History of northern Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development, and resources; an extensive sketch of its counties, cities, towns and villages, their improvements, industries, manufactories; biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers; views of county seats, etc., Part 139

Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1052

USA > Wisconsin > History of northern Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development, and resources; an extensive sketch of its counties, cities, towns and villages, their improvements, industries, manufactories; biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers; views of county seats, etc. > Part 139

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For some time after his coming, his dwelling was claimed to be one of the only three log houses so occu- pied, the other two being those of Peter Cameron and Col. T. B. Stoddard. His ardent Republicanism led him to warmly esponse the cause of the Free State men in Kansas, and at his own expense, and with great inconvenience, he went to the great Buffalo Convention, in 1856, to throw his influence in the scale, to aid in making that contested region a free State. With him, religion and politics were so blended that the distinc- tion was imperceptible. The struggle for freedom, wherever waged, commanded his earnest support and encouragement, and his influence, purse and person

were all freely and enthusiastically given in its support.

In 1861, on the accession of Lincoln to the Presi- dency, he received the appointment of Receiver of the Land Office at St. Croix Falls, a position he held dur- ing Lincoln's life. In 1865, he went to South Carolina, his native State, as a correspondent for the La Crosse Republican. His avowal of Republican sentiments, which he fearlessly proclaimed, both from the stump and through the press, soon excited such fierce, malig- nant opposition, that he was compelled to fly for his life, and seek refuge in Georgia, and live in as obscure and secluded a manner as possible, so much so, indeed, that for several months even his own family were igno- rant of his whereabouts. They knew he had been in deadly peril, and, while torn with doubts and fears, had their worst anticipations realized by vague, but all too probable, rumors of his death. Undeterred by his persecutions, he again made the State the scene of his labors, and in 1871, published a Republican paper at Abbeville. He also wrote the biographies of the lead- ing citizens of the State. He was the choice of many Republicans for the position of United States Senator, and it is claimed, was sure of an election, when he generously made way for Patterson, who was elected in his stead. Returning to La Crosse, lie again put on the editorial harness, publishing the North Star in North La Crosse, in 1876. This was sold out to A. S. Foote, the present convict, very greatly to the detri- ment of Mr. Reynolds. The material is now claimed to be in use in the office of the Sun, at Milwaukee. Mr. Reynolds died in 1877.

ORRIN L. SMITH.

Orrin L. Smith, born in Galena, Ill., in 1830 ; taken to Ohio at six months, and raised at Princeton till six- teen ; from there to New Orleans ; stayed three years ; thence to St. Louis two years ; came to La Crosse in 1851 ; pre-empted a school section on prairie where Winona Junction is located, four miles from the city ; lived there till the Fall of 1853, then moved to the city ; clerked in the mills of Rublee, Smith & Simon- ton ; remained there till the Spring of 1854; became steamboat clerk on the "Dr. Franklin," next " Lady F.," next "Royal Arch," "Granite State," "Falls City," "Galena," Dubuque and Minnesota Packet Company, Capt. Orrin Smith, president. Remained in the line till 1859. For ten years, engaged in running teams and selling cordwood. In 1869, became City Clerk ; one year hotel clerk at International Hotel ; one year in Black River Implement Company, clerk ; since with Mr. Law in 'bus and freight line. On com- ing to La Crosse, there were only six shanties within the present limits of the city, and perhaps a dozen in all in the vicinity. There were not to exceed seventy- five persons in the settlement. On the site of David Law's bus office, on Front street, was a sand hill and an old Indian burying-ground, numbers of skeletons having been subsequently exhumed. The place now occupied by Mons Anderson's block was a deep hol- low, while from Mt. Vernon street to Badger street was a long, high ridge of sand, running parallel to the river. From Third street out, for a mile and a half,

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HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

there were no buildings, and the wolves made nightly music where is now the most beautiful part of the city.

HARVEY E HUBBARD,

Police Justice, was born March 17, 1830, at Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y. Ile attended district schools until thirteen years of age, when he entered Mandius Academy, remaining there until his sixteenth year, when he removed with his parents to Milwaukee. There he clerked for a year or more in a grocery store ; studied law two years with Hayden Powers, a nephew of Millard Filhore. He next studied law in the office of Smith & Palmer, until admitted to the Bar in May. 1851, at twenty-one years of age. Removed to La Crosse during the latter part of July of the same year, the journey requiring three days' staging from Milwaukee to Galena, and thence to La Crosse by steamer. Here he went into company with Col. Thomas B. Stoddard. That Winter, he was elected one of the Clerks of the State Senate. Returning to La Crosse in the Spring of 1852, was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court by Judge Knowlton, to supply the place of Mr. Hart, who had gone to California. At the expiration of this term, he was elected to the same position. In the Spring of 1853, was appointed Postmaster, and also elected Justice of the Peace. He first held the post-office in a building owned by Lient. Gov. Burns, on Front street, in which he put three dozen post-office boxes. At the expiration of a year or two, he moved into a building on Main street, near Front street. He remained here perhaps two years ; and then moved into a room under Barron's Hall, west side of Front street, remaining here two years ; thence to Levy's Block, on Pearl street, and lastly to the corner of Main and Third streets. In 1856, he was elected First Police Justice, and at the expiration of his present term has held the office for sixteen years. Mr. Hubbard has been and is very prominent in Masonry, having held the post of worshipful master in Frontier Lodge, high priest of the Chapter, and eminent commander of the La Crosse Commandery. He has also held next to the highest position in the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin. Mr. Hubbard drew the first charter of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad, in 1852.

ALEXANDER MCMILLAN

was born in Finch, Starmont Co., Ont., on the 23d of October, 1825, and is the son of Duncan B. and Mary McMillan, both of whom were natives of Inverness- shire, Scotland, whence they emigrated to Canada in 1815. His father, who was a Ruling Elder of the Pres- byterian Church, at Finch, trained his children strictly in the doctrines of that faith. His boyhood and youth were passed in his native place, dividing his time be- tween study in the common schools and work on the farm. When twenty-one years of age, he removed to the State of New York. Here he passed some time. and in the Spring of 1850, settled in Madison, Wis. Here he spent one year clerking, and at the expiration of that time removed to Portage, at which place also he passed one year. In 1852, in partnership with his brother John, who died in 1865, he established himself in the lumber trade at La Crosse, which place he has

since made his home. The business is more properly what is known as logging, the timber and logs being cut on the Black River and sold to manufacturers on the Mississippi. The business is a very extensive one throughout Wisconsin, and especially in this section of the State, and Mr. McMillan is one of its most promi- nent representatives, being the oldest logger on the Black River. He is still extensively engaged in the business, although largely interested in other enter- prises.

He has always held decided views on the political and municipal affairs of his State and city, and been honored by his fellow-citizens with many positions of public trust. He was for three years a member of the City Council, for several years County Supervisor, and for two years Chairman of the County Board, a posi- tion to which he was re-elected in 1875. He was Mayor of La Crosse in 1871, and in 1876 Chairman of the Board of Trade. In 1873, he was elected to the State Legislature on the Republican ticket. During the same year, it being that of the great financial crisis, he became President of the First National Bank of La Crosse.

Aside from his activity in political matters, he has always shown a public-spiritedness and been deeply in- terested in the public enterprises of his city. In 1869, the McMillan Brothers became the chief owners of the La Crosse Gas Works, which were incorporated in 1863. Alexander McMillan was made president, and Duncan D. McMillan vice-president. He has always been an earnest supporter of the temperance movement, and in 1873 was made President of the La Crosse Temperance League. He was married in 1858, to Miss Sarah L. Parker, daughter of Mr. Herrick Parker, of La Crosse, formerly a prominent citizen of Elyria, Ohio. Mrs. McMillan is a lady of fine native endowments, highly accomplished, and has attained local celebrity for her skill in oil painting, many of her pieces having taken premiums at various county and city expositions. Mr. McMillan possesses excellent personal qualities, social and genial, and is a most agreeable companion. By promptness and industry, he has gained the reputation of being a thorough business man, and as a reward of his honorable and fair dealing, has the respect and es- teem of all who know him, and lives in the enjoyment of an ample fortune.

DUNCAN D. MCMILLAN.

Mr. McMillan, a native of Finch, in the Province of Ontario, was born on the 20th of June, 1837. He is the son of Duncan B. and Mary McMillan. After re- ceiving an ordinary English education in the common schools of his native place, he engaged for a time in lumbering in Canada West. His natural tastes and inclinations inclined him toward mechanism, but his circumstances were not such as to admit of his gratify- ing his desires. In 1859, at the age of twenty-two, he removed to the West and joined his two elder brothers at La Crosse, where they had previously established themselves in the lumbering and logging trade. He at onee went into their employment, in which he contin- ned till 1861. The business not being congenial to his tastes, he abandoned it and entered the office of another brother, E. H. McMillan, and began the study of law.

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HISTORYTOF LA CROSSE COUNTY.

He applied himself to this new pursuit with such dili- gence that he was admitted to the Bar in the following year. He did not, however, at once enter upon the practice of his profession, but within a few months ac- cepted a clerkship in the Quartermaster's Department, at Memphis, Tenn., under Col. A. R. Eddy, a position he held during portions of 1863 and 1864. Returning home, he purchased an interest in the lumbering busi- ness of his brothers, and has continued in the same up to the present time. Upon the death of his brother John, in 1865, the firm name was changed to that of A. & D. D. McMillan. His attention, however, has not been wholly confined to the lumbering trade, but being a man of enterprise and thorough business qualifica- tions, he has employed his capital in other enterprises, not only remunerative to himself, but also tending to and directly connected with the welfare of his city. He is one of the largest stockholders in the La Crosse Gas Light Company, and became its vice-president. Politically, he is a Republican. When he first became interested in political affairs, slavery was the great issue between the two parties. He naturally arrayed himself with what he deemed the party of liberty and progress, and cast his first vote for Abraham Lin- coln. He is not partisan, and acts with great inde- pendence, always exalting man above party and sup- porting for office the one he deems most worthy and the best qualified. He has not, however, had any am- bition to reap political honors, finding in his regular business ample scope for the exercise of his best talents. He accepted position as member of the Board of Super- visors, during 1873 and 1874. His parents were staunch Presbyterians, and the principles and doctrines which they instilled in his early life have been strengthened and confirmed as he has grown older, and he is now an active and worthy member of that body. He was mar- ried in 1866 to Miss Mary J. MeCrea, daughter of Stephen McCrea, Esq., of Huntingdon County, in the Province of Quebec.

JOHN S. SIMONTON.

Mr. Simonton was born in Clermont County, Ohio, about sixteen miles distant from Cincinnati, May 4, 1807 ; lived in that and adjoining county till the Spring of 1852. In Warren County, he was on the farm adjacent to that of Tom Corwin, the famous natural orator and stump speaker, a niece of whom married Joseph Sim- onton, a late resident of La Crosse, and who still resides in the city. Mr. Simonton emigrated to this place, from Ohio in 1852, making the journey entirely by steamer ; from St. Louis, he came on the " Nominee," Capt. Orrin Smith, a pioneer of western steamboating, being in command. He arrived at this point, April 10, 1852. The present site of the city was diversified by sand hills and corresponding hollows. The corner of Main and Third streets was marked by a sand hill fifteen feet high, on the spot where the Dunlap Broth- ers erected the building which has been removed to give place to the La Crosse National Bank ; it was built abont 1853. They bought the two lots on which their building stood for $50. A high hill marked the place where the city building was erected, part of which yet remains, and is occupied by the house of George Farnham. Another hill existed on the site of

the present court-house. The highest was one south of the livery stable of J. Emery. During the Fall of 1852, he went into partnership with F. M. Rublee and S. T. Smith, and built the first saw-mill erected in La Crosse, at the mouth of that stream, on the site of the present tannery. The old stack remained standing till within a year or two. In a year he sold out his inter- est, and the firm then consisted of Messrs. Dyer, White & Rublee ; the latter also sold out shortly after. In 1854, a grist-mill was added, which was run by night. The mill was burned to the ground in 1855 or 1856. While in the mill, Mr. Simonton had a third interest in a store on Front street, the other parties being Messrs. Clinton and Smith (S. T.) It was on the site of the present Juneau Block, and was destroyed by fire in 1856. He next went into the furniture business, on the spot now occupied by Giles & Goodland. This building was a two-story frame. His interest was soon sold out to W. Ustic. It had double store-rooms, and was for a while occupied by Mr. Robbins for a hotel. This building was burned in 1857 or 1858. Mr. Sim- onton next engaged in running the ferry. At first he had charge of the " Gen. Pope," and was employed by Gen. Washburn. He was also in the employ of the S. M. R. R., and run the "Alice" and the " McGregor." In 1864, the " Alice" was sold, and the "McGregor" soon afterward, while the "Gen. Pope" was taken to Hudson. The ferry was below Barron's Island. In 1870, Mayor Rodolf appointed Mr. Simonton, Chief of Police. In 1873, he was elected Sheriff, and served one term, which is all that is permitted, without a term inter- vening before a re-election. When the financial crisis of 1857 struck the country, it found him all unpre- pared, and in one month the earnings and savings of a life-time, amounting to $10,500, mostly money on loan, were swept away.

BY ETHAN ROBERTS.

When I was a young man, my business was teaching district schools in the Winter seasons, and occasionally clerking in village stores in the Summer time. These occupations becoming somewhat monotonous, I hired out to travel with an electrician, who was engaged in lecturing on Experimental Philosophy. My place was to go ahead, make arrangements for the " exhibitions," and, when convenient, return to help the lecturer during the evening. I soon became quite expert in handling the instruments, and having quite a "gift of gab," was frequently put forward to do the talking. In a few weeks I bought out my employer, and started out on my own hook. My parents, who were steady-going Quakers, and my brothers and sisters, manifested much " concern of mind " about this new venture, but occa- sionally returning to the parental roof in Livonia, Wayne Co., Mich., and counting before their aston- ished eyes the dollars and dimes I had cleared in my absence, they soon became convinced that the business was legitimate. The Fall of 1851 and the following Winter, was spent lecturing in the northwestern part of Illinois and the southwestern part of Wisconsin, giving pleasure to my patrons and putting some eoin in my own pockets. In the Spring of 1852, just as the frost was coming out of the ground, I concluded to "quit all worldly business," and take a trip to La

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HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

Crosse County, to visit my brother-in-law, Luther Downer, and his family. who had settled in Lewis Val- ley in 1848. Crossing the Wisconsin River at a place called the Packet, and leaving my apparatus at Hozen's Tavern, being assured there would be no further use for it, I followed the ridge which separates the waters flowing into the Kickapoo from those which flow into the Mississippi. After leaving the ridge road I fol- lowed the wagon trail leading to Prairie La Crosse, until opposite Bostwick's Valley; here leaving the main track, and following a still blinder one, after ty- ing the two wheels on each side of the buggy together, I took old Jim by the bits and commenced the descent to the valley. At the steepest place of the hill my horse sat down on his haunches and quietly slid to the bottom. My intention was to ford the La Crosse River in the present town of Hamilton and, if possible, reach Lewis Valley before night set in, but a storm which had been gathering all the morning now threatened to burst with violence at any moment. So reining up to an humble cabin, I asked shelter for myself and horse. The man was living alone by the side of a small stream. His family was in the eastern part of the State, and he was preparing a home for them. With manly generosity, he welcomed me to the best the house afforded, and to one-half of his bed. His man- ner of cooking was new to me; he would take a cup of water from the brook, then turn it into the flour in the barrel and proceed to mix his cake ; this he baked in a frying-pan before an open fire. The same dish served to fry his meat in; then making some strong tea in a tin cup, our frugal meal was ready. A sudden rise in the streams caused me to remain with him two nights, and each succeeding meal was an exact dupli- cate of the first.

My friend informed me that it was impossible, at that stage of water, to ford the river, and my only chance to reach Lewis Valley was to go down the river to a ferry, which must have been near where the junction now is. So bidding my kind host good-bye, in a few hours' time the ferry was reached ; after get- ting a good dinner for myself, and a peck of oats for my horse, I continued my journey, not seeing a house or human being until arriving at Lewis Corners, where, in a little wood-colored schoolhouse, I found A. T. Fuller teaching about one dozen scholars, three of whom called me uncle. Taking them in my buggy, we drove to their home, two miles east, near the present village of Newton Center. Ilere was a niece which I had never seen before, and my sister proudly informed me that Hannah Lorette Downer was the first white child born in Lewis Valley. There was but few families in the valley, but all seemed happy and contented. During my stay, I visited the Douglas' settlement on Black River, made a trip to Prairie La Crosse, hunted in Black Walnut Grove, and fished in Fleming's Creek and its tributaries. The majestic hills and flowing rivers charmed me, and the good feelings among the inhabit- ants served to make my visit pleasant. In a few weeks the "good-byes" were spoken, and 1 returned to Michigan. In the Spring of 1853, Sarah W. Dana, a Yankee schoolma'am from Amherst Mass., made my acquaintance, and she just hinted that Mr. Roberts t to stop " peddling lightning " and settle down.

I frankly told her that if I could find a young woman who would do one-half the sparking, perhaps I might be induced to marry. She as frankly replied that she would willingly do two-thirds. We commenced busi- ness on that basis, and nobly did she stand to her bargain.

On the 27th of July, 1853, the Rev. Mr. Jackson, of Milford, received a marriage fee from my pocket. I told Mrs. Roberts of my travels in the West, of the deep rich soil in the valleys of La Crosse County, of the springs of pure gurgling water, of the nice timber on the hills, of the shiny speckled trout in the streamlets, of the deer that roamed over the mountains, of the bears among the bushes, of the large yellow rattlesnakes in the rocks and of the massasaugers on the marshes ; and she said : " Let us go to that beautiful land." In the Fall of 1855 (having previously sent money to purchase land in Lewis Valley), we left Michigan in an emigrant wagon, and in about three weeks' time we arrived at Luther Downer's. Leaving wife and baby with my sister, and taking two men with me, we went up the valley to build a house on the quarter-section, which my brother-in-law had selected for me, about seven miles east of Newton Center. We stuck two crotches in the ground, then laid a pole across them, and placed boards, one end on the pole and the other end on the ground, and our temporary shelter was completed. A log fire in front of this made it quite pleasant. We soon had logs cut and hauled for a house, 20x18 feet, and a stable 14x12 feet, and hands invited to help put them np. On the morning of the raising, a snow-storm set in which lasted all day. Of course no one came to, help us ; so we three rolled up the stable, muddied it outside and inside, put on a roof of boards, called it a house and moved in, and there, as snug as a " bug in a rug," we spent our first Winter in Wisconsin, often repeating-

" Tossed no more on life's rough billows, All the storms of sorrow o'er."

The county of La Crosse had been settling up quite fast during my stay in Michigan. La Crosse Valley and La Crosse City had improved very rapidly, while nearer home the Germans were locating about Burr Oak, and the Norwegians were opening up some splen- did farms in the lower parts of Lewis Valley. A store, tavern, blacksmith shop and school-house had been built at Newton Center, and there were signs of thrift and energy all around.

Luther Downer, who was a "mighty hunter," spent a part of the Winter with us and many were the deer that fell before his trusty rifle. Little did we think at that time that he was so soon to fall before the reaper, Death. But in the Spring of 1856, after a short sick- ness, surrounded by his weeping family and a few friends, the hardy pioneer peacefully passed away to that bet- ter land.

In the Fall of 1859, my hired man, Thomas Jones, taking a shotgun and dog with him, started out for the cows. When about half a mile from home, he discov- ered a bear which the dog soon treed. With more of rashness than cf prudence he went almost under the bear, and aiming at the fellow's heart, sent a charge of shot into him. The bear growled, and loosening his

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HISTORY OF LA CROSSE COUNTY.

hold of the limb with all but one paw, he hung sus- pended in mid air for a short time and then dropped. As soon as he struck the ground "Peter" jumped upon him. With one stroke of his strong paw, the bear threw the dog to a respectable distance. The dog gave up the fight. Tom then stepped up to the bear, and with a powerful blow broke the bear's skull and ruined the gun. Tom was so elated that he took the bear on his shoulders, and brought him home in triumph. When his excitement was over he could not lift the animal from the ground.

During the many years of the hard times, which commenced in 1857, poverty often stared us in the face and sometimes came very near looking us out of coun- tenance ; vet, through all those long years of failures and successes, of sorrows and of joys, we never lost faith in the future, nor once regretted having made our home in Lewis Valley. As business or pleasure frequently calls us to different parts of the county, and we notice the great improvements every-where made, the easy grades over the ridges, the substantial bridges over the rivers, the well-cultivated farms, the neat and comfortable farm houses, the well-built railroads, the thriving villages, and the city of La Crosse, the pride of the western part of Wisconsin, making a market for the farm products of all the surrounding country, whose business men are the peers of any in the State, we are convinced that our early faith in the future of La Crosse County was well founded.

And now, living on our third farm, having neither "poverty nor riches," surrounded by kind friends and good neighbors, our greatest ambition is-

"To live contentedly between The little and the great ; Feel not the wants that pinch the poor, Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door, Embittering all his state, until He Who notes the sparrow's fall Shall beckon us to that more 'beautiful land,' 'Just over the river.' "

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Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1052

Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1052