The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 106

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1082

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

In the year 1858, a parsonage was erected on the lot, within a few feet of the church, and is now furnished with a number of articles that are needed to make a minister and his family com- fortable.

In 1877, the Annual Conference was held in this church, presided over by Bishop Peck. Its pulpit has always been supplied by some of the ablest talent in the Conference, such as the Rev. James Lawson, Rev. S. L. Brown, Rev. J. C. Robbins, Rev. Nelson Green, Rev. S. W. Ford, Rev. J. M. Walker, Rev. Wesley Lattin, Rev. D. W. Couch, Rev. E. S. Grumley, Rev. J. T. Woodhead, Rev. J. H. Jenne, Rev. E. D. Farnham and Rev. A. P. Mead, the present able and efficient Pastor, who is laboring earnestly for the glory of the Master and the salvation of souls. The Church is out of debt, and peace and harmony reigns within.

Episcopal Church .-- Previous to the year 1867, there were no regular services of the Episcopal Church in Waupun, although the Rev. W. C. Armstrong, the Rector of Grace Church at Oakfield. paid several visits, and encouraged the few faithful members to keep together in faith and hope. In the year 1867, the Church was organized, under the name of Trinity Mission, and the Rev. C. Thorp, Deacon, commenced regular services on September 1. The first lay officers appointed by the Bishop, were Sam. Chamberlin, Warden: J. W. Seeley, Treasurer ; G. E. Jennings, Clerk. The year 1871 saw the resignation of the Rev. C. Thorp, and the appointment of the Rev. Robert B. Wolseley, on the 23d of June. Up to this time, the services were held in the Disciples' Church, and in halls rented for that purpose; but the faithful ones rallied under the active administration of their new missionary, and, on September 11, 1871, the Bishop laid the corner-stone of Trinity Church. One year from that date, the Rev. R. B. Wolseley accepted a call to a parish in' Tennessee, when the congre- gation nominated and the Bishop of the Diocese appointed the Rev. William E. Wright, Rector of Trinity, Berlin, Missionary in charge. At the date of writing, the Rev. Mr. Wright is still at the post, ably assisted by the following lay officers: Sam. Chamberlin, Senior Warden ; A. F. Morse, Junior Warden; R. W. Wells, Treasurer; D. A. Lowber, Clerk. The Church numbered about eleven communicants in 1867, and, while losing by death and removal very many, has now, in 1880, upward of eighty. One hundred and seventy-six souls have been baptized; ninety-seven received the Apostolic rite of Confirmation; twenty-five couples have been united in the holy bonds of matrimony, and forty persons have been committed to the earth by the Ministers of the Church since its inception.

The First Baptist Church of Waupun .- This Church was organized September 16, 1845, with a membership of eleven persons. The first business meeting was held February 14, 1846, when Rev. J. Murphy was engaged as Pastor. In 1879, active measures were taken for obtain- ing the means to build a house of worship. A lot was secured on Main street, and $700 were subscribed. A. K. Starkweather and N. B. Cleveland were elected Deacons of the Church. On the 1st of May, 1879, Rev. W. Look was called to the pastorate, with a salary of $250. In the winter of 1851, as the result of revival efforts, thirty-five persons were added to the Church. In the spring of 1853, Rev. G. W. Freeman accepted a call to the pastorate. In May, of this year, the house was dedicated, it being the first church edifice erected in Waupun. Mr. Freeman's successor was Rev. John Williams, a man of sterling worth, who served the Church, as Pastor, for three years. In 1862, Rev. W. W. Ames, the Chaplain at the State Prison, accepted the pastorate of the Church, in connection with his chaplaincy-remaining for two years. His successor was Rev. H. S. Fish, who remained two years. Rev. J. O. M. Hewitt served the Church in a pastorate of four years. During this time long-needed improve- ments were made in the Church property, in which generous assistance was received from the citizens of the place. Rev. A. Whitman was the next Pastor, who also remained four years. Mrs. Whitman was an efficient helper to her husband in his pastoral labors, and a worker in every good cause. During Mr. Whitman's pastorate, the Church suffered an irreparable loss in the death of Deacon Starkweather, a man who possessed the esteem and confidence of the community in an unusual degree, adorning his Christian profession by a godly life and a well- ordered conversation. Rev. G. W. Lincoln remained with the Church less than two years, and

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

was immediately followed by Rev. Victor Kutchin, the present Pastor. Mr. Kutchin has the esteem and confidence of the Church and community. His pastorate has been marked in an unusual degree by peace and harmony. He has lately received the appointment of Chaplain of the State Prison ; but he will still continue to serve the Church, as their Pastor. The present membership of the Church is one hundred. Value of church property, $5,000.

Disciple Church .- One of the first religions societies to obtain an organization in the growing village was the Christian or Disciple society, which was established in 1848. Its first Elder was Noah Wirt, whose untiring zeal and religious fervor was at first its chief support. It was not until 1863 that the society was sufficiently numerous or wealthy to attempt the build- ing of a house of worship. In that year, a commodious and substantial church building was erected, the society, at that time, numbering about ninety members, which has since been reduced, by various causes, to a membership of about forty. The society is entirely free from debt.

Free- Will Baptist Church .- The Free-Will Baptists had a church organization in Waupun as early as 1852, and erected their present building alout the year 1855, in " Upper Town," on the Fond du Lac County side. Its cost was about $5,000. In 1868, the structure was moved to its present site, corner of Prison and Madison streets, and a comfortable parsonage, near by. purchased. The first Pastor was Rev. Charles Smith, and the last, Rev. A. G. Brand. At present, the society is without a permanent Pastor.

WAUPUN A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO.

"Our village," says a writer of 1857, "like other Western settlements, is made up of all kinds of materials, and its society is exceedingly miscellaneous. We have the inquisitive Yankee, pushing forward his new inventions ; the industrious Pennsylvanian, amassing wealth by the aid of his iron sinews ; the shrewd Irishman, digging out trenches and looking as cheer- ful as the blue smoke that curls up from his woodland cabin ; the deliberate Englishman, boast- ing the superiority of his country and its laws; the canny Scotchman, making his few acres blossom like the rose : and the ruddy-looking German, singing his songs of . Faderland' and hoarding up every little ' shiner ' that gets between his fingers. Each has brought along with him his early habits and associations ; his own views of business, laws and religion ; and, as a natural consequence, when brought together on public questions, they are apt to boil up like a mixture of salt and soda.

" There are, in Waupun, no church steeples with bells in, that tolled our great-grandfathers to the tomb ; no long lines of graves, in which are buried the virtues of those ancestors only known from tradition ; there is no gray-headed Pastor, rising up like a sacred statue in the memory ; no aged deacon, with his head resting on the side of the pew and enjoying a brief sleep as he listens to the sermon ; no old sexton, limping away to the burying-ground with his spade upon his shoulder for the purpose of making an unceremonious rattle among the dry bones. No ; Waupun has scarcely any past upon which the historian can dwell. Nature's mighty cathedral still stands, with its lofty dome of sun, moon and stars ; but its oaken pillars are overgrown with the moss of centuries. The great High Priests that worshiped at the altars and burnt incense to the Great Spirit-where are they ? The temple still stands, but the wor- shipers are gone. Here and there, we meet with melancholy fragments of some tribe that has wandered back from its place of exile ; but the mass are buried in yonder mounds, with their weapons of war, crumbling to dust, and their history has died with them.

" Wanpun is the center of new associations. It borrows no propelling power from vener- ated antiquarianism, since the spot where it stands was but yesterday wrapt in solitary grandeur. Some Western settlements are filled up with bankrupts who have fled from Eastern creditors, anxious only to obtain peace of mind and bread enough to cat : they are decayed and tempest- tossed vessels, stripped of spars and rigging. Wanpun. however, may claim a large exemption from these. Its first settlers were iron-souled and true-hearted men. They came to the banks of the west branch of Rock River determined to cut their way through the wilderness and make

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

unto themselves pleasant homes-and they succeeded. They had a mission, and they nobly per- formed it. They did their work roughly, yet they did it for all time. There is a sort of romance in their history that fascinates ; there is a kind of rustic simplicity connected with them that is truly poetic. Behind them were the homes they had left, the waterfalls that danced to their childish music, and the hills that echoed back their playful shouts. Before them was the wilder- ness, dark and gloomy, standing in all its solemnity.

"Look at the little village now," continues the writer, " and see what a contrast it presents. It is set off with beautiful dwellings, cultivated gardens and shaded streets. True to the pro- gressive spirit of the age, its people have devoted themselves to the decoration of their homes. There are five dry-grods stores, fifteen grocery stores, three clothing stores, four hotels, three drug stores, five physicians, two lawyers, two hardware and tinning establishments, two grist- mills, one planing-mill. one pump-factory, two printing houses, three wagon-shops, several lum- ber merchants, cabinet-makers, stonemasons and painters. There are two banks-the Waupun and Exchange-two schoolhouses and four churches. A few years ago, produce had to be drawn to Milwaukee, a distance of seventy-five miles, and disposed of for a trifle as compared with present prices. Now the Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad runs through the village. It is already completed to Berlin, a distance of forty-two miles, where it connects with the navigation of the Fox and Wolf Rivers. It is soon to extend to Stevens Point, on the Wisconsin. It was opened to Waupun on the 15th of February, 1856, to Brandon on the 15th of October, and to Ripon November 15 of the same year.

" Up to the 1st of January, 1857. the passengers going east were over 13,000 ; going west, over 14,000. The freight east was over 11,000 tons; west, over 14.000 tons. There is in Waupun a depot buikling, a water- station and a turn-table. The wheat shipped from Waupun from February 18, 1856, to January 1, 1857, was 275,692 bushels."

SECRET SOCIETIES.

T. O. of G. T .- The first Lodge of this Order in Waupun, was instituted September 25, 1858, and was named Waupun Lodge. The first meeting was held at the residence of William Euen, and was called to order by G. W. C. T. Dr. T. J. Patchen, of Fond du Lac. Mr. P. B. Moore, of Brandon Lodge, No. 81. was chosen Recording Secretary pro tem. The following charter members were then instructed in the work of the Order : William Euen, Mrs. C. M. Euen, Miss M. A. Baldwin, Mr. J. H. Barker, Mr. C. II. Whitney, Mr. G. G. B. McGraw, Mr. E. Y. Ridout, Mr. S. Griffith, Rev. R. W. Bryant, William Ware and Eli Hooker.

The Lodge then procceded to the election of the following officers for the quarter ending October 31, 1858: W. C. T., William Euen ; W. V. T., Caroline M. Euen; W. R. S., Charles H. Whitney ; Assistant W. R. S., Susan Moore ; W. F. S., John H. Barker; W. Treas .. Melissa A. Baldwin ; W. Marshal, Byron McGraw ; Dept. Marshal, Edith Bunce ; W. I. G., Ezra T. Ridout : W. O. G., Seth Griffith ; W. Chap., Rev. R. W. Bryant : R. H. S., Mary A. Jarvis ; L. H. S. Ellen M. Grandy ; P. W. C. T., B. B. Baldwin.

After the election of officers, the Lodge adjourned to meet Monday evening, September 27, at the Odd Fellows' Hall, Main street, just west from the railroad. November 1, the name of the Lodge was changed to Prison City, No. 96. February 1, 1859, some difficulty having occurred, a portion of the membership withdrew, and with the consent of the Lodge, formed a new one, Welcome Lodge, No. 112. During the following summer, both Lodges were very prosperous, working harmoniously together. The membership of the two societies was about three hundred, Prison City having a majority.

April 23, 1860, Prison City moved into a hall, owned by Phelps Moore, on Fond du Lac street, just north from Main. It continued to flourish until the breaking-out of the rebellion, April, 1861, when quite a number of the members enlisted in defense of their country. At first, all other interests seemed absorbed in the peril that threatened the nation, and the Lodge suffered in consequence. During the war, thirty, at least, of its members entered the army, and several enlisted from Welcome Lodge. Some of these soldiers returned to take their places in

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

the Lodge-some came home siek and maimed, while others were killed in battle or died in Southern prisons-but whatever their fate, their memories are cherished as brave defenders of the " old flag."

April 23, 1862, Prison City again occupied Odd Fellows' Hall. Somewhere between April and November of this year, Welcome Lodge surrendered its charter. May 13, 1863, Prison City moved into a hall on Main street, in the Amadon Block, now owned by J. W. Seely. On the following Fourth of July, the members were assigned a place in the procession which celebrated the day, and marched to " Sumner's Grove," making quite a ereditable display. At the eonelusion of the exercises in the grove, the Good Templars held a pienie, in which many of their outside friends participated.

October 5, 1864, the Lodges in the State having been re-numbered, the number of Prison City was changed to 21, which it still retains.

Sometime between September 1 and November 1, 1865, the Lodge moved into what was then known as Dodge's Hall, over the insurance office of Edwin Hillyer; the lower part of the building was then oceupied as a dry-goods store by L. B. Dodge-now occupied by Silber Brothers. The name of the hall was changed to Temperance Hall. It was occupied until Mareh 12, 1878, when the Lodge rented a hall in Rank's Block, Main street. November 11, 1879, the Lodge negotiated with John S. Gee for the purchase of the old hall on Fond du Lac street, occupied by it from .April 23, 1860, till April 23. 1862, and where it remains at this date, January 9, 1880. The hall has been considerably renovated, and tastily fitted up. and it is expected that still further improvements will be made during the year. The Lodge now numbers about ninety, and is in good working order. Its officers, at present, are : Lodge Deputy, Rufus II. Oliver: W. C. T., William T. King : W. V. T., Nellie A. Blodgett ; W. R. S. and Treas., M. Em. Rounseville ; Assistant See., Merton R. Wilber; W. F. S., Lawson J. Tompkins ; W. Chap., Mary H. Heath ; W. Marshal, Herbert F. Gillman ; Dept. Marshal, Alvira Cornell ; W. I. G., Stena Otten : W. O. G., Luman J. Pryor; R. H. S., Ada M. Thompson ; L. IL. S., Florence Sheldon ; P. W. C. T., Lewis J. Althouse.

Prison City Lodge, like all kindred societies, has had its successes and its reverses. It would be nearly impossible to estimate the number who have been connected with it during its existenee-suffice it to say, that comparatively few of the inhabitants of Waupun have not, at one time or another, been numbered among its membership. Its reeord will compare favorably with that of its sister societies ; the Grand Secretary considers it one of the best in Wisconsin. It is proud of its career. proud of its military history, and proud of the numbers it has educated and sent out to labor in the "harvest fields of temperance," and it proposes to exist and to work, as long as there is a call for its existence and a demand for its services.

Advance Temple of Honor, No. 21 .- This seeret temperanee society was organized Oeto- ber 9, 1875, with the following charter members: James MeElroy, R. H. Oliver, S. W. Keyes, P. M. Prvor, G. B. Durand, O. D. Iludson, N. Raymond, J. S. Gee, S. J. Morse, E. H. Drew and P. H. Kelley. The first officers were : E. H. Drew, W. C. T .; G. B. Durand, W. V. T .; R. II. Oliver, W. R .; O. D. Hudson, W. F. R .; James McElroy, Treasurer ; S. J. Morse, W. M .; P. H. Kelley, W. D. U .: J. S. Gee, Guardian ; N. Raymond, Sentinel ; S. W. Keves, P. W. C. T.

In June, 1876, occurred one of the greatest temperance revivals ever known in Waupun or vicinity, during which 100 members were admitted to the Temple in the week beginning June 16. In the following July, the Lodge reached the height of its strength in point of numbers, containing at that time 275 members in good standing. The present officers are : J. S. Gee, W. C. T .; L. C. Owen, W. V. T .; R. H. Oliver, W. R .; W. T. King, W. F. R .; O. F. Stoppen- bach, P. W. C. T.

A. O. U. W .- The Order of the Ancient Order of United Workmen is purely benevolent. It was brought into existenee to promote mutual benefit to its members in sickness or tronble, as an insurance to their heirs after death. Each member is assessed $1 at the death of any member within the jurisdiction. The Lodge at Waupun was instituted February 3, 1879, and consisted of the following charter members, who were also the first officers : W. W. Houghton,

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

P. M. W .; H. W. Frost, M. W .; F. F. Zimmerman, G. F .: Christian Johnson, O .; J. C. Wilms, G .; Chas. H. Lindsley, Recorder ; William E. Warren, Receiver; H. Johnson, I. W .; F. S. Keech, O. W .; Frank C. Hill, Medical Examiner

The present officers are : H. W. Frost and W. W. Houghton, P. M. W .; J. C. Wilms, M. W .; R. L. Oliver, Recorder ; C. Johnson, G. F .; John Fieldstad, Overseer ; Herman Hanisch. Guide : Richard Goff, Financier; J. R. Viall, Receiver; August Pobuns, I. W .; W. C. Peterson, O. W. The Lodge meets every Monday evening, at Odd Fellows' Hall. W. W. Houghton was Representative to the Grand Lodge for 1879, and H. W. Frost for 1880. The present Medical Examiner is Dr. J. N. O'Brien. The Lodge now has twenty-three members.

Telulah Lodge, No. 33. I. O. O. F .- This Lodge was instituted at Waupun by Deputy Grand Master Lowther, December 25, 1848, with the following named persons as charter mem- bers : Isaac Valentine, L. B. Hills, George Howe, W. S. Post and J. Diekenson. It occupied rented rooms until 1852, when a joint-stock company was formed among the members, and an Odd Fellows' Hall was built, at a cost of about $600, which the Lodge continued to occupy for Lodge purposes until 1871, when the old hall was disposed of and a new one was erected as a permanent home for the Order in the city of Waupun. The property is valued at $5,000. The Lodge is and has been in a prosperous condition.

Waupun Lodye, No. 48, A. F. S. A. M .- At some time during the last end of the year 1852, D. L. D. Huntington, L. B. Dodge, Milo Sikes, Andrews Burnham, Sr .. Jeremiah Look. George T. Wood, C. B. Carrington, Joseph Bardwell and Charles Spoor conceived the idea of instituting a Masonie Lodge at Waupun, and for that purpose petitioned the Grand Master of the State for dispensation. On the 20th day of April, 1853, Hon. H. L. Palmer, then Grand Master, granted the petition, appointing D. L. D. Huntington to be the first Master, L. B. Dodge the first Senior Warden and Milo Sikes the first Junior Warden. August 12, 1853, the Lodge was organized under dispensation with the above named brethren as Master and Wardens. June 20, 1854, the Grand Lodge granted a charter for a Masonie Lodge, to be located at Waupun, to be known as Waupun Lodge, No. 48, appointing C. B. Carrington Master, Joseph Bardwell Senior Warden, and L. B. Dodge Junior Warden. The charter so granted was signed by Henry W. Billings, Deputy Grand Master, attested by William R. Smith, Grand Secretary, under the seal of the Grand Lodge. The first election for all of the elective officers of the Lodge was held June 1. 1855, when C. B. Carrington was elected Master. Since which time the following named brethren have been elected and served as Masters: Cromwell Laithe, William E. Howard, Ira IFill, Robert Cosgrove, W. H. Taylor, C. W. Henning. M. C. Short, S. J. Sumner, G. W. Stanton, C. S. Gillman, John J. Roberts and F. S. Keech. The Lodge now has an active membership of ninety-two. She has been and now is free from debt.

WAUPUN PIONEERS. [FROM JAMES MCELROY'S ADDRESS BEFORE THE OLD SETTLERS OF WAUPON AND VICINITY, JUNE 11, 1879.]

" Many of the old pioneers and our former associates are gone from our eirele, some to other fields of toil, and others, whose prospects were as bright for a long and happy life as any of us now living, have received their discharge ; their work is done : they have been called from labor to rest ; and if, while mingling with the busy crowd, we sometimes remember them, let it be with kindness. We see many of the old veterans still with us, whose whitened locks and wrinkled brows tell us that their little bark has been tossed on the billows of life's ocean for many long years ; and that they were ever at their posts, fearless of the cold of winter or the heat of summer, needs no other proof. These are some of the men who left their Eastern homes to assume a life of toil and danger incident to settling in a new country, so that they might pro- vide for themselves and their children homes of independence and freedom, and, though some- times meeting with trials and disappointments, yet most nobly have they done their work, and why ? Because they were men of strong minds and determined wills to accomplish, as far as possible, whatever they undertook to do.

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

" They were not of that stripe of men who hang around the corners all day whittling dry- goods boxes and never have courage enough to get away from the end of their mother's apron strings ; but men and women who pitched their nightly tents on the broad prairie or under the spreading caks, night after night, until they found a resting-place in Waupun and the country around it, where they have labored to build up and improve the place of their choice and make it what it is to-day, the pride of its people ; men who have stood by it in clouds and sunshine watching with interest its slow but sure growth, ever firm in the belief that there was before it a bright prospect of future usefulness and prosperity."

MANUFACTORIES.

The Waupun Pump and Windmill Works .- Like many another institution, the Waupun Pump and Windmill Works had their origin in the day of small things. In 1852, when Dodge and Fond du Lac Counties were only thinly settled with new-comers, Milo J. Althouse, then a young man just starting to make his way in the world, with no resources but his own hands and his energetic will, made his first essay in the pump manufacture-a single pump planed, bored, fitted with handle, spout and bucket, and finished by his own hands, and by his own hands then set in a well. Returning from this completed job, lie commenced another, to be finished and carried to the customer before a third was entered upon. By these slow steps was first put in motion a business which has since reached across the continent, finding its principal market in a dozen States. Endeavoring always to make his work excel, Mr. Althouse soon found his business and his reputation so growing as to warrant the opening of a shop and the purchase of improved tools. In 1859, he left the little shop, on a farm where he had worked alone. and opened a shop in the village of Waupun, From working by hand he advanced to horse-power for running the augers, and gradually augmented the force as the demand for his work increased. In 1861, Mr. Althouse introduced steam-power, and again enlarged his shop to meet the growing business. He still carefully maintained the quality of his work, and his stamp was a synonym for the best on all work in his line. Every stick of timber used was care- fully inspected, and every piece of leather for packing was selected from the best part of first quality sides, all else being rejected and sold for scraps. The same careful selection of material has been continued throughout.

In those days, the wind sweeping overhead was undreamed of as a motive power, or at least not dreamed of in any practical way as a power applicable to the ordinary work of a farmer; but, about 1860, the first windmills, with partially self-regulating devices, were introduced in the Northwest. Their progress was slow for years ; the devices themselves were imperfect. Those who now find such a machine a necessity were not then educated to the knowledge of the benefits to be derived from its use ; and the large stock and dairy interests of Wisconsin, which now more than ever before make this machine necessary, were then comparatively in infancy. But. ten years ago, Mr. Althouse foresaw the growing future of this power, and its intimate connec- tion with the pump business, and made arrangements for manufacturing one of the best wind- mills then invented. In 1873, Messrs. George and Albert Raymond having their attention called to the matter, commenced experimenting with wind-engines, and, in February, 1874, in connection with Mr. Althouse, patented the Althouse & Raymond Windmill. which, with some later modifications, is now known through Wisconsin and the Northwest as the " Althouse Vaneless Windmill," and enjoys the reputation of being the most perfect self-regulating wind-engine yet invented. In the following spring, Hon. George F. Wheeler and L. D. Hinkley became asso- ciated with Mr. Althouse, under the firm name of Althouse, Wheeler & Co. Since that time, the business has been carried on by the firm, and their trade has extended from Massachusetts to California, and from Canada to Florida and Texas, within the Union, and still further on the west, has reached the Australian fields, and, in the Far East, the winds which ripple the old Euphrates propel the sails of their engines.

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 106

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1082

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1082