The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 117

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

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SAMUEL BURTUS AMORY, retired; was born in New York City in November, 1822, where he learned the trade of a gunmaker ; previous to coming to Food du Lac, in 1849, which has since heen Mr. Amory's home and place of business, he resided five years at Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y .; the trade of gunsmith was learned by Mr. Amory because he thought every man should have a trade or pro- fession, and not for profit ; it was not necessary for him to have either to earn a living, as the Amory family were large owners of Central Park, on Manhattan or New York Island, and are still owners of a portion of it. In Fond du Lac, Mr. Amory has been largely engaged in erecting substantial business blocks and residenees, of which Amory Hall Block is the largest, and the largest in the city; he was Presi- dent of the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank ; is President of Rienzi Cemetery ; has been Alderman, and is connected with the Gravel Road Company. He was married at. Goshen, N. Y., March 16, 1816, to Frances E. Smith, a native of that place ; they have had four children-Mrs. Charles H. Benton, born at Goshen, N. Y .; Mrs. Robert J. Moore, of Lincoln, Neb., born at Goshen ; Mrs. J. A. Merryman, born at Goshed, died June 18, 1879, and a daughter born in Fond du Lae, who lives at home.

CHARLES BAILEY was born at Windsor, Berkshire Co., England, Aug. 11, 1838; son of George Bailey, a native of Old Windsor, England, Parish Teacher and Poor Commissioner, and, fif- teen years prior to his death, which occurred March, 1856, was Register of Births. Marriages and Deaths ; George Bailey left seven children-Ann, now Mrs. R. W. Baldwin, of Hotwells, Bristol, England ; Will- iam Henry, a resident of London; Louisa Martha, wife of George de Hochepied Larpent, who died in 1856 ; George, a resident of Croydon. England ; Emily E., now Mrs. Alfred Jenkins, Brighton, England : Elizabeth ( deceased ) ; Frederick (deceased ), and Charles. Charles Bailey came to Fond du Lac in May, 1858; was employed one year in the C. & N. W. car-shops, and, losing his fingers, was compelled to change

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his business, and began the manufacture of spruce beer ; he served five years' apprenticeship in London as brass finisher and gas-fitter. He was married, at Old Windsor Church, Berkshire, England, July 17, 1857, to Catherine Beech Audley, born in Staffordshire, England a daughter of Dr. John Beech Andley ; they have one child-George Alfred, born July 17, 1861, and have lost two infants ; George Alfred is station agent, telegraph operator and express agent at Elkhart Lake ; Mrs. Bailey's brothers and sisters are James, William, Ann and Ellen, all deceased ; Catherine, Emma, Hannah, Elizabeth, John, Mary, Thomas and George, now living ; Ellen was the wife of John Long, Eaton, Buckinghamshire, England.

DAVID BABCOCK, attorney, was born at Utiea, N. Y., Jan. 4, 1835 ; moved to Chicago in June, 1855, and thehice to Waupun, Wis., in the fall of the same year ; the next year, 1856, he went to Milwaukee, where he resided until 1858. when he came to Fond du Lac, where he has since resided. He enlisted, at the first call for three-months men, in Co. I, 1st W. V. I. In 1860, Mr. Babcock was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court ; was re-elected, serving until Jan. 1, 1865, after which he began the practice of the law, which he has since followed.

ROBERT A. BAKER, banker, came to Fond du Lac in 1844; purchased property here at that time, but did not locate here until the spring of 1851 ; commenced banking in this city in the spring of 1854, and has continued in the same business ever since; he is at the present time President of the Mihills Manufacturing Company.

DR. C. W. BARNES, denti-t, was born at Colosse, Oswego Co., N. Y., Oct. 18. 1840 ; went with his father, Lorenzo D. Barnes, to Green Co., Wis., in 1845, where he remained until 1853. when he moved to Mount Pleasant, working upon a farm ; in August 31, 1861, he enlisted in the 5th W. V. Bat., in which he served three years, participating in all the battles in which his battery was engaged ; he was mustered out as Gun Sergeant Ost. 1, 1864 ; after leaving the army he was a pupil in the office of M. B. Johnson, at Janesville, two and a half years, after which he took a complete course in the Ohio Col- lege of Dental Surgery, from which he graduated March 4, 1869, coming to Fond du Lac in August, 1869. Doctor Barnes was married April 13, 1870, at Fond du Lac, to Mrs. B. L. Davis, a native of New York State ; they have one child-Mary. During 1873 and 1874, he was President of the State Dental Society ; he is a Mason, member of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Division Street M. E. Church. He is now a member of the dental firm of Barnes & Sackett.

JAMES A. BARNES, foreman in MeDonald & Stewart's sash, door and blind factory ; was born in England, in 1849; moved to Canada West with his mother in 1852, where he lived till 1865; he then moved to Janesville and began his trade with Wm. Hume, then in the manufacture of sash and blinds in that city, remaining with him till ISG8; he went to Oshkosh; where he was foreman in sash, door and blind factory for Gould & Ilume, for six years; in January, 1878, he came to Fond du Lac, where he has since been foreman in factory for MeDonald & Stewart. Married Miss Mary A. Sutton, of Osh- kosh, in 1873; they have had four children-Arthur J. (deceased), infant (not named, deceased), Edith E. (deceased ), Eva M. He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church; Mr. B. is a mem- ber of the Temple of Honor, also of the A. O. U. W. Owns a residence in Oshkosh valued at $2,000.

CHARLES B. BARTLETT, senior partner of the firm of Bartlett & Carstens, proprietors of meat market, was born in Ellicottsville, N. Y., in 1836, whence he came to Fond du Lac, in 1855, and engaged in farming for two years ; disposing of his farm in 1857, he became the partner of Mr. Van Dresor, in the butcher trade, where he continued till 1863, when, by mutual consent, the firm was dis- solved. Mr. Bartlett soon began the business again, of which he was sole proprietor till 1869. when a copartnership was formed with Mr. T. J. Wood ; in 1871, Mr. Carstens took the place of Mr. Wood, and the firm has since been known as Bartlett & Carstens. Mr. Bartlett has been variously connected with the city and county offices, being a member of the City Council from the First Ward in 1874, member of School Board in 1877, and Superintendent of the County Poor in 1878 and 1879.

WILLIAM B. BEACH, farmer, P. O. Foud du Lac ; is a son of Silas and' Olive' Beach ; born Sept. 11, 1817, in Westford, Chittenden Co., Vt .; he received his early education in the public schools of his native county, after which he attended select school for a short time ; he was principally engaged in farming till his 22d year, when he was employed to drive a peddling wagon for a paper manu- facturing company, continuing this for nearly four years ; he was next a farmer for about the same length of time ; from 1838 to 1840, he was in the employ of Bradley, Page & Co., who were interested in the building of the Rutland & Burlington Railroad, of Vermont ; for the next two years he was in the employ of Bradley & Canfield, on a line of boats from New York City to Like Champlain; in 1853, he removed to Illinois, where, for two and a half years, he was employed in the construction of the North-Western Railway, from Chicago to Woodstock, Ill .; in 1855, he removed to Fond du Lac, Wis., and began work for Butler & Co., lumber dealers, with whom he continued till Mr. Mitchell purchased Mr. Butler's interest

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and took in Mr. R. M. Lewis as partner, with whom Mr. Beach remained for some time ; he was next in the employ of I. K. & W. C. Hamilton, Inmber dealers, for two and a half years ; in 1860, he began farming, which he has since followed in this county ; in 1873, he bought his present farm of 30 aeres in Sec. 20, town of Fond du Lac. In August, 1857, he married Miss Celinda, daughter of Elijah and Anna Shepard, of Fond du Lac. His wife is a member of the M. E. Church.

F. H. BECHAUD, brewer ; was born in Bavaria Jan. 19, 1848, and came, with his parents, J. B. and Mary Josephina Bechaud, to Buffalo, N. Y., in 1852, where they lived for a time until coming to Fond du Lac; he engaged in farming until starting in the brewing business in 1871, under the firm name of A. G. Bechaud & Bros. He was married, at Fond du Lac, Oct. 1, 1876, to Anna Abel; they have two children-Cora A., and Laura. Mr. B. is a member of the Sons of Hermann.

JOHN B. BECHAUD, of the firm of A. G. Bechaud & Bros., proprietors of brewery on La Salle street ; was born in Bavaria in 1846, and is the son of John P. and Mary J. Bechand, with whom he came to America in 1852, and settled in the city of Fond du Lac, Wis., where his father died in September, 1877 ; in 1873, he, with his brothers, established the brewery on La Salle street, of which they have since been proprietors, and now do an extensive business in their line. In 1874, he was mar- ried to Miss Mary, daughter of Mathias and Elizabeth Kreamer, of the town of Taycheedah ; their children are Josephine, lda, Walter, Rudolph. They are members of the Catholic Church.

WILLIAM BEERS, pattern-maker for C. J. L. Meyer; was horn in Bristol, England, in 1829, and came with his father, William Beers, to America when 10 years old ; they settled at Syracuse. N. Y., where he afterward learned the carpenter and joiner's trade ; in 1855 he removed to Janesville, Wis., and in 1860 came to the city of Fond du Lac, where he worked in the railroad car-shop for 12 years ; in the spring of 1879 he began in the pattern-room for Mr. Meyer, where he has since been employed. In 1850 he was married to Mary, a daughter of Abram Beers, of N. Y .; their children are Julia, now the wife of A. T. Stewart, and lives in Minnesota; Ada, now Mrs. William Gove, and lives in Minnesota ; Robert C., who died in March. 1878; Ella, unmarried and lives in Minnesota ; Edwin, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Beers are members of the M. E. Church.

EDWARD BEESON, editor and publisher ; the oldest editor in Fond du Lac Co. or the State of Wisconsin ; was born in Columbiana Co., Ohio, in July, 1815. and came to Fond du Lac Co., locating on Sec. 32, town of Fond du Lac, in May, 1842; he engaged in farmning for over four years, after which, in 18.46, he came to Fond du Lac Village and purchased an interest in the Journal, which had just been established by Henning & Hooker, and has continued in the newspaper business, with one or two short intervals ever since-thirty-four years; his last venture was establishing, in 1879, the Wisconsin Farmer, at Fond du Lac, which immediately attained success. Mr. Beeson went to Europe with his wife and daughter, Abbie Beeson Carrington, in August, 1877, returning in August, 1879; most of his time abroad was spent in Italy, where he was correspondent for the Chicago Times, and for the papers at Fon 1 du Lac. He has held several offices, being County Treasurer two terms, Alderman several times and a member of the County Board. Mr. Beeson first published a paper called the Democratic Watchman during Andrew Jackson's second Administration, at Beaver, Penn., where he learned his trade in 1832; he remained at Beaver until 1835, when he made a journey to Wisconsin, passing over Fond du Lac before there was a person living in it, but returned within a year. Although 65 years of age, Mr. Beeson puts in a full day's work every day in the mechanical and editorial management of his paper, the Farmer.

NEIL C. BELL, Sheriff of Fond du Lac Co., was born in the town of Brock, Victoria Co., Canada West, March 22, 1838, whence he came, with his father, John Bell, a native of Scotland. to Eldorado, June 1, 1849, where he was engaged in farming until the rebellion. He enlisted in Co. A, 2d W. V. C., Oct. 17, 1861, in which he served three years, re-enlisting in the same company, and serving until the fall of 1865 ; some of the time he was on detached duty in the Provost Marshal's office at Vicks. burg, and with Capt. Gray, at Raleigh, N. C. Mr. Bell was Under Sheriff during 1878 and 1879; Town Treasurer of Eldorado three years in succession ; and elected Sheriff on the Republican ticket by a large majority in November, 1879. He was married, at Eldorado, to Marcia C. Wilbur, a native of Wisconsin ; they have three children-Earl J., Neil J. and Ethel. Mr. Bell's father resides in Marinette, Wis.

CHARLES H. BENTON, fifth son of Daniel S. Benton, was born at New York Dec. 31, 1840 ; he came with his father to Geneva, Wis., in 1843, where he lived until 14 years of age, going to school most of the time; in 1854, he came to Fond du Lac, where he lived with an elder brother, going to school but spending all his spare time in the office of the Fountain City Herald, learning the print- er's trade. At the breaking-out of the rebellion he at once enlisted as a private soldier in Co. K, 1st W. V. I., forthree years ; he was in the battles of Chaplin Hill, Stone River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and the capture of Atlanta ; when mustered out,

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Oct. 13, 1864, Mr. Benton was Brigade Quartermaster ; he purchased an interest in the Fond du Lac Commonwealth, and became its local editor, which position he left at the end of six months, to enter into the storage and commission business at Chattanooga, Ga .. where he remained three years. He was mar- ried to Miss Francis E. Amory, of Fond du Lac, and returned to that city in 1869, and soon after entered the hardware business, in which he still continues, as a member of the firm of C. H. Benton & Co., who are among the heaviest hardware dealers in this portion of the State. In all matters of public interest or improvement Mr. Benton always takes a leading and active part. He is a self-made man.

CORNELIUS. A. BEVIER is a native of Ulster Co .. N. Y .; born in 1820 ; is a son of Johannis and Elizabeth Bevier ; in 1843 or 1844, he, with two other brothers, removed to Aurora, Kane Co., Ill., where he engaged in farming for about two and one-half years, whence, in 1846, he came to Fond du Lac Co., and purchased a farm of 120 acres in the town of Byron, on which he made his home for fifteen years ; in 1861, he sold that farm and bought another, his present one, of forty acres in See. 8, town of Fond du Lac; probable value, $100 per acre. He married Miss Laura A., daughter of Willis and Laura Wilder, nee Huston, of Middlebury, Vt., in 1865. They are members of the Presbyterian Church.

ANDREW J. BIRDSALL, farmer ; is the son of Amos Birdsall, a coaster, and Martha Headley, natives of New Jersey ; his father having a vessel burned in the last war with England ; Andrew spent much of his early life with his older brothers, who were coasters from New York City to Carolina ; in 1844 he came to Wisconsin and made his home in Milwaukee, where he was dealing in real estate and engaged in sailing from that city to Michigan for about ten years ; in 1845, he walked from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac and bought 160 acres of land-the northwest quarter of See. 9, town of Fond du Lac-to which he moved in 1855, built a house and made other improvements; he has an artesian well which affords ten gallons of medical water per minute; the well is 220 feet deep.

L. A. BISHOP, M. D., was born in the town of Eden, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., Aug. 24. 1846; he attended the district schools until 13 years of age, and then attended the Grammar and High Schools of Fond du Lac; while attending school he studied medicine with Dr. T. J. Patchen, one of the ohlest established physicians of the city ; Feb. 25, 1870, Dr. Bishop graduated with high honors, deliv- ering the valedictory address of his class, at Hahnemann College, Chicago; about the same time he received a diploma from the Chicago Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Bishop returned to Fond du Lae and immediately began the practice of his profession with Dr. Patchen, whose daughter, Cynthia, he mar .. ried ; Dr. Bishop now has the entire practice of the old firm of Patchen & Bishop, which is large ; in 1879, he erected, on Marr street, the finest physician's office in Fond du Lac, equipped for all operations upon the eye aud ear as well as for ordinary practice.

EDWARD BISSELL, attorney at law ; is a uative of Litchfield, Conn., where be was born in 1828, and spent most of his early life ; he completed his collegiate course at Yale in 1851, after which he entered the Law Department of, the same institution, and graduated in 1853; he began the practice of law in his native town with his cousin. who was an established lawyer of that place ; a young man of pride and' energy, he was not content to plod slowly along by trying to compete with the old established attorneys of his town, but sought a more lucrative practice and honor at the bar in the then Far West ; in 1854, he came to Fond du Lac, opened an office and began the practice of law in the courts of this and adjoining counties; his merits and judgment of law were appreciated by the citizens of Fond du Lac, and in 1858, they elected him Justice, which office he filled with credit and honor to himself for nine years, when, in 1867, they elected him Police Justice for two years; still reflecting such credit upon the official positions to which he had been elected, he was again called in 1870 to another and higher position for four years, that of Municipal Judge ; not yet willing to relinquish their claims upon his judgment on points of- law at the expiration of his term as Municipal Judge, they again elected him Justice for two years, his last term expiring in the spring of 1877; having thus spent seventeen years of his life in the judicial service of his fellow-citizens, he resumed the practice of law in 1878; in 1854, he married Miss Elizabeth Hazen, of New Haven. Conn. ; they have had two children-Edward H., jeweler at Redwood Falls, and Mary E., deceased. He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church.

ALBERT C. BLANKENBURG. furniture dealer, was born at Fond du hae, Wis., Dec. 28, 1852, where he has been engaged in the furniture business twelve years, beginning for himself, being successor to his father's large trade, in April, 1878. Mr. Blankenburg was married, Ang. 5, 1875, at Lake Mills, Wis., to Emily Wegeman, who was born at that place. He is a member of the Knights of Honor.

C. BLANKENBURG, furniture dealer; born near Berlin, Prussia, June 11, 1824; came to America, landing in New York May 6, 1844, where he remained until December, when he came to Fond

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du Lac ; in January, 1859, he began the furniture business, which he has continued ever since, being the oldest dealer in furniture in this city ; he was married at Fond du Lac, Sept. 21, 1851, to Augusta Zicke- rich, a native of Prussia, who came to Fond du Lac in 1848; they have six children-Albert C., Ferdi- nand, Othelia, Minnie, Ellen and Charles. Mr. B., who was one of its organizers, and his wife, are mem- bers of the German Evangelical Church.

FERDINAND BLANKENBURG, proprietor of drug and grocery store on Fourth street ; is a son of C. Blankenburg, furniture dealer of Fond du Lac, born in November, 1855; was edu- cated in the public schools and business college of this city ; he was engaged in the furniture store with his father from the time he finished school till 1874, when he began the drug business with Mr. J. C. Huber, where he remained as clerk till January, 1879, at which time he began the drug and grocery business for himself. In August. 1879, he married Miss Emma DeHaas, daughter of Carl Dellaas, editor of the Northwestlicher Courier.

EDMUND BLEWETT, County Clerk; was born at Roxbury, Conn., Feb. 25, 1849, and came with his father, Thos. Blewett, to Eldorado in 1855, and engaged in farming, which vocation he followed until elected County Clerk on the Democratic ticket in November, 1876; since that time, he has resided in the city of Fond du Lac, being re-elected to the same office in November, 1878. He was married to Margaret, daughter of James Casey, of Fond du Lac, Oct. 12, 1872 ; they have two children -Edmund R., and . Robert Lawrence.

HENRY BLOEDEL, proprietor of general merchandising store and wagon-shop, on the corner of Military and Hickory streets, also manufacturer of the Diamond Cultivator, which he makes a epecialty , was born in Hesse-Darmstadt in 1832; came to America in 1850, and in 1854 settled in the town of Herman, Sheboygan Co., Wis., where he followed the blacksmith's trade from 1854 to 1859; from 1850 to 1854, he spent in the States of New York and New Jersey ; in 1859, he came to the city of Fond du Lac, where, in 1874, he established his present business on the corner of Military and Hickory streets. In 1856, he was married to Miss !ena Maurer, a native of Germany, who died in 1865, leaving five children-Richard, William, Lena, Katie and Julius. In 1867, he was married to Mary Blocdel, a native of Germany; they have two children-Emma and Mary. Their children attend the Congrega- tional Church.

NAPOLEON BOARDMAN, civil engineer; was born on Grand Isle, an island in Lake Champlain, Jan. 31, 1825; moved to Burlington, Vt., in 1836; he began engineering on the Vermont Central Railway in IS44; in 1846, he made an exploration of the mineral regions of Lake Superior, camped on the present site of Duluth, then occupied by a solitary Indian wigwam ; he coasted along the south shore to Brule River, then struck through the wilderness to Chippewa Falls, where he secured a bark canoe, with which he descended the Chippewa and Mississippi Rivers to Galena, a distance of about 800 miles ; thence continued the journey in a " prairie schooner " to Chicago; he crossed Lake Michigan to St. Joseph, then took the stage to Kalamazoo, from where he rode to Detroit, the headquarters of the Amer- ican Exploring and Mining Co., on the Michigan Central Railroad, and reported the results of the explo- ration ; late that fall he returned to Vermont and to Norwich University, in which he finished a collegiate course. Mr. Boardman was engaged in the engineering department of the Rutland & Burlington Railway from 1847 to 1851 ; in 1852, he came to Fond du Lac. and was civil engineer on the Chicago & North- Western Railway, with which he was connected until enlisting as First Lientenant in the 2d W. V. C. in September. 1861 ; Mr. B. was detailed as Chief of Ordinance on the staff of' Gen. Brown ; was in the same capacity with Gens. Herron and Totten, and Assistant Chief of Ordinance with Gens. Schofield and Rosecranz; he was then promoted to Captain of Battery M, 2d Mo. L. A .; after participating in the raid upon Gen. Price, he went to Cape Girardeau, after which he rendezvoused at Pacific Junction and Omaha in June, 1865, preparatory to entering the Indian country, with one of the United States expedi- tions for the Powder River country, which he did in 1865; his route lay up the Platte and Loup Rivers, across the Sand Hills and Bad Lands through the north end of the Black Hills; an Indian fight was participated in at the mouth of the Powder River, after which the command was ordered to Fort Reno, thence to Laramie, Fort Kearney, Fort Leavenworth, and, finally, to St. Louis, where it was mustered out Dec. 22, 1865 ; after this, he returned to Fond du Lac, where he has since resided, following his profes- sion of civil engineer ; has been chief engineer of Michigan Grand Trunk Railway, Milwaukee & La Crosse ; built part of the Air Line of the Michigan Central Railway ; was five years City Engineer of Fond du Lac, and is now chief engineer of the St. Paul Eastern Grand Trunk Railway.

LA FAYETTE BOND. Principal of First Street School ; was born in the town of Farmers- ville, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., Feb. 5, 1844. Engaged in teaching when IG years of age, and has been

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engaged in the same occupation most of the time since except several terms devoted to study at the Rush- ford Academy in his native State, having commenced teaching before completing his course at that institu- tion. Came to Fond du Lae in the spring of 1870. In September of the same year, he was appointed Principal of the Ruggles Street School in this city ; after teaching for about three years there, he became Principal of the Cotton Street Grammar School; continued there until his appointment, in 1879, to his present position. He has served for four years as Alderman of the Eighth Ward. He was married in the town of Aven, Lake Co., Ill., Dec. 25, 1876, to Sara L. Slusser ; she was born at Hainesville, Lake Co., Ill., Dec. 15, 1848. They have one child-Lyle E., bern Oct. 10, 1878. Mr. Bond is a member of the A., F. & A. M. Lodge.

WILLIAM BOND, mason ; was born near Plymouth, County Devon, England, April 13, 1830 ; came to Fond du Lac from Europe May 9, 1867, where he has since resided. Mr. B. has worked at the brick and stone mason's trade ever since he was 10 years of age, and has erected some of the best business blocks and residences in Fond du Lac, among them the French Church and the Amory's blocks of stores. His first wife, whom he married in England, and her first child, died in that country. He was married a second time, at Fond du Lac, Nov. 11, 1868, to Ann Levy, born in Bohemia.

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 117

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