The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 122

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

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JAMES H. FARNSWORTH, Secretary of the La Belle Wagon Works ; is a native of St. Charles, Ill., where he was born in 1839 ; his parents soon afterward moved to Raeine, Wis., where they lived till James was about 8 years old, when in 1848 they came to Fond du Lac; in 1868 he became a partner in the firm of Farnsworth, Knapp & Co, wholesale and retail hardware merchants ; then the largest wholesale house in the State outside of Milwaukee ; in 1873 he disposed of his interest in the hard- ware trade, and in 1874 became business manager of the La Belle Wagon Works, in which capacity he served till 1879 when it became a stock company and he was chosen Secretary for the company. In Feb- ruary, 1868, he married Miss Aurelia S. Ingram, niece of Dr. Darling, of Fond du Lac; they have three children-Dana A., born Nov. 29, 1871 ; Claire, born April 1, 1875 ; Annie, born Dec. 29, 1877. Mr. F. and wife are members of the Congregational Church. Mr. F. has been a Mason for a number of years. Mr. Farnsworth has been connected with the La Belle Wagon Works since its origin ; he was one of the originators of the works which are now so well known throughout this country.

WILLIAM FARNSWORTH, (deceased); was born in Groton, Mass., Oct. 23, 1819; received his edneation at the Seminary of Groton by the time he reached his 15th year; in 1834, he with his parents moved to St. Charles, Ill .; he desired to learn the cooper's trade, and his father agreed to give him his time and all he could earn from that time on; before he reached his 21 year he had saved $300 from his earnings, but the company failed and caused him so much trouble in getting his hard- earned savings that he firmly resolved that in after life he would make. his living with his brains rather than his hands, which resolution he faithfully kept; in 1840 he with his parents moved to Raeine, Wis .; whenee in 1848 he came to Fond du Lac, landing here with only $5 in his pocket to meet his expenses till he could find a way by which he could replenish his much-reduced purse ; his first business after settling here was with his father in the manufacture of grain cradles, which he continued till 1854, when he established the wholesale and retail hardware store ; in the same year he took Mr. Isaac Sherwood in as a partner when the firm was known and existed till 1868 as Farnsworth & Sherwood, hardware merchants ; in 1868 James H. Farnsworth and William H. Knapp purchased Mr. Sherwood's interest, and the firm was then known as Farnsworth, Knapp & Co .; in 1868, under the name of Farnsworth, Knapp & Co., the La Belle Wagon Works were established, Mr. Farnsworth being the prime mover in the establishment, and the most active and energetic man connected with the works till 1873, when the business changed hands, though he continued an interest in the business till 1876 ; in June, 1877, he went to Colorado and was there interested in the sale of wagons and lumber till his health suddenly failed him and he was com- pelled to return to his home at Fond du Lac, shortly after which he died, Sept. 3, 1878. In 1852, he mar- ried Miss Mary Edgerton, sixth daughter of Dr. J. Edgerton, of Fond du Lac, whom he left a widow with three children-Cara, M. Antoinette and Emma. Mr. Farnsworth was one of those enterprising and public-spirited men to whom much credit is due for the establishment of some of the most beneficial indus- tries of which Fond du Lac to-day is so justly proud.

HON. JAMES FITZGERALD, was born in County Cork, Ireland, April 13, 1817 ; came to Boston April 20, 1848; resided in the town of Randolph, Mass., six years; arrived at Fond du . Lac July 12, 1854, and began the business of shoemaker, which he has followed for over fifty years. Mr. F. has taken an active part in politics ; served as Alderman of the Fourth Ward, and was a member of the Assembly for the city of Fond du Lac in 1878. He was married in Boston, Aug. 5, 1849, to Johanna Berry, born in county Cork, Ireland. They have five children-William, James, John, Thomas, Edmund and Johanna.

FRANK A. FLOWER, journalist ; was born at Cottage, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., May 11, 1854; began attending school at the age of 6, and, from that time until his edacation was finished, was never absent a whole day from his classes ; at 13, he was sent to Madame Staats' private school for Latin, French and literary students ; at 14, to the Gowanda Academy, and at 15 to the State Normal School at Fredonia, N. Y., where he took a classical course. His first contributions to the press appeared, under a fictitious name, simultaneously in the New York Tribune and Ellieottsville Union, in 1867. From that time he has written continuously for the leading newspapers and periodicals. At 18, he was engaged for one year as reporter and traveling correspondent for the Fredonia (N. Y. ) Advertiser and Union. At 19, he was engaged as Principal of the school at Perrysburg, which position was retained until he came to Fond du Lac in November. 1874. At school, he was chosen editor of the Zetesian and the Sans Souci. He wrote several dramas, which were successfully put upon the stage, and numerous stories, while carrying three extra studies in school. At the gra Inating exercises at the State Normal School, after delivering his oration on " Hogs Amongst Kings, or Kings Amongst Hogs," he was requested to elaborate and deliver it as a lecture for the benefit of the Public Library of Sinclairville, which he did to a full house. This earned for him the title of " boy lecturer," and this oration, or " lecture," was delivered

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twenty times during that winter in Erie, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua Cos. After arriving in Wis- consin, Mr. F. engaged to deliver the same lecture in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but, being taken severely ill, only filled two engagements-at Eureka and Winneconne, Wis. During the winter of 1874-75, he did his first newspaper work in Wisconsin upon the Ripon Commonwealth, which he left in the early spring of 1875, to read law with Coleman & Spence. May 1 of that year, he engaged as local editor of the Fond du Lac Saturday Reporter, continuing in that capacity until the paper changed hands, after which he was employed upon the Milwaukee News. Connection with that paper was severed in the fall, and Mr. F. took the " stump " with Congressman Charles G. Williams, Hons. E. C. McFetridge, Satterlee Clark and Quartus H. Barron against the re-election of William R. Taylor for Governor, his first speech being at Waupun. Immediately after the State election of 1876, he went to Towa, where be taught school one term at Mitchell, returning to Fond du Lac March 1, 1877, to become associate editor of the Daily Commonwealth, which position he held, performing most of the necessary editorial labors, until Nov. 8, 1879, when he resigned on account of ill health, and to accept literary labors of a less exacting nature. Mr. Flower was married at Ripon, Dec. 22, 1875, to Miss Nettie E. Appleby, born in Green Lake Co., Wis., April 20, 1854. He never has used tobacco in any form, played a game for money. or used liquor as a beverage. In 1874. he was awarded the cash prize by the National Butter and Egg Association, which was paid by Daniel W. Dake of Beloit, Wis., for an illustrated pamphlet on the manufacture of butter and cheese.

CHARLES W. FLOWER, dealer in books and stationery ; was born in Middlebury, Vt., Dec. 22, 1842 ; lived several years in Montreal, Canada ; came to Fond du Lac in 1864, and engaged in the lumbering business ; in 1871. he began his present business. Married at Chicago, Jan. 18, 1870, to Frances E. Arnett, of Chicago ; they have one child-William Arnett Flower, born in April, 1874. Mr. Flower's only brother, Aaron Parker Flower, is a hardware merchant at Spring Valley, Minn.

EDWARD FLYNN was born in County Waterford, Ireland, in 1832; his parents, William and Honora ( Corcoran ) Flynn, were also natives of that county; he came to America in 1853, and stopped in Massachusetts for three years; in 1856, he came to this city, where he has since lived ; he now owns a house and Jot on corner of Rees street. He was married to Catherine, daughter of Joseph and Julia Lynch, nee Foly, also natives of County Waterford, Ireland ; their children are John, Hanora, Will- iam, Ellen, Patrick, Mary, Julia, Edward, Joanna, Margaret. The family are members of St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

E. F. FORD, paper dealer ; was born at East Livermore, Me., March 14, 1840, where he resided until 1852, when he moved to Massachusetts, after which, Aug. 15, 1854, he came with his father to Fond du Lac; after 1858 he was the traveling representative of a confectionery establishment at Mil- waukee for nine years, three years thereafter, represented a wholesale grocery house, and, in 1877, began dealing in paper, bags, twine, etc., at Fond du Lac. Mr. F. was married, Sept. 23, 1863, to Maggie Dew- rose, who was born near Pittsburgh, Penn .; they have one child-Nellie E. Mr. Ford's father, Luther L. Ford, died at Fond du Lac in 1872.

FRANK N. FOX, dealer in hats, caps, ladies' fine furs, gents' furnishing goods, sachels, valises, etc .; born in Prussia Nov. 4, 1842; came to Milwaukee with his parents in June, 1854. In August, 1865, he enlisted in Co. C., 24th W. V. I .; served until June 28. 1865, when he was mustered out at Milwaukee ; during his service, he was detailed to do provost-marshal duty at Gen. Sheridan's headquarters for about nine months. Came to Fond du Lac in August, 1865; commenced business here Aug. 25, 1865 ; learned the trade of hatter and furrier in Milwaukee ; commenced work at his trade in 1858; Mr. Fox is a member of the Turner Society, I. O. O. F., and A., F. & A. M. Married, in Fond du Lac, to Miss Mary Altpass, Aug. 20, 1867 ; they have two children-Frank E. and Edwin F.

JOHN FRANCIS was born in Cornwall, England, July 17, 1834; came to Canada in 1854; to Portage City in 1857. where he resided one year, and to Fond du Lac, June 28, 1858, engaging for two and a half years in the livery business, since which time he has been in the hardware trade ; he first began this business with S. E. Lefferts, and has been with him and his successor twenty years. Mr. F. was married in the town of Ashford, Fond du Lac Co., April 25, 1861. to Mrs. Sophronia Harris, born near Cornwall, Canada, Dec. 19. 1833 ; she is a daughter of Elizabeth Hitsman, who came to Fond du Lac Co. in 1845.

EDWIN C. FRENCH ( deceased ), was a native of Cornwall, county of Stormont, Can .; born May 5, 1817 ; he received a common-school education in his native county, and early in life began to earn his own living by clerking in a dry-goods store ; later, he became interested in public works, as follows : Beauharnois, Lachine and St. Ann's Locks; the Northern Railroad, of New York; the Bytown & Prex- .cott, now called the Ottawa and St. Lawrence, of Ontario ; the Union Canal, of Pennsylvania, and several

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railroads of Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The last few years of his life were devoted to. the manufacture of gas and building of railroad bridges ; having thus spent most of his life in public enter- prises, which shall be of lasting benefit to those who may come after him, he died at his home in Fond du Lac June 30, 1876; he was a man of an active and acquisitive disposition, and by his publie spirit, enter- prise and industry, he acquired a reasonable portion of this world's goods as the fruits of his honest toil. Nov. 21, 1848, he was married to Miss Margaret, daughter of Daniel and Esther Me Arthur, of Montreal, Can., by whom he had five daughters-Esther A. (the late Mrs. G. P. Knowles), Catherine ( now Mrs. G. I'. Knowles, of Fond du Lac), Josephine, Jeuwie and Jessie M. The family are members of the Epis- copal Church.

CHARLES L. FREDERICKK, attorney, was born in Eldorado, Fond du Lac Co., in 1853; son of Charles W. and Louise D. Frederick, who were early settlers of the town ; attended the Fond du Lac High School and Commercial College ; was in the Register's office two years ; studied law with Cole- man & Spence, after which he entered the Michigan University, graduating in the law and literary depart- ments in 1876, being then admitted to the bar of the Circuit and Supreme Courts of Michigan ; he was admitted to the bar in Wisconsin the same year, since which time he has been in the practice of his pro- fession.

JACOB FREY, of the firm of J. & C. Frey, grain-dealers and brewers; was born in Germany in 1824; came to Milwaukee in August, 1848, and in May, 1849, he, with his brother Charles, began the brewery business here in the summer of 1849, and have since continued the business; in 1866, they purchased an elevator, having capacity of 30,000 bushels, and have since been engaged in buying grain in connection with their brewery establishment. Mr. Jacob Frey married Miss Dora Newkirk, of Milwaukee, in 1850, she being a native of Germany also ; they have three children-Amelia, Frank and Anna. Mr. Frey was a charter member of the first Odd Fellows' lodge organized at Fond du Lac.

CHARLES FREY, partner and brother of Jacob Frey; was born in Germany in 1826; came with his brother Jacob to Milwaukee in 1848, and to Fond du Lac in 1849; has always been been a partner in business, so that the history of one's business is a history of the other's also ; in 1859, he married Miss Mary Schafer, of Fond du Lac, by whom he has three children-Charles, Julia and Johanna. Messrs. J. & C. Frey are now the oldest German residents in the city of Fond du Lac, the few who came prior to them having died or moved away.

RUDOLPH FRITZKE. Principal of German Lutheran School ; was born in Prussia Oct. 7, 1849 ; came to America in 1867 and settled at Milwaukee, Wis .; he was educated at Du Page Semi- nary, Addison, Ill., where he entered in 1871 and graduated in 1873. soon after which he began teaching in the Lutherau school at Fond du Lac, and after his first year's work, he was made Principal of the school, which position he has since held. Ju 1874, he married Miss Emma Luseberg, of Addison, whose acquaintance he formed while there at school ; they have three children-Julia, Emma and Rosa.

JJACOB C. FUHRMAN, superintendent of J. C. Huber & Co.'s drug-mill ; was born in the town of Calumet, Fond du Lac Co., April 11, 1851 ; son of Jacob and Kate Fuhrman, now residents of that town ; Mr. F. was raised on a farm ; served an apprenticeship at wagon-making in Calumet Village ; worked at that trade three years ; went to California in 1870 ; returned after six months to Missouri, where he worked one year at his trade ; removed then to Woodville, Calumet Co., where he worked one year at his trade, and two years at farming ; in 1874, he sold out and came to Fond du Lac, where he has since been engaged in the medicine-manufacturing business, associated with J. C. Huber ; Mr. F. is one of the proprietors and Superintendent of the drug-mill. He was married at Fond du Lac April 15, 1879, to Clara L. Bischoff ; she was born in the city of Fond du Lac Ang. 22, 1856. He is a Turner and a member of Economical Lodge, K. of H.

JOHN F. M. GAERTNER, overseer of the County Poor and Insane Asylum ; was born in the province of Rhine in 1831 ; emigrated to America with his parents, John and Barbara Gaertner, reaching the town of Byron, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., Aug. 12, 1847, where he followed farming for about fourteen years, whence, in 1861, he removed to the city of Fond du Lac, where he was in the employ of J. & C. Frey, brewers, from 1862 till 1868, after which, for one year, he was interested in the grain trade with Mr. Louis Rupp, of that city ; he next was in the saloon business till September, 1877 ; Jan. 1, 1879, he was installed overseer of the County Poor and Insane Asylum, by the County Board. which office he has efficiently filled. . In January, 1855, he was married to Miss Helena, daughter of Mathias and Mary Schmidt, of the town of Lamartine; they have five children-Maggie, Mary, Bertha, Dina and Annie. Mr. Gaertner and family are members of the Catholic Church.

CHARLES NELSON GALLAND, carpenter and traveling salesman ; was born in the town of Lamartine, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., Dec. 25, 1857 ; a son of William and Mary Galland, who

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came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1841, and who are still living on Sec. 2, town of Fond dn Lae; at the age of 14, Charles N. began learning the carpenter's trade, which he has ever since followed, working winters in the MeDonald Manufacturing Co.'s shops, and traveling summers selling and setting up their machines.

CHARLES ALFRED GALLOWAY, lumber manufacturer ; was born near Lowville, Lewis Co., N. Y., in April, 1835; came to Fond du Ine in 1863, where he very soon after enlisted in the 39th W. V. I .; on his return from the army, he was employed in the lumber business with his brother, Edwin H. Galloway, now deceased, with whom he continued a few years before entering the same business for himself, which he still follows on an extensive seale, being a member of the firm of Moore & Gallo- way. Mr. Galloway has served as Allerman, Mayor, member of the Board of Supervisors, and, March 4, 1880, was appointed by President Hayes United States Collector of Revenue for the Third Wisconsin District. He was married at Sergeant's Bluffs, Iowa, in November, 1870, to_Emma A. Kennedy ; they have one child, born in September, 1871.

JAMES GAYNOR, lumbermin ; was born in Canada in 1839, and lived there till 1855, when he went to Janesville and lived one year ; in 1856, he came to Fond du Lac ; began the lumber business, rafting from Oshkosh to Fond du Lae, which he continued till 1874, since which time, he has been operating in lumber over on the Chippewa and its tributaries, where he has 7,000 acres of pine land, shipping from three to five million feet annually down the Mississippi River. Mr. Gaynor has a one-acre lot on Sheboygan street which is covered by a growth of the natural forest trees, making one of the nicest lots for a dwelling in the city of Fond du Lac. He was a member of the City Council from the Second Ward in 1875. Married Miss Mary Doherity, of Fond du Lac, in 1872 ; they have three children-Terresa, Stella and Edward J., all of whom, with their parents, are members of St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

AUGUST GEISLER, proprietor of meat market; was born in Germany in the year 1830 ; he followed farming there until 1855, then came to America and began the butcher trade in Milwaukee, whence he came to Fond du Lae in 1871. In 1855, he married Miss Ernestina Beriele, of Germany, by whom he has three children-Edward, Paulina (deceased), Amelia. He and family are members of the Lutheran Church.

HENRY J. GERPHEIDE, attorney at law ; he was born at MFinitowoe, Wis., May 5, 1853; from 1871 to 1873, he was a student at the State Normal School at Oshkosh : he then entered upon the study of law with the firm of H. G. & W. J. Turner, of' Manitowoc, and continued in their offiec until early in the year 1875; after spending a short time in Appleton, he came to Fond du Lac, loeating here in March, 1875; May 7, of the same year, he was admitted to the bar, and has continued the practice of his profession in the city ever since. In October, 1878, he married Eleanor P. Perkins, daughter of Hon. George Perkins, present County Judge of Fond du Lac Co .; she was born at Brandon, in this county ; they have one son-George H.

JOEL B. GERMOND, watchmaker ; he was born at Pleasant Valley, near Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Dec. 15, 1818; in 1839, he removed to Savannah, Ga., where he lived two years; lived one year in Philadelphia ; twenty-three years in New York City ; removed to Chicago in 1865, and to Fond du Lac in 1872. Mr. G. began the business of watchmaking in 1833, and has worked at it ever since. He was married in New York City, April 12, 1849, to Permelia Ilunt, born in that city March 23, 1828 ; they have four children-Irving Hunt, Joel Arnoux, Harry Johnson and Myra Jane.

GEORGE GIDDINGS, of the firm of De Groat & Giddings; is a native of Wisconsin, and was born in 1852; lived at Sheboygan till 14 years of age, when, with his parents, he came to Fond du Lac; was educated in the public schools of Sheboygan and Fond du Lac; followed farming till 1872; from 1872 to 1875, he worked in a flouring-mill with his father ; in 1876, became a partner of Mr. De Groat, in the firm of De Groat & Giddings, manufacturers of engines, mill machinery, ete. In 1878, he married Miss Hattie Belle Hunter, daughter of George Hunter, of Fond du Lac ; she is a member of the Episco- pal Church. Mr. Giddings has been a K. of P. since 1878.

NATHAN C. GIFFIN ; was born Oct. 18, 1833, at Hamilton, a small village seven miles south of the city of Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y .; he is the oldest son of Nathan Ford Giffin, and a lineal descendant of Simon Giffin, who, about the year 1761, was a prominent citizen of Halifax, Nova Scotia; his grandfather, David Giffin, was a native of Bennington. Vt., who, in 1800, at the age of 34 years, settled in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., on a farm in the town of Oswegatchie, six miles above Ogdensburg, where he resided for forty years; he was a captain during the war of 1812. Nathan Ford, his fourth son, in 1830, at the age of 25 years, located in Hamilton, where he still resides, having,

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by his untiring energy and strict business habits, secured a competency for his old age ; he has one daugh- ter, his firstborn, who resides in Nebraska, and his six living sons (one died at the age of 16 years ) are all married and well settled in life; two are lawyers, one a physician, one a merchant, one a teacher and one is a farmer. Dr. L. W. Giffin, the youngest of the family, is a resident of this State and at present located at Menasha. Nathan C. Giffin, the subject of this sketch, was educated at the Gouverneur Wes- leyan Seminary, N. V., and Union College, of Schenectady. N. Y., at which latter institution he graduated in 1859, and at once went to New York City to finish his law studies; he was admitted to the bar in 1860 ; during the Thirty-Seventh Congress, he was Clerk of one of the United States Senate Committees. In 1862, he was marriedl to Miss Jane C. Eddy, daughter of Zephaniah Eddy, a prominent farmer of the town of Philadelphia, N. Y .; in 1863, he came to Fond du Lac with his wife and infant daughter, (where he has since resided), and opened a law office; he has held several prominent positions here ; has been a member of the Board of Education, Chairman of the First Ward, President of the Common Council, for five years, City Attorney, and for four and one-half years County Judge, and is at present one of the Directors of the Public Library, which is maintained by the city of Fond du Lac. He has four children, three daughters and one son. He, his wife and three daughters, are members of the M. E. Church, of which he is one of the Trustees. Judge Giffin is at present practicing law in the city of Fond du Lac, and O. T. Williams. a graduate of Lawrence University and a promising young lawyer, is his partner. Mrs. Giffin is well known throughout the county, and is noted for her benevolence and zeal in every good canse.

JOHN W. GILL, roadmaster of the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railroad ; was born in County Mayo, Ireland, June 24, 1838; came to America in 1849 ; resided in Syracuse, N. Y., until he came to Fond du Lac, in November, 1856; Mr. Gill has been in the employ of the Chicago & North-Western Railway Co. about twenty years, spending four years in their employ in Michigan. He was married at Neenah, Wis., to Catherine Mongan, June 6, 1864, a native of' County Roscommon, Ireland ; they have five children-Mary A., Ellen M., William J., Catherine and John C. Mr. Gill has served several terms as Alderman ; been member of the County Board, and for many years President of the St. Patrick's Benevolent Society.

COL. N. S. GILSON, attorney at law ; was born at Middlefield, Geauga Co., Ohio; he camne to Wisconsin in 1860; in September, 1861, he enlisted at West Bend, in Co. D, 12th W. V. I .; he entered the service as a private, and was promoted to be Sergeant of his company, then as Sergeant Major of his regiment ; during a portion of the year 1862, his regiment was doing duty in Missouri and Kansas; in June of that year, they joined the Army of the Tennessee at Columbus, Kentucky; a portion of the time he was with the Army of the Cumberland on detached duty ; in August, 1863, he was promoted to the first lieutenancy of Company H, 58th Regiment U. S. Colored Infantry ; he participated in the siege of Vicksburg, siege of Jackson, battle of Perryville, and other engagements ; he served as Judge Advocate of the District of Natchez, on the staff of Maj. Gen. Davidson, and in 1865-66 was Judge Advocate of the Department of Mississippi, on the staff of Maj. Gen. Osterhaus, and also on the staff of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Wood; he was mustered out of the service as Lieutenant Colonel June 12, 1866, and was brevetted Colonel of U. S. Volunteers by the President. After leaving the army, Mr. Gilson spent a year at the Albany (N. Y.) Law School, graduating in 1867; in 1868, he began the practice of his profession in the city of Fond du Lac; since that time Col. Gilson has served one term as City Attorney of Fond du Lac, and one term as District Attorney of Fond du Lac County ; he is now practicing law as a member of the firm of Gilson & Ware, at Fond du Lac.

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 122

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