USA > Wisconsin > Waukesha County > The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc > Part 113
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The new Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1870, and dedicated by Dr. Bellows. H. C. Tilton was the first pastor. Mr. Robinson is the present pastor, with a membership of forty. The Baptist Church in this village, and the only one in the town, was organized in 1870, and the old schoolhouse and Methodist Episcopal Church was purchased for its use. The church began with a membership of seven. The Baptists have never had a regularly located and salaried pastor, except one for six months, and students that have come at different intervals from Morgan Park Theological Seminary, Chicago. Although their services have been irregu- lar and their membership small, never exceeding thirty-five, yet they have always maintained Sabbath schools.
The Trustees of the First Methodist Episcopal Church were John Hage, Jesse Tomlinson, Mr. Haswell, James Griffin, Daniel G. Griffin, J. Parsons and Thomas Onyon.
W. Le. wright WAUKESHA
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
The clergymen called were Revs. Tilton, Cooley, Watkin, Eldridge, Carpenter, and the present pastor, Mr. Robinson.
There is but one secret society in the place, or the town-the Robert Morris Lodge of Free Masons, No. 115. This lodge was organized January 15, 1859, with a charter membership of seven, viz. : Thomas Mc Williams, M. J. Bovee, M. H. Bovee, Isaac Newstadtl, Charles W. Potter, F. G. Parks and H. R. Hill. The present number of members is thirty-three.
There is a union depot at this place sufficiently large to accommodate the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway and the branch of the Western Union, which has its northern terminus at this point.
The first celebration here was quite a notable event, as it came off on the 4th of July following the coming of the railway, and is remembered as an occasion of big doings, when every one from far and near that could come was there ; and when S. S. Merrill, then a freight conductor on the road, was the ruling genius of the day, and the god of the fire-works.
TOWN OF GENESEE.
By an act of the Legislature approved March 8, 1839, the town of Genesee was made to comprise the present towns of Genesee, Eagle and Ottawa. By an act approved March 21, 1843, the present town boundaries were established.
In 1851, the town was surveyed into school districts by E. Manning.
The first town meeting on record was held at Andrew Scofield's, in Eagleville.
Stillman Smith is said to have been the first person to lay a claim in the present town, which he did in the spring of 1837. The summer following, himself and his brother Horace, who came on in June, built a house on Section 32, this being the first house and they the first actual settlers.
In September, Absalom Denny settled in north part of town with family, said to have been the first family to settle here ; also this year B. A. Jenkins came in.
The first hotel was erected by Mr. Jenkins in what is now known as North Genesee, but which at that time, and later, was known as Jenkinsville. The tavern stood on the corner where now stands a blacksmith-shop, opposite the store and hotel of Mr. Bowman, and was known to travelers as "Jenkins' Log Cabin."
A very good story is told of Jenkins and his pluck. He went into Milwaukee with a wheel- barrow to get provisions, and brought them out all right-nearly twenty-five miles.
In 1841, a German itinerant preacher discoursed to the people at the house of Stillman Smith. Old Mrs. Pitts Ellis says : "Quaw (his name) will never be forgotten, nor his text, as he kept repeating, 'Why stand ye here all day idle in the market place ?' while his eyes stuck out and his hands kept sawing the air." This was the first preaching.
Charles Raynous, who at first lived in Mukwonago, came to North Prairie in the fall of 1837, and put up a house and moved in soon after.
The following season, Mr. Raynous put up a shop and began doing blacksmithing ; the first in this section and the first in town. Here the farmers came for many years to have their " breaking-plows " made and all general work done. It was the custom then, for any one who wanted a plow made, to off with his jacket and officiate with the heavy sledge hammer until it was done.
Mr. Raynous kept a sort of tavern, and Mrs. Raynous, one of the first women in the town, had to divide her attentions among a lot of worthy bachelors, among whom may be mentioned Messrs. Horace and Stillman Smith.
The first school was kept overhead in Mr. Raynous' house in 1840, by a Mrs. Cash, who taught eight or ten pupils.
The woolen-mill of James Proctor, located on the road between North Genesee and the depot, is the oldest in the town and county. The original building was erected in 1844 by D. T. Hicox. After passing through several hands, it finally came into the possession of the present owner. The old mill walls and timbers are in excellent condition yet, and, although there has in
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
later years been added a substantial addition, yet the main portion of the machinery still runs in the old part. The principal power is supplied by a small stream. An eleven and one-quarter inch Leffel turbine, with the aid of an eight-horse power upright engine, does the work. Mr. Proctor, after coming into possession twelve years ago, put in a large amount of new machinery, such as a new set of forty-inch cards, a 200-spindle jack and other things to match.
The old saw-mill, near North Genesee, was built by Benjamin A. Jenkins, in 1840. In 1850, an effort was made to get the State Prison located here, and Messrs. Remington and Hamilton offered twenty acres of their stone quarry, called the Genesee Quarry, as a location.
The first death in the present town is said to have been that of a German named Synder, who committed suicide in the year 1838 or 1839, by displacing a quantity of water with his person.
The first services of the Congregational Church were held in a log schoolhouse, two and a half miles southwest of Waukesha.
May 7, 1843, a meeting of professing Christians was held at the house of Mathew Dodson, North Prairie, to consider the expediency of organizing a church. Rev. Stephen Peet was appointed Moderator, and H. W. Sherman, Clerk. A second meeting was held at the house of Mr. Sherman. After a sermon by Mr. Peet, the following persons united in forming a church : William Tredway and wife, Selah Castle and wife, P. Castle and wife, William Hill and Rachel Hill, B. A. Jenkins and wife, Amasa West, Vroman and Phoebe Hinkley, A. T. Sherman, Mrs. A. Marsh, Miss M. Smith and Mrs. Van Schaick. W. W. Tredway and S. Castle were appointed Deacons, and B. A. Jenkins, Clerk. In August, 1843, Rev. C. Warner was called, who preached one year. In October of 1848, Rev. C. W. Camp, now at Waukesha, was called to preach for a year. In December following, the name of the church was changed from North Prairie to Genesee. The present church edifice was built in 1851, and dedicated in September of the same year. The present Pastor is Rev. John Fassitt.
The first services for the Welsh Calvinistic Church of Genesee, were held at the house of Richard Jones, 1843. Afterward, for a long time, Sunday schools and services were held in his barn, under the management of Griffith Robberts and H. Elias. R. Jones, John Hughes, Morgan Jones, Thomas Hughes and many others, with their entire families, were regular attendants at this time. A log meeting-house was built on Section 9, in 1845, and was used until the building of the present church, in 1850, which was enlarged and improved in 1870, making the entire cost of the edifice, furnished and with organ, $2,000. First Board of Trustees : Richard Jones, Thomas H. Evans and H. Elias. Present Board : William Evans, R. Mason, John Roderick, D. Charles, C. Jones and Richard Davis. The present preacher is Rev. R. H. Evans.
North Prairie .- In this town, North Prairie is the principal village, and is situated on a prai- rie of the same name. This prairie, so called from the earliest settlement, was named by Messrs. Coats, William C. Garton and Thomas Sugden, who came from Mukwonago, in 1836, to this point, on a prospecting tour, and, as they did not go any farther north, they concluded to call this North Prairie. The village never amounted to anything until the advent of the railroad. The first hotel, now called the "Equality," was built by Peter D. Gifford, a man of considerable political influence in the county twenty-five years ago.
Orlando Harrison is said to have been one of the first wheat-buyers. Dayton H. Prentice occupied, at one time, the warehouse opposite Sadd's building, where religious services and singing schools were sometimes held. Twenty-five years ago, Alfred Sargeant and Mr. Bogardus were well-to-do merchants here, but they ceased operations many years ago. Thomas Sugden, William Sugden, the Wilkinson brothers and many others yet remain of the early settlers. A Good Templars' lodge was organized here about 1857, and held its first meetings in the chamber of Mrs. D. H. Willman's house. The leading spirits in the enterprise were Mr. Boss and wife, Mr. Sargeant and wife, Mrs. Willman, D. H. Prentice, the Misses Green, Mr. Balcon and several others. Mr. Bovee, of Eagle, presided at the first meeting. The lodge was called Mendota. It long ago subsided. The erection of the Methodist Episcopal Church at North Prairie, the
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election of Trustees and the appointment of pastor in charge all took place in 1864-65. The first preacher was Rev. J. O. Hazeltine, who is now minister in charge at the Sailors' Home, at Milwaukee. The church edifice cost $1,500, the money being subscribed by the inhabitants of the village and the surrounding community.
By an act approved April 10, 1866, Horatio Harrison, Henry Grimshaw, William Nixon, George C. Pratt, Robert Wilkinson, P. D. Gifford, John Magee, James Wallisan and J. T. Walkin were empowered as the "North Prairie Petroleum Company," with a capital of $50,000, to dig or bore a hole in the ground in the town of Genesee, on what was known as "the oil territory," and take out oil, minerals, or anything that might be found in said hole. The enterprise was a failure.
North Genesee .- This village, called in an early day Jenkinsville, began its career soon after Mr. Jenkins built the log cabin. Mr. Holt kept the first store in a building near the present store of Mr. Bowman, in 1844. The first framehouse, was ! uilt by Pitts Ellis in 1843, where he lived for many years, and which still remains. In that year, a frame schoolhouse was erected, and Cyrus Remington taught the school at $10 per month. The following year, the Owenites settled here. One of the oldest physicians in the county, Dr. Steele, settled here at that time. Mr. Farnham and family, and Mr. Prentice and family, and many others, settled here at that time or soon after. The church of the Congregational society, in this town (built in 1851), is located here, besides a fine grist-mill, and the cheese factory already mentioned. One of the finest springs in the county was found near here. The flouring mill here was erected by B. F. Jenkins about 1848. It is a solid stone structure three stories in height. From Mr. Jenkins it passed into the hands of Mr. Hart, from whom it was purchased by James Bogley & Son, 1855, who has since run it, though in partnership with others. Tredway & Barker started a store here in 1844. Mr. Tredway was also Postmaster, and, as the story goes, Mr Elmore succeeded in getting him removed because he defied him (Elmore). Henry Hardy was appointed in his place, and carried on a tailor-shop, postoffice, store, etc.
There is an Odd Fellows' lodge here, organized September 27, 1869. Charter members : B. S. Winchell, James Proctor, A. L. Williams, K. B. Rowlands and W. H. Hardy. First officers as follows : N. G., B. S. Winchell ; V. G., W. H. Hardy ; Sec'y, A. L. Williams ; Treas., R. B. Rowlands. The lodge was first held at the house of H. D. Carr. It is now held at the Odd Fellows' Hall, purchased in 1877 of Mr. Prentice. There are at present thirty-six members. Thomas Steele has two cheese factories, one located on White Creek, in North Genesee, which was built in 1875. The other factory was built by Mr. Frank Shultis, the same year, on the farm of J. A. Jones; from him Mr. Steele purchased it in 1878, and moved it to Roderick's Corners, on Section 17, where it now stands. Old Rufus Watson and Mr. Farnham are perhaps the oldest settlers living in the village of Genesee, although there are several others who came in at nearly the same time, among whom may be mentioned John Paul, Dr. Steele and H. V. Prentice.
The first postoffice in the town was established here.
In 1845, a number of the ladies laid a scheme to surprise their good men, on the 4th of July, with a picnic, and succeeded to a charm in carrying out their aim and having a good time.
Genesee Depot and the surrounding stores and residences are of course, of much later growth than North or South Genesee (called Saylesville). The depot was the first building of any importance built. Mr. Jenkins owned the land at that time, upon part of which he built and kept store and warehouse and bought produce. The hotel was erected about 1861, by P. Lynch. There are at present two or three stores and various mechanics' shops, and a fine warehouse, this being a very good grain-buying and shipping point. The Catholic Church of the town is located here.
South Geensee .- The grist-mill at Saylesville, or South Genesee, was built by Whitman Sayles, David Orendorf and Mr. Le Suer, about 1842. The stone used to build the dam and race was brought in a boat manned by Capt. F. D. Cook, with Mr. Smith as mate. April 16, 1866, G. H. Vincent, the present owner, purchased the mill from Mr. Orendorf, which has been largely
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
improved since it came into his possession. There are now two runs of stone, propelled by two thirty-inch and one twenty-four inch Tyler turbine water wheel.
Sayles & Orendorf opened the first store about 1842. The place has no store at present. South Genesee has a Sunday-school Hall, which was erected by the Sunday-school Asso- ciation for the purpose of holding religions services.
Here is also the Excelsior Cheese Factory and Creamery of F. Shultis. It is three stories high, including basement, which has stone walls and cement floor. It is turning out an average of 400 pounds of butter per week.
A fine business of selling milk in Milwaukee, began July, 1879, with a light patronage, which has so largely increased that they are now shipping from 700 to 800 pounds of milk and twenty gallons of cream per diem. This is done by Mr. Shultis and Mr. Vincent.
TOWN OF LISBON.
By an act of the Territorial Legislature approved January 2, 1838, the land included in the present towns of Lisbon, Pewaukee, Brookfield and Menomonee was erected into the town of Lisbon, the first election to be held at the house of Charles Skinner. A subsequent act, passed March 9, 1839, established the town lines as they now are.
This town possesses many very fine general features. All monotony is removed from the scenery by the endless variety of hills and valleys, woodland and prairie.
The soil is clay and limestone marl, the substratum abounding in extensive beds of excel- lent limestone. It is what would ordinarily be called a heavy soil, being not easy to till. Farmers usually call this kind of land "white-oak land," as white-oak timber grows particularly well upon it.
It is a steadfast, rich, and fruitful soil beyond that of the lighter soils. There are very many fine farms in various parts of the town, and a general air of thrift, intelligence and industry pervades everything in all sections.
There are several churches and a number of schools in the town, all well attended and sup- ported. The dwelling-houses are brick, grout or frame, and usually in good repair. There seems to be in this section quite a general liking for grout houses, as gront, when carefully pre- pared, makes thoroughly substantial walls and at a very much less cost than any other material.
The inhabitants are principally English, American and Scotch, with a sprinkling of Irish and Germans.
To Thomas S. Redford, probably, belongs the distinction of having been the first one to drive his stake in this town. When he first came here, he accompanied the surveying party of Hudson, Vliet and Brink, who surveyed through the town early in 1836. In May of this year, he located the claim which he now occupies, on Section 25.
In June of this year, P. Ray, James Hanford and William Packard came out from Milwaukee and selected claims, and assisted T. S. Redford in erecting his first shanty, this being a sort of headquarters for all until each could get a cabin raised. Soon after, probably about the month of August, John Weaver, Lucius Botsford, Thomas Rolf and David Bonham came into the town. They at once made claims and proceeded with all dispatch to erect houses for their families, for they were all, but one, family men. Having got their houses up and ready during this fall and winter, they then went into the city of Milwaukee, where the women and children were staying, and brought them out before the snow was off the ground in the spring. A. A. Red- ford came in at this time also. These four women were the first in the town, as also were their children the first of the small folks.
In the spring and summer of 1837, James Weaver, who now lives at Sussex ; George Elliott, Edward Smith, Nathan Peso and Samuel Dougherty came with their families and set- tled here, making for themselves permanent homes.
During the year 1841 and the year following, there was quite an influx of settlers, among whom may be mentioned, Robert James and Archibald Rodgers, John Small, Alexander Harris and a Mr. Moyes, all said to have come from Scotland ; Thompson Richmond, George Cairn-
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
cross, J. Reed, Thomas Bloor and family, John Muir, Henry Sears, Harrison and Henry Phillips, Ira D. Goodwin, Ira and Mark Rowell, Dr. John A. Willard, John Thompson, E. B. Quiner, and Elisha Pearl, and many other persons came during the following year. From this time forward the increase in population was steady, if not rapid.
According to the town records, the first election was held April 5, 1842, at the stone schoolhouse on Section 35, when Samnel Dougherty was chosen Moderator, and David Bonham, Clerk. David Bonham was regularly elected Chairman of the Board ; and Samnel Dougherty and Lucius Botsford, Side Supervisors. David Bonham was also elected Clerk ; James Weaver, Treasurer ; R. Blount, Assessor ; George Comstock, Collector ; D. Bonham, Ed Smith and James Weaver, Commissioners of Highways ; Sherman and Lucins Botsford and D. Bonham, School Commissioners ; E. W. Fowler and Thomas Redford, Constables ; John Weaver, Sealer of Weights and Measures ; A. A. Redford, Samnel Dougherty, D. Bonham and William Weaver, Overseers of Highways ; A. A. Redford, William B. Caldwell and William Weaver, Fence Viewers. The whole number of votes did not exceed twenty.
The earliest recorded assessment was made in the town of Lisbon, in 1843, when 4,920 acres were assessed : Value, $12,848.20 ; personal property, value, $1,997; county tax, $101.61; town tax, $105. Total tax, $206.61.
The first one removed from the little community by death, was Stephen Bonham, a little son of D. Bonham, who died in October, 1837, and was buried on his father's farm.
Lisbon had its first representative of a new generation in the person of Ruth Weaver, daughter of James Weaver, born November, 1837.
As early as 1838, Mrs. John Weaver began a school in her own home, a small log house. This served the purpose of kitchen, parlor, dining, sleeping and school room. Here, after she had attended to the duties of a mother, in waiting upon her family of little ones, she would storm the citadel of ignorance with A, B and C, sometimes teaching as many as twenty pupils, many of whom had to come long distances.
On the 3d day of June, 1839, the first nuptials were solemnized at the marriage of Lucius Botsford and Miss Lucinda Denny, Elder Griffin being the officiating clergyman.
Rev. Frink was the first preacher, and held the first service at the home of John Weaver, about 1838. Elder Griffin also began holding services in this section soon after.
The first schoolhouse was erected as early as 1841, and, some of the oldest settlers say, as early as 1839. It was built of stone, by Mr. George Elliott, and occupied the site of the present school building of District No. 1, on Section 35. In this building were held the first Sabbath meetings and Sunday-schools; also public meetings. The town then comprised one district. From the report of Commissioners of Schools in 1842, it appears that there were 110 scholars in the town, 69 males and 41 females, with one male teacher and two female teachers, and $148.40 was raised by tax and $26.60 by subscription to defray the expense. Phineas Bissell was the first male teacher.
District No. 2 was organized in 1842, and comprised the southwest corner of the town. Among the teachers were Henry Williams Rodeman, Henry Calkins, Miss Small (now Mrs. Robert Rodgers) and Miss Julia Griswold (now Mrs. Austin Wheeler, of Pewaukee). The present schoolhouse of District No. 2 was built about 1853. About 1839 or 1840, Rice Gale came in and put up a blacksmith-shop on Section 35, near the house of D. Bonham. Mr. Gale was followed by Mr. Nottingham, who built one near by.
About 1840. Levi Russell started a little store and shoe-shop in his log house on Section 35. This point at that time was the most important place in the town ; but after the nucleus nothing was added, unless the church and grave-yard in the vicinity are mentioned.
The first field plowed in the town is said to have been on Section 36. In 1837, E. Smith, James Weaver, John Weaver and George Elliott sowed a patch of turnips a little east of Sussex, on the ground where now stands the feed-mill, and the next winter turnips were used for apples.
The first plow is said to have been brought in by D. Bonham. At that time, the settlers went to Milwaukee to get their plows sharpened and repaired, which had to be done very
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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
frequently, for on much of the land grew what was called red-root brush, and the ground, being literally filled with these tough roots, was very hard to break.
The first saw-mill was built a short distance north of the village of Sussex, by James Weaver, George Elliott, Edward Smith and Cooley Frarey, in the winter of 1842. It was designed to run by water, with an undershot wheel, but, owing to the nature of the bed of the stream, they could not confine the water. An engine was therefore purchased and moved out from the city, at an expense of about $1,200. It had not been set up a very long time before the boiler burst, while under the charge of Thomas Weaver. This difficulty was overcome, and the work went on for several years, but not in a profitable manner. The mill has been long abandoned, and nothing now remains.
The brewery, which stands about one-half mile north of the mill, on the road from Sussex, was first built by Stephen Stone. In 1862, Mr. Boots became sole owner. Twelve years after, in 1874, Mr. Boots had the misfortune to lose the old brewery by fire. In 1875, it was rebuilt as it now is.
James Weaver was the first Postmaster, and had the office at his home on the old farm on Section 35. Subsequently, he resigned in favor of his son, Thomas Weaver, from whom, in 1849, the office was transferred to Sussex, and Richard Cooling became Postmaster. Mr. Cooling held the office four years, and then resigned in favor of William Brown. Mr. Brown held it two years, when it passed into the hands of William Weaver, where it remained until 1861, when Mr. Cooling again came into possession of the office, and held it until 1878; he then resigned in favor of his son-in-law. Mr. Templeton, who has had charge of it since.
F. Otis, who came in 1837, built the first frame shell; but Sherman Botsford erected the first really substantial frame house built in the town. About 1850, the project of a plank road was started by many of the leading men of the town and county, the road to run from Mil- waukee to Hartland, with a branch to run from the southern part of Lisbon to Merton. It was almost a total failure, so far as the interests of the majority of the farmers were concerned, for many of them lost all they put in, and very few, if any, escaped without a loss. The road, according to estimates, cost about $60,000.
The Episcopal Church Parish was organized in 1842, and was composed principally of English settlers. The congregation met and worshiped in the barn of James Weaver, and occasionally at the schoolhouse of District No. 1, until able to erect a church. The parish remained under the pastoral care of the clergy of Nashotah Mission, until the 7th of March, 1847, when Rev. William Armstrong took charge of it. At the organization of the parish, there were five families ; but in June of this year, the congregation had increased to thirty-four families. The parsonage was erected in the spring of 1849. Rev. George A. Whitney is the present Rector. The church has been much improved lately in appearance by the addition of a fine tower and bell, and the introduction of new chancel furniture and stained windows.
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