History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, Part 39

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1318

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Charles B. Melby, financier and man of affairs, is one of the leading citizens of Trempealeau County. His wide experience has admirably fitted him for the onerous duties of the position he occupies in the community, and his influence has ever been used in behalf of progress of development. Every movement that has for its object the betterment of the county finds in him a warm friend, and busy though he is with his numerous business activities, he is finding time for considerable public service. Born in the village where he now lives, March 1, 1883, only son of John O. and Jennie L. (Beach) Melby, he was reared with the special end in view of some time assuming control of the extensive Melby holdings. He passed through the graded schools, and was graduated from the Whitehall high school with the Class of 1899 at the age of sixteen years. Then he attended Lawrence University at Appleton, Wis., for three years. In 1905 he became chief page in the House of Representatives at Washington, D. C., in which capacity he met nearly all of the men prominent in American public life. In the meantime he studied law at the George Washington University, gradu- ating in 1907 with the degree of LL.B. Upon being admitted to the bar he took up the practice of his profession at Washington. April 1, 1909, he was called home to take the position of assistant cashier in his father's bank. In July, 1911, he was promoted to the office of cashier, which he still retains. In addition to his work in this connection he is vice-president of the Bank of Eleva, and treasurer of the Central Trading Association of Whitehall. His financial holdings include stock in the new Ettrick & Northern Railroad Company, of which he has been an enthusiastic and loyal

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supporter. His public work has included service as a member of the school board and of the library board. War activities in the county have given him an unusual opportunity for effective help. The sale of the first Liberty Bond issue found in him an enthusiastic promotor, and the Defense League counts him among its most useful members. His decisions as a member of the exemption board have been marked by a discretion which has realized the full need of the government, and yet which has taken into due considera- tion all angles of local needs and local conditions. Of a fraternal disposi- tion, he was a popular member of the Phi Delta Phi while at college, and in the Masonic order he has passed through the chairs of the local lodge and has also joined the Chapter. Mr. Melby was married April 26, 1809, ) 1 to Frances Gunby Bethune of Washington, D. C., born in Warrentown, Va., May 1, 1887, daughter of James A. Bethune, a Washington pharmacist, and of Narcissa Garrett Bethune. Mr. and Mrs. Melby have two children: John Bethune, born April 5, 1912, and Natalie Grayson, born Jan. 16, 1915.

Anton O. Melby, president of the John O. Melby & Co. Bank, White- hall, is one of the substantial figures in the financial stability of Trem- pealeau County. Connected with his present institution since 1888, he has worked his way to the top, and his personality and ability have been impor- tant factors in its success. He was born in Askim, Norway, Jan. 1, 1858, the son of Ole Christianson and his good wife, Maria Olson, farming people, the former of whom died in 1871 and the latter in 1896. Of the six children in the family three came to the United States and found their way directly to Ettrick, in Trempealeau County, John O. arriving in 1869, Edward in 1871 and Anton O. in 1873. Upon reaching Ettrick Anton O. secured employment in the store of Iver Pederson, with whom he remained nearly six years. Then he spent nine years traveling. In January, 1888, he came to Whitehall. In the fall of that year, when his brother, John O. opened his bank, Anton O. became assistant cashier. In 1894 he was made cashier, and in 1911 he was elevated to the duties of his present position. With all his busy life, he has found time for considerable public work, and has given excellent service as a member of the village council since 1894. He has been a member of the Odd Fellows since 1888. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is a member of the official board as a trustee. Mr. Melby was married July 26, 1893, to Della E. Hazard, a school teacher of North Ferrisburg, Vt., who was born in 1865 and died in 1899, the daughter of Ezra and Caroline (Williams) Hazard. This union was blessed with three children: William H., who is engaged in the lumber business at De Smet, S. D .; Sylvia M., who was graduated from the La Crosse normal school in 1916, and is now teaching at Norwalk, Wis., and Edward C., who lives at North Ferrisburg, Vt. June 11, 1903, Mr. Melby married Mrs. Mary E. (McKay) Shane of Modena, Wis.

Robert S. Cowie, attorney of Whitehall, is one of the best known citi- zens in Western Wisconsin, and for many years has taken an active and influential part in public affairs. He has held national, state and county appointments, and as an attorney has participated in many of the most important cases that have been tried in the courts of the Sixth Judicial Circuit. He was born in Glencoe, Buffalo County, this state, April 18, 1872,

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MR. AND MRS. ROBERT S. COWIE

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son of George and Margaret (Faulds) Cowie, was educated in the public schools, and while still a youth became a teacher. By this means he was enabled to enter the law department of the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated with the degree of LL.B. in 1894. While in the university he took a deep interest in all student activities, and was espe- cially prominent in the Columbia Literary Society. In the fall of 1894 he located at Arcadia, as a partner of Attorney John C. Gaveney. There he successfully practiced until Jan. 1, 1898, when he became district attorney, a position in which he did the county most efficient service. While serving his second term he resigned to accept an appointment by President Theo- dore Roosevelt as deputy auditor in the United States Navy Department, in which position he served from 1903 to 1905, when he resigned. In the spring of 1905 he was elected county judge, and served with much dis- tinction from Jan. 1, 1906, to July, 1909, when he was appointed a member of the State Board of Control by Gov. James O. Davidson. At the expiration of his term he established himself at Whitehall, where he has since been in practice. His business holdings include stock in the John O. Melby & Co. Bank at Whitehall, the Central Trading Association of Whitehall and the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Independence. His fraternal associa- tions are with the Masonic, Elk and Odd Fellow lodges. Judge Cowie was married Dec. 25, 1897, to Kathryn F. Melby, born in Arcadia, April 1, 1878, daughter of John O. and Jennie (Beach) Melby. This union has been blessed with one daughter, Janice M., born Dec. 31, 1900.

George Cowie, an early settler of Buffalo County, Glencoe Township, was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, Aug. 25, 1828, son of George Cowie, Sr., and Janet (McDonald) Cowie, both of ancient Scotch Highland ancestry. George Cowie was reared to the occupation of iron and coal mining in his native land, and in 1848, at the age of nineteen years, came to America. Landing in Nova Scotia, he engaged in mining there for a time, and then went to Pottsville, Pa., where he engaged in the same occupation. Going thence to the city of New York, he left that port on Jan. 5, 1850, for Cali- fornia. Going via the Isthmus, he landed at Aspinwall, and thence went across the Isthmus on foot to Panama on the Pacific side. At that place he took the steamer Winfield Scott for San Francisco. This proved a most eventful voyage. The vessel was an old one, and both yellow fever and cholera broke out on board. The vessel was crowded with 1,000 passengers, 300 of whom were sick, and seventy-five died before the vessel reached the port of San Francisco, and were buried in the sea. On reaching California Mr. Cowie went to Nevada County, where he engaged in gold mining, and remained on the Pacific coast for about one year, when he returned to his home in Pottsville via the Nicaragua route. Soon after his return home he removed to Lonaconing, Alleghany County, Md., where he engaged in mining. In the spring of 1855 he started for Wisconsin, going by rail to West Virginia, thence by the Ohio River to Cairo, and thence by steamer to Fountain City (then known as Holmes' Landing), an Indian trading post. That, it will be remembered, was 62 years ago. La Crosse at that time was but a village, and the existence of Winona had scarcely begun. Mr. Cowie made his present settlement at once, purchas-

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ing government land at $1.25 per acre. Mr. Cowie was prominently iden- tified with the growth and development of Buffalo County, and was called upon to serve in many public positions. He was the first postmaster of Glencoe, filling that office very efficiently for twenty-seven successive years, and gave the name to the office, which was established in 1862. He gave the name Glencoe to his town in honor of a valley in the highlands of Scotland called Glencoe, which was the home of the McDonalds, from which clan he is descended. He also served as chairman of the town for six years, and held nearly all other local offices, and was largely instru- mental in the organization of the town of Glencoe. He served in the legislature in the sessions of 1871-72, and has the honor of being the first Democrat elected to the legislature from Buffalo County. In November, 1894, Mr. Cowie reluctantly retired from the old farm home and with his wife moved to Arcadia, Trempealeau County, where they resided until his death. He died on Feb. 17, 1904, while visiting his daughter, Mrs. F. P. Taft, at Longmont, Cal. His wife died May 29, 1913, at her old home in the town of Glencoe. Mr. Cowie was married at Pottsville, Pa., to Mar- garet Faulds, daughter of James Faulds, who, with his son and daughter, John and Elizabeth Faulds, came to Wisconsin with the Cowie family. Mr. and Mrs. Cowie had twelve children: David, Frank, Nettie, Anna, George and Louis (deceased), and James F., George M., Allan J., Albert E., Robert S. and Margaret M.

Eugene F. Clark, legislator, financier and man of affairs, is one of the leading citizens of Galesville, where his interests and influence extend to almost every phase of village and rural life. As president of the Bank of Galesville he has been an important factor in the standing which that institution has maintained in the community, and as secretary of the Trempealeau County Insurance Company his able administration of affairs has made that organization a model of its kind in every particular. For twenty-two years his work as clerk of the board of education assisted in shaping the careers of several generations of Galesville youth, and his voice was ever raised in behalf of progress and efficiency in educational and administrative methods. For twenty-three years he helped to guide the destinies of the county as a member of the board of supervisors. In 1916, with a splendid previous record in the assembly, he was elected to the state senate from this district, and has by his notable work in that body not only increased his popularity in his district, but also won the admiration and applause of his colleagues, and the people of the state at large. His stand on every public question has been on the side of stauncher patriotism, and for a wider helpfulness and benefit to the people in state affairs. Desiring to do his share toward every business proposition that has for its object the upbuilding of Galesville and vicinity, he has become a stockholder in the Davis Mill Company, the Maxwell-Davis Lumber Com- pany and the Western Wisconsin Telephone Company. With all his busy public activities he has been regularly faithful to his church duties, and has been a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal choir for a period of some forty years,

The career that has brought Mr. Clark to these varied activities has

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been a most interesting one. Descended from distinguished New England ancestry, he first saw the light of day in the home of his parents, Isaac and Emily (French) Clark, at the quaint old hamlet of Kingfield, Maine, Aug. 14, 1850. As a small boy he was brought to Wisconsin, living a year in Monroe, Green County, before coming to Galesville, Trempealeau County. Here he was reared to manhood, learning farming from his father and receiving a good education first in the public schools and later at Gale College, and at the La Crosse Business College. After his marriage in 1876 he took up his home on a farm of 100 acres, one mile from Galesville, which he had purchased in 1871. In 1895, a few months after his father's death, he succeeded him as president of the Bank of Galesville, and dis- posing of his own place moved back to the parental farm. That same year he began his first term in the assembly. In 1902, while serving a second term in the assembly, he sold the family farm and moved to Gales- ville. There he has since resided, spending, however, some of his winters in the South or West.

Senator Clark was married Dec. 24, 1876, to Emily Crouch, who was born Jan. 13, 1851, in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, daughter of William and Susan (Frizzelle) Crouch. This union has been blessed with three children : Emily Blanche, Susan Mildred and Ethel Grace. Emily Blanche passed through the graded and high schools of Galesville, was graduated from the University of Wisconsin with the class of 1901, and for two years was assistant principal of the Galesville high school. She was mar- ried on Oct. 21, 1903, to Earl E. Hunner, a mining man of Duluth, Minn. Susan Mildred passed through the graded and high schools of Galesville, took a course in the Columbia College of Music at Chicago became super- visor of music at Hibbing, Minn., for two years, also at Marinette, Wis., for two years, and then became a music supervisor at Missoula, Mont., hav- ing ten schools under her supervision. She was married on Aug. 29, 1916, to Leonard Larson, assistant cashier of the Trust and Savings Bank of Missoula, Mont. Ethel Grace passed through the graded and high schools of Galesville and attended Milwaukee Downer College for two years. She then went to Appleton, Wis., where she graduated from both the Con- servatory of Music and Lawrence University. After this she taught English and music for three years in the schools of Evansville, Wis., and a private school near Milwaukee, Wis. She was married on Aug. 29, 1916, to George C. Nixon, a business man of Milwaukee.

Isaac Clark, one of the early settlers in this region, and one of the sturdy group of men who had in their hands the shaping of the early history of Galesville, was born in Maine, of English descent, Jan. 21, 1826, and was there reared, receiving such educational training as the neighbor- hood afforded. Growing to manhood's years, he was married, and settled down to quiet New England farm life. But the blood of pioneers was in his veins, and in 1854 he brought his family to Wisconsin, to seek the wider opportunities of a newer country. For a year they lived at Monroe, in Green County. Then leaving his family there he came to Galesville, and secured a farm within what are now the corporate limits of the vil- lage. On this place a small frame dwelling was standing, and to this house

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he brought his family. Here he made his home for the remainder of his days, and followed the occupation of a farmer, taking an interest also in many other ventures. In 1883 he organized the Bank of Galesville and was its first president. He also organized the creamery company and was largely instrumental in having the railroad constructed to Galesville. Another important enterprise which he helped to found was the Trem- pealeau Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, of which he was secretary for a number of years. He was also actively interested for many years in the Trempealeau County Agricultural Society, serving as its treasurer and general superintendent. In short, Isaac Clark was one of those men of far-sighted enterprise and energy who are the leading factors in advanc- ing any community in which they may cast their lot. He saw opportunities where other men passed them by and having once started in any enterprise he worked hard until it was established upon a sure footing. He was a member of the town board in 1861, 1862 and 1863, and served in the state assembly in 1870. After a long and useful life he died Sept. 24, 1894, widely honored, beloved and mourned. His name will live in the story of the institutions he helped to found, and in the hearts of the friends whom his sterling worth drew to his side. In 1893 he built the M. E. Church and presented it to the M. E. Society.

Mr. Clark was married in Maine, July 9, 1848, to Emily French, a native of that state. She died in 1865, leaving Eugene F., Florence M. and Genevieve. By his second marriage, Mr. Clark had two children, Wilford and Leslie, and by his third marriage he had one child, who died in infancy.

William Crouch, a pioneer, spent his interesting life in four states, and was a useful and substantial citizen of every locality in which he made his home. He was born near Lockport, N. Y., May 3, 1828, of English descent, spent his boyhood in much the same manner as other boys of his age and period, and as a young man became a miner. Later he came to Wisconsin and took up farming at Big Creek, near Sparta, in Monroe County. Subsequently he moved to South Dakota and later made his home at Ballaton, Minn. He died there Sept. 24, 1908. His wife was Susan Frizzelle, of English and French descent, who was born Dec. 31, 1828, and died March 7, 1883, on the farm at Sparta, Monroe County, this state.

Alexander A. Arnold was born in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, N. Y., Oct. 20, 1833, son of Archibald H. R. and Catherine M. E. Schultz. After mastering his primary studies he was sent to Starkey Academy and later to an institution known as the Nine Brothers Boarding School. This was supplemented with a business course at a college in Poughkeepsie. Thus equipped he started out as a teacher, but this profession did not appeal to him and he entered the Ohio Law School at Poland, from which he gradu- ated in 1855. Fresh from college he added to his knowledge of the law and acquainted himself with actual practice in the office of Hon. Theodore Miller, then a prominent lawyer of Hudson, N. Y. Six months later he was admitted to practice before the supreme courts of that state and Ohio. The tide was flowing westward and the young man saw his future in that direction. Early in 1857 he set out for Wisconsin, and having relatives at Elkhorn that was his first place of residence. Elkhorn also was the scene

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of his first case as a trial lawyer. Having two cousins located at Gales- ville, Mr. Arnold decided to visit them before fixing a permanent location, and later in the year 1857 found him in the settlement, which was then in its third year and was known as Galesville. There was little demand for a lawyer, but there were thousands of acres of land to be entered and new settlers were arriving. The prospects looked good to the young lawyer and he cast his lot with Galesville, which was destined to be his home to the end of his days. There were few frame buildings at this time, and one of these (still a part of the W. A. Tower house) had just been com- pleted by a Captain Finch. This building was purchased by Mr. Arnold and his lawyer's sign was swung to the breeze. The building was small, but it provided ample room for his desk and a few books, besides space for the postoffice. The late Dr. William M. Young was postmaster. There was little mail, and as the doctor was a busy man in his practice the lawyer attended to the office most of the time. In 1859 Mr. Arnold returned to New York and was married to Hattie E. Tripp, returning with his bride to Wisconsin soon after. The young wife died two years later, leaving a daughter Blanche. The child died at about three years of age. When the Civil War broke out, in 1861, Galesville, along with the rest of the country, caught the martial spirit. In August, 1862, the Thirtieth Wisconsin Volun- teer Infantry was organized and Mr. Arnold enlisted in Company C and was chosen captain. He was so commissioned by Governor Lewis. The service of this regiment the first year was largely in this state. The second year it was stationed on the Indian frontier in the Dakotas. Not until the third year was the regiment sent south, and then its operations were confined to Kentucky. At the close of the war Captain Arnold returned to Galesville. He did not resume his law practice, but turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He had, on his first arrival here, purchased eighty acres of land. After the war he added 160 acres to this and continued to increase the tract to the 400 acres which make up the present Arnold properties. The Arnold place has for years been one of the finest farm homes in the state. Farming fifty years ago was carried on on a much smaller scale than at the present time, and Captain Arnold found ample time to assist in shaping the affairs of the community and to study politics. His college education had included a practical knowledge of surveying, and few of the original stakes set in this section of the county were not placed by him. He held the office of county surveyor many years. He was also one of the early district attorneys and was once county superintendent of schools. His first prominence in politics was gained in 1870, when he was elected to the state legislature. From 1878 to 1880 he served his district as state senator. In 1880 he was again sent to the assembly and was elected speaker of that body. As an advanced farmer and breeder of pure- bred stock Captain Arnold has been known throughout this and in other states for forty years. He was one of the organizers of the Trempealeau County Agricultural Society in 1859, and served as president and as secre- tary at different periods. He was a member of the executive board of the · State Agricultural Society for a time, and during a long period was one of the state's farmers' institute conductors. He commenced the breeding of

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Shorthorn cattle when there was not a pure-bred animal in this part of the state outside of those on his farm. The breeding of this particular strain has gone on for more than forty years and is continued by his sons. Captain Arnold was made a Mason in Trempealeau Lodge fifty-seven years ago. When Decora Lodge was organized he was one of its charter members. He was a past master of the lodge and one of its faithful patrons to the end. He was president of the Trempealeau County Historical Society and vice- president of the Bank of Galesville at the time of his death. As one of the organizers of the Charles H. Ford Post, G. A. R., he was ever active in that body. Captain Arnold was again married Feb. 1, 1869, to Miss Mary Douglas of Melrose. The bride came from a family then prominent in Jackson County, and was the oldest of five children. She was educated in the district schools and at Galesville University, first attending when Bishop Fallows was president, and then taking another course of two years seven years later. For many years she was president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, of which she is still a member.

Seven children were born to Captain and Mrs. Arnold: Archibald H., Roy D., Kittie H., Mollie D., Gerald D., Alex. W. and Beulah. Archibald H. is a fruit grower, residing at College Place, Wash., three miles from Walla Walla. He married Fannie M. Parsons of Whitehall and has two children: Dewey and Douglas. Mollie D. is the wife of S. C. French, Gale Township, a farmer and stock grower. They have three children: Henry C., Miriam H. and Arnold S. Gerald D., county surveyor, a resident of Galesville, is engaged in farming and raising Shorthorn cattle. He married Jayne E. Burrows of New Richmond, Wis. They have two children: Wm. A. and John B. Alex. W., who resides on the home place, is conducting the home farm and is engaged in stock raising. He married Myrtle Smith of Tomah, Wis. Beulah is the wife of Gilford M. Wiley, principal of the high school at Greensburg, Ind. They have two children: Arnold R. and Mary Esther.

George Young Freeman was born in the village of Quakerstreet, Schen- ectady County, N. Y., Aug. 13, 1827. He was of Puritan and Knickerbocker Dutch ancestry. He received an academic education at Union College at Schenectady, and in 1843 came to Wisconsin with the family of his Grand- father Young and settled at Elkhorn, Walworth County. At Elkhorn he pur- sued the study of law with Judge Gale, and in 1852 went to New York and en- tered the office of Judge Waterman, then judge of the Marine Court of that city. He remained in that city six years, coming to Galesville in 1858 to visit his relative, Judge Gale, the founder of Galesville. He remained here a short time, returning to New York to sever his connection with Judge Waterman before entering upon the practice of law in the west. The spring of 1859 found Mr. Freeman admitted to the bar and permanently located here. When Mr. Freeman settled in Galesville he found located here Romanzo Bunn, engaged in the practice of law. The late Capt. Alex. A. Arnold also was installed in an office and united law with surveying. Gales- ville was then the county seat, and the old courthouse was the scene of many a legal contest with these three as advocates. Mr. Freeman at once came into prominence as a lawyer, and his reputation soon spread over a wide territory. In 1862 he was elected district attorney for Trempealeau

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History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, Part 39

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper Number of Pages: 1318

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1318