USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 61
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At the breaking out of the Blackhawk war, in 1832, the works were temporarily suspended, and a general prostration of business followed. Dr. Meeker took an active part in the war against the Indians, and held the position of captain during that struggle.
After the close of the war he removed to Iowa county, Wisconsin, and in 1837 began the erection of his large four-blast furnace on the Blue river. This was one of the first smelting furnaces in the territory, and was the largest then in existence, hav- ing cost its proprietor twenty-five thousand dollars. In 1842 he was elected to the territorial legislature, and reëlected in 1843. In 1846 he was chosen a delegate from lowa county to the convention to
frame a State constitution, which assembled in Mad- ison on the 5th day of October of that year, and was one of the leaders of that organization, whose work, although in many respects wise and statesmanlike, was nevertheless rejected by the people.
During the early part of his sojourn in Cincinnati he had given attention to the study of medicine, and attended medical lectures, though he had never practiced the profession. The scarcity of phy- sicians in the new settlement in a manner forced him into the practice in Galena, and for a number of years his services in this line were in very large de- mand, and he attained a reputation as a most skill- ful and successful physician.
He continued his residence in Iowa county until 1854 (having for eight years previous to this time resided at Mineral Point), when he removed to his farm at Meeker's Grove in Lafayette county, and retired from active life.
In the spring of 1865 he removed, with his son- in-law, Nicholas Smith, Esq. (then the law partner of Hon. John K. Williams, and now (1877) associate editor of the "Janesville Gazette "), to Shullsburg, where he suddenly died of paralysis on the 7th day of July, 1865. His remains were taken for inter- ment to Galena, where a handsome monument marks their resting-place.
Dr. Meeker was in many respects a most remark- able man, of high moral and religious character ; his benevolence and liberality were only bounded by his means, while his disposition and domestic habits were of the most amiable and blameless char- acter. His crowning virtue was his patriotism. All those acquainted with his career during the dark days of the Indian troubles in his neighborhood can bear testimony to the fact that no man worked with a more noble spirit for the welfare of the country than did Dr. Meeker. His hospitalities, also, were bestowed liberally, and his house was ever a welcome resort for the stranger and the homeless. He took a deep interest in the State Historical Society, of which he was chosen a corre- sponding member in 1855. At the instance of this society he commenced a history of the early settle- ment of the lead regions, regretting that his journal, in which he had kept his records, had, unfortu- nately, been burned, thus rendering it necessary for him to draw on his memory, adding, with peculiar emphasis : "The great object with me is to give it correct." Though his paper covers but a brief pe- riod, yet it is of great value and interest.
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He was a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity, and for several years was an officer of the Grand Lodge of the State of Wisconsin.
He was twice married : first, in 1818, to Miss Mary R. Henry, who died in Galena in 1829, and again in 1837, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Eliza P. Shackelton, who is still living. Mrs. Meeker has borne her part nobly as one of the pioneers of the State. She was a faithful and devoted wife, and was never heard to express a murmur, even in times that tried the souls of strong men. She is a lady of high Christian development, and was the ready and ear- nest coadjutor of her husband in all his acts of benev- olence and self-sacrifice, and lives in the enjoyment of the profound respect of a wide circle of friends.
Dr. Meeker had a large family of children, some of whom died in infancy and some in early life - four sons and two daughters survive. His eldest son, Warner Meeker, resides in California; the sec- ond, J. D. Meeker, lives in Nebraska; John A. is in business in Richland county, Wisconsin, while the fourth living son, Captain E. J. Meeker, is en- gaged in mercantile pursuits in Kansas. Moses P., his youngest son, died in the army in March, 1865. His eldest daughter, Emma, married Dr. Rumbold, of St. Louis, Missouri, and died November 5, 1863; Lida R. is married to George W. Snow, of Milton Junction, and J. Clara is the wife of Captain Nicho- las Smith, associate editor of the "Janesville Daily Gazette." Captain Smith was born in England in 1837; came to this country in 1842 and settled in Lafayette county, Wisconsin ; from the age of eleven to twenty-three worked in the lead mines and on
the farm, and never attended school; at eighteen began to learn to read and write, and afterward taught school in 1860; began the study of law in 1861; was admitted to the bar of the Lafayette county circuit in the spring of 1862; entered the army in August of the same year as a private in the 33d Wisconsin Volunteers, and a month later was commissioned second lieutenant ; and after the siege of Vicksburg was promoted to the rank of captain of Company H, same regiment. He was mustered out of service in January, 1865, having been actively engaged during the entire interval, participating in some twenty-two encounters with the enemy, among which were the siege of Vicksburg and the battles incident to the Red River expedition under General A. J. Smith. He also participated in the memor- able march from Little Rock, through Arkansas and Missouri, in pursuit of the rebel General Mar- maduke, marching in all four hundred and fifty miles in twenty-five days. After quitting the army he practiced his profession (law), one year in partner- ship with Hon. John K. Williams, of Shullsburg, with whom he studied for two years, and with Hon. O. B. Thomas at Prairie du Chien, during which period he also held the office of deputy United States revenue collector for Crawford and Richland counties. During 1868-9 be edited the "Waukesha Freeman," and afterward purchased the " Prairie du Chien Union." During the spring of 1874 he was the Washington correspondent of the "Milwaukee Sentinel," and in the following autumn became asso- ciate editor of the " Janesville Gazette," which posi- tion he still fills with credit and acceptance.
ASAHEL P. LYMAN,
SHEBOYGAN.
A SAHEL PHELPS LYMAN, a native of the Empire State, was born at Brookfield, Madi- son county, January 23, 1814, and is the son of Asahel Lyman, a merchant, and Dolly née Blair. When he was two years old the family moved to Cortlandville, Cortland county, New York. He was educated in the district school and Homer Acad- emy, and from about sixteen to twenty-two years of age was a clerk in his father's store. Subsequently he was in the mercantile trade with his younger brother, George N. Lyman, in the village of Cort- landville.
In September, 1846, Mr. Lyman moved to She- boygan, where, in company with his brother, he continued the mercantile trade for several years, the firm being A. P. and G. N. Lyman. For some time they had branch stores at Sheboygan Falls, Fond du Lac, Berlin and Calumet, and conducted a very heavy business. During the time they were in partnership they built a flouring-mill and saw-mill at Sheboygan Falls; the former, known as Rock Mills, is still running.
About 1855 they dissolved partnership, George N. going to Ripon. Asahel, remaining in Sheboy-
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gan, continued in trade until about 1865, when he engaged in ship-building, launching several of the finest vessels that ever sailed on our inland seas. In this enterprise, however, he was unfortunate. One or two vessels were lost in storms; the Cortland was sunk on Lake Erie by colliding with the steamer Morning Star, and still remains at the bottom of that lake, and the Sailor Boy was lost at sea between New York and New Orleans.
Meeting with so many losses Mr. Lyman con- cluded that his fortune did not lie in that direction, and accordingly discontinued ship-building about 1867, and turned his attention to farming. At one time he owned several farms, but has disposed of all but one, which is only a mile from the city.
On the 25th of October, 1837, he was married to Miss Cynthia Higbee, of Otsego county, New York. They have one child, Sylvester Blair Lyman, who has a family and lives in Milwaukee.
In local improvements Mr. Lyman has been one of the leading men in Sheboygan. Years ago he erected several fine dwelling-houses; also two or three large stores and other buildings. He contrib- uted liberally toward building the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac plank road and the railroad connect- ing the two points, and for a short time was a di- rector of the latter road. He was one of the first harbor commissioners, and one of the foremost men in getting the Sheboygan harbor built. His fellow- citizens hold him in high esteem.
JOHN PHILLIPS, M.D., STEVENS POINT.
T HE oldest physician in professional practice, if not in years, in Portage county, Wisconsin, and one of the most respected citizens of Stevens Point, is John Phillips, son of Stephen and Mary (Austin) Phillips, members of the farming class of Vermont. He was born at Richmond, Chittenden county, November 4, 1823, and until about eighteen years of age aided his father and attended school, one or two terms, at the Johnson Academy. He then devoted about four years to teaching in his native State, and prosecuting his own scientific studies in private and at the academy mentioned. In 1845 he made a trip westward, passing round the lakes, through Milwaukee, to Boone county, Illinois. He taught school one winter near Belvidere; after- ward went to Wyota, Fayette county, Wisconsin, and there resumed teaching, taking up, meanwhile, the study of medicine. He attended a course of lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago; came to Stevens Point, and in the autumn of 1848 settled at Stevens Point, and immediately opened an office. Four years later he attended another course of lec- tures at the Rush College, and after receiving his diploma returned to his home, where he has con- tinued in steady and successful practice to this date, except when temporarily absent on some official duties.
Dr. Phillips was a member of the general assem- bly in 1860 and 1864, the first time representing Portage, Marathon and Wood counties ; the second,
Portage county alone. Prior to this date, for about four years, he was town superintendent of schools, Stevens Point then being about one fourth as large as Portage county now is. In 1864 he was on the board appointed to attend the annual examination at West Point Academy, and in 1876 was a member of the State board of regents of the normal schools.
In politics, he was formerly a whig, but since the organization of the republican party he has been identified with that body.
He was married at Brownington, Orleans county, Vermont, on the 5th of October, 1854, to Miss Ellen E. Hall, a daughter of Rev. Samuel Read Hall, A.M., L.L.D., who founded the first teacher's seminary in this country, at Concord, Vermont, in March, 1823. Subsequently he went to. Andover, Massachusetts, and took charge of the teacher's department in Phillips Academy. He was the author of some of our earliest and best writings on the art and science of teaching. Mrs. Phillips has inherited, in no small measure, his literary taste and talents, and has devoted considerable time to writing, both of prose and poetry, her nom de plume for metrical composi- tions being Ada J. Moore. In 1875 she compiled and published a selection from her numerous poems, the book being entitled " Under the Pines." The neat little volume is dedicated to her venerated father, " in the hope that it may brighten, with a new pleasure, the eightieth year of a life of rare beauty and usefulness." The rhythm of these
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poems is almost perfect, and there is a striking sweetness and tenderness running through nearly every one of them. Some of the finest specimens of pathos and genuine poetic feeling are found in such domestic and elegiac poems as " My Graves," " Baby Florence," "My Lost Jewels," " La Petite," etc. The heart must be dead which feels no touch of sympathy and tender emotion while reading these pure gushings of a mother's heart. The poems written during the late rebellion have the genuine glow of patriotic fire. Mrs. Phillips has more strength of mind than body, her health having for several years been very poor. She is thoroughly
domestic, and gives what physical strength and mental activity she possesses to the brightening of her home and to making happy whatever part of the outside world she can reach in person or by pen. She is a Christian mother of the noblest type. Of the ten children that have been born to them only three are now living; the eldest a daughter of sev- enteen years.
Dr. Phillips is a reading, growing man, growing both in medical knowledge and in professional rep- utation. He is an earnest friend of education and of culture in the broadest sense, and outside of his practice, as well as in it, is a very useful man.
CAPTAIN IRA MILTIMORE,
JANESVILLE.
TRA MILTIMORE was born in the town of I Windham, Windham county, Vermont, Septem- ber 28, 1813, and is the son of James Miltimore and Nabby Fitz. His father was a native of London- derry, New Hampshire, and his mother was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts. His grandfather was a na- tive of Londonderry (Ireland), and emigrated from that country with the colony that founded London- derry, New Hampshire. Our subject is the youngest and only surviving son of a family of eight children, comprising six sons and two daughters. His sisters, Mrs. Fanny Ingalls and Mrs. Mary Ford, are resid- ing, the former in Waukegan, Illinois, and the latter in Elsie, Clinton county, Michigan. Ira attended the district schools until the age of eleven years, at which period his father died and the family were separated. At this early age he resolved to support himself, and accordingly turned his steps westward, stopping the first season at Coxsackie, near the Cats- kill Mountains, New York; there he was employed for several months in the manufacture of brick. Thence he went to Floyd's Corner, Oneida county, New York, where he entered a cabinet shop, in which he remained about two years, attending the village school one winter. Thence he removed to Oswego, where he apprenticed himself for a term of five years to the millwright and machinist's trade, and at the expiration of his apprenticeship attended a district school one winter in Martville, Cayuga county, New York. Although his school days ended here, his education was only commenced. From that time onward he was a close observer and an indus-
trious reader of men and books ; and inheriting from his sturdy ancestry those " no surrender " principles that have raised so many of the race to high position and to great and deserved eminence, he resolved to hew out success with his own strong hands and in- domitable perseverance.
In 1836 he settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he soon established himself as a millwright and machin- ist of the highest order, and identified himself with all the business interests of the city. In 1838 he was elected to a seat in the city council from the third ward, and returned yearly to the same position till 1845, at the same time carrying on an extensive and increasing business. He erected all the princi- pal machinery and public buildings in the city, among which were the first flouring mill ; the first sash, door and blind factory; the first set of grain elevators; the first bridge across the river at Clark street ; and in 1840 commenced the first city water- works, which were located at the foot of Lake street. In the following year the greater part of the city was supplied with water from the lake, conducted through wooden pipes. But his career in Chicago and the estimation in which he was held by the citizens of that city is so clearly and cogently set forth in an article in the Chicago "Inter-Ocean," October 9, 1872, that we transfer it to our pages entire. It is headed "Some Early Chicago Reminiscences," and reads as follows :
We see again in our streets, after an absence of a quarter of a century, a very old and respected citizen of Chicago, the Hon. Ira Miltimore. Mr. Miltimore, during his absence has passed through some trying scenes, and for that matter,
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ordeals. IJe fought in the war as captain in a Wisconsin regiment; was at the siege of Vicksburg, where he superin- tended the mounting of the siege guns for General Grant, which the latter captured from the rebels at Grand Gulf, and performed other important services. While he has been through the fiery ordeal of battle, the city with which his earlier life and fortunes were connected has been through the terrible ordeal of a fire, such as the world never previ- ously witnessed. He comes back to do what is in his power to help rebuild her waste places.
Mr. Miltimore is still in the prime of life - a hale, hearty and energetic man, apparently but little the worse for the wear and tear of twenty-five years of an industrious, active and exciting life. It is not, however, so much with Mr. Miltimore we propose to deal in this notice of his return among us, as with the fact that his name is associated with some of the most important improvements in our city as respects its moral, intellectual and material advancement. In 1844, being then an abolitionist, this gentleman was elected alderman of the old third ward by a majority of one, being the first man elected to any office on the Liberty ticket in the State of Illinois. His democratic opponent, however, contested his right to a seat in the board of alder- men on the ground that one of the judges or clerks of the election was not a citizen of the State. The council decided the election invalid, and another was ordered. At this second election Mr. Miltimore was returned by a majority of twenty-two. It subsequently turned out that upon this comparatively unimportant election, to a considerable ex- tent, hinged the great future which was subsequently opened up to our present system of common schools. Upon taking his seat in the council Mr. Miltimore moved to ad- vertise and receive proposals for the erection of what since then has been known as the old Dearborn brick school- house, previously to the fire located on Madison street, between State and Dearborn. This was the first school building erected in the city. The magnitude of the under- taking alarmed. the old fogies of the period, and they opposed the proposition by every possible means. But the council being evenly divided between the whigs and democrats, Mr. Miltimore had virtually the casting vote on all selec- tions of city officers to be elected by the council. He used the power he thus possessed by making it tell in every case in favor of his new schoolhouse. No alderman could get the vote of the abolition alderman for his particular candi- date for any office unless said alderman promised to vote for the Dearborn school building. Mr. Miltimore also stipu- lated that the vote on the schoolhouse question should be taken before going into the election of officers. Augustus Garrett, who was subsequently elected mayor, proposed to use the new school building as an insane asylum, and others offered amendments proposing that Mr. Miltimore be the first patient confined therein. But this latter gentleman had firm supporters who stood by him from first to last. Among these were Hons. William H. Brown (since de- ceased), J. Young Scammon, John P. Chapin (since deceased) and other leading citizens. The schoolhouse was finally erected, and served for years the purposes of educating thousands who are now among our first and most enter- prising and prosperous citizens. Mr. Miltimore brought the first teacher in the school -a Mr. Ingalls - at his own expense, from Cleveland to this city, and that gentleman taught in the building until his demise, literally dying in the harness. He was a good man, and dearly loved and respected by his pupils, many of whom speak of him with moistened eyes .
Another monument to Mr. Miltimore's genius, as well as perseverance, is the steam pumping works of the Illinois and Michigan canal. The canal was originally designed to be constructed on the deep cut plan, which has since been carried out. But in 1843, the appropriation having previously failed to complete the canal, the work came to a dead stop. It was then that Mr. Miltimore came to the front with a plan and specifications for the construction of the pumping works. After a great deal of opposition from
Governor Ford and others, this plan was adopted, and but for it the canal could not have been completed for many years subsequently. To Captain Swift -one of the com- missioners -is due the credit of having finally forced Mr. Miltimore's plan upon the board. A committee of the Me- chanics' Institute, consisting of John Gage, Ira Miltimore and H. L. Fulton, all of whom are now living, presented Mr. Miltimore's plan to the canal commissioners. Gov- ernor Davis, of Massachusetts (Honest John), and Captain Swift, voted to accept it. Governor Ford stood out reso- lutely against it.
Mr. Miltimore erected the first steam engine ever put up in this city. It was used to run a saw-mill, and located on the north branch of the river, near the late Mr. Claybourn's residence ; the owner was a Mr. Muntoon.
On Christmas day, 1845, he entered into a con- tract to build what was subsequently known as the "Big Mill," in Janesville, Wisconsin, which was owned by a stock company, in which A. Hyatt Smith, James McClurg and Martin O. Walker were principal owners, and which was the first flouring mill erected in Janesville. In the autumn of 1846, being induced by the superior opportunities for trade and business which ·Janesville seemed to offer, he moved his family to that city, purchased consid- erable property on the east side of the river, built a very tasty and commodious residence, platted " Milti- more's addition to Janesville," and subsequently "Monterey addition," and in conjunction with A. Hyatt Smith, Esq., constructed the "Monterey Dam," and improved what is known as the "Lower Water Power."
In the autumn of 1862, his patriotism and love of freedom nothing abated, he raised a company of volunteers for the Union army, which were mus- tered into the 33d Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, and which he led into the field. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, where he superintended the mounting of the siege guns for General Grant, which the latter captured at Grand Gulf. He also participated in the capture of Jackson, Mississippi, and in the march back from Jackson to Vicksburg received a sun-stroke, from the effects of which he was soon after prostrated for a time and obliged to leave the service.
He served as 'alderman of the city of Janesville for nine years, and was fully identified with every enterprise for the material, moral and intellectual advancement of the city of his adoption. He was one of the directors of the old "Rock River Valley Railroad Company," which is now a part of the Chi- cago and Northwestern.
Always deeply interested in educational matters, he was the first to move in an effort to secure the location of the State Institution for the Education of
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the Blind, in Janesville, and donated to the State the picturesque site of ten acres on which the build- ing now stands. He was appointed by Governor Dewey one of the commissioners to locate the in- stitution, of which he was subsequently one of the board of trustees for fifteen years.
On October 22, 1839, he was married, at Port By- ron, New York, to Miss Margaret B., daughter of Jeremiah B. King and Hannah née McNaughton, the former of English Puritan and the latter of Scotch Covenanter descent. The McNaughton coat of arms of her ancestors bears the inscription "I hope in God." While in her character are blended the sober gravity, the genuine piety and the world- renouncing self-sacrifice of the Puritans, and the stern persistence of the Scottish Covenanters of the hillsides, she is a lady of the highest intellectual and educational attainment, and occupies a place in the family, the church and the community which few women could fill. While she is a most exem- plary wife and devoted mother, a sincere and earnest friend, a wise and prudent counselor, yet it is in her exalted piety, in her untiring efforts for the spiritual welfare of all about her, that her true greatness is discovered. She is in the truest sense a "mother in Israel." Early in life the love of God was shed abroad in her heart by the holy spirit which was given unto her, and since then her daily life has been a " living epistle, known and read of all " with whom she has been brought in contact. She was baptized into the communion of the Baptist church, and has since been a Sunday-school teacher, and a zealous worker for Christ. Since her settlement in Janesville, more than thirty years ago, she has taught a large Bible-class on Sunday afternoons, and for her own use compiled questions upon the entire book of St. Matthew, writing out both questions and answers, the study of which, in class, covered a period
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