The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 129

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

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NEWELL NIGHTINGALE. accountant and cashier in the office of C. J. L. Meyer's sash, door and blind manufactory ; is a native of Fond du Lac Co., Wis., born in 1853; received his early education in the public schools of Fond du Lac, after which he attended Douglas University, at Chicago, for nearly two years ; returning to Fond du Lac, he graduated at De Land's Commercial College in 1870 ; his first employment was in 1871 in D. C. Lamb's real-estate, abstract and insurance office; from 1872 to 1875, he was employed in Fond du Lac Paper Mill; in 1875, he became accountant and cashier for Mihills Manufacturing Company, which position he held till December, 1878; in January, 1879, he was employed by Mr. Meyer as accountant and cashier. Mr. Nightingale has been a Mason since 1876, Knight of Pythias since 1876, and is also a charter member of Royal Arcanum.

MATHIAS L. NORMAN. book-keeper in Hamilton's lumber office; was born in Norway in 1843; in 1863, he entered the Military School of Norway, graduating with the class of 1868, after which he served as sergeant in the army of that country for one year; in 1969. he came to La Crosse, Wis .; thence to Madison, where he studied civil engineering in the University of Wisconsin for four years ; In 1876, he came to Fond du Lac and was engaged in surveying the F., A. & B. R. R. for one year ; since October, 1877, he has been employed as book-keeper in the lumber othce by Mr. A. K. Hamilton. Mr. N. is a charter member of the Royal Arcanum, of Fond du Lac ; also a member of the Presbyterian Church.

STEPHEN OBERREICH, proprietor of Lewis House; was horn in Germany in 1828; came to America in 1851, and settled at Sheboygan ; from there he soon moved to Milwaukee, and fol- lowed the tinsmith's trade, which he had learned in Germany; in 1834. he returned to Sheboygan, and, in August of the same year. came to Fond du Lie, where he followed his trade till 1875, when he began keeping the Lewis llouse. In 1854, he married Miss Catharine Helmer, of Fond du Lac, she being a native of Germany also; the children are Herman, Oscar, Lewis, Ernest and Julius. Mr. Oberreich was a member of the School Board in 1870 and 1871; has been a Mason since 1865.

WILLIAM H. A. OESTERREICH, miller; was born in Prussia July 5, 1844; came to America in 1866, to Watertown, Wis., and from there to Fond du Lac; he learned milling when 14 years of age; has been seven years in the Galloway Mills. He was married, Feb. 27, 1875, to Lizzie Krumer, born in Germantown, Milwaukee Co., Wis. they have two children-Carrie May, born May 4, 1876, and Edward. born Sept. 2, 1878.

CHARLES OLM, machinist; is a sou of Charles and Caroline Olm ; born in Berlin, Prussia, in 1839; in 1856, in his native eity, he entered upon a three-years apprenticeship at his trade ; after this, for the next three years, he carried on a machinist business for himself in Harrisburg, Prussia ; then, faith- ful to his country, he joined the Prussian Army and served as a soldier for four and one-half years; in 1867, he came to Chicago, where for one year he was employed as machinist in McCormick's Reaper Manufactory ; thenee, in 1868, he removed to Fond du Lac, where he has since been in the employ of C. J. L. Meyer, as machinist, in his door, sash and blind factory ; by his careful management, industry and econ- omy. he has saved from his earnings money enough to purchase a house and lot on Main street, opposite the fair ground. In 1865, he was married to Miss Mary, daughter of Edward and Caroline Menge, of Posen, Prussia ; they have four children -Lena, Max, Oscar and Charles. Mr. and Mrs. Olm are mem- bers of the Lutheran Church.

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WARREN P. OTTARSON, joiner and carpenter ; is a native of Bradford Co., l'enn .; born in 1838; came to Wisconsin and settled at Fond du Lae in 1856, where he followed farming till 1861, when he enlisted in Co. A, 3d W. V. I .; was in the battles of Winchester and Chancellorsville, Josing in the latter a finger from his right hand; he was then sent to Carver Hospital, at Washington, D. C., whence he was transferred to the 2d Battalion, Invalid Corps, where he served the remainder of his term of enlistment. which expired in June, 1864, after which he returned to Fond du Lac, and, in November of the same year, re-enlisted in Co. B, Ist W. V. C., where he served till the close of the war; the last military act of his regiment being in a detachment to assist in the capture of Jeff Davis, which occurred at Irwinville, Ga., May 9, 1865; his regiment was mustered out of service at Edgeville, Tenn .. in 1865, when he returned to Fond du Lac and began the carpenter and joiner's trade, which he has followed most of the time since. In September, 1865, he married Miss Catherine Abbs, daughter of William E. Abbs, of Fond du Lac ; they have one daughter-Lizzie B., born in July, 1866. Mrs. Ottarson has an interest in a greenhouse, with her father, at No. 150 West Division street.

JOHN PAAS, farmer, Secs. 30, 15 and 17; P. O. Fond du Lac; a son of John and Mary Paas, of Prussia ; his father being a native of France, and his mother of Prussia ; John spent much of his boyhood at work in a small vineyard owned by his father; in 1844, he went to France, where he spent a short time at farming, then returned to his home and spent about eight months more in his father's vine- yard ; in 1847, he returned a second time to France, and continued his stay for about a year before he returned to Prussia; in 1850, he set sail for America, and landed in New York in August of that year ; thence, in September, to Oshkosh, where he spent the winter ; in the spring of 1857, he removed to the city of Fond du Lac, where he soon began keeping hotel, which he continued for about four years; in

1834, he purchased a farm of fifty acres in the town of Lamartine, which he controlled in connection with his work at the Fond du Lac House in the city ; in July. 1870, he bought the " Four Mile " House, of which he was proprietor for eight years; then changed it into a private residence, where he still makes his home. He was married to Miss Catharine, daughter of John and Anna C. Orleges, of Fond du Lac, in November, 1853, she being a native of Germany ; they have three children-John H. (now a teacher of Fond du Lac Co.), Julia (deceased ), Regina. They are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church.

CHRISTIAN F. PADE, foreman on the first floor in C. J. L. Meyer's sash, door and blind factory ; is a native of Prussia, where he was born in 1832 ; he learned the cabinet-maker's trade, which he followed there till 1852, when he emigrated to America and settled at Fond du Lac in the same year ; here he followed the carpenter and joiner's trade till 1862, when he was employed by Mr. Meyer, as foreman of the sawing and planing department of the sash, door and blind factory. In 1854 he married Miss Paulena Arns, of Fond du Lac, she being a native of Holstein, Germany, born in 1833 ; they have four children-Bertha, Herman, Henry and Minnie. The family are all members of the Lutheran Church.

SPENCER PALMER, printer; was born at Lodi, Wis., July 7, 1849; in 1850, went with his parents to Ourtown, Sheboygan Co .; lived there five years, at Cascade three years, at Dundee, in this county, two years, and then settled at Waucousta ; in 1870, Mr. P. began the printer's trade, and has fol- lowed it most of the time since, spending one year in Appleton before coming to Fond du Lac ; he is now proprietor of a job printing office on First street. He was married at Huntington, Ind., Feb. 12, 1875, to Lillie E. Varney, born in Vermont ; they have one child-Gracie E.

ARTHUR D. PARKER, superintendent of Sherry's saw-mill, also general agent for the counties of Fond du Lac, Winnebago and Sheboygan, for the sale of white bronze monuments, manufact- ured at Bridgeport, Conn., by Schuyler, Parsons, London & Co .; is a native of the East Province of Quebec, Canada, where he was born in 1836; came to Wisconsin in 1857, and settled in Washington Co., where he followed saw-milling for two years; thence he went to California in 1859; in 1867 he returned to Wisconsin and settled at Fond du Lac, where he has since been mostly engaged in lumbering and saw-milling. In 1867 he married Miss Caroline Kneeland, of Hartford, Wis .; they have three children-Charles A., Edna E. and Andrew A. Mr. Parker has been a member of the Royal Arcanum sinee Jan. 1, 1879.

FRANCIS F. PARSONS, market gardener and small-fruit grower, a sou of John and Eliza- beth Parsons; born in Bridgewater, England, March 25, 1830; in August, 1843, he, with parents, landed in New York, as immigrants to America-thence to Mackinaw, where they intended to take the boat for Racine, Wis .; the boat having left before they could reach it, they took passage on another for Green Bay, where his father purchased an Indian pony and took the trail for Fond du Lac ; here he made the acquaint- ance of Dr. Darling, by whom he was induced to make this his home; he entered 120 acres in the town of Byron, where he with his two sons immediately began building a log house ; having got the work fairly started, he left his boys to complete it while he returned to Green Bay for the rest of his family ; returning

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with them before the house was finished, they improvised things as best they could; here Francis made his home for some time; his first business was that of a local agent at Fond du Lac, for the Wisconsin Stage Company ; he next was in the employ of the American Express Company; in 1858, he bought a farm of 100 acres in the town of Byron, on which he made his home till 1863, when he removed to the city of Fond du Lac, and there kept a flour and feed store for three years; in 1865, he purchased a farm of fifteen acres in See. 10, town of Fond du Lae, joining the city limits, where he is now engaged in mnar- ket gardening and small-fruit growing. Jan. 6, 1857, he married Miss Sarah, daughter of Riley and Mary Shepard, who died in January, 1863. He was married to Miss Hattie, daughter of Johannie and Elizabeth Bevier, of Fond du Lac, in March, 1864, she being a native of Elmira, but immigrated to this State with parents in 1844; they have two sons, Harry and Frank. Mr. Parsons and wife are members of the Methodist Church. Mr. P. is a member of the I. O. O. F.

BENJAMIN STOCKTON PATTY, son of John Patty and Sarah Stockton, was born at Auburn, N. Y., Nov. 6, 1815; after completing his education at the best schools in that part of the State, he entered the employment of his father, who was the most extensive tanner in that section of the country. In that early day transportation was done by teams, and in this way he traveled through New York, Penn- sylvania and Canada, selling goods and attending to collections; later, devoting a portion of his time to farming, but still attending to his father's collections. Oct. 23, 1839, he married Susannah Y. Blythe, daughter of George Blythe and Margaret Patty, of Ithaca, N. Y. After his marriage, Mr. Patty devoted his entire time, for a number of years, to farming at Little Sodus Bay, N. Y .; in 1850, he moved into the town, and, besides the charge of two large farms, took the contract for grading the Auburn & Sodus Bay R. R., at the same time entering into the hotel business at that place-this was his first experience as a " host." In 1855, he moved to Woodstock, MeHenry Co., Ill., which was at that time the terminus of the Chicago & North-Western Ry .; there he took the Woodstock House and established its reputation as the leading hotel in Northern Illinois. In 1860, he moved still further north to Fond du Lac, Wis., at that time a place of about five thousand inhabitants. Oshkosh being then the northern terminus of the railroad ; still pursuing the hotel business, to which he found himself particularly adapted, he leased the Lewis House, which then stood on the ground now occupied by the Patty House; in 1863, he purchased the property. Four years later, the Lewis House was destroyed by fire, but before it was fairly consumed Mr. Patty had planned the erection of the finest hotel in this part of the country, and, without waiting for the embers to cool, he commenced elearing away the debris and perfecting the plans of the present Patty House, which he opened to the public June 9, 1868. He lived to enjoy this result of his labors for three years, dispensing the hospitalities of the house with that open band and genial manner which won the friendship of whoever came within his doors. Mr. Patty felt a justifiable pride in the completion of this undertaking, the result of his own efforts and enterprise, placing him as it did in the front rank of the hotel men of the Northwest. But, beyond this, he felt he had done something for the credit and benefit of Fond du Lac. Strangers coming into a place are, to a very great extent, impressed favorably or otherwise by the appearance and treatment of the hotels. This was Mr. Patty's thought, and he felt that in build- ing the Patty House he had added to the architectural attractions of the place, and had provided accom- modations that would make the town attractive to every stranger who came hither ; thus, in constructing the Patty House, he aided materially in bringing Fond du Lac into good repute, and, probably, no one enterprise was ever started and completed in this city that gave a greater impetus to the city's reputation than the eree- tion of this mammoth and imposing hostelry. He was not long permitted to enjoy the fruits of his anxious care and indomitable labors, for, on the 25th of January. 1871, he was suddenly stricken down with dropsy of the heart. and expired on the 28th, after an illness of but three days. So, after an honorable, active and useful career. he departed this life at the early age of 55, leaving behind him a host of mourning friends, a wife and three children. The family now consists of Mrs. Susannah Y. Patty, Margaret Il. (now Mrs. O. D Sickler, of Redwood Falls, Mian. ), George H. and John R. Patty-the former residing with her sons, who are still keeping the Patty House at Fond du Lac. As a man, Mr. Patty possessed, in a marked degree, those qualities which endear men to their fellows; no man in the community was more loved aud respected by all than he ; he was the friend of any one who stood in need ; his doors were always wide open to the distressed, and he gave with a generous hand to any cause that appealed to his sym- pathies ; hberal in his subscriptions and support of the various denominations of the church, he confined his generosity to no seet or creed. As a citizen, neighbor, friend, husband and father he richly won this proudest epitaph : " Take him for all in all, he was a man."

GEORGE H. PATTY, of the firm of Patty Bros., proprietors of the Patty House ; was born at Sodus Bay, Caynga Co., N. Y., Oct. 9, 1844; son of Benjamin S. Patty, who built the present Patty House ; he came to Foud du Lac in 1860; was iu the hotel business with his father for some years ;

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proprietor of a livery stable three years prior to 1871 ; and in August, 1873, became one of the proprietors of the Patty House. He was married at Fond du Lac, March, 1872, to Kate Seaver, a native of Janes- ville, Wis .; they have one daughter, Alice.

ANDREW PAYNE, livery stable proprietor ; was born in Warminster, England, Feb. 11, 1815 ; came to America, to Prescott, Canada, in 1828; he was engaged in sailing upon the lakes fourteen years ; was master of a vessel two years ; came to Sheboygan, Wis., in 1846, where he engaged in the grocery business ; lived next at Sheboygan Falls two years, and then came to Fond du Lac in 1861, and engaged in the livery business; Mr. P. is the oldest man in that business in the city; he started a trunk factory in 1867, which he sold to D. C. Lang in 1874. He was married in Gibbsville, Sheboygan Co., Feb. 25, 1847, to Maria Johnson, a native of New York.

A. T. PERKINS, of the firm of Perkins & Clement, proprietors of the Fond du Lac Spring- Wagon Co .; was born at Delts' Mills, Jefferson Co., N. Y., in 1839; came to Fond du Lac in 1856, and clerked in a grocery store for two years ; he then went into the bakery and confectionery business under the name of Perkins & Morrison, which continued for three years, when he bought out Mr. Morrison and continued the business alone till 1865 ; disposing of his bakery business, he next ran a transfer line in the city till 1874; he then became a member of the present firm. In 1862, he married Miss Lizzie Dew- rose, daughter of Charles Dewrose, a farmer of Omro, Winnebago Co., Wis .; she died in 1864, leaving one son, Charles. Oct. 15, 1-68, he married Miss Jemima Lewis, daughter of William Lewis, molder, of Oshkosh ; they have one child, Hattie. Mr. P. has been a Mason since 1864. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church.

HON. GEORGE PERKINS, County Judge ; was born at Montrose, Susquehanna Co., Penn., May 8, 1820, whence he removed to Luzerne Co. in that State, and to Ripon, Wis., in 1855 ; the next year he entered the mercantile business at Brandon, Wis., but returned to Ripon in 1858, where he practiced law until he enlisted in Co. B, 41st W. V. I., in the spring of 1864, as Second Lieutenant ; he was mustered ont as such ; he returned to Ripon, and in 1864 was elected District Attorney ; he then removed to Fond du Lac, where he has since resided, holding the office of District Attorney six years ; City Comptroller one year, and County Judge since 1877. He was married in Connecticut to Abby Per- kins, a native of that State, by whom he had three children-Eleanor P., now Mrs. Il. J. Gerpheide, and two who are deceased. lle was married'a second time, June, 1870, at Windham, Conn., to Emeline Larrabee, a native of' that place ; they have three children-George B., Fannie G. and Jed B. While at Ripon, Judge P. was City Clerk one term, and is now Trustee of the Fond du Lac Public Library.

JAMES B. PERRY, bank cashier ; was born at Green Bay, Wis., Ang. 25, 1835, and came, with his parents, Nathaniel and Margaret Perry, to Taycheedah in 1842 : at the age of 14, Mr. P. entered the Register's office, in which he remained six years, being deputy several years; in May, 1855, he became connected with the Bank of the Northwest, in which he was book-keeper, teller, assistant cashier and cashier, continuing with the concern when it was re-organized into the present First National Bank, and in which he has been cashier since 1866 and Director since 1875. Mr. Perry is one of the most active members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, in which he has been Senior Warden ten year's, and is now the Treasurer of the Diocese of Fond du Lac. He was married, at Fond du Lac, Sept. 26, 1864, to Clara N., daughter of Win. and P. N. Carey ; they have two boys, aged, respectively, 13 and 7 years.

JOHN CLITZ PERRY was born at Green Bay, Wis., April 10, 183] ; lived there with his father. Nathaniel Perry, until 1837, when the family moved to Winnebago Rapids, now Neenah; in 1842, Mr. Perry moved to Taycheedah, Fond du Lac Co., where he kept hotel and resided until his death in 1850. Mrs. Perry, J. C.'s mother, died two weeks after the burial of her husband. J. C. Perry began clerking in a store at Neenah in 1848, where he remained until 1860. In November, 1861, he enlisted in Co. K., 11th W. V. T., and served three and one-half years in that regiment, most of the time in detached service; from July, 1862, he was in the Brigade Quartermaster's department ; after being mustered out in 1865, Mr. Perry returned to Neenah, but, soon after, returned to Louisville, Ky., and remained four months in the Quartermaster's department; in the fall of 1866, engaged in the banking business with Rudolph Ebert, at Fond du Lac, establishing the German American Savings Bank ; in Jan- uary, 1880, Mr. Perry severed his connection with this bank and entered the First National Bank of Fond du Lac, as correspondent. He was married, June 22, 1856, at Neenah, to Miss Susan A. Jones; they have three children-C. L., now Mrs. W. I. Way, of Topeka, Kan .; C. Frederick and Susie A., who live at home.

MARTIN PETRIE, proprietor freight line; was born in Prussia July 19, 1830; came to Calumet, this county, with his parents, in 1847; came from there to Fond du Lac in 1852, and, for four years, was engaged in freighting between this place and Milwaukee; now he is engaged in the local

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freight business. Mr. P. was married, at Fond du Lac, May 6, 1854, to Martha Trauthfetter, born in Saxony ; they have four children-Emma F., William J., Edwin J. and Nettie. Ile is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge, and, for several years, was coonected with the German-English Academy.

C. J. PETTIBONE, dry-goods merchant.

WM. MICHAEL PHELAN, son of Michael Phelan and Martha Colclough, farmer; born April 27, 1819, at Gore's Grove, County Kilkenny, Ireland ; received a liberal education at a select school, under Prof. Campion; at 16 years of age was apprenticed in a general mercantile house, in the city Kil- kenny, for a term of five years; after three years returned to the farm ; was enrolled for military conserip- tion during the Papineau or Patriot War, in Canada, in the year 1838; was then apprenticed to a civil engineer and surveyor named Lehy, in Thurless, County Tipperary, where he studied the higher mathe- maties, Euclid, etc .; both parents dying, returned to the farm and made agriculture-both practical and theoretical-and agricultural chemistry, his study and occupation for eight years, with much success; in the years 1843-45, took an active part in the repeal agitation and O'Connell monster meetings ; in August, 1846, joined Smith O'Brien, Meigher and the Young Ireland party ; became a revolutionist and assisted in the formation of clubs ; after the fiasco in 1848, left the country and came to the United States, via Dublin and Liverpool, arriving at Fond du Lac Village Aug. S, 1850, where he permanently settled, buying some lots in the village and a farm in the town of Eldorado; the first house he built was in what is now the Fifth Ward, in 1851. Was married in the city of Buffalo, June 22, 1853, to Margaret, daughter of' Michael and Honoria M. Norton, born in Forkhill, near Gores Grove, parish of Crane, County Kilkenny. Ireland, by whom he had seven children-five boys and two girls, all born in Fond du Lac. The subject of this sketch worked as a carpenter and joiner and general contractor until opening a grocery store in one of his buildings, No. 377 Main street; also built and opened a flour and feed store, No. 300 Main street, in the year 1877; also served the city in various capacities ; was elected Street Com- missioner in 1853; Alderman in 1854-56 and 1862; as City or Ward Assessor about eighteen years ; served as member of the County Board, School Commissioner, etc .; was elected some twenty- five times to various offices in the city, and last year, 1879, as City Assessor and School Commissioner.

C. P. PHELPS, insurance agent ; was born at Ira, Cayuga Co., N. Y., Nov. 23, 1812; moved in 1842, to Mt. Pleasant, Racine Co., Wis., and, in 1845, to Section 34, Byron, where he followed farmi- ing until the fall of 1868, when he moved to Fond du Lac and engaged in the insurance business, which he has since followed. At the organization of the town of Byron in 1846, Mr. P. was elected Assessor, and served without pay ; he held other town offices during nearly his entire residence in Byron. He was married at Ira, N. Y., Aug. 31, 1836, to Polly Beach, a native of that place, born Aug. 25, 1820; the children are Amelia (now Mrs. John Hecker, of Iowa), born May 23, 1839 ; Fernando, July 29, 1841 ; Mary J. (now Mrs. A. D. Clark ), Oct. 10, 1844; Martha ( now Mrs. A. A. Shepard ), July 25, 1846, iu Byron ; Sarah L., Aug. 4, 1848, died May 3, 1873, and Edward W., born in Byron Dec. 9. 1864.

COL. E. L. PHILLIPS, retired ; was born at Manlius, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Feb. 16, 1800 ; entered Gen. Amos P. Granger's store at Syracuse at the age of 16 ; returned to Manlius, and was three or four years ( until 1831 ) in his brother's store, and then began the mercantile business for himself. In 1837, was elected Sheriff of Onondaga Co., and chosen Assemblyman in 1847. After leaving the Sheriff's office, he engaged in jobbing, and then took a contract with his brother and two others to build sixty miles of the Great. Western Railway, from Niagara Falls to the head of Lake Ontario; in 1848, Col. P. was appointed Canal Appraiser, serving two years ; then returned one year to the railroad con- traet, which he finally sold to his partners, Oswald & Zimmerman, and contracted to build twenty- five miles of the Ohio & Mississippi Railway in Ohio. Col. P. was married at Manlius, N. Y., in 1825. to Harriet, daughter of. Judge Tousley, who died six months later ; he was married again, in 1828, to Mrs. Eleanor Jones, grand-daughter of John Flemming, of Maryland; she died in 1838, leaving one daughter, who died in 1857. Col. P. came to Fond du Lac in August, 1852, loeating in Empire on the farm now owned by Mr. Wells ; and his brother, Lyman Phillips, came at the same time ; he engaged in farming about fifteen years. He was elected State Senator in 1860; held a Colonel's position in the New York State Militia ; was Provost Marshal of this district in 1863-64, and, in 1869 or 1870, having been interested in a savings bank in Syracuse, he went to Madison and secured a charter for the Fond du Lac Savings Bank, and was for two years its President. Col. Phillips, though past 80 years of age, still looks after his farms, which are tilled by tenants.

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 129

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