History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Part 78

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

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

of Elkhorn. The exact date of the settlement of these gentlemen was February 27, 1837, this fact is of peculiar interest from the fact that they were the first white men to locate at this point (see history of Elkhorn). Mr. Ogden made a claim of the northwest quarter of Sec. i. Town 2, Range 16, and the southwest quarter of Sec. 36. Town 3. Range 16, making 320 acres. He subsequently took up the east one-half of the southwest quarter of Sec. 1, 80 acres, and 80 acres in Geneva. Mr. O. was appointed Deputy Sheriff under Sheriff Walling, who was the first Sheriff of the county. Mr. O. was married, in the town of Delavan, Sept. 7, 1843, to Miss Charlotte. daughter of Peter Boyce. Mrs. O. only survived about a year, her death occurring July 25, 1844. Mr. O. was married, at Elkhorn, April 29, 1847, to Miss Emna O. Watkins, daughter of Miner Watkins. He was born in Vermont and has always followed farming as his business since he came to Elkhorn. Though public-spirited and liberal, Mr. O. has never sought positions in public life, preferring to devote his attention to his farming interests. He has been gratified by seeing the county seat established on the site he and a few others selected for it when there was not a white man's habitation in view. His farmhouse now is situated in the suburbs of the village. where he has 30 acres of land and 40 in Delavan.

M. T. PARK. editor and proprietor of the Walworth County Independent and Assistant Secretary of State: he is the son of Benjamin and Sarah Park: was born in New London, Huron Co., Ohio, July 25, 1841; came to Wisconsin in 1847, when six years old. with his parents, who located in the town of Turtle, Rock Co. He was educated at Milton College and adopted the vocation of teacher, commencing in Rock County in 1860. He taught country and village schools six years; from there, he went to Racine to accept the position of Principal of the 2a District School of the city, which he conducted for eight years. He proved one of the most successful and popular teachers of Racine --- a city noted for its superior schools and able teach- ers; he left Racine to accept the appointment of teacher in the State normal schools at Oshkosh. which position he held more than three years. During this time. Mr. Park fully maintained his position as one of the leading educational men of the State. In addition to his general ex- perience in teaching, he has served as President of the Wisconsin State Teachers' Association, from July, 1876, to the same month of 1877. January, 1879, he purchased the office of the Walworth County Independent of Elkhorn, and assumed its general management, editorially and otherwise. The investment proved a good one, as under Mr. Park's able management, the. business of the office and circulation of the paper have been largely increased; he accepted the appointment of Assistant Secretary of the State, and entered upon the duties of the office Jan. 2, 1882. He was married, at Clinton, Rock Co., Wis., Sept. 26, 1861, to Miss Mary E. Ham- mond, daughter of D. P. Hammond. Mrs. Park was born in Scottsville, Monroe Co., N. Y .; they have three children -- E. Mand, Charles M. and Maurice H.

OTIS PRESTON, is a native of Lanesboro. Berkshire Co., Mass., where he was born May 18, 1813; at the age of three years, be removed with his parents to Lenox, Mass., where he lived until 7 years of age; at that age, he removed to Ashley Falls, in Berkshire Co., where he lived with his parents until 13 years of age: his parents were poor, and he had, up to this time, scarcely any educational advantages except the home precepts and the influence of a most ex- cellent mother, and nine years, when most children are at school, he was at work, helping in an extremely small way to eke out his own small living. He worked at anything that he was tall enough to reach in and about a carding and cloth-dressing establishment, a plaster-mill, saw- mill, grist-mill and any place where a little fellow could earn a sixpence or ninepence; at the age of 13, he was apprenticed to a tailor, named French, in the town of Sheffield, where he served as a faithful but unappreciated drudge at his apprenticeship for three years and one half, enduring the petty tyranny. and oftentimes, abuse, which small-minded and small-hearted men only can heap upon those whom the inscrutable ways of Providence sometimes place in their power. His master was a good workman, and as a partial compensation for the ills he endured. he managed to thoroughly learn his trade, and, having grown of sufficient stature to give physical emphasis to his desires for reform, he peremptorily brought his term of apprenticeship to a close by flogging, in Oliver Twist style, some overbearing members of the family, and leaving his master's house; in short, he ran away; after one or two ineffectual attempts to find employment in shops of the neighboring towns, the friendless boy, after a frank confession of his experience with his late master, found a true friend and a just employer in Elijah Foster, of Great Barrington, Mass. He

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HISTORY OF WALWORTHI COUNTY

remained in his employ for four and one-half years. the last two years as foreman of the establish- ment which at that time was one of the largest in that part of the State; during these years, he won not only the confidence and respect of his employer, but his warm regard: he was treated as one of the family of which he was a member. in fact as well as in name: there. encouraged, advised and instructed by his friends, added during his leisure hours to the little of school education he had received: it would. to one having less natural aptitude and taste for learning, have been considered a small addition indeed. but. supplemented as it was, by a vigorous and healthy in- telligence and rare powers of observation, it came to serve him in such manner as might well put to shame the many paupered collegiates who ruthlessly waste the priceless opportunities that were denied him; he learned the rudiments of mathematics, became well read in the current literature of the times, acquired an excellent and ready command of his native tongue; through the study of a dictionary, which was his constant companion, he became a ready and fluent speaker and debater through that best of all controversial schools, a New England debating club. which was established in the village where he worked. At the age of 21, he left the scenes of his youthful struggles, and sought his fortune in the great West: his capital consisted of health, hope, energy, a trade, the education and wisdom learned in the school of privation and toil, and a sufficient amount of money to start on his uncertain journey. His first settlement in the West was at White Pigeon. Mich., in 1834, where he commenced his active life of manhood; he began by opening a tailor shop and working diligently at his trade: in two years, he had added to his shop a merchant tailor's store, and, in eight years. was engaged in a large and thriving mercantile business, having a large store and doing a leading business in the town. He became a leading man of affairs in the home of his adoption, and. in 1841. was elected by his constitu- ents as a member of the Michigan Assembly, and became an active politician. taking a prominent part in the political affairs of the State. In common with nearly all the pioneer merchants of the West, the uncertain and depressed times that followed the crash of 1837, though not at first overwhelming, culminated, after years of struggle, in reverses that determined him to seek another fortune in the far West. He came to Wisconsin in 1846, arriving in Racine Oct. 28: he was unsuccessful in finding there a place to open business, and came on to Spring Prairie to visit his uncle, Hon. Herr Samuel Pratt, then residing at that place. This visit resulted in his opening a shop there and commencing business at his trade : he remained there until 1848. at which time he was elected Sheriff of the county on the Free-Soil ticket. and he moved to Elkhorn, which has since been his home. At the close of his term of office. he again worked at his trade for a short time, then went into general mercantile business under the firm name of Preston & Hay. Subsequently, Hay retired, and Preston con- tinned alone for a time; the firm was next Preston & Pope: this firm did a leading business for some years; they built a warehouse and did a large grain and shipping business in connection with their store. This business was sold out to L. C. Merick, in 1858. Mr. Preston built a block of three stores, known as Centralia Block; it was burned in 1869, entailing a large loss, as the building was but slightly insured; his son, Robert Clark Preston, suffered a large loss. losing most of his stock of goods, which was uninsured. The disaster by no means overcame the inherent energy of Mr. P .; in two weeks, he had another store erected, which he christened the shanty, where, with the remnants saved from the vicissitudes of business and the loss by fire, he again started in business. Both he and his son Clark have made the shanty their busi- ness headquarters from the time of its erection to the present. Mr. P., since his residence in Elkhorn, has been the energetic friend and stanch defender of his town: his energy and enter- prise were conspicuous at every stage of its growth: in the securing of the first railroad con- nections, of the development of trade and in all ways his ingenuity could devise, or his energy execute. his labors were unceasing. He published at different times the Conservator and the Lire Man, both devoted to the interests of the town: he has served as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors several years, and as President of the Walworth County Agricultural Society, as appears in the sketch of that society. He has always been a prominent politician. and for many years was an active member of the Walworth County Democracy. His oratorical powers have been no small factor in his influence as a public speaker. He has taken rank with the best in the county; his enlogies before the Old Settlers' Society, on the death of Hon. Wyman Spooner and Hon. Samuel Pratt, are remembered as models of that style of oratory. Mr. P. was mar-

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

ried, May IS. 1936, to Miss Julia A. Corbin, of White Pigeon. Mich .; the children were Or- ville Marshell, born July 30, 1837; died at Elkhorn Oct. 5; Louise, now Mrs. Henry Courins, born Oct. 26, 1840, living in Eau Claire, Wis .: Robert Clark, born March 13, 1843. now in the employ of his father at Elkhorn. Mr. P. has, in a measure, withdrawn from participation in public affairs, but carries sturdily and lightly the weight of increasing years; he still carries on an extensive business at the shanty, which has become a household word throughout the county.

LE GRAND ROCKWELL (deceased) was born in Butternuts, Otsego Co .. N. Y., March, 1812: was the son of Ards and Betsey (Shaw) Rockwell; he moved to Bainbridge. Chenango Co., N. Y., where he was engaged in mercantile business; he came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1836, and remained in Milwaukee till February, 1837. when he came to Walworth County, and. in company with Hollis Latham and Albert Ogden. he selected and laid out the plat of Elkhorn Village, with a view of making it the county seat, which result was subsequently accomplished. Being a man of superior ability, energetic and enterprising, he was at onee recognized as a leading spirit in the little colony of Elkhorn. He was appointed the first Postmaster, first Reg- ister of Deeds and Clerk of the Conrt. The duties of these several offices were discharged with fidelity and ability. He was the first to organize a banking house in the village, and was sub- sequently engaged in the business during his life time; in conducting this branch of business, he was an exception to the rule, and often accommodated needy and irresponsible people, trust- ing to their sense of honor for security rather than refuse them on account of inability to furnish the customary indorsement or seenrity. It is said of him that he was very seldom a loser by misplaced confidence. Of all public enterprises of merit, he was a powerful champion: his liberal efforts in behalf of the best interests of Elkhorn are fresh in the memory of his old neighbors and friends. His generous nature, the purity of his public and private life com- manded the respect and esteem of all who knew him. In the family cirele, he was a kind and loving husband and an affectionate and considerate father. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, for which he labored earnestly, faithfully and conscientiously. He was mar ried, at Elkhorn., Ang. 22. 1844, to Miss Frances A. Hickox; four children were born to them -John C., Edward H., Ella L. and Le Grand; the eldest, John C., died April 22. 1867; the daughter. Ella L., is the wife of Oliver W. Shepard; the loss of his son and financial troubles, growing out of the robbery of his bank, preyed upon the mind of Mr. R., undermining his health until his death, which occurred at his home in Elkhorn, Dec. 23, 1869. In his death, Walworth County lost one of its most influential and respected citizens.

AUGUSTUS SMITH was born in Chester, Mass .. Oct. 25, 1801: is the son of William and Sarah Smith: was married in Westfield in 1826, to Miss Almira Stiles. Their children were William A. (Rnth H., Sarah A., deceased): Sarah A .. the second of that name, is now Mrs S. R. Edwards, of Sugar Creek (Mary A. M., deceased): Franklin H., Oliver P. and Austin E. ; the two younger were born in Wisconsin. Mr. Smith and family emigrated to Troy, Wis .. in October. 1838, where he resided nntil July, 1854, when he removed to Beloit. Wis., where he still resides. While a resident of Walworth County. he held many local offices: was one of the first, if not the first. President of the Walworth County Agrienltural Society. He was an active member of the Congregational Church, and was muel respected.

HARLEY FLAVEL SMITH, oldest son of Richard and Sarah (White) Smith: was born in Townshend, Windham Co., Vt .. Sept. 28, 1808; he received his primary education in the common schools; was next a student in several elassieal and select schools; he prepared to enter Middlebury College in an advanced grade in the Junior year at the Chester Academy, Chester, Windsor Co., Vt .; from Chester, he removed to Saratoga Springs, N. Y .. where, Sept. 1, 1830, he entered the office of Thomas J. Marvin, attorney at law, as a student and clerk; at the close of 1831, he changed to the office of William L. F. Warren, of the same place. Mr. W. was at that time District Attorney of the county of Saratoga, and Master and Examiner in Chancery, and had a wider range of practice than any other lawyer in the county. He remained in the office of Warren until June. 1833, when he removed to the village of Wyoming, then in the county of Genesee, where he entered upon the duties of teacher of the Latin and Greek lan- guages and mathematics. in a school in which the Rev. Joseph Elliott was Principal. In the spring of 1835, he removed to the village of Pike, then in Allegany Co .. N. Y., where he was

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HISTORY OF WALWORTH COUNTY.

engaged in a select school as a teacher, in the same branches as at Wyoming; at the same time, he was pursuing his studies and serving a clerkship in the law office of the Hon. Luther. C. Peck, then one of the leading lawyers of Western New York. He continued thus engaged until May, 1838. when he was admitted as an attorney of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, at the May term of that court, held in the city of New York. In August, 1838. he removed to Castile, then in the county of Genesee, where he practiced his profession until the close of 1848. At that time, in hope of regaining his impaired health. he came West; he remained in Chicago and vicinity for several months, and finally came to Wisconsin and located at Elkhorn May 13, 1850; he formed a law partnership with H. S. Windsor, of that place. This con- nection was continued over a period of eighteen years, during which time the firm had a very respectable practice and was classed among the leading law firms of the county. Mr. S. was ad- mitted to practice in the Walworth Circuit Court May 20, 1850. and in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin June, 1851. At this writing, he has practiced over thirty years in the Supreme Court of the State. Mr. Smith, during his extensive practice in that court, has argued many important cases successfully, and commands the respect and confidence of the court and bar. He is still in practice at Elkhorn, where his well-known ability and long experience in his profession have established his reputation as one of the leading lawyers of his section of the State. On the 15th day of September, 1833, he was married to Lydia Ann Nourse, of Rockingham, Windham Co., Vt .. daughter of Daniel and Nancy Nourse. She was a young lady of estimable character, good education, and was born in Rockingham Dec. 4, 1809, and died at Elkhorn, Wis., May 7. ISSI ; they had one daughter- - Nettie Smith, their only child, born in Pike, Allegany Co., N. Y .. Sept. 19. 1835, who, since her mother's death, has directed her father's household affairs. Mr. Smith's father, Richard Smith, was born in Townshend, Vt., May 26, 1782: was in early life a teacher, and possessed a high order of intellectual power. His father, David S., was born in Providence, R. L., in 1761, and was a soldier of the Revolution under Washington at Valley Forge. Sarah White Smith, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was born in Towns- hend, Vt., Dec. 9, 1786; was a daughter of Edward White, of Attleboro, Mass., a descendant of the family of that name who came to America in the Mayflower. Her mother, Sarah Tourtelott White, was a descendant of a French Huguenot. named Tourtelott, who emigrated from Paris to Rhode Island in the early settlement of that State.

HOWARD L. SMITH. Principal of the Elkhorn schools: commenced with the term begin- ning Sept. 26. 1881. The school consists of four departments, with a membership of 230 scholars; four assistant teachers are employed. Miss A. J. Dann is the high school assistant: Miss Jesse E. Wiswell is in charge of the grammar school: Miss Addie M. Spooner of the intermediate. and Miss Lizzie Townsend of the primary. Mr. Smith was born in Madison, Wis., March 29, 1861; is the son of John Y. and Sarah A. ( Warner) Smith; he is a graduate of the State Uni- versity, of the class of June, 1881: he has taught one term of school (Blooming Grove) previous to coming to Elkhorn.

JOHN H. SNYDER. proprietor of the Central House. Elkhorn: business established in 1869. This house has thirty-five well-furnished rooms, is pleasantly and centrally located, be- ing situated opposite the southeast corner of the court house square: at this date, is the only hotel in the village. Mr. S. is a native of the town of Hudson, Cohunbia Co., N. Y .: is the son of Henry J. W. and Catharine S .: was born December 24. 1834. He came to Wisconsin in 1846, with his grandparents; made his home in Mukwanago, Waukesha Co., where he was sub. sequently engaged in farming and the hotel business, keeping the Mukwanago House. April 10, 1869, he moved to Elkhorn. purchased a hotel and named it the Central House. In 1876, he bought a farm of 270 acres in town of Elkhorn. He was.married, at Rochester, Racine Co., July 3, 1857. to Miss Eliza R. Munson, daughter of Edwin H. M. Mrs. S. was born in Roch ester, N. Y. They have four children-Fred H., Clifford F., John H .. Jr., and Mand E.

WYMAN SPOONER, deceased, was born in Hardwick, Worcester Co., Mass., July 2, 1795. He was bred on a farm, and received the ordinary educational advantages of the common dis- trict school till he was fourteen years old. when he was apprenticed to the printer's trade. He served his full term, and graduated master of the trade. At the age of twenty-one, he became connected with a newspaper, and remained, first as a compositor and last as editor-in-chief, for twelve years, and there laid the foundation for his future intellectual life. During his editorial

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life, he read extensively all the works pertaining to fundamental law, and, in 1833. commenced practice. He removed, soon after being admitted to the bar. to Canton, Ohio, and from there to Racine. Wis .. in 1842. He subsequently removed to Elkhorn, Wis .. where he made his home for thirty-five years. During his residence in Wisconsin, he was honored by marks of esteem and confidence from his fellow-citizens which come only to men of the highest standing, both as to moral worth and intellectual strength. In 1846. he was Judge of Probate; in 1853. he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court, which office he held till 1857; he was member of the As- sembly in 1850. 1851, 1857, 1861: Speaker of the House in 1557: a member of the State Senate in 1862-63, being its presiding officer the latter year: elected Lieutenant Governor for three successive terms-1864 to 1870. On retiring from office in 1870, he ceased all active work in public affairs. He died at the residence of his son, in Lyons, Walworth Co., Nov. 18, 1877, at the age of 82 years. Mr. Spooner left an unexceptionably pure record. He was in person tall, spare and erect. He spoke deliberately. in a harsh, high, but not unpleasant voice. He was a model presiding officer, and is remembered by his cotemporaries as the best parliamenta- rian of his time. If not great, he was true, and his memory. untarnished by vice or the low tricks of his time, is that of one of the best of the early statesmen of Wisconsin. His political pre- dilections were Republican. During the latter years of his life, like Horace Greeley and others who followed his lead. he broke somewhat from his old party affiliations.

W. J. STRATTON, dealer in drugs, medicines, paints, oils, wall-paper, books, etc., Elk- horn: business established in 1876. He is a native of Hamilton, Madison Co., N. Y .: is the only son of James and Ann Stratton: was born July 22, 1834. His parents were natives of En- gland. and emigrated to New York the year of his birth. In the fall of 1843, the family moved to Wisconsin and settled in the town of Troy, Walworth Co. Mr. S. spent the early years of his life on his father's farm; received a cor mon-school education. He studied daguerreotyping at Delavan, and in 1553 began business in that line for himself. After three years' experience as a photographer, he quit the business and engaged in farming until 1564, when he sold his farm and enlisted in Company L, 3d W. V. C .: on the re-organization of the regiment. he was assigned to Company D. and served until the close of the war. On his return from the army, he bought a farm of 120 acres in the town of La Fayette. Sec. 2, and followed farming until 1873, when he rented the farm and moved to Elkhorn. In January. 1575, he sold his farm, and the following year he began in his present business. Mr. S. was married, in the town of Troy. March 26. 1856. to Miss Jane A .. daughter of Robert and Ann Wolfenden. Mrs. S. was born in the city of New York. They have three children - Charles J .. aged 23 years: Iva A .. aged 19 years; and Lyle W., aged 43 years. Mr. S. was elected Justice of the Peace in 1877. and has been a member of the Town Board of Elkhorn two terms: is a member of the present board.

REV. SYLVESTER E. SWEET. Pastor of the Regular Baptist Church of Elkhorn since November, 1579. He is a native of Leeds Co., Canada West: is a son of Abijah and Maria (Rhodes) Sweet: was born Nov. IS, 1838. In 1845, he came to the United States with his par- ents, and made his home at Southport, Wis. ; two years later, they moved to Portland, Dodge Co., and, in 1854. to the town of Bear Creek. Sauk Co. He enlisted, in June, 1861, in the 6th Battery, Wisconsin Light Artillery; was promoted to a Second Lieutenancy: was with his com- mand in the various engagements in which they participated -- nine in all; he received a gun shot wound in the head at the battle of Champion Hills, June, 1863, and served until the close of the war. He was educated in a common school, and at the Wayland University, at Beaver Dam, Wis., from which he graduated in the class of 1972. He was regularly ordained a min ister of the Regular Baptist Church at Marble Ridge, Sauk Co., and began preaching at De Soto, Vernon Co., Wis. ; he has been constantly employed since as a minister of the Gospel. He served as Pastor of the Beaver Dam Church two years. and supplied the pulpit of the Randolph Church for a considerable time: he had charge of the Trempealean Church three years, the Monticello Prairie Church two years, and came from there to Elkhorn in November, 1879. Mr. Sweet was married, at Marble Ridge. Sauk Co .. Wis .. Feb. 20. 1866, to Miss Achsa Perry. daughter of Daniel T. and Salome (Burdick) Perry. They have four children -- Lewis E. P., George E., Emma E. and Ella E .: the two youngest are twins.

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History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Part 78

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