USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 104
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Mr. Hodges was first married in 1835, to Miss Mary Ann Cory, a native of Vermont. She had one child that lived but a short time, she herself dying . in 1836. He was united to his present wife, Miss Lucetta Crist, of Ohio, in 1839. She has had four children, only one of them, the wife of O. F. Gris- wold, of Platteville, now living.
Mr. Hodges knew in early life what it was to stem the tide of poverty and live on the poorest of fare. In Missouri, a motherless boy, he went bare-footed and bare-headed half the year, and wore buckskin clothes the whole year round. When he reached Galena, a green lad just laying the foundation of a physical and moral constitution, he ate sour bread and rusty pork, and slept in a wigwam with older persons, most of them of a rough class, for his night- ly as well as daily associates. The writer once heard Mr. Hodges remark that it was a miracle that he did not become early and thoroughly contaminated, and reduce his life to a cypher. He sees the strong hand of God in leading and preserving the orphan boy amid the temptations of his early years in a frontier settlement. Mr. Hodges has a competency, a pleasant home in one of the loveliest villages in the. State, and is surrounded by thoughtful neighbors, who can appreciate the worth of such men in build- ing up a town. He has a pleasant disposition, a jovial turn of mind, and is a rich entertainer in the social circle. A disciple of Democritus, he believes in lessening the shadows in the pathway of life as much as possible.
HON. CHARLES E. DYER,
RACINE.
C HARLES E. DYER, judge of the United States district court for the eastern district of Wis- consin, was born at Cicero, Onondaga county, New York, October 5, 1834, and is the son of Dr. Edward G. Dyer and Ann Eliza née Morse. His father was a physician, and at an early period in the settlement of Wisconsin removed to Burlington, Racine county. He was the first medical man who settled in that locality, and came with his family in 1839. He had first visited the place of his future home in 1836, and had on the night of his first arrival slept in a shanty on the bank of Fox river. He walked most
of the distance from Chicago, following Indian trails, guided occasionally by a stray settler, whose hos- pitality he sought and received, thus making his first journey to the State by the traces of obscure foot- paths in the woods and on the prairies. After many years of arduous and successful professional labor he has retired from active practice as a physician.
The mother of the subject of our sketch was the daughter of William Morse, who was born in Massa- chusetts in 1780, removed to Ohio in 1834, and died in 1845. Coming to Wisconsin at the early period before mentioned, and sharing with her family the
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vicissitudes and hardships of pioneer life, Mrs. Dyer has lived to see the wilderness of the West trans- formed into a region which now constitutes the cen- ter of American civilization, and with advancing age retains her health and natural buoyancy of spirits.
Our subject was educated in a country school, and by himself, with the aid of such private instruc- tion as he from time to time obtained. He studied the common branches, received also some instruc- tion in the higher mathematics and in Latin, and was a diligent student and reader of history and general literature. He left his home in 1850 at the age of sixteen years, and went to Chicago to learn the trade of a printer, engaging as an apprentice in the office of the " Western Citizen," an anti-slavery paper then published by Z. Eastman. He continued in this em- ployment about a year, but not developing a fond- ness for the business he abandoned it. Meantime he had commenced the study of short-hand writing, which he afterward pursued, and became able to report speeches. In 1851 he removed to Sandusky, Ohio, where he entered the office of Rice Harper, Esq., who was clerk of the court of common pleas of Erie county, and a family friend, whose kindness and assistance will never be forgotten. Here he fol- lowed up with assiduity a course of reading and study, taking private lessons in the classics and the higher mathematics during spare hours. He had a strong taste for historical reading, and is perhaps as well acquainted as any other man of his years with the events and facts respecting nations and states in the order in which they happened, with their causes and effects, and the lives and actions of distinguished men. He also took a deep interest in the political events then transpiring, and stored his mind with facts pertaining to the issues of the times, which have proved of the utmost importance in later years. While in this office he became acquainted with the Hon. Ebenezer Lane, then a resident of Sandusky, and previously one of the judges of the supreme court of Ohio, who took a deep interest in his wel- fare and prospects, advised him to prepare for the legal profession, and admitted him to the free use of his large and well-selected library. He commenced his legal studies in the office of this excellent gentle- man by copying briefs and other legal instruments, and was soon after received as a student in the office of the firm of Lane, Stone and Lane, of which the judge was the head. He pursued a course of law reading under the special guidance and instruction of Wm. G. Lane, son of the Hon. Ebenezer Lane,
then one of the members of the firm, and since judge of the court of common pleas of Erie county, Ohio; and after a thorough course of preparation, covering a period of three years, he was admitted to the bar in 1857. He at once entered into partner- ship with Walter F. Stone, Esq., since one of the judges of the supreme court of Ohio, and began the practice of law at Sandusky, where he remained till December, 1858. But having a desire to move far- ther west and establish himself independently in his profession, he came to Wisconsin in January, 1859, and located at Racine (where he has since resided); he opened an office and was at once admitted to practice in the supreme court of the State. He soon obtained business and continued to practice alone for several years, and until he formed a co- partnership with Henry F. Fuller, Esq., survivor of the firm of Strong and Fuller, which continued until January, 1875.
He has held the following public offices, to wit : city attorney of Racine during the years 1860 and 1861; member of the State legislature from Racine county, 1867 and 1868, serving through two sessions; and on the 10th of February, 1875, was appointed judge of the United States district court for the eastern district of Wisconsin, which position he now holds.
As assistant clerk of the court at Sandusky, Ohio, he early attracted the notice of the judge and bar by his fine taste and talents as a reader, for he not only wrote but read the journals of the court, and from the very outset developed an aptness for the business and an acquaintance with every detail of the records that was considered extraordinary. Judge L. B. Otis (now of Chicago), who was then presiding in the Sandusky court, predicted a bril- liant and honorable future for him, and every step of his after life has tended to prove the correctness of those early portends. As a student he seemed to take in the science of jurisprudence by intuition, and instead of plodding his way to success by years of perseverance, he seemed to ripen into a full-orbed barrister in a day. Nor were his high moral char- acter, good habits and integrity less conspicuous. Everyone who knew him placed implicit confidence in him. His word was beyond question, and no business was considered too momentous or intricate to intrust to his care, even at that early age.
As an advocate, during his career at the bar of Wisconsin, he was recognized as both able and ac- complished, familiar with the rules of equity and
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common-law pleading, and in all places and under all circumstances faithful alike to his profession and his clients ; and at the time of his promotion to the bench his professional prospects were of the most flattering character. Yielding to the urgent solici- tation of his brethren at the bar, he went upon the bench, with a degree of hesitation as to his fitness for the place which disclosed that conscientiousness in the discharge of duty which is one of his leading characteristics. Bringing to the discharge of judicial duties the learning, ability and laborious habits to which he was largely indebted for his success at the bar, he has exhibited patience, impartiality and an equable temper, eminently befitting the bench. No man ever held a judicial office in Wisconsin in whose integrity the bar and the people had greater confidence, and we are safe in saying that no man of Judge Dyer's age ever earned a better reputation in so short a time for judicial fairness and ability. His decisions command respect, for they are always the result of careful study and profound knowledge. Few men can perform more labor, for few have · trained their minds to better methods of both read- ing and thinking. He is, moreover, a man of pure mind and purity of taste. His language is always appropriate, ornate and even classic in construction. There is nothing turgid or labored about his style ; his logic is clear, pointed and indubitable. On the bench his industry is proverbial; every question, important or otherwise, receives the most thorough investigation, and is disposed of with an honesty and conscientiousness which command the respect that they deserve.
As a citizen he is self-sacrificing and public- spirited, always lending a helping hand to whatever tends to promote temperance, education and pros- perity. He served his fellow-citizens in the legisla- ture so efficiently and ably that they sought to secure his services in other and more prominent
public positions, but he felt it necessary to decline. With little taste for public life he feels that it is not necessary to be conspicuous in order to be useful. His clear perceptions, amiable temper and extensive information would make him a useful member of either branch of the national legislature; and those who know him best regret that he has refused to accede to the wishes of his party in this regard.
As a neighbor he is esteemed for his kindness and courtesy. His home is a center of refinement and culture. His best characteristics are best known by those who have crossed his threshold as guests or friends. He is a man of superior conversational ability, and is always tolerant and charitable toward those who oppose him, but firm in his convictions and free to express his opinions. Frank, generous and transparent, he despises all trickery and fraud. He is true and lasting in his friendships, always re- cognizing and honoring worth, whether arrayed in the habiliments of wealth or clad in the humble garb of poverty.
He was married on the 6th of April, 1859, to Miss Sarah E. Root, daughter of Hon. J. M. Root, of Sandusky, Ohio, a distinguished lawyer and promi- nent citizen of that State. Mr. Root was a member of congress during the Mexican war and subsequent- ly, and has long been known through the country as a leading participant in the anti-slavery agitation which shook the halls of congress in the days of John Quincy Adams, Giddings and others. Mrs. Dyer is respected and beloved by all who know her for her estimable qualities, practical usefulness and her abundant good works. Devoted to her home and the training of her children, she still finds time to help the poor and minister to the afflicted.
They have three children -two sons and one daughter - named, in the order of their birth, Will- iam B., Joseph M. and Cornelia, who repay in affec- tion and obedience the solicitude of their parents.
TIMOTHY D. HALL,
HUDSON.
F EW citizens of Hudson, Wisconsin, were more respected while living, or more lamented in death, than T. Dwight Hall, the youngest brother of Judge Hall, of the same place. He was a native of New York, and was born at Perry on the 3d of Sep- tember, 1830. In boyhood he had a passion for
books, and early developed a decided tendency to independent thinking. He prepared for college by pursuing his studies at home at such intervals as farm labor afforded, or while engaged in teaching, and after spending six terms at the Alexander and Caryville seminaries (both in Genesee county), in
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1851, entered the sophomore class of Yale College, and graduated with the class of 1853, all the time defraying his expenses by teaching and work in other occupations. After graduating he spent near- ly two years in teaching at Natchez, Mississippi, at the same time pursuing the study of law, and in the spring of 1855 removed to Wisconsin, settling at Hudson, on the shore of the beautiful St. Croix lake. There he was soon admitted to the bar and engaged in the practice of law and the real-estate business, his brother Cyrus joining him the next year.
In the latter part of 1856 Mr. Hall, with his brother, established the Hudson "Chronicle," now consolidated with another paper, and called the "Star and Times." As a writer he showed more than ordinary intellectual acumen and strength.
Owing to impaired health, caused by sedentary habits, he, for several years before his demise, en- gaged in farming, hoping thereby to strengthen his physical system. To the business of agriculture, as to everything else which he undertook, he gave his best thoughts, and his habit of carefully distinguish- ing between fact and fancy speedily brought forth its fruits in so marked a manner that he soon became a constantly quoted authority on all matters of farm- ing. He was the first man to successfully cultivate clover on the prairies of St. Croix valley. He was also the first to engage in the raising of flax in these parts, an industry which, owing to his personal ef- forts, has since become important and profitable in this section of country.
During the last fifteen years of his life Mr. Hall
was an invalid, but attended to his business almost constantly until he had a severe attack of congestion of the liver in March, 1874. With the hope of re- ceiving benefit he spent the summers of 1874 and 1875 in Colorado, but his strength gradually de- clined, and on the 9th of October, of the last named year, "he died sitting in his chair in an attitude of repose, passing away as quietly and peacefully as had the sun a few minutes before, gone to its rest in the glowing haze of an Indian summer horizon." The same writer, whose words we quote, adds that, " with his last full inspiration a smile spread over his features, and there he sat - dead ; but, beautiful to behold, even as he had not been in life. It seemed a cruel intrusion to disturb such sweet, quiet rest, and we left him sitting there while numerous friends, who came to sympathize with the living, lingered to admire the dead."
His wife, to whom he was united in July, 1856, and two daughters, survive him, and have their home in Hudson, though temporarily residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because of its school privi- leges.
As already intimated, Mr. Hall was a close stu- dent, and possessed a remarkable memory. He was well versed on a great variety of subjects, and on some occasionally lectured. He was an ardent lover and an enthusiastic student of nature, and delighted in the deepest investigations of the natural sciences. He was a bold, original thinker, a clear and instructive writer, and in many respects a true type of noble, independent manhood.
GENERAL JOHN B. CALLIS,
LANCASTER.
JOHN BENTON CALLIS, son of Henry Callis, a farmer, and Christina Benton, was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, January 3, 1828. The Callises were Huguenots, originally from France ; the Bentons were from Scotland. Henry Callis moved to Tennessee in 1834, and to Lancaster, Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1840. After receiving a very slight common-school education, young Cal- lis commenced reading medicine with Dr. J. H. Higgins, of Lancaster, giving three years to the study, but for want of means to attend lectures, and not feeling satisfied with the profession, he aban- doned it. He went to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1849,
and, with John R. Irvin, built Fort Gaines, now called Fort Ripley, at the mouth of Crow Wing river. In 1851 he went to California, across the plains; became largely interested in diggings at different places, selling goods at the same time. In 1853 he went to Central America, there spending a short time; sailed from Graytown to New York, and thence returned to Lancaster in the autumn of that year. Here he followed merchandising until the old flag was insulted in South Carolina. He raised a company for the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, and became captain of Company F. This regiment, with the 2d and 6th Wisconsin and the 19th Indi-
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ana, composed the famous "Iron Brigade." At the battle of Gainesville, Virginia, August 28, 1862, all the field officers of the 7th were killed or wounded, and Captain Callis was placed in temporary com- mand of the regiment. In the following March he was promoted to major, and a few months later to lieutenant-colonel, having command of the regiment after that date. At the battle of Gettysburg, July I, 1863, while at the head of his regiment, he was slightly wounded twice about nine o'clock in the morning; continued to fight on, and was in the charge which resulted in the capture of the entire brigade of General Archer. In the afternoon of the same day he received a ball in his liver and lungs, which still remains in his lungs. He lay on the field forty-three hours, the rebel army in its advance and retreat passing over him. He being unfit to be taken away, General Early placed a guard over him, and he was finally taken to the house of a Mr. Buehler, at Gettysburg, where his wife joined him three weeks later, and within three months, by care- ful nursing, he was able to return to Wisconsin.
Colonel Callis bought a flouring-mill at Anaton, ten miles from Lancaster, and ran it awhile by the aid of an agent, but his heart was all the time with the boys in blue at the South, and in 1864 he joined the veteran army corps. President Lincoln ap- pointed him military superintendent of the war de- partment at Washington, with the rank of major in the regular army. Before he was able to ride on horseback he went out to Fort Sumner in an ambu- lance and fought against Generals Early and Breck-
enridge in their raid on Washington, the day being won by the fortunate aid sent out by the army of the Potomac.
Subsequently he was promoted to colonel, and a little later to brigadier-general, for meritorious services during the war, and particularly for gal- lantry at the battles of Antietam, Gainesville and Gettysburg.
General Callis assisted in carrying out the recon- struction acts in his military district, his headquar- ters, and at length his home, being at Huntsville, Alabama. For his assistance in that line he re- ceived great credit from the departments at Wash- ington.
While a resident of Alabama, General Callis was elected to the fortieth congress from the fifth dis- trict. He was on the committee on enrolled bills and on one or two others, and was the father of the original Kuklux bill, which passed the house, but was killed in the senate.
At the close of the fortieth congress General Callis returned to Lancaster, where he has since re- sided, and carried on the real-estate and insurance business, still suffering from the ball in his lungs.
In politics, he was in early life an old-line whig; then a republican until 1872, and a reformer since that date.
He has a wife and five children, having married Miss Mattie Barnett, of Lancaster, in 1855.
General Callis has the "Annals of Congress " com- plete from 1799, and is quite familiar with the legis- lative history of the country.
HON. JOHN H. ROUNTREE, PLATTEVILLE.
O NE of the earliest settlers and most prominent men of southwestern Wisconsin is John Haw- kins Rountree, a native of Kentucky. He was born March 24, 1805, his parents being John and Rebecca (Hawkins) Rountree. His great-grandfather, Ran- dall Rountree, came from Ireland before the Ameri- can revolution, and settled in Virginia. His grand- father, Thomas Rountree, moved from Virginia to Kentucky in 1795, and died there in 1815. His father, born in 1770, died in Missouri in 1853 .. He was a large farmer, yet held the office of lower-court judge at one time; was a person of considerable dis- tinction in the part of the State where he lived, and
was an active man until his death in his eighty- fourth year.
In February, 1824, the subject of this brief mem- oir made a trip on horseback from his home in Ken- tucky to Montgomery county, Illinois, a distance of three hundred miles ; and two years afterward, when only twenty-one years old, he was elected sheriff of that county. Early in 1827, hearing a great deal about the lead mines at and near Galena, he started northward with an ox team, in company with other persons, and arriving at the mines on the 24th of May commenced digging for lead near Galena, into which place he was soon after driven by the Indians,
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but before the end of the year (1827) made a per- manent settlement where Platteville now stands. Here he built a cabin of logs and sods, two hun- dred yards southeast of his present residence, and had fair success at mining from the start. In 1828 he built a smelting furnace, the first in that part of Michigan Territory now in Grant county, continuing this business several years.
In October, 1829, he was appointed by Lewis Cass, then governor of Michigan Territory, justice of the peace for Iowa county, which then embraced Grant, Lafayette, Green, and part of Rock and Dane counties; but his official burdens were not heavy. On the roth of March of the same year, the postmaster-general, Hon. W. T. Barry, appoint- ed him postmaster of Platteville, the town being named for Platte river, a stream three-fourths of a mile northwest of town. At that time there was only an occasional mail from Galena, brought over in a teamster's pocket. Two years later (1831) a weekly mail route was established from Galena to Prairie du Chien, via Platteville. When the Black Hawk war broke out, in 1832, mining operations were entirely suspended for a few months; a mount- ed cavalry company was organized, with Mr. Roun- tree as captain, and it composed part of Colonel Dodge's squadron.
In 1834, when the first land sale took place at the United States land office, then located at Mineral Point, Mr. Rountree purchased the site of Platte- ville, and during the same year he was appointed chief justice of the court of Iowa county. Grant county, so named for Grant river, was not organ- ized until 1837, the year after Wisconsin Territory was set off from Michigan. From 1837 to 1867 Mr. Rountree served much of the time in the Territorial council and the State legislature. He was eight years in the council, four years in the State senate, one year a member of the constitutional convention, and one year in the assembly. No man in the State has spent as many years at Madison among the law- makers as Mr. Rountree, and no man connected with the legislative history of Wisconsin has a purer record. In all his labors at the State capital he seems to have striven solely for the good of the commonwealth.
He has a farm adjoining the village of Platteville, and of late years has given his attention to it and to his other property.
Mr. Rountree is a Freemason ; has passed all the chairs, and has been high priest of the chapter and grand high priest of the grand chapter of the State. In politics he was originally a whig, and is one of the "constituent members " of the republican party.
He has been connected with the Methodist Epis- copal church since 1836, and is active in religious, benevolent and literary enterprises. He aided in securing the location of one of the State normal schools at Platteville, and during the fifty years that he has been a resident of Wisconsin he has been among the foremost men in pushing forward enter- prises which would further the interests of the State.
Mr. Rountree has been twice married. The first time to Miss Mary G. Mitchell, daughter of Rev. Samuel Mitchell, of St. Clair county, Illinois. They were married in August, 1828, and had five children ; only three now living. She died in October, 1837. His present wife was Miss Lydia H. Southworth, of Platteville, their union taking place September 3, 1839. The fruit of this union is ten children, seven of them living. Hiram S., the eldest son, and Philip S, are farmers ; John M. is attorney for Cook coun- ty, Illinois; George H. is a clerk in the Northwest- ern Mutual Life Insurance Company's office at Mil- waukee; Harry is a lawyer at Platteville; and Charles S., the youngest son, is not settled in busi- ness. One of the daughters is the wife of John N. Jewett, an attorney of Chicago; another is the wife of George P. Smith, a merchant of Chicago; the other two daughters, Lilly T. and Cora S., are single and live at home.
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