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 116

Author: Western Historical Co., pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1050

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 116

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" In the year 1837, we received a valuable acquisition to the population of our town. John M. Stockman, John S. Morse, Webber Andrews, Ezra Stone, John Burnell, Robert Wilkinson, William Cross, Sherman Cartwright, John Coats, and a man by the name of Newcomb, with their families, and David Orendorf, James Orendorf, Samuel Pendleton, Capt. Burk, Cyrus Hill, John A. Larkin and Ira Goodspeed, came and settled in different parts of the town; all of whom were farmers excepting John A. Larkin, who was a shoemaker. John M. Stockman frequently worked at the trade of carpenter and joiner. In the spring of 1837, Sewall Andrews obtained a stock of goods from New York, and opened his store about the first of June. James Orendorf about this time settled on Section 24, and established a ferry across Fox River, erected a large block-house, and kept hotel for a year or two. In 1838, he was appointed Postmaster. The office was called Springfield, that being the first postoffice within the limits of the town. In the winter of 1839 and 1840, the office was moved to the village of Mukwonago, and Andrew E. Elmore was made Postmaster, and from that time the office was called Mukwonago. There soon began to appear among our farmers, and especially among those who had settled in the northwestern portion of the town, marked indications of thrift and of future wealth. They were improving their farms rapidly, commencing to breed all kinds of farm stock, and produced most of the necessaries of life. Until a much later date, there were no physicians, or preachers of the Gospel within the limits of the town, and probably none nearer than Milwaukee, a distance of twenty-four miles .. We will not attempt to give a list of the names of those who settled here in 1838, 1839 and 1840. The town was settling rapidly during those years, and any list we can now make would necessarily be imperfect. We will only name a few of those whom we know settled here during those years: Samuel Winch, Adam E. Ray, came in 1838; Joseph Bond, in June, Dr. Solomon Blood in September, and Andrew E. Elmore in October, 1839.

" It may interest many who have never known, or have forgotten the fact, that the town of Mukwonago, in its first organization, was twelve miles square, including the present towns of Genesee, Ottawa, Eagle and Mukwonago. The first election was held at the house of Daniel Bigelow, in the village of Eagleville, in the fall of 1838, and Henry Hinkley was elected Chairman."

Charles N. Cox was the first settler in the town ; Mrs. Cox, his wife, the first white woman, and his children, David and Hannah, the first little folks.

The first frame house is the present residence of Dr. H. A. Youmans.

The first hotel was built in 1837, by Charles B. Stockman.

The first store was opened by Sewall Andrews, and the second by Andrew E. Elmore. The former still has a store in the village.

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

The first noted place for horse-racing was in the northwest part of the town, which was, therefore, named " Horse-race Prairie." A three-quarter-mile track was laid out there thirty years ago, by George Yearly.

Sewall Andrews and David Orendorf were the first Justices of the Peace, appointed in 1837, or the first of 1838.

Mr. Powers brought the first mails to Mukwonago, once in two weeks. The next mail carrier was William Wilkinson, now a resident of Genesee.

The first birth was John A., son of Joseph Smart, born December 31, 1836.

The first death was that of Charles N. Cox, July 23, 1838. He was buried at Jericho.

The report to the Old Settlers' Club states that Andrews and Camp built the first house in Mukwonago; but the historian concludes that a house built on Section 19, by Joseph Smart and Charles N. Cox, was occupied first. Both, however, were erected at about the same time.

The first preachers were Elder Burgess, Baptist ; Rev. Brooks, Episcopalian. In 1837, an itinerant Methodist preached at Joseph Smart's house, probably the first sermon in the town.

Miss Gertrude Goodrich taught the first school in the summer of 1842, at Jericho .*

In October, 1838, the marriage of Mrs. Charles N. Cox to John Long was the first in Mukwonago. Sewall Andrews, Justice of the Peace, performed the ceremony. He did it so awkwardly, not being accustomed to such business, that Mr. Hinkley, a Justice from Eagle, declared, after Mr. and Mrs. Long had lived together for some days, that they were not married ; that the form was illegal, and Mr. Andrews without the proper authority. This was allowed to frighten the innocent couple for a time; then the joke was explained, and they again lived as man and wife.

Seneca Harris was the first shoemaker. It is said he never worked at the trade before opening a shop in Mukwonago.

In 1842, Thomas Sugden was elected Assessor, but had no blanks or legal forms for making assessment rolls or returns. He therefore improvised some which would serve well for the present day. The first roll contains the names of 70 resident and 18 non-resident tax-payers, whose real and personal property was valued at $53,384.

. At a school exhibition in the village of Mukwonago, March 23, 1866, the floor gave way, very seriously injuring several people.

The first blacksmith was Charles Raynous.

In 1844, $2,000 in cash was raised in Milwaukee to improve the road to Mukwonago, which was then in a very bad condition.

In January, 1843, a petition praying for the removal of Gov. James Duane Doty, received 130 signatures.

Mukwonago has been honored with several Congressional Conventions.

Andrew E. Elmore, the "Sage of Mukwonago," read the New York Weekly; always talked "all the rights of all men ;" trusted everybody who traded at his store, and wished to be trusted, and never blacked his boots.

William Wilkinson was married in 1838 to Anna Robinson. Everybody was invited; everybody went, and everybody had a big time. Before getting a wife, he built a house. The bed was made of poles, one end stuck into the crevices of the log house, and the other resting on crotches, on which brush and leaves were spread. The table was of rough boards ; the chairs of blocks cut from oak logs, and other furniture would have been in keeping, if he had had any. A thoughtful neighbor sent to Milwaukee for a keg of beer, and after the ceremony, which was said by Henry Hinkley, the feast and fun began. Mr. Hinkley was dressed in overalls and jerkin, and performed the ceremony with a New York "form-book " in one hand and a box of Scotch snuff in the other.

If any one desires to see a Mukwonago farmer dance like a toad on a hot griddle, it is only necessary to coax him into some secluded spot and whisper " Milwaukee & Beloit Railroad."

* The people of Eagle claim Miss Goodrich as their first teacher. Her school was for children of both towns; but it is a matter of dispute as to which side of the town line the building stood.

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

Up to June, 1837, settlers in Mukwonago were S. Andrews, H. H. Camp, Charles N. Cox, Thomas and John Coats, Samos, Jonathan and Jerry Parsons, Robert Wilkinson, the Sugden family, Martin Field, Ira Blood, W. C. Chafin, J. M. and C. B. Stockman, John Burnell, Joseph Smart, (first of the English settlers,) David Orendorf, James Orendorf and William Moo- dy. Jesse Meacham, who visited the place, did not become a permanent settler.

Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company .- At a formal meeting held at the Mukwonago House, January 31, 1874, the following directors were elected : C. B. Stockman, A. E. Per- kins, J. A. Pratt, J. N. Crawford, W. Wilton and J. Wilkinson. A. E. Perkins was chosen President, J. A. Pratt, Secretary, and W. M. Frazier, Treasurer. The first policy issued was to A. E. Perkins. The company is for Mukwonago, Eagle and Genesee. The directors from Genesee were H. Bowman and J. W. Farnham ; Eagle, J. Parsons. In March, 1877, the num- ber of directors was increased to nine-three from each town. J. N. Crawford and A. J. Boss have been President and Secretary since 1876. The present Board of Directors are J. N. Craw- ford, A. J. Boss and William Frazier of Mukwonago; A. R. Hinkley, Samuel Hage and William Wilton of Eagle; Norman Shultis, W. H. Hardy and Thomas D. Jones, of Genesee. At the an- nual meeting in 1880, the company contained five hundred and twenty members, holding four hundred and sixty-two policies of insurance. The value of property insured is $520,000. The rates of insurance are $1.50 for each policy and one-fifth of one per centum on the amount issned. Twelve losses have been paid, mostly caused by lightning, aggregating $1,743.50. During 1879, the losses were $1,390. Cash now on hand $325.

Jericho* is a quiet little burg on the extreme west line of this town. It was so called from the name of Jerry Parsons, who built an old tavern stand there in an early day. Jericho Creek flows through a beautiful grove of old trees to the west of the village. The grounds of John Burden and Mr. Pitcher having been inclosed years ago with masonry walls of limestone, now gray and moss-grown, have given rise to the various sayings in regard to " the walls of Jericho." It is one of the oldest settlements in the county, and has a natural location of extreme beauty. Other Scriptural names in this locality are Palestine, Jerusalem, and on the farm of Mrs. Hill, in Mukwonago, is Mt. Nebo, which is " over against Jericho."

Mukwonago Village .- This is not an incorporated village, but has the commercial import- ance which warrants its claim to the title of village. Its first settlers were Indians. The last tribe which inhabited the region were Pottawatomies, who had a large village on the site of the present village, which was also named Mukwonago, meaning place of the bear, or bear town.

The first white settlers were Sewall Andrews, H. H. Camp and Mr. Meacham, who vis- ited the locality in 1835, and took up their residence here June 15, 1836. The first house in the village was erected by them. Mr. Meacham soon left for other parts, and was not a per- manent settler.

The village was platted in 1836, and the plat recorded at Milwaukee, November 24, 1836. That was undoubtedly the earliest recorded plat in Waukesha County.

The surrounding country is beautiful and rich ; the place has a good water-power, and the inhabitants are well-informed and generally well-to-do.

A few years ago, Theron W. Haight wrote as follows of this pleasant village :

" Within three or four years from the first settlement, many of those whose names are still known and honored in the town, were invited hither by the charming appearance of the country. John Stockman built a house for the entertainment of travelers in 1837; the cheerful and genial face of Joseph Bond was seen above the heads of his friends ; Andrew E. Elmore established himself in a log store in 1839; Otis Sargeant began work upon a productive farm, and Elder Burgess, a Baptist minister, initiated the regular preaching of the word of God. At that time, the well- to-do farmer who wished to be thought stylish, went to church in a vehicle drawn by oxen, while the less ambitious were contented to go on foot. A bridge of poles laid from one forked stake to another, gave a precarious passage across Fox River to the footman, and many a poor wight who lingered at the village, like Tam O'Shanter, was caught by the warlock drunkenness

*Jericho is claimed by both Eagle and Mukwanago, but the most of the quaint little place is in the latter town.

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

before reaching the ' key-stane o' the brig,' and forced to become a temporary cold-water man by tumbling into the river.

" In 1843 or 1844, the first permanent bridge was laid across Fox River, but, the structure having been found to cost too much for repairs, it was replaced about four years ago by another, which has proved impregnable to all watery attacks.

"The flouring and saw mill now owned by J. & M. Howitt, were begun (and the saw- mill finished) in 1847, by a Mr. McVean, but they soon passed from his hands and became the property of Mr. Sewall Andrews.

"A small church and schoolhouse had been erected in the village almost at the commence- ment, but the friends of education decided, in 1858, on the erection of a building which should be an honor to the town, and the present fine public school edifice, of brick, was accordingly completed in 1859, since which time the utmost pains have been taken to secure the best attain- able talent for school management, and the present course of study, including higher math- ematics, German, and natural science, is believed to give as full advantages for culture and practical knowledge as can be obtained below a collegiate or technical course of instruction."

Baptist Church .- The first Baptist service held in this town was in 1837, at the house of Charles Cox, Jericho. J. M. Stockman, owning the only horse team in the village at this time, was offered $1 each by five of his neighbors, to carry them to this meeting, and he remembers accepting this offer. The society was organized in 1840, and a church built, under the leader- ship of J. M. Stockman, Webber and Sewall Andrews, H. Porter, Daniel Wood, Ebenezer Thomas and others. This church was used until it became untenable, and was finally destroyed by fire. For several years past, meetings were held in the schoolhouse. The society has com- pleted an elegant new church, at a cost of upwards of $2,000.

Congregational Church .- The first subscriptions taken for the building of a church, were by A. E. Perkins and A. Ball, in 1860. On the removal of Mr. Ball, the subscription was dropped, though the society was organized at that time. The first Trustees were W. C. Chafin, A. E. Perkins and another, Rev. Mr. Snow, assisting in the organization, and Rev. Mr. Sedg- wick being the first regular pastor. In 1866, the subscriptions were renewed at the instance of the Trustees, A. E. Perkins, E. T. Taylor and Dr. Jerry Youmans.

Under the direction of these gentlemen as Building Committee, the foundations were laid, in 1866, the present substantial and handsome structure being finished in 1869, at a cost, with fixtures, furniture and organ, of $3,400. Prior to the building, and since the organization, of the church, weekly services were held in the schoolhouse. This church is open to all evangelical denominations.

United Unitarian and Universalist Society .- Sewall Andrews, F. M. Payne, Otis Sar- geant, William M. Frazier, J. N. Crawford and John Platner were the leading spirits in founding this church, W. P. Collins and Martin Field being the pillars on the Unitarian side of the house. The organization was effected and a charter granted in 1877. The first officers were Andrews, Frazier and Crawford, Trustees ; Martin Field, Secretary ; Peter Greeley, Treasurer. They continue to hold these positions. The site for a church was purchased of the heirs of William Burgess, for $700. The church, a very neat building, was completed in August, 1879, and cost $3,000. It is used also by the Methodist Episcopal society. The dressing-room, dining-room and kitchen were built with funds raised by the ladies. The church is free from debt.

Eagle Lodge, No. 39, I. O. O. F .- This Lodge was instituted at Eagle, Waukesha County, October 1, 1849. Its charter members were Philip V. Born, Allen Carr, Frank Draper, Andrew E. Elmore, Alexander Farron, Dexter Finch, Freeman Ackly, John James, John C. Snover, Adam E. Ray, Thomas W. Pitman, Hiram Lampman, B. Salsbury and Henry Snyder. In May, 1859, Eagle Lodge was moved to Mukwonago through the influence and labor of F. M. Payne, O. B. Dickinson and George Richardson, and, by the consent of the R. W. Grand Lodge, took the name of Mukwonago Lodge, No. 39. The presiding officer at that time was John C. Snover. At the first election thereafter the officers were : F. M. Payne, N. G. ; George Richardson, V. G. ; O. B. Dickinson, R. S. ; H. H. Camp, T. The lodge

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

kept np its meetings during the war, until January, 1862, when it suspended, and surrendered its charter. About the last of October, 1868, F. M. Payne, O. B. Dickinson, H. H. Camp, John Snyder, Perry Craig, Melvin Peacock, Melvin Gibson, E. D. Reynolds and B. S. Winchell, petitioned for a charter, and on the 29th day of November, 1868, the lodge was resuscitated by R. W. Grand Secretary L. B. Hills, of Madison. The lodge has made a good many Odd Fellows, and lost a good many, but has succeeded in holding its own and a little more, having now a membership of over forty in good standing, and about $500 in the treasury. The officers are: G. Lovejoy, N. G. ; William Miller, V. G. ; A. J. Stockman, R. S. ; F. M. Payne, T. The night of meeting is Saturday, over Anderson & Wood's store.

TOWN OF MUSKEGO.

The town of Muskego formerly embraced a larger extent of territory than it now does, and was one of the earliest towns named and founded. The Territorial Legislature passed the fol- lowing enactment :

SECTION 4. That the country included within the following limits, to wit: Beginning at the southeast corner of Township 5 north, of Range 20 east ; thence west to the southwest corner of Township 5 north, of Range 19 east ; thence north along said township to the northwest corner of Township 6 north, of Range 19 east ; thence east to the northeast corner of Township 6 north, of Range 20 east; thence south to the place of beginning; be and is hereby set off into a separate town by the name of Muskego ; and the polls of election shall be opened at the house of Nathaniel Walton, near Prairie Village, and at the house of Hugh Wedge, near Muskego Lake.

Approved Jan. 2,1838.

The above-bounded territory included, with the present town, the towns of Vernon, Wau- kesha and New Berlin.

The town of Muskego, as it now is, namely, Township 5, of Range 20 east, was separated from the balance of the territory and erected into a town for self-government, by an act of the Legislature, approved March 9, 1839.

It was one of the principal camping-places, next to Mukwonago and Waukesha, of the Pottawatomie Indians, and a very large village of them was found about the shores of Mus- kego Lake by the first settlers. The abundance of wild rice, water fowl, fish and muskrats, which was probably not equaled by any other locality in Waukesha County, made the town of Muskego an exceedingly desirable place for the aborigines, who depended almost entirely upon wild game for food.

Muskego has within its borders the largest lake in Waukesha County, and a wery large portion of the remainder of the town bears evidence of having been covered by water. A large portion of the soil is therefore lower than most of the other towns, but it is rich and strong. Nearly all of that which the early settlers deemed too wet for cultivation has since been turned into the most productive meadows and grain fields.

The first regular " town meeting," or election-at least, the first one recorded-was held April 5, 1842, at the house of Harriette V. French .. Asa Parker was Chairman of the meeting, and H. B. Burritt, Clerk. After some discussion, it was agreed to elect town officers by ballot, and the Clerk recorded the following elections, which did not include all the officials the town was entitled to : George Mc Whorter, Hiram Hollister, Eben Harris, and Marion Mucky were elected Highway Commissioners, and Rufus Peck and Phillips Riley were chosen School Com- missioners. It was then agreed that the next town meeting should be held at the house of Mr. A. H. Taylor. It occurred April 4, 1843, at which James Field was elected Chairman of the town, and Rufus C. Peck and H. B. Burritt, Supervisors ; M. T. White, Assessor and Town Clerk ; George Green, Treasurer; and Francis Ives, Collector. -

The officers of the town for 1880 are as follows : Supervisors, John Schmidt, Chairman ; Henry Welsh, Matthew Elliott ; Town Clerk, George Rosenberg; Assessor, Charles Finly ; Treasurer, William Elliott ; Justices of the Peace, J. D. Buckett, Adam Muehl, Albert Claflin, Sr .; Constables, J. H. Jordan, P. Crosby, A. Shallanda.

The town of Muskego embraces historic territory among the Pottawatomie Indians, who had villages and burial-places on its lakes. There are found here, also, some of the most inter-

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

esting of the numerous mounds covering the abiding-places of the pre-historic races, and one arched temple or niche wholly unlike anything else in the pre-historic line in the county. It was surveyed and a draft made by Increase A. Lapham, but has been, unfortunately, nearly destroyed in recent years.

The Committee, consisting of L. Ellarson, C. Finley and John Schmedt, appointed by the Old Settlers' Club to prepare a history of the town of Muskego, made the following report :

" An extended history of the town of Muskego would form a very interesting chapter in the early reminiscences of the State of Wisconsin. Its dense thickets and heavy timber, its lakes and marshes, have made it the special abode of the aborigines of this county for ages pre-historic. It is here that generations after generations were born and passed away, and left no calendar or record to tell us whence they came, or in what age they lived.

" Upon the north bank of Big Muskego Lake, on what is now known as ' Latander Point,' is a burying ground, of which the Indians of late generations have no distinct tradi- tions ; they simply hold it in sacred veneration as the last resting-place of a people long since passed to their happy hunting grounds far beyond the setting sun, and here, too, are the graves of those of whom tradition points to the time in which they lived and died, and here also is the resting-place of those who have lived and died within the memory of the white man, and Mus- kego was the last town in which the poor Indian found a home in the southern counties of Wisconsin, whence they were removed in the year of our Lord, 1852, by order of the General Government.

"The tenacity with which they clung to their hunting grounds in Muskego, shows the esti- mate they placed upon its lakes, and its marshes, and its forests, and the great source which furnished them game and fish for food, and fur and skins for clothing and traffic. For years after their removal, quite a large number of those poor Indians would return annually and spend a few weeks unmolested upon their favorite grounds in Mus-kee-Guac-the fishing place *- by the white settlers called Muskego. The year of our Lord 1836 gave them the first full surety that ere long their hunting grounds would be converted into fields of grain and grass ; that civilization was fast on its move westward and that they must seek a new home beyond the Mississippi.

" It was about that time that Luther Parker emigrated from the State of New Hampshire, and made the first claim and built the first house in the town of Muskego. This claim was located on what is now a part of Section 9, at the south end of Little Muskego, at a point now known as Muskego Center.

"The old house that he then erected was torn down about two years ago, by the present proprietors, to make room for other buildings. At its demise, the old house was in a very good state of preservation, and seemed to challenge time and weather for many years to come. About six or seven years since, we were conversing with A. H. Taylor and Barnes Babcock in relation to this old house, and they counted, up to that time, no less than forty-three families that had lived in it. Could this old house talk and tell of the trials, the troubles, the dreams and the pleasures it had witnessed, it would fill a volume with facts and romance that would be painfully interesting to the reader.

"We have often heard Mr. Parker recount the hardships, trials and privations he necessarily passed through, the first year he was here. Often he had to go to Milwaukee (then a distance of twenty miles by the Indian trail) and bring home provisions on his back to support his little family, and often the rivers and streams were so swollen by rains and melting snow that it required about three days to make the trip. It was during this winter that the first white child was born in the town of Muskego; a little daughter was born to Mr. Parker, which soon after died, and now lies buried on the bank of its beautiful lake. This was the first grave, in which the remains of the first white person were deposited, in this town.

"If our memory is correct, the next settler was Leonard Martin, now of Vernon, who settled in the west part of the town, near his present residence. He was followed in a few weeks by Lavalette Ellarson, who settled upon the same farm where he now resides.

* Mus-kee-Guac means sunfish, with which Muskego Lake abounds.

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

"In the year 1837, a number of settlers located and settled in the town. Among the first of these were Patrick Conray, Mr. Honyck, Homer H. Hawkins, George Green, John Kendall, James Field, Mr. Sexton, and also one or two others whose names we cannot now remember. " In the year 1838, Garrett Doyle and family, James Conray, Francis Ives, John Burns, Daniel Sweeney, Levi G. Guild, Mr. Cox and a number of others, settled in the town.

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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 116

Author: Western Historical Co., pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1050

Author: Western Historical Co., pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1050