USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth County, Wisconsin > Part 65
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157
The prairie-breaking plow ! Where did it originate ? As I remember it in the year 1836, it came on to the field-not fresh from the shop-but work-worn and scarred. How massive the beam ! How peculiar the handle ! Like necessity they knew no law. How primitive the trucks-ehopped out of some log not quite round-one wheel in the furrow and one out. They were guiltless of the acquaintance of saw, or plane or paint. How musical they were, all day long, squeaking out their song of the future ! But, like the song of the Indian brave and maid. it has passed from these prairies and openings, never to be heard agaiu.
426
HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.
Recall the prairie-breaking team ! Four or five yoke of oxen, linge and sleek-Buck and Brown, Duke and Diamond, etc. How well some of them coukt shy a kick, when the " gad " came too feelingly upon the flank ! With what appearance of reserved strength, they march to their task ! What so akin to the majestic movement of the freight train, as the calm and potent tread of the prairie- breaking team ?
Some of us will recall that matchless scene in the annals of peaceful industry, when the new settler. sallying forth from the newly-built log cabin in the edge of the timber, with ox team and plow, went out to plow round his claim It is a beautiful morning in Inne. Was there ever seen such an expanse of fertility ? Did Nature ever spread such a carpet, or loom ever weave its equal ? How rich the green ! How profuse the bloom ! How marvelous the floods of sunlight ! What emotions of hope and gladness stir the breasts of the new settler, as he surveys the scene and thrusts his plowshare into the bosom of the virgin prairie ! It is the wedding day of fertility and industry ! Hear the creaking of the plow-truck ! What does it say ? It squeaks like a king. It cries in the ears of the new settlers. "Get a plenty while you're getting ; get a plenty while you're getting." Yes, he heeds that advice, and the furrow grows marvelously long. He is marking ont a ankedom, and princes shall inherit it. Sometimes, there was something even of the sublime in prairie-breaking. The grand old plow is rolling over the green ribbons of fertile soil, spangled with flowers-prairie rose and prairie lily. It is the burial of the wild flowers. On that spot they shall be seen no more. They died not as their ancestors died-by the breath of autumn or the touch of Time. The earthquakes of a coming civilization strikes them, and they meet an untimely fate. See them as they tremble on the curve of the wooden mold board.
" Like the snow flake on the river,
A moment bright then gone forever."
Some of you, at least, will recall the circumstances of striking a " red root." That was the prairie-breaker's opportunity. Then he showed his mettle. Then his reserves were called forth, The share has struck the hidden root, and all the chains tingle with tension, but in vain-vain the shout, vain the gad. The march of civilization is at a standstill. The team is backed ; the plow is backed ; the file is drawn ; the share is sharpened. Then the ponderons instrument of human progress is righted up, and, if the new settler has boys, they are bidden to mount the beam. The decisive moment has come. American history shall not stop here. A shout-a grand explosion of whip ! These repeated in startling succession ! Duke and Diamond know that America expects them to do their duty. There is a tingling of chains ; there is a forward pushing of resistless shoulders : there is a groaning of trucks ; a creaking of plow joints : a rumbling under ground : a final crack- the red root is conquered, and Western progress goes on victoriously.
Shall we suffer the services of the prairie-blow to go unrecorded, or its image to fade from our memory ? In its day it had but one rival-its namesake-the prairie-breaker pig. The mounted brigade of hogdom, indispensable in the conquest of the country, independent, self-reliant. long-geared, slab-sided, sharp-snouted, quick-witted, ready to root, to fight, or to run, his whole unique personage terminating in a cabalistic quirk, which seemed to say, " I could a tail unfold."
In the days of prairie-breaking, life had a freshness and a zeal which no succeeding improvements can restore. Common tasks took on the form of romance and grandeur. There was a romance in going to mill. You remember it. The day before you started. food was cooked and things got ready : you were up with the dawn, and good-byes were said, and you started on what was really a career of adventure-adventure in bottomless sloughs ; adventure in bridgeless streams : adventure over night by the side of some haystack on " the prairie, or adventure on the mill floor. where you passed the night waiting for the grist, and listening to the music of the wooden wheels which turned the stone.
There are fathers and mothers here who could tell you that there is now no such courting as was done in the prairie-breaking days. I have heard your modern orchestras, such as Thomas leads, but I have never heard strains more charming than those seemed which fell on my boyish ears at the first wedding in the days when we were breaking prairie.
Give all praise to the heroism of your modern firemen ; but let it be not forgotten how grand a thing it was to fight a prairie fire while the prairies were yet unbroken. Shall we ever forget the wild, fierce charge, the flames, maddened by the winds, made on the stock yard ? Or the brave band of men, women and children which sallied from the log honse to repel the delnge ?
Time would fail me to speak of the delights of going to school in winter, after breaking prairie in the summer. What schoolhouses we had ! A log taken out of the side, and a sash filled with 2x9 glass put in the log's place ; anger holes bored in the log below the window ; pieces of rail driven in ; a board as long as the schoolhouse laid on, and that was the desk. A slab, with the bark side down : legs driven in auger holes, and that was the seat. Nothing in the world to attract our attention from our books. Ilow delightful it was to learn ! What rounds of spelling we had ! How the heart beat as we dashed through the conjugations ! How thrilling the victories in the rule of three which we won ! llow manly the boys ! How noble the girls, who stood side by side !
Funerals have become so common that the community takes little note of them. Grief grows tame. It is overburdened with demonstrations. There are no funerals : none such as we attended when breaking prairie. In the midst of that is the rushing tide of life. When Hope reigned, when every pulse beat high and strong, when life seemed all renewed and fresh, how strange a thing was Death ! Was there ever a sorrow more honest melted the young settlement, than when the first one was lowered into the grave, and Death began his settlement ? How the heart melts to-day in the recollection of that lone grave, where timber and prairie meet !
Yes ! The days of prairie-breaking are past. But the grand results go marching on. You know not what you did, as you drove ont your prairie-breaking team that bright May morning. The great results lay hid from view. But, when you were breaking prairie, you were bringing in the day of railroads and telegraphs. of mighty cities, of cylinder presses, of colleges and churches, and all the marvelous machinery by which a nation has, under God, been transformed from an infant to a man. In breaking prairie, you were shaping destiny.
427
HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.
The poem of Mrs. Fairchild was as follows:
Dear friends, who felled the forest oak, The stubborn prairie soil first broke, To each and all a greeting. We come old friendships to renew. Past joys and sorrows to review At this our yearly meeting. To welcome those who saw this land,
1
In primal beauty from God's hand; While yet the Indian's wigwam stood By crystal lake and stream and wood, Ere telegraph and iron rail
Supplanted quite the Indian trail. Those who had for their evening cheer, The flesh of pigeon, quail or deer, Who gave for whoop and savage yells, The music of sweet Sabbath bells.
A wealth of verdure now abounds To rival tropic bowers, The air is full of pleasant sounds And swells with flowers. Let happy voices all around Make glad the hours. We thank our father, for this land Of prairie, grove and hill, That lle, through nature's generous hand Pours rich profusion still. And thanks for grove-embowered lakes. Where weary care a respite takes In quiet nook. Where childhood's happy feet may turn "Of the Creator's works to learn," From nature's book.
Old friends of thirty six and seven, We're here to thank you yet; The hardships which you then endured We never will forget. Your vigorous hands plowed deep and well, Your care good seed supplied, And though your whitening locks now tell That you are growing old, The loving smile and hearty grasp Say, "llearts have not grown cold."
Ogden and Latham. tell us now Of hardships they remember still. Although their feet are Far adown The westward sloping hill. And firmly through this wayward land,
Still walks unscratched our friend O. lland. "Finger and voice," he yet doth raise, The wrong to chide, the good to praise. And Golder, sage with probate lore, His ripened wisdom still doth lend To those by "death afflicted sore." "The widow's and the orphan's friend." Still. Preston keeps his pleasant ways, And smiling wears new added bays. Let Elderkin, now, since he will, Remain the peerless speller still. Winsor, with sparkling wit and jest, The quaint old story tells the best. Now, Wylie checks the wily ways Of stealthy thieves and crafty knaves, And quick detects the running snare, They for the innocent prepare. And Bradley is the hunter bold He ever was in days old. There's not a duck upon the lake, Nor chicken hiding in the brake,
428
HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.
No timid quail or partridge shy, But knows her latter end is nigh, Whene'er she sees him coming by.
And, early came those younger men, One Cowdery, with the graceful pen,
Beckwith, who wields with finished skill
The painter's brush, the ready quill. The hand of Dewing still can hold
The line, as deftly as of old, And Walton's mantle never fell On one, who plied the pen so well. We come, with retrospective eye, To look on vanished days, To keep the memory green of those Who brightened once our ways. To teach our children to revere The memory of each pioneer, And from their good examples draw
Reverence of God and love of law.
Teach them that blessings, such as these,
Were never won by slothful ease; That thinking brain and toiling hand
Will make a garden of the land.
Their hands have cleared the brush away,
And smoothed the path we tread to-day.
Of present toil for future good They made a willing choice, And, all unheeding, turned away From Pleasure's tempting voice. Their busy lives found little time For culture or for rest; The firm foundations of a State
(Which since has grown both rich and great), They left as their bequest.
And we must leave no baleful weeds Of indolence or pride, To choke the germinating seeds Of truth they scattered wide; For, if we weed and water well Each tender plantlet fair, An ever-spreading banyan tree Will well repay our care. Who would abundant harvest reap, Must pluek the summer tare; And we must keep on every hill The church-spire and the schoolhouse still.
We come to drop a tender tear, Since, as we meet, from year to year. More thinned our lessening ranks appear. Some loved, familiar hand " is not;" Some hand with warm emotion grasped, The "Icy King" for age has clasped, "Gone home, but not forgot." In " Hazel Ridge " some sweetly sleep, And some 'neath Greenwood's scented bloom; " Hillside " and " Grove" dear sleepers keep; Each church-yard has for some made room. Some, long with suffering worn, would weep That weary years so slowly creep. Glad closed the tired eye in unwaking sleep.
Departed friends, the crown is won; Yours the reward of duty done; A conscience clear. a source from whence There flows a recompense. To-day, your happy spirits come, In aureoled beauty, every one. This place your holy presence fills, A sacred influence distills,
429
HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.
Like that which fills the quiet air,
Where we retire for silent prayer. Oh, sires! your foibles, few, are hid- Deep buried 'neath the good you did.
No roofless stranger sought in vain Their lowly open door,
. Nor ever was forbidden rest Upon the cabin floor. They had known want, and quick could feel When they another's sorrows heard,
And hospitality was not A poor, unmeaning word.
Oh, may their influence daily prompt Ourselves to better deeds;
To help the needy one; nor ask His color or his ereeds.
Thanks for your patience, friends, and may
The lengthened evening of your day Be warm with mellow light; May health and plenty with you stay, And love, to make your pathway bright,
When, at the end of your duration,
You take the final emigration, Heavy with years, to lay away
The soul's old mantle, worn and gray.
May loving angels kindly come And bear the unfettered spirit home.
At this last and perhaps most interesting meeting of the society, in addition to what has already been stated, obituary addresses in memory of the deceased members of the year were pronounced as follows: H. J. Wilkinson, Whitewater, in remembrance of Mrs. C. R. Beach; Judge C. R. Gibbs, of Mrs. S. B. Edwards: John Jeffers, of Mrs. Lydia Lippitt; C. D. Long, of Leander Dodge; M. P. Bishop, of C. P. Ellis; W. D. Chapin, of Mrs. Betsey Tupper; and an obituary of Mrs. Tripp, of Whitewater, was promised for publication.
Mrs. Sidney Buell and Mr. Cyrus Church read papers on pioneer life in Walworth and Bloomfield.
At a late hour, after singing, the meeting adjourned.
The foregoing reports of the annual re-unions, though far from complete, will give the reader an idea of the constantly increasing interest that centers about the pioneer society. It is to-day the most vigorous society of its kind in the Northwest.
Its efforts to compile a history of Walworth County, as shown in its action at the eleventh annual meeting, held at Whitewater in June. 1879, although not resulting in a printed volume, resulted in the gathering of much valuable historical information that would otherwise have been lost, but which is now compiled, with everything which can be gathered from extraneous sources, in this history. The officers of the society from its organization to the present time have been as follows:
ROSTER OF OFFICERS.
President, Daniel Salisbury, Spring Prairie; Vice Presidents, Prosper Cravath, White- water: Thomas P. James, Richmond: John Bruce, Darien; Cyrus Lippitt, Sharon; Cyrus Church, Walworth; Henry Barlow, Delavan: P. G. Harrington, Sugar Creek; William Hough- ton, La Grange; Sylvester G. Smith. Troy: George W. Dwinnell, La Fayette; Le Grand Rock- well, Elkhorn; Osborn Hand, Geneva: Allen McBride, Linn; William D. Chapin, Bloomfield; Z. B. Burk, Lyons; A. L. Merrick, Spring Prairie; S. B. Edwards. East Troy; Recording Sec- retary, James Simmons, Elkhorn: Corresponding Secretary, Edward Elderkin, Elkhorn; Treas- urer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn; Central Executive Committee, P. Golder, S. G. West, G. W. Wylie, J. W. Peck, Charles Wales.
1869-70-President, Le Grand Rockwell. Elkhorn ; Vice Presidents, Prosper Cravath. Whitewater: Thomas P. James, Richmond; John Bruce, Darien: Cyrus Lippitt, Sharon; Cyrus Church, Walworth; Henry Barlow, Delavan; P. G. Harrington, Sugar Creek; William Hough- ton. La Grange; S. G. Smith, Troy; George W. Dwinnell, La Fayette; Albert Ogden, Elk-
430
HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.
horn; Osborn Hand, Geneva: Allen McBride. Linn: William D. Chapin, Bloomfield; Zenas B. Burk, Lyons: Daniel Salisbury. Spring Prairie: S. B. Edwards. East Troy; Recording Sec- retary, James Simmons, Elkhorn: Corresponding Secretary. Edward Elderkin. Elkhorn; Treas- urer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn; Executive Committee, Peter Golder, S. G. West, J. W. Peck, George W. Wylie, Charles Wales.
1870-71-President. Charles M. Baker. Geneva: Vice Presidents. P. Cravath, Whitewater: Thomas P. James, Richmond; Josiah Dodge, Darien : J. A. Treat, Sharon; C. L. Douglass, Wal- worth: William Hollinshead, Delavan: P. G. Harrington, Sugar Creek; Orson G. Ewing, La Grange; S. G. Smith, Troy; J. W. Peck, La Fayette: Albert Ogden, Elkhorn; Osborn Hand, Geneva; A. McBride, Linn; T. H. Fellows, Bloomfield; Z. B. Burk. Lyons: Samuel Pratt, Spring Prairie; S. B. Edwards, East Troy: Recording Secretary, James Simmons, Elkhorn; Corre- sponding Secretary, Edward Elderkin, Elkhorn: Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn.
1871-72 -- President. C. M. Baker, Geneva: Vice Presidents, S. M. Billings, Whitewater; E. Hulce, Richmond: H. A. Johnson, Darien: William P. Allen, Sharon; S. H. Van Schaick, Walworth: William Hollinshead, Delavan: P. G. Harrington, Sugar Creek; James Holden, La Grange: Mark Watson, Troy: J. W. Peck. La Fayette: S. G. West. Elkhorn; T. W. Hill, Ge- neva: J. W. Boyd, Linn: W. D. Chapin, Bloomfield: Z. B. Burk. Lyons: A L. Merrick, Spring Prairie: S. B. Edwards, East Troy: Recording Secretary, James Simmons, Geneva; Corre- sponding Secretary, Edward Elderkin, Elkhorn: Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn.
1872-73-President. P. G. Harrington, Sugar Creek; Vice Presidents, Daniel Salisbury. Spring Prairie; A. Ferguson, Linn; Prosper Cravath, Whitewater; T. P. James, Richmond; H. S. Winsor. Elkhorn; S. B. Edwards, East Troy: Mark Watson, Troy: William Houghton. La Grange: H. M. Curtis, La Fayette; W. D. Chapin. Bloomfield: Z. B. Burk. Lyons: C. L. Oat- man. Geneva: Cyrus Church, Walworth; J. R. Kinne, Sugar Creek; John Jeffers, Sharon; John Williams, Darien: George Cotton, Delavan: Recording Secretary, James Simmons, Gene- va; Corresponding Secretary, Peter Golder, Elkhorn: Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn.
1873-74 President. Gen. John W. Boyd, Linn; Vice Presidents, W. D. Chapin, Bloom- field; Leander Dodge. Lyons; Samuel Pratt, Spring Prairie; S. B. Edwards, East Troy; S. G. Smith, Troy; A. D. Harris, La Fayette: C. L. Oatman. Geneva: Allen McBride, Linn: C. L. Douglass, Walworth; William Hollinshead. Delavan; Dr. H. Gray, Sugar Creek: James Hol- den, La Grange: Emery Thayer, Whitewater: Elisha Hulce. Richmond: H. A. Johnson, Da- rien; J. Mereness, Sharon; Hollis Latham. Elkhorn: Recording Secretary. James Simmons. Geneva: Corresponding Secretary, Edward Elderkin, Elkhorn: Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elk- horn: Marshal, George W. Wylie. La Fayette: Executive Committee, C. L. Oatman, C. W. Smith, James Simmons, G. Montague and T. W. Hill.
1874-75- President, Gen. John W. Boyd, Linn: Vice Presidents, John Loveland. Bloom- field: Enos Kinney. Lyons; Daniel Salisbury, Spring Prairie; S. B. Edwards, East Troy; Sol- dan Powers, Troy: H. M. Curtis, La Fayette: Andrew Ferguson, Geneva; George Allen, Linn: D. C. Porter, Walworth: Henry Barlow, Delavan; Jesse R. Kinne, Sugar Creek: William Houghton, La Grange: Emery Thayer, Whitewater: V. Arnold, Richmond; C. D. Long, Da- rien; William P. Allen, Sharon: Hollis Latham, Elkhorn; Recording Secretary, James Simmons, Geneva; Corresponding Secretary, Edward Elderkin, Elkhorn; Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elk- horn: Marshal, George W. Wylie, La Fayette; Executive Committee, C. L. Oatman, C. W. Smith, J. Simmons. G. Montague, Thomas W. Hill.
1875-76- President, John W. Boyd, Linn: Vice Presidents. S. W. Benson, Bloomfield; Enos Kinney, Lyons: Daniel Salisbury. Spring Prairie: S. B. Edwards, East Troy: Soldan Powers. Troy: H. M. Curtis, La Fayette: A. Ferguson. Geneva: George Allen, Linn; D. C. Porter, Walworth; George Cotton, Delavan: Jesse R. Kinne, Sugar Creek: William Houghton, La Grange: Emery Thayer, Whitewater; Varnum Arnold, Richmond: William P. Allen, Sharon: Hollis Latham, Elkhorn: J. E. Irish, Darien: Recording Secretary. James Simmons, Geneva: Corresponding Secretary, E. Elderkin, Elkhorn: Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn: Marshal, George W. Wylie, La Fayette.
1876-77- President. George Cotton, Delavan: Vice Presidents, Daniel Salisbury, Spring Prairie; Hollis Latham, Elkhorn; H. M. Curtis, La Fayette: S. B. Edwards, East Troy: Sy - vester G. Smith, Troy: J. H. Sanford. La Grange; Harmon Gray, Sugar Creek: P. Cravath.
431
HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.
Whitewater; Varnum Arnold. Richmond: Josiah Dodge. Darien: John Mereness, Sharon: Cyrus Church. Walworth: W. D. Chapin. Bloomfield; A. Ferguson. Geneva; George Allen. Linn: Henry Barlow, Delavan: Enos Kinney. Lyons; Corresponding Secretary. Edward Elderkin, Elkhorn: Seeretary. J. Simmons. Geneva: Treasurer. Hollis Latham. Elkhorn: Executive Com- mittee. N. M. Harrington, H. G. Hollister, Frank Leland. George Passage. Henry Barlow.
1877-78 --- President. H. A. Johnson. Darien: Viee Presidents. A. L. Merrick, Spring Prai- rie: Albert Ogden, Elkhorn: William Burgit, East Troy: James G. Briggs, Troy: James Lau- derdale. La Grange; J. R. Kinne, Sugar Creek: Emery Thayer. Whitewater: T. P. James, Richmond; C. D. Long. Darien: A. L. Mason. Sharon: Henry Van Schaiek. Walworth: Sidney Buell. Bloomfield: C. L. Oatman. Geneva: Albert D. Harris, La Fayette: Allen McBride. Linn: Z. B. Burk, Lyons; James Aram, Delavan; Corresponding Secretary, Edward Elderkin. Elk- horn; Recording Secretary, James Simmons. Geneva; Treasurer, Hollis Latham. Elkhorn; Exe- cutive Committee. E. Latimer, James Aram, Augustus Parish. H. G. Hollister, N. M. Harrington.
1878-79 President, Otis Preston, Elkhorn: Vice Presidents. Daniel Salisbury, Spring Prairie: Stephen G. West. Elkhorn: W. S. Keats. East Troy: J. R. Kling, Troy: William Houghton. La Grange: J. R. Kinne, Sugar Creek: Emery Thayer. Whitewater: T. P. James, Richmond: Josiah Dodge, Darien; J. A. Treat, Sharon; Cyrus Church. Walworth; Sidney Buell, Bloomfield: Lewis Curtis. Geneva; H. M. Curtis. La Fayette; J. W. Boyd. Linn: Enos Kin- ney. Lyons: E. Latimer. Delavan: Corresponding Secretary. E. Elderkin. Elkhorn: Recording Secretary, James Simmons, Geneva; Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn; Executive Committee, John S. Partridge. N. M. Littlejohn, Charles M. Clark, H. S. Knapp. Frank Tratt.
1879-80-President, Charles R. Beach, Whitewater; Vice Presidents, Seymour Brooks, East Troy; J. R. Kling. Troy; O. G. Ewing. La Grange: C. R. Gibbs, Whitewater; John Pem- berton, Richmond: Jesse R. Kinne, Sugar Creek; George W. Wylie. La Fayette; A. M. Aldrich, Spring Prairie; C. P. Taylor, Lyons; D. L. Flack, Geneva: S. G. West, Elkhorn; H. G. Hollis- ter, Delavan: H. A. Johnson. Darien; Henry Dennis. Sharon: Cyrus Church, Walworth; George Allen. Linn: A. H. Abell, Bloomfield; Recording Secretary. James Simmons. Geneva; Corre- sponding Seeretary. E. Elderkin, Elkhorn: Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn; Executive Com- mittee, William De Wolf. C. M. Sykes, William E. Wright, George A. Ray. C. M. Clark. Sub- sequentlv, at a special meeting held at Elkhorn, the Historical Committee was elected as follows: James Simmons, Geneva: Rev. Joseph Collie, Delavan; and Stephen G. West, Elkhorn.
1880-81- President, Stephen G. West, Elkhorn: Vice Presidents. Seymour Brooks, East Troy; J. R. Kling. Troy: O. G. Ewing, La Grange: C. R. Gibbs. Whitewater; John Pember- ton, Richmond: Jesse R. Kinne, Sugar Creek: George W. Wylie, La Fayette: A. M. Aldrich, Spring Prairie: C. P. Taylor, Lyons: D. L. Flack, Geneva: W. H. Morrison, Elkhorn: H. G. Hollister, Delavan; H. A. Johnson. Darien; Henry Dennis, Sharon; Cyrus Church, Walworth; George Allen, Linn; William D. Chapin, Bloomfield: Recording Seeretary. James Simmons, Geneva; Corresponding Secretary, E. Elderkin. Elkhorn: Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn; Executive Committee, W. H. Morrison, Virgil Cobb, Hugh Paden, Charles Dunlap and Asa Foster.
1881-82-President, Seymour Brooks, East Troy: Vice Presidents, Hiram Taylor, East Troy: J. R. Kling, Troy: O. G. Ewing, La Grange; S. B. Edwards. Whitewater: Elisha Hulce, Richmond: Jesse R. Kinne, Sugar Creek: George W. Wylie, La Fayette: A. A. Hoyt, Spring Prai- rie; C. P. Taylor, Lyons: D. L. Flack, Geneva; W. H. Morrison, Elkhorn: H. G. Hollister, Delavan: H. A. Johnson, Darien: John Mereness, Sharon; Cyrus Church, Walworth; George Allen. Linn: W. D. Chapin, Bloomfield; Recording Secretary, James Simmons, Geneva: Cor- responding Secretary, Edward Elderkin, Elkhorn: Treasurer, Hollis Latham, Elkhorn: Exec- ntive Committee, Charles Wales, Lneins Allen, H. A. Briggs, Delos Harrington and David L. Flaek.
The society is not now what it started to be-an association of first settlers. It embraces such residents of the county as have resided, at the time they became members, thirty years in Wisconsin, and are present residents of Walworth County. It is not only proper, but almost imperative, to draw the distinction between the first settlers. who came in prior to 1846, and their descendants and later comers, who, with the lapse of years, will themselves become the old settlers in their town.
432
HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.
The following is a full roster of members, with place and date of settlement, as recorded in the books of the society:
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.