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 248
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M. W. RYAN. restaurant and boarding-house, was born in Burlington. Vt., Dec. 10, 1847 : moving to Bristol, Conn., went to school there, and came to Milwaukee. Ile received his early schooling in Waukesha, Wis., where his mother now lives. In 1860, he went on to the Lakes, and in 1861 attempted to go with the 28th Reg. W. V. I., as drummer boy. In 1863, in spite of his youth, he enlisted in Co. D. 3d W. V. C. Ile served till 1865, and was mnstered out. In 1866. went to Oshkosh. then to Ft. Howard, and, in 1874, came to Medford; in 1877, he was elected Town Treasurer, which office he held for three years, and in 1878 and 1879 was Deputy Sheriff. In 1880, he opened his restaurant. He is now building a house on Front street, 60x26, at a cost of 82.000, to accommodate his increased business. In 1842, he married Miss Mary Wagner, of Waukesha. They have three children-Maggie, Mary E. and Nellie. He was the first Treasurer of both the I. O. O. F. and the A. O. U. W., and be- longs to the Temple of Honor.
WILLIAM SEEGER, livery stable. Medford, was born in Tonawanda, Eric Co., N. Y .. March 7. 1842. Ile went with his parents to Sheboygan County in 1855, where they settled on a farm, in the town of Lina ; in 1857, he went to Manitowoc, and learned the butcher's trade. He enlisted, in 1861, in the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry, Co. (. and served till 1863, when he re-en- listed. and was wounded at the battle of Morgana; was on the gunboat, Albatross, for six weeks, and returning to his regiment, on the 17th of November. 1861. was taken prisoner, but was paroled ; went to Vicksburg and then home, on sick furlough ; was mus- tered out, at Madison, Wis .; returned to Sheboygan, and resumed his trade. In 1867. he married Miss Amelia Knoublack, of Sheboygan. On Nov. 15, 1874, he came to Medford and opened a butcher-shop, then kept the Central House, and finally began his present business. He has a branch at Spencer, Marathon ('o. Ile was the first terman settler in Taylor Co. They have three children Artie, Lewis and William. He belongs to the I'nited Workmen and the Odd Fellows; has been Supervisor and Deputy Sheriff.
W. D. SMITHI, furniture, Medford ; was born in Tioga Co., Penn., August 27, 1830. The family moved to Tompkins Co, .N. Y., in 1841, where he learned cabinet maker's trade In 1862 he came to Dane Co., Wis., and went into the employ of Govern- ment. manufacturing officers' desks, etc. In 1864 he located in Columbia Co. and opened hotel in Cambria. A fire destroyed all he had. when he came to Medford and opened furniture store ; his wife having started a milliner shop. In 1855 he married Miss II N Murdock They have two children-Josephine. now Mrs.
Price, and Solomon. Mr. Smith has been School Treasurer for four years : belongs to A. O. U. W. and owns a farm of 40 acres.
JAMES SEMPLE. Mr. Semple built the first mill in this county, in March, 1874. He got the mill in operation, and ran it until July 20, when Messrs. Whelen & Robinson were admitted as partners. Mr. Semple was born in Lower Canada, near Montreal, and went to Granby to school. The family afterward moved to Massachusetts, and finally to Oshkosh, where the brothers and mother still reside. Ile was a man very much liked by his men, and, had he lived, would have been a leading citizen. Ile died in September, 1874.
J. B. THOMPSON, general store, Medford; was born in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., Oct. 2, 1847. His father, in 1856, moved the family to Racine, Wis .. where he remained till 1861, when they went to Milwaukee ; here he learned the shoe maker's trade. In 1865 he went to Waupaca Co. and opened a wagon factory with his father. Later he went to Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and Missouri. returning to Milwaukee. In 1879 he came to Medford. opening business as Van Ornum & Thompson. In 1881 assumed the business himself ; his stock amounts to about $2,500 and his business $10.000 a year. In 1870 he married Miss Betsy Ann Rowen, of Northport, Waupaca Co. They have three children- Ida May. Chester Levi, and Luna Ann. Mr. Thompson belongs to the Temple of Honor.
E. L. URQUHART, Sheriff of Taylor Co .. Medford; was born in Canada, Jan. 15, 1846. He went to McGill College, and in 1865 removed to Franklin Co., N. Y .. and engaged in farming for awhile; he next went to Michigan and lumbered in Muskegan. In 1876 he came to Westboro. Taylor Co., where he was engaged in the same business till 1880. 1878 and '79 he was chairman of Town and County Board and resigned when elected Sheriff in 1879. In 1874 he married Miss Catherine Devereux, of Canada. They have three boys-Kenneth J .. Lionel L. and Norman A Mr. Urquhart is a Master of the Masonic Lodge and P. G. of the I. O. O F .; also a member of the A. O. U. W.
J. H. WHEELOCK. clerk. Medford ; was born in Milwau- kee, Wis., August 26, 1852. When ten years of age his parents moved to Washington Co. In 185S they went to Waukesha Co., where he attended the school known as St. John's Hall. Going to Mineral Point he entered Dr. R. D. Pulford's drug store ; his health failing in 1865 he went South, and was employed on the railroads. Ile remained there ten years and then came to Green Bay, and from there to Medford in June, 1876. He was Town Clerk and Justice in 1877 and '78. and was connected with the news- paper till Jan. 1, 1830, when he took the office of Deputy Treas- urer for Taylor Co. Ile was married in 1871, but lost his wife and was married again in 1880, to Miss Fannie Wheeler, of Wisconsin. Mr. Wheelock is an Odd Fellow, belongs to the Temple of Honor and is a member of the Episcopal Church.
T. C. WHELEN ; born in New York State ; when a young man came to Oshkosh and afterward to Fort Howard, and from there to Medford in the spring of 1874. and went into the firm that was building the mill and was interested in it until his death, which was Sept. 27. 1876, at the age of thirty-one years. He had, six years before, married Lizzie, a daughter of David Me- Cartney, whom he left with a daughter. Mr. Whelen was an en- terprising man and did everything in his power to build up the place, and had valuable plans for its improvement at the time of his death. He was a great loss to Medford.
CHIELSE.1.
This place was settled in 1874. It is eleven miles north of Medford on the railroad. It has between four hundred and five hundred inhabitants. The first settlers were inclined to be enterprising, and in 1875 offered to give away every second lot in the village to actual settlers.
Among the early settlers were Abram Taylor, C. II. Gerhart, C. II. MeNaughton, Daniel Shay, Ed Gerow, Roy
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IO31
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
and Leon King, C. Hibbard, Adolphus Perry, J. T. Fre- dan. H. C. Shearer, A. Jadoine.
The village is near the north line of the town.
Mr. A. Taylor built the mill, which cuts thirty-five thou- sand to forty thousand a day of lumber and shingles. The lumber mill is the basis of the village prosperity.
Mr. Taylor is Postmaster, the office having been estab- lished in 1877, and the first quarter the office realized $4.58. It now sells stamps to the amount of about $60a quarter.
Railroad Business .- J. F. Crosby is station agent. Cash per month for frieght at $225; forwarded. $4,000; Passengers at $200.
General Merchandise .- J. B. Anderson, Woodward & Morris, A. Taylor, L. W. Marshall. Hotels .- Chelsea House. C. H. Gearhart built a hotel in 1874, which he still occupies. with Mrs. Gerhart as matron. The Star Hotel started in 1877, L. A. Burley, proprietor.
Blacksmith-W. H. Haight.
Boots and Shoes .- Schriner & Co. Two saloons. Large quantities of ties, telegraph poles and hemlock bark are shipped here in addition to the lumber and shingles. The village is laid out east of the track with three blocks and six streets, Front, Second, up and down the railroad, and North, Pine, Hemlock and Taylor for cross streets.
There are good schools, but, as yet, no churches, the town still being a missionary field for the home department.
Within a radius of six miles of Chelsea there are 50.000 acres of heavily timbered hemlock lands, which will yield at least four cords of bark per acre, which would be 200,000 cords of tanning material.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JOHN B. ANDERSEN. merchant, Chelsea, was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., May 26, 1847 ; was engaged in teaching before leaving there. He enlisted in Co. G, 104th N. Y. V. I., and was wounded in the hip at the battle of Gettysburg. It was abont two months before he was able to walk. In 1866 he went to Allegan, Mich., into a lumber yard as salesman. From there he went to Chicago, in 1869, and entered the hardwood lumber business. In 1872 he commeneed clearing the right of way for the railroad, where Auburndale now is, and went to scaliog logs in the woods ; has worked for Mike Walters, for J. K. Hay ward and McCartney. In 1875 he came to Chelsea and assisted in organ- izing the town. In the fall of 1875 he was appointed Town Clerk on the occasion of the death of S. Berry ; held the office up to 1881 ; is now Justice of the Peace and Superintendent of Schools. In 1880 he built his store and dwelling; carries stock of $5,000, and does a business of $13,000 a year. In 1880 he was married to Miss A. Ripley, of Centralia, Wood Co. He is a mem- ber nf the I. O. O. F .. the A. O. U. W. and the Temple of Honor. L. A. BURBEY hotel, Chelsea, was born in Lower Canada June 15, 1849. When a child he came with his parents to Manitowoe Co., where they lived on a farm. In 1870 he went to Medford, and from there went to Phillips, and soon after came to Chelsea. In 1877 he opened a hotel. He was appointed Deputy Town Clerk under Anderson, and was elected, in 1878, to the offiee. In 1879 he was elected Chairman of the Town Board. and of the County Board for 1880-81 ; has been Justice of the Peaec. Ile is now dealing in bark. In 1879 he bought 160 acres of land. He raised a erop of potatoes there for his hotel use, and carried them on his back from the field to the hotel. His first wife died, leaving two children-Alfred A. and Lewis E. IIe was married again in 1875. to Miss Margaret Ellie, whose father was one of the first settlers of Manitowoc Co. They have had three children-Andrew, Mary Elizabeth and Clara ( deceased .. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., the A. O. U. W. and the Temple of Honor ; is a member of the Catholic Church.
J. D. FURDUN, restaurant, Chelsea, was born in Sullivan Co., N. Y., Jan. 1, 1845. In 1862 he enlisted in Co. F. 143d N. Y. V. I, and was mustered out in 1865. His father had served in the same company and was discharged on account of his disability. They moved to Calumet, Wis., and then to Wanshara Co. While here he was married, in 1868, to Miss Anna Furdun. In 1875 they came to Chelsea and took a homestead of' 160 acres, which he traded for his town property. They have two children- Charles and Ella May. Mr. Furdun has been on the Town Board of 1880, and is a member of the Temple of Honor.
C. H. GEARHART. hotel, Chelsea, was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., May 2, 1829. He remained on the farm until he came to Wisconsin to engage in milling. In February, 1855, he went to Portage Co., where he took a piece of Government land and farmed it in connection with milling. He remained here till 1863, when he enlisted in the 6th Wis. Battery Light Artillery ; served till 1865, when he was granted a leave of absence on ac- count of disability. He opened the Greenfield House in Plain- field. In 1874 he came to Chelsea and built the first hotel in the place. keeping his boarders in a shanty till it was completed. On Jan. 21, 1851, he married Miss Lonisa Taber, of Livingston Co., N. Y. They have four children living, and have lost two- Charles B. and John F. Those living are-Albert A., Alfred Vinton, George L. and O. Nahaniel. Mr. Gearhart was the first Supervisor of the town : was District Clerk when the school- house was built, and Justice. He belongs to the Temple of Honor, being the first member from Chelsea.
W. H. HAIGHT, farmer, Sec. 12, P. O. Chelsea, was born in Toronto, Canada, April 10. 1846. In 1865 he came to Wiscon- sin ; located at Green Bay, engaged in lumbering, and in 1876 he went to Westboro. where he opened the Central House of that place. In 1881 he came to his farm to reeruit his lost health. In 1868 he married Miss Haight, of Canada.
DAVID MONTOUR. saloon, Chelsea, was born in Upper Canada, Feb. 15, 1853. His parents came to Wisconsin in 1855, and located in DePere, Brown ('o., where he attended school. His first employment was in lumbering. In 1874 he moved to Little Black, Taylor Co., and moved to Chelsea in 1876. Ile began his present business in 1880, and has just erected a house in the vil- lage, 24x40 and two stories high, for business and residence. In 1878 he married Miss Julia Sheff. of Medford. They have one child, Francis. He owns a farm of 75 acres.
LEON ROY, Inmberman, Chelsea : was born in Quebec. Canada, June 4, 1853. In 1870 he went to Detroit. Mich., then to Minnesota and finally to Portage Co. He belonged to a sur- veying party and located in Chelsea, opening a grocery store, and after awhile began lumbering. He has been Assessor for four years past, and belongs to the A. O. U. W.
H. C. SHEARER, farmer, Sec. 2, P. O. Chelsea : was born in Chantanqna Co., N. Y., July 29, 1849. In 1866 he went to Kent Co., Mich., and engaged in Iumbering. In 1871 he went to San Francisco but returned to Wisconsin and began lumbering in the northern part of the State. He then came to Chelsea and worked awhile in the mill and since has been Inmbering and fartu- ing. He bonght his farm of 101 acres in 1877, and another of 70 acres. He has abont 20 acres cleared and improved. He was Chairman of the Town Board in 1876 and '77; Town Treasurer from 1878 to '81, and belongs to the Temple of Honor. In 1879, April 26, he married Miss Evalina Eastling, of Sank Co. They have three children-Belle, Marden and an infant.
ABRAM TAYLOR, lumberer and mill owner, Chelsea : was born in Grafton Co., New Hampshire. Angust 29, 1822. His carly life was passed on a farm; in 1855 he came to Wisconsin and has followed mercantile business since; he first settled in Ft. Howard, Brown Co. In 1874 he came to Chelsea and built his mill, living meanwhile in a car standing on the track, as there was no train through for weeks. The mill has a capacity of 40.000 of lumber and 80,000 of shingles a day. L. M. Marshall now has a share in the business. Mr. Taylor has a store in connection
1032
HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.
with the mill. In 1861 he enlisted in the 12th Wis. Vol., Co. HI, and in 1862 was discharged on account of his disability, and re- turned to Fort Howard; he helped in organizing the town of Chelsea ; he has a homestead of 160 acres on See. 6, in the town of' Chelsea, 12 acres clear and 31 under cultivation : he is locating the emigrants as fast as they arrive, furnishing them with houses and work, and thus peopling this section of the State. In 18-17 he married Miss Martha Young, of New Hampshire. They have one son-Carl I. Mr. Taylor is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Baptist Church.
W'M. R. TUTTLE. farmer. Chelsea ; was born in Oswego Co., N. Y., Nov. 23, 1848. In 1869 he went to Sheboygan Co., and soon after to the mines in Michigan. where he worked at the trade of carpenter ; he then went to Green Bay, Wis., and began lum- bering. In 1874 he came to Taylor ('o., first to ('belsea, then to Westboro, and finally to Medford. In 1876 he married Mrs. Honeywell; in 1877 returned to Chelsea and took a homestead of 10 acres and bought 40 in the town of Westboro, and also house and lot in Chelsea. lle works at the carpenter's trade and lum- bering in connection with farming; he belongs to the Temple of Honor.
WESTBORO.
A village near the northern boundary of the county, on the Wisconsin Central Railroad. The earliest settlers here were in 1874. C. C. Palmer, Peter Campbell, Nelson Salno.
A mill was built by J. Duncan, William Taylor and James Richie. It subsequently fell into the sole ownership of J. Duncan.
In 1876, H. Haight built a hotel, which he still occupies. C. C. Palmer kept a hotel for several years, but does not now entertain guests.
John Duncan is Postmaster.
There is a Temple of Honor in town, in good standing. There is a good school, taught by Miss Hattie Hull.
Westboro is on the west side of the railroad. and has Front, Second and Hurd streets north and south. and North, Center and River streets east and west.
Silver Creek runs through the southern part of the village. There are two saw-mills in Westboro, John Dunean's and (. C. Palmer's.
General merchandise, John Duncan ; groceries and pro- visions, C. Il. Palmer. There are three saloons. Hotels, Central, G. Bonneville ; Star Hotel, N. Salno.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ALPHONSE BONNEVILLE, hotel, Westboro, was born at Brazier's Falls, N. Y .. Jan. 12, 1842; while yet a boy he moved with his parents to the neighborhood of Montreal, upon a farm, where he remained till 1859. he then went into the woods and on the river; in 1868, he went to Green Bay and built a hotel and lumbered some; June, 17. 1881, he opened his present hotel. In 1859. he married Lydia Bushoward, of Canada. They have six children-Ilda, Fredelevis, Alinira, Leon, Sinda and baby Silia They belong to the Catholic Church.
PETER CAMPBELL. horel, Westboro, was born in South Hampton, Mass., April 5, 1831; moved to Nova Scotia, where he was employed in a ship yard, and then to Wisconsin in 1852; in 1868, he began lumbering for himself, and in 1874, came to West- boro and was occupied with various enterprises until 1877. when he opened the Campbell House, of which he is now proprietor. In 1875, he married Miss Gertrude E. Woodbridge, of Kenosha, Wis., then Mrs. Cone ; she has two children-Hattie and Oscar Cone ; he was Assessor in 1874. and belongs to the Masonic Lodge of Steven's Point.
STERLING D. CONE, manufacturer of lumber, Westboro, was born in Dodge Co., Wis, Aug. 1, 1818; in 1974. was en- gaged in clerkiag. and then in a hotel with his father, after which he learned telegraphing and went into the employ of the Central
Company, at Steven's Point ; in 1874, he took the station of West- boro, being one of the first settlers of the village ; August, 1878, went into the mercantile business, and afterward built this mill, having a capacity of 30,000 feet of lumber and 35,000 of shingles. In 1870, he married Miss Mattie Morrison, of Ogdensburg, N. Y. They have had six children-Wm. D., deceased ; Harrie; twin babes, deceased ; Winifred and the baby, not named. Mr. Cone has been Town Treasurer for two years, and Town Clerk since the town formed in 1876.
JOIIN DUNCAN, manufacturer, Westboro, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, June 9, 1826; came to Milwaukee in 1851, and worked as a machinist until 1867, when he went into the shops of the St. Paul, Chicago & Minneapolis R. R .; while there sent out sixteen locomotives ; in 1870. he bought a share in a ma- chine shop in Fort Howard; in 1876 he established himself in Westboro. He erected his large mill in the year 1874; it has a capacity of 100,000 shingles and 50,000 feet of lumber a day. In 1849, April 13, he married Miss Margaret MeEwing, of Greenock, Scotland. They have had a family of six-Thomas. with his father; Archibald, in the shop in Ft. Howard ; bis twin brother, John, not living ; Wm., in the store, and Alexander, not living. Mr Duncan and wife are members of the Baptist Church.
ANTOINE FOURINER, saloon. Westboro, was born in Franklin Co., N. Y., Oct. 9, 1855. He went to Collingwood, Canada. where he was engaged in lumbering, and then to Mar- quette, Mich., where he worked about the mines. From there he went to Menominee. and thence to Oshkosh. He began his pres- ent business in May, 1881. He is a member of the Catholic Church.
JOHN B. JACOBS. JR., book-keeper with J. Duncan, West- boro, was born in Marinette, Wis .. Jan. 17, 1849, where he lived with his parents until 1867. His grandmother settled there in 1830. He then went to Green Bay. where he acquired his edu- eation, graduating at a Spencerian College. He entered the em- ploy of Mr. Duncan eleven years ago ; was in the foundry till 1877. and then in Westboro, where he is book-keeper. Mr. Jacobs has been Town Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He is a Catholic.
C. H. PALMER. lumberman, Westboro, was born in Susque- hanna Co., P'enn ; was engaged in lumbering and farming, and came to Waukesha Co., Wis., in 1858, where he also engaged in farming. In 1872 he moved to Roxbury and kept a boarding- house, and in 1874 settled in Westboro, being the first settler in the village. He built a hotel and kept it till 1878, when he went into a saw-mill with S. D. Cone. In 1880 he sold his interest. He married Miss James, of Susquehanna Co., Penn. They have one son, Clarence, who was born in Waukesha C'o., Wis., in 1859, where he attended school and finished at the Madison University in 1877. He now has control of the grocery store.
NELSON SALVO, saloon, Westboro, was born in East Canada Aug. 9, 1848. There he remained till April 13, 1865, when he went to Green Bay and engaged in lumbering. In 1874 he came to Westboro, cleared trees and stumps from his lot and built and opened a saloon. He now has a boarding-house and farms, owning 160 aeres in the town of Westboro and a farm in the adjoining town. Mr. Salvo was on the Town Board for three years ; was Town Treasurer for 1880. and held other offices. In 1877 he married Maria Thorson, of Steven's Point. They have two children -- Laura L. and Edna M. He is a member of the 1. 0. 0. F.
STETSONVILLE
is three miles from the southern boundary of the county, on the Wisconsin Central Railroad. It has a post office established in 1875. The present Postmaster is Peter Lib- erty.
The mill here is owned and operated by E. K. Buttrick. B. B. George has a store, as there also is with the mill. There are several residences, and there is plenty of room in all directions for growth.
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1033
HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY.
TREMPEALEAU COUNTY.
NATURAL FEATURES.
This is one of the western tier of counties of the State, and is bounded on the north by Eau Claire County, on the east by Jackson County, on the south by La Crosse County and the Mississippi River, and on the west by Buffalo County. The surface of the county is almost equally diversified, being divided into high rolling prairie, level low lands, sharp, rocky bluffs and long ridges and ravines. Generally speaking, the county has excellent water-ways, being watered by Trempe- aleau River, and Beaver and Elk Creek and their tributaries, on all of which superior mill power is afforded, that has been generally availed of for the erection of both saw and grist mills. Along these streams are narrow valleys of fertile land, smiling among the somber hills, upon which they fat- ten by the aid of nature's perpetual washings. Upon the summit of these ridges, the land is not so fertile as in the valleys, but becomes so as it approaches the prairie, some of which is of large dimensions, and presents excellent oppor- tunities to the husbandman.
In addition to the streams mentioned, there are numerous springs, ereeks and rivulets, which furnish drainage for the country through which they pass, and some of which afford slight water power. The county also contains mineral springs, the medicinal qualities of which have been exam- ined and analyzed by chemical experts, who pronounce them superior.
The soil is generally of a sandy loam interspersed with some swamp land, adapted to the growing of hay, and at certain points a clay loam. In some portions of the county there is an inconvenient destitution of timber, but is being rapidly grown, and will in time promise an abundance of material for building and other purposes. Wheat, corn, clover, etc., find their chosen home in the soil of its hillsides and valleys, and properly alternating, its fertility will doubtless be prolonged indefinitely. In fruits, the county is regarded as peculiarly favored, orchards having been suc- cessfully established in all parts, apples, plums, etc., being grown in abundance.
Two railroads cross the county in opposite directions, the Green Bay & Minnesota from west to east, and the Northwestern from north to south in the western part of the county, affording valuable means for the shipment of and the development of the internal wealth of the sections through which they pass.
The apparent geological stratum is Potsdam sandstone. Along the streams it is cut into irregular forms and rises in places into jagged peaks and ridges between. Trem- pealeau River and other streams have worn for themselves a winding bed, giving to some portions of the county seen- ery both rugged and romantic. In some portions of the county azoic granite is the characteristic, with the underly- ing roeks to a depth unknown of fossiliferous sandstone, resulting as already suggested in a sandy loam, very sandy in some places, and in others a clay loam. with here and there granite bowlders.
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