USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105
from Java and other East India islands, he attended the St. Bartholomew's, the London, and the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospitals in the year 1849. Afterward he traveled through Europe, visiting many medical institutions and others of a scientific and literary character. In 1850 or 1851 he sailed from Rotterdam, Holland, in the English emi- grant ship Northumberland, as surgeon, for New York. But the ship foundered on the coast of France and went to pieces. He lost all of his med- icines and the greater part of his instruments. He subsequently came to New York, visited the hospi- tals, made the acquaintance of several eminent phy- sicians, and finally concluded to travel west, and by the advice of the Norwegian consul in New York, he visited Wisconsin, thence to St. Louis, Missouri, thence to New Orleans, and returning from the South he visited Chicago, Buffalo and New York city. He remained in America over two years, and then returned to Rotterdam in Holland. He ob- tained a desirable position on board a vessel bound for Canton, China, and made the voyage, remaining absent from Europe two years, after which he again returned to America and to Wisconsin, where he now resides, practicing medicine and surgery with great success.
He married his present wife, Malinda Tracy Dun- das, some years ago, and has two promising daugh- ters.
The Doctor has had rare opportunities for acquir- ing a knowledge of science and of the world, and he has improved these opportunities in such a man- ner as to give him an extended fame and a lucrative practice.
146
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
The Doctor's political sentiments are in harmony with the genius and character of the American gov- ernment, and hence he prefers it to the European governments. He believes in the equality of all men before the law, and their unrestricted right to the pursuit of liberty and happiness. He believes
that America can proudly claim that she is the home of the immigrant and the asylum of the exile. In her ample philanthropy she embraces all nations and kindred and tongues, and knows no distinctions except those which do equal honor to the head and to the heart.
HON. E. C. LEWIS, JUNEAU.
E LI C. LEWIS, a native of Greenfield, Huron county, Ohio, was born on the 24th of August, 1822, and is the son of Philip and Louisa Lewis. His father, a well-to-do farmer, was a man of good standing in his community and much respected by all who knew him. Eli passed his boyhood and youth on his father's farm, receiving a good English education at Norwalk in his native county. He early developed a taste for professional life, and after leaving school began the study of law, and in 1844 was admitted to the bar at Tiffin, Ohio. Removing to Rising Sun, Indiana, he spent a short time in the practice of his profession, and in 1847, drawn by the superior inducements which it offered to young men, removed to Wisconsin and established himself in his profession at Oak Grove, in Dodge county. In 1850, after three years of varied success, he re- moved to Juneau, and continued that practice in which he has become so widely known as a suc- cessful attorney. His habit has always been to ac- quaint himself thoroughly with all the various phases of his case in hand, and to his thoroughness may be attributed much of his success. Shrewd and enter- prising, and possessing the happy faculty of seizing opportunities and turning them to the interests of his business, he has made it a success, not only pro-
fessionally, but also financially, and is now one of the wealthiest men in Dodge county.
Politically, he is a democrat, and on this ticket was elected district attorney in 1848, and held the office during a period of twelve years. He was appointed circuit judge in 1873, and for twenty years has held the office of court commissioner. During eight years past he has been a member of the board of supervisors. His career from the first has been marked by a gradual growth, and from comparative obscurity he has risen by his own effort to his present high social and professional standing.
Judge Lewis is not connected with any church organization, but, unsectarian in his views, cherishes a spirit of charity and goodwill toward all men, and governs his life by principles of honorable, upright and open dealing.
He was married on the 9th of June, 1856, to Miss Jerusha L. Grover, by whom he has two sons.
His large and varied experience, gained from travel, and his thorough acquaintance with all ques- tions of public interest, combined with his excellent personal and social qualities, render Judge Lewis a most agreeable companion, and gain for him the highest regard of all who know him.
JARED C. GREGORY,
MADISON.
JARED COMSTOCK GREGORY was born Jan- mary 13, 1823, in the town of Butternut, Otsego county, New York. His parents were natives of New England, and descended from highly respecta- ble families. He was educated at Gilbertsville Academy, read law with Judge Noble of Unadilla, was admitted to the bar in Cortland county, New
York, in 1848, was married the same year to Miss Charlotte C. Camp, his present wife. A daughter and two sons are the blessings of this union. In ancient Rome they would be styled jewels. He was elected a justice of the peace when quite young, was a candidate for congress in 1856, and removed to Wisconsin in January, 1858, settled in Madison
9. 6. Derindas.
147
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
and formed a partnership in the practice of the law with S. U. Pinney, which still continues. Ability and learning in his profession, industry in his habits, punctuality in his engagements, have commanded the respect and secured the confidence of the com- munity ; hence his continued success. In religion he is an Episcopalian, and his family are members of the church. In politics he is a democrat in the sense in which Jefferson and Madison were demo- crats- as much removed from radicalism as from centralism. Mr. Gregory's intellectual and moral character is very manifest to a close observer of men, and is equally honorable to his head and to his heart; the basis is that of plain, practical " common sense," honesty of purpose, and sympathy with his fellow men. These qualities are illustrated in his daily life, whether in his public or private capacity. The obligations of government and society rest lightly upon him, and he discharges the duties they impose with cheerfulness. In his social and family relations his qualities are most estimable as neigh- bor, friend, husband and father. No one with cul- tivated taste ever entered that family circle without
perceiving its moral beauty or being impressed with its sacred influence. His perceptive powers are very marked; he not only perceives the subject under consideration in its essential elements, but he per- ceives it in all its kindred relations to other subjects. He discriminates carefully previous to forming his opinions, which, together with his accurate knowl- edge of men, render his conclusions almost unan- swerable. When his opinion is thus formed, and presented to the jury at the bar of the court in his usual respectful, frank and kind manner, the im- pression is deep and lasting; but when the subject matter involves human rights or human sufferings, his zeal, always conspicuous in his client's cause, is kindled into enthusiasm, which occasionally rises to the highest order of eloquence, that of the heart.
No man was ever truly eloquent with a bad heart ; he may excite envy, jealousy and hate with such in- tensity as to exclude every virtuous emotion, he may stimulate ambition until the desire to rule or ruin absorbs every other, his imagination may paint the loveliness of virtue, but his soul cannot breathe into it the breath of life.
GUSTAVUS STONE,
BELOIT.
T `HE subject of this sketch is preeminently a self-made man, and affords a most worthy ex ample of that class of men who make their lives a success by sturdy industry and untiring persever- ance. A native of Canton, Norfolk county, Massa- chusetts, he was born on the 27th of August, 1821, of Jonathan and Elizabeth Stone.
His ancestors, among the early settlers of New England, participated in the revolutionary struggle, and his father was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a man of very decided character, a physician by profession, and for thirty-four years conducted a practice in Canton, Massachusetts. A rigid temper- ance man, he was so conscientious in carrying out his principles that he even cut down his apple trees, that the fruit might not be made into cider. With the advantage of such home influences and a thor- ough English education, Gustavus left his native State, and began life on his own account. With three other young men, and with seven dollars in his pocket, he went south, and engaged in teaching, em- ploying his spare time in study and self-culture.
In 1850, wishing for a wider field of action, he removed to the West, and settled at Beloit, Wiscon- sin, and, associating himself with Mr. Parker, began the manufacture of reapers and mowers, under the firm name of Parker and Stone. The business prov- ing very successful, has continued up to the present time, 1876, and is still prosperous and growing. If we seek for the secret of Mr. Stone's success, we shall find it not alone in his native abilities, but rather in the continuity of action that has charac- terized his life. The principles of honorable deal- ing instilled into his early life have had their influ- ence on all his subsequent career, and in all his varied intercourse with men he has maintained that frankness that has never failed to gain for him the esteem and confidence of the business public.
Politically, Mr. Stone was formerly identified with the whig party, and is now republican in his senti- ments. His love of party, however, never blinds him to the higher interests of the State or nation, and in every political contest, waiving party preju- dices, he supports for office him whom he regards
148
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
most worthy of the position. He has never sought notoriety in the political world, or even solicited of the public any political favor; and although promi- nent positions have frequently been tendered him, he has uniformly declined them, preferring the en- joyment and exclusiveness of his business life to political fame or emoluments.
In religion, as in politics, he entertains the most liberal views. Purely unsectarian, his sympathies are broad enough to gather in their embrace all men. His charities extend to all. It is only necessary
that the needs of the distressed be known to him, and without questioning as to their personal beliefs, if they are worthy, his heart and purse are ever open to supply their wants. He has also been a generous supporter of public charities and enterprises.
He was married in 1853, to Miss Sarah A. Bart- lett, in whom he has found a true and devoted wife. Their family, consisting of three sons and two daughters, are all living at home, where, with their parents, they enjoy the society of a large circle of acquaintances and many warm personal friends.
DANIEL S. DURRIE,
MADISON.
D ANIEL STEELE DURRIE was born at Albany, New York, January 2, 1819. He is a son of Horace Durrie, a native of Hartford, Con- necticut, and a grandson of John Durrie, of Stony Stratford, Buckingham county, England, who came to America in 1781. His mother was Johannah Steele, daughter of Daniel Steele, a bookseller and stationer of Albany, to which place his father re- moved about 1817.
Mr. Durrie was educated at the Albany Academy and at a select school at South Hadley, Massachu- setts, after which he entered the store of his uncle and learned the bookselling business, and succeeded him in the same in 1844. In 1848 he lost his prop- erty in the great fire which occurred that year at Albany, and in 1850 removed to Madison, Wiscon- sin, at which place he has remained to the present time, being engaged in the same business from 1854 to 1857. This the commercial revulsions of the last year broke and he accepted a position in the office of Hon. L. C. Draper, the superintendent of public instruction in 1858 and 1859.
He was elected a member of the State Historical Society in 1854, was elected a member of the execu- tive committee in 1855, and librarian in 1856, which office he has retained to this date, entering on the twentieth year of his reelection to that office Jan- uary, 1875. The society at that time was in its infancy, with a library of only a few volumes. He was associated with Lyman C. Draper, LL.D., the corresponding secretary, to whom the society is in- debted largely for its present prosperity, and is enti- tled to a part of the credit of building up the society, which ranks among the first in the United States.
Mr. Durrie published his first work, “A Genea- logical History of John and George Steele, Settlers of Hartford, Connecticut, 1635-6, and their De- scendants," in 1859, and an enlarged edition of one hundred and sixty-one pages in 1862. It was pub- lished at Albany by Joel Munsel, and was the first of this class of works issued by that gentleman, and since that time he has brought out a large number of similar volumes. In 1864 Mr. Durrie published "A Genealogical History of the Holt Family in the United States, More Particularly the Descendants of Nicholas Holt, of Newbury and Andover, Massachusetts, 1634 to 1644, and of Wil- liam Holt, of New Haven." This volume, of three hundred and sixty-seven pages, was printed by Mr. Munsel. In 1868 he published his "Bibliographia Genealogica Americana : an Alphabetical Index to Pedigrees and Genealogies Contained in State County and Town Histories, Printed Genealogies and Kindred Works," a volume of three hundred pages, also printed by Munsel. In 1869 he prepared and published in the " Historical Magazine" a "Bib- liography of the State of Wisconsin," giving the title and reference to all publications that have been issued on the State, a volume of great service to all persons interested in Wisconsin and her history and resources. In 1872 he prepared two papers on the "Early Outposts of Wisconsin ; Green Bay for Two Hundred Years, 1639 to 1839, and Annals of Prairie du Chien," which appeared in pamphlet form, twenty-eight pages, double col- umns; and also an article on Captain Jonathan Carver, in volume six of the collections of the His- torical Society. In 1874 he published a "History of
149
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
Madison and the Four Lake Country of Wisconsin ; with Notes on Dane County and its Towns," printed at Madison, making a volume of four hundred and twenty pages. In 1861 and 1862 he collected material for the publication of a gazetteer of the State of Wis- consin. The work was completed, but owing to the civil war the publication was suspended and it has never been published. Mr. Durrie is a member of the Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Buffalo and Western Re- serve Historical Societies, of the New England His- torical and Genealogical Society, New York Bio- graphical and Genealogical Society, and the Phila- delphia Numismatic and Antiquarian Society.
Mr. Durrie's fitting place is in a public library. Among books from his boyhood, his memory of them and of their contents is very extensive and tenacious; and this knowledge, so valuable in the custodian of a large public library, is daily and hourly called into requisition. Thus he quietly ren- ders unceasing aid to others, which, in the aggregate, can never be adequately estimated.
A taste for antiquarian pursuits, long cultivated, is probably the most striking trait in Mr. Durrie's
character, and is the one exemplified in his produc- tions that will serve to perpetuate his name among lovers of that department of literature. His writings evince a strong love of truth; he "nothing extenu- ates nor aught sets down in malice." He is plod- ding and pains-taking rather than brilliant, and he thus ranks with that large class of utilitarians who leave behind them evidences that they have not lived in vain.
.
Mr. Durrie is a member of the Presbyterian church, and was one of the members that composed the church at Madison at its organization in 1851, and has held many offices therein.
He married, at Albany, New York, October 15, 1844, Anna, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Hempstead) Holt, and has a family of six children. His eldest daughter is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and is assistant librarian of the State Historical Society, a lady of cultivated mind and manners, and marked for her gentleness of character.
Whoever looks upon Mr. Durrie's massive form can readily discover in his benignant eye and genial countenance the truest test of the kindness of his heart - his genuine bonhomie for all.
CHANCY C. ROBINSON, M.D.,
MILWAUKEE.
C HANCEY CLARK ROBINSON was born January 14, 1821, at Bath, Steuben county, New York, son of Clark and Cylindia Robinson. His father was a farmer and local Methodist minis- ter, and one of the leading men in that section of the State. The Doctor was educated partly at the common schools, and partly at the high schools. At the age of seventeen, while assisting his father in the erection of a barn, he ruptured a blood-vessel, which incapacitated him for continuous manual la- bor, and having acquired a love of books he deter- mined to study medicine. Having very limited means he was compelled to alternate his studies with teaching school in the winter and working on the farm in summer during harvest. He continued this course of life three years under the instruction of Abijah B. Case, and graduated at Geneva Medical College in the class with Elizabeth Blackwell. In 1842 he married Miss Mary E. Alexander, by whom he has had two children, both dying quite young. His grandfather on the father's side was a soldier of
1
the revolution, and his father a soldier in the war of 1812. The family generally live to a great age. His grandmother on the mother's side lived to nine- ty-three, and his father is still living at the age of eighty-three.
After his marriage in 1842 he went to Angola, in the State of Indiana, and practiced the profession of medicine five years, whence returning to New York he attended two full courses of medical lectures.
In 1849 he came to Chicago and traveled through Wisconsin in company with Professor Spencer, the founder of Geneva Medical College, and being pleased with Milwaukee they formed a copartner- ship, and locating there engaged in the successful practice of medicine, which Dr. Robinson continued until 1870, when he retired as far as practicable. Some old patrons, his tenants and the poor, still assert their claims to his services, which he renders free of charge.
During the last few years he has been engaged in buying and selling real estate, in which he has ex-
20
150
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
hibited foresight, sagacity and judgment. In 1863 | he purchased fourteen acres of land on the Kinni- kinnick river at one hundred dollars per acre, and in 1869 sold it at one thousand dollars per acre. In 1873 he purchased other lands at a little less than two thousand dollars per acre, and sold the same within one year at eight thousand five hundred dol- lars per acre. Again he purchased fourteen acres on the Kinnikinnick, upon which he proposed to build two thousand two hundred feet of dock, thirteen hundred feet of which have been completed in a substantial manner; the remainder is in process of completion.
The Doctor commenced his business career with- out pecuniary means of his own or aid from others. He is now rich, with the prospect of large wealth,
which his industry, economy and present facilities can scarcely fail to accomplish. His religious senti- ments are free from all sectarian bias. He is moral in his habits and just in his dealings.
During the rebellion he went into the army as assistant surgeon and received the commendation of his superior officers. In his political opinions he is a republican, though liberal and conservative ; supe- rior merit will always command his support. His physique is the personification of health, vigor and activity, and he bids fair to attain as great age as any of his ancestors.
His great work on the Kinnikinnick river which bears his name, will remain a lasting monument of the genius of its owner who conceived it, and of his public spirit which executed it.
HON. GEORGE E. BRYANT,
MADISON.
G EORGE E. BRYANT was born February 11, | ly Springs, thence to Vicksburg, where they engaged 1832, at Templeton, Worcester county, Massa- in the siege of that place. chusetts. His father was George W. Bryant, his . After the siege they marched to Jackson and engaged in a fight with Joe Johnson; thence they marched to Natchez, thence to Harrisonburg, Louis- iana; thence back to Vicksburg. During the ensu- ing winter the regiment reënlisted as veterans and returned home on furlough. The furlough having expired they returned to Cairo, ascended the Ten- nessee river to Ashton, Alabama, crossed the moun- tains to Rome, Georgia, and joined Sherman's army in the mountains. mother Eunice Norcross. He was educated at Nor- wich University in the same class with General Dodge and General Ransom, and went through the full course of studies. He preferred the profession of the law, and after leaving the University he read law with the Hon. Amasa Norcross at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and was admitted to the bar in 1856 at Worcester, Massachusetts, and shortly after moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and formed a partnership in the practice of his profession with Myron H. Orton, This regiment was in all of the engagements pre- ceding the battle of Atlanta on the 22d of July. Colonel Bryant commanded the Ist brigade of the 3d division of the 17th army corps at the battle of Bald Hill, one of the severest engagements during the war. General Sherman gave to this brigade the credit of saving the army from destruction. This regiment was on the celebrated Meridian march and went with Sherman to the sea. Upon their return to Louisville, Kentucky, they were discharged from the service. which he continued until 1861. In religion he is a Unitarian ; in politics first a whig, afterwards a re- publican. . He was captain of the Madison Guards in 1860- the first company to offer their services to the government at the commencement of the re- bellion. This company served five months in the First Wisconsin Regiment, at the termination of which the company was mustered out of service and Captain Bryant returned home, and was shortly afterward commissioned colonel of the 12th Wis- consin Regiment, with which he went to the Indian Upon Colonel Bryant's return to Wisconsin he re- tired to his farm near Madison and is engaged in raising fine blooded stock, especially horses and cat- tle. He was elected county judge in 1866 - again in 1870, and again in 1874. In the latter year he was also elected State senator. Territory, marching across the plains west of Fort Riley. Returning they descended the Mississippi river to Columbus; thence by railroad to Corinth, where they joined General Grant's army. From this place they marched to Memphis; thence below Hol-
Evige &. Bryant
151
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
He was married on the 27th day of September, 1858, to Miss Susie A. Gibson, whose ancestors were the first settlers in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. They were participants in the war of the revolution, and had previously fought the Indians. His ancestors were Irish, and came to this country shortly after the landing of the Pilgrims. They also were en- gaged in the revolutionary struggle. Some of them lived on the road between Lexington and Concord,
and were exposed to great annoyance from the British soldiery.
While Judge Bryant has not been distinguished as a warrior, a statesman, or an orator, he has been in- telligent and efficient as a legislator, a judge and a citizen. He is a kind neighbor, an affectionate father and a loving husband; the result, doubtless, of a devoted wife whose hallowing influence over the do- mestic circle is perceived and felt by all who enter it.
WILLIAM S. WARNER, APPLETON.
T' HE subject of this sketch, a native of Hector, Tompkins county, New York, was born on the Ist of February, 1817, and is the son of Seth A. L. Warner and Sally née Wixom. His father, a native of Saybrook, Connecticut, and educated in Oneida county, New York, was a lawyer by profession, and later in life combined farming with his profession. He was an influential man, of decided character, and enjoyed the high regard and confidence of all who knew him. William removed to Michigan with his parents when he was eight years of age, and settled in Farmington, Oakland county, receiving there a common school education - the only education at- tainable in the State at that early day. After closing his school days he spent a short time in teaching, then entering mercantile pursuits, and later engaged in milling at Northville, eight miles from his adopted home, and in 1844, selling his interests, removed to Watertown, Wisconsin. During the next year and a half he was engaged in the mercantile trade, and at the expiration of that time removed to Sheboy- gan, where he resumed the same line of business, continuing it till 1849. Removing to Appleton at this time he opened a stock of general merchandise, first at Kaukauna, eight miles from Appleton, where he remained during 1851 and 1852, afterwards at Appleton, conducting a successful trade until 1857. His early desire had been to enter the legal pro- fession, and with this purpose in view he had spent three years in the study of law (1841-4), but finally abandoned it on his arrival in Wisconsin, fearing that he could not make it an immediate success in a so sparsely settled country as the State then was. His love for the profession, however, never left him, and after closing his mercantile affairs, in 1857 he was admitted to the bar at Appleton, and has since
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.