The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Part 90

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 899

USA > Wisconsin > Rock County > The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc. > Part 90

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The owners of all dogs running at large after this date, not wearing muzzles, shall be killed.

The order was passed to print, and, on the following day, the Mayor, happening to meet the City Marshal, directed that official to enforce it at once. According to law, it was necessary that notice of its enforcement should be given to the public for a certain number of days, and the Marshal proceeded at once to prepare such notice for the hands of the printer. The mistake made by the Council had either been discovered by the Marshal himself, or else some one had pointed it out to him. At any rate, he did not hesitate to show his wisdom by omitting the error from his advertisement. It was also apparent to the Marshal that there was an important omission. which he sought to supply :

All dogs found running at large after this date, without wearing muzzles, shall be killed, except those in from the country on business.

The intent and purposes of the order were carried out, however, and unmuzzled canines fell thick and fast.

" U. S. GRANT AND TEAM."

In the summer of 1853, Janesville had the distinguished honor of entertaining an indi- vidual who, in after years, became a great General, then President of the United States, and at this writing is receiving the homage of his country, after having visited many parts of Asia and the great capitals of Europe, and been received with all the pomp and pageantry ever accorded a king. It was during a time of conflict between certain railroad interests center- ing in Janesville. A railroad company had been organized under an act of incorporation to construct a line from Janesville west to the Mississippi River, leaving the Mississippi terminus open. The Hon. A. Hyatt Smith, then Mayor of the city, had the management of organiza- tion, construction, etc. An ordinance passed the City Council providing for the issuance of bonds in aid of the road on a note of the people to the extent of $150,000. The bonds were issued, and Mayor Smith proceeded to New York to place them. In his absence the conflicting interests represented by the Chicago & Galena Company and Milwaukee & Mississippi Company combined to defeat the scheme. Posters were circulated calling for a meeting of the

592

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

citizens to denounce the project of the absent Mayor. Mr. Smith returned to Janesville imme- diately upon being advised of what was going on, and arrived just in time to hear a string of resolutions denunciatory of himself read to an enthusiastic assemblage. He requested and was allowed to speak to the crowd, and before he had concluded, a set of resolutions indorsing his course was adopted. The interests opposed to Mr. Smith had, in his absence, exerted some influence over the City Council, and the Mayor, in order to ascertain the extent of that influence, called a meeting of the City Fathers. What occurred at that meeting is better told in his own language: "On the afternoon of the day of this meeting," says the ex-Mayor, "two delegations arrived in town, one from Galena, and the other from Dubuque; the first advocating the Fever River Valley as the most favorable route to get down to the river, with Galena as the terminus, and the other favoring Snipe Hollow as the place of descent, and Point Terry Landing as the terminus. The teamster who drove Galena delegation over registered in the book of the Old American Hotel as ' U. S. Grant and Team, Galena.' This attracted no notice until Gen. Grant loomed up before the nation as a great man. Whether the driver of the Galena team and the late President are identical, I have no means of knowing; but if they are the same person, if his memory is like mine, the late meetings of Congress must have recalled to his mind the other, but, in its small way, equally turbulent meeting of the Janesville Board of Aldermen. After the meeting adjourned, the two delegations invited me to a dinner, which lasted well along toward daybreak ; and rumor says that one of the party was heard to propose to another, when the time came for the Galena delegation to leave for home, that they should send for Ulysses. 'Let him sleep,' was the reply ; 'it's better for him and us too.'"

INSURANCE COMPANIES.

Janesville's record as an insurance mart is unenviable. Four companies have been organ- ized here within the past twenty-five years. In 1854, a man named Rockwell, from Utica, N. Y .. started a "wild-cat " fire insurance company. He had no capital to begin with, and he and bis company soon disappeared.

In 1857, a party by the name of Johnson hung out the shingle, " Head office of the North- western Life Insurance Company of Janesville, and "Janesville Fire Insurance Company." A lack of sufficient policy-holders to keep it alive, closed the former ; but the latter received more encouragement. Quite a number of dwellings were insured by it. The Company had also taken a risk on Capt. Miltimore's barn for $600. One night, the building burned down. The insurance Directors (twelve of them) paid $50 apiece on the loss, and the Company then sus- pended.

THE WATER SUPPLY.

Frequent efforts have been made by the citizens of Janesville to secure a good supply of pure water, but to the present time all exertions in this respect have been of no avail. At s charter election a few years ago, the question was put to a vote of the people whether or not water-works should be established. The voice of the people was in favor of the project, but no action was ever taken toward perfecting a scheme. At another time, the City Council appointed a committee to visit other cities and make inquiry into the subject with a view of ascertaining something about building and carrying on water-works. A tour of inspection was made, but nothing came of it. The people of Janesville depend upon wells and cisterns for water used about the household. Rock River furnishes an abundant supply for stock and ordinary purposes.

PIONEER SOCIETY.

The material for a first-class organization of this kind exists, and has always existed, in Janesville. Unfortunately, however, for the reputation of a place possessing peculiar advan- tages in this regard, the pioneers failed, in early days, to establish a society, which, by this time,

598

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

had proper steps been taken, might have added greatly to the pride of the citizens. In 1851, the New England Society, composed principally of those from the New England States, who had settled permanently in Janesville, was formed ; but the gatherings soon became as infrequent as informal, until finally the Society passed away and was forgotten. Several attempts have been made to organize a pioneer society, but proper attention was never given to the object in view.

THE LEGAL PROFESSION.

Early in the history of the Janesville bar, forensic eloquence was at a premium over legal lore or fine technical points. The attorneys practicing in the Rock County Courts and the lesser legal tribunals in Janesville, twenty years ago were, for the most part, possessed of the wild " dash " of inexperience-excellent gentlemen, though ; good hearted, jovial, generous, mag- nanimous. Among them may be mentioned David Noggle, Isaac Woodle, J. H. Knowlton, Matt H. Carpenter, Charles S. Jordan, Alexander T. Gray, David I. Daniels and Charles H. Parker. These were included in the class then known as " the boys "-and very lively boys they were, too. Noggle is dead. He was a tall, broad-shouldered, large-faced, bushy-haired man, with a com- manding presence, and a tongue always charged with stinging and rebukative epithets, though he never forgot to be a gentleman. Matt Carpenter, now in the United States Senate, resided in Beloit, but had a large practice in Janesville, besides being in frequent attendance at the ses- sions of the County Court. Carpenter knew considerable law-more, perhaps, than did Noggle -but he always avoided a conflict with his stalwart professional cotemporary. He dreaded Noggle's tongue. Charles S. Jordan is dead. He exhibited freaks of rare intellect, was a smooth talker, and one of the most valuable members of the famous " Thousand and One" Society. Alexander T. Gray holds an important position in the State Department at Washing- ton. Isaac Woodle, long since gathered to the fathers, loved a practical joke better than he did his profession, though he possessed the cool, calculating genius of a Webster. A man of great dignity and sonorous voice, it required no dissimulation for him to act as the Grand Senior in initiations of the Thousand and One. David I. Daniels is somewhere in Michigan, while Charles H. Parker is believed to be in California. J. H. Knowlton will be remembered as a very original character. He was a self-made man. The acme of his ambition was to get a difficult case for a poor client. Money had no charm for him when he could assist some unfor- tunate being who had become entangled in the meshes of the law.

The members of the Janesville bar of to-day may be said to possess more of the qualities of legal science than did their brothers of a quarter of a century ago, but there are fewer legal knock-downs and judicial drag-outs now than then. There is more starch in the judicial ermine now than then, and more formality in style of argument. To be a good lawyer in those days, it was necessary to be a good pugilist.

FORDS, FERRY AND BRIDGE.

The first settlers in Janesville crossed Rock River at a point near the " Big Rock," about a mile below the present business portion of the city. It was a favorite fording-place of the Indians for many years prior to the advent of their, pale-faced brethren. The manner of cross- ing and the "lay of the land " were known to only a few. It was a dangerous business, and was seldom undertaken by any one save those thoroughly acquainted with the " trail." Enter- ing the water from the west side of the river, at the " Big Bend," the adventurous emigrant found a good footing on a narrow bar, running along the middle of the stream for a distance of about four hundred yards, and joining with the eastern shore a few rods below the mouth of the Lower Branch of Spring Brook, and directly opposite the " Big Rock." At high stages of the water, when the current was strong, the voyage was extremely perilous. If the water became too high, wagons were taken over upon two canoes, while the teams were made to swim

594

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

In the spring of 1836. Judge Holmes, who had come on a visit from Michigan City to see his two sons, Joshua and William, concluded to settle permanently in Janesville. His first work was to build a ferry-boat, which he did by sawing out the necessary timbers with an ancient whip-saw. The Holmes boys and their father carried on a ferry for several months after the completion of their scow, about midway between the Big Bend and the Big Rock.

In the fall of the same year, Henry F. Janes and Aaron Walker constructed a more pre- tentious ferry-boat than that operated by the Holmeses, and, obtaining a charter from the Ter- ritorial Legislature, established a very convenient mode of crossing over the identical spot now covered by the Milwaukee Street Bridge. Messrs. Janes & Walker conducted this ferry in con- junction with a one-story log tavern, which stood on the ground now occupied by the Lappin Block. J. P. Dickson succeeded Janes & Walker in both enterprises, and continued the ferry until 1842, when Charles Stevens and others became the purchasers. Mr. Stevens at once com- menced the construction of a toll-bridge at the same point, continuing the ferry until the com- pletion of the bridge. New settlers continued to arrive in Janesville, and Mr. Stevens' new enterprise became very profitable. A few of the citizens, however, regarded it as a sort of monopoly, and, as a means of " crushing the monster," an association was formed and subscrip- tions taken for the building of a free bridge over the placid waters of Rock River about sixty rods south of the Stevens bridge. A sufficient amount of money was raised for the purpose, and operations were about to be begun when the projectors met with their first opposition.

Mr. Stevens and his associates in the toll-bridge company, though pronounced as public- spirited and patriotic citizens, were not going to relinquish or abandon a paying enterprise with- out a struggle. The establishment of a free bridge would most certainly close their toll-gates. Accordingly, they applied to the Circuit Court for a perpetual injunction restraining any person or persons from building a bridge on Rock River within certain limits. The defendants, through their attorney, A. Hyatt Smith, demurred to the petition for injunction, on the ground that Stevens' claim was not based upon any exclusive privilege; that the charter then held by the Stevens company did not grant any privilege in the light of an exclusive policy. The demurrer was overruled, and the perpetual injunction prayed for by the petitioners granted. The defend- ants at once carried the case to the Supreme Court, where the decision of the lower tribunal was reversed and the injunction set aside. This righteous ruling left the projectors of " the lower bridge" free to carry their design into execution, which they were not slow in doing. And thus came to an end the existence of the only toll-bridge ever known to Janesville. During the liti- gation, which was long and bitter, Isaac Blood, one of the citizens interested in maintaining : free bridge, having occasion to cross the river, found the gates of the Stevens bridge closed against him. Being a man of earnest convictions, and always ready to maintain those convictions, even though he found it necessary to resort to arguments sometimes more powerful than words, he procured a club, and with it battered down the barriers to his progress. The gates were repaired, but the decision of the Supreme Court, coming soon afterward, proved a more powerful and lasting blow than did that of Blood's club. The bridge contemplated by the citizens was soon in use, and the toll-gates were taken from their hinges, never to swing again. Two free bridges were thus established at about the same time. Charles Stevens being a most estimable man, : few of the citizens clubbed together and raised a small purse to recompense him for his original outlay in constructing the bridge. It has been twice rebuilt since it became the property of the city. The lower bridge was also torn away, after several years' use, and the present substantial structure erected in its stead.

The bridge at Monterey was built by the city in 1856. Ira Miltimore and John Peters were the contractors. They were also the builders of the Monterey dam, which was constructed at the same time, immediately beneath the bridge, the pillars of which helped to "fill up" con- siderably. The specification of the dam contract did not include the bridge-pillars as a part of the abattis necessary to its construction, and this was the source of much merriment among the friends of the late lamented Ira Miltimore, as illustrating his acuteness in making a bargain.

G: Loftus: Martin JANESVILLE.

597

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

TELEGRAPHIC.

The first telegraph wire running into Janesville was from Milwaukee, in 1848. The elec- tric telegraph began working in Janesville on the 15th of December, and did " an active business." The Gazette observes : "Our business men are very generally availing themselves of the facili- ties offered by this truly wonderful agent of instantaneous communication with their correspond- ents abroad. We commence to-day giving regular telegraphic reports, by which our readers will be in possession of all the important intelligence received by us up to the time of going to press. For the prompt manner in which this enterprise has been accomplished, we are indebted much to the untiring energy and perseverance of Gen. . William Duane Wilson, and no better evidence of the workmanlike manner in which all pertaining to it has been completed need be asked than the fact that the line was found in perfect working order on the first trial, and the first call was promptly answered."

Telegraphic connection was next made with Madison, Mineral Point, Galena and Chicago, with the latter in 1856, after the completion of the railroad from that point. The wires now running into Janesville owned by the Western Union Company were erected by the Illinois & Mississippi Company in 1864. Janesville is now a transfer office, the Northwestern system con- necting at this point with the Western Union. C. A. Stearns is the local manager. There are a few private wires in use in Janesville. The first telephone was brought here in April, 1878.

BURR ROBBINS' MENAGERIE,

located in the Third Ward of Janesville, on the east side of the river, at a point opposite the Big Bend, are the winter-quarter buildings of Col. Burr Robbins' " Great American and Ger- man Allied Shows." In 1874, Col. Robbins purchased a site at the place indicated and pro- ceeded to erect suitable structures for the protection of his assortment of wild beasts, etc., from the chilling blasts of Wisconsin's winter winds. The roar of the lion and the " bugle notes " of the elephant are not strange sounds in the cars of the Janesvillians. Col. Robbins, with his menagerie, takes the road every summer, and at this writing is delighting the denizens of Illi- nois with the performances of the only hippopotamus ever imported to America.

THE CEMETERIES.

About one mile and a half in a northwesterly direction from Janesville. lie the city ceme- teries, Oak Hill and St. Patrick. The drive to their location is delightful, the location itself sin- gularly prepossessing, and the improvements and ornaments to be found in these silent cities of the dead, touch the landscape with a beauty and symmetry exquisite beyond comparison. One cannot wander through these final resting-places of the departed, without being moved to sadness by the very beauties of the scene, and, as the sunlight flickers through green leaves, one seems to see the shadowy forms of relatives long since gone to their sanctified rest, fading away in the dimness of the gloaming. The graves are numerous on these spots of hallowed ground ; the coffined sleepers are there in solid phalanx. And as the living contemplate the scene, the green graves stretching far down the crest of the hill and into the valley, the sculptured marble commemorating the lives of departed worth, and the little white grave-markers rising above the blades of grass and peeping from beneath the waving white-topped clover, let them resolve to so live that generations yet unborn shall come in laughing June with opening flowers, to honor and decorate their tombs.

Oak Ilill Cemetery Association was organized on the 8th day of January, 1851, under the provisions of an act authorizing the formation of cemetery associations, adopted by the Legislature of Wisconsin a year previous. The certificate of the Association places the manage- ment of affairs in the hands of nine Trustees, who are divided into three classes; the term of

598

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

office of one class expiring each year, when new Trustees to fill such vacancies must be chosen by the lot-owners who are stockholders of the Association.

The grounds are exempt from taxation, from public roads or streets, from sale under execu- tion, and are maintained by an income derived from the sale of lots, purchasers of which acquire title in a manner which insures its continuance in their families, and, as stated, these lot-owners constitute the sole proprietors. In sales, deeds are given purchasers, subject to the following conditions : That all lots shall be used expressly for burial purposes ; that the Association shall have the right to determine the manner of fencing or closing said lots; the manner of the burial of the dead ; the right to levy a tax for the purpose of defraying the ordinary expenses of the Association, and to make such other regulations concerning the property as to them shall seem fit and proper.

By the first purchase, the Association acquired title to but twenty acres of ground, which has been increased from year to year by the purchase of additional plats, until, at the present writing, it holds a vested interest in fifty-six acres of beautiful rolling property peculiarly adapted by nature to the uses to which it is appropriated. The first Board of Trustees, immedi- ately upon the transfer of the trust to their care, inaugurated a system of improvements which, after many years, has been perfected, and left the grounds among the most beautiful to be found in the Northwest. The inclosure has been laid out in largo lots and blocks, with wide and convenient avenues and drives, tastefully ornamented with plants and shrubbery, and shaded with a natural growth of evergreen, forest and ornamental trees. Nature has done much to render Oak Hill all that could be sought for, but the Association, by its liberal management, has contributed materially to the apparent perfection attained in all its features. Several elabor- ately constructed monuments and tombs of artistic design and finish greet the eye of the visitor, and recite the departure of him or her who sleeps beneath the sod. The cemetery is also sup- plied with a large vault. The first interments consisted of bodies taken from the old cemetery. or rather burying-ground, used by the pioneers of Rock County and vicinity, from the time when the first death reduced the number of early settlers, until the organization of " Oak Hill." In those days, the square of ground bounded by Second, Third, Wisconsin and East streets, was devoted to the burial of the dead; but, in time, the premises being required for educational pur- puses, were vacated, and the present High School Building erected on a part thereof. The new cemetery, " Oak Hill," is an ornament to the city and surrounding country, and commends its founders to the consideration of posterity for their liberality, enterprise and judgment, not only in the selection of the site, but also for the taste displayed in projecting and completing the invaluable improvements visible on every hand.

The original Board of Trustees was composed of William Macloon, E. L. Roberts (deceased). John P. Dickson, E. A. Howland (deceased), E. H. Bennett, William H. H. Bailey (deceased) William A. Lawrence, J. M. Burgess and M. C. Smith. At a meeting of the Board held in the office of Woodle, Eldredge & Pease, the first officers of the Association were clected as follows: William Macloon, President ; E. H. Bennett, Secretary, and W. H. H. Bailey, Treasurer.

The present Board consists of Volney Atwood, M. C. Smith, S. L. James, J. C. Jenkins, James Sutherland, William A. Lawrence, John B. Carle, J. J. R. Pease and L. J. Barrows; J. J. R. Pcase, President ; L. J. Barrows, Secretary, and J. C. Jenkins, Treasurer. The inter- ments from July, 1851, to July 1, 1879, aggregate 2,678.

St. Patrick's Cemetery, consccrated to the burial of the dead who die in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, consists of fourteen acres of land, to the east of "Oak Hill," in a high state of cultivation and improvement, and ornamented with a number of expensive and magnif- cent monuments, which, for design and construction, are not surpassed by those of the best cemeteries in the country.

Previous to the change of use of the grounds on which the high school now stands, as above stated, the Catholics were accustomed to inter their deceased friends in a portion thereof. But when the cemetery was moved, Father McFaul, Pastor of the Diocese of Janesville, purchased four acres of ground, being a portion of the present site, for the uses to which it has since been

599

HISTORY OF ROCK COUNTY.

devoted. In 1869, Father James M. Doyle, the present incumbent, added ten acres to the original purchase, finishing improvements in progress when he succeeded to the living, and pro- jecting others since completed, until, to-day, St. Patrick's is one of the beautiful places of sepul- ture to be found in Wisconsin. It is under the care, custody and control of Father Doyle, who appoints the sexton, furnishes title to the purchasers of lots, and exercises the same care and direction to the property delegated to the Trustees of Oak Hill.

The number of interments since the day of consecration is upward of five hundred, and the property, together with improvements, has cost not less than $50,000.

THE "THOUSAND AND ONE."

"'Twas at the foot of Mount AEtna, Just at the setting of sun, Our Order sprang into existence, And was christened 1001."

Janesville was once famous for her wags, but most of them have passed away. A few are still left, however, to recount the exploits of their younger days, and relate incidents connected with the history of a once notorious institution known as the "Thousand and One." The '. Order" knew no manual save that impressed upon the minds of its members, or that suggest- ing itself in their brilliant imaginations.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Part 90

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 899

Author: Wesern historical company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 899