USA > Wisconsin > Sheboygan County > History of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, past and present > Part 12
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The first stopping place of the Harmon and Parrish families was at Harmon Spring, which is located just east of Simon Harmon's residence. Their first habitation, a log house 24 by 30 feet, was built at the spring. Having made and hauled the logs, they put up the body of the house in one day. A number of Indians who were watching them roll up the logs, were asked to help lift, but thinking the white men were plotting their destruction, they obstinately refused. Having covered about fourteen feet of the roof with rough boards and having thrown down loose ones for a floor, the beds were arranged around the wall. Before retiring Deacon Trowbridge called in to make them a visit and remained over night. When the lights were extinguished and the stars shone down through the uncov- ered portions of the cabin, the Deacon remarked that "this would be a good place in which to study astronomy."
The first winter that the colonists settled here no provisions could be purchased at Sheboygan, hence Mr. Harmon and Mr. Parrish started with ox teams for Milwaukee. The weather was intensely cold and before they had gone fourteen miles Mr. Harmon's feet were badly frozen. Dur- ing their absence their families were left at the mercy of the pitiless winter storms and prowling Indians. Arriving in Milwaukee, Mr. Harmon pur- chased nine barrels of flour at twenty shillings per barrel. He also bought a carcass of beef, paying two and a half cents per pound. He also bought other necessaries. Thus well supplied he returned to his anxiously waiting family.
The first land purchased by the Harmons consisted of about seven hun- dred acres covered with timber. By hard work they converted this into the finest farms to be found in Sheboyan county. In their cabin homes religious services were held, for as yet no churches had been built. The first school- house located in that part of the county was built at Four Corners, east of the residence of Simon M. Harmon, who was one of the promoters of that enterprise. Simon Harmon also assisted in laying out many of the highways in the town of Lyndon and in many other ways became a prominent factor in its advancement.
JONATHAN LEIGHTON
Jonathan Leighton arrived here from the state of Maine in 1844 and em- barked in the lumber business, in which he continued twenty years. With his father-in-law, Aurin Z. Littlefield, he built a sawmill, which was known as the Littlefield & Leighton mill.
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CHARLES W. PIERCE
Charles W. Pierce, who was born in Sheboygan in 1848, is the son of William J. Pierce, who came from England in 1844 and settled in Sheboygan.
JOHN D. PARRISH
John D. Parrish and his wife, Jane, came by wagon and boats from New York to Sheboygan county in 1844 and purchased two tracts of land in this town. They first lived in a log cabin without a floor and in order to reach the loft they were compelled to climb by means of pegs driven into the logs. There were only half a dozen neighbors in the locality, the Indians being more numerous than the whites. One day a band of some thirty Indians passed and Mrs. Parrish was much amused by seeing a very tall red man riding on a diminutive pony, so small indeed that the Indian had great trouble in keeping his feet from dragging on the ground. Mr. Parrish, like many of the other pioneers, made shingles from pine trees, which were trans- ported by ox teams and traded for provisions in Milwaukee. One morning four deer were seen grazing contentedly only a stone's throw from the cabin door. They purchased a cow in Milwaukee for $11. Mrs. Parrish made quite a reputation for herself as a weaver of cloth and ran a loom for nearly twenty years, spinning and weaving cloth for her family. When she came here Sheboygan City was a small hamlet, with a dense growth of pines on its present site. In early days she often rode to Sheboygan in an ox cart and would knit all the way to town.
RUFUS WHEELER
Rufus Wheeler came with his parents, Richmond and Sallie (Alberson) Wheeler, from New York to Sheboygan in 1844. The water was so shallow that it was necessary to use a yawl boat to convey the passengers to the shore. At the time the city from where Holy Name Catholic church now stands as far as the soldiers' monument was covered with brush and pine trees and Indiana avenue was a dense wilderness. Indians were numerous and the father often hunted with the red men, killing deer in Lima town and Sheboygan Falls. He was one of the earliest settlers and lived in Lima town when it was called Wakefield and later Wheat Valley.
SYLVANUS WADE
Sylvanus Wade was a pioneer of 1844. He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts. He built a log cabin in Greenbush and opened a blacksmith shop and also plowed ten acres of prairie, and in addition kept a hotel. There was no road cut through to Fond du Lac at that time and in the fall of 1850 the first plank road meeting was held at his home.
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HARMON PIERCE
Harmon Pierce, a native of Massachusetts, was one of the pioneers of Sheboygan county, coming to Sheboygan Falls in 1842, in which year he built a mill just below the bridge opposite Brickner's woolen mills, where he made the first superfine flour in the county.
ALBAN KENT
Alban Kent was one of the early settlers in Sheboygan. He left the fatherland in 1833 and settled in Erie, Pennsylvania, from whence he came here in 1844. He at once built a home and started a tailoring establishment, which was one of the first in the village. Later Mr. Kent opened a bakery and grocery on the shore end of the old north pier, where he carried on quite a business for four years, when his place was wrecked by the waves during a very severe storm, when his stock and household goods were lost. He then resumed work at his trade and retired therefrom in 1889, at the age of eighty-one years.
LUTHER WITT
Luther Witt, with his young bride, Betsy Thompson, arrived in Sheboy- gan county and located on a farm about two miles south of Cascade, in 1845. A few years later he removed to Plymouth town.
DAVID S. M'INTYRE
David S. McIntyre, with his young bride, came to Lyndon town in 1845 and purchased eighty acres of unbroken land. He afterward removed to an eighty acre farm on section 21.
WILLIAM WHIFFEN
William Whiffen, a native of England, came to Sheboygan in the fall of 1845. He immediately purchased a farm in the town of Sheboygan Falls and. lived there until 1875, when he returned to Sheboygan.
HENRY GILMAN
Henry Gilman, a native of New York, was one of the arrivals of 1845. Here he preempted a quarter section of land, which he disposed of a year later and purchased a farm on section 26.
EDMOND WRIGHT
Edmond Wright and his wife Elizabeth, natives of New York, settled in Plymouth town in 1845. John Wesley Briggs, a brother of Mrs. Wright, preceded them to the town in 1844. In 1846 Mrs. Briggs started out alone
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to call on a neighbor who had recently moved into the settlement. She was never again seen alive and the most diligent search failed to reveal her where- abouts. She left home on the 27th of April and on the 4th of July her dead body was found by the Indians in what is now known as the "big bend" of the Sheboygan river in Manitowoc county. The cause of her death has ever remained a mystery.
HIRAM BISHOP
In November, 1845, Hiram Bishop, a native of New York, came to the locality upon which the city of Plymouth now stands, then in its primitive state. For a time he worked for H. I. Davidson, clearing the timber from the ground which now marks the city of Plymouth.
AMHERST P. HUMPHREY
Amherst P. Humphrey came with his father and mother, Hiram and Martha Humphrey, to Lima town in 1845, and in 1849 the father bestowed the name of Lima upon the town in honor of his old home in New York. The family at first lived in a log cabin upon a tract of land which he had bought, consisting of forty acres. There were many Indians in the neigh- borhood at this time and deer and wolves were plentiful. He was active in erecting the first house in the town and gave a good part of the lumber that went into the first Methodist church erected at the Falls.
TIMOTHY LITTLEFIELD
Timothy Littlefield came to Lima town in 1845 with his parents, Zebe- diah and Deborah Littlefield, from Maine.
JOHN SHAVER
John Shaver and family were pioneers of Lima town, coming from New York in 1845, but removed to Holland the following year, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of timber land on section 14.
DR. CEPHAS WHIPPLE
Dr. Cephas Whipple settled in Lima town on one hundred and sixty acres of land, in 1845. He built the first good frame house and planted the first orchard of any importance in Sheboygan county, with one or two exceptions.
JACOB DE SMIDT
Jacob De Smidt was among the earliest of the settlers in Holland town, coming here from Holland in 1845. At that time Mr. De Smidt purchased of George Cole eighty acres of timber land at $1.25 per acre.
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PETER ZEEVELD
Peter Zeeveld, with his father, Lawrence Zeeveld, arrived in the town of Holland in 1845. They settled on section 24 and stayed there about a year, when it was discovered that the property could not be purchased from the government and accordingly one hundred and sixty acres were pre- empted on sections 35 and 36.
AUGUST KALMERTON .
August Kalmerton was one of the pioneers of Sheboygan Falls town, arriving here about 1845, with his young wife Sophia. At that time there were about a dozen habitations in the village and Sheboygan had scarcely more than twenty-five houses.
ANDREW J. WHIFFEN
Andrew J. Whiffen, who was the first superintendent of the Sheboygan County Chronic Insane Asylum, was born in the Empire state and came with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Whiffen, and settled in Sheboygan Falls in 1845.
EVAN EVANS
Evan Evans was a settler here in 1845. For some time he worked at his trade of carpentry and for ten years was a toll keeper on the Sheybogan- Fond du Lac plank road. He later became a farmer.
WILLIAM SEAMAN
William Seaman, a native of New York, arrived in Sheboygan in 1845. William Henry Seaman, who became United States judge of the eastern district of Wisconsin, and later appointed to the United States Court of Appeals, was a son of Williams and Arelisle Seaman, and immigrated to Sheboygan with his parents in the winter of 1845-6. He was working in the Evergreen City Times office when the Civil war broke out. He enlisted as a private in Company H, First Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. He read law with C. W. Ellis, of Sheboygan, and later with J. A. Bently, being ad- mitted to the bar in 1868. In 1893 he was appointed to the United States bench.
DAVID S. JENKINS
David S. Jenkins, founder of the Jenkins Machine Company, came with his parents, Pryce and Margaret Jenkins, from Wales, in 1845, after hav- ing spent one year at Racine.
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THOMAS LAWSON
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Thomas Lawson came with his parents, Robert and Hannah Lawson, from England in 1846, and settled here.
JAMES STONE
James and Lucinda Stone were among the sturdy pioneers who settled in Sheboygan county in 1846. Mr. Stone was instrumental in establishing the first postoffice in Lyndon town, which was called Winooski, and served as postmaster for eight years. The first district school was established in the northern part of the town, which was taught by his daughter Helen, who had an experience which is worthy of relation. It was the custom in those days, as is well known, for the teacher to board around. This cus- tom was necessarily observed by Helen, who came home every Saturday night, remaining until Sunday night. It happened to be the last of Decem- ber and no snow had fallen. Helen arrived home as usual and when it be- gan to snow on Sunday after dinner, she said to her mother: "I must start now or I shall not be able to see the marks on the trees," for they were the only means by which she was guided on her way to the home where she was to board that week. Her mother suggested that if she must go she had better put on her brother Helmar's thin boots, which she did, carrying her shoes in her hand. She had not gone far when she discovered that she had lost her way, and so dark was the night that she could not see to retrace her steps, though the snow storm had ceased. As she wandered, she kept walking faster and faster, fearing lest she should be compelled to re- main out all night. Having tramped many weary miles, she caught sight of a spark of fire and going toward it, she found to her great joy that it was a lighted candle in the house of Samuel Reed, with whom she had boarded the week before. During the first hours that she had tramped through the woods, her clothing had become thoroughly soaked but at the home of that hospitable pioneer her wants were provided for. It should be stated that through all this excitement she clung to her shoes.
After living here for about a year, Mrs. Stone concluded to write home and tell her people of her pioneer life but she found that she had no pen. "Necessity," however, "is the mother of invention," and walking out into the yard she found the quill of some bird and hastened back to make her pen. She had to sharpen the quill with a butcher knife. Her ink was made of copperas and maple bark, and her writing desk was a peck measure turned upside down. Hospitality reigned in those days and yet the ladies dressed in calico gowns and sunbonnets and their husbands in homespun. However, they enjoyed life with that zest which makes a pleasure all the more enjoyable for the work that has gone before. In 1894, when Mrs. Stone had reached the ripe old age of ninety-five and a half years, she was hale and hearty and wrote a hand that was almost as legible as print.
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HENRY CHATTLE'S LOG CABIN IN GREENBUSH TOWNSHIP, BUILT ABOUT 1850
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SELDEN AKIN
Selden Akin was in Lyndon town about as early as 1846, when he pur- chased two eighty-acre tracts on sections 5 and 8. He spent the winter of 1847 clearing fifteen acres, which he cultivated in the spring.
C. L. SIBLEY
C. L. Sibley, a native of New York, settled in the village of Sheboygan in May, 1846. He subsequently lived in Sheboygan Falls for two years, where he engaged in the manufacture of fanning mills, and then bought eighty acres of land in Lyndon town on which he built a log cabin and moved there.
WILLIAM BURTON
William Burton, with his parents, William and Mary Burton, settled on an eighty-acre timber farm in Lyndon, on section 36, in 1846. William attended the first school in Lyndon township, held in a house which his father helped to build. The teacher was Helen Stone. Others who taught there were Mrs. E. P. Andrus, Glandville Jewett and Harvey Cummings. The first church services were held in a log schoolhouse near the Burton home.
LEVI H. PELTON
Levi H. Pelton removed from Trumbull county, Ohio, to Lyndon in 1846, and was one of the pioneers of this community. His son, Dr. Levi H. Pelton, was born here July 10, 1848.
JOHN H. DREYER
John Henry Dreyer after arriving at the port of New Orleans from Ger- many in the fall of 1846, came direct to Herman town and settled on a one hundred and sixty acre farm on section 22. Here he kept a tavern, a very popular resort for a number of years.
FREDERICK BURHOP
In the latter part of 1846 Frederick Burhop, a native of Germany, set- tled in Herman town.
FREDERICK PRIGGE
Frederick Prigge was a native of Germany and came to the United States in 1846. In the summer of that year he arrived in Sheboygan county and located in Herman on section 36, having bought a half section for ten shillings an acre. On the 12th day of June, 1848, John E. P. C. Prigge, Vol. 1-7
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a son, was born to him, and Ernst Schlicting, Peter Meyer, and Christian Wiehe became godfathers to the babe. Numerous are the incidents related by Mr. Prigge of the gatherings of Indians in counsel at his home.
DR. J. J. BROWN
Dr. John Julius Brown was one of the pioneer physicians of Sheboygan, locating here in 1846.
BENJAMIN ORRIN COON
Benjamin Orrin Coon, a native of New York, settled in Sheboygan town in the fall of 1846 and was soon joined by his parents, James and Susanna Coon. At that time Hiram Bishop, Henry Gilman and Ira Brad- ford were making homes for themselves here.
EVERT HARTMAN
Evert Hartman was a pioneer of 1846, coming to the hamlet of Sheboy- gan with his parents, Derrick J. and Hattie Hartman.
GEORGE KOEBEL
George Koebel emigrated from Germany to Sheboygan in 1846 and a year later he was joined by his father and mother, Peter and Margaret Koebel. They then located on a farm in Plymouth town in June of the latter year, each taking up a claim of eighty acres on section 9. To pro- cure seed wheat the elder Koebel, his wife and son, George, walked nine miles to the home of Deacon Trowbridge, where they secured a sufficient amount in the sheaf and, after threshing the wheat with a flail, they carried it home on their backs, first paying one dollar a bushel for it. In order to secure an ox team with which to put in the wheat, George worked for a neighbor in exchange for the use of his oxen. When Mr. Koebel landed in the county he had about thirty dollars in money. Half of this he paid for a cow in Milwaukee.
WILLIAM. D. MOORE
On the 4th of August, 1846, William D. Moore and a brother arrived in Sheboygan county from New Jersey, and settled on section 33 in the town of Plymouth.
JAMES DE GROFF
James De Groff, a native of New York, settled in the town of Plymouth with his family in 1846. William H. De Groff a son, came with his parents at the time. The latter married Margaret Aldelaide Dye, who was born in Lima town in 1839. Her father, Asel Gordon Dye, was one of the first settlers in Sheboygan.
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JOHN W. TAYLOR
John W. Taylor, a native of New York, in 1846 purchased of H. I. Dav- idson the land on which the city of Plymouth now stands, upon which a log cabin had been built by Mr. Davidson. Mr. Taylor at once enlarged the cabin, which became a station for the traveling public, being on the stage road between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac. For a number of years Mr. Taylor kept hotel and assisted in locating the settlers who were searching for new homes. Soon after becoming settled, Mr. Taylor returned to New York and brought back his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Taylor. Elisha built the first frame house in Plymouth and John Taylor employed a sur- veyor to lay out the town plat of Plymouth, which he intended to call Spring- field, from the number of cold springs that abound in the locality, but Mr. Davidson persuaded him to name the place Plymouth. H. I. Davidson be- came the second postmaster of the new village.
DAVID W. GILBERT
One of the earliest settlers in Lima, and in fact in the county, was David W. Gilbert, who arrived in Sheboygan with his wife, Keziah, in the summer of 1846, landing at the pier in Sheboygan, having made the journey from Buffalo by water. After two weeks spent in prospecting he bought sixty- five acres of land in Lima town for $1.25 an acre, upon which he erected a frame building 16x24 feet. He was present at the first election in the town and was made one of the supervisors.
BENJAMIN TIBBITTS
Benjamin and Sallie Tibbits were natives of Maine and emigrated to Sheboygan county with their family of nine children in 1846, purchasing eighty acres of largely improved land, upon which was a small log and frame house, in Lima town. The first mill dam in Hingham was erected by Mr. Tibbitts for Mr. Giddings.
JOHN W. SWETT
John W. and Hannah D. Swett came to Sheboygan county from New York in 1846 and settled in Lima town, and hence were among the pioneers of this locality.
JACOB REIS
Jacob and Marie Reis came from Germany in 1845 and settled in Scott town in 1846, where their son, Jacob Reis, was born in 1849.
HON. CAD W. HUMPHREY
One of the foremost settlers of Mitchell town was Hon. Cad W. Hum- phrey, who came from Oneida county, New York, in 1846, and preempted a
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claim, upon which he built a cabin and "kept batch" until his marriage in 1848 to Maria Elizabeth Van De Mark. He was one of the early commis- sioners for Sheboygan county, serving as sheriff, supervisor, superintendent of schools and member of the Wisconsin assembly.
JAMES H. DENISON
James H. Denison came from New York in 1846 with his young bride, who was Louisa Cole, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of unim- proved land.
AZAEL P. LYMAN
Azael P. Lyman located in Sheboygan in 1846. With his brother George, who had located in Sheboygan Falls in 1845, he established stores in Fond du Lac, Calumet, Berlin and Sheboygan. He became one of the prominent and influential men of Sheboygan and one of its first boatbuilders.
WILLIAM F. ZIERATH
William F. Zierath, a native of Germany, first came to Sheboygan in 1846, looking for a business location. He returned to Cleveland but in the following year purchased property here and was then joined by his family. He engaged in hotel keeping, as proprietor of the St. Clair House, and con- ducted it until his death, which occurred in the latter part of 1870.
JAMES CROCKER
James and Margaret (Leland) Crocker came here in 1846. Their son, Silas R., followed them in 1853. He was a carpenter and worked on the first dredge that was used in opening the harbor in Sheboygan. He then became identified with the manufacturing interests of the city. In 1866, with others, he put up a sawmill on Pennsylvania avenue and began preparations to man- ufacture chairs.
IN THE VILLAGE OF SHEBOYGAN
Arvin L. Weeks was born in Massachusetts and came to the then village of Sheboygan in 1848. He was an experienced architect and builder and fol- lowed his profession the following ten years. He built the first brick schoolhouse in Sheboygan and the first courthouse. Mr. Weeks served as harbor master for seven years.
John Sandrok, a native of Germany, located here in 1849. He was chief of the fire department for some time, and in 1874 was elected sheriff. His trade was that of contracting and building.
Horatio Nelson Smith identified his interests with those of Sheboygan in 1847, coming here from Vermont. He was one of the pioneer merchants of the city. Soon thereafter he opened a store in Plymouth and placed his
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younger brother, Patrick Henry, in charge. In 1850 Mr. Smith removed his entire business to Plymouth. He was elected to the general assembly from Sheboygan in the fall of 1848 and in 1852 became state senator.
Thomas Long, a native of Ireland, took up his home in Sheboygan in 1849. For several years thereafter he followed the lakes both as officer of the vessel and owner. In 1886 he became identified with the Jenkins Ma- chine Company.
George Thies came from Germany in 1846 and spent about a year in Chicago. The year 1847 found him in Sheboygan clerking in the general store of Charles Moore. In 1858 Mr. Thies was elected sheriff of the county, and in 1868, county clerk.
William Holle was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1821, and immigrated to this country in 1847, taking up his residence in Sheboygan, where he bought a store and engaged in merchandising.
David S. Jenkins of the Jenkins Machine Company, came with his par- ents, Pryce and Margaret Jenkins, from Wales in 1845, after having spent one year at Racine.
Carl Zillier immigrated to the United States with his parents, Andrew and Julia (Franke) Zillier, in 1849, coming direct to Sheboygan in June of that year. He became a printer and worked as a compositor in the offices of the Journal and Republikaner. In 1857 he bought out the Repub- likaner and established the National Demokrat, which he built up to be- come the leading German paper in the state, outside of Milwaukee. He held various offices of trust in the community. In 1860 he was city clerk; 1863 and 1864 he represented this district in the general assembly. He was city comptroller two terms. In 1870 he was elected county clerk and was his own successor for two terms. He also served on the board of super- visors for several years and most of the time was chairman of that body. In 1886 and also in 1895 President Grover Cleveland appointed him post- master. Mr. Zillier has been one of the active and influential men of the community. He is now living in retirement.
Fred Pape arrived in this city from Germany in August, 1848, coming with his parents, Conrad and Caroline Pape. For some time after his ar- rival he was engaged in carrying the mails between Sheboygan and Port Washington on horseback through the woods. Eventually he became an engineer on the Northwestern, then agent for the Goodrich Transportation Company and later proprietor of the Kossuth House, which he named the Pape House.
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