History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Part 156

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

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LINN AS IT IS.

The population by the Federal census of 1880 was 823.

The principal farm products of 1880 were : wheat, 5,900 bn .; corn, 187,000 bu .; oats, 59,000 bu .; barley. 1,500 bu .; potatoes, 5,000 bu .; apples, 17,000 bu .; timothy seed, 400 bu .; hay, 2,800 tons ; butter, 101,000 lbs .; cheese, 62,000 lbs.

There are two cheese factories in the town ; at present, both idle. One on Section 27, is owned by James Emery ; the other, Section 21, by Wm. Fowl. In 1881, there were sown to grain 4,516 acres. There were 225 acres of orchard ; 3,517 acres of mowing and pasturage ; and 3,000 acres of growing timber.

There were eight whole, and two joint school districts. The number of scholars between the ages of four and eighteen was 340, of which number 199 attended school. There were eight schools, taught by eight teachers, at average monthly wages of $26.25 for male, and $19.25 for female teachers. There were eight school-houses, valned, in- cluding the sites, at $3,120. The annual amount expended for schools was $3,240.

The first public school was taught by Miss Gracia Ward, in 1843, in a log school house, on Section 21.

The first saw mill was built on the Nippersink, on Section 35, by James F. Dicker- son and James S. Stilson, in 1845. It is now entirely gone, no sawing having been done for fifteen years,

Mr. James F. Dickerson built the first grist mill in 1851, near the site of the saw mill. It is now owned by John A. Pierce, of Sugar Creek.

The first tavern was built by Everton Walker, on Section 4, in 1839.

The first store established was in the village of Genoa Junction, by James S. Stil- son in 1851, the second by Joshua E. Fernald in 1853.

The following is a list of names appearing on the tax list of the town of Bloom- field as residents of said town in the year 1846, and is the oldest record of residents in the town office of said town :

Samuel Allen, John Barber, J. Bridges, Hiram Parker, Thomas Buckland, Thos. Beeden, M. Barliament, Edward Bundy, John Brown, M. Blodgett, Seth L. Banks, Schuyler Bestedle, Wm. D. Chapin, J. P. Chapin, Enoch B. Carter, John Chapin, E. Crowell, Jacob Chapin, W. Doughton, Mary Day, M. Donohue, T. Davis, Mortimer Duel, James F. Dickerson, Charles Dorothy, T. Deil, M. Dill, G. W. Edwards, John Easter, A. Everson, Geo. Forest, A. Foster, H. C. Farley, Jason Fobes, J. Fuller, R. Fuller, I. H. Fellows, Homer Field, Geo. Field, Chas. Guilford, James Grier, A. Gard- ner, F. G. Gass, Chas. High, Alanson K. Hill, Rue High, J. A. Haskins, H. Harris, G. Hanchett, J. Hickey, Williams Irish, James Irvin, Jeremiah Jerrod, Wmn. Jewett, O. Kimball, J. C. & H. B. Lock. Dennis Laght, J. Latour, J. Loveland, Robert Moores, Stilman Moores, J. Moody, E. H. Olden, E. L. Pease, P. B. Plumb, I. A. Pell, A. Prim- mer, J. Primmer, T. Peters, A. Pond, Jesse Pettigrove, O. B. Phillips, Solon Reed, W. C. Reed, Dan Rowe, Rev. L. Rogers, H. Russell, Cyrus Rugg, Erastus Rugg, G. M. Rus- sell, H. C. Stewart, W. O. Sleeper, James S. Stilson, Sebastian Shuman, Amos W. Staf- ford, R. B. Southwort, S. J. Sawyer, C. W. Sibley, Thomas R. Sheldon, J. C. Strain, J. U. Searles, A. Sabin, Israel Twin, N. Temple, N. Tupper, Jeremial Truesdale, W. Tup- per, H. Tupper, Chas. Utter, W. N. Whiting, Isaac White, Silas Wright, Jonathan

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

Ward, Everton Walker, A. Wing, G. Ward, John Whiting, Thos. Wilson, Samuel Wing, John Wood, John Kull, Andrew Kull, Sr.

REMINISCENCES OF THE TOWN OF LINN, BY ALLEN M'BRIDE.

First blacksmith shop was built and operated by Patrick Cullen.

First store by Arthur Kaye.

First church edifice by the Baptist denomination.

The first settlers, many of them experienced great difficulty in getting their mail matter, and mailing their letters, doing their mail business at Chicago, Ill., distant sixty- five miles.

If we had an half ounce letter in the post-office at Chicago, we must call in person, or send a written order, and if it had come over 400 hundred miles, pay twenty-five cents postage ; then we could get the letter, but as time wore on there was a post-office estab- lished at Crystal Lake, in MeHenry Co., Ill., distant twenty to twenty-five miles. That was a great convenience to at least some of the people of Linn.

The first mail ronte that passed through Linn was established at an early day, per- haps 1839 or 1840, from Chicago, Ill., to Madison, Wis. The mail was carried on said route weekly on horseback by a man named Potter. But there was no post-office near the people of Linn on said route, and as the mail was carried by the residence of Allen McBride, on Section 31, he was solicited to accept the position of postmaster, but he could not at that time accept the appointment, but about the year 1843, James Duncan settled on Section 32, and was appointed postmaster. So James Duncan was the first postmaster, and we had an office near us, but after a few years it was removed into Illi- nois, and finally abolished, but the mail was still carried, and many of the inhabitants would get the mail carrier to bring their mail from distant offices on his route, and leave it at A. McBride's, till he was finally appointed postmaster, which place he filled for more than twenty-six years. The office was called " Tirade," and was at first supplied with a weekly mail. The route was altered or shortened at nearly every letting of mail routes, till the Northwestern railroad was built out from Chicago twelve miles in a north- westerly direction, when the Government let a route to be carried by stage from Delavan, Wis., to the then terminus of the railroad, a distance of about seventy-seven miles, three times per week each way, so that we had a mail one way or the other every day. The first change of horses and drivers was kept at Tirade. That was not only a great increase of mail service, but afforded facilities for traveling. Subsequently railroads were built, and new offices established with daily mails, when the Tirade office was no longer a necessity, and at the solicitation of the postmaster the office was abolished, and at this writing there is neither mail route nor post-office in the town. Notwithstanding this, the town of Linn has some great natural advantages, embracing, as it does, the principal part of the renowned Geneva Lake, which is justly temed the " Saratoga of the West."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

DWIGHT S. ALLEN, farmer, Sec. 23; P. O. Geneva; son of George Allen. He was born in Madison County, N. Y., in 1843. He enlisted in August, 1862, in the 22d Regiment W. V. I., Co. C., and was in active service till the close of the war. He was married to Miss Delia Sherman, who was born in the town of Eagle, Waukesha Co., Wis., in 1846. They have three children-Raymond, Elsie C. and James Garfield. They lost their three oldest children. He resides on a part of his father's farm, where he has lived since 1866. Mr. Allen has been Chair- man of the Town Board of Linn since 1877 ; has been Chairman of the County Board for two years, and has held the office of Town Treasurer for three years.

GEORGE ALLEN, farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. Geneva. He was born in Madison County, N. Y., in 1820, where he was brought up. His parents were Walter and Harriet ( Holbrook) Allen, who were natives of Worcester County, Mass., and moved to the town of Madison, Madison Co., N. Y., in 1815, came to the town of Lebanon, Madison Co., N. Y., in 1818. Mr.

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

Allen was married, in 1842, to Miss Harriett Buell, a daughter of Mr. Ira Buell. He came to Walworth County, and bought 100 acres of his present farm of Mr. James Nelson, who now lives in Livingston County, Ill. The parents of Mr. Allen had six children, four sons and two daugh- ters. He is the only surviving member of his father's family, and has been since 1862. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have six children-Dwight S .; Mary, wife of H. H. Curtis ; H. Frances, wife of J. P. Cheever ; Walter, William G. and Hattie. They have lost three sons, two of whom died under extremely afflicting circumstances. One son, John W., was accidentally, fatally shot, in the Spring of 1878; another son, Ira B., graduated at Beloit College, in 1874, entered the Theological Department of Yale College, and died just on the eve of his graduation, in April, 1878. Mr. Allen, though not one of the earliest settlers of the town of Linn, is one of the best known. He has assessed the town nearly every year since 1862. He is one of the largest and most successful farmers, not only of the town of Linn, but of Walworth County. He is a man of much general information, and one of the foremost men of his town in the encouragement of all enterprises whose aim is the promotion of the interests of the people. His farm contains about 660 acres.

WALTER ALLEN, farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. Geneva ; son of Mr. Geo. Allen. He was born in the town of Lebanon, Madison Co., N. Y., in 1850. He graduated from the State Normal School at White Water, in 1873, and was engaged for a number of years in teaching. He taught two years in Ripon, Wis., after graduating, and was also principal of the Geneva public schools, for several years. Has taught seventeen terms in Walworth County. His wife was Miss Ellen M. Joslin, daughter of Albert M. Joslin. Mrs. Allen was born in Cook Co., Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have one daughter, Nella. Mr. Allen bought his farm of Mr. Charles Ferguson, of Geneva; it is commonly known as the "Powers Farm;" it contains 160 acres. Mr. Allen also owns fourteen acres of Lake Shore land.

BENJAMIN M. BALL, farmer, Sec. 84 ; P. O. Hebron, McHenry Co., Ill. He is one of the earliest settlers of the town of Linn ; his residence here dates from April, 1837. He was born in Franklin County, Vt., June 12, 1817. He removed with his parents to what is now Dupage County, Ill., in July, 1836. He came with his father to this town in the following April. The latter made a claim on Sec. 34, a part of which is included in the farm, now owned by his son. His father, Benjamin Ball, was a native of Massachusetts. He resided in the town of Linn until his death, though he died suddenly at Naperville, Dupage Co., Ill., Aug. 14, 1868. His wife died at Sparta, Wis., while visiting her daughter at that place, April 17, 1873. The parents of Mr. Ball had four children, one son and three daughters. Mr. Ball and his sister, Mrs. Angenette Walker, are the only members of his father's family, who live at Walworth County, the two others live at Dupage County, Ill. Mrs. Ball was formerly Miss Elizabeth Ostrander, daughter of Anthony Ostrander ; she was born in the town of Royalton, Niagara Co., N. Y., June 27, 1827. They have three children-George A., Ida G. and Milton S. The sons reside at home ; their daughter, Mrs. Slater, lives in Iowa. Mr. Ball has lived for a period of forty-five years, almost upon the identical spot where he now lives. He has probably lived longer in the town of Linn than any other resident.

W. ANSON BARNES, proprietor of Warwick Park on Lake Geneva, was born in Michi- gan, in 1852; was brought up and educated in Lansing in this State. He graduated at the Michigan Agricultural College in 1871 ; was engaged for some years in fruit growing and land- scape engineering. He came to Wisconsin in May, 1878, was engaged some months in beautify- ing the grounds of Mr. Arthur Kay, and was otherwise engaged until the Fall of 1879, when he purchased his present place. His grounds contain fifty-three acres. He has a fine location, and his grounds contain one of the most elevated points on the lake. His intentions are to beautify his park, and to lay out and make sale of lots. He purchased his grounds of late John A. Smith, Esq.

GEORGE W. BARR, farmer, Sec. 15: P. O. Geneva; son of John Barr, who was born in Scotland, and came to the United States with his oldest son, James Barr, in 1827. The remainder of the family came to this country in 1829. They lived in New York for several years, thence to Massachusetts, where they lived for fifteen years. The family came to the town of Linn in 1848, settled on this farm, which became the homestead, where the father died in 1861. The parents of Mr. Barr had eight children, six of whom are still living. George W. Barr, the youngest child of his parents, was born in Columbia County, N. Y., in 1830. He came West with his father in 1848, and has lived on the homestead, which he now owns since that

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

time. Mrs. Barr was formerly Miss Phoebe A. Merriam, daughter of Allan Merriam, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere. They have three children-Carrie L., Mary E. and Irene P. Mr. Barr's farm contains 200 acres.

JOHN W. BOYD, farmer, Sec. IT; P. O. Geneva. Gen Boyd was born in the town of Charlton, Saratoga Co., N. Y., in 1811. His parents removed to the town of Sodom, Cortland Co., when he was an infant, where he was brought up. His father, John L. Boyd, was a native of Saratoga County, where he was born Oct. 16, 1783. He was one of the substantial men of that county ; was a man of strong religious convictions; politically, was strongly anti-slavery, and was at one time a member of the Legislature of the State of New York. Gen. Boyd came to Walworth County, from the town of Cincinnati, Cortland Co., in June, 1844, and bought 130 acres of his present land of Amos Pond. He is one of the prominent men, not only of the town of Linn, but of Walworth County. In early life he was a Democrat, but became identi- fied with the Republican party in 1856, and has since been a warm adherent and an able de- fender of the principles of that party. His first official position was that of Chairman of the Town Board for 1845 and 1846. He was a member of the first Constitutional Convention, which was held in the Fall of 1846. He was a member of the Senate at the first legislative session of the State of Wisconsin, and was again elected to that branch of the Legislature in the Fall of 1857. In 1846, he was appointed Major General of the Third Division of Wisconsin militia, hence his title of General, by which he is generally known. He was for twenty years a director of the Madison Mutual Insurance Company, and for eight years was president of that organiza- tion. Gen. Boyd is a man of stern integrity, and of more than ordinary ability. He is a forci- hle public speaker, and is ever ready with his voice and means to assist in the promotion of all good works. He is especially forward in the advancement of the educational and religious in- terests of the people. He has been an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Geneva for thirty- seven years, and a teacher in the Sabbath-school. The Lake Geneva Seminary owes much of the success to which it has attained to his valuable assistance. . He has been married three times. His first wife was Miss Elizabeth Lee, who died within a year after their marriage. His second wife was Wealthy A. Hathaway, daughter of Gen. S. G. Hathaway, of Solon, Cortland Co., N. Y. She died in June, 1855, leaving three daughters - Julia E., wife of Dr. Miles G. Hye, of the village of Cortland, Cortland Co., N. Y .; Helen Emma, wife of Robert W. Turner, Esq., attor- ney at law, of Elmira, N. Y., and Carrie Hathaway Boyd, who lives at the homestead of her grandfather, Gen. Hathaway, at Solon, N. Y. His present wife was Mrs. Abram Mudge, for- merly Miss Persis A. Buell, a daughter of Ira Buell. She was born in Chenango County, N. Y., in 1823. Mr. Mudge died in 1848, leaving one daughter, Amelia A., now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd have three daughters - Louise H., a graduate of Lake Geneva Seminary; Alice I. and Florence May, students of that institution. Mrs. Boyd's father settled in the town of Linn in 1849. The following sketch was written by Judge John T. Wentworth, at the time of the death of Mr. Buell, in August, 1874 :

MAJOR IRA BUELL. In the Autumn of 1866, a goodly company assembled at the house of Ira Buell, in the town of Linn, to congratulate him and his dear wife on the fiftieth anniversary of their wedded life There were gathered together on that occasion the children and grand-children of the aged pair, with many old-time friends. It was a delightful, yet withal, to reflective minds, a solemn season- a happy mingling of the old and young. There in the midst stood Major Buell, with the memories of nearly three-quarters of a century crowding upon him, yet seeming almost as joyous as in days of yore, and by his side was one who had for half a century shared with him the joys and sorrows of life -"Chloe, the beautiful,"- beautiful when young, and lovely now in the late Autumn of Life. The frosts of many Winters had whitened their locks, but had not chilled their hearts. From these hearts there still flowed a stream of benevolence, generous and pure, while all who stood around fondly wished that both these aged parents and friends might be spired many years, yet none had reason to expect it. But the earthly link that so long held this worthy pair is broken. One is gone, and the other is left to mourn and to follow on. A good man has fallen. A long and beautiful life is ended, and one who has for so many years lived to cheer and bless has passed from the scenes of earth to a bet- ter land. Ira Buell was born among the granite hills of New Hampshire in the year 1791. At the evlv age of six years, he removed with his parents to the county of Madison, N. Y .; then, to them, the far West, and there he lived and labored in the clearing and cultivation of his father's farm until his majority, when he moved to the adjoining county of Chenango, and

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

located in the town of Plymouth, where he continued to reside (with the exception of three years in Earlville, Madison Co.), until he came to this State. It was among the pleasant Ply- mouth hills that the greater part of his active life was spent. There he found his life partner, and was married to Chloe Holcomb, in 1816. There his children were born and reared, forming a most charming family circle, and then, above all, in the quiet town he commenced his Christian course, which he has so long and so undeviatingly pursued. In 1849, he removed his family to Wisconsin, and located on Bloom Prairie, in the town of Linn, where he lived to see six of his seven children settled around the parental home. Not only was it a home to them, but a home to all who sought an entrance. How many have found it so. How many have been made happy by the cordial welcome and kindly treatment received from that good man and his family. In that home no jarring discord, no petty jealousy or envying found a place; but a genial frank- ness, a hearty good will, was everywhere and at all times exhibited. It was music and sunshine all around. Major Buell was a man of noble and generous impulses. He was not one to pass by on the other side when the cry of distress was heard. This trait of his character led him early to espouse the cause of those who groaned in the house of bondage. At a time when obloquy was heaped upon the defender of the black man's rights, when fierce opposition to the friends of universal freedom raged throughout the Northern States, he stood boldly forth, and showed his adherence to the eternal principles of truth and justice, and fearlessly advocated the rights of the black man. Of all men, in a word he was an Abolitionist, with all that that term implies. He lived to see his principles vindicated, the slave emancipated, and his country saved. The commencement of his Christian life dates back to 1831, when during a protracted meeting his attention to religious matters was awakened, and he was led to embrace the truth as it is in Christ. He entered upon his new life with his characteristic ardor; in the path he then chose, he walked for more than fifty years in the exercise of unfaltering faith, and during the long period the fire on the altar never went out. His religious character was not the outgrowth of sentimentality, but the product of a living faith. In the light of Christian principle he per- formed all his duties. Nor was his Christian life a gloomy one. He seemed ever to walk in the clear sunlight of God's goodness and mercy, with no repining, while his great good heart would leap with joy. In the highest and best sense, he was a good man ; but he who has so long stood the central figure in the happy family group is gone; and although stricken hearts must bleed, there need be no repining, for he has entered into his rest. He died August 17, 1874. Mrs. Buell is still living. The children are: Joseph Sidney, of Bloomfield, Wis .; Mrs. Harriet A. Allen, of Linn, Wis .; Mrs. Persis A. Boyd, of Linn, Wis .; Mrs. Helen M. Mudge, of Randalia, Iowa; William Ira, of Bloomfield, Wis .; Henry C., of Linn, Wis .; Charles Edwin, of Geneva, Wis.

CHARLES E. BRANDOW, farmer, Sec. 32; P. O. Alden, 111. Mr. Brandow was born in Greene County, N. Y., in 1825. In 1839, his father, Joel Brandow, went to Illinois with his family, and settled in the town of Alden, McHenry Co. He died in Sharon in the Summer of 1877. The parents of Mr. Brandow had eight children, five of whom are living. Mrs. Bran- dow was formerly Lucetta Ryland, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Ryland, who came here with Mr. McBride, in 1837. Mr. Ryland made a claim of the farm of Mr. Brandow, which he purchased at the land sale of 1839. Mr. Ryland removed to Harvard, Ill., in 1864, where he died in 1872. Mrs. Ryland, who is a sister of Mrs. McBride, lives with Mr. Brandow, who pur- chased the homestead of his father-in-law in 1864. Mrs. Brandow was born at the homestead Feb. 21, 1838. Mr. and Mrs. Brandow have one daughter, Iva. Mrs. Brandow has two chil- dren by a former marriage. Mr. Brandow's farm contains 200 acres.

HENRY C. BUELL, farmer, Sec. 26; P. O. Geneva. Mr. Buell is the son of Mr. Ira Buell, whose sketch appears elsewhere. He owns and occupies the homestead farm, where his father settled in 1849. He was born in the town of Plymouth, Chenango Co., N. Y., in 1832; came here with his father's family in 1849. Mrs. Buell was formerly Mary Thacher, daughter of Alfred and Susan (Baker) Thacher, natives of Massachusetts, who came to Wisconsin from the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1855. They now reside on Sec. 34. Mrs. Buell was born in Rhode Island in 1844. Mr. and Mrs. Buell have three children - Harry, Ralph and Lawrence. Mr. Buell's farm contains 370 acres of land.

ALEXANDER H. BUTTON, Sec. 12; P. O. Geneva. Mr. Button was born in town of Floyd, Oneida Co., N. Y., in 1828. He came to Walworth County, Nov. 11, 1850. The first land he owned in this county was on Sec. 32, in the town of Linn. He for many years followed

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

the business of contracting and building. Many of the finest residences in this town were built by him, including the houses of Mr. George Allen, Mr. J. W. Boyd, Thomas Ledger, B. Alexander, James Emery, Malone Weter, etc. He married Miss Terissa Baker, daughter of Hiram Baker, an early settler of the town of Bloomfield. Mrs. Button was born at Niagara Falls. They have seven children-Clara May, Henry A., Ezra D., George A., Silus E., Frank M., and Mabel I. Mr. Button settled where he now lives in 1858, purchasing his farm of fifty-five acres of Mr. A. A. Thompson. His residence is beautifully located, near the outlet of Lake Geneva, and commands one of the finest views of this beautiful body of water.

ARCHIBALD CORNUE, farmer, Sec. 33 ; P. O. Hebron, Ill .; son of Daniel Cornue, who was born in the town of Canajoharie, Montgomery Co., N. Y., in 1794. He came to Walworth County with his family in May, 1844; he settled on the farm now occupied by his son, Archibald, the following ; this farm became his homestead, where he lived till his death, which occurred January, 1876. His wife still resides at the homestead. The parents of Mr. Cornue had six children, four sons and two daughters, viz .: Jane M., who lives at the homestead ; Charles, Catherine, wife of P. C. Tremper ; Elisha, Archibald and James V. Archibald Cornue was mar- ried to Harriet L. Emery, daughter of James Emery. They have two children, Nellie C. and Arnold E. The homestead farm formerly contained over 200 acres, has now 150 acres.

CHARLES CORNUE, farmer, Sec. 33; P. O. Hebron, Ill .; son of Daniel Cornue. He was born in Montgomery Co., N. Y., in 1818, and came here with his parents in 1854. He married Mary Meyers, daughter of Joseph and Jane (Winn) Meyers. Her parents came to Walworth Coun- ty in 1843, afterward settled in the town of Alden, McHenry Co., Ill. Her father died at Racine, in the Fall of 1854; mother died in the Fall of 1863, at Neenah, Wis. Mrs. Catherine (Winn) Weaver an aunt of Mrs. Cornue's, came to Walworth County in 1842, and purchased this farm, where she resided till her death, May, 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Cornue had five children, four of whom are living-Anna, now Mrs. Osbert Clark; Catherine Weaver, now Mrs. Porter Peck ; James B. and Edgar E. They lost a daughter, Hattie, she died March 1, 1866, at the age of thirteen years. Mrs. Cornue's parents had six children, four of whom are living.

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History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Part 156

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