The history of Columbia county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, Part 77

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899, [from old catalog] ed; Western historical company, chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Wisconsin > Columbia County > The history of Columbia county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement > Part 77

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WILLIAM T. WHIRRY

was a native of England, and was about sixty-five years of age at the time of his death. He came to this country at an early date, taking up his residence in Randolph, and sharing with his few neighbors all the hardships incident to the settling up of a new county. Twenty years ago, he was elected to the Assembly from the northern district of this county, and discharged the duties of the position with rare judgment and unquestioned fidelity.

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He died at his residence in the village of Randolph the 18th of November, 1874. He was the Supervisor of the West Ward of that village, and he left a sick-bed to come up to the county seat the week before his death, to attend to his official duties. But he was unable to meet with the board except on a single occasion, and it was apparent to all that he was under- going great bodily suffering at that time. He returned to his room at the hotel, but his asso- ciates on the Board freely expressed their fears that he would never meet with them in deliber- ation again. Their fears were soon confirmed. His time had come.

EMMONS TAYLOR

was born in the town of Rupert, Bennington Co .. Vt., June 26, 1828. He entered Williams College, at Williamstown, Mass., at the early age of fifteen, and graduated when only nineteen years old. He read law at Granville, N. Y., in the office of J. C. Hopkins, afterward United States Judge for the Western District of Wisconsin, and, on being admitted to the practice, he came to this State, taking up his residence, in 1857, in Portage, and becoming the business partner of L. S. Dixon, afterward Chief Justice of Wisconsin. He continued in that rela- tion until Mr. Dixon's elevation to the bench, in 1859. More recently, a like partnership was formed with his brother, J. B. Taylor, which continued to his death.

In 1868, Mr. Taylor was elected District Attorney of Columbia County, and was unani- . mously re-elected in 1870, and again in 1872. In political sentiment, he was a Republican, but not a partisan. His talents would have given him almost any position he might have aspired to, had his ambition led him into the field of politics, which it did not. Political preferment had no charms for him. The law was his chosen profession, and he devoted himself to it with an assiduity rarely excelled. It is not a matter of wonder, then, that he achieved a high distinction at the bar. He died April 13, 1874, in Portage, after an ill- ness of about ten weeks' duration. He left no family, his wife-Martha Pride, having pre- ceded him to the grave something more than a year before his death, and his infant boy a few months earlier still.

"Nature was bountiful in her gifts to Mr. Taylor," said one who knew him well. "She gave him a kindness that reached out to all with whom he became acquainted. She gave him so full a love of justice that it was the guiding star of all his actions. She bestowed on him the gift of oratory, and an intellect of no common power, accompanied by an ambition that secured their careful and generous culture. He was, therefore, a kindly, justice-loving, talented man, a fine scholar and an accomplished orator. In the closer walks of professional life, the qualities I have named gave their coloring to all his thoughts, all his words and all his actions. In his intercourse with his brethren, he was a pleasant and genial companion, a reliable associate and an honorable opponent, who kept his promise in spirit as well as in letter. He never forgot the obligation of the attorney to give his client the most intelligent and faithful labor that careful preparation and diligent study could furnish. Victory never elated him so as to make him forget the amenities of the profession, or the courtesy due to the losing party, nor did defeat ever make him unjust to the court, to the jury, or to an opposing counsel. In short, his bearing and conduct, under all circumstances, were so commendable that the man seemed greater than the lawyer."

Says another who was brought into intimate association with Mr. Taylor, as a member of an ancient and honorable society, in which at the time of his death he was prominent in official position : "As a lawyer, Gen. Taylor-the name by which we all delighted to call him-was the equal and peer of any member of the bar. He was studious, earnest, careful in all the practice of the profession. He was laborious, painstaking, thoughtful in all matters of prepar- ation. He was in action and execution vigorous, strong and emphatic. The hammer in his hand was carefully poised ; and the blow from it that followed carried with it the added power of the preparation that preceded. His inclinations and his habits were to do thoroughly and well all that he deemed worthy to be done at all. His work was not slighted or neglected, when once entered upon, but was diligently, thoroughly and conscientiously performed. And so

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his labor was earnest and untiring. He was industrious in the most faithful sense of the term."

" His great abilities and acquirements," wrote a friend eminently qualified to judge of them, " placed him in the very front rank of his profession. As a counselor he was thoughtful, impartial, conscientious and judicious. He always told the truth to his client and gave honest and candid advice, whether it was encouraging or discouraging to the preconceived opinions of the client, and without regard to consequences to himself or others. As an advocate, he had few superiors, if any, at the bar.

" His presence and bearing when before the court and jury, in forensic debate, were dignified, courteous and manly, his manner most impressive and convincing, his logic sound and lucid, his language well chosen and his elocution perfect. His well-rounded periods, pro- nounced in a strong and well-modulated voice, were correctly interspersed with accent and emphasis, always conveying his exact meaning, and always producing effect. His sarcasm and denunciation were terrific and his pathos and tender feeling most melting and sympathetic. He was, in short, invested with all the elements and graces of the advocate and orator. Amongst his brother lawyers, and in his legal practice, he was the very soul of honor; kind, courteous and obliging in every sense-the highest type of the lawyer and gentleman. In social life, he was most eminently fitted to both ornament and influence society, and his friendships were well chosen, most intimate, disinterested, strong and lasting. He was a most kind and tender hus- · band, a warm and generous friend, and so attached to the scenes, associations and labors of his home. that it was with great reluctance and effort that he was ever induced to go abroad and enlarge the sphere of his acquaintance, influence, and professional practice and triumphis. It was owing to these local and friendly attachments, more than to anything else, that his appre- ciation and his fame were not as great throughout the country as in his own State, and in the county of Columbia.

JACOB LOW.

Jacob Low, only son of Capt. Gideon Low, was born in the town of Hyde Park, Dutchess Co., N. Y., November 5, 1807. He died at his home in Lowville, Columbia Co., Wis., June 24, 1875. His fondness for travel and adventure led him to adopt, while quite young, a sailor's life, and, by diligence and strict attention to business, he was soon promoted to commander of a steamer. During the time not actively engaged on the water, he learned the hatter's trade, at which he was very expert, and to which, in after years, he often referred with pride. His wife objecting to his seafaring life, and having saved something with which to start business for himself, he opened a hat store in Albany, N. Y., where soon, in the general crash of business, in 1837, he- found his $10,000 swept away, and himself again with only his hands with which to fight the battle of life.

He could see no better chance to retrieve his fortunes than to again try the water. Through the assistance of his brother-in-law, Capt. Winship, of the ship Richmond, he was made super- cargo of the vessel, which was trading at most of the principal seaports of Europe and the Indies. To these visits to the Old World was he indebted for his extensive knowledge of characters, cus- toms and things, which, added to his native wit, rendered him so entertaining and instructive a conversationalist. On one of these voyages, an attack of yellow fever came near bringing his life to a close, sapping his constitution and leaving him ever after fragile and weakly. On his return, he opened a grocery store in New York City, and, while there, was a member of the famous old Seventh Regiment, New York State Militia.

His ventures on shore, however, not proving remunerative, he emigrated with his family, early in 1843, to Green Bay, Wis., where he conducted a hotel called the Astor House, and, in the fall of the same year, removed to old Fort Winnebago, Columbia Co., Wis., where, in com- pany with his brother-in-law, John Schaumburgh, he operated a general store, the principal por- tion of their trade being with the Indians.

In 1845, he removed to his farm in what is now the town of Lowville, but at that time simply a delightful spot, where the prairie and openings seemed to contest their right to the

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beautiful little rivulet which separated the two, and after that date formed one of two halting- places on the road leading from Fort Winnebago to Madison, the other at Token Creek being an older claim. Here he erected his buildings, subdued the virgin soil, reared his children, and passed his maturer years. Here he lived and died, honored and respected by his kindred and neighbors, many of whom had been attracted to the vicinity through his influence. Not being hardy enough to labor in the field on this new farm himself, his time was employed in making home beautiful, advising his neighbors, and dispensing hospitality to the many strangers who were then flocking to Wisconsin. As a host he had no superior; his friends were always enter- tained in royal good style, and made to feel a welcome seldom experienced elsewhere. Whoever enjoyed his unbounded hospitality were indeed fortunate.

He was quick and impulsive ; his friends could do nothing wrong, his enemies nothing right. His convictions were strong and his influence positive. As an instance : when Deacon Clinton and his associates went to him to assist them in obtaining mortgages for the old LaCrosse Rail- road Company, he told them plainly that he considered it a dangerous experiment, and would neither mortgage his own farm nor assist them in obtaining mortgages from others. The soph- istry of the smooth-tongued Deacon could not prevail, and, as the neighboring farmers were accustomed to refer to him for advice on matters not fully understood by themselves, but a soli- tary mortgage was obtained in that vicinity. In politics, he was a radical, originally a Whig, and latterly an active worker in the formation of the Republican party ; with him language was not strong enough to express his condemnation of the Democratic party. As a Whig, he was elected Sheriff of Columbia County in 1850 ; and, as a Republican, he was elected to the Assem- bly from the Third District for the year 1872. In 1863, he was appointed by the Governor as State Agent to look after the interests of the sick and wounded soldiers, with headquarters at Memphis. In 1859, he was Assistant Sergeant-at-arms in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

He was married at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., May 6, 1836, to Catherine Morgan, only daugh- ter of David Morgan, of that city. Had four children-Lewis, born January 27, 1837, who died January 19, 1873 ; Bartlett Marshall, born February 1, 1839 ; Melissa A., born March 28, 1841, and John H., born December 29, 1842.

The disease which finally ended his life was consumption. The home where he resided for thirty years, and which was a landmark so long, has passed into other hands, and the living members of the family are all removed from the town. The monument in the pleasant little country cemetery, less than a mile from his old home, and the name bequeathed the township, are the only outward indications to remind the present generation of the warm, true-hearted pioneer, who was once so important a factor in the life of the community.

CARL HAERTEL

was born on the 16th of June, 1824, in the village of Bechenheim, Grand Duchy of Hesse- Darmstadt. At fourteen, he was bound to learn the trade of cooper and brewer ; at the expira- tion of his apprenticeship, he made extensive travels in Europe. In 1851, he came to the United States with his sister, Mrs. Fauerbach, of Madison. In 1852, he came to Portage and took up his residence, residing here until his death, which occurred Wednesday, June 7, 1876. Begin- ning business in Portage on a small scale, and in a manner commensurate with his limited means, by prudence, industry, and strict attention to business, he soon laid the foundation for the large estate he subsequently acquired. The fine buildings and business blocks he has erected are enduring monuments to his enterprise, sagacity and public spirit.

Mr. Haertel was thoroughly domestic in his habits, and rarely left home for more than a day or two at a time. He loved his home, and he loved his adopted city with all the affection he felt for his Fatherland. Coming here when it was a mere hamlet, he knew all the people ; started with them in their battle for life ; shared their joys and their sorrows, and had an attach- ment for them all that amounted almost to a brotherly affection. No word, no act, no assistance was ever withheld by him that would promote the happiness of his fellow. No man that ever

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lived had a kinder heart or more unlimited benevolence than Mr. Haertel. His reputation in this respect was not confined to Portage, but it was co-extensive with the State, and his country- men left their homes from across the sea, to come to Portage and vicinity, and they sought the counsel and invoked the aid of Mr. Haertel with as much confidence as the little child flies to its parent for protection, and they were never denied any assistance it was possible for his great heart to extend. His public spirit was no less marked than his private enterprise. Everything having for its object the advancement and the local interests of Portage found in him an active and and liberal supporter. No public man or distinguished citizen ever came to Portage, whose comfort was not sought to be promoted by Mr. Haertel. He desired every stranger who came here to leave with a good impression of the city and its people, and to him is due in a great measure the reputation the city has gained for its public spirit, liberality and good fellowship. His unbounded humor was also a distinguishing feature of his character, and in the years to come early settlers of Port- age and their children will often recount a pleasant anecdote of Carl Haertel. On the 9th of June, 1876, he was laid away to rest in the beautiful Silver Lake Cemetery.

WILLIAM WIER.

William Wier, one of the earliest settlers and most eccentric residents of Portage, died very suddenly on the 6th day of July, 1877, aged about sixty years. He was in his usual health on the day previous, and was at the old fort on that day, but was drenched in a storm. He was a native of Scotland, and first appeared in this country as a soldier in a British regiment, stationed in Canada. He subsequently enlisted in the First United States Infantry, and, as a member of that regiment, served in the Seminole war. At the close of the Florida war, in 1842, he came with his regiment to Fort Winnebago, and remained here until the troops were ordered to Mex- ico in 1845. His term of service was close upon its expiration, and he was soon after mustered out at one of the forts in the Southwest. He then returned to Fort Winnebago, which had been left in charge of Sergt. Van Camp. The latter died within a brief period, and Weir succeeded him. Fort Winnebago became Portage ; this frontier grew to be a center of civilization, and the old fort that is the dejected memento of so many stirring memories, became a deserted ruin. Silence and desolation succeeded the sounds of reveille and retreat, and all the martial activity that once gave life to the place. But it was ever the same with Fort Winnebago to him, and he always considered himself its commander and special guardian. When the rebellion broke out. he enlisted in the Nineteenth Wisconsin. He was afterward promoted to a second lieutenancy in the Thirty-third, and was mustered out as a Captain.

The worn old veteran, who was out of his sphere in these piping times of peace, was buried in the neglected cemetery on the fort grounds, and he is entitled to the sound sleep of a faithful soldier.

SQUIRE SHERWOOD CASE

was born in Hillsdale, Columbia Co., N. Y., September 27, 1801. During his childhood, his parents removed to Chautauqua County, N. Y., then the extreme western limit of civilization. Here his father engaged in farming, lumbering and kindred occupations, and, as help was scarce and high, the boy here laid the foundation of the habits of industry which served him so well in after life. He removed, when about twenty-one years of age, to Buffalo, N. Y., and rented the Farmers' Hotel in that place, which, after three years, he was enabled to buy. His con- nection with this hotel, first as lessee, then as proprietor, continued eleven years. He then took up the business of contracting for the building of public works and pursued it for a time with great success. He built the first macadamized road in the western part of New York, thereby converting an almost impassable road into a fine drive, an achievement which was then con- sidered one of the wonders of the age. Unfortunately, however, he took a contract on the Erie Canal, and, by the suspension of work on it in 1842, he lost the bulk of his property. While in Buffalo, he was a member of the Common Council for ten or twelve years. He was Colonel of the Two Hundred and Eighth Regiment, New York Militia, and served under Scott in the

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Patriot war. He represented Erie County in the New York Legislature in 1837 and also in 1842.

After the loss of his property in 1842, he removed to Wisconsin and took up a farm in what is now Merton Township, Waukesha County, formerly a portion of Milwaukee County. But farming was less to his taste than mechanical work, so, in 1851, he removed to Waukesha Village and purchased the car-shops there. He built the first cars used in the construction of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. He obtained the right of way for the company between La Crosse and Portage, to which latter city he removed in the spring of 1857. In the fall of 1857, he became station agent at Portage, which position he held for ten years. In the spring of 1868, he moved to Mauston, and, being advanced in years and broken in health, never again took an active part in business or politics. His death occurred at Mauston March 30, 1878.

In summing up the events of Mr. Case's active and useful life, it must not be forgotten that he was a member of the convention which formed the State Constitution. In this convention, he represented in part the county of Waukesha.

JOHN CONVERSE.

Mr. Converse was born at Randolph, Orange Co., Vt., November 9, 1797. He removed thence to Stafford, Tolland Co., Conn. About the year 1820, was married to Miss Azubah Pinney, of Stafford, and lived there and at Chesterfield, N. H., until about 1843, when he removed west- ward. He stopped a short time at Tully, N. Y., but came to Randolph in this county about 1844 or 1845, and resided in Columbia County until 1877. For some years, he resided with his daughter, Mrs. A. B. Alden, in this city, but at her death he removed to Dundas, Minn., and made his home with his son, Frederick J., and died there August 10, 1879. IIis wife survived him, though then over eighty-four years of age. Their children were Mrs. A. B. Alden (deceased), J. Phelps Converse (deceased), Fred J. Converse, L. P. Converse, H. B. Converse, Mrs. E. W. Gaylord, Mary Converse (deceased), and Mrs. James Taylor (deceased).

Mr. Converse was a man of great benevolence. He at one time had a large quantity of land in Randolph. He built a grist-mill now standing about two miles north of Randolph Vil- lage. He also kept a hotel at Randolph Village, which was then called, after him, " Converse- ville." He was for several years Postmaster there, and for some time station agent at Ran- dolph. This was his last regular business. His remains were interred at Faribault, Minn.

ALFRED TOPLIFF.

Mr. Topliff was born in Westfield, Mass., November 11, 1799, and was the youngest of a fam- ily all of whom died comparatively young, except Mr. Topliff, who, had he lived eight days more, would have reached the grand old age of fourscore. He died early in November, 1879. In the spring of 1844, he came to Columbus, and soon afterward settled in the town of Hamp- den, and there went to work making improvements and preparing the way for the reception of his family, who were then East. In 1846, he went back after his family, and when he returned he found he was elected to the office of County Surveyor, an office which he held until about year 1870, when he resigned, but the instruments which he loved so well were not allowed to become rusty for want of use. Many were the lines run and roads laid out by the good-natured Squire. In 1851, he was elected a member of the Wisconsin Legislature, and re-elected in 1852, proving himself to be an active, intelligent and honest member of that body. In 1855, he moved to Columbus, then a small village, and resided here until he died. It was always a pleasure to meet the good old gentleman. Kind, intelligent, courteous, a good word for every- body, always appearing to look on the bright side of the picture, and with that quaint humor, of which he was so fond, and which was ever at his command, he was sure to dispel what gloom might be upon his auditor, leaving him for the time being, at least, a transformed being, feeling

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better for having conversed with the good old man. He was a religions man in the true mean- ing of the word; nothing egotistical or pharasaical about him, but a true, square, intelligent belief in God, and his Savior guarded and controlled him through the latter part of his earthly career.

HARRISON S. HASKELL

was born at Tunbridge, Vt., on the 8th day of September, 1818. He had only the advantage 3 of the common school in his early days, but these he improved diligently, and when he attained his majority, he had not only acquired a good common-school education, but he had the desire and the determination to possess what only college training could give him. Mainly by his own unaided efforts, he made his preparation for college, and entered the Vermont University, from which he graduated with high standing in 1845. Immediately, he entered upon the study of law in his native State, but the next year, 1846, found him in Beloit, Wis., in the law office of Noggle & Spaulding, where he pursued his legal study sufficiently to secure his admission to the bar. He commenced practice at the village of Columbus, in this county, in 1847, connecting with his law practice a general land agency in 1848. At Columbus, he formed a law part- nership with J. J. Guppy, which existed until 1851, when the latter removed to Portage. These young men, by their strict integrity and their diligent attention to business, soon won the confi- dence of the people among whom they had chosen their homes. In 1852, Mr. Haskell was elected County Treasurer of his county, and entered upon the duties of that office at Portage, on the 1st day of January, 1853. Prior to the expiration of his office, he became cashier of Columbia County Bank, in which position he was succeeded by John P. McGregor. For several years, he was an extensive dealer in real estate, both within and without the city of Portage, where he continued to reside after his election as Treasurer. He was elected Justice of the Peace of the Fourth Ward, and, until he received the appointment of Postmaster in the year 1874, he was repeatedly chosen to that office, though the ward in politics was strongly against him. He held for many years, and until within a few days of his death, the office of Circuit Court Commissioner. At the time of his death, he was Postmaster of Portage. From the organization of the Columbia County Agricultural Society, he was one of its fast friends. At different times, he held almost every office in that society, and in all places he labored for its interest with ceaseless diligence. He had much more than average artistic taste, which, culti- vated as it had been for many years, gave him a place at the head of almost every committee by which the merits of any production of fine arts were to be judged.

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The history of Columbia county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, Part 77

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899, [from old catalog] ed; Western historical company, chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899, [from old catalog] ed; Western historical company, chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1104