The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc, Part 88

Author: Western Historical Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 774

USA > Wisconsin > Dodge County > The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc > Part 88

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CONRAD KELLER, farmer, Sec. 23; P. O. Beaver Dam; is a son of John and Johan- netta Keller ; born in Prussia in February, 1839; he spent his early life with his father on a farm, and in June, 1858, he, with his father's family, sailed for America and reached Watertown, Wis., in the fol- lowing August ; they settled for a short time in Portland, Dodge Co., but in November removed to the town of Beaver Dam, where his father bought a farm of 110 acres in Sec. 23, which has since been their home ; in 1868, Conrad bought from his father, and now owns 240 acres in Sec. 23, Beaver Dam. He married Miss Catharine, daughter of Conrad and Catharine Keller, of the town of Trenton, Dodge Co., Wis., in October, 1868 ; they have had three children-Conrad, Jr. (deceased), John C. and T. S. Mr. Keller was a member of the Towni Board during 1869-70, and in 1879 was elected Chairman of the Board. Democrat.

MICHAEL KOLLER, farser, Secs. 17 and 18; P. O. Beaver Dam; is a native of Ozau- kee Co., Wis .; born in March, 1850; his furents, Joseph and Catharine Koller, were natives of Bavaria, but emigrated to Wisconsin in 1848, ser ding first in Washington, now (zaukee County, and in 1864 removed to Sheboygan County, Wis., waere his father owned a farm of ninety acres ; in 1876, they removed to the town of Beaver Dam and bought a farm of 114 acres in Secs. 17 and 18, and in one year after Michael bought it of his father. In February, 1877, he married Miss Mary A., daughter of Michael and Mary Ann Haimerl, of Beaver Dam; they have one son-Frank Joseph. They are members of St. Peter's Catholic Church.

HERMAN KOCH, farmer, Sec. 23; P. O. Beaver Dam ; is a native of Germany ; born June 12, 1841; in August, 1851, he, with his parents, Albert and Amelia Koch, came to America and settled in the town of Chester, Dodge Co., Wis., on a farm, in September following; two years after, they removed to the town of Burnett, Dodge Co., which was their home till 1868; then to the town of Trenton for six years ; in 1874 he bought his present farm of eighty acres in Sec. 23, town of Beaver Dam ; rebuilt the house and made other improvements, till now he has a commodious home. He is a member of the Town Board of Supervisors ; has been Clerk of School District No. 6 for several terms. Jan. 3, 1869, he married Miss Amelia, daughter of August and Elizabeth Hanf, of the town of Beaver Dam ; they have three children-Ella, Robert and Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. K. are members of the Lutheran Church.

HENRY W. LANDER, lawyer, Beaver Dam; was born in Brighton, Somerset Co., Me., Nov. 8, 1826, and came to Wisconsin Sept. 24, 1849, locating at Juneau. Mr. Lander moved from Brighton to Juneau. where he was employed as Deputy Clerk until 1852, when he moved to Beaver Dam, where he commenced the practice of law, in which he is now engaged. He has held the following offices : In 1857, was Mayor of Beaver Dam, and at later dates for four terms ; in 1867-68, was a member of the State Senate from Beaver Dam; on April 6, 1872, was appointed Commissioner of the United States Court, and on March 5, 1871, as Circuit Court Commissioner, both of which positions he now holds; in 1873, he took a general tour of observation over Europe; in 1863-64, was District Attorney for Dodge Co.,

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and is now City Attorney of Beaver Dam, and for several years was one of the Trustees of the Wayland Uni- versity, of Beaver Dam. Mr. Lander married, July 24, 1855, Elizabeth E. Spaulding, of Norridgewock, Maine ; he has two children living-Henry B. and Dana S.

T. D. LAWRENCE, firm of Lawrence Bros., proprietors of the Clark House, Front street, Beaver Dam.

S. P. K. LEWIS, miller, Beaver Dam ; was born in Champlain, Clinton Co., N. Y., Sept. 22, 1821, and came to Wisconsin June 6, 1847, locating at Waukesha. In Champlain he was clerk in a general store ; from Champlain he moved to Waukesha and continued clerking; from there he moved to Beaver Dam, where, in connection with Mr. Bean, he started a general store, under the firm name of S. P. K. Lewis & Co .; this he continued for five years ; he then, in connection with Mr. Stewart, built a woolen-mill and flouring-mill and has been in the milling business since that time; he is the manufacturer of the celebrated brands of flour-" The Empire " and the " Gold Chop." In 1873-74, he was Mayor of Beaver Dam, holding the office for two terms; in 1857, he was Alderman of the Second Ward; in 1869, he was a member of the School Board, and, in 1849, was Justice of the Peace for Beaver Dam, and also, in the same year, Town Treasurer. Mr. Lewis married, May 26, 1847, Sarah A. Higbee, of Burlington, Vt .; he has five children -- Anna A., Warren H., Fred S., Elbridge E. and Jennie S.

J. F. McCLURE. physician, Beaver Dam ; born in Chelsea, Orange Co., Vt., Jan. 6, 1824, and came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1855, locating at Beaver Dam. He received his literary education at the Chelsea Academy, and completed his medical education at the Vermont Medical College, graduating in June, 1847 ; he practiced his profession in Chelsea from 1847 to 1855, when he moved to Beaver Dam and has been practicing up to the present time with remarkable success. Dr. McClure has held the office of Superintendent of Public Schools for four or five years in the city of Beaver Dam ; was also Alderman of the Third Ward for one term ; in 1867, he received and now holds the position of Pension Surgeon of Dodge Co. for the U. S. Government, and was on the Board of Enrollment, during the second draft for troops in the late war ; he was also Volunteer Surgeon in the army, and went to Nashville, Tenn., to ren- der medical service to the troops at that place. Dr. McClure married, in 1851, Eunice S. Denison, of Royalton, Vt. Mrs. McClure is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

E. C. McFETRIDGE, woolen manufacturer, Beaver Dam; was born in Rochester, N. Y., April 15, 1836, and came to Wisconsin in November, 1858, locating in Beaver Dam. From Rochester he came to Beaver Dam and practiced law with A. Scott Sloan until 1864; then, in connection with his brother, J. A. McFetridge, built the Beaver Dam Woolen-Mills, in which he still controls an active interest. Mr. McFetridge was Superintendent of the Schools of Beaver Dam for two years, and also one of the Board of Supervisors for one term; in 1870, he was Mayor of Beaver Dam; was County Treas- urer two years in 1871-72; in 1878, he was elected member of the Assembly for the Fourth (Dodge Co.) District, and was appointed during that year one of the Committee on Revised Statutes; in 1878, he was elected State Senator for two years, representing the Thirteenth Senatorial District, which office he now holds ; in 1872, he was one of the Presidential Electors from Wisconsin on the Republican ticket, which elected Gen. U. S. Grant to the Presidency. Mr. McFetridge married, in October, 1861, Frances A. Blanchard, of Michigan ; he has one child living-John Charles.

DUNCAN McMILLAN, retired farmer, Beaver Dam; born in Nova Scotia, near Loch- aber Lake, Oct. 10, 1814; came to America in 1845, and to Wisconsin the same year, locating in Cala- mus Township, Dodge Co., where he engaged in farming, which he followed until 1877, when he rented his farm and purchased a residence in the city of Beaver Dam, to which he moved and retired from active pursuits. Married, in Nova Scotia, in 1839, Miss Mary McMillan, of that place, who died Sept. 8, 1872. Married the second time, in Nova Scotia, Aug. 26, 1874, Miss Mary Cameron, also a native of that place, who was born May 8, 1835; has seven children living, two having died ; those living are Mary, William, Alexander, Alfred, Pannie, Euphemia and Sarah ; those dead are Malcolm and Daniel.

J. W. McNITT, retired; Beaver Dam ; born in Cambridge, Washington Co., N. Y., June 21, 1806; came to Wisconsin in 1845; located on Dunning Prairie, then Beaver Dam Township ; engaged in farming, and carried on a nursery for a few years ; in 1865, moved to Beaver Dam, where he has since resided ; in 1874, he sold his farm ; in 1848, he drew up a petition, and circulated the same, for a Terri- torial road from Beaver D'am to Decora ; having been successful, he assisted in building the road. He was the first Assessor of the township of Westford ; was Justice of the Peace fifteen years ; was Super- visor several years, and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors one year : was Town Treasurer three terms; was Town Superintendent of Schools two or three terms. Married in. Champion, Jefferson Co., N. Y., March 18, 1830, Miss Julia Chamberlain, a native of Jefferson Co., N. Y .; has had a family of six chil- dren, two still living, both sons, who entered the army during the late war ; they are Henry and Albert C.

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DAVID McQUEEN, farmer ; P. O. Beaver Dam; born in Hartford, Steuben Co., N.Y., March 20, 1831 ; son of Wm. McQueen, who was from Delaware Co., N. Y .; his father came from Scotland at an early date ; William and family came to Wisconsin and settled in Beaver Dam and Oak Grove in 1845. David now has 280 acres under good cultivation, and all improvements ; he has a competency through his hard work and industry. Married, July 4, 1858, Harriet Wells, daughter of Stephen Wells, an old an respected settler in Oak Grove. Mr. McQueen is a natural mechanic and blacksmith, and is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows' Fraternities. Mrs. McQueen pays particular attention to the cultivation of flowers, and has the largest and finest collection of plants in the vicinity. A brother, Andrew McQueen, has a fine farm in Oak Grove adjoining; another brother, George, has a large and well-kept farm in Sec- tion 30.

JOHN MALONE, grocer, Beaver Dam; was born in County Clare, Ireland, June 24, 1828, and . came to Wisconsin April 14, 1852, locating at Beaver Dam ; in New York he engaged in the grocery business for three years, and also farmed awhile ; in 1852, he came to Beaver Dam and started a grocery and saloon, which he continued until 1862, when he was burned out, losing about $8,000, having no insurance. In 1863, he commenced making brick, and furnished brick for most of the buildings now standing in Beaver Dam ; he continued this business eight years, and then entered the auction business in Beaver Dam and neighboring towns ; this he followed for five years. In 1876, he again commenced the grocery business, which he has continued since. Mr. Malone, when he came to the United States, had no money, and has made his way in the world by his own exertions ; is essentially a self-made man. During the war, he had a commission from Gov. Randall as Lieutenant, and assisted in raising Co. A, 17th W. V. I .; he was Con- stable of Beaver Dam about eight years ; he was Deputy Sheriff under C. Germain for three years ; was also Supervisor of the town of Beaver Dam for one year. He married, March 4, 1851, Mary McCabe, of County Cavan, Ireland ; has eleven children-Ellen, James, Hannah Maria, John J., Patrick Henry, Catherine Elizabeth, Michael Alexander, Mary A., George Francis, Daniel William and Rose Ann. Mr. and Mrs. Malone are members of St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

REV. R. E. MANNING, Assistant Principal of Wayland Institute, Beaver Dam ; was born in Penfield, Monroe Co., N. Y., March 31, 1840, and came to Wisconsin Feb. 28, 1874, locating at Beaver Dam ; from Penfield, he moved to Salem, Mich., and assisted his father in farming, and attended the district school until 17 years of age, when he went to the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, and after to Kalamazoo College, at Kalamazoo, Mich .; from there he went to the Baptist Union Theological Seminary, at Chicago ; he graduated at the college in 1872, and from the seminary in 1874 ; he then moved to Beaver Dam, and accepted a call from the Baptist Church at that place, and continued preaching until Nov. 1, 1877 ; on June 29, 1877, he was appointed Assistant Principal of the Wayland Institute, which position he now holds ; in 1866, he was School Inspector of the town of Salem, Mich. He enlisted in the army July 22, 1862, in Co. B, 20th Mich. V. I., Col. A. A. Williams, and was in between ten and twelve battles, mostly in Virginia ; he was taken prisoner May 12, 1864, and placed in Andersonville, Ga., until September, 1864, when he was removed to Florence Prison, in South Carolina, and released Dec. 6, 1864; he received his discharge in June, 1865. Mr. Manning married, July 22, 1862, Sarah Cook, of Salem, Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Manning are members of the Baptist Church at Beaver Dam.

LINUS MARSH, retired, Beaver Dam; born Jan. 14, 1812; came to Wisconsin in 1854 ; located in Trenton, Dodge Co .; went to farming, which he continued until 1871, when he sold his farm of 107 acres, and purchased a residence in the city, to which he retired. Married, at New Fane, Vt., 1840, Miss Lucinda Salisbury, a native of Vermont ; have had one child, who died.

JACOB MARTIN, saloon, Beaver Dam ; was born in Pferdsfeldt, Province of Rhine, Prussia, July 25, 1829, and came to Wisconsin in May, 1849, locating in Jackson, Washington Co .; was engaged in farming and cutting timber in Prussia ; he moved to Dodge Co., and engaged in farming for ten years ; then to Olmsted Co., Minn., where he farmed, after which he returned to Dodge Co., and ran the Drake Mill on his own account for one year ; he then opened a cooper-shop, and afterward started a saloon, which, together with a farm, he has been running for the past twelve years. Mr. Martin has been Alderman of the First Ward for three terms. He married, Jan. 9, 1853, Louisa Graessle, of Ohio, who died Feb. 17, 1865. He was again married, May 19, 1866, to Mary A. Schutte, of Utica, N. Y. ; he has five children- Jacob, Caroline, Rosa Matilda, Litta Lizzie and Laura.

WILLIAM MEIGS, farmer, Sec. 22; P. O. Beaver Dam ; is a native of Broome Co., N. Y .; is the son of William and Catherine Meigs ; born in July, 1809 ; he received a common school education, after which he devoted his time to farming and lumbering in York State, till 1851; he then emigrated to Fox Lake, Dodge Co., Wis., and there followed farming till 1863; he gave up farming at that time, removed to Beaver Dam, and was for two years employed by Mr. Hodgman in the lumber-yard. In 1865,

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he bought a farm of forty acres, in Section 22, town of Beaver Dam, which has since been his home. In 1830, he married Miss Julia, daughter of Joel Austin, of York State, by whom he had two children- Katie (now Mrs. William Lawrence, of Beaver Dam), and Albert (now of Tennessee). Mrs. Meigs died Feb. 11, 1860. Dec. 24, 1863, he married Miss Mahitable, daughter of Hiram and Sarah Stevens, of Beaver Dam; they have one son -- Newell M. Mrs. M. is a member of the M. E. Church.

REV. JOHN J. MITER, D. D., son of Thomas and Eleanor Miter ; was born in Lan- singburg, N. Y., March 20, 1809; upon the death of his father, when he was but 13 years of age, his mother secured him a position as cabin-boy on his elder brother's sloop, which plied between Troy and New York City, on the Hudson River; his mother dying, two years later, he continued sailing for three more seasons ; possessing a native elevation of mind and an enthusiastic, sensitive temperament, who can estimate the unconscious influence upon him of the solemnity and tender beauty of the summer nights, as, during his " watch," he steered the vessel under the guidance of the old north star-with thoughts raised to his sainted parents, whose souls were reveling above in eternal light-in sublimating his thoughts, and in enabling him more readily to apprehend the sublimity and authority of the Hebrew books, and to love the calm, pure Christ, whose life was so full of strength and love, of sweetness and light, for he was soon " born again," in that remarkable revival at Troy, in 1826-27, when Dr. Beman, the Pastor, aided by the evangelists Nash, Finney and Kirk, preached with such power and fervor that 500 were counted as the fruit in that congregation alone. Mr. Miter's ability in prayer first attracted the attention of Dr. Robbins, a wealthy physician, who became so much interested in him that he offered to give him any pecuniary aid he might need if he would begin a course of study preparatory for the ministry ; feeling "that it was the call of God," he at once entered Oneida Institute, and, at the end of four years, joined the notable first class of forty-three under Dr. Beecher and Prof. Stowe, in Lane Theological Seminary, just estab ished at Cincinnati ; but, toward the close of the first year, an issue arose between the Faculty and the students on the ground of anti-slavery discussion ; it was " the time of awakening " for the American intellect, and of the emancipation of the American mind from the authority of the English in letters and criticism ; it was the renaissance not only in literature, but in religion, sociology and politics ; young men are naturally rad- icals and agitators, and, at such a time of intellectual and political ferment-when Channing was in the . pulpit and Webster at the forum-young men of deep convictions of right and justice would not submit to any restrictions upon free debate; consequently, twenty-two of that class, including Mr. Miter, withdrew from the Seminary. Mr. Miter soon afterward joined a class formed at Troy by Drs. Beman and Kirk, and thus finished his studies in what proved the germ of the Union Theological Seminary of New York. About the time that he was licensed to preach, he attended the first Anti-Slavery Convention, which con- vened at Utica, N. Y., in the fall of 1835, and one with that nobly courageous body of pioneer reformers, was mobbed, egged and compelled to resort to Peterboro, the home of the Hon. Gerrit Smith, thirty miles distant. . He came West in 1837, and, after supplying, temporarily, several pulpits in and about Chicago, finally accepted a call from Knoxville, Ill .; after laboring there for two years, he returned East for a help- meet, and was married to Elizabeth D. Ayers, at Glenville, N. Y., June 8, 1840 ; she was a descendant of the Beekmans, one of the old aristocratic families of New York City, and a graduate of Emma Willard's well-known Female Seminary ; being in full sympathy with him in his work, she proved his efficient. faith- ful and devoted helper for thirty-five years. He received a call from Plymouth Church, then organizing in Milwaukee, in June, 1841, but declined ; they were importunate, and, one day in the fall, he was sur- prised at the arrival of two Milwaukee brothers, with their teams, who told him that they " had come for him ;" though his wife was then an invalid, when her sister at length sided with the strangers, he decided to go ; the next day, as he says, " all my effects were loaded in one wagon, my wife was laid on a bed in the other, and thus we undertook a journey of 233 miles over the wild prairies of Illinois and Wisconsin to Milwaukee ;" here he commenced preaching in November, 1841, on the second floor of a building on the northeast corner of Spring and West Water streets, to a Congregational organization of but eighteen members ; he left this field, after fifteen years of severe and successful labor, owing to failure of health ; his charge, in the mean time, had grown to a membership of 523, were worshiping in the substantial edifice (which was an elegant structure for those days), still occupied by them, on Milwaukee street, were free from debt, and had attained an influence which was felt as a power throughout the State. The teaching and preaching of Dr. Beman, that intellectual giant and master reasoner-whom he admired and reverenced-had so thrilled and impressed him, and his sense of personal responsibility was so great, that his public efforts in Milwaukee were remarkable for their logically exact, clear, and powerful argu- mentation, for their intense earnestness and impressive, persuasive eloquence. It was chiefly through the solicitations of Henry Finch and Judge Rose, while he was looking for a congenial rural retreat, where he might escape from the lake winds, that he came to Beaver Dam, " prospecting," in March, 1856 ; having

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passed through the county frequently since 1849, over the old, and then thronged stage route-which, striking north from Watertown, in this county, through Oak Grove, past Hyland and Burgit Corners and the Buck Horn Tavern, wound across the prairies to the valley of the Fox-he knew the attractive- ness of the environment, and the delightful drives he could make from Beaver Dam through the park-like " oak openings " and charming prairies ; thus the beauty and fertility of this region, together with the energy and enterprise manifested by the citizens, decided him to locate here, and he returned with his fam- ily the following May. He.speedily and heartily identified himself, not only with the spiritual, but with the material development and growth of the city and country. His connection with the First Presbyterian Church, whose pulpit he supplied from 1856 to 1864, was indefinite during most of that time, for he hoped, if he regained his vigor, to work in a larger sphere ; but his nervous and vital energy was impaired more than he at first suspected, and, when he was satisfied that his system would never fully recover its former tone, he accepted this charge, and was installed July 20, 1864. So broad was the range of his sympathy, so great his power of adaptability, so genial, consistent and-though unobtrusive-so persuasive his life, that it attracted and secured the respectful attention, and the help, not only of professional men, merchants and manufacturers, but of the laboring class, and many of the best farmers round about; for, while he rejoiced to see the plow extending its sway over the wild sward, he also earnestly desired to see the Sabbath establishing its serenity over the fields. An Anti-Slavery man, when, with a few stalwart souls, he braved martyrdom in its cause, he lived to see the North standing solidly against slave-holders and treason ; his brave, patriotic heart was aroused by his country's danger, and his enthusiastic speeches inflamed the patriotism of his townsmen and incited them to bravery and self-denial ; his sermons and , speeches in this cause of humanity, justice, authority and truth not only aroused and cheered the despond- ent in hours of defeat and depression-like trumpet-calls to rally once again-but were instrumental in creating a public sentiment which Lincoln awaited for to sustain him in the issuing of his immortal Eman- cipation Proclamation-that memorable death-stroke to slavery. As a pulpit orator he had few superiors ; · calm, dignified, earnest-often intensely so-and impassioned, his magnetic power and " rare eloquence " enchained and impressed his audience. As his strength, physically, slowly but steadily declined, his intel- lect worked more actively and easily ; he had never suffered rust to gather on his faculties, and he kept up . readily with the advance of thought and scientific criticism, and met all the arguments of the materialists with his clear, powerful reason. His good judgment in building, his refined taste shown in the planting of ornamental shrubs and trees, and in the loving care of flowers, are seen reflected in and about many of the beautiful and attractive homes of this city, and also in the inception and the laying-out and adorning of that beautiful, lovable and peaceful resting-place of the dead-Oakwood Cemetery. Rev. L. Hawley, who claims the same Alma Mater, says of him, in a tribute to his memory on the first anniversary of his death, May 5, 1876: " A Pastor here for about twenty years, he had largely grown up with the place, and had molded it as no other had. There was not an interest he did not care for ; his plastic hand was seen everywhere, molding things to order and to virtue ; it was in the municipal affairs of the city, in its schools, in its business relations, and pre-eminently in its religious, moral and benevolent institutions. The æsthetic element was just as prominent in him. He had a woman's love of flowers, and this æsthetic property gave a charm to all his public performances, and notably to his prayers. Great, then, was the loss to this community ; every circle, every class, every interest, felt the stroke when Dr. Miter died."

WILLIAM J. MITER, Beaver Dam, son of Rev. J. J. Miter, deceased, was born in Mil- waukee May 10, 1845 ; came with his parents to Beaver Dam in 1856; he was educated at the Beaver Dam High School, and Wayland University, of this place ; learned the wholesale dry-goods business with James Bonnell, of Milwaukee; afterward, he was for four years book-keeper for the well-known firm of Sexton Bros. & Co., of Milwaukee. Oct. 30, 1868, he was married, in Milwaukee, to Miss Mary E. Colby, who died at Minneapolis Jan. 28, 1879, leaving three daughters-Bessie, Ethel and Fannie ; the wife of Rev. J. J. Miter died in Beaver Dam April 22, 1878; the family now consists of Wm. J., Mary L. (now Mrs. G. S. Hawley, of Watertown, Wis.), Henry B. (at present one of the Professors of Ripon College), Fannie I. and John C.

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The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc, Part 88

Author: Western Historical Co Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 774

Author: Western Historical Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 774