History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Part 135

Author: Western Historical Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 998

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WILLIAM H. WHITING, Sec. 31 ; P. O. Geneva. Mr. W. was born in Columbia Co., N. Y., in 1813; he followed the business of bank note engraving for many years ; he was one of the original cor- porators of the American Bank Note Company : also a Trustee and Secretary of said company ; in 1844 he purchased his present farm of Simeron Spafford, a brother-in-law of E. D. Richardson, of Geneva ; a portion, however, of his farm, he bought of the Government; he settled in 1847 and built his house that year; Mr. W. is one of the most prominent and best known residents of the town of Bloomfield; he is possessed of abundant means; he has about 700 acres of land and a home naturally fincly located, made more beautiful by art; he is a public spirited gentleman and a liberal contributor of his means in the promotion of all good works. The Episcopal Church of this town, known as the " Church of the Holy Communion," was built under his anspices ; to the building of this church he contributed liberally ; a few friends here, and others in New York, also contributed to its erection. The church was built in 1849; the first Rector was the Rev. John McNamara, who afterward went to Geneva

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and established the church at that place ; the churchyard, containing five acres, was given by Rue High, father of the Rev. N. R. High, nowof Toledo, Ohio ; also the Rev. William D. Christian, now of Louisiana, who were brought up in this parish and members of its Sunday school. Mr. W. married Miss Mary Jane Christian, of the city of Albany, N. Y .; she was a relative of the Christians, of Min- neapolis, celebrated millers; Mrs. W. died Nov. 28, 1879. The children of Mr. W. are-Mary, wife of Rev. E. R. Atwill, of Toledo, Ohio; Katharine, wife of Mr. A. Lawson, of Nottingham, England ; Will- iam Henry, a Lieutenant Commander of the United States Navy, now of the navy-yard in Brooklyn, N. Y .; he was with Admiral Farragut at the battle of Mobile Bay ; he fired the first gun from the Hartford at the rebel ram, Tennessee ; George, in Brooklyn; Robert, on the farm in Bloomfield ; Charlotte M., in England ; Frank B., on the farm in Bloomfield, and Esther, Annie and Beaverly. (deceased).

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

TOWN OF GENEVA.

The geographical limits of the town of Geneva were first defined by act of the Territorial Legislature, January 2, 1838. It embraced the whole of the southeast quarter of the county. and comprised the present townships of Bloomfield, Lyons, Linn, Geneva, and the southeast section of the present town of Elkhorn.

By act of January 23, 1844, the towns of Hudson. (now Lyons), Bloomfield and Linn were detached and incorporated as separate towns. In 1846, when the present town of Elkhorn was formed. Section 6, in the northwest corner, was detached and made a part of that town. The town as at present existing comprises the remaining thirty-five sections of Town 2, Range 17 east, together with five acres detached from Lyons, January 26, 1844, to bring the boundaries of the village plat within the limits of the village as incorporated at that time. It is intended to confine this sketch to the limits of the present township, except so far as that of the adjoin- ing towns is identical.

The surface of the land is undulating, with occasional hills in the eastern and southeastern sections of the town. It was, when first settled, heavily wooded, the growth being largely of the different varieties of oak. It is well watered by small creeks and rills threading the various sections. Jackson's Creek, which rises on the northeastern quarter of Section 3, runs south- westerly through Section 9, thence westerly through the southeast quarter of Section 8 and the northwest quarter of Section 9, leaving the township on Section 7. It finally empties into Del- avan Lake. Another creek has its source on Section 2. runs in a southerly direction through Sections 11, 14 and 23, and joins the creek near the outlet of Lake Como (Duck Lake). From the outlet of Lake Como, Como Creek runs northeasterly through Section 24, emptying into White River in the adjoining town of Lyons. The southwestern section, where stands the beautiful village of Geneva Lake, is watered by the stream flowing from the outlet of Geneva Lake, the source of White River.

Lake Como (formerly known as Duck Lake) lies in the southern part of the town. Its east- ern extremity and outlet is on Section 26. It extends through Sections 27 and 28, the southeast corner of 29 and the northeast quarter of Section 32. It is three miles long, and averages half a mile in width. Geneva Lake, the most charming of all the lakes of Southern Wisconsin, extends all along the southern border of the town, the bay at its outlet lying in Section 36.

The only swamp land in the town lies at the outlet of Lake Como, skirting its northern shore and spreading out into a swamp of some two hundred acres at its head.

The stream at the outlet of Geneva Lake furnishes an abundant and reliable water-power, which, if fully improved, would prove of incalculable value to the village and county. It has within it the future possibility of a great and thriving manufacturing center.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

The first settlement made in Walworth County was made on Section 36, in what is now the village of Geneva. The first settler was Christopher Payne, who came in and made what proved to be a permanent settlement in April, 1836. He had previously visited the place in February of that year, and marked his claim on the northwest quarter of Section 36. A full history of the circumstances attending his attempts to establish himself and build his mill dur- ing the spring and early summer is given in the early history of the county, to which the reader is referred. At the settlement of the contesting claimants, the thread of the historical narrative is taken up and continued. The settlement referred to, whereby Payne and his partners came into peaceable possession, occurred early in July, 1836. As soon thereafter as the sojourners and workmen had left, those who remained commenced the work of building a mill and other- wise improving their surroundings and establishing themselves permanently in their chosen homes. They were the first actual settlers in the town, and the founders of the village. So

R. J. Williams

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

far as can be ascertained, they were as follows: Christopher Payne, Robert W. Warren, G. S. Warren, Andrew Ferguson, James Van Slyke, Charles A. Noyes, Reuben T. Ostrander, Jona- than Ward. George W. Trimble. P. K. Vanvelzer and Samuel Ross were also engaged as workmen on the mill, but did not become permanent settlers of the town.

The women who spent the summer in Geneva were the widow, Anna Warren, mother of the Warren brothers; Mrs. Robert W. Warren, Mrs. G. S. Warren, Mrs. Nancy and Lucretia Warren, and Mrs. James Van Slyke.

Of the men mentioned above, Christopher Payne, R. W. Warren, A. Ferguson and George W. Trimble were resident proprietors of the Hodgson & Brink and Payne claims, after the pur- chase was made. The remaining partners in the purchase resided in Chicago.

A statement of the various changes of claim proprietorship which resulted in their peace- able occupancy is given below.

The Hodgson & Brink party consisted of John Hodgson, John Brink and William Ostran- der. They claimed the whole of Section 36, embracing the entire water-power and all the land covered by the original village plat.

The Payne party consisted of Christopher Payne, G. W. Trimble, Daniel Mosher and Uriah Payne. They claimed the northwest quarter of Section 36, which took in the outlet of the lake and controlled the water-power.

The contest was therefore on the possession of the quarter-section claimed by the Payne party, which was also covered by the larger claim of Hodgson & Brink. In the final settlement, the latter not only relinquished their claims to Payne's quarter-section, but sold the remainder of their claim, their right to which had never been disputed by Payne or his companions.

The changes and transfers made by the original claimants were as below stated:

Charles A. Noyes and Orin Coe, his cousin, arrived at Geneva, May, 1836, and purchased one-quarter interest in the Hodgson & Brink claim.

James Van Slyke purchased or acquired an interest in the Payne claim.

After Payne's defeat, 1st of June, 1836, Mosher went to Chicago and disposed of his share to Lewis B. Goodsell for a coat and pair of pants.

Van Slyke disposed of whatever claim he might have had to the same party at Chicago, for the sum of $30, which he received in pork, codfish and other provisions for his family. He made a claim and removed to Walworth in the fall of 1836.

Uriah Payne gave his share of the claim (one-third) to Robert W. Warren, in consideration of his assisting his father in recovering and maintaining it.

Christopher Payne sold his interest to Col. James Maxwell in the winter of 1836, before the completion of the mill.

G. W. Trimble disposed of his claim and moved to Big Foot Prairie in 1837.

Dr. Phillip Maxwell and Col. James Maxwell furnished part of the cash paid Hodgson & Brink, and acquired an interest in the water-power.

Andrew Ferguson, George L. Campbell and G. S. Warren became owners in the claim of Hodgson & Brink at the time the negotiation was effected.

Charles A. Noyes sold out his quarter-interest in common with Hodgson & Brink, leaving the whole of the present site of Geneva in the proprietorship of the following-named gentlemen: R. W. and G. S. Warren, L. B. Goodsell, George L. Campbell, A. Ferguson, Phillip Maxwell and James Maxwell. Before the village plat was recorded, Mr. Ferguson conveyed his share to Messrs. Goodsell & Campbell. None of these gentlemen remained settlers of the village during its earlier years except the Warrens and Ferguson, with his family, in 1837. Mr. Goodsell removed to the place in 1845, and Dr. Phillip Maxwell in 1856. Mr. Campbell and Col. James Maxwell never became residents of the village.

EARLY PIONEERS-(DECEASED). 7

Of the settlers of Geneva who came in 1836, nearly all are dead. Below are such sketches and memorial notice of those deceased as have been preserved. Most of them were written by personal friends, who knew them long and well, and are here produced withont attempt to en- large or revise. The sketches of the Warrens, L. B. Goodsell, Phillip and James Maxwell and

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

Charles A. Noyes are from the pen of James Simmons, Esq .. of Geneva. That of Christopher Payne is written from data largely furnished by the same gentleman.

CHRISTOPHER PAYNE, the first settler of Walworth County, was a native of Somerset County, Penn., where he was born in 1786. At the time of his birth, that country was an unsettled wilderness, and on the frontier of civilization, which he followed in its Western retreat through his whole life. He spent his youthful days, till fourteen years old, in the region where he was born. At that age, he removed with his father's family to Belmont, Ohio, then on the borders of civilization, where he led the semi-barbarous life common to frontiersmen. He became an expert hunter and fearless woodsman. It is not known that he ever received any school ednca- tion. At the age of twenty-one years, in 1807, he set out for himself, removing to Dearborn County, in the southeast corner of Indiana. Here he remained for several years, during which time he was married. He was, during his residence there, engaged a part of the time with a party of engineers in the survey of the public lands. He was, in 1812, engaged in Indian war- fare. He volunteered in the Indiana Rangers, and served for twelve months on the prairies of Indiana and Illinois. He was a fearless Indian fighter, and served often as a scout, running unharmed the desperate chances of that dangerous service. In April, 1814, he was one of the garrison of Fort Harrison, Ind., and, while it was besieged by the Indians; was one of twenty- five soldiers who successfully defended it against an army of 300 Indians, well armed, who were at length forced to raise the siege.

At the close of the war. Payne removed to Vincennes. Ind., here he engaged in farming for three years. From there he removed to Madison County, Ill., about twenty miles east of the Mississippi, nearly east of St. Louis. There he remained nine years on a farm. To avoid the fever and ague prevalent in that country, he again moved, to Sangamon County, near Spring- field. He remained there only three years before again removing, to the lead region near Galena, where he had indifferent success as a miner for two years, and removed from there to Putnam County, near Hennepin, and again engaged in farming. Unsatisfied with the climate, he re- moved, at the end of two years, to the Dn Page River, near Naperville. He was living near that place at the beginning of the Black Hawk war in 1832. His part in that war is given by Mr. Simmons, in his biography of Payne, as follows:

"A report having come to the settlers at that place that an attack had been made upon Hol- lenback's settlement, which was some thirty miles distant, Payne volunteered to go and ascertain if that was the case. Mounted on a good horse, he started off alone, and, about 11 o'clock in the forenoon, emerged from a small grove in full view of the settlement. He sat there on his horse just at the edge of the prairie and saw the Indians set fire to several houses, but, being discovered by them, he was obliged to turn and flee for his life, five of the savages following in hot pursuit upon horses they had captured at the settlement. They chased him five miles, and, coming within about sixty yards of him when entangled in a marsh, fired five or six volleys at him, but, fortunately, without killing him or his horse. As soon as he could extricate himself from the marsh, he proceeded homeward in safety and made his report. The settlers, alarmed by the fate of their neighbors, immediately deserted the place and removed their families to Chicago, twenty-eight miles distant.

"At that time, there were no soldiers in the fort at Chicago; nevertheless, it was a safer residence than any place in the interior. They remained three weeks, and then, returning to Naperville, built a fort on the site of the present village. While so engaged in building their fort, one man, who was employed in drawing materials for it, was killed and scalped when abont a mile and a half distant, and his horses were stolen and driven away. His dead body, when found, was taken to the fort and buried. The same night, after assisting at this mournful serv- ice, Payne started on express for Gen. Atkinson's camp, some fifty or sixty miles down the river, and reached there in safety. This occurred in the month of April, 1832. The next month, his brother, Adam Payne, while on the road from Naperville to Ottawa, was killed by the Indians and robbed of his horse, and $2,300 in gold which he had about his person. His body was afterward discovered and buried, but his head had been cut off and was never found."

The massacre of his brother aroused within him an intense hatred for the whole Indian race, which was the ruling passion through the remaining years of his life. He often averred that it was as much a crime to let an Indian go alive as to allow a rattlesnake to live unharmed,

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

and asserted that he had avenged his brother's death as often as opportunity offered. He killed no Indians after he came to Wisconsin, but remained an intense Indian hater till the day of his death.

At the close of the war, Payne removed his family from Chicago, where they had taken refuge, to the frontier on the Fox River, where he remained two years, and then removed to Squaw Prairie, where he lived at the time he made his exploring expedition which resulted in the discovery of Geneva Lake and his subsequent settlement at that place. A full and circum- stantial narrative of his trials and exploits in establishing himself at Geneva is given in the early history of the county at large.

After the settlement with the contesting claimants, Payne remained but a few months at Geneva Village. Before the mill was completed, he sold out his interest, and, in January, 1837, took up a new claim at the outlet of Duck Lake (now Lake Como), about two miles from the village, where he removed his family. There he built a saw-mill at a cost of some $1,500. His dam was near the crossing of the Elkhorn and Geneva road. It lasted, with some repairs, till 1858, at which time a freshet dilapidated it beyond hope of repair.

The building of his house and mill on his new claim was not unattended with exciting in- eident. Mr. S. A. Dwinnell tells the story as follows:

" In January, 1837, Christopher Payne sold his claim at the outlet of Geneva Lake for $1,500, and made another upon the mill site at the outlet of Duek Lake, one mile north. He commenced the erection of a neat log house, and was finishing the inside, when, upon going to work one morning, he found that an attempt had been made to burn it during the previous night. Some one had piled the chips which he had made against the two front corners of the building, and, putting upon them his building tools-worth some SSO-the most valuable lot, at that time, in the county-had set them on fire. The tools were ruined, but the house, though badly damaged was not destroyed, as the logs were green and the roof covered with snow.

" This act highly exasperated Payne and two young men in his employ, whose work was delayed until they could send to Chicago-soventy miles -- and replace their tools. Suspicion at once fell upon one Jotham W. Curtis as the perpetrator of the deed. He lived a mile down the creek, and the young men tracked him through the snow to his house and took him as a prisoner. Locking arms with him, one on each side, they marched him to the scene of the ruin he had caused. After making him take a good survey of it, they all set out with him to the middle of Duck Lake, about a mile away. On the way, Curtis made a desperate but ineffectual effort to escape from them. They cut a large hole through the ice, and, procuring a long pole with which to sink his body, gave him ten minutes to prepare for death.

" Curtis, believing them to be in desperate earnest-although, in fact, they had no serious intention upon his life-made a full confession of the act, expressing penitence and promising better behavior, was released and returned home.

" Thirsting for revenge, Curtis forthwith proceeded to the nearest Justice of the Peace, at Racine, thirty miles distant, and made complaint that Payne and his men had plunged him into the lake three several times, on a cold winter night, and held him under water as long as he could live.

" Upon this, a warrant was issued for their arrest, and in the evening of the second day thereafter, the Sheriff of the newly organized county of Racine arrived at Payne's house, at Geneva Lake, duly armed for the arrest of a band of desperadoes-as they were supposed to be from Curtis' representation. They submitted quietly to an arrest, and the next morning, Payne, harnessing his team to a sleigh-which he had spent the whole night in finishing-started for Racine. As the track was poorly broken and the snow eighteen inches deep, they were a day and a half in making the journey.

" Upon examination, the prisoners were held to answer to the District Court. Fortunately, there was present a man who was indebted to Payne for a favor bestowed some time before, and he volunteered to become his bail. Payne then went bail for the young men, and, jumping into their sleigh, which was ready at the door, started off at Gilpin speed for Chicago, greatly to the chagrin of Curtis, who soon after appeared with a lawyer, to make out papers for their re-arrest upon two other false charges.

" Before the case was called for trial, however, in the District Court, the prosecutor had com-

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mitted a crime which led him to flee from justice, and the prosecution was abandoned, costing Payne, however, in expenses and lawyers, the large sum, for that time, of $300.

" During the winter of 1837-38, J. W. Curtis, having removed to Burlington, Racine County, then a small settlement of four or five families, jumped the claim of Silas Peck, put- ting up a log house body upon it. The case was submitted for decision to the claim league and given to Peck. To this decision Curtis refused to yield submission, and a large number of citi- zens met one evening and tore down his house body, whereupon he loaded his rifle with a ball and three slugs and deliberately fired at the company, who were standing, conversing, around a fire which they had kindled. One of the balls passed through both thighs of one of the com- pany. No one else was injured. Curtis at once fled to Illinois, and was never brought to trial for his offense "

Payne, in spite of all drawbacks, completed his mill in the summer of 1837, and ran it pros- peronsly for seven years. At the end of that time, owing to his easy-going disposition, he found his profits mostly absorbed by bad debts, and sold out his mill and farm. His mill, with sixty acres, he sold to his son-in-law, and the remaining 100 acres to Charles M. Baker. The mill passed later into the hands of O. S. Tiffany, and long ago fell into disuse.

Payne's next move, in 1844, was into the adjoining town of La Fayette, where he settled on forty acres of Government land, through which ran Sugar Creek. Here he built another saw-mill, at a cost of $1,200, which was afterward sold by Uriah Payne, in whose name the land was entered, to Mr. Harkness. It was known thereafter as the " Harkness Mill " so long as it ran. It has long ago fallen into decay, like its predecessor at Duck Lake. Mr. Payne ran this mill but a few years. Some time in 1846 or 1847, he left the county. His subsequent career is narrated by Mr. John Simmons, as follows:

" After the sale of his land, Payne moved to the town of La Fayette, in this county, and settled upon forty acres of Government land, through which ran Sugar Creek, having a sufficient descent on the land to constitute a water-power of some value. Here he built another saw-mill, since known as the Harkness Mill, which cost him about $1,200. The land was entered in the name of Uriah Payne, and by him sold, together with the mill, to Harkness. Christopher Payne then moved to Winnebago County and made a claim on the north side of Fox River, opposite Delhi, and about half a mile from the river, and immediately began to improve it. Here he was induced to purchase the claim of one of his neighbors, whose wife was fast failing in health and was anxious to go East to die among her friends. Although this was as beautiful a piece of land as could be selected in the State,' and was bought by him at a low price, it proved a dear bargain. Scarcely had his neighbor started on his Eastern voyage when a man named Crego set up an adverse claim to the same land. For two years, he was constantly engaged in law suits with Crego about their respective rights, and at the expiration of that time, after twenty-seven snits, arising directly or indirectly out of the matter, the claim of Payne was confirmed and es- tablished by the decision of the officers of the land office. Crego, supported by wealthy rela- tives, no doubt expected, by means of these snits, to exhaust the resources of his opponent before the land came into market, and then purchase it himself, and he would have succeeded had not Payne found powerful friends. Although the land was now his, and he had very much improved it, yet he was in debt and obliged to sell it for but little more than Government price. Four years later, it was worth $30 per acre. Thus, having lost a farm upon which he had hoped to spend the remainder of his days, Payne again took up his household goods, and, after remain- ing a short time in Fond du Lac County, returned to this county and lived till the fall of 1864, upon a portion of the farm of his son-in-law, Trimble, in the town of Linn, working industriously for the support of himself and his aged wife, and enjoying with her a healthy old age. From the time he left the lead mines until 1860, he had constantly enjoyed good health, and had taken no medicine of any kind. Some time in the fall of 1864, he left Linn and went to live with his son George, in Columbia County, Wis. Of his life there we have no account. He died at the town of Scott, in that county, on the 18th of February, 1871. being then in his eighty- fifth year."

Mr. Payne was a man of marked character, such as could only be developed by the rough frontier life which was his lot from earliest childhood. He had no educational advantages whatever. It is stated that his emphatic signature. which he always honored, was a dot through

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the paper. His energy was only excelled by his patience and perseverance under trials and difficulties that crush men of less stern mold. He was brave, bold and honest. His temper, when fairly roused, was something terrible. but he was slow to anger and forgiving in spirit. His strictly frontier life is illustrated by the fact that, when seventy years old, he picked an apple from a tree he had himself planted, saying: "I think this ought to belong to me. . 1 planted this tree, as I have many more, but I never stayed long enough to see them bear. This is the first time I ever saw apples growing on a tree."

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History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Part 135

Author: Western Historical Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 998

Author: Western Historical Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 998