USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 46
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secretary. In 1861 he reviewed his medical studies at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College in the city of New York, and in 1862 received its ad eundem degree of M.D. In 1862 he secured the appoint- ment from the adjutant-general's office at Albany, of enrollment surgeon for the Wyoming district, and from the governor the appointment of assistant sur- geon to the 6rst Regiment, 29th Brigade, New York troops.
In the fall of 1862 Dr. Meachem removed to Ra- cine, Wisconsin, where some years before he had become interested in real estate. Here, as at the East, he has given his undivided attention to his profession, and visited the poor as readily as the rich, and earned a reputation second to no one in southern Wisconsin. He was for six years a director of the Taylor Orphan Asylum, and one of the build- ing committee to erect that magnificent structure at Racine, which will keep fresh the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. He is a trustee of Racine College, and one of the founders of St. Luke's Hospital, and together with his son has had charge of the medical and surgical department since its organization. He
is the present mayor of Racine, having been elected in April by a very large majority. In the midst of his large professional and other duties he has found time for self-culture, and has contributed many valuable written articles to the medical journals of the country, and read some able papers at the meet- ings of his State Medical Society. He is a member of Racine Medical Association, the Wisconsin Med- ical Society and the American Medical Association.
Dr. Meachem is an enthusiastic member of the Episcopal church, and has for many years been senior warden of St. Luke's parish, Racine.
During the rebellion he was an active war demo- crat, and exerted his utmost influence in favor of the Union cause.
In 1844 he was married to Myraette Doolittle, daughter of the late Reuben Doolittle, Esq., of Western New York, and sister of ex-Senator J. R. Doolittle. They have but one surviving child, a son, who studied medicine, and graduated from Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1865, and who is a partner in business with his father and doing an ex- tensive practice.
HON. DAVID NOGGLE,
JANESVILLE.
D AVID NOGGLE was born in Franklin, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1809; was the son of Joseph and Mary (Duncan) Noggle, natives of the same place. His father be- longed to that class known as Pennsylvania Dutch, while his mother was of Scotch-Irish descent. The ancestors of the family had resided in Pennsylvania for several generations, and were among the thrifty and industrious farming population of that common- wealth.
At the age of sixteen David removed with his parents to Greenfield, Ohio, where they continued the business of husbandry, and the hardships and privations of frontier life which he experienced at this period disciplined him for the struggles and successes of after life. His educational advantages had been limited to a few weeks of each winter spent at the district schools of his native State be- fore the age of sixteen, where, however, he devel- oped a taste for literary pursuits, and a controlling desire to become a lawyer; but owing to the limited means of his parents received from them no encour-
agement. At the age of nineteen he left home in quest of more remunerative employment, and was for four years employed in a manufacturing estab- lishment at Madison, New York. Meantime, his father having become embarrassed in his financial matters, he returned to Ohio, and with a younger brother, Jacob, took the farm, assumed the father's liabilities, and relieved him from further anxiety. In 1834 the brothers improved a water-power on the farm by building a sawmill, which proved a financial success, and furnished them with means for carrying out other plans.
On the 15th of October, 1834, he married Miss Anna M. Lewis, daughter of Benjamin Lewis, Esq., of Milan, Ohio. Two years later he removed with his young wife to Winnebago county, Illinois, mak- ing the journey with an ox team. Here they made a home in the wilderness, which under his strong and industrious hands soon assumed the habili- ments of civilization.
At this period Mr. Noggle began in real earnest to prepare for the profession which had been the
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dream of his life. During three years he carried Blackstone with him to his daily toil, reading it while driving his ox team and during the intervals of relaxation, and became so well versed in the principles of jurisprudence that in the year 1838, after a rigid examination by the Supreme Court of Illinois, he was admitted to the bar of that State, without having spent an hour in a law office, or having received direction in his studies from any member of the profession.
In 1839 he sold his farm in Illinois and removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, where he opened a law office, and at once entered upon the practice of his pro- fession, and enjoyed from the ontset the patronage of a large clientage in Winnebago and Boone coun- ties, Illinois, and in Rock, Walworth, Green and Iowa counties, in the then Territory of Wisconsin. From this time he devoted himself exclusively to the work of his profession, giving to it his best ener- gies, and as a result demonstrated that he had not mistaken his calling. His efforts in court proved him to be a man of power, endowed with no ordi- nary intellectual gifts.
From an early period in his professional career he took a considerable interest in politics, and in 1840 was appointed postmaster of Beloit, a position which he retained some five years. In 1846 he was elected a member of the convention that framed the constitution of Wisconsin, and though inexperienced and comparatively unlettered, was soon recognized as among the leaders of that body. He stood with the progressive element of the convention in favor of homestead exemption, an elective judiciary and the rights of married women, and opposed, on the other hand, to the centralization of power and mon- opolies, whether of banks or corporations. In r854 he was elected to the State legislature from the Janesville district-having some years previously removed to that city,- and at once took a leading position in that body. He was again elected in 1856, and was tendered the speakership of the assembly; but being at that time suffering from a temporary physical infirmity, which he feared would in a measure interfere with the discharge of the duties of that position, he declined the offer. He was, however, emphatically the leader of the house during that session, and in the contest over the election of United States senator, in which the Hon. J. R. Doolittle was chosen, exercised a controlling influence.
In 1858 he was elected judge of the first judicial
district of Wisconsin, composed of the counties of Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, Rock and Green, and held the office for eight years, discharging its duties with the utmost acceptability, and establishing for himself an enviable reputation as a sound jurist and an impartial administrator of the law.
He retired from the bench in 1866, and for a time resided in Iowa, where he was engaged as attorney for the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Company. He afterward returned to Beloit, where he purchased an elegant home, and built up a lucrative practice.
In 1869 he was appointed by President Grant to the office of chief justice of the Territory of Idaho, a position which he retained till 1874, when failing health obliged him to resign. After this he resided for some months in San Francisco, California, for the benefit of his health, and returned to Wisconsin in the autumn of 1875, since which time he has lived in retirement at Janesville, Rock county.
In politics, Judge Noggle had been identified with the democratic party (believing in the principles of Jefferson by which it was governed at that time) until the organization of the republican party. In 1848 he was a delegate to the national convention which nominated President Polk, and in 1852 to the convention which nominated President Pierce. He was likewise a delegate to the convention that nom- inated Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and since then has been an uncompromising republican.
In religious belief he has always been governed by the faith of the Universalist creed, though his wife and all the members of his family long since united with the Protestant Episcopal church.
The name of Judge Noggle is indissolubly con- nected with the history and progress of Wisconsin. He is a gentleman of fine presence and command- ing appearance, earnest and impressive as a public speaker, possessed of great natural force and mental power, and had he enjoyed the advantages of an early training would undoubtedly have attained to a national reputation. He is kind-hearted and gener- ous, a man of the people, brave in their defense, regardless of consequences to himself. He is ten- derly loved by his family, and in the hearts of his old neighbors in southern Wisconsin there linger for him feelings of fondness and regard which years will not efface.
His loving and faithful wife, who shared with him his trials and subsequent successes with equal grace and cheerfulness, still lives to minister to him the kindly offices of affection which he loves so well to
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receive at her hands, and which she loves so well to bestow. She is a lady of rare personal beauty, of high mental endowments, of amiable temper and engaging manners, and to her influence and efforts are largely due, not only the high social and intel- lectual distinction to which her children have at- tained, but also the success of her husband. It is worthy of note here that Mrs. Noggle is the young- est of a family of fifteen children, all of whom lived to old age, and eight of whom are still living.
They have seven children, two sons and five daughters, all living. · The sons, Charles Levitt and Dorman Lewis, were educated at Appleton College, Wisconsin, and Lombard University, Illinois, and both served in the army throughout the late rebel- lion, the former in the 8th Wisconsin Infantry, which he entered as sergeant, but was afterward promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the regular army. He served through the campaigns of the army of the Potomac, was captured by the rebels at Appomatox, and held a prisoner of war for nine months, during which time he suffered all the rigors which have made the slave-holders' rebellion infamous and dia- bolical. After being frequently removed from one bastile to another, he was finally placed with the six hundred federal prisoners in front of the Union guns at Charlestown, South Carolina. After being exchanged he returned to his regiment, and re-
mained in the service till 1867, when he resigned his commission, and has since been engaged in rail- roading in Canada. The latter enlisted in the 12th battery of Wisconsin Artillery, of which he was afterward commissioned second lieutenant, and served in the western army under General Grant, after which he was detailed to parol the rebel pris- oners. He was subsequently transferred to the 4th Wisconsin Battery. He participated in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and was present at the overthrow of Richmond, Virginia, his battery having the honor of throwing the first shell into the rebel capital. He retired from the army with the rank of captain, and was subsequently breveted major for gallantry in the last named siege. He is now chief clerk in the United States Mint at San Francisco, California. Mary Anna, the eldest daughter, is the wife of Hon. C. G. Williams, present member of congress for the first district of Wisconsin. Helen Rebecca is the wife of P. W. Puffer, Esq., agent of the St. Paul and Milwaukee Railroad at Monroe. Martha M. is the wife of Norman S. Brumley, Esq., cashier of the Canajoharie Bank, New York State. Mary Eunice is the widow of the late Major James H. Alvord, of San Francisco, California, and Kate Florence is the wife of Charles H. Rich, Esq., who is engaged in railroading in Evanston, Wyoming Territory.
HORACE A. TAYLOR,
HUDSON.
H TORACE ADOLPHUS TAYLOR, the son of Rev. Adolphus Taylor and Orra Copeland Taylor, was born at Norfolk, St. Lawrence county, New York, May 24, 1838. His father, a Congrega- tional clergyman, died when Horace was five years old, leaving him -to the care of a brother-in-law at Madrid in the same State, with whom he remained five years. At ten years of age Horace came as far west as Illinois, and spent three years in Hancock county, working on a farm and attending school.
In 1851, being then thirteen years of age, he removed to Wisconsin and settled in Pierce county, on the present site of River Falls, and there assisted in making a claim for preëmption to the quarter section of land on which the business portion of that village is located. He afterward returned to the East, where he spent four years in farming, and
also during that time attended, first a common school and later an academy. Returning to River Falls at the expiration of that time, he, three months afterward, established the first stage line between Hudson and Prescott.
Closing his studies in school in June, 1857, he then, in company with an elder brother, Lute A. Taylor, established the "River Falls Journal." In 1860 be sold his interest to his brother, and pur- chased the "Hudson Chronicle," changing the name to "Hudson Times," .and four years later consolidated it and a paper known as "The North Star," giving to the new paper the name of "The Star and Times," which name it still retains. In August, 1869, in company with his brother, he organized the "La Crosse Morning Leader," but retired from its active management two years later,
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and in August, 1875, purchased, with a partner, S. A. Clewell, the "Stillwater Lumberman," which he still owns and controls. He also remains joint pro- prietor with Mr. Clewell of "The Star and Times," which paper he has conducted from its incipiency.
In January, 1876, Mr. Taylor was appointed by Gov. Ludington State agent of the railroad lands, and now (1877) holds that office. He has been largely interested in real estate for many years, and now owns several thousand acres in northwestern Wisconsin.
He is an earnest republican in politics, and has been honored by his fellow-citizens with positions
of public trust, which were conferred wholly with- out his seeking them.
Mr. Taylor was married November 8, 1860, to Miss Lizzie Maddew, of Chicago, and by her has three children.
He is a man of extraordinary industry, and does thoroughly all that he attempts. In all his various business enterprises he has met with good success. As a writer, his style is easy, graceful and vigorous, and his paper is read with interest by all. He has excellent personal qualities, being possessed of a genial, kind and courteous manner, that both wins and retains friends.
HENRY P. STRONG, M.D.,
BELOIT.
T' HE family of Strong is one of the oldest in Massachusetts; has authentic records for two hundred years. Henry Partridge Strong is a lineal descendant of Elder John Strong, of Northampton. It is a very numerous family. His grandfather was one of the pioneers of that section, and bought of the State a township of land. His father also was a leading citizen both in church and state, particu- larly in matters pertaining to education.
Henry, whose name is at the head of this sketch, was born February 8, 1832, in Brownington, Orleans county, Vermont, and was a son of Elijah G. and Sarah P. Strong. He received a thorough academ- ical education in his native town, and then went to Montpelier, Vermont, and studied medicine under Dr. C. M. Rublee for three years, and then graduated with honors at the medical college at Castleton, Vermont. The medical profession has ever been congenial to his tastes and genius, therefore he has been very successful in its practice.
In July, 1853, he came to Wisconsin, and located at Beloit, since which time he has made it his home. Immediately after his arrival he commenced the practice of medicine, and has attained considerable business.
In 1861 Dr. Strong accepted an appointment of surgeon of the 11th Wisconsin Volunteers, and was for the first year engaged in Missouri and Arkansas in guerrilla warfare, a service hated by all true sol- diers. Then followed the " starvation stampede " toward Helena, never to be forgotten by those who took part. For several weeks they were not heard
from in the North, and none knew of their situation or welfare. Early in the spring of 1863 the regi- ment joined General Grant's army, ran the blockade of Vicksburg and Grand Gulf, and entered in ear- nest on the Mississippi campaign. Such professional ability had Dr. Strong shown that, by special or- der, he was advanced over several that outranked him, and made surgeon-in-chief of the fourteenth division thirteenth army corps. This place he held during the remainder of his service.
Upon landing below Grand Gulf at Brainsburg, Mississippi, Dr. Strong's division was given the ad- vance, and they entered their first battle at Port Gib- son. - Then rapidly followed the battles of Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills and Black River Bridge, which preceded their arrival in the rear of Vicks- burg. In these battles the fourteenth division ex- perienced much hard service. During the siege it held the center, and at the assaults of the 22d of May was badly cut up. So constantly during the whole campaign was this division kept in the thick- est of danger that its losses were fearful. The number of wounded coming under Dr. Strong's care was necessarily very large, and his professional labors incessant.
Possessing a kind and sympathetic nature, he could not rest while any of his "boys " were need- ing medical care. But for this self-sacrifice some who still gladden northern homes would now be sleeping beneath southern soil. He yet receives gratifying evidences of the grateful remembrance in which he is held by many who came under his
. Strong 1
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medical care. So severe had been his two years' ' in his convictions. Nothing can induce him to be service that his constitution, naturally very strong, untrue to a friend, and in his antagonisms he is equally consistent. seemed completely broken down, and it was doubt- ful whether he could reach the North alive. At the As a writer Dr. Strong wields a ready pen, which ought to be more frequently used. He was special correspondent for the Chicago "Tribune " during the Vicksburg campaign. He has contributed to the medical journals, and his address as president of the State Association was a model of its kind. expiration of his brief furlough it was evident that he could not return, and reluctantly, in August, 1863, he resigned his commission. His resignation papers received most complimentary indorsements from regimental, brigade, division and corps commanders. No surgeon could leave the service more regretted. His campaign experiences have, however, left their mark; he can never regain his former robust vigor and power of endurance.
Since leaving the army his professional life has been one of uniform prosperity; his practice is extensive, and his reputation such as may well grat- ify his pride. In June, 1870, he was elected presi- dent of the State Medical Association, a compliment as handsome as it was well deserved. In 1869 he was elected an alderman of Beloit.
Dr. Strong is a man of a decided character, keen in his perceptions, quick in his conclusions, and firm
In politics he has been republican since the organ- ization of the party. "He is chairman of the repub- lican committee of his congressional district. He has been five times elected mayor of Beloit, is pop- ular and much esteemed, and is now serving his second term as postmaster of his adopted city.
Dr. Strong was married in September, 1857, to Miss Sarah Clary, only daughter of the Rev. Dexter Clary, a lady who inherits the excellent character of her father, who is well known throughout the West. He was superintendent of home missions for southern Wisconsin. By this union they have three children.
WILLIAM F. NICHOLS, M.D.,
MENOMONEE.
T' HE subject of this sketch is the son of Peter Nichols and Elizabeth née Dawson, farmers, of Henderson county, Illinois, and was born on the 15th of June, 1837. His father was a non-commis- sioned officer in the war of 1812, and among the early settlers of western Illinois. William remained on the farm until about fifteen years old, enjoying very few educational advantages, the schools of that time being poor, and the nearest one being three miles distant. He usually attended during one term of from ten to thirteen weeks during the year, but severe weather and the great distance often pre- 1 vented regularity. Subsequently he attended the North Illinois Institute, at Henry, about two years, and at the age of nineteen began the study of med- icine with an uncle, Dr. Shaw, at Dallas City, in his native State, and continued the same, with some in- terruptions, until the second year of the civil war. In 1862 he became a soldier in the 118th Regiment Illinois Infantry, and served until 1863, when he was appointed, by the secretary of war, hospital steward in the United States army. He served between two and three years, most of the time as assistant sur- |
I geon in the general hospitals at Port Hudson and Baton Rouge, and while acting in that capacity had excellent opportunities for medical practice and sur- gery. He made the best use of these opportunities, and on returning from the South resumed his med- ical studies. He attended a course of lectures at the Michigan University and afterward at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduated from the latter in- stitution in 1868.
Dr. Nichols practiced his profession for a short time at Ottawa, Illinois, but believing that a wider field was open to young practitioners in a newer town, removed to Menomonee, Wisconsin, in April, 1870, and soon built up a prosperous and lucrative practice. Few men of his age in the State have had better advantages for practice and growth in surgi- cal knowledge, and none have made better use of them. He is a growing man. Aside from his pro- fession he owns a drug store, and in all his business relations meets with good success.
Dr. Nichols is a member of the Odd-Fellow fra- ternity, and has passed all the degrees in the subor- dinate lodges, and all the chairs.
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In politics he is a firm republican.
Soon after settling in Menomonee Dr. Nichols was appointed examining surgeon for the pension bureau, and still holds that office.
He was married on the 19th of November, 1859, to Miss Harriet M. Oben, of Burlington, Iowa. They have had five children, three of whom are now living.
JOSEPH T. DODGE, A.M., Ph.D.,
MONROE.
JOSEPH THOMPSON DODGE was born at Barre, Vermont, May 16, 1823, and is the son of Joseph and Azubah (Thompson) Dodge, both natives of the same place. The " Dodge " family in the United States is now very numerous, but be- lieved to have a common ancestor. A large branch of it has descended in a direct line from Richard Dodge, a native of England, who became a citizen of Salem, Massachusetts, August 29, 1638. A well authenticated family register, in possession of our sub- subject, shows him to be a lineal descendant of the said Richard in the seventh generation, the interme- diate links in the genealogical chain being : Joseph, a younger son (of Richard), born 1651 ; Joseph, junior, born 1676; Elijah, born April 18, 1709. Thus far the family had 'continued to reside in Beverly, Mas- sachusetts, originally a part of Salem. Elijah mar- ried Dorcas Brown and removed to Winchester, New Hampshire, where he died at a ripe old age, and where his wife also died, October, 1809, aged one hundred years and six months. He had three sons - Elijah, Joseph and Nathaniel Brown. The last named married Lydia Barber, in 1761, and removed to Barre, Vermont, where he raised a large family, and died in 1823. One of his sons, Asa, born in 1770, married Abigail Blodgett, and became the father of Joseph, who was born in 1795, and who married Azubah Thompson, in 1818, and became the father of our subject, who perpetuates his name (which seems to have been a favorite patronymic with the family), affixing to it, however, the maiden name of his mother. Thus far the successive generations had been tillers of the soil and had by the sweat of their brows wrung a frugal subsistence from the rocky hill-sides of their native New England. Their habits were simple; their lives blameless and con- tented ;. they were a hardy and long-lived race, blessed with physical vigor and vital force, and were not disobedient to the divine injunction regarding the perpetuation and multiplication of their kind.
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