USA > Wisconsin > Rock County > The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc. > Part 87
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YOUNG MEN'S ASSOCIATION.
On the 10th of April, 1865, a charter was granted by the State Legislature to the Young Men's Association of the city of Janesville. The incorporators were E. F. Welch, E. D. Coe, H. Williston, William Smith, Jr., P. T. Enright, A. Skelley, J. C. Spencer, W. H. Wilson, J. A. Foster, L. J. Nash, R. Carey and D. J. Armstrong. The objects of the Association were to establish and maintain a library, to institute literary and scientific debates and lectures, and to provide other means of moral and intellectual culture. Its membership spread until it included the greater portion of the young and middle-aged men engaged in professional and mercantile pursuits in this city. The Association has been the means of bringing some of the most learned lecturers of the present age to Janesville. It has also exercised a considerable influence in politics, many of its members having been elected to office through its agency. The Association has a library numbering about 2,500 volumes. In maintaining this library, it has
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.
had no outside assistance, with the exception of one year, when the City Charter was amenc de giving one-half the receipts from liquor licenses in aid of the Association, but this was repe-ale the following year. It is the only circulating library in the county, and has been a sourcei benefit in furnishing valuable reading matter to the public. It has maintained. with few in ter. ruptions, weekly debates on various topics of interest. Among the many individuals who have become graduates, as it were, of this institution, may be mentioned George R. Peck, at one cime United States District Attorney of Kansas; William Kennedy, District Attorney of Outage - mie County, and J. W. Sale, now serving his third term as District Attorney of Rock Con Intr. The present officers are as follows : George G. Sutherland, President ; W. T. Vankirk, Vice President ; S. H. Hudson, Recording Secretary ; J. B. Doe, Jr., Corresponding Secretary ; E. M. Hyzer, Treasurer. The Association is located in the old post-office building. at the east end of Milwaukee street bridge.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
This institution, which dates its organization from the formation of a hook and ladder com- pany, is not unlike the fire departments of other Western towns. After the burning of Hod- son's Brewery, which stood where the Doty manufacturing shops now are, on May 7, 1848, and the destruction of Richardson's Mill, on the race, in February, 1850. the few business men of the village organized a hook and ladder company, which was equipped in the following summer, with a truck of the most unique pattern. It was of home manufacture, the product of Hardy & Thompkins' shops, which stood on the ground now occupied by C. Sexton & Son. The Res- cue Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1, was the title of the organization. Martin Dewey was the first Foreman, and Robert Christie his assistant. Christie succeeded Dewey as Foreman. and he in turn was superseded by William Kemp. The company was uniformed with the usual red shirt and leather helmet hat. Ex-Alderman William Hemming and ex-Chief Engineer John R. Hodson claim to be the first two men who appeared in fireman's uniform in Janesville. This company went to pieces upon the organization of the engine companies, but was present and did good service at the burning of the Stevens House in 1853.
The " oldest inhabitant" of the city fails to call to mind the location or date of the first fire. Some say it was on West Milwaukee street near Davis Bros.' grocery store, while others aver that the first blaze occurred on South Main street. The first fire of any importance. however, was that of William Hodson's brewery. The loss occasioned by this fire is placed at $7.000; no insurance. This also includes the destruction of Mr. Hodson's residence, which contained a valuable library. Following this was the burning of the Stevens House on April 1. 1853. The old settlers often refer to this fire, as it occurred on the day of the first city election, and during a terrible windstorm.
The greatest fire in the history of Janesville was the Hyatt House, January 11, 1867. The loss on the building and furniture was about $160,000, with but little insurance. One of the servant girls was burned to death. Next came the Congregational Church. May 1, 1875 : loss about $60,000, partly insured. The Big Mill was burned June 29, 1871: the American House, January 12, 1868 ; Morse, Hanson & Co.'s furniture factory, January 14, 1867. In 1866, an extensive conflagration occurred on North Main street. After the burning of the Stevens House in 1853. the property owners agreed that it was necessary that better means to extinguish fires should be provided, and, under the leadership of Frank S. Lawrence and Will- iam Kemp, the first engine company was organized in October, 1854, with Mr. Lawrence as Foreman. It was known as Rock River Engine Company, No. 1. G. S. Strasberger suc- . ceede l Mr. Lawrence as Foreman, October, 1855, and held that office until the company was disbanded, July. 1861. The company was composed of some of the best men in the city, had won several prizes at fairs and been a valuable protector of property in Janesville. It was disbanded by order of the Common Council because the members had disobeyed the orders of the Chief Engineer in having taken their engine to Monroe on the Fourth of July.
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.
In February, 1855, William Kemp called a meeting of the citizens at the office of Messrs. Pease & Eldredge, for the purpose of organizing a fire company, which was responded to by a large number of prominent men. At this meeting, Water Witch Company No. 2, was organ- ized, with William Kemp as Foreman ; T. B. Wooliscroft, Assistant Foreman ; B. B. Eldredge. Secretary, and D. G. Farwell, Treasurer. In the winter of 1855, the Common Council purchased two second-class Button hand engines, which were delivered to the city in June of the same year. No. 1 engine took the west side of the river and No. 2 the east side. Water Witch No. 2, has been a competitor in a great many tournaments in different parts of the State, and, with but two exceptions, always came home with " the broom on her deck." This company claims to be the oldest fire company in service in the State. The following persons have filled the office of foreman : William Kemp, W. S. Chase, William A. Eager. C. P. King, Henry Hemming, Henry Richards, Adam Skelly, George Pickering, John Gorman, John R. Hodson, R. P. Young, M. H. Keating, James Foster, Lewis Tramblie and John C. Spencer. This com- any is now supplied by a second-class Button steam engine drawn by horses. The boys have private fire alarm at each member's house, and say they can "go to the street with apparatus n ten seconds." The present officers are : John C. Spencer, Foreman ; James Foster, Hose Captain ; John Slightam, Engineer and Treasurer; W. C. Phillips, Clerk.
After the disbandment of Engine Company No. 1, the same men organized themselves nto a fire company, and styled it Washington Company No. 3; but since they exchanged their land engine for a steamer, they have been known as Washington Engine Company No. 1. They have a second-class Silsby (rotary) steam engine. The following persons have held the office of foreman : M. H. Curtis, D. C. Ward, D. H. McChesney, John T. Wilcox, O. Brooks, L'. Mahon, H. W. Dewey, John Kelly and John F. Ehrlinger. The present officers are: John 7. Ehrlinger, Foreman; William Brooks, IIose Captain ; George M. Ehrlinger, Secretary ; William Airis, Treasurer ; A. A. Dresser, Engineer.
In 1868, the city purchased two steam fire engines, and disposed of the hand-engines, No. going to Two Rivers, in this State, and No. 2 to Waterloo, Iowa. In 1876, the rotary engine ras condemned by the city. and a new one of the same class procured.
Eagle Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, was organized in December, 1856, with Joseph 3. Rothschild as Foreman. The name was afterward changed to Rescue, and the following ummer the company received a handsome truck from New York. A frame house was built for heir use in the rear of the Hyatt House. The foremen have been J. B. Rothschilds, William 3. Britton, W. Weston, William T. Paul, Daniel Dowling, R. B. Treat, James Shearer, James Clark, Peter Gliem, Thomas Mahon. The present officers are : Thomas Mahon, Foreman ; Anthony Brown, Assistant Foreman ; W. G. Metcalf, Secretary ; Patrick Farrell, Treasurer. This company is in great need of modern apparatus.
Sack Company No. 1, was organized in 1855, with Ira Justin, Jr., as Foreman. It is composed principally of business men, who act simply as a fire police. There are twenty men n the company. The following named persons have acted as foremen : Ira Justin, Jr., S. C. Spaulding, E. H. Bennett, Charles Holt, M. C. Smith, R. J. Richardson, E. L. Dimock, W. H. Tallman, John J. R. Pease. H. S. Shelton, IIamilton Richardson, W. G. Wheelock, J. M. Bostwick, M. B. Johnson, J. A. Webb, Cyrus Miner, W. T. Vankirk, J. W. St. John, C. S. Crosby, J. R. Botsford, J. A. Deniston, John Griffith, L. B. Carl. Following are the present officers : L. B. Carl, Foreman ; G. A. Libby, Assistant Foreman ; E. B. Ileimstreet, Secretary ; W. B. Britton, Treasurer.
The following persons have held the office of Chief Engineer of the Janesville Fire Department : Gilbert Dolson, Ira Justin, Jr., William B. Britton, James Hemming, William M. D. Burt, S. Foord, Jr., Henry Richards, Randall Williams, James Clark, John R. Hodson, James Shearer, J. W. St. John, R. P. Young, John T. Wilcox, Peter Gliem, H. W. Dewey William Cunningham.
The Department is well housed, and in point of efficiency is not excelled by any organiza- ion with similar advantages.
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.
On the 5th of March, 1857, an act incorporating a Benevolent Society of the Fire Dej ment of the city of Janesville was passed by the State Legislature. The incorporators w el W. W. Holden, President ; J. De Witt Rexford, Vice President ; J. H. Vermilye, Secret= ar F. A. Kimball, Treasurer ; Felix Barrere, Collector. The purposes of the Society were to 100 after the sick and indigent members of the department, and afford them relief. The first m . onej paid into its treasury was a donation from the Hon. J. J. R. Pease, in acknowledgement of ser-
vices rendered by the boys in extinguishing a fire at his residence in 1857. Each of the fire companies in the city is represented in the society by two delegates. The present officer's are as follows : W. T. Vankirk, President ; Thomas Mahon, Vice President ; John F. Ehrlinger, Secretary ; James Shearer, Collector ; John Kelly, Treasurer.
MILITARY.
In November, 1855, a company of militia was organized in Janesville, known as the Janes- ville City Guard. Arms were furnished them by the State. They wore a gray uniform. trimmed with black, and drilled in a vacant room in Mitchell's Block. Unlike other military companies, this organization had a Colonel, besides the usual list of officers. The organizers were evidently lacking in military spirit, for the company soon disbanded by general consent. but, when the war of the rebellion broke out, many of them responded to the call to arms, and enlisted in defense of the Union. Following were the officers of the Company : George S. Dodge, Colonel ; B. F. Pixley, Captain ; N. Harsch, First Lieutenant ; W. L. Mitchell, Second Lieutenant ; E. Tallman, Third Lieutenant. The Sergeants were J. R. Beale, Charles D. Bacon, James B. Dimock and William Parker; Corporals, F. Strunk, William Addy, William Shelton and John Day.
In March. 1861, a second company was organized, known as the Janesville Light Guard. with the following officers : H. A. Patterson, Captain ; Lieutenants, H. M. Wheeler, George A. Young, H. R. Clum and James Mills ; Sergeants, Ellis Doty, W. H. Holt, S. R. De Witt, H. C. Hern and E. P. Mills ; Corporals, A. W. Hathaway, L. W. Smith, John A. White and N W. Proper. A. B. McLean served as Drill Master, and otherwise aided in the organization. but, early in the civil strife then existing between the North and the South, he went to the front as First Lieutenant of Company D, Second Regiment. Upon the second call for volunteers, the entire company entered the service, becoming Company E in the Fifth Wisconsin Volunteers, with H. M. Wheeler as Captain. The civil officers of the company were H. A. Patterson, President ; J. D. King, Secretary ; Levi Alden, Treasurer.
The Janesville City Zouaves was the next company to organize under the State Militia laws, in June, 1861. The company was composed principally of young men of Janesville, who had become imbued with the patriotism of the day. The first officers of the company were: George G. Williams, Captain ; Lieutenants, J. S. Murray, George Brown and J. W. Hall: Ser- geants, E. Woodman, G. F. True, John Hutson and William M. Burns ; Corporals, Hiram Nash, H. B. Williams, Andrew Palmer, Jr., and W. R. Graham. This company also enlisted in the regular service as Company B, of the Thirteenth Wisconsin Regiment.
Soon after the departure of this company for the front, a Home Guard was informally called together by citizens with the preservation of the Union at heart, who stood in readiness to take up arms in its defense. Not a few of them volunteered and gave their lives toward bring- ing the cruel conflict to a close.
The ardor which had characterized the formation of military companies prior to and during the rebellion seems to have been somewhat cooled from the effects of regular duty, and we do not find the organization of militia companies of so frequent occurrence until within the past two years. But, no matter how much the deprecation of acts of barbarism may enter into the teach- ings and refinements of the age, the spirit of man longs for triumphs and conquests beyond those of love and riches. Fame is his glory of glories, and he is more often found trying to reach his sublimest ambition in the garb of a soldier, through the medium of death-dealing instruments,
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.
than in the fields of civil science. The leaves of the blood-stained record of the rebellion are scarcely dried, when we find him taking his first step, to the measured time of fife and drum, toward the battlefield, his soul aflame with the same desire that prompted his patriot father to lay down his life. Should the call to arms resound through the land to-morrow, the echo would go back from Janesville, with all the vigor of eighteen years ago. Two full companies of State militia, well drilled and supplied with the accouterments of war, stand ready to battle for the right at any time. Both were organized in August, 1878.
The Janesville Guards were first officered by T. T. Croft, Captain : Lieutenants, H. A. Smith and M. A. Newman ; Sergeants, Charles F. Glass, W. A. Hand, J. B. Doe, Jr., E. V. Whiton .and R. Valentine ; Corporals, E. P. Lane, J. W. Bintliff, W. A. Fry, Thor. Judd. George Woodruff, Fred McLean, H. P. Ehrlinger and C. C. McLean. The company is armed with Springfield breech-loaders. On the 4th of July of the present year, in a competitive drill with the Oshkosh Guards, they won a $100 prize offered by the Rock County Agricultural Society. A few days afterward, they were presented by the citizens of Janesville with a $150 silk flag. Forty-five members of the company have dress uniforms, which have been purchased from time to time, at an aggregate cost of $1,500. The citizens manifest much pride in "the Guards." Frequent private donations are made for the purpose of completing their equipment. The present officers are : H. A. Smith, Captain ; Lieutenants, M. A. Newman and C. F. Glass ; Sergeants, W. A. Hand, J. B. Doe, Jr., E. V. Whiton, Thor. Judd and J. W. Bintliff; Corporals, George Woodruff, Fred McLean, H. P. Ehrlinger, C. C. McLean, Will Doe, E. McGowan. L. Libby and Stanley Smith.
The Janesville Veterans organized about the same date in 1878 as did the Guards. It was the original intention that the company should be composed entirely of veterans who had served in the late war. There was some trouble, however, in finding a sufficient number of veterans, and it was finally decided to admit others beside that class, and also to change the name from the Janesville Veterans to the Bower City Rifles. There are sixty-eight men in the company, and of this number twenty-seven are veterans of the late war. The original officers were : C. B. Baker, Captain ; Lieutenants, W. H. Tousley and J. B. La Grange ; Sergeants, John Andrews, C. E. Brown, R. Skelley, J. L. Bear and L. H. Lee : Corporals, W. R. Bates. A. Bintliff, G. W. Megs, T. Casey, W. W. Berrell, A. J. Glass, J. Smith and C. H. Webber. The present officers are : J. B. La Grange, Captain ; Lieutenants, W. H. Tousley and John Andrews ; Sergeants, C. E. Brown, R. Skelley, J. L. Bear, L. H. Lee and A. Bintliff; Cor- porals, John Smith, L. E. Curler, C. Stout, J. A. Spencer, F. Henreict, E. Kelley, F: Cheney and F. H. Davis.
POLICE MATTERS.
The law-abiding disposition of the people of Janesville has made the criminal record a rather tame affair. In 1856, the Legislature passed an act establishing the office of Police Justice. Prior to that time, preliminary examination into all cases, civil and criminal, was had before a Justice of the Peace. S. A. Hudson, now a practicing attorney in Janesville, was the first Police Justice elected under the authorizing act. Mr. Hudson held office two years (the extent of the prescribed term). J. W. D. Parker, formerly a County Judge somewhere in Vermont, was the next successful candidate before the people of Janesville for the office. He was suc- seeded by H. M. Comstock, who, at the expiration of his first term, was chosen for a second. Mr. Comstock resigned after serving one year of his second term, and, at the election to fill the vacancy, S. H. Hudson, who had in the mean time been Mayor of the city, was again chosen to the office of Police Justice. Mr. Hudson then held office continuously by re-election, until 1870, being succeeded by William Smith, who served two terms. L. F. Patten was the next incumbent. He held for two terms, and, in 1868, Moses S. Prichard was elected. Mr. Prichard has remained in office ever since.
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.
The duties of the Police Justice, as defined in the Act of Incorporation of the city of Janes- ville, are as follows:
SECTION 16. The Police Justice shall have and possess all the authority, powers and rights of jurisdiction of A Justice of the Peace in civil proceedings, and shall have sole and exclusive jurisdiction to hear all complaints and conduct all examinations and trials for criminal acts committed within said city, and shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases to which said city shall be a party, and shall have the same power and authority in cases of contempt as a court of record.
During the nine years Mr. Hudson was in office, but two murder cases came before him for examination. One of these was the case of a man named Pratt, a jeweler, doing business in Janesville. Pratt, with his wife and children and his wife's sister, the latter being a lady of considerable beauty, and the entire family of the highest respectability, lived on the West Side, in what was then a very sparsely settled portion of the city. They had formerly lived in Mich- igan. Soon after their settlement here, a large and very black negro, also from Michigan, made his appearance. He claimed to be well acquainted with the Pratts, and especially with the sister. From his conversation and manner, it was evident he possessed a strange infatuation for her. One night, soon after his arrival, he repaired to the Pratt residence, and climbing upon s shed in the rear of the house, after the family had retired, attempted to open a window leading into the room occupied by the young lady. The noise alarmed her, and she arose, and going down stairs informed her brother-in-law that some one was at her window trying to gain an entrance. Mr. Pratt procured a revolver, and crept noiselessly to the scene of alarm. As he entered the room he discovered the negro in the act of raising the lower sash, evidently not aware that he had been observed. Under the circumstances, Mr. Pratt did exactly what any other man would have done. He fired, and ere the report of the pistol had died away, a heavy thud was heard in the rear of the shed. The negro had received a fatal shot, and he rolled from the roof of the shed limp and lifeless. Police Justice Hudson was sent for. He summoned & jury of inquest, and Pratt was placed under arrest, charged with murder. But, after a full examination of the case, the prisoner was discharged on the ground of justifiable homicide.
The second case was that of Dr. Duval, claiming to be a specialist from New York. Duval was about fifty years old, and had a young and prepossessing wife. They stopped at the Ford House on the West Side. Two or three days after their arrival in the city, it was reported to Justice Hudson that the woman had died suddenly. Summoning Dr. Henry Palmer, the Justice repaired to the room occupied by Duval, and, making himself and the doctor known, asked to be made aware of the circumstances. Duval showed a suspicious hesitancy, but finally admitted the visitors, at the same time feigning to be much affected over the sad affair. Dr. Palmer made a slight examination, and Justice Hudson informed Duval that the case demanded an investiga- tion, that it was his duty to hold an inquest. at which three or four of the best physicians in Janesville would be present. Duval requested that he be allowed the privilege of inviting an equal number of medical gentlemen, whom he named and claimed to be his friends. The request was granted, and Justice Hudson and Dr. Palmer politely withdrew, thoroughly convinced, however, that there had been foul play. During the inquest that followed, the evidence became so strong that the woman had come to her death from the effects of poison, that Duval was placed under arrest. During his imprisonment, and while awaiting the action of the grand jury, Duval attempted to divert suspicion from himself by writing letters, but the result was that his own handwriting, had there been nothing more tangible, was sufficient to convict him. He received the extreme penalty-imprisonment for life, and is now serving his sentence at Waupun.
While the brass-buttoned " cop " of Chicago, or the " dandy Broadway M. P." of Gotham might scorn to acknowledge allegiance to so humble a chief as " Our Russell," we defy either of them to present a nattier appearance, or display a form of more symmetrical proportions or classical mold. True, " Our Russell " has been unfortunate enough to lose an arm, but this does not prevent him from dextrously wielding his new rattan on pleasant afternoons, when the cooling atmospheres of the soda fountain have lost their charm, and the free cologne has vanished.
Cameriereson
JANESVILLE
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HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.
The constabulary of Janesville is composed of six men, one from each of the five wards, and Marshal. These officers of the law are chosen at each charter election, serving one year. This system has been in vogue since the incorporation of the city, twenty-six years ago. When . murder or a robbery is committed, the Marshal calls his force about him. The rendezvous is anywhere between the post office and the Myers House. If it is morning, before the sun has reached the top of Lappin's Block, and while the shade of Todd's Brewery still lingers on the eust end of the bridge, there the force may be found; if in the evening, after Old Sol has dropped behind the western horizon. the steps of King's bookstore furnish protection from the evening dews. Woe to the culprit, should he come along about this time ! The force is then detailed in squads of one. At present it consists of the following efficient individuals : Marshal, Alexander Russell ; Constables-First Ward, John H. Taylor; Second Ward, A. K Cutts ; Third Ward, A. W. Parker; Fourth Ward, John B. Drake; Fifth Ward, George Rooke. Thomas Sleeper was the first Marshal of Janesville.
Prior to 1877, accommodations for city officers were leased or rented, quarters being occu- pied from time to time in various buildings, centrally and conveniently located. About two years ago, the building now in use by the city officers was constructed, at a cost of $7,000. The Bite (on River street, a few doors north of Milwaukee), was formerly occupied by an engine house. The land has been the property of the city for many years. The price paid for it was ฿2,000.
The Police Justice, not being an officer of the municipality, rents or leases his chambers wherever he chooses. The first police court was in Bennett's Block, on Main street. It was afterward located in Lappin's Block, and from there was taken to John J. R. Pearce's building. In 1878, Justice Prichard " went west " with it as far as the post-office building, where it has remained to the present time.
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