, Daniel Newton. Thomas Newton, T. B. Broughton, Z. R. Brough- ton, P. W. Broughton. Samuel Worden. Leonard Johnson, John
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
Birdsill. George Birdsill, Chang Green, Chester Green, Mauson Green, Richard Douglas, Job Driggs, Phillip Spohn, Charles Miller, William Miller, Hial West, Casper Keller, James R. Lyon. Sammel Lyon, Samuel Richardson, John Richardson, Perry Rich- ardson, Nelson Paine. Norrie Greely, Henry Greely, John Wil- liams, David Moore, Horace Moore, James McQueen, George Rob- bins, James Dunlap. Robert Dunlap, Frank French, Iliram French, Leander Brainerd, Organ Benedict. James Searles, Charles Tol- lard, O. K. Thompson. Joseph Ward, James Kellar, John Leason, and Barrow Stone. The present town officers are: A. I. Street, chairman ; H. D. Chard and J. R. Rossol, supervisors; George II. Robertson, clerk : E. J. Gregor, treasurer; J. W. Bradley, asses- sor : F. C. Stokes, justice. Population, 971.
GRANT.
This town was so long a part of the town of Lincoln, having been set off in 1899, that its early history is that of Lincoln and is embodied in the sketch of that town. The present officers of the town are: S. F. Shookman, chairman ; William Vroman, Her- man Kemp. supervisors; W. C. Green, clerk: Fred Purdy, treas- urer : Eli Sutherland, assessor; Ham Griffin, Abe Griffin and William Brennan, justices. Population, 442.
GREENFIELD.
Organized August 14, 1855, the same time that the towns of Clifton and Sheldon were organized, and in point of years it is one of the oldest settlements. With the building of the Chi- eago, Milwaukee & St. Paul line, or the Milwaukee & LaCrosse Railway, as it was then known in 1858, came the establishment of the little settlement of Tunnel City, at the tunnel on that line. This place has grown steadily as a trading point, at one time being a central market in the blueberry trade. It has now ser- eral stores and other business interests. The building of the Milwaukee, Sparta & Northwestern Railway in 1910 and 1911 made a great change in the village as the route went right through the business section of the place, resulting in the com- pany buying a lot of buildings, and in some cases just the lots, so that the little place has shifted around considerably. A large double-track tunnel has been put through the bluff a little north of the tunnel of the St. Paul company. The present town officers are : George Becker, chairman; Fred Heser and M. J. Betthau- ser, supervisors; clerk, W. H. Hinds; treasurer, William Seno-
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TOWNSHIP HISTORY
gles ; Frank Pier, assessor; D. J. Woodward and A. 1. Reich, justices. Population, 800.
JEFFERSON.
The town of Jefferson, lying in the southwestern part of Mon- roe county, known as township fifteen, north of range three west, was originally a part of Portland township, which comprised townships fifteen, range three west, and fifteen, four west, until the year 1858, when the townships separated and township fif- teen, range four west, was organized, and by a vote of its people it was named "Jefferson." Township fifteen, range three west. retained its name of Portland, which it still bears. The years 1854 and 1855 found in the town of Jefferson the following fami- lies located on their several homesteads : Alex. Thompson, James Thompson, Abram Aller, Joseph McFarland, John and Hames Draper, John Breatiff. James Stansby, H. Shattuck, John Hall, Simpson, Thomas and Henry Matby, Richard F. Cole, Thomas, William and Elviridge Rathbun, Oren Hutchinson, L. Weight- man, Sam Osburn, Dixon, Chester Perkin, Gibert and Washington Love, Gilbert Tuttle. John Sullivan, Jefferson Lower, James Erkenbraetz, Pat Chambers. Joseph Koesfler, Albert Fisher, Christ Fuhrmeister, A. Heiser, Stephen Doering, Charles Rumppe, Peter Herring, John Krahenbush, George Klues. In the year 1856 and early in 1857 the following emigrants, mostly from the beau- tiful Rhine river country near Cologne, established their homes in this town: Hilger Karis, Matt Esser, Herman Brois, Peter Schrier, John and Quirin Sehrier, Hilger and Ludwig Schotten, Caspar Schmitz, Peter Gross, John J. and Fred Gross, Peter and Caspar Schiefer, Mathias and Gerhard Butzler, Peter Michels, and in November of the same year Cornelius and Henry H. Cremer, Henry Berg, Martin Jungferdorf, William B. Brueggen, Herbert Koehlbraf. William McFarland, John Aller. George Whittley, Thomas Young, and a few more. At this time and since the organization of the town in 1858 we find a little log school house in Coles valley, and near Melvina is a school dis- triet called "District No. 1;" a little frame school house near Thompson's is District No. 2, and a little log school house, now known as St. Mary's, is District No. 3. Richard Cole was the first chairman of the town, and James Thompson and Michael Wiebel were the side supervisors, with A. Heiser as town clerk and Albert Fisher, town treasurer; A. Thompson, assessor, and James Drapper, town superintendent of schools.
In the spring of 1858 the first church was built in the town,
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
being the Catholic church of St. Mary's, which was constructed of logs twenty by forty-eight feet in size, near section one. The postoffice in St. Mary's was established in 1859. Caspar Schmitz was its first postmaster. and during this time new settlers came into this town: Jacob Joesten. Mathew Muehlenberg. C. Wie- bell. C. Dickson. S. Betz. Peter Basenach. F. Reinhold. C. Bier- haum, Matt Heintz, Peter Flock, HI. Rondorf, John and Jacob Seiberg. Mannlins Squires, A. Harrington, William Collins, John Mitchell, Herman Schrier and a few more. It was indeed a hard struggle for the first settlers in the town, as the land was very hard to clear and the crops of 1858 and 1859 were poor and there was no way of earning anything in this new country, so that the hardships endured .by the pioneers in this section were quite severe, but the year 1860 brought abundant crops of every kind and the people began from that time to prosper. The first presidential election was held in the town of Jefferson in November, 1860, and the town went Democratie, and to this day has ever since cast its majority vote in the Democratic column. During the Civil War. 1861-1865. the town furnished more than its quota to serve their country in this struggle, and it pro- gressed in various ways, forming a new school house district. No. 4, and two joint school houses in the towns of Portland, and Jefferson, and Wells, and the political affairs for a good many years were run by A. Heiser, Peter Schrier. P. Basenach. A. Fisher, Cole James Thompson. II. HI. Cremer, Q. Schnieier, and a few others, and at this time Fred Feihrmiester was town sn- perintendent of schools up to 1862. and after that time the county superintendent system was formed and Dr. M. R. Gage became county superintendent.
The increasing population in the town and in adjoining towns made it necessary for the people around St. Mary's in the year 1868 to build a new church, which was constructed of lumber forty by eighty-four feet in size, and then a resident priest stationed there, it having, previous to this time up to 1865, been attended from LaCrosse : Jacob Joisten being now postmaster at St. Mary's until 1884. Capt. C. A. Hunt in 1866-67 bought some three hun- dred acres of land and erceted the first mill on the section, gathering some families around him. This place he named "Mel- vina," which was on the mail ronte that then existed between Sparta and Viroqua, and the captain was its postmaster until the time of his death. Melvina is a thrifty village and the railroad station. with good markets, and merchants handling goods of every description, has a creamery, a church and graded schools.
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TOWNSHIP HISTORY
In the winter of 1866-67 seventeen families organized and de- cided to build a Catholic church in Pine Hollow, being the north- east quarter of the northeast quarter of section twenty-nine, to which H. H. Cremer donated three acres of land, and a frame church was built thirty-four by sixty-eight by twenty-two feet in size, which was destroyed by a tornado on the 25th of June, 1875. This storm swept over this part of the country, doing great damage. Soon after that the organization of seventeen families was increased by the following, which came from Jef- ferson county, Wisconsin : Peter Klinkler, Michael Berens, M. HIensen, Joseph Futhren, Matt Biver, A. Justinger, P. Klesar, F. Bussinger. M. Sneider, J. Graff, Joseph Bluer, all of whom came in 1868, and the membership of this church having increased to about sixty, it was decided to build a new structure of stone, which was completed in 1878 and remained in St. Mary's until 1886, when it received its own pastor. At the present writing it has a congregation of about one hundred and sixty families, with a parochial school and a fine government in every way.
Pine Hallow's postmaster was Matt Cremer, and he was post- master from the early 70's to 1879, when the postoffice was then established in Cashton and Mr. Surdam was its first postmaster. In the year 1878 the Northwestern Railroad Company started to build a road from Summit, in Monroe county. to Viroqua, in Vernon county, and some grading was done along the line, but it appears this work was transferred over to the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul Railroad system and work was then begun on the present line of the road to Melvina, from where the Hon. H. H. Cremer was the first to buy a ticket to Sparta over that road. December 25, 1878, and in 1879 the road was completed to Viroqua, and the village platted, which was named Cashton in honor of W. II. Cash, of New Lisbon, Wis. The village was sit- uated on section thirty and people now began buying lots and buildings sprang up like magic. William Byries, Tate Nelson. Matt Cremer, William Kissel, F. Delle and many others erected business buildings, blacksmith shops and the like, and sooner than the space of one year it became quite a thrifty village, though under the town government, and in 1891 the village was incorporated under the statutes of this state and began to operate its own affairs.
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