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 123

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 123

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CARL BUSJAEGER, retired; born in Carlsruhe, Baden, Germany, in October, 1827 ; was engaged as a manufacturer in the old country. Was married in 1851 to Miss Amelia Kollofrat; came to United States in 1855, and after stopping a year in Milwaukee, he bought a farm of 200 acres in Pewaukee, which he carried on for six years; since 1861, his home has been the village of Waukesha. Was a War Democrat. Enlisted in 1865 in Co. D, 48th W. V. I .; went on to Plains to fight Indians ; was honorably discharged Feb. 19, 1866, with rank of Sergeant. In 1867, he built the " Waukesha House," on Madison St. ; it is used for boarding-house and saloon. Has five children-Carl, Anna, Max, Matilda and August. Owns a large residence on Center St., and has real estate elsewhere in the State. Is a member of the I. O. O. F. Is an Independent Democrat.

REV. CHARLES W. CAMP, Pastor Congregational Church ; born Oct. 7, 1821, in Litchfield Co., Conn. He graduated from Yale College in 1844, and then graduated at the Union Theological Seminary of New York City in 1847 ; came to Wisconsin in the fall of same year and located at Genesee, where he remained five years, preaching one year at Palmyra, where he organized a church ; in 1853, he was called to the pastorate of the church at Sheboygan, where he remained eleven years; in 1864, he took charge of the church at Fond du Lac 'City, and he left that pastorate to assume his present relations at Waukesha, in January, 1868. He was married Oct. 28, 1847, to Miss Elizabeth Whittlesey, daughter of Deacon David Whittlesey, of New Britain, Conn .; is grand-daughter of Dr. John Smalley, a noted divine of the last century. They have had six children, two died in childhood ; the names of the living are Lillie C., Charles E., Edgar W. and William H. The parsonage is on Carroll street. He is now the Senior Pastor in Waukesha. The Congregational Church is a neat edifice, and is very centrally located. The society is harmonious and prosperous.

PATRICK H. CARNEY came to Waukesha, in October, 1847, and engaged in farming until 1852 ; then attended Carroll College until the spring of 1856, and was publisher and editor of the Waukesha County Democrat until 1865; then he engaged in farming, and continued that business until the spring of 1868, when he was elected County Judge, which position he held four years ; after leaving that office, he engaged in the practice of law, which he has continued ever since. . From April, 1877, to April, 1879, he again conducted the Waukesha County Democrat, at the same time carrying on his law business ; prior to his election as County Judge, he was Clerk of the Circuit Court in 1863 and 1864; he was elected Mayor in 1879. Mr. Carney was born in Lincoln Co., Me., March 17, 1836; he lived there until he came to Waukesha, with his parents, and located in the town of Mukwonago. O'Brien Carney, his father, died six years ago; Mary Ann Carney, his mother, is still living.

BENJAMIN CARPENTER, retired farmer ; born Sept. 30, 1794, in Orange Co., N. Y. Married, May 10,. 1815, to Miss Jane Keen, daughter of Capt. Keen, a prominent merchant of Orange Co. Although but 20 years of age at time of his marriage, he had previously served one year in the war with England; his regiment was stationed at Harlem Heights. They came West in 1845 and settled on farm in township of Brookfield, Waukesha Co. Mrs. Carpenter died in 1866; she was the mother of eleven children, only four of whom now survive ; the four are married and live in four different States. He was married in March, 1868, to Mrs. Naomi Barnes, who died in October, 1873, without issue. He sold the main farm in 1868, and lived on a small place near the Junction till 1876, when he removed to village of Waukesha, where he now resides. In Brookfield, he served several terms as Justice of the Peace. For the last twelve years he has not taken an active part in business. He married his last wife in September, 1874; her maiden name was M. G. McCourdy ; she died in 1875. He owns a comfortable corner residence on West Side, near the stone schoolhouse. He now lives with a family who rent his house. Although 86 years of age, he is still smart and cheerful.

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EDWIN CHESTER, father of Mrs. Col. White, was born in 1797, in New London Co., Conn. Married in 1823 to Miss Henrietta Barber, daughter of Hon. Noyes Barber, many years member of Congress from Connectieut ; came West in 1850 and settled in Waukesha ; has been a merchant all his active life. Had four children-Mary Henrietta, Julius, Elizabeth and George Barber. His home is with his daughters, Mrs. Park and Mrs. White He is a genial Christian gentleman.

EUGENE W. CHAFIN, was born in Mukwonago, this county, Nov. 1, 1852: graduated from the Wisconsin State University, at Madison, Wis., June 17, 1875. In the fall of 1875, he came to Waukesha, and engaged in the practice of law. He was first elected Justice of the Peace in the spring of 1877, and has been elected to serve a second term. He is the son of Samuel E. and Betsey A. Chafin, who settled in Wisconsin in 1837 ; his father died Oet. 14, 1865; his mother now resides on part of the old homestead, in the town of East Troy, Wis. Mr. Chafin is author of " The Voter's Hand-Book." He was admitted to the bar at the time he graduated from the State University. Mr. Chafin is District Chief Templar, I. O. G. T., for Waukesha Co.

WALTER S. CHANDLER was born at Batavia, Genesee Co., N. Y., Jan 18, 1836 ; came from there.to Milwaukee, Aug. 29, 1848, where he resided until July 18, 1877, then moved to the village of Waukesha, and carried on the lumber trade until 1878, when he disposed of that business. Since June 25, 1878, he has been proprietor of the Eocene Mineral Spring, since then giving his whole attention to the development of the business arising therefrom. Mr. Chandler's father was Judge Daniel H. Chandler, for many years a prominent citizen of Milwaukee, and engaged in the practice of law there. His mother, Mary Stark Chandler, was a descendant of Gen. Stark, of Revolutionary fame. Walter S. Chandler was married May 16, 1859, to Sarah O. Kneeland ; she was born in Le Roy, Genesee Co., N. Y., March 18, 1838; they have had four children, two living-Ralph, born July 16, 1861; and Burr Kneeland, born Oet 22, 1872; two children died in infancy. Mr. Chandler is a member of the Episcopal Church. He served as School Commissioner of Milwaukee, Fourth Ward, in 1869-70.

LEONARD COLEMAN, proprietor American House ; born 2d of January, 1824, in Ft. Ann, Washington Co., N. Y. ; came to Milwaukee in fall of 1845 on a prospecting tour, and in 1846, he became a permanent resident of the State. Married, to Miss Marcena Barlow, on the 25th of June, 1848 ; he farmed twenty-five years in the township of Summit, which is so called from its elevation of three hundred and twenty-five feet above Lake Michigan ; they have had four children-buried three sons ; the daughter is married to H. G. Morgan, and lives in Waukesha. Mr. C. lived five years in Pensaukee, Wis., as proprietor of Gardner House; this place was seriously injured by a eyelone, in July, 1877- several killed, and many wounded; his hotel was destroyed and much of the village was prostrated. ' In the fall of same year he took charge of the American House, and is still the acceptable host ; he enjoyed pioneer experiences, but never suffered any wonderful privations. The family are Congregationalists ; he is a quiet, reliable Republican.

ALEXANDER COOK eame to Wisconsin in August, 1845 ; located in the village of Wau- kesha, and has remained here ever since, where he has engaged in the practice of law to the present time. He was District Attorney eight terms and Justice of the Peace eight terms, holding one or the other of these offices nearly all the time since he came here; was also Town Clerk for two or three years. He was born at Sharon Springs, Sehoharie Co., N. Y., March 1, 1820; lived there only one or two years, then his father and mother, John R. and Maria Coon Cook, moved to Canajoharie, Montgomery Co., N. Y. ; they remained there until 1831, then they moved to the town of Clay, Onondaga Co., N. Y. Mr. Cook was educated at Clinton, N. Y., at Hamilton College and " The Liberal Institute " of that place ; read law in the city of Syracuse; admitted to the bar in 1843; eommeneed practice at Waukesha. Was married at Cooperstown, Otsego Co., N. Y., Feb. 1, 1843, to Naney Stevens; she was born in the town of Cherry Valley, Otsego Co., N. Y. ; they had oue son, who enlisted in Co. B, 28th W. V. I., in August, 1862 ; change of elimate resulted in his death from typhoid fever, Jan. 23, 1863.

SAMUEL COOK, retired; born 1810 in England; married in 1832 to Miss Mary Smith, of England ; eame to United States in 1836, and for four years carried on shoemaking in York State; in 1840, he located on a farm of 126 aeres, which he now owns, in Genesee Township, Waukesha County ; also owns a small place of 13 acres in township of Waukesha, besides his home on Carroll St. He quit farm- ing in 1873; has seven children-George, Sarah J., William S., Charles N., James O. and the twins, Charlotte A. and Elizabeth A. All are married except the youngest. He buried one child in York State ; family are Methodists ; he is a Republican. He brought a stoek of leather and materials for shoemaking with him when he settled in Genesee Township ; the stock was very valuable in this new country, and shoe- makers were quite scarce; his trade for some years was very luerative. He has been a continuous resident of Waukesha Co. for fully forty years; when he came into the county there were only about half a dozen

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dwellings where village of Waukesha now stands. In 1840, four men walked from Milwaukee with him, designing to stop at Prairieville; after wandering through the brush some time, on the site of present vil- lage of Waukesha, they happened to meet a boy, of whom they inquired, " Where is Prairieville ?" The boy answered, " Here." "Well," said they, " where are the houses ?" "Oh," said the boy, " the houses are to be built as soon as the folks come here." But one of the four has helped to "build the houses " where the prophetic lad located the village. Mr. Cook, in common with other early settlers, suffered some privations, but, as a whole, he enjoyed the friendly pioneer life. He is still hale and hearty.

CHARLES CORK was born in Headcorn, County of Kent, England, Oct. 25, 1832, came to America, May, 1848; located in Rochester, N. Y., one year, then moved to South Lima, N. Y., where he lived until 1856; then came to the town of Ontario, Knox Co., Ill .; remained there two seasons, and, in the spring of 1858, he went to Page Co., Iowa, for one year (now owns 300 acres of land in Page and Fremont Co.), started for Pike's Peak, in the spring of 1859, but returned, and came to Waukesha, in June, 1859, and engaged in the flour, feed, and grocery business, for two years ; discontinued then the feed business, and added crockery to his line. Mr. Cork discontinued the flour business, in 1870, and has since carried on the business of dealer in groceries, crockery, cutlery, notions, etc. Mr. Cork has been a member of the Village Board several terms; Fire Warden, and Chief of Fire Department ; he has been a member of the Fire Department twelve years ; he contracted for furnishing most of the shade and orna- mental trees in Waukesha, for the last eight or ten years. Mr. Cork is a member of A., F. & A. M. Lodge ( Master Mason). He was married in the town of Merton, Waukesha Co., May 1, 1864, to M. Gertrude Farner, daughter of Dr. William H. Farner, one of the oldest settlers of Waukesha. Dr. Far- ner came in the spring of 1847, to Waukesha, and engaged in the practice of medicine for a number of years ; afterward lived in Kenosha two years; he resided in Iowa ten years, at Des Moines and Keokuk; afterward went to Galveston, Tex., then to Illinois, and lived in Loraine, Adams Co., seven years; died Dec. 14, 1878. Mrs. Cork was born in Hinesburg, Chittenden Co., Vt., Sept. 4, 1844; they have two children-Gertrude Pearl, born Jan. 7, 1870, and Charles Alfred Hayes, born Sept. 9, 1875.

WILLIAM CRUICKSHANK, retired. Born March 2, 1810, in Aberdeenshire, Scot- land; learned trade of stonecutter, in his native country; came to United States in 1836, and spent seven years in York State, engaged either at his trade or as contractor on public works; came West in 1843, and settled in New Berlin, Waukesha Co .; was married, in 1844, to Miss Jane Mathewson, who died in 1852, leaving two children, John and Jeanette. Went to California, after death of his wife, and remained till 1,858; then, till 1873, he carried on general farming; since that date his home has been Waukesha ; owns a cozy home on Main St .; "never drinks any liquor and attends the Episcopal Church every Sunday morning." He was educated at his parish school, in Scotland, but soon, by private study, advanced beyond its curriculum; early developed special ability as a mathematician ; he has been known for years as maker of "Sun Dials," one of which is in the Waukesha Cemetery. An intelligent person can spend an hour very profitably in the company of Mr. Cruickshank, for he has pursued an extended course of read- ing and study, and may, with propriety, be styled a self-educated man.

ORLANDO CULVER, harness-maker and carriage trimmer ; born 1839 in New York ; came West with his parents in 1853. He has been a resident of Waukesha Co. since 1854. Was married in 1860, to Miss Ann Wells, daughter of Rev. William Wells, a superannuated Methodist preacher, now living in Portage, Wis. On the 6th day of May, 1861, he enlisted in Co. F., 5th W. V. I. He served in three different regiments an aggregate of two years and four months. He entered as a private and was honorably discharged as 2d Lieutenant. He learned his trade before the war, and bought out the old proprietor during the war, and since the war he has carried on the business to present date. His is one of the leading establishments of the kind in Waukesha. He owns the shop on Main street, and also a house on River street, but resides on Grand Avenue. Has three children, Alice E., Ann Etta and Grace M., all now at home. He has served several times as one of the " City Fathers," was one term Township Treasurer, two terms Village Treasurer, three terms Village Marshal. Is a Republican. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, is a Master Mason, and member I. O. O. F. The family are Methodists, and he is Superintendent of the Methodist Sunday School. He is a skilled mechanic, and a valuable citizen.

SAMUEL G. CURTIS was born in Jamestown, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., July 20, 1836; his father was born in the State of New York in 1802, and was one of the first settlers of the now thriving city of Jamestown, and died on the 22d of July, 1871. His mother was born in Vermont in 1804, and emi- grated, with her parents, to Western New York, where she lived until the fall of 1877, and then went with her son, Dr. D. G. Curtis, to Chattanooga, Tenn., where she still resides. Mr. Curtis has two brothers and one sister living in Chattanooga, and one sister living in Jamestown, N. Y. He attended school, receiving a fair academic education, under the tuition of Prof. E. A Dickinson. At the age of 14, he entered the

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Jamestown Journal office to learn the printing business under the instruction of Frank W. Palmer, now Postmaster at Chicago, who was editor of the Journal, where he continued for nearly two years, and then started for the then " Far West," making his first stop in Chicago, and finding employment at the ease, in the Journal office, where he remained until the breaking-out of the cholera in 1853; he then took a tour through the southern portion of Illinois, but soon returned to Chicago, and remained there for a brief period, going from there to Milwaukee ; here he readily found employment on the Daily News, then edited by Col. Dan Shaw, where he remained until the change of proprietors, when he left the office to accept the position as foreman of the Evening Wisconsin ; here he remained for several months, to the perfect satisfae- tion of his employer, Hon. Wm. E. Cramer; the duties and labors of a daily paper becoming too burden- some, he accompanied Mr. Dominie Casey, who had often been in the office for men to go to Waukesha to assist on a new paper being published there, called the Waukesha County Democrat; at Waukesha he remained most of the time closely connected with the office, taking an active part in all its departments, until the fall of 1856, when he went to Detroit, and took a position on the Detroit Free Press, then under the eon- trol of Wilbur F. Storey, now of the Chicago Times ; he remained in Detroit until after the close of the Fre- mont and Buchanan campaign, and then went to Sandusky, Ohio, where he met his brother, and the two made a visit to their old home in York State, arriving there about the last of November, 1856; here he remained through the winter, when he went to Westfield, N. Y., took a position on the Transcript, a weekly paper then published by G. P. Buck & Co .; after being in the Transcript office a brief time, he was taken violently ill, and returned home; recovering from his illness, he started for the West in June, 1857, and eame direct to Waukesha, and resumed his former position in the Democrat office, where he remained most of the time until 1859; during the five years' residence in Waukesha he was a great favorite among his associates, and was the means of organizing the first Good Templar Lodge in Waukesha County, of which he was a charter member; he also took quite an active part in all political campaigns, often traveling over the county for weeks, assisting his friends. In November, 1859, he was married by the Rev. Mr. Latan, to Miss Sarah Francis Slawson, oldest daughter of Frederick Slawson, an old resident of Waukesha, and formerly of Orange Co., N. Y. A day or two after his marriage, he returned to Jamestown, N. Y. In the spring of 1860, he entered into partnership with his father, in the grocery trade, which he continued for some time, and finally purchased and controlled the entire interest; in 1861 he purchased a building lot, in the center of Main street and built a handsome three-story brick store, to better meet the demands of his constantly increasing trade ; no man in Jamestown kept a larger or finer stock of goods, or had a larger trade than he. At the breaking-out of the rebellion, when the Government called on the Empire State for its State Guards, of which he was a member, he was one of the first to respond, and cheerfully shouldered his musket, to do what lay in his power to defend the honor and rights of his country ; returning home, he, with renewed vigor, continued the grocery trade until the summer of 1866, when he sold his stoek to his youngest brother, Horace, and rented his store for a term of years; he next purchased a half-interest in the Chautauqua Press, a large nine-column, Democratie paper, published in Jamestown under the name of Saxton & Curtis ; after a season he sold his interest in the office, and went into the oil business, which was anything but profitable ; his next adventure was selling goods through Pennsylvania and the "Western Reserve" of Ohio, until 1871, when his father died; returning to Jamestown he sold his property, and, with his wife and family, again started for Wisconsin, and arrived in Waukesha June 5, 1872, and imme- diately took the position of editor of the Waukesha Plaindealer, making it one of the liveliest sheets published during the Greeley campaign ; from the newspaper business he filled various positions which caused him to travel extensively through the Northern States and Canadas, and, for nearly three years, through Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri ; during that time, eighteen months were spent on the plains of the Far West, among many of the wild and savage tribes of Indians. His correspondence to the Chicago Inter Ocean, Waukesha Democrat, Waukesha Freeman and Jamestown Journal, during his Western trip, was highly interesting and eagerly sought for, giving, as he did, a true pieture of the country through which he traveled, the ways and customs of the Indians, their modes of living, worship, etc. Since his return from the Far West, he has been connected in various capacities with the Freeman and Democrat offices at Waukesha ; he is now the regular correspondent for the Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin and ocea- sionally furnishes matter for the Milwaukee News. Mr. Curtis has a wife and two children-the eldest, a girl of 13, and a son 11 years of age, who were born in Jamestown N. Y ; he is an active member of several organizations, prominent among which are Mt. Moriah Lodge, 145, Jamestown, N. Y ; Western Sun Chapter 67, Jamestown N. Y ; Chautauqua Council No. 26, Jamestown N. Y., and St. John's Commandery No. 24, Olean, N. Y ; he is an ardent Demoerat and a great admirer of Gov. Seymour, Gen. McClellan, and the present Democratic nominees for President, Gen. Hancock and Gov. English. He is not a member of any church, and has no particular religious belief, but is a free thinker, and believes in every man enjoying his

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own private political or religious opinions. He is a great reader, keeps generally posted, and is always ready to assist a person when in trouble, be it friend or foe.

LOUIS N. DESOTEL was born at Roxton Falls, Canada East, March 8, 1847 ; he moved to Massachusetts when he was 14 years of age, and engaged in the shoemaker's trade until 1872, when he located at Danbury, Conn. ; he remained there two years, and removed to Scranton, Penn .; was there eight months; then came to Chicago, where he was in the employ of Doggett, Bassett & Hills, in the bottoming. department of their boot and shoe manufactory, until he came to Waukesha, December 14, 1879 ; since that time he has been superintendent of the bottoming department of the boot and shoe manufactory of the Wisconsin Industrial School for Boys.

SAMUEL EALES, stonemason ; born 1826, in the County of Northampton, England; came to the United States in 1844, and settled in Waukesha; learned the trade of mason in this country, and now works at the same. Was married, in 1856, to Eliza J. Megaw, of Ottawa, who died in 1858, leaving one child, Josephine. Their residence is " just over the line," in Pewaukee, on Vermont street ; has 4 acres of land. He married his present wife in 1859 ; her maiden name was Elizabeth Bird ; they have eight children, all living-Irving J., Ann E., William J., Mary, Samuel H., John B., Kate E. and Flora Belle. His two eldest children are employed in the insane asylum, at Madison. He was a teacher for many years in the public schools ; he started in 1875, and is now developing the business of floriculture-having estab- lished the " Waukesha Greenhouse and Garden." This is the first of the kind in this vicinity. He is an active member of the Episcopal Church. The family are highly respected, and some have literary talent. His floral enterprise is appreciated by the citizens and general visitors.

COL. FRANCIS A. EASTMAN, journalist ; was born at Littleton, N. H., April 3, 1834; his father, Stephen A., was a Congregational clergyman, who sent him to Haverhill and St. Johnsbury, in pursuit of an education ; in 1850, he entered the office of the Caledonian, at St. Johnsbury, where an apprenticeship of two years was spent ; at the expiration of this time, he conducted, at Littleton, a cam- paign paper in the interest of Franklin Pierce, called the Ammonoosuc Reporter. After the election in 1852, Mr. E. sold his printing office, and spent another year at the Newbury Seminary ; then he filled an additional editorial position on the Patriot, printed at Concord, N. H. ; thence he went to Montpelier, Vt., and became associated with a relative, Charles I., Eastman, the poet, in the publication of the Vermont Patriot, a famous paper in those days. In 1858, Mr. E. left Montpelier, and became associate editor of the Milwaukee Daily News, with Samuel L. Sharpstein, and the next year took the position of associate editor of the Chicago Times. In 1862, that paper, having been sold to W. F. Storey, its three editors, among them Col. E., left the concern, and started a new paper, called the Post, a war (Democratic) paper, which subsequently became the Republican, and is now the Inter-Ocean ; he was active during the war in organizing the founders and supporters of the Government, in Chicago, making numerous speeches, and performing an almost unlimited amount of committee work. In 1863, Mr. E. was elected to the Legisla- ture, serving two years, in which he was the appointed leader of the Republican minority ; afterward he was elected State Senator, from the First District of Cook County, for four years, carrying a Democratic district, by a fair majority. While Senator, he was one of the Commissioners who built the Illinois Penitentiary, at Joliet. Upon Col. E.'s election to the Legislature, he severed his connection with the Post, and became a partner of S. L. Barrett & Co., wholesale grocers. Upon the nomination of Gen. Grant for the Presidency, he again took an active part in politics, canvassing a large portion of Illinois, and was, after the Cabinet was organized, made Postmaster of Chicago-the first appointee made by the new administration ; he served four years as Postmaster, taking the concerns of the office through the " Great Fire " with such ability, energy and freedom from entanglements, as secured for him the for- mal compliments of the President and Post Office Department. At the end of Grant's first term, Mr. E. resigned, and, with his family, went to Europe, where he remained fourteen months. On returning, he spent considerable time in travel in this country, finally purchasing the Waukesha County Democrat, and settling at Waukesha in 1879. Col. Eastman was married, Sept. 3, 1861, to Miss Gertrude Barrett, of Chicago; they have one child-Barrett Eastman, born in January, 1869.

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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 123

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