USA > Wisconsin > Rock County > Rock County, Wisconsin; a new history of its cities, villages, towns, citizens and varied interests, from the earliest times, up to date, Vol. I > Part 42
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I certify to the correctness of above statement.
(Signed) Groe Skavlem. (16)
New Year's Day, 1900, Beloit, Wis.
The alleged reprint of this book appears to be a myth. That Eielsen intended to have this done, there is no doubt; that he got the book from the mother or grandfather of Nelsen in the spring of 1843, can hardly be disputed. He undoubtedly carried it with him for some time after this, and may have reached New York in the spring of 1843, but no copy of any such reprint has ever been found.
Prof. R. B. Anderson, of Madison, Wis., who has been inde- fatigable in his search for all data bearing on the history of the Scandinavian colony, unhesitatingly asserts that no such reprint has been issued. (17)
Bergit Cevats-Datter (Betsy Cevats) was an orphan waif who found a home in the family of Lars H. Skavlem. She married Halvor Knudson Stjernes (Sterns) and is now the aged mother of Rev. Gustav Sterns, Church of the Ascension, Milwaukee, Wis.
XIX.
PIONEER WOMEN OF ROCK COUNTY.
By Mary L. Beers.
Historical records of the early settlement of Wisconsin are strangely silent concerning the noble work of the pioneer mothers. Brief mention is made of a few, but many are "unhonored and missing." Civilization made a phenomenal and pathetic advance when after the Black Hawk War the tide of emigration flowed into southern Wisconsin. It was phenomenal in its resistless force, and pathetic because it surged onward over the smoulder- ing camp-fires of the fugitive Indians who were leaving behind them the homeland of their fathers. Many settlers came from the eastern states, accompanied by their wives, sweethearts and sisters. To these women should be given a grateful tribute of remembrance. By their gentle ministration and patient fortitude they were a source of strength to the pioneers in their hard struggle with primitive conditions.
Mrs. Samuel St. John was the first white woman settler in Rock county. In the latter part of December, 1835, after the Inman-Holmes party had made their first settlement, Mr. St. John brought his wife and three children to the valley.
It was intensely cold, and the sufferings of the mother and her children can better be imagined than described. All the anticipated romance of establishing a new home in this "El Dorado of the West" terminated in a sad tragedy. The family found temporary shelter in the log cabin of the Holmes brothers. As soon as possible Mr. St. John erected a log house sixteen feet square on the east side of the flat below the bend of the river. The floor was of rude slabs, and through many a crevice the chill winds whistled. Here, in January, 1836, a little babe was born. He was named Seth, and was the first white child born within the limits of the present city of Janesville. He is now living in the
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northern part of the state. There was "dearth of woman's nurs- ing" and insufficient medical service for this poor young mother, and in a few short months she died and was buried on the hill south of her home. The coffin which contained her remains was made of rough boards which had formerly been used as a wagon box.
Soon after this sad bereavement Mr. St. John journeyed back to Vermont, his native state, and returned to Janesville, bring- ing with him a second wife. She, too, soon died and was buried upon the hill beside the first wife. Again Mr. St. John entered the matrimonial state, but at last death, the conqueror, claimed him and he was interred between his two "first loves," leaving a widow to mourn his demise.
In the spring of 1836, W. H. H. Bailey, John P. Diekson, Dr. Heath and Henry Janes arrived with their wives and families. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey were enjoying their wedding journey. They drove in their wagon from Ohio to Wisconsin. Mr. Bailey built a commodious log cabin on a point of land now called "Spring Brook." Here their first child was born, now Mrs. Robert Bost- wiek, of Janesville. This new white baby was a wonder to the Indians and squaws, who often ealled and examined it critically. Mrs. Bailey died several years ago at the home of her daughter in Janesville.
Both Mrs. Janes and Mrs. Heath are described as exceedingly active and resourceful women. In those early days before the construction of the ferry the river was forded by travelers just above the line of rocks in upper Monterey.
One evening Dr. Heath in attempting to cross the river upon horseback was carried away by the current. Losing his equilib- rium, he floated downstream. Mrs. Heath followed him on the river bank, through tangled vines, water-holes and brambles, until at last by the aid of a long pole she towed her exhausted spouse to the shore. His saddlebags sank to the bottom, supply- ing the surprised fishes with allopathie doses of calomel and ipecae. Mr. and Mrs. Janes removed to California, Dr. and Mrs. Heath to Iowa. All are now dead.
There are living now in Janesville two ladies whose lives are identified with the earliest history of woman's life in Roek county. They are Mrs. Volney Atwood and Mrs. Laura Kendall. It is interesting and educative to visit these dear old ladies and hear
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their reminiscences related in the quaint and correct language of olden times.
On the 9th of March, 1836, there came to the Rock River valley Judge William Holmes and wife, with their daughter, Catherine A. Holmes, and two sons, John and Joshua. Catherine A. Holmes was born in Marion, Ohio, August 9, 1819. She was the first young lady to arrive in the county and was the belle of the village. She is now the wife of Volney Atwood. Their home is a commodious residence located near the center of the original claim of Judge Holmes, which embraced nearly one-half of the city of Janesville. Mrs. Holmes-Atwood possesses a rare gift of language and gives vivid word pictures of her first home and surroundings.
The beautiful valley of the Werashanagra (River of Rocks) was a vision of beauty when spring spread her emerald mantle over the hills. Wild flowers peeped from every tuft of grass, and their vivid hues brightened the sombre green of the sloping hillsides. The river like a silver ribbon roamed in and out between cliff and lowland.
Said Mrs. Atwood in a recent interview :
"We left Laporte, Ind., passed through Chicago about the first of March, 1836, following an Indian trail to the Rock river. We stopped at three different places between Chicago and Janes- ville, the only houses on our way.
"The party consisted of nine people, five males and four females ; three two-horse wagons, yoke of oxen, two saddle horses, six cows, calves, pigs, etc. Previous to the starting of our party there were sent ahead six loads of provisions and household goods and a rowboat. William Holmes, my brother, came in 1835. We stopped at Turtle, now Beloit, to get warm, at the cabin of The- beau, the Frenchman. He had several squaw wives which he turned out of doors, but, full of curiosity, they were constantly peeping in at every crevice. Half way between Beloit and this place we lost our trail. All the men in the party started out to find it, leaving the women to drive. The one who should find it was to stand still and shout, and by calling back and forth we were at last reunited and started on our journey. At Turtle there were many Indians camping, of the Pottawatomies and Winnebago tribes. All the last day of our journey was bitter cold and snowing. My brother, who was here with Samuel St.
JOHN B. HENRY.
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John's family, heard our dinner horn blowing, answered us, and hung a lantern on the chimney of the house and came out to meet us. We arrived at nine o'clock at night, and the snow was nearly two feet deep. Nineteen people remained in the one-room log house, about sixteen feet square, for five days."
"How did you manage to sleep ?" the writer questioned.
"The end of the room was curtained off with earpets for the ladies. There was one bed in the corner and plenty of straw on the floor. The men laid 'spoon fashion.' The last to retire was nearest the door, and of necessity arose first in the morning. For six months we lived with my brother William in a log house on his claim on the bluff where the river is crossed by the rail- road bridge at Monterey. That summer my father built a frame house near what is now the Fourth Ward Park. The lumber was whip-sawed by Robert and Daniel Stone. The windows, doors and shingles were brought from Chicago, teams going every month. Our nearest neighbor was Dr. Heath.
"The first school house, of logs, was near where Mrs. A. C. Bailey now lives. The first teacher was Hiram Brown, from Pennsylvania. The first religious serviees were held under the shade of a large tree and were in charge of an itinerant Meth- odist minister. That essential of all services in those days, a collection, was not omitted. We always had abundance of pro- visions and all the necessaries of life. The Indians gave us no trouble. They called occasionally, but would gaze up at the ceiling and see six or eight guns and a long bugle horn strapped up there, would eount them and talk among themselves and leave. They would go very quickly if the horn was blown."
Mrs. Atwood has three children-Charles, Anna, and Mrs. Mary Whiting-all of whom live in Janesville.
Mrs. Laura Arms Kendall is the oldest living woman pioneer in Janesville. She arrived in 1838 with her husband, Theodore Kendall. She is nearly eighty-eight years of age-a tiny, dark- eyed woman, clear in mind, sufficiently active physically to live alone in half of a double house, attending to her own domestic duties. When asked for her story of old times, "Ah," she said, "I will write it all out. I can write plainer than you can."
Mrs. Laura Arms Kendall was born in Duxbury, Vt., Decem- ber 24, 1811, and was married to Theodore Kendall in Lowell, Vt., May 16, 1836. They came with their team to Buffalo from
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Vermont, thence by boat to Detroit, thence with others in an emigrant train to Janesville. They found but two frame houses in Janesville. The frame of a hotel was on the Myers House corner, and Mr. Kendall bought a lot on the opposite corner and built a frame house.
"It was a palace in those days," said the smiling little old lady. "Three stories-on the ground-we used to say."
"The first court was held in the hotel and the jury met in our house. When the hotel building was just completed they had a fine ball, the first in the county. Young people came from as far as Racine, and I had the honor of leading in the first cotillion with Volney Atwood."
How unreal and dreamy it all seemed! From the tiny, with- ered old lady standing on the borderland of another life, back to the misty years to the dainty, dark-haired girl wife, was only a brief span bridged by golden memories.
Mr. Kendall died April 2, 1891, leaving his wife in affluent circumstances. Mrs. Kendall still retains an acute interest in all the beneficent and religious interests of the city.
"You built the present Congregational parsonage ?" said the writer. "I always say the workmen built it," she replied face- tiously, "but my two thousand dollars helped."
On the construction of the Y. M. C. A. building Mrs. Kendall aided by a gift of five thousand dollars.
North of Janesville on the river road is the quaint old "Strunk homestead." Nestled almost under the overhanging hill, it has withstood the wintry blasts for sixty years. It is built of stone, one story high, and has received few alterations.
Mrs. Eleanor McNitt Strunk was born in Chenango county, New York, March 11, 1811. She was of Scotch-Irish descent. She was married November 29, 1829, to John Strunk. They came from Jamestown, N. Y., to Janesville in 1839. Here in the new stone house, just built from the neighboring quarry, Mr. Strunk died, August 2, 1844. The widow was left with five small chil- dren to care for and with the responsibilities of a large farm.
Happily, the three eldest were boys, who soon aided their mother. Mrs. Strunk was called the mother of the Congrega- tional church of Janesville, because her vote decided the tie at its organization.
In the early days, according to the "Plan of Union" of
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churches in this state, all new churches decided by a majority vote whether they belonged to the Congregation or Presbyterian section.
The first vote upon this question was a tie. But one, Eleanor Strunk, had not voted. Tradition says that she hesitated because she did not believe in women taking part in church matters. Something had to be done, and the presiding officer said to Mrs. Strunk : "You must vote. Your vote is necessary to decide this question." "Very well," replied Mrs. Strunk. "If it depends on me, a Congregational church it will be." And a Congrega- tional church it has been for half a century. Thus early in his- tory did the destiny of a church depend upon a woman's decision. When the first Congregational church edifice was erected Mrs. Strunk's contribution was a hundred bushels of lime. Her son, John Strunk, writes from Riverside, Cal .: "My mother remained an active and consistent member of the Janesville church until her removal to Minneapolis in 1882."
Mrs. Strunk died November 2, 1888, at Lake Crystal, Minn., where she was visiting a grandson. She is resting in beautiful "Oak Hill," overlooking her cottage home just across the river, where she spent so many useful years.
Near the Strunk homestead is another old landmark-the log house first occupied by Colonel Culver and family.
Mrs. Lamira Lacy Culver was born at Cambridge, N. Y., July 24, 1802. She was educated at a seminary in Bennington, Vt. She was married to Colonel Henry Culver, March 20, 1820, at Chili, N. Y. In the autumn of 1842 Colonel Culver and his two sons came to Janesville, on combined runners and wheels, and located their future home in the beautiful oak openings on the east bank of the Rock. Mrs. Culver and her daughter Harriet came a few months later.
Mrs. Culver was a woman of refinement and culture, always charitable and "abounding in good works." In the infirmities of old age she was lovingly cared for by her daughter, Mrs. Harriet Marshall. She passed away April 24, 1889.
Mrs. Lydia Ellsworth Spaulding was a woman of sweet char- acteristies whose memory dwells in the hearts of many. The two brothers, Joseph and William Spaulding, came to Janesville in 1837 and entered adjoining claims four miles north of the village. February 7, 1839, Joseph Spaulding returned to the
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East (Berlin, Conn.), where he married Lydia Ellsworth. They prospered in their new home. When land came into market in 1842 the Spaulding brothers purchased 1,040 acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding's home was always the center of good-cheer and liberal hospitality.
From their bounty they gave liberally to church work, sub- scribing two thousand dollars to the first Congregational church edifice. Mrs. Spaulding removed to Janesville after the death of her husband, August 12, 1877. She was loved by all who knew her. She passed away March 20, 1884. She left four daughters, Mrs. Mary Cassoday, of Madison; Mrs. Martha Dow, since de- ceased; Mrs. Emma Hanchett, of Janesville, and Mrs. Anna Coe, of Whitewater.
Mrs. Judith Coleman Dean was born in Byfield, Mass., March 7, 1795. Mr. and Mrs. Dean removed to Emerald Grove, Rock county, Wisconsin, in 1840. This household, true to their New England heritage, believed in going to church, and to church they went, crossing ten miles of prairie between Emerald Grove and Milton. Mr. James W. Dean, a son, writes from Orange, Cal. : "It made a long day in winter, and tried the patience of the younger members of the family, but mother said she could not think of bringing up her family without the help of the church. Tonight I look back over more than fifty years and bless her for it." Mrs. Dean is sleeping in the pleasant cemetery at Emerald Grove.
Mrs. Frances Chesebrough Dean was born in Stonington, Conn. She came with her parents to Emerald Grove, Wis., in 1844. She was married to Chester Dean in February, 1844, the service being performed by the Rev. Stephen Peet.
This family also believed in going to church, at any sacrifice. They drove to services in Janesville in a two-wheeled ox cart brought from Connecticut. It was seated with chairs, and on their arrival at the church was backed up to the steps, the end- board was let down, and the ladies assisted out. Mr. Dean often brought his little melodeon to church to lead the music. After the death of her husband in Louisiana in 1860 Mrs. Dean returned to Stonington, Conn., where she died in 1887.
Mrs. Nancy Howell Fordham Williston was born in Montrose, Pa., January 26, 1815, and was married to George H. Williston,
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April 2, 1839. Her daughter, Mrs. Jennie Williston Nash, of Canton, S. D., writes thus lovingly of her mother :
"Soon after their marriage our parents journeyed to Wiscon- sin. Their first home was north of Janesville near the Spauld- ings. The house, of logs, about sixteen by twenty feet, was built on the edge of the openings. Here they remained three years, when father was elected register of deeds, and they moved to the village of Janesville, in a little house on Main street, one room of which served as an office, the other as a living room. During the Civil War mother was always ready to work for the soldier boys. The ladies had rooms in the Jackman block where they met every Thursday to sew. Mother was chief cutter, and the whole day she gave to this work.
"September 6, 1845, mother united with the Congregational church, and was always an active church worker. She was called home without illness, March 10, 1884, three years after my father's death, while visiting at my home in Canton. She had five children who lived to adult age. In our hearts she will dwell forever in sainted memory."
Mrs. Eliza Andrews Wood was born in Lowell, Mass., in 1825. She journeyed with an emigrant train to Wisconsin in 1841. Mr. Royal Wood came first to Janesville, and drove to Chicago to meet his promised bride. There they were married, April 4, 1841.
"Our first home," said Mrs. Wood, "was on the bank of the river near the upper bridge. There were no bridges then. We often shot ducks from our back door." Mrs. Wood is still living in Janesville. She is especially bright and entertaining, although she is almost deaf and is losing her sight. She bears her infirmities with great patience.
Mrs. Almira Stiles Dewey, the adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Morrill, came to Janesville in the fall of 1844. She was born at St. Johnsbury, Vt., August 8, 1826, and was mar- ried to Alfred Dewey, March 17, 1847. They have lived in Janes- ville since, honored and respected by all. Mrs. Dewey has been confined to an upper chamber many years by invalidism. She is a charter member of the Congregational church.
Mrs. Betsy True Prichard and Mrs. Mary True Arnold were born in Perry, Wyoming county, New York, and were educated there and in Janesville. June 6, 1840, Elijah True with his family journeyed around the lakes and landed at Racine. From thence
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they came by wagon to their new home in Fulton, eight miles north of Janesville. They all picked strawberries as soon as they stepped upon the shore. The father and oldest brother came to Wisconsin in 1839 and built a large log house with one room and old-fashioned fireplace. Only one house was in sight-William Foster's. North was a large farm owned by Robert and Daniel Stone, both old bachelors. The first school the sisters attended was taught by Rollin Head. Mrs. Arnold taught fourteen miles west of her home when she was fourteen years old. Mrs. Prichard taught in Catfish, two miles up the river. While she was teaching here one bright summer day in 1844 a steamboat from St. Louis, 130 feet in length, went up the Rock river to Jefferson, taking on and discharging passengers at various points. They stopped oppo- site the little log school house on the bank of the river. The school was summarily dismissed and the teacher joined the merry crowd on board. This was the last steamer from the Mississippi to reach Rock county.
Mrs. Susan True Clark, of Galesburg, Ill., writes as follows of those early days :
"The first winter (1840) father and brothers killed forty- seven deer, besides wolves, foxes and other game. It was not an unusual sight to see fifty deer come down to the west side of the river to drink. They would hang their game on the limb of a large tree near the front door. The wolves would howl all night around the house. All candles were made from deer tallow which was nearly as white and hard as sperm. Coon oil was used in glass lamps. It was as clear as water. Those were the happiest days of our lives when father, mother and eight children gathered around the large table laden with venison. In summer we could fill large wooden pails with luscious strawberries in a short time. The stems came as high as the grass, and the large sweet berries would drop over. Wild blackberries were found in abundance. We locked our doors in the primitive way, with a button and by pulling in a latchstring.
Betty and Mary True were married in the little log house. Mary married Josiah Arnold, December 12, 1846, and Betty mar- ried Moses Prichard, October 27, 1847. Both were married by Mr. Ruger. the first rector of Trinity church of Janesville. Mrs. Arnold died in North Chicago, where she was visiting her son.
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Her home was in Janesville, where she was buried. Mrs. Priehard died in Chicago, Ill., in June, 1898.
Among the first settlers in Milton, Rock county, Wisconsin, were the honored Walker family. Three brothers-Aaron, Jason and Alfred-came in 1839 and took up large claims. The father, mother and younger children came later. Judith Sanborn Walker, wife of Aaron Walker, Sr., was born at Pucham, Vt. The family came all the way to Wisconsin in wagons. Mrs. Walker was very strict in her religious principles. The children, twelve in number, were all given scriptural names. Moses and Aaron were twins. One son was for many years a missionary in Africa. The first home of the family was situated on a small lake one mile east of Milton. They had but one chair-grandmother's-which they brought with them from Vermont. The first year of their resi- dence in Wisconsin the potato crop failed and the family sub- sisted on turnips, with game and fish. A granddaughter remem- bers one of their valued possessions-a large leather-covered, brass-nailed trunk. One morning this was left out of doors and some stray Indians quietly removed every brass-headed nail. They left the trunk.
Mrs. Walker died October 25, 1851.
The following is a letter received from Mrs. Diana Bostwick, of Shopiere, Wis. She is now (1899) eighty years of age and exceptionally vigorous mentally and physically :
"I will try and tell you of the memories and experiences that progress and the many changes of years have nearly defaced from mind. I can assure you they were not very delightful, living as I did on a boundless prairie where Indians and wolves were more numerous than neighbors. I was born in Watertown, N. Y., March 9, 1819. Eight years after my father and family emigrated to Tecumseh, Mich. From Michigan I came to Wiscon- sin, in 1837, coming all the way in a lumber wagon, a distance of four hundred miles, with three other passengers. We came through sand banks and over sloughs on causeways. We crossed the Calumet on a floating bridge of logs, the horses and men sinking into the water two feet. Now the city of South Chicago is there. After riding in this way two weeks we arrived at Turtle, October 23, 1837. I remember of entering a piece of ten-mile woods at sundown. It was a dark night. The lady accompany- ing me carried her baby on a pillow. One of the men took the
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pillow on his back and walked before the horses' heads. We could see nothing but the pillow and called to him to "blow up his pillow." At ten o'clock we found a Hoosier's shanty where we were treated to the best they had, consisting of cornmeal bread, which our appetites converted into something very grate- ful. We had a refreshing sleep on a pole bedstead and straw bed. Slowly pursuing our westward way, we arrived at our desti- nation. To say that I was homesick would convey only a faint impression of the effect of my environments ; my heart was numb with pain. My home was a decent log house of two stories; the only passage to the upper story was a ladder of poles. Our menu consisted of cornbread and game. Flour was a luxury, there being no mills nearer than Galena. In the spring of 1838 I was hired to teach the first school in the town of Turtle. We had to cross the river on a foot-bridge. There were no newspapers in Rock county and only six houses in Janesville. Religious services were held in the houses; we had small congregations. I was married to Merritt Bostwick, January 7, 1840. Mr. Bostwick passed on to the better world January, 1894, leaving me to finish my pilgrimage alone. Perhaps I have helped the great world on a little. I feel as if all things old have passed away, leaving a new heaven and a new earth advanced from the tallow dip to the electric light. We always kept a candle burning in our west window for the benefit of the benighted traveler.
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