USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 85
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
In 1842 he went to the lead mines then opened at Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Here he was employed in a brewery during the winter, while the summer
548
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
was mainly spent in washing copper ore. During the last-named season there occurred an incident which made a lasting impression on his mind, and gave shape and tone, in a large measure, to his after career, and which is well worthy of record. Up to this time he had taken no interest in politics, nor had he formed any political opinions. Slavery was then in the ascendant and was ruling the country with a rod of iron, and to be even suspected of abo- litionism was little less than infamy. A Baptist clergyman, of English nativity, named Mathew, vis- ited the place, and announced that he would deliver a discourse on the subject of slavery in the log court-house on Sunday afternoon. The announce- ment excited the indignation of the villagers, and a mob was organized to resist the lecturer. Cheves and a few companions were drawn to the place from curiosity. The mob were clamorous. The sheriff was obliged to refuse the use of the court-house. Whereupon the abolitionist resolved to speak out-of- doors at his own risk, the sheriff having withdrawn his protection. The speaker was accompanied by an old gentleman named John Martin, also an Eng- lishman, an ardent disciple of the great Wilberforce, who had lived to see the end of slavery through- out the British dominions and had come to devote the remainder of his days to the cause of freedom in America. . The speaker had scarcely opened his discourse when he was encountered by a storm of yells and a volley of rotten eggs. He stopped for a moment and again proceeded, but was soon silenced by another yell, while rotten eggs and missiles fell thick and fast. In the crowd, however, there hap- pened to be quite a number of English and Scotch miners, to whom the condition of the slave had hitherto been a matter of indifference; but the speaker was their countryman, he had violated no law, had only exercised his constitutional right of free speech, and yet he had been outraged by a mob. This element of the meeting solidified in a few minutes, and resolved that the speaker should be heard. Five of them, of whom our subject was one, took positions beside him on the platform, while the others formed in solid phalanx in the crowd. On discovering the situation of affairs the speaker addressed those on the platform, saying : " Friends, risk nothing for me, my life is devoted to this cause." This speech, though short, was telling. It appealed to their manhood, and they resolved to die with him if need be. He proceeded with his speech. One more missile was thrown, but the
coward who threw it was soon collared, dragged to the outside, and by a vigorous application of sole leather was admonished to better behavior in fu- ture. This silenced the opposition and the lecturer was permitted to finish without further interruption. The good old man left the place, and from that time to the present has not been seen or heard of by our subject. He has probably gone to his "reward above " long since, but the words which he spoke sunk deep into the heart and bore fruit in the life of Patrick Gray Cheves, who from that day for- ward was an uncompromising enemy of slavery. During the following winter he worked in a saw- mill in the neighborhood of Racine. In the spring of 1845 he purchased some eighty acres of land in what was then the town of Yorkville, now Norway, where he has since mainly resided. He began in a very humble way and struggled along for years, as many others have done, being barely able to make a living. There was no money in the country, and storekeepers bartered clothing and groceries for country produce. A circumstance that occurred in the year 1847 will serve to illustrate the condition . of matters in this respect at that date. Mr. Cheves was informed that a Scotch letter was in the post- office addressed to him, on which there was due twenty-five cents. He was anxious to get the mis- sive, but that was more money than he could raise. After two weeks' saving of eggs and butter he started to the village in the hope of being able to realize as much as would release his dearly-prized letter, only to learn that no cash could be given for eggs or butter. This was a terrible disappointment, and he was reluctantly obliged to return without his letter. After two weeks more he set out for Racine with an ox-team laden with produce, which he was able to barter for some goods and one single dollar in money. On his way home he released his letter, which had lain just one month in the office, and felt as proud and happy at the result as when afterward he was elected to represent his county in the State legislature. He sat down and wrote back to his friends in Scotland that America was a fine country to live in, he had eighty acres of land, two cows and an ox-team, with which to farm. In 1847 the township of Yorkville, in which he resided, was divided, and the town of Norway was cut off from it (so called from the circumstance that a number of Norwegians resided in it). This made the elec- tion of new officers a necessity. The town con- tained at the time just nine legal voters, none of
549
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
whom had ever held office of any kind; but officers were indispensable, and a ticket was accordingly made up, Jacob Jacobia being elected chairman of the board, and our subject secretary or town clerk. This office he held for three years, and was after- ward elected to the chairmanship of the town board, and as such represented his town in the county board. At that time the Norwegian character was not as well known as now, and his constituency, which was principally of that nationality, was often made the subject of sneer and innuendo, but they are now known as men of sterling worth and strict integrity.
Prior to the nomination of John C. Fremont for the Presidency in 1856, Mr. Cheves acted with the free-soil democratic party, and was elected on that ticket to the legislature in the fall of 1855, and served one term. Since then he has supported the principles of the republican party. In the autumn of 1856 he was elected by the new party as clerk of the board of supervisors of Racine county, which position he retained two years. During his term of office he did considerable business in the way of discounting notes, and by this and other means in- creased his capital ; but there were still misfortunes in store for him. In the summer of 1859 he was compelled to pay a note for fifteen hundred dollars which he had been induced to sign some years pre- viously; and in the autumn of the same year his barn, which contained all his crops and farming im-
plements, was consumed by fire, with all its contents. This was a serious loss and hard to repair. Still later a flaw in the title to some of his land brought upon him a lawsuit which involved him in thou- sands of dollars of expense, besides several years of vexatious litigation. This, however, was his first and only lawsuit.
In 1863 he was again elected clerk of the board of supervisors of Racine county, a position which he held four years. He subsequently purchased the soap and candle factory of Isaac Burback, of Racine, which he conducted successfully for sev- eral years. He also gave attention to some other branches of business, and notwithstanding the diffi- culties and obstacles of his early life, and the trials and misfortunes of maturer years, he has accumu- lated a competence, and is spending the autumn of his days in ease and quiet at his beautiful home in Norway, Racine county.
He is a man of the strictest integrity, simple and affable in manners, buoyant and cheerful in conver- sation, wise and prudent in counsel, generous and benevolent to the needy, and respected and es- teemed by all who know him.
In June, 1845, he married Miss Elizabeth Smith, a resident of Pike Grove, Kenosha county, Wiscon- sin, who has since shared with him the burdens and successes of life. They have had six children, two of whom, William and Robert, died in infancy. The survivors are Mary, Evaline, Anne and John.
JAMES E. HOSMER,
BEAVER DAM.
JAMES ELIJAH HOSMER, son of Perley Hos- mer and Elmina née Kingsbury, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, May 29, 1822. His great-grand- father, James Hosmer, was killed at Sudbury, Mas- sachusetts, during the French and Indian war. His grandfather, Elijah Hosmer, aided in hurrying the British from Concord back to Boston, April 19, 1775, and his father, a farmer, served two years in the war of 1812-15. James worked at home until fifteen years old. He spent two years at Whipple's Acad- emy in Newburgh, now in the city of Cleveland. At seventeen he began to teach during the winters, following that vocation, however, only two seasons. He spent a year or two as a clerk in stores at Cleve- land and Pittsburgh, and was in a law office for a
short time with A. L. Collins, of Cleveland, and re- moved with him to Madison, Wisconsin, in May, 1842. There he continued his legal studies, acting meanwhile as assistant librarian of the old Territo- rial Library, doing some work also in the supreme court clerk's office. He went to Milwaukee in 1843 and spent three years there, part of the time in mer- cantile business with a brother-in-law, D. F. Has- kell, and part as bookkeeper in a hotel. He was in a public house at Watertown from February to July, 1846, and during that summer settled in Beaver Dam, then a village of about fifty inhabitants. Here he owned a harness shop during the first ten years, acting, also, as justice of the peace during most of that period; subsequently he farmed five or six
550
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
years on land of his own near town, and since 1862 has been in the collecting business and serving as justice of the peace. In 1856, when Beaver Dam became a city, Mr. Hosmer was elected alderman of the third ward. He was mayor of the city in 1869 and 1875, and his practical turn of mind and liberal experience in business matters made him an excel- lent executive officer. He has a liberal supply of unassumed, easy dignity, and is very gentlemanly in his manner.
In politics Mr. Hosmer is a democrat of liberal views. He is a Master Mason and member of the Fort Winnebago Commandery of Portage.
He attends the Baptist Church, with which his wife is connected, but his own religious, like his political sentiments, he designates as liberal. The purity of his motives and of his life is unquestioned.
Mrs. Hosmer's maiden name was Uretta W. Stafford, and her home was in Cleveland, Ohio. They were married May 12, 1844, and have had seven children, five of whom, three sons and two daughters, are now living (1877). The eldest son, Lewis F., is a writer on the "New York Daily Times "; the second son, Charles P., is in trade at Belle Plaine, Iowa; the third, Willie J., is a newspaper reporter. The elder daughter, Camilla L., is a teacher in the graded schools of Beaver Dam, and the other daughter, Sarah D., is a student in the Wayland Institute. Mr. Hosmer is a warm friend of education, and has given his children, in this respect, a good outfit for life. A mother's influence has been strongly felt in the rearing of the children and in their promising start. Mrs. Hosmer is a true wife, a kind-hearted mother and an active Christian woman.
JOHN C. SHERWOOD,
DARTFORD.
O NE of the earliest settlers in Green Lake county, Wisconsin, was John Chassell Sher- wood, who has been a resident for thirty-one years, and who has done his full share in developing that section of the State, he being a man of unusual en- terprise and public spirit. He is the son of Amos and Mary (Faville) Sherwood, and was born in Sal- isbury, Herkimer county, New York, September 24, 1822. He spent his minority in procuring an edu- cation, and prepared for college at Cazenovia and Fairfield, in his native State. He entered Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Connecticut, but left college in the junior year and went to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and taught two years. In 1845 he removed to Wisconsin with his brother William C., and entered sixteen hundred acres of land on the north side of Green Lake, at and near the pres- ent site of Dartford, and the next year made a per- manent settlement. There was not a building of any kind in that region in 1845. The next spring Anson Dart, who became his partner, built a shanty, and, in honor of him, Mr. Sherwood named this place Dartford. They put up a saw-mill in 1846, a grist-mill the next year, and about three years later Mr. Dart left the State. Mr. Sherwood continued milling until 1873, when a fire destroyed his mill. Soon afterward he commenced the "Sherwood For- est " improvement, putting up a watering-place hotel
of that name, and making one of the most retired and lovely resorts for tourists and pleasure-seekers in the Badger State. The lodge is a large and in- viting structure, capable of accommodating more than a hundred guests, with every appointment usu- ally found at a summer resort,-a billiard-house, bowling-alleys, and grounds for lawn games. The whole forest is a woodland lawn, gently sloping to the pebbly shore; and while the proprietor has opened some special avenues, nature has furnished uninterrupted drives and promenades everywhere. The scenery partakes of the beautiful and pictur- esque, rather than the sublime. Nature here speaks in dulcet whisperings, where one might almost ex- pect to greet nymphs, satyrs and fauns. Here and there rustic seats, and swings pendant from the high, far-reaching branches, invite rest. The out- look from the grounds, as well as the piazza, is truly charming, a perfect kaleidoscope, taking in extensive prairies, woodlands and cultivated fields, as well as the lake, with its indentations and exquisite settings of bluffs and evergreens, grassy slopes and perpen- dicular ledges.
One journalist calls Green Lake the Lake George of Wisconsin :
A modest world of land and water beauties - too little cultivated by hunters after charming scenery and healthful air. It is a fairy-land of wonderful fascinations, and the weary of body and mind, or the despondent and languid in-
551
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPIIICAL DICTIONARY.
valid, and no less the strong and healthful, will find both mind and body invigorated and the soul elevated by a sojourn among the picturesque beauties of that lovely lake.
Another says :
The most beautiful sheet of cold spring water in the world, a perpetual cool breeze, fine fishing, good shooting, shady groves and free from mosquitoes; in fact we pro- nounce it one of the most healthy spots in all America.
Mr. Sherwood is increasing the attractions of the " Forest " every year, adding pavilions, sail and fish- ing boats, etc. Here one finds every facility for innocent amusement. It is one mile west of Dart- ford post-office, and directly on the northern shore
of the lake. The aim is to make this retreat pleas- ant and home-like.
Mr. Sherwood is a practical business man; an in- dependent politician, and an ardent "greenback " advocate. He was once a trustee of the Insane Asylum at Madison - all of office that he has ever held. He courts and adheres to private life.
He was married, June 28, 1848, to Miss Jane C. Rich, of Penfield, Monroe county, New York. They have five children, and have lost two. One son is in a bank in Lafayette, Indiana; the other children are at home.
HON. SAMUEL D. BURCHARD,
BEAVER D.AMI.
S AMUEL DICKINSON BURCHARD, a na- tive of New York, was born in Leyden, Lewis county, July 17, 1836; his parents being Charles A. Burchard and Martha B. nee Pitcher. His ma- ternal great-grandfather participated in the struggle for independence. Charles A. Burchard removed with his family to Wisconsin in 1845, and settled at Waukesha, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. There, at a suitable age, Samuel pre- pared himself for college in the Carroll Institute; and entered the freshman class of Madison Univer- sity, Hamilton, New York, in 1853; before the close of the second year, however, he was com- pelled to leave college by reason of ill health.
He went to Moniteau county, Missouri, in 1856, and commenced stock raising and general farming, and was thus engaged at the opening of the rebellion in the spring of 1861. At first Mr. Burchard acted as a guide to General Lyon. When a regiment of Missouri State militia was raised he was elected first-lieutenant of one of the companies ; and was detached and had charge of transportation of the central department of Missouri from September 1861 to March 24, 1862. At that time he went South with General McKean as master of transpor- · tation; and in September, 1862, was ordered to Washington, and there had charge of the receipting and distribution of forage, under General Rucker. In the winter following he was ordered to New York to take charge of the purchasing of regular supplies, forage especially, for the armies operating on the sea-board as far south as Mobile. He was at that time assistant quartermaster of volunteers, and while
holding that position was mustered out of the ser- vice, October 13, 1865.
He then returned to Missouri and engaged in the coal business, continuing it until the autumn of 1866, when he settled in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, to which place his father had removed as early as 1855. Here Mr. Burchard engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods, and is now (1877) a member of the firm of McFatridge, Burchard and Co., who are consuming about one hundred and twenty thousand pounds of wool annually.
Mr. Burchard was a member of the State senate in 1870, 1871, 1873 and 1874, and did his principal work on the committees on charitable and benevo- lent institutions, claims, and the special committee appointed by the governor in 1870, to inspect the benevolent institutions of the State. He was a mem- ber of the Forty-fourth Congress, and served on the committees on banking and currency, and manufact- ures.
In politics he has always been a democrat, and, as his history shows, was a strong and very active " war " democrat.
He is a believer in the general doctrines of the Christian religion; attends the Baptist church, and is a liberal contributor to benevolent and educa- tional enterprises.
He is one of the trustees of Wayland Institute, located at Beaver Dam, and is active in every meas- ure that tends to build up this city. He is a stock- holder in the National Bank of Beaver Dam, and has been quite successful in business operations.
Mr. Burchard was married to Miss Mary J. Sim-
61
552
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
mons, of Moniteau county, Missouri, May 9, 1859. They have had ten children, seven of whom are now living.
The father of Mr. Burchard, who is still living in Beaver Dam, now in his sixty-eighth year, is quite an active old gentleman. He was in the first Terri- torial convention which met in 1846 to form a State
constitution ; has been a member of the assembly one session since a resident of Dodge county ; and during the civil war was an enrollment commissioner for his district, with headquarters at Fond du Lac. He is a strong republican in political sentiment. In religion a Baptist, and is a worthy member of the Beaver Dam church.
GENERAL EDWARD S. BRAGG,
FOND DU LAC.
A MONG the prominent men of Wisconsin, few deserve a more honorable mention than Ed- ward Stuyvesant Bragg, of Fond du Lac. A native of Otsego county, New York, he was born at Una- dilla on the 20th of February, 1827, the son of Joel and Margaretta (Kohl) Bragg. He passed his earlier years on his father's farm, and prepared for college at the Delaware Academy in Delhi. Later he spent three years in the college at Geneva, but was obliged to discontinue his studies before graduating because of a scarcity of funds. He began the study of law in 1848, and being admitted to the bar at Norwich, Chenango county, returned to his native town and - entered the office of his old preceptor, Charles C. Noble, and remained there until 1850, when he settled in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. This place was then a rapidly growing village, and Mr. Bragg soon established. a good legal practice, the increase of which kept pace with the growth of the town.
Mr. Bragg gave himself unremittingly to profes- sional work until the opening of the civil war, when he entered the army as captain of Company E, 6th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. On the 6th of September, 1861, he was made major, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1862. In the following year he was made colonel, and in 1864 was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general.
Throughout his army service General Bragg dis- played much coolness, courage, and other qualities which entitle one to military leadership, and his honorable military record will long perpetuate his memory. He was mustered out of the service in October, 1865, and returned to his home, bearing with him the good will and warm friendship of his comrades in arms, and receiving a most hearty wel- come by his friends, among whom he still continues the practice of law, being recognized as among the leading men in the profession.
In 1854 General Bragg was elected district attor- ney; in 1867 he was sent to the State senate; and during the same year was appointed postmaster by Andrew Johnson. In November, 1876, he was elected to congress, receiving a majority of over five thousand votes. His politics have always been democratic.
General Bragg has many excellent traits of char- acter. He is modest, unassuming and destitute of egotism. He is cordial in disposition, easy and affable in manners, and the life of the social circle, while his moral character is above reproach.
His religious views are Episcopalian.
His wife was Miss Cornelia Coleman, to whom he was married January 2, 1855, and by whom he has three daughters and one son.
ADIN RANDALL,
EAU CLAIRE.
T THE subject of this biography, a son of Elisha Randall and Betsy née Brown, was born in the town of Brookfield, Madison county, New York, October 12, 1829. In the family were nine sons and two daughters, Adin being the eighth child.
The father died when Adin was sixteen years old, and thus thrown upon his own resources, with only a common-school education, he left school and learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked until his twenty-second year, when he went to Phillipsville,
Нат. А. Амза
555
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
Allegany county, New York, in company with his eldest brother, Elisha, and engaged in manufacturing sash, doors and blinds, until 1854. He next re- moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and operated as a contractor and builder for two years, and in 1856 settled in Eau Claire. He was the original proprie- tor of the West Side, known as West Eau Claire, where he was engaged as a lumberman, merchant and manufacturer until his death, which occurred on the 26th of April, 1868. His widow, whose maiden name was Clamenzia E. Babcock, and to whom he was united in marriage on the 10th of March, 1852, is still living in Eau Claire. She was left with six children. A true type of Christian women, although in only moderate circumstances, she is noted for her good deeds.
Mr. Randall was the first treasurer of Eau Claire county, and was true to every trust ever confided to him. His character and standing are well portrayed in an obituary notice published in a local paper at
the time of his demise, which we append slightly condensed :
Kind feelings toward his fellow-men, and liberality in mind and purse, were prominent characters of his life. His enemies-if, indeed, any persons could be so termed-were very few, and they never seemed to entertain a bitter feel- ing toward him, for the reason that his sentiments, though often harshly expressed, were generally interpreted as the candor and frankness of his mind honestly entertained.
Mr. Randall was one of the oldest and most prominent settlers in this county. Industry, energy and enterprise un- excelled were elements of his prosperity, which stimulated many of our citizens to noble effort.
For many years the village of West Eau Claire was called Randalltown, simply from the interest taken in its growth and development by Mr. Randall. His contributions were always at the head of the list of appropriations for public expenditures. He would share his last dollar with an un- fortunate fellow-being, and his whole aim in life seemed to be to work for the benefit of others as well as himself. He was a man of strong and inflexible mind. His career was one of incessant toil, apparently made easy by the gratify - ing knowledge that in helping himself he was aiding his fellow-men.
Though his earthly career has come to an end, he will long be remembered as a good and true man,-one whose life, while among us, was one of inestimable benefit to the thrift and enterprise of Eau Claire and the Chippewa valley.
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.