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 228

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 228

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

E L BOOTHIBY, M. D., Hammond , was born in York Co .. M. in 199 he took an academic course at Wilbraham, Mass.,

graduated at the Medical Department of Dartmouth College in 1874 . he was engaged in practice during the last year of his course : came West in the fall of 1874. and located in Hammond, June, 1875. llis wife was Alice A. Wilcox, born in Illinois ; They have two children-Carleton F. and Jonathan.

ANSON J. GOLDEN. M. D., Hammond ; was born in Can- ada East in 1847 ; he removed to Vermont when thirteen years of age : received his literary education at Andover and at Derby Academy, Vermont ; hogan the study of medicine in 1867 ; grad- uated at the Medical Department of the University of Vermont in 1873: practiced at Lowell, Vr., two and a half years : a part of this time was previous to his graduation. He came West and located at River Falls, Wis., in 1874 : came to Hammond in 1980 ; since his graduation, Dr. Golden has traveled considerahly for th . benefit of his health ; he went to Florida in November, 1879, where he passed the following winter. His wife was Clara H. Hovey, born at Alden, Vt .: they have two daughters-Verna and Laura E.

EDWARD GARDINER, proprietor of Gardiner House, Hammond : was born in Kingston, Upper Canada, in 184] ; he removed to Kenosha Co., and thenee to St. Croix Co. in November, 1857, where he has since lived ; he was engaged in farming many years ; began keeping the hotel known as the Pioneer House. July 18, 1871 ; this house was burned March 18. 1877; Mr. Gardiner built his present hotel on the site of the Pioneer House. in 1879 ; he now has a good hotel, which is a credit to the vil- lage of Hammond ; the cost of the building was 81,500. His wife was a native of Canada; they have three children, one son and two daughters. Mr. Gardiner has a good livery in connec- tion with his house.

HENRY A. GOULD. Hammond; was born in Norridge- wock, Somerset Co., Me., in 1823, where he lived till sixteen years of age, when he went to Massachusetts; he learned the trade of a machinist at North Chelmsford in that State ; he worked at his trade till 1855 ; he removed to Cottage Grove, Minn., in the fall ol' 1855, and engaged in farming ; he was long engaged in mis. sinonary work in connection with the Congregational Church ; it was in the service of' this church that he was induced to come to Hammond as a lay minister ; he came here in December. 1865. and was ordained the following year. The Congregational Church at Hammond owes much to Mr. thould for its establishment and support in the days of its infancy. The present edifice was built under his ministry, in 1873. He was Pastor of the church five years. The cost of the present edifice was about 84,000, of which he raised 82.700 by subscription; he also performed much manual labor in its erection, hauling the stone himself for the foundation on which it is built. He has also given considerable attention to the homeopathie system of medicine. in the practice of which he has been engaged since 1870. His wife was Lucy W. Hale, born in the same town as her husband, in 1824 ; they have had five children, two of whom are living-William A., of Minneapolis, and lhenrietta, now Mrs. Herbert W. Dodge. A daughter, Carrie R .. died in October, 1880. in her eighteenth year ; two died in infancy.

JOIN THAYER, Postmaster, Hammond; is one of the most prominent early settlers of St. Croix Co .; he was born in Worcester Co .. Mass., in 1809 ; he lived in his native State and Connecticut till twenty-five years of age. when he removed to Fayette ('o., Ohio; he came to Hammond from Seneca Co., Ohio, in 1856. and purchased a farm which included that part of the village of Hammond known as Thayer's Addition, on which he built a shanty, his first residence, on the present site of the Gardiner House ; he built a hotel in 1858, which he called the Pioneer House ; he kept this as a hotel until the advent of the railroad to this place. Ile was the first Postmaster of Hammond, and still holds that office, which he has held since 1857. He was prominently connected with the early history of this town, and has always taken a commendable pride in religious and educa- tional interests. lle was Justice of the Peace for about twelve

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HISTORY OF ST. CROIX COUNTY

years. His wife was Serepta Stickney, bora in Franklin Co., N. Y. They have one son-Andrew P., born in Connecticut ; he is engaged in general mercantile business at Hammond.

TOWN OF SOMERSET.

The first town meeting to organize the town was held at the house of Thomas J. Chappel in 1856, and organized by the election of T. J. Chappel, Chairman, and Thomas Parnell and Jerrie Revord, Supervisors; Thompson Nelson, Town Clerk ; James G. Nelson, Town Treasurer. The second town meeting was held at the store of Gen. Harriman. At that time, the total assessment of personal property was $1,700. There being no law book in the town, they were obliged to send to Hudson for one with which they organ- ized the meeting.

The first school was held in the house of Mr. Andett, and Miss Francis King was the first teacher. The first sermon was preached at the house of Joseph Parent by Rev. Mr. Fisher. The first church was built in 1856, near the home of James Parnell, and Rev. Napoleon MeNault its first Pastor. The first marriage was Francis Parent to Miss Margaret Parent, by Rev. Mr. Fisher. The present church was built in Somerset Village in 1875. The first settler in the town of Somerset was Joseph Parent, who came in 1850. This old pioneer located on the spot where he now lives ; his only neighbors were Indians, wolves and catamounts. The first blacksmith-shop in the town was built by Frank H. Montbriand, who now works in it. The first store was built by Gen. Samuel Harriman, but his business demanded a larger one, and he built his present large and convenient one, in which everything a farmer or any one else can find all they need.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

FRANK A. AMES, Somerset, was born in Orland, Hancock Co., Mo., July 6, 1850 ; spent most of his time on the sea in the summer on the Grand Banks fishing, and in the winter lumber- ing on the Union River, until he came to Wisconsin, in the spring of 1872. While on his way home from his fishing one season he narrowly escaped a shipwreck. He married Miss Mary E. Ben- ner, of Ellsworth, Me., Sept. 13, 1872. They have three chil- dren-Jennie C., Willie F. and Mary.

HENRY BERGESON, Somerset, was born in Lanorare. Canada, April 8. 1828, where he remained until sixteen years of age, farming ; went to Whitehall and remained for two years, thence to New York City ; returned to Canada and worked at lumbering for sixteen years, then to Granite Falls, N. H., where he remained for eight months; returned to Canada and worked in the copper mines six months ; came to Somerset in 1866, where he has remained since. He was married, in 1860, to Julia Har- vieux. They have five children- William, August, Odile, Henry and Joseph.

AUGUSTINE BELISLE, Somerset, was born in Quebec ; he was engaged on a farm and in sailing on the St. Lawrence River three years : came to Somerset in June, 1855 ; worked on Apple River and in the woods, and in a few years bought a farm of 300 acres ; has sold 60 acres ; was elected Supervisor ; was also Road Surveyor for a year. He was married in July, 1859, to Miss Elenor Germain. They have nine children-Alexander, Josephine, Elliot, Alvena, Eugene, Louise, Augustine, Ziphira and Silista.

ISAAC BURTON, Somerset, was born in Russia in 1815. He carried on a dairy of 102 eows until his mother died ; lived on the line between Russia and Prussia and traded in merchandise of dif- ferent kinds across the line, and after many bold and daring advent- ures he moved to America, leaving his family behind, landing in

New York in 1850. He went to Utica, where he remained for about eight years, selling goods ; moved from there to Chicago and engaged in selling goods for about nine years ; from there to Peoria, Ill., remaining there about four years engaged in mer chandising, and from that point to Somerset. He located a farm of over 360 acres, where he now is with his family. He was married, in 1842, to Miss Sallie Jacobs. They have eight chil- dren living-Barbara, Louie, Samuel, Anna, Elizabeth, Jacob, Barney and Mitchell.

JOHN F. COMBACKER. Somerset, was born in Germany Dec. 4, 1825 ; came to America in 1846; enlisted in 1846 in Co. A, U. S. A. ( Mexican war ); was in the battles of Churubus o, Chapultepec and Contreras ; served for two years, when he con- traced a disease from which he has not fully recovered ; went to Philadelphia for nine months, then to New York, then to Boston, for seven years, manufacturing cigars and tobacco ; then to Somer- set, in 1855, and settled upon the land he now occupies ; was elected Assessor in 1869, for two years, and in 1861, elected Town Clerk, which office he has held up to the present time. In 1878, was elected County Surveyor and re-elected in 1880; was also Chairman of the Town Board in 1878. He was married in 1851, to Mariah A. Fesline, of Boston. They have four chil- dren-Josephine, Henry E., Albert and Emma.

P. B. CREPEAU, Somerset, was born in Montreal, Canada, May 2, 1838 ; he conducted a hotel for about seven years in that city ; came to Somerset in 1866, and bought a farm ; moved to Chicago, keeping the Montreal House for ten years ; left Chicago in 1876, after losing all he had by the great fire, and located in Stillwater, Minn., where he remained for four years, and during that time bought a fine farm in Somerset, and opened a livery stable and a saloon. In 1881 he was elected Justice of the Peace for two years. Was married to Miss Matilda Bonaventure, of Montreal, on June 30, 1863. They have one child, Matilda Crepeau.

ALEXANDER GORDON, Somerset, was born in Nova Scotia, Aug. 11, 1825 ; moved to Boston and spent eight years ; worked as sbip earpenter for twelve years, and went to New Or- leans on the ship Levant, thence to Havana and other ports ; moved to Milwaukee in 1857, working in a ship yard, and came to Somerset in the fall of 1857, where he now has 360 acres ; when he came, there was but one house between him and Still- water, a distance of nine miles, with no improvements excepting 4 acres of breaking. In the spring of 1859, was elected Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, which office he held for about six years ; was also Commissioner to lay out the road through the Big Woods in Menomonee, and a county road, completing it in 1861. Has been largely connected with the political history of the town ; was elected Chairman of the Town Board, and has been Town Treasurer several years at different times; is now on the Board of County Equalization appointed by the Chairman of the County Board. Was married in 1854, to Miss Harriett K. Evens ; they have seven children-James A., Frederick A., Win- field S., M. M. P. Gordon, Harry K., Lewis T. and Otis H.

CAPT. EDWARD GRANT is a native of North Carolina, in 1827 ; removed from that State in 1844, and came to St. Croix County in 1851 ; was in active service during the war, and also employed in bridge-building and repairing in the South at that time; after an eventful life as a soldier, he returned home and remained about one year ; then returned to a former occupa- tion, and assumed command of the steamer Dispatch on the Mis- sissippi ; when he first began work on the river, all logs and lumber were floated ; the first steamer for towing was put on in 1862, by Mr. Bradley, of Osceola ; C'apt. Grant retains his own license as Captain of river craft ; for two years past, he has had the supervision of Durant, Wheeler & Co.'s lumber shipping in Stillwater, Minn .; he handled 73,000,000 feet of logs and lumber last year ; he also owns a farm of 240 acres. and a fine home in Somerset. Capt. Grant was married in 1848 to Miss Elanor Rock, of Michigan ; they have four children-Edward W .. Alfred, Josephene and Henry A. The Captain has been School Treas-

06c

HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

urer of a district in Somerset for eighteen years, and Supervisor of his town five years.

BRIG. GEN. SAML. HARRIMAN, Captain of 13th Wis. Vols., commissioned by Gov. Salomon, Aug. 25, 1862; enlisted as a private June 10, 1862, in Co. A, 30th Wis. Vols., and on the organi- zation of the company was made Captain, which position he held until he was promoted for gallant services. Feb. 7, 1864, he was appointed Colonel of the 37th Wis. Vols., which he gallantly led to victory on many a hard-fought field, receiving personal congratu- lations by letter from Brevet Maj. Gen. J. F. Hartramft, of Ten- nessee ; Brevet Maj. Gen. O. B. Wilcox ; John G. Park, Commander of the 9th Corps ; from the Regimental and Brigade Commander of the 9th Army Corps ; and from Brig. Gen. N. B. MeLaughlin. In all the important commands which have been committed to his care, he has acquitted himself' with that high soldierly bearing which called forth the hearty approval of Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, and the President of the United States, which resulted in his appointment by the President as Brigadier General, which appoint- ment was approved by the Senate for his gallant assault upon Ft. Sedgwick, Virginia, on the second day of April, 1865. Thus, step by step, he rapidly rose from the private to the Brigadier, and when the war was over, retired to the shades of private life which he so much longed for, amid the congratulations of all his old comrades, and letter after letter of regret came to him (the original letters, the writer has been permitted to see) from the highest officers with whom he associated. But his home and his family had attractions that a brilliant and successful war record could not allure him from ; and now in the peaceful pursuits of civil life, he is loved and respected by all. He has been appointed Notary Public by Gov. W. R. Taylor and re-appointed by Gov. Wm. E. Smith ; now engaged in a multitude of different kinds of business which he manages with the same consummate ability that so peculiarly marked his brilliant and successful war career. Among the various civil pursuits that now engages his attention may be mentioned, first, his large farm of 555 acres. He is a practical and scientific farmer and stock-raiser ; and is also engaged in lumbering, entting some 3,000,000 feet per year. One is a rotary saw mill, where he cuts his lumber and puts it on his own yard ; also a planing mill, lath and shingle mill in connection with his saw mill, all under one roof; has a merchant and exchange flour mill with six run of stone with a new device, ealled an end- ing stone, which by an ingenious arrangement, cuts the fuzz and the end from the kernel of wheat, and is pronounced a success ; has a store, 24 x 70, two stories and basement, in which he keeps a general stock. The post office is located here. The basement of the building is laid up with white sandstone from a quarry on his own land that is of an excellent quality. The General has a cooper shop, where he makes his own barrels ; a ware house and blacksmith shop. This enterprising man was one of the founders and the platter of the village, building most of the houses, includ- ing the hotel, the two stores on the east side of Apple River and all the dwelling houses on the west side of the river ; has sold all the lots in the first plat of the village of Somerset and has now platted more on the south end of the village, to the number of 14 lots. sales of which are rapid. His business aggregates annually about 875,000. Was born in Orland, Hancock County, Maine, and came to Wisconsin in May. 1856 : spent four years in California, engaged in mining and Iumbering ; built the second canal in the State for sluicing purposes, which was a success; has been in Somerset ever since 1856. Ile has one child living, Mary Francis ; a son, Charles F., died in Madison while he was in the army, and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery.

HUDSON S. HARRIMAN, Somerset, was born in Orland, Hancock Co., Me., May 15. 1833; worked on the farm and in mills until 1856, when he came to Somerset and engaged in lum- bering on the Apple River, until April, 1860, when he returned to the old home in Maine, where he remained until December 16, when he returned to Somerset, and followed lumbering until Sept. 14, 1861, when he enlisted in Co. F. Ist Wis. Regiment,

remaining until June 24, 1862 ; came back and remained until November. 1864, when he returned to the army and joined the 17th Wisconsin Regiment, 17th Corps, 4th Division; was engaged in guarding railroads, building bridges, clearing out tunnels and protecting the lines ; on his returning to the army the second time, joined Sherman's army in his mareh to the sea; such was the strait to which the army was reduced that he with others stole the corn rations from the mules, and would brown it and eat ; they also stole an animal in the dark, and upon examination found it to be a poor bull which they immediately let loose as un- fit for use; the next thing obtained was a camp chest filled with silverware. After taking Columbia, S. C., they had plenty to eat and fared sumptuously every day ; was in Washington at the grand review, and was mustered out at Louisville, Ky .; returned

to Madison, Wis., where the regiment was paid off. Returned to Somerset and engaged in the more peaceful pursuits of life, lum- bering and working in the flour mill ; has since been in the em- ploy of his brother, Brig. Gen. Samuel Harriman. Was married in May 31, 1863, to Miss Marcia A. Briggs, of Somerset, Wis. They have one adopted child ; has been Town Treasurer and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, also has charge of his brother's business.

HENRY G. HENAULT, M. D, Somerset, was born in Three Rivers, Canada, Jan. 9, 1846 ; earned his course of elassies in Nicolet College, Three Rivers, Canada; read medicine with Dr. Drainville for one year at St. Bartholomew ; entered the uni- versity at Quebec called Laval, chartered in 1852 ; left Quebec in 1867 on a journey to Rome, passing through the principal cities of Europe to join the Pope's forces engaged against Garibaldi, and served two years; returned to Canada, May, 1870, and re- sumed his studies in the medical sciences at the Victoria College for two years and six months, graduating in the spring of 1872; after finishing his studies, he traveled in the different States and finally settled in Somerset. Was married June 29. 1876, to Miss Josephine Grant, daughter of Capt. Grant ; they have two children-Josephine and Mary Louisa.

CONRAD KALER, Somerset ; was born in Germany, May 27, 1823, and worked on a ferm until 1870, when the war between France and Germany broke out, and he went into the German army ; came to America after the close of the war, and finally settled in Somerset, buying the farm of 180 acres on which he now lives. Was married, in 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Simon. They have four children-Simon K .. Charley, Anna and Mary.

JAMES KELLEY, Somerset ; was born April 16, 1847, in Ireland; came to America in 1865, and settled in the town of Somerset, where he has lived since, and owns a farm of 80 acres, also a village lot of 3 acres, on which he has built a saloon ; is also a dealer in tax-titles and horses to quite an extent. Was married, in August, 1871, to Miss Mary Jane Riley ; they have seven children-Francis, James E., John W., Rosetta, Ann Jane, Emiline and Mary E.

FRANK KING, Somerset; was born in Canada, June 6. 1822; lived with his parents twenty-one years : came to Lake Superior and remained for five years, carpentering; came to Somerset in September, 1855, and entered 40 acres; lived on the land a few years; went to Saginaw, Mich., where he remained six months ; then returned to Somerset, and bought another farm, on which he has lived since, until he concluded to build for himself a comfortable home in the village of Somerset, owning the farm at the same time. Was married in Detroit, Mich., July 28, 18-17, to Miss Julia Defore ; they have one child, Frank King, Jr.

PAUL LIBERTY, Somerset ; was born in Canada, July 12, 1826; lived with his parents for twenty-one years ; came to Wis- consin in 1849, and settled on the Ean Galle River, for a time; hence to Somerset, and settled on the place where he now lives ; has 200 acres. Was married in 1857, to Miss Anna S. Parent ; they have five children-Susanna, Mary, Tripley, Alexander and John.

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HISTORY OF ST. CROIX COUNTY.

FRANZ MOESMER, Somerset ; came to America July 3, 1880 ; was educated in Munich at the Seminary, a business college ; followed milling while in Germany, running his own mill in Ba- varia ; landed in New York City, where he remained for a few days ; went from there to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained a few days; thence to Milwaukee for two weeks; thence to Winona in a flouring mill ; then to Minneapolis, in the Crown Roller Mill for eight months ; thence to Somerset, and engaged in the manu- facture of flour, doing both a merchant and custom business; the mill has a capacity of sixty barrels per day ; married July 19, 1875, to Miss Therese Kircher, of Bavaria ; they have two chil- dren-Franz and Otto ; his father is a Superintendent of Roads, Rivers and Bnikdlings in Bavaria ; has held the office for the last forty years, and now receives a pension from Bavaria ; Mr. Moes- mer was a soldier in the Bavarian Army ; was Lieutenant in the army ; was in the battle of Sedan ; in active service three years.

FRANK X. MONTBRIAND, Somerset ; was born in Lower Canada, Sept. 20, 1856 ; lived with his parents twenty-one years ; then went to Buffalo, N. Y., for seven months ; came to Eau Galle Mills in 1857, where he remained for two years; thence 10 Stillwater, Minn., for a short time; then to Somerset, and bought a farm of 155 acres of the Government, on which he now lives and built a blacksmith shop, and in about two years went to the flour mill, working nights in the mill and days in the blacksmith shop. Was married in January, 1853, to Mary Ann Parent ; they have nine children-Edward, Amelia, Soulia, Emily, Roslia, Frank, Alexander, Ellen and Alfred. He built the first black- smith shop in the village of Somerset, and built the second house in the village; was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in 1857; also Side Supervisor for four years.

THOMPSON NELSON, Somerset ; was born in Mason Co., Va., in 1811, where he remained for twenty-two years, farming : moved to Wabash Co., Ind., and remained for about twenty years, farming ; came to Somerset in the fall of 1854, and located where he now lives ; at that time it was a wilderness ; his nearest neigh- bor was in the village of Somerset, six miles distant, where he got his supplies, doing most of his trading at Hudson, twenty-two miles, and sixteen miles to Stillwater, going with oxen, taking two days to make the trip, taking loads of deer to both places, and getting good prices ; has been Town Clerk and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for several years, and member of the Board for nine years ; three years a member of the County Board ; also, Overseer of Highways for several years. Married in 1833, Miss Mary Ann Greenlee, of Virginia ; they have five children-James C., Susan, John G., Mary F. and William T.

CHARLES PARENT, Somerset, was born in Quebec, Can- ada, April 12, 1855. Worked on farm until twenty-three years old ; learned the wagon-maker's trade and followed it for two years. Went to Oswego, N. Y., and worked on a farm ; thenee to Detroit, Mich., and worked at his trade for five and a half years. Came to Somerset in May, 1856, and twelve years ago came to his present home, locating where he now has 520 acres. Was married in September, 1869, to Mrs. Angeline Parent. They have seven children-Mary, Della, Joseph, Charlie, Rosalie, Addie and Alfonzo. He owns a steam threshing machine, and, with his active boys, he threshes a large amount of grain each year.

JOSEPII PARENT, Somerset, was born in Three Rivers, Canada, Oct. 10, 1816. Was engaged in farming. Came to Somerset in 1850, and located his farm of 160 aeres. Was mar- ried in June, 1863, to Miss Bridget Ring. They have no chil- dren. Mr. Parent states that the "Otter " was the first steam- boat run on the St. Croix River, Capt. Harris, Commander.

THOMAS PARNELL, Someret. Born in Canada East, District of St. Francis, April 21, 1818, and engaged in farming until he came to Somerset in 1852. At that time there was but one house in the town, now occupied by David German, who then lived two miles distant. There was not a surveyed road in the town, and all his traveling was done by marked trees. He brought all his supplies on his back from Hudson, a distance of twenty- two miles. Has been Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for 61

several years, Clerk of the district school five years. and Director two years. Was married Jan. 24, 1848, to Miss Angeline Parent. They have seven children-William, Oliver, Frederick, Elizabetb, Lawrence, John and Mary.

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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