The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 168

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

USA > Wisconsin > Fond du Lac County > The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin > Part 168

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

-William H., born 1846, died in 1875 ; Mary Ann, born 1849; Charles H., 1851 ; Joseph C., 1853; Emily J., 1856; Hattie E., 1859, died 1862; Ella R., born 1861; Angie, 1865. Two married sons are living in lowa ; two married daughters are living in this county, and the two youngest daughters are at home ; he and his wife are prominent Methodists. He was one of the sturdy pioneers whose lives have aided in giving Wisconsin an honored name. His family are all consistent members of the church, with their parents ; he is a radical Republican. Blest with a competency and surrounded with friends, he and his worthy wife are enjoying the fruits of a well-spent life.

JONATHAN McASSEY, farmer, Sec. 6; P. O. Ripon, Box 346 ; he was born in County Carlow, Ireland, in the year 1824; he came to America in spring of 1846, and came to Metomen in fall of same year. He was married, in 1849, to Miss Elizabeth Smith, of his native place ; they have had eight children-Mary A., Robert, dead ; Deborah, dead ; Sarah, George, Louise A., Albert, and Rachel Alice, dead. After living several years in Princeton, Green Lake Co., he bought his present farm in 1869 ; he carries on general farming and stock-raising; he has seventy-eight acres, nearly all tillable. Five children have attended school at Ripon, and all of them have taught school. Himself and family are Protestants, and were raised as Episcopalians ; the two oldest are Congregationalists, the others are not connected with any church. They have a pleasant, hospitable home, and an abundance of farm build- ings. Mr. McAssey is a man of considerable quiet originality ; he has several brothers and a widowed sister in the neighborhood. He calls himself an Independent in politics, votes according to his best judgment, but is inelined to Democracy. He is a thrifty farmer and a good moral citizen.

LYMAN MARSH, retired farmer, Brandon ; was born April 26, 1809, in Clinton Co., N. Y .; his early life was spent on a farm in that county. He was married, in 1832, to Miss Polly Comstock, of his native town ; has had six children-Julia, James M., Emily, William C., Ann F. and Susanah. lIe came to Fond du Lac Co. in 1849, but settled on Sec. 16, Metomen Township, in 1851 ; took up a farm of eighty acres, and carried it on until 1875, when he soll the homestead and bought his present resi- dence in Brandon. He owns two houses in the village; was a successful farmer, and is a good mechanic. Is a Democrat, but, in local elections, votes for the best man, regardless of politics ; has been a Methodist more than half' a century, and a Class-Leader about twenty-five years; is not now engaged in any occupa- tion. Surrounded by children and friends, he is cheerfully bearing the burdens of threescore and ten, and is still quite vigorous and happy.

H. G. MATHEWS, miller and farmer ; Brandon ; born in 1825 in New York, came with his parents in 1845 to township of Alto, Fond du Lac Co., Wis. ; in 1860, he bought the farm which he now owns, situated on Sec. 21 in Metomen, it contains 220 acres of first-class land; he also owns the Brandon Flonring Mills, has five run of stone, and all the latest improved machinery, does custom work and also ha good shipping trade. He was married in 1850 to Miss Olive Avery, of Wyoming Co., N. Y. ; their «.Aldren are Amos G., born 1852; Linus G., born 1856; Carrie, born 1862, died in 1864; his son, Amos Gates, is foreman in the Flouring Mill, and Linus G. is on the home farm. Mr. Mathews is a Republican, and a member of the Brandon Grange, No. 52; is not a church member, but contributes to all institutions designed to improve society ; he is social and liberal minded; is a successful farmer and an enterprising business man.

JOHN L. MOORE, general hardware merchant, Brandon ; was born Sept. 18, 1829, in Mon- roc Co., N. Y. ; his father was a Methodist preacher ; after his school days were past, he learned the trade of carpenter aud joiner, which he worked at, more or less, till 1868. He was married, the 5th of March, 1851, to Miss Mary A. Randall, of Eric Co., Penn. ; they had one son-Mark E., born 1853, and was married in 1878. Mrs. Moore died June 7, 1853. IIe came West in 1856, and located in the township of Metomen ; for several years he worked mainly at his trade; some seasons he engaged in the sale of stone pumps, and about two years was in hotel life at Waupua; from 1869 to 1872, he was in a restau- rant in Brandon; then for seven years he sold groceries and provisions; in January, 1879, he started his present business as " Dealer in Hardware, Stoves, Tinware, Farm Tools, etc." ; his is the leading establish- ment of the kind in Brandon. He was married April 3, 1873, to Miss Sephronia Stickney, of Monroe Co., N. Y. ; she died April 26, 1878 ; the cause of her death was an organic stricture of the @esophagus. Mr. Moore owns a pleasant residence in Braudon, and also forty acres of tillable land in Pennsylvania ; he has been a Justice of the Peace; is a member of Metomen Lodge, No. 107, and the Encampment, No. 25; he is a supporter of the churches, but a member of none ; is benevolent and liberal. Ile was a Dem- ocrat till 1864, but then he voted for Abraham Lincoln; he is a Conservative Independent, with Repub- lican proclivities.

F. NEWLAND. farmer; near Fairwater; was born in Ontario Co., N. Y., August, 1824; lived in Erie Co., ten years, and at 19 came West and lived three years in Milwaukee Co .; in March,

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METOMEN TOWNSHIP.

1846, he settled on Sec. 30 in Metomen Township, Fond du Ine Co., Wis .; P. O. Fairwater ; has 200 acres in the original farm, which is still the homestead ; fully 150 aeres are under cultivation, and about fifty are in timber lands. Was married, in July, 1854, to Miss E. Davitt, of Rensselaer Co., N. Y .; they have three children-Diana, born 1855; Alice M., born 1858, and the son named True, born 1868; each of the daughters have attended several terms at Ripon College, at the present writing, February, 1880, they are at home. Mr. Newland is a Trustee of the Free-Will Baptist Church at Fairwater, his wife is also a member ; due credit is given to Mrs. Newhall as a rare worker, not only in the house but on the farm, and as an efficient business woman. Mr. Newland is one of the earliest settlers in this township ; is a prominent sheep-raiser ; is a successful, hard-working farmer ; is a temperance Republican, and a reliable citizen.

CHARLES NORRIS (deceased) died Feb. 16, 1879, aged 46 years; he had been resident of Metomen Township thirty-five years ; he was a successful farmer and prominent stock-raiser, especially of Norman horses ; for last years preceding his death, he had carried on a cheese factory, which was located on his farm. He was married in 1860 to Miss Clara Hazen, of Brandon ; they had three children, two of whom are living-David C., born in 1861, and Emily Irene, in 1872; the other died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Norris were charter members of Brandon Grange, No. 52. He was a Republican. Mrs. Norris and her son David carry on the farm; she has been a resident of this county thirty-six years. The farm is on Sec. 26 and contains 130 acres; is in the suburbs of Brandon.

THOMAS JEFFERSON NORRIS, a pioneer farmer, Sec. 35; P. O. Brandou ; he was born in September, 1808, in the town of Pembroke, Rockingham Co., N. II .; when 12 years of age, he, with his relatives, removed to Genesee Co., N. Y .; his main business has been farming, but, during several years, he also carried on blacksmithing. Was married, in September, 1830, to Miss Eunice Andrews, who was born in 1810 in Erie Co., N. Y .; they have had eight children, of whom six are living -- David, born in 1831, died in 1846 ; Charles, born in 1834, married in 1860, died in 1879; Thomas J., born in 1836, married in 18GI; Adeline J., born in 1840, married in 1871; George, born in 1843, mar- ried in 1866; Lydia A., born in 1845, married in 1866; H. G., born in 1848, married in 1871; Mary, born in 1851, married in 1877. In 1846, he, with his wife and six children, came West and took np 470 acres of land in Metomen Township, which he improved, and on which he has continued to reside to present date. Their son David was killed by falling and being run over by the wagon when drawing their household goods from Milwaukee to the farm. Mr. Norris has been Supervisor and has held other local offices ; is a Republican ; has belonged to no secret society ; is connected with the Methodist Church, but, because of the infirmities of age, is not a regular attendant. This couple are good specimens of the sturdy New England yeomanry, and are enjoying the fruits of honest industry. They will celebrate their golden wedding on the 12th of September, 1880.

JOIN O'HARA, farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. Brandon ; he was born June 7, 1824, in the city of Quebec, Canada ; his brother Charles was born in Canada June 1, 1828, and his brother Henry was born in Canada Nov. 18, 1831 ; John came to Illinois in 1845, and to Wisconsin in 1848, and took up 80 acres that year and built a log cabin ; then his parents and brothers, Charles, Henry and William, came on, and together improved the land and bought additions thereto, making now a farm of 156 acres under good cul- tivation. The mother died in 1864, and the father in 1879 ; Charles is a carpenter and joiner, but makes his home with the other brothers ; John is still unmarried, and so also is Charles; Henry was married, Dee. 26, 1862, to Miss Eliza Gallop, formerly of Canada ; they have four children-John A., Mary A., Lydia E. and Ellen E .; John and Henry carry on the farm. Ilenry has been Side Supervisor. Each of the brothers is a Conservative Independent, with decided Democratic proclivities; all are contributors to churches, but none of them are chnreh members; their parents were Catholics, but the sons are Free Thinkers or Liberalists. They are respected citizens.

ALMON OSBORN, farmer, Sec. 2; P. O. Ripon ; born at Rival, Hancock Co., Me., June 24, 1813, son of Joseph and Mary Osborn ; went with his parents to Ashtabula Co., Ohio, in 1815 ; to Geanga Co., a year later ; to Seneca, Ohio. when 10 years of age; to La Porte, Ind., at the age of 18; removed to Waukesha Co., Wis., in March, 1835, where they lived several years ; removed to Mineral Point for a year and then removed to Roek Co .; Mr. Osborn kept the Ball Tavern for two years, and carried on a farm for some time ; came to Metomen, See. 2, in June, 1845, settling on land he still owns, and where he now resides ; came to Ripon in November, 1872, and in March, 1879, began the sale of agricultural implements. He was the first Supervisor of the town of Metomen. He was married in Fulton, April, 1843, to Augusta Smith, who was born in New York State in April, 1820; she died Jan. 30, 1880 ; they have three children-Charles Henry, a farmer in Metomen; Frances, now Mrs. C. W. Foster, of Sauk Co., and Porter M. Mr. Osborn is a member of the Lodge of A., F. & A. M. Mr. Osborn's father,

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

Joseph Osborn, was born at Cape Ann, Mass., July 15, 1784, and died at Belleville, Dane Co., Wis. Feb. 5, 1859 ; Mary Moore Osborn, his mother, was born at Baugor, Me., Dec. 12, 1789, and died at Kingsbury, La Porte Co., Ind., September, 1869.

PHILANDER K. PICKARD, farmer, Sec. 14; P. O. Brandon ; was born in Living- stone Co., N. Y., on May 24, 1841 ; in the fall of 1854, he, with his parents, came to Wisconsin aud located on the farm which he now owns. It was previously known as the " Marsh farm." He and his father own adjoining farms. On the 4th of July, 1860, he was married to Miss Clementine R. Munn, of Metomuen ; they have two children-Jennie and Frank ; the daughter is a student in Ripon College, while Frank still attends the " People's College," in his home district. Mr. Pickard himself was a stu- dent at Ripon College. His farm of 140 acres is nearly all under cultivation, and he also carries on his father's farm of 180 acres ; they have commodious barns and good farm improvements; carries on general farming, in connection with stock-raising, particularly of sheep. He was Side Supervisor two years, and in 1876, 1878 and 1879 was elected Chairman with regularly increasing majorities; he was one of the charter members of Brandon Lodge No. 144, of A., F. & A. M. ; his wife is a member of the Congrega- tional Church at Reed's Corners; she is credited as a worthy helpmeet, with bearing her share of life's burdens, and winning her proportion of life's successes. Mr. Pickard is a Republican " every time," and is actively interested in local and general politics. The disinterested historian records the verdict of Mr. Pickard's fellow-citizens, " Genial, capable and popular."

WILLIAM PICKARD, farmer, Sec. 15; P. O. Metomen; was born on the 15th of May, 1816, in Otsego Co., N. Y ; he has been a farmer all his life. He was married, on the 27th of May, 1840, to Miss Emily Chamberlain ; they came West in 1854 and settled on their present farm; they have two children-Philander K. and a daughter, now married. He is a Republican and a Methodist; his wife is a Baptist. Relieved of care and blessed with a competeney, they are enjoying the calm pleasures of ripe and honored age.

CAPT. WILLIAM PLOCKER. See biography on page 477.

WARREN REED (deceased ) was a native of Ohio. Was married in Ohio, June 14, 1848, to Miss Augusta Day, of Ohio. He came to Wisconsin in 1854 and located 160 acres, where Mrs. Reed now resides ; he died in August, 1874. They had four children, all living in this county. The railroad company secured a gift of the right of way through his farm on consideration of a written guarantee of the permanent location of a depot thereon ; for some cause, the station was removed half a mile south and established at Metomen in 1873, and the post office was also transferred from Reed's Corners to the resi- dence of E. Reynolds, near the new depot; the above transfer is viewed very differently by the different interested parties and their respective partisans. Reed's Station was named in honor of Mr. Reed. Mr. Reed and family were Methodists; he was a good citizen.

EDWIN REYNOLDS, farmer, Sec. 10; P. O. Metomen; was born June 3, 1815, in Ches- terfield, Essex Co., N. Y .; in 1821, he, with parents, moved to Addison Co , Vt., where he remained nine- teen years. Ile was married, on the 24th of March, 1840, to Miss Dorcas H. Dame, of Vermont ; they lived ten years in Chittenden Co., Vt. In 1850, he came to Wisconsin and located on his present farm in Metomen; has 160 acres, of which 150 are tillable ; he is a mechanic, and built his own house; is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, particularly of sheep, and he also pays attention to fruit- raising ; he has a commodious, nearly new barn, and his house is a few rods from the Metomen depot, and his wife is Postmistress. He is President of the Protective Association ; has been Assessor twice, and Justice of the Peace thirteen years, and held other local offices ; is a member of Brandon Grange, No. 52, and is also connected with the I. O. O. F. Himself and wife are members of the Congregational Church. They have five children-Lucy B. ( married), Zilpha G., De Witt C. (married ), Mary E. (married ) and Washington I. Mr. Reynokls is an active Republican ; he has been promised appointment as census enumerator for this township. He asserted that he has never been confined to the house by sickness. and his wife, who was present, promptly threw in the remark, " But you have done piles of grunting." Mrs. Reynolds is an energetic and capable woman ; Mr. Reynolds is a well-known citizen.

GEORGE A. RUSSELL, retired farmer, P. O. Brandon ; born in Cavendish, Windsor Co., Vt., Nov. 6, 1821 ; the year he attained his majority ( 1842), he came West ; during the two following winters he taught school in Waukesha Co., Wis .; in 1844, he bought eighty acres of land, and partly improved it, but sold it in a year at an advance. lle was married Nov. 1, 1844, in Milwaukee, to Miss Miranda Weatherbee, of Brant, Erie Co., N. Y .; they have had no issue ; his parents were New England farmers in moderate circumstances, and the subject of this sketch, when he landed in Milwaukee in 1842, inven- toried his cash assets at exactly $50 ; by teaching and farming, he soon added to his resources, and Provi- dence has continued to favor him to the present tiuie, as, according to his fellow-citizens, he is reported to

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METOMEN TOWNSHIP.

the writer as a man surpassed in wealth by few, if any, in the township; for his success in life, he gives due credit to his worthy life-companion : he first met her, by a happy combination of circumstances, vory soon after she landed in Milwaukee with her brother from New York, in 1844; they began wedded life as pioneers on a Waukesha farm ; in September, 1845, having disposed of his first real estate, and converted most of his personal property into eash, he entered and paid for 400 acres of prairie and timber land in the township of Alto ; he expended all his money in the original purchase of the Alto farm, but fortune favored his efforts, and he was soon enabled to improve, build upon and stock the farm ; he retained this old homestead until 1867, when he sold the land (which cost him $500), with its improvements, for $17,000; ia 1868, he bought his present home in Brandon, and retired from active labor as a farmer ; he owns several houses and lots within the corporation limits of Brandon, and also 325 acres outside the village ; he has seeured investments in different parts of the county. He has held several local offices. He became a Christian at the age of 18, and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has con- tinued an active member to the present date ; he is an earnest advocate of the doctrine of sanctification, and, for several years, meetings for the promotion of holiness have been regularly held at his residence; he is a person of strong convictions, which find ready expression whenever occasion demands ; he is in no sense a negative character, but is an enterprising, positive man. He is a Republican,

SILVESTER W. SARGEANT, farmer, Sec. 13; P. O. Brandon ; was born June 26, 1823, in Washington Co., Vt .; he remained in Vermont until 1839, when he removed to Washington Co., N. Y .; in spring of 1845, he came to Metomen Township ; he was without any money, but was " full of days, works; " that season he worked for and "bached" with E. F. Mansfield, who, in 1844, built the first cabin within the limits of Metomen Township; Mr. Sargeant pre-empted 160 acres in township of Alto, which he sold with his improvements in 1846, and the same year entered the farm which he now owns ; he had 12 shillings, all told, when he landed in this township, and that he expended for an ax; he now has 160 acres-100 under cultivation ; has commodious barns and good residence, with first-class farm conveniences ; dairying is his leading interest. He was married, on the 13th of February, 1849, to Miss, Isabella Graves, formerly of England ; they have had ten children-Zelia A. (dead ), Emma (dead). Byron, W., Sarah (dead ), Jacob, Julia, Elma, Katie, Willard P. and Matilda ; the two oldest sons, Byron and Jacob, have followed the "Star of Empire," and, since 1878, have been founding new homes in Oakwood, Brook- ings Co., Dak. He is a member of Brandon Grange, No. 52; is a Republican. Mr. Sargeant's father died when S. W. was but 9 years of age, and since that time he has provided for himself; his early life was spent working out by the month, but his present comfortable surroundings betoken the snecess that comes from industry and economy, united with the aid of a capable and worthy helpmeet.

ZENAS SCOTT, hardware merchant, Brandon ; born on the 17th of June, 1818, in Berks Co., Penn .; when he was quite young his parents removed to Canada, where they remained till the father died, in 1860. The subject of this sketch eame to Wisconsin in 1-56, and spent the winter in Brandon ; it was the season that the railroad was completed ; for the next four years he was absent most of the time, but since 1860, he has been a continuous resident of Brandon ; he has been in mereantile business from that date; at first he ran a general store, but gradually developed into his present exelusive hardware trade. lle was married, April 11, 1870, to Miss Sarah Sherman, of Canada West ; he has been two terms member of Village Board ; also was a member of' I. O. O. F., and is a member of Brandon Lodge, 144, of A., F. & A. M .; owns his store and another business block besides his residence. He is a Republican ; himself' and wife affiliate with the Congregational Church ; he is a reliable citizen.

MARTIN C. SHORT, Postmaster, Brandon, and editor of the Brandon Times; was born in Winnisink, Orange Co., N. Y., on the 4th of November, 1836; came West with his parents in 1851, and settled on a farm near Dartford, Green Lake Co., Wis .; he attended the district school afterward at Ripon, and was a freshman at Beloit College at the commencement of the rebellion. On the 10th of November, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the 31st W. V. I .; by honorable promotions he became Captain of the company in which he enlisted ; he served until the close of the war; participated in the siege of Atlanta, and was with Sherman in his march to the sea. On returning from the army in 1865, he purchased the Green Lake Spectator at Dartford; the following year, he removed the paper to Waupun, and, in connection with J. W. Oliver, started the Waupun Leader; he came to Brandon in 1871, and, sinee that date, has been editor and proprietor of the Brandon Times. He was married at Dartford, in 1865, to Miss Sarah H. Churchill, by whom he had one daughter-Hattie. The mother died Jan. 18, 1872. His present wife was Miss Clara A. Hogle, to whom he was wedded June 25, 1876 ; they have two children-Mary and Martin. For twenty-five years Mr. Short has been an active member of the Congregational Church ; is Superintendent of the Sunday School ; is Clerk of the School Board ; is a publie-spirited eitizen and a radical hard-money Republicau.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

W. O. SLEEPER, farmer, See. 32; P. O. Fairwater; born in Merrimack Co., N. H., in 1817; was brought up as a farmer ; came West in 1842 ; he took up a farm, which he now owns, in 1846. He was married, in 1842, to Miss Lavina Pierce, of Kenosha Co., Wis .; they have had no issue. Their farm consists of 200 acres, fully half of which is now under cultivation. They have brought up two nieces, one of whom is married to George Lyon, of this town. Himself and wife are members of the Congrega- tional Church at Fairwater ; he is a Republican. Mr. Sleeper's health has not been uniformly good, but he is a hard-working and highly respected man.

N. A. STEVENS, jeweler, Brandon ; born in 1847 in Ohio; came to Waushara Co., Wis., with his parents, in 1852, where they remained seven years, and then, for four years, took charge of the Temperance House in Berlin, Green Lake Co., Wis .; the family located in Brandon in 1863; the subject of this sketch passed the next ten years at Brandon, mainly as salesman in some of the stores of the vil- lage ; was also, for a year, an apprentice to the "art preservative of all arts," in the office of the Brandon Times. Mr. Stevens was married at Brandon, in August, 1875, to Miss Vina Councelman, of Columbus, Wis .; she died in May, 1876. He served full apprenticeship as jeweler in the establishment of J. H. Elkins, at Waupun ; about four years ago, he started a small jewelry store at Brandon ; this is more con- genial to his tastes ; the business has enlarged, and he now has a full assortment of well-selected jewelry ; his repairing department has an extended patronage. Is a Good Templar, a member of I. O. O. F., a Republican and a Methodist.

DEACON LONSON STILWELL, farmer, Secs. 9 and 4; P. O. Ripon ; was born Aug. 18, 1819, in Madison Co., N. Y .; he removed to Onondaga Co., N. Y .. when 18 years of age, where he remained nearly eight years, engaged in farming. He was married, Sept. 29, 1842, to Miss Mary K. White, of Geneva, Ontario Co., N. Y .; they came West in May, 1846, and took up 280 acres, on which his present home is located ; the next year after settling, he donated forty acres of land to the Rev. Mar- eellus Barnum, as an inducement for him to organize a church and preach to same. Elder Barnuw was the first resident minister in the township of Metomen. The Deacon now owns 170 acres, of which five- sixths are under cultivation. He tells of going to Whitewater, eighty miles, to mill with an ox team. He smiles in remembrance of visiting one eabin on a cold day, when blankets were hung around the stove and the " women folks" gathered within the warm circle, while the Deacon and other " men folks" shiv- ered in the cold outer eirele. He does not speak of these events as the sufferings and privations of pio- neer life ; in fact, he enjoyed these rude experiences, which all took part in with hearty good will. He did not complain when, with a company in an unfinished cabin during a driving storm, the women folks gath- ered under umbrellas upon the bed, and the men folks braved the elements as best they could. He has, from the first, been interested in sheep-raising; has now 218 grade merinos. Have had eight children- Lucian W. (married ), Celia B. (married), Annette E. (married ), Kate E. ( dead ), Hannah R. (married ), Warren, Mary E. and Edith M .; all, except the youngest, have been students at Ripon College, but Edith is still attending the People's College, in her father's home district. Himself and wife are Congregation- alists, and he has been Deacon about ten years; he has held several local offices, and is a Republican. His house is the stranger's home, and the favorite resort of the many friends of the Deacon and his worthy wife.

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 168

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