USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 63
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Such is a brief extract from a document brimfull of most important historic matter, and destined to an honored place among the records of the State Historical Society. .
In 1868, just twenty years after the constitution was framed, Mr. Carter was elected to the State legislature, and served much of the session as chair- man of the house committee on corporations. Since then he has declined all overtures to office, and has resided in ease and quietness at his home in Johns- town.
He is a member of the Johnstown Fire Insurance . Company. Has gone through the chairs of the Odd-Fellows fraternity, and is a member of the Granger organization, having been the presiding officer in his district since the society originated. He has been for twenty years a member and secre- tary of the society for the suppression of horse stealing, an organization which has done more toward the abatement of this species of plunder than all the laws and law-officers of the State. In a word Mr. Carter is an honest, truthful and capable man, both in public and private life. Ardently at- tached to those things which are true, good and just; hating oppression in all its forms; ever ready to rebuke meanness wherever it showed its head.
In politics he is a consistent, intelligent and active republican. He ever held that all men should be unfettered in running the race of life, hence the system of human slavery ever found in him an honorable but unrelenting foe; and when that ac- cursed system organized a rebellion against our government, too old himself to undergo the priva- tions and hardships of camp life, he sent an only
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son to uphold and sustain the just cause of his country.
But the crowning excellence of his character is his quiet, unostentatious religious life. The sweet- ness and fragrance of his daily walk is a constant blessing to the community in which he resides, and when he shall be finally called to his long home it shall be justly said of him, " Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." He was one of the organizers of the Johns- town Congregational Society in 1844, and has ever since led the psalmody in the congregation, being rarely absent from his post on the Sabbath. He is, moreover, one of the most generous contributors to the support of the organization.
He has been twice married : first, September 26, 1836, in Goshen, Connecticut, to Miss Dolly A.,
daughter of Timothy Wadham, of that place; she died in 1847, leaving two children surviving her, namely, Ellen, wife of E. S. Carter, a merchant in Mendota, Illinois, and Charles, who served his coun- try throughout the late war, and is now a successful merchant in Johnstown. Mr. Carter's second mar- riage was to Miss Sarah Wedge, daughter of Asah Wedge, Esq., of Warren, Connecticut. She is the mother of one daughter, Frances W., a young lady of superior education and accomplishments, espe- cially noted as a musician.
The deceased Mrs. Carter was a lady of rare beauty of person, of the most amiable temper and engaging manners, of high intellectual and social attainments, and an exemplary member of the Bap- tist church, beloved and revered by all who knew her.
JOSEPH BODWELL DOE,
JANESVILLE.
A MONG the many substantial and enterprising business-men who have contributed to the material prosperity of Janesville, no one stands higher or has a stronger claim upon the respect and gratitude of his fellow-citizens than the subject of this sketch. He was born in Sommersworth, now Rolinsford, New Hampshire, April 20, 1818, his parents being Joseph and Mary B. (Ricker) Doe, of English descent. His father was a well-known and highly respected farmer, and was for many years a member of the New Hampshire legislature, and in all respects a man of acknowledged probity, influ- ence and usefulness. His maternal grandfather was Captain Ricker, of the American merchant marine service.
Our subject was brought up on the old farm at Rolinsford, with such educational advantages as the common schools of the place and period afford- ed, until the age of fourteen, when, actuated by a spirit of enterprise and independence, he went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and became a clerk in a dry-goods store, in which he remained one year. In the following year (1833) he removed to Boston, where he obtained a similar situation, and at the end of one year removed to New York city, where for three years he served in the same capacity. Being then nineteen years of age, and having ac- quired a pretty thorough knowledge of the princi-
ples of trade, he, in company with two partners, embarked in the wholesale silk-goods business on his own account in the city of New York, under the firm name of Doe, Mason and Co. The business was conducted with success till the year 1842, when our subject dissolved the partnership and resolved to seek his fortune in the West. He went to Wis- consin during that year and settled in Janesville, which has since been his home. In 1845 he pur- chased two acres of heavily wooded land, on which he built the house in which he has since resided and which is now in the midst of the busiest part of the city. On settling in Janesville he opened a store with a general assortment of goods, which he carried on with fair success till 1852, when he opened a private banking house, there being until then no institution of the kind in the village, and the need of one being urgently felt; and before he had any adequate facilities for doing business, or any organ- ization, so unbounded was the confidence in his integrity that he received deposits to a large amount from the citizens, with no security but his personal honor. From this nucleus sprung the Central Bank of Wisconsin, which was incorporated in 1855, and which became in 1863 the First National Bank of Janesville; and although his nominal position has been that of cashier, yet he has ever been the soul and spirit of the institution. Under his skillful
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management it has come to be, in the words of the bank inspector, "the best managed bank in the State." As a business man Mr. Doe is one of the most able and accomplished of the profession ; far- seeing and prudent, just and upright, but firm and decided in all his dealings, and of unquestioned and unquestionable integrity. Although essentially a financier, he is far from being a sordid or avaricious man ; on the contrary, he is exceptionally generous and benevolent ; imbued with a sincere love for his fellow-men, sympathizing with and aiding those in misfortune, and this not as a mere sentiment but as a practical every-day experience, his unselfishness and tenderness of heart have prevented him from being what many others would have been in his circumstances, a rich man. Although he has been somewhat unfortunately associated in business on some occasions, yet no man ever lost a dollar by him. In society he is genial and companionable, always fond of a joke, and a firm believer in the doctrine that mirth is better than medicine.
Although a strong party man, he was never a poli- tician and never sought an office, although the office has several times sought him. He was elected mayor of Janesville four different times, to wit, in 1854, 1861, 1862 and 1870, and in each case not only discharged his duties with credit to himself, but reflected honor upon the office.
He has always been an earnest promoter of pub- lic enterprises and institutions for the moral and intellectual improvement of his kind. He was one of the incorporators of Racine College in the city of Racine, and also of Kemper Hall in the city of Kenosha, and was for some years a trustee of the State Institution for the Education of the Blind, and is foremost in every good work in his city or com- munity.
In religion he has been not less faithful and reli- able than in business. He has been from an early
age a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was one of the prime movers in the organiza- tion of Trinity parish in Janesville, and has been to that body what he has to the First National Bank ; it owes its very existence to his efforts. He is not only one of the most energetic and faithful support- ers of the organization in his own neighborhood, but his influence is felt in the diocesan conventions and educational institutions of the body. He is firm in his religious convictions, but charitable and tolerant of the views of others whose faith differs from his.
Politically he has always been a democrat. It is a favorite remark of his that he "has never belonged to any society, secret or political, except the Episco- pal church and the democratic party."
He was married September 3, 1838, to Miss Anna J. Marcher, daughter of Wm. Marcher, a captain in the English merchant marine service. Both her parents were English. She was a most industrious and energetic woman, with strongly developed re- ligious instincts, and a member of the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Doe have had twelve chil- dren, of whom three sons and one daughter are now living. The eldest son, Chas. Ricker, born August 17, 1849, was educated at Racine College, and is now holding a responsible position in the employment of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in the State of Iowa .. The second son, Joseph B., junior, born March 8, 1855, graduated from Racine College in 1874; read law in the office of John Winans, Esq., of Janesville ; was admitted to the bar in 1876, and is now (1877) practicing his profession in Janesville. He inherits his father's qualities of head and heart, and is a youth of great nobility of character and much promise. The third son, Wilson H., born February 2, 1858, occupies a position in the bank with his father. Martha W. is the widow of the late W. E. Ferslew, of Janesville.
HON. LUTHER HANCHETT,
PLOVER.
T `HE late Luther Hanchett, an early settler at Plover, Portage county, a native of Ohio, was a son of Luther and Martha Ann (Rent) Hanchett, and was born at Middlebury, November 25, 1825. He received an academic education at Fremont, and immediately after leaving school began the study of
law in that place, with his half-brother, General Ralph P. Buckland. He was admitted to the bar at Plover in 1850, and devoting the remainder of his life to his chosen work reflected the highest honor upon his profession.
Mr. Hanchett was elected district attorney of
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Portage county in 1852, and held that office two years. He was elected to the State senate in 1856, and reëlected in 1858. In 1860 he was elected to congress from the second district, then comprising more than one half of the territory of the State. Two years later, the State being redistricted, he was elected to congress from the sixth district, but did not long survive, dying at his home in Plover on the 24th of November, 1862.
On November 11, 1853, Mr. Hanchett was married to Miss Lucinda Alban, eldest daughter of Colonel James Alban, who was afterward commander of the 18th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, and was killed at the head of his regiment in the battle of Shiloh. They had two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom are still living. Mrs. Hanchett is now the wife of James O. Raymond, Esq., a prominent at- torney residing at Stevens Point.
PERRY P. SMITH,
MANITOWOC.
F NEW men in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, have seen more of frontier life than Perry P. Smith. He settled there with a brother-in-law, Benjamin Jones, and a company of speculators, in the summer of 1837, when everybody was expecting to be rich in a very short time. Manitowoc was then a town which looked well on paper, but its great lack was people. About forty workmen, day laborers and mechanics, came with the speculators, to clear up the town plat and put up buildings.
During the monetary depression of 1837 the float- ing population disappeared, and only five families were left. The heads of these families were: Ben- jamin Jones (who is still there), D. S. Munger, Joseph Edwards, Oliver Hubbard and E. L. Abbott. Members of the Edwards and Hubbard families are still there, and a son of Mr. Jones is mayor of the city.
In order to keep themselves alive, the parties re- maining converted the site of the town-a small part of which had been cleared of timber -into potato patches and corn fields. The verities of his- tory require us to state that the first wheat field in Manitowoc county was part of the present city of Manitowoc, supplying the crop of 184r.
Perry P. Smith, who has seen the old fishing- grounds of the Chippewas, at the mouth of Manito- woc river, spread out on either side of the stream into a city of eight thousand inhabitants, is a native of New York, and a son of Ira and Mahala (Redway) Smith, and was born in the town of Vic- tor, Ontario county, February 15, 1823. His father, a soldier in the war of 1812, and a prisoner nine months at Halifax, was a farmer and jobber, an honest, hard-working man, in moderate circum- stances. Nicholas Smith, the grandfather of Perry,
carried a musket during the seven years' struggle for American independence.
At the age of fourteen Perry bade farewell to his native State, and, wending his way westward, reached Chicago, at that time a village of between four and five thousand inhabitants, in February, 1836. After remaining in Chicago eighteen months he removed to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and gave his youthful vigor and muscle to solid work, and has seen, first the village, and then the city, in all the stages of its growth.
About 1842 the place began to recover from the effects of the financial revulsion of 1837. Families, one after another, came in, and it soon began to have the appearance of a village, particularly on the north side of the river. The first frame house built there, located on the corner of Seventh and York streets, is still standing (1877), looking quite decent in a fresh coat of paint.
From about 1843 to 1847 or 1848 Mr. Smith, with other settlers, devoted his time largely to making shingles, which were sent to Milwaukee and Chicago, and exchanged for provisions. About this time settlers began to clear up farms by cutting off the timber. In 1853 Mr. Smith, after having kept a store some time alone, went into the lumbering and mercantile business with his brother-in-law, Mr. Jones, the firm being B. Jones and Co. He con- tinued in business until 1872, when, by reason of failing sight, he retired. He is now almost blind with cataract, though otherwise in perfect bodily health.
Several years ago Mr. Smith was county collector for about three years, and subsequently served as clerk of the circuit court four years.
In politics, he has been a republican since there
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was such a party, and has always lived in a strongly democratic county; yet, in 1861, he was nominated for the assembly, and came within twenty-three votes of securing an election, the assembly district having a democratic majority of four hundred.
Though having a very ordinary school education in his boyhood, Mr. Smith has always had an inquir- ing mind, and fitted himself in early manhood to attend to the routine of business in all its details.
On the 8th of January, 1849, he was married to Miss Esther A. Champlin, of Manitowoc, and by her has three sons, all now living and doing well. The eldest, Hiram C., is married, and lives in California. The other two, Alonzo R. and Ira P., are in St. Louis.
Though he has been for forty years a resident of .
Manitowoc, Mr. Smith is but little past the prime of life, and, but for the trouble with his eyes, would be an efficient business man. He attends the services
of the Methodist church, and has always borne an excellent moral character.
NOTE .- BENJAMIN JONES, spoken of several times in this sketch, is still living in Manitowoc, now in his eighty- third year, he being born July 26, 1795. He is a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts. His father, William Jones, moved to Saratoga county, New York, when Benja- min was four years old, and, several years later, to Chau- tanqua county. Benjamin farmed until twenty-five years of age. Subsequently he aided in building a canal between Kingston and Ottawa, Canada. At the land sale in 1835 he and his brother William purchased property in Manito- woc, and hither Benjamin moved in 1837 from Chicago, where he had been living a few years. His brother William remained in Chicago, became quite wealthy, and was one of the founders of the University of Chicago. The south wing of the University building was named for him. Ben- . jamin Jones was a lumberman and merchant in Manitowoc about thirty years, retiring from business about ten years ago. He was succeeded by A. D. Jones and Brother - his two sons. Mr. A. D. Jones is one of the leading men in Manitowoc, and is mayor of the city. The eldest daughter married Mr. E. J. Colby, of Manitowoc, and is dead. Adelia, the other daughter, is the wife of Dr. Black, of Chicago. The Jones family has always been one of the most respected in Manitowoc.
REV. WILLIAM C. WHITFORD, A.M.,
MILTON.
W ILLIAM CLARKE WHITFORD was born in the town of West Edmeston, Otsego county, New York, May 5, 1828. His father, Cap- tain Samuel Whitford, of English lineage, belonged to the branch of the family which has resided in Mas- sachusetts more than one hundred and fifty years, some members at Salem and others near Narragan- sett Bay. His mother, Sophia Clarke, was connected on both her father's and her mother's side with the numerous families of that name which originated in Rhode Island, and which are now among the lead- ing men of that State in all the learned professions. Both his parents were reared in the newly-settled region of central New York, and enjoyed but meager educational advantages; but, endowed with strong minds and rare good sense, they were among the most intelligent and highly respected people in the community in which they lived. The grandfather of our subject, David Whitford, died when his son Samuel was but sixteen years of age, leaving in care of the latter a family of eleven children, all of whom, except one sister, were younger than himself, and two of whom were cripples from birth, and all of whom he brought to maturity. He worked at the potash business, managed the patrimonial farm, and for fourteen years devoted all his earnings to the
maintenance and education of his brothers and sis- ters. In later years he became a man of consider- able influence, and held various positions of trust and honor in both civil and military life. He died at the age of fifty-one, when his son, our subject, was twenty years old, leaving his widow, who still survives, and four sons, one of whom, Professor Al- bert Whitford, is a member of the faculty of Milton College. The most watchful care was given to the instruction and religious training of these children by their widowed mother during their minority.
William C. Whitford usually worked on the farm in summer and attended either a district or select school in winter until he was seventeen years of age. At the age of twelve he had developed a great fond- ness for reading, and for several years thereafter ap- plied himself assiduously to reading all works of biography, history, travel and of a didactic nature which came within his reach. Finding farm-work ill suited to his tastes he resolved to make prepara- tion for some literary or professional calling, and accordingly entered Brookfield Academy, Madison county, New York, where he remained the greater part of three years. After this, in the twenty-first year of his age, he became a student in De Ruyter Institute, New York, and there completed his prep-
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aration to enter the senior class at Union College in 1850, from which he was graduated in 1853. In the meantime he assisted in teaching in Milton Academy, Wisconsin, one term, and was the princi- pal of Union Academy, at Shiloh, New Jersey, for two terms. He also spent a summer in Madison county, New York, in making an elaborate map of portions of the county, and in this and various other ways met a part of his expenses in obtaining an education. Although he had evinced a decided aptness for instructing pupils and managing schools, yet he decided, during his last year in college, to engage in the work of the gospel ministry. He had made a profession of faith in Christ some nine years prior to this, and united with the Seventh-day Bap- tist denomination of Christians. Soon after his graduation therefore, he began a three years' course of study in Union Theological Seminary, New York city, immediately after the completion of which he was called to the pastorate of the Milton, Wiscon- sin, Seventh-day Baptist Church, to which he was ordained in 1856, and which he held for three years. Under his labors the church, though previously quite large, more than doubled its membership and working power. During the last year of his pastor- ate he was induced to take charge of the academy in the place. The institution had then been in op- eration as a select school and an academy for four- teen years and had gained a good standing in the country round about ; but under the administration of Mr. Whitford it acquired great vigor and a wide popularity, the attendance of students some years reaching to four hundred and fifty. During the late civil war the academy took an active part in raising troops for the service, and not less than three hundred and eleven of its students joined the Union army; and many of them were aided by our subject in procuring responsible positions in various regi- ments of the State. For nine years the school, as an academy, was under his charge, and in 1867 was converted, mainly by his efforts, into a college, of which he has since been the president, serving not only at the head of the faculty but also of the board of trustees. The institution has, under its new powers, steadily advanced in influence. The num- ber of students in the regular college classes has not been less than seventy in any year; while those in the academic classes have been thrice that number. The graduates of the college, though not numerous, are among the most successful teachers in the high and normal schools of the State.
In 1868 President Whitford served one term in the lower house of the State legislature, and did eminent service as chairman of the committee on education. He was president of the State Teach- ers' Association of Wisconsin for the year 1865, and has often presented highly important papers on ed- ucational topics before that body. In 1867 he was appointed by the governor of the State a member of the board of normal regents, and held this position for nearly nine years. He has frequently acted on the committees for the examination of the graduat- ing classes of these schools, and has otherwise been largely identified with the educational affairs of the State. He has been twice selected as one of the visitors at the State University, and has been re- peatedly called to lecture before teachers' institutes and lyceums. For the centennial year of our coun- try he prepared, at the request of the State superin- tendent of public instruction, a work containing a succinct history of education in Wisconsin -a most thorough and exhaustive treatise, containing two hundred and fifty pages, the result of much labor and research on his part, which, with other contri- butions from the State, was placed on exhibition at Philadelphia.
In addition to his labors in the institution and in behalf of education elsewhere, President Whitford has often preached in the churches both near his home and in localities in the East when serving on agencies for the college and for the denomination of Christians with which he is connected. He has also delivered a number of addresses at political gatherings and at Fourth-of-July celebrations of a very high order of scholarly patriotism.
Of the thousands of young men and women who have gone out from Milton Academy and College, there is probably not one who does not cherish sen- timents of respect and affection for President Whit- ford. To them he has been not only an instructor of facts as set forth in the class-books, but their lives have been influenced and shaped by his char- acter, so full of cordial sympathy with all progress. He has such a firm belief in the higher life, such faith in the power of men to improve themselves, and is such an earnest, untiring worker in all that he undertakes, such deep interest in the success of those about him, especially his students, such anx- iety for their future welfare, such enthusiasm and faith in his college, that he inspires those about him with a desire to realize all the possibilities of their nature.
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Although belonging to a peculiar sect, he is void of all cant or bigotry. Out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth is continually uttering words of encouragement, not only to his students, whether in the class-room or the play-ground, but to all with whom he comes in contact. His religious convic- tions are very firm and ardent, and his influence in leading young people to Christ has been marked and salutary. He is a most agreeable companion, abounding in good nature, friendly, sympathetic and generous. Possessed of strong convictions and firm will, he is not easily turned aside after once taking hold of an enterprise, and his power over the minds and actions of others is very great. His
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