The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing biographical sketches, Part 62

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 714

USA > Wisconsin > Jefferson County > The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing biographical sketches > Part 62

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Harger's Times .- This was the title of the most recent newspaper publication in Water- town. It was first issued in March, 1878, by Ashley D. Harger, and suspended the following September. It was a Greenback sheet of the most violent character.

Altogether, the press of Watertown presents a history of deep interest. Few people pause to think of the important part taken by the newspapers in every industry; in every phase of development, in every step of advancing civilization. The editor gets few thanks, and less pay, for his untiring efforts to advance the interests of all those about him-efforts whose incasure of appreciation has never been known to be filled.

THE CHURCHES.

If the people of Watertown are not all good Christians, the fault cannot be attributed to a paucity of churches. Since 1843, fifteen houses of worship have been founded, and are now in active operation. Their history presents an interesting subject, full of important detail, and if the reader could but realize the amount of labor necessary to collect the vast array of names, dates, etc., which are included in this single chapter of the history of Jefferson County, any oversight or mistake that may be discovered in the entire work would be excusable.

St. Bernard's (Catholic) Church .- Among the early settlers in Watertown, there was quite an admixture of those professing Catholicism. Their number was not great enough, how- ever, to command the attention of the Bishop having charge of the Northwest, until 1841, when Father Martin Kundig paid missionary visits to Watertown. In 1842. a lot of ground having previously been donated by the brothers Rogan, the erection of a church edifice was begun. The structure was built of wood, and was of small dimensions. It stood upon the site now occupied by the imposing cathedral on Main street, on the West Side. The expense of construc- tion was borne from a small contribution fund, and the work, for the most part, was performed by members of the congregation, who volunteered their services. The first resident Pastor was the Rev. Patrick McKernan, who came to the charge in 1846. He remained but a short time, being followed by the Rev. John Hcaly, whose ministry dated from September 20, of the same year. Father Ilealy remained for over eleven years. His successor was the Rev. F. Tierney. who came July 15, 1855. He was followed within six months by the Rev. P. Mullor. In March, 1856, the Rev. Joseph Smith (now in Waupun) was assigned to the parish. IIe was succeeded by the Rev. John Norris in November, 1862. Mr. Norris, it will be remembered, was a man of considerable distinction as a lecturer. In 1866, he went to Ireland, to recover his shattered health. The Rev. William Mahone occupied the pulpit in the absence of Mr. Norris, who, returning very little improved, died in February, 1869. The Rev. Patrick Pettit was the next Pastor in charge. He remained about three years, and was followed by the Rev. Peter Paul Cooney. In August, 1872, Mr. Cooney was succeeded by the Rev. Father Corby, then Pres- ident of Notre Dame, Ind. During his pastorate, the old frame church was torn away, and, in

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.

1873, the present brick structure was commenced. The corner-stone is from the rock of Cashell, Ireland. The building is 1663x76 feet, while the spire reaches 197 feet from the ground. In 1875, the Rev. Patrick Colovin was assigned to the parish as assistant to Father Corby, and, in 1877, when the latter was sent to other parts, Mr. Colovin became the Pastor, and has remained in charge to the present time. The congregation shows a wonderful increase, there being now over one thousand five hundred communicants, large and small. The church building cost $100,000, on which there is still a debt of $20,000.

Methodist Episcopal Church .- In 1844, there being a large number of Protestants of the various denominations in Watertown, it was agreed that a church edifice should be built for the convenience of all concerned. The Rev. John Jones was the first resident Pastor called to the charge. Services were first held in a building which stood somewhere in the vicinity of what is now South Eighth street. The Methodists evidently predominated at these meetings, as an organization was soon effected under the title of the "Methodist Episcopal Church Society of Watertown." At a meeting of the Trustees, Walter Andrews, Heber Smith, Cheney Adams and Albert Cook, held in January, 1845, the following resolution was adopted :

Resolved, That the said Trustees shall commence the erection of a meeting-house, the size of which shall be 40x30, and 17 feet high ; that said house be built with a belfry and singers' gallery ; that the said site shall be on the east side of Rock River (descriptive in the town plat, Lot 3, Block 7).

next.

The church was built by the members of the society. Cole, Bailey & Co. donated the land and furnished most of the lumber. Members of all the Protestant denominations sub- scribed. There being no record of the meetings prior to 1845, it is impossible to give a correct list of the Pastors who presided before that time. The Rev. G. W. Miller, of Milwaukee, is believed to have succeeded Mr. Jones. The Rev. Jabez Brooks, an English minister, came He entered serious objection to the use of the pulpit in which he presided by other shep- herds of the Lord. The Congregationalists, Presbyterians, etc., were informed by the reverend gentleman that they could no longer worship beneath that roof; that they must seek their Savior in other quarters. This undue and seemingly unnatural proscription riled the adherents of the other faiths, and Mr. Brooks was remonstrated with by a certain Congregationalist, deputized for that purpose.

" Show the papers to your claim for any privileges here," said Mr. Brooks.

" We have no writings to that effect," said the Congregationalist, "but we can prove that we helped to build the church, and therefore should be allowed to use it."

" Who can you prove it by ?"

" By Heber Smith."

" He's not a Methodist, and therefore I cannot believe him."

" Then by John W. Cole."

' Pooh ! He don't, nor never did, belong to any Church; his testimony would be utterly incompetent."

The point was yielded to the arrogant divine, and control of the church passed to the Methodists.

Mr. Brooks was succeeded by the Revs. William Willard, Thomas B. Brown, A. B. Ran- dall and I. H. Delamatyr.

The next authentic data we have concerning this Church is in 1858, when the Rev. A. C. Huntley was Pastor. Mr. Huntley was succeeded, in 1860, by the Rev. N. J. Aplin. The following ministers have presided since that time: The Rev. D. O. Jones, the Rev. II. Cole- man, the Rev. J. Scarles, the Rev. E. S. Grumley, the Rev. F. F. Allen, the Rev. William J. Wilson, the Rev. George S. Hubbs, the Rev. A. H. Walker, the Rev. A. Moore, the Rev. E. B. Cummings, the Rev. William Il. Window, the Rev. E. A. Wanless, the Rev. F. C. Had- dock, and the Rev. S. P. Murch, the latter being the present incumbent. Seven years ago, the old frame building was raised, a brick foundation placed beneath it, and brick walls built around it. An imposing spire now surmounts the structure, and a comfortable parsonage, adjoining the church building in the rear, completes the outfit, the property being valued at

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.

about $7,000, free of incumbrance. Present Board of Trustees-J. Q. Hull, H. Flinn, J. Vokes, A. R. Moore, George Nixon, A. K. M. Pickert and M. Ambrose. Stewards-Messrs. Hull, Nixon, Pickert, Flinn, Ambrose, Jonas Stahl, A. Ramsey, Mrs. H. Giles and Mrs. S. Vokes.

First Congregational Church of Watertown .- Organized by the Rev. Stephen Peet, agent of the Home Missionary Society, July 13, 1845. The first meeting was held in the only schoolhouse up to that time in what are now the limits of Watertown. The Society was com- posed chiefly of Presbyterians, but an organization was effected in accordance with the Congre- gational faith. The first communicants were George Breckenridge, William Dunlavy, O. K. Coe, Nancy Breckenridge, Jane A. Dunlavy, Mary J. Scott, Paulina S. Coe, Maria Shears and Harriet Montgomery .. The first Pastor of the congregation was the Rev. B. F. Parsons. Dur- ing his pastorate, services were held in Cramer's Block. He was followed, successively, by the Rev. J. G. Craighead, the Rev. N. C. Chapin, the Rev. W. A. Niles, the Rev. Charles Boyn- ton, the Rev. W. H. Ryder, the Rev. Charles C. Cragin and the Rev. W. A. Hendrickson, the latter being the present incumbent.

The present Deacons of the Church are J. K. Porter, John Hardee, N. A. Carpenter and W. D. Parker. Executive Committee-C. B. Skinner, N. A. Carpenter and Dr. W. F. Whyte, Clerk. Board of Trustees of the society-J. T. Moak, President, C. B. Skinner, George B. Lewis, J. W. Mentink, Jesse Stone, Daniel Hall and Joseph Hamlin. A church edifice was erected by the society in 1850, near the public square, on the East Side, at a cost of $1,500. It has twice since been enlarged : the first time in 1858, and the second in 1872. A. W. Eas- terday is the Sunday-school Superintendent.

St. Paul's (Episcopal) Church .- For some time prior to 1847, the Rev. Melancthon Hoyt, of Fox Lake, in Dodge County, came to Watertown, in the capacity of a missionary, walking the entire distance (thirty miles), to preach the Gospel to the very small number of Episcopa- lians then residing in Watertown. During that year, an organization was effected, with Law- rence J. Fribert and William M. Grange as Wardens, and Daniel Jones, James A. Norris, Rob- ert Clifford, David J. Pulling and H. Besley as Vestrymen. The Rev. Mr. Hoyt first held services in schoolhouses, and afterward in a building, formerly a bowling-alley, which stood upon the present site of Cole's Block. In 1849, a small church was built on Third street, at a cash outlay of $500 or $600, most of the material and labor being donated. The present church edifice, on the corner of Second and Spring streets, was built in 1860. It is a neat and sub- stantial brick structure, and cost about $6,000. There are at present about sixty communicants in the parish. The highest number of communicants on the record at any one time was one hundred and sixty-three. Between 1856 and 1870, the society was in a most flourishing con- dition. The Rectors since the time of Mr. Iloyt were the Rev. C. C. Edmunds, the Rev. L. W. Russ, the Rev. William C. Greene, the Rev. W. Dafter, the Rev. Dr. Boyd and the Rev. S. K. Miller. Mr. Miller resigned last April, and the society has been without a Rector since that time. The present officers of the parish are Daniel Jones and W. H. Clark, War- dens, and Theodore Prentiss, Amos Baum, J. B. Bennett, H. S. Howell, William L. Norris, J. J. Moulding and George P. Mathes, Vestrymen. Mr. Jones, one of the original Vestrymen, became Senior Warden in 1853, and has continued as such ever since. He was elected a dele- gate of the Diocesan Convention the same year, and holds that office to the present time by re-election.

St. Henry's (Catholic) Church .- In 1847, a priest named Gardner came to Watertown, at the solicitation of a few German families professing the Catholic faith, in the capacity of a mis- sionarv, and said mass in a small frame house near the site of the society's present place of worship. Father Gardner remained about two years, during which time he built and occupied as a residence and parochial school a small frame, forming an "L" of the church. In 1849, he was followed by the Rev. Father Heider, of Jefferson, also in the capacity of a missionary. The Rev. Conrad Beck was the first resident Pastor. He remained two years, being succeeded by the Rev. Franz Uhlemeyer, whose ministry extended over a period of five years ; then came

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.

the Rev. George Strickner, one year; the Rev. Michael Bitter, eight months; the Rev. Max De Becke, two years ; the Rev. P. Fabian Bermandinger, one and a half years; the Rev. W. Bernard, one and a half years; the Rev. F. X. Minderer, one and a half years. Father Minderer died in Watertown. He was followed by the Rev. F. X. Etschman, who remained nine years, being succeeded by the Rev. George Strickner, the present incumbent, who took charge July, 1878. During the ministry of the Rev. Father Max De Becke (in 1863), the present church edifice was constructed. It is of brick, and cost between $9,000 and $10,000. The communicants number, at present, between fourteen hundred and fifteen hundred, or about three hundred families.

German Protestant (Evangelical) Church .- This society was organized in 1848. Among the first communicants were Peter Rose, William Roeber, Peter Seaburg, George Meyer and Zacharias Theurind. Services were first held by a Milwaukee minister, whose name is not remembered, in Buena Vista House, on Fourth street. The first regular Pastor was the Rev. Frederick Reutsch, who came to preside over the meager flock in 1850. The same year, a small frame church edifice was erected on Fourth street, near Main, which served the purposes. of the congregation until 1866, when the present place of worship was built upon the same site, at a cost of $4,000. The membership at that time was about twenty-five families ; it is now estimated at sixty families. The society is out of debt. Since the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Rensch, the following ministers have been called to the charge: The Rev. Henry Doerner, the Rev. Mr. Joeris, the Rev. Mr. Rettig, the Rev. H. C. Tack, the Rev. John Boesch, the Rev. Gustavus Kuns, the Rev. Mr. Sylla and the Rev. Edward Knaak, the present incumbent.

German Methodist Episcopal Church .- The congregation which worships in this church is known as the German Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was organized in 1849. The first Board of Trustees was composed of the following persons : Walter Andrews, Adam Eger, Calvin M. Benton, John Knape and Louis Fischer. The first place of worship was the Buena Vista House. Afterward, a small store on Main street, near Fourth, where Mr. Muller's cigar store now stands, was used for the purpose of holding services. In 1869, the present church edifice was constructed, at a cost of $5.500, including the parsonage. It is a substantial brick building, located on North Fifth street. The names of the various Pastors- who have filled the pulpit of this church, and the years they came in, are : Revs. A. Kellner, 1849; William Fiegenbaum, 1850; Philip Borth, 1851; Ch. Wenz, 1852; Conrad Bernard, 1853; Louis Kunz, 1854 ; Frederick Mertin, 1855 ; Robert Hinners, 1857 ; William Pfoeffler, 1858; H. Lenn, 1860; Chr. Loeber, 1862; C. Klenekhahn, 1863; E. R. Inmaker, 1865; Ch. Wenz, 1866; Peter Schaefer, 1868; H. Wegner, 1868; I. Bletsch, 1871 ; C. Hedler, 1874; F. Gottschalk, 1876. Mr. Gottschalk is still the presiding Pastor. The parish formerly embraced what now constitutes three circuits with three ministers-Watertown, with 147 mem- bers ; Lowell, with 104, and another, with 113. The congregation now numbers about three hundred and fifty. The present Board of Trustees is composed of the following gentlemen : Ive Wangemann, D. Heimscher, C. Roth, H. Heismann, Leopold Schmuzler, Ferd. Volckmann and L. Fischer.

Moravian Church .- While the history of this creed does not belong strictly to a history of Jefferson County, and while it may already be familiar to many, a brief sketch of the trials attending its progress cannot be otherwise than interesting. The faith is similar to-in fact, it may be called that of Martin Luther-the " Unaltered Augsburg Confession." Over one hundred years before the time of Luther, John Huss first preached the Protestant doctrine in Bohemia. History tells us that Huss was burned at the stake as a heretic by the Romanists. His followers contended for the perpetuation of their belief amid inany scenes of blood, and the struggle finally culminated in what is known as the Ilussite war. The Catholics, being very powerful, succeeded in dividing the followers of the martyred Huss, and arraying each of the divided factions against the other. A very cruel civil strife then followed, which lasted for many years, until about 1457, when the more peaceable and intelligent of the two factions united and their barbarities ceased. By the year 1500, they had over two hundred churches, with :

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.

membership of 100,000 in Bohemia. Upon the advent of Martin Luther, the IIussites bore him friendly congratulations, though they continued to maintain their Church as a separate institution. In the " Thirty Years' War," the Bohemians refused to fight, and the Protestants and their churches were destroyed. In the sixteenth century, a few of those who were left emigrated to Poland, Holland, etc. Some remained and worshiped in secret, but in 1722 they also einigrated, going to Saxony. There, in 1727, the " Renewed Moravian Church " was formed and Lutheranism, the prevailing religion, acknowledged.

The reader will now return with us to more civilizing scenes. In May, 1853, five hundred years since the time of John Huss, twelve families of Moravians resided in Watertown and vicinity. The Rev. John George Kaltenbrunn preached to them until September, 1854, when a congregation, with seven familes in the city, was organized. The first services were held at the residence of one of the members, and soon afterward a small briek church was constructed on Cole street, near Sixth. where the congregation met for worship until 1864, when their pres- ent church edifice at the corner of Cole and Sixth streets was erected, at a cost of $3.000. The Pastors who have preached to this congregation, since Rev. Mr. Kaltenbrunn, are the Revs. J. E. Wuensche, J. C. Israel. Gustavus Feurig, J. J. Detterer and Jacob Hoyler, the latter being now in charge. There are 200 communicant members at present, and the society is out of debt.

German ( Evangelical) Lutheran Church .- In 1854, the Rev. Christian Sans came to Watertown to suecor the spiritual wants of a goodly congregation of Lutherans of the " Unal- tered Augsburg Confession," belonging to the "Synod of Wisconsin and other States." Soon after his arrival in Watertown, Mr. Sans returned to Europe on a visit. While there, he raised quite a sum of money to aid in the construction of a house of worship in Watertown and return- ing in 1855, a large brick church was erected on Jones street near Sixth, costing something like $9,000. Mr. Sans was followed successively by the Revs. John Boding, R. Adelberg, A. Hein- richs and John II. Brockmann, the latter being the present Pastor. He came in 1875, and under his pastorate the congregation has continued to increase, until it is now the largest in Watertown. There are about three hundred families, or over one thousand six hundred persons members of the society. The society is entirely out of debt. Among the early founders of this Church still alive may be mentioned the following : Henry Bertram, Ludwig Eckhoff, Frederick Ilart. Carl Marquart, William Frederick Kurtzweg, George Meyer, August Gamm and Daniel Kusel. The present Trustees are Frank Schleuter, O. L. Schroeter, A. Zickert. A. Alwardt, Edward Jansen, John Hoge. George Gamm, A. Gevers and Ludwig Eckhoff.

German Baptist Church .- The doctrine of John the Baptist is represented in Watertown by a congregation of Germans, numbering 105, who worship in a church edifice on County Line street, near Second, erected in 1875. The society was organized in Watertown in 1854, as a branch or dependence of a similar organization in the town of Lebanon, county of Dodge. The Rev. Edward Grimm was the founder of the society in Lebanon, and was the first Baptist minister to preach in Watertown. The first Deacons of the Watertown society were William D. Goetsch and William Jaeger. The presiding Pastors since the time of the Rev. Mr. Grimm, have been the Rev. Rudolph Haab, the Rev. William Paul, the Rev. Henry Nogel and the Rev. John Miller. Services were held in the schoolhouses and halls until the erection of the present place of worship in 1875. The present Deacons are the same as above mentioned. The Trustees are W. F. Goetsch. Charles Goetsch and Gotfried Robinhorst. The society is free of debt.

German Adventists .- A society of this denomination, composed of residents of Water- town and vicinity, was organized in 1874. A church edifice was built at the corner of Eighth and East Washington streets, costing about $1.400. Wm. Burrund, Frederick Hartke and Reinhart Kleek were chosen as the Deacons and Trustees of the society, and still continue to hold those positions. Theodore Schmidt was the first Pastor; Peter Schneider is the present.

German Lutheran (St. John's) Church .- This society was organized in Watertown in 1855. The faith is the " Unaltered Augsburg Confession," and the society belongs to the " Synod of Missouri, Ohio and other States." The Rev. Louis Geyer, who lived about seven miles north- east of Watertown, visited the place in the capacity of missionary for a short time. The Rev.

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.

H. Wagner was the first resident minister called to the charge. He came in the fall of 1855, and remained till 1859. During his incumbency, services were held in a small frame building situated in what is now the Sixth Ward. The Rev. C. Strasen followed Mr. Wagner, in 1859, and has been Pastor of the congregation ever since. He continued to occupy the " little church in the Sixth," until June, 1865, when the new church was built. It is a brick structure, and cost about $15,000. The congregation at present consists of 1,405 souls. There are 316 male members over twenty-one years of age. About one-half the congregation lives in the country within a radius of eight miles of Watertown. The church is out of debt.

Calvinistic Methodists .- Society organized and church built on North Washington street in 1855. Calvinism took root in Watertown as early as 1847, when William Williams, of Waukesha, came here and preached to a small number of persons endowed with a belief in "par- ticular election and justification by free grace," whatever that may be. Services were held for several years in the house of Richard Jones. In 1850, Owen Hughes succeeded the itinerant Williams, and, in 1855, the date of the society's organization, the Rev. William Roberts was ordained its first Pastor. The first officers of the society were Richard Jones and John Jones, Deacons, and David Rickett, Elias Williams and Richard Jones, Trustees. The successors of the Rev. Mr. Roberts were the Rev. Richard Griffith, the Rev. Thomas R. Jones, the Rev. Thomas H. Jones and the Rev. William M. Jones, the latter being the present incumbent. The present officers of the society are Richard Jones and John Jones, Deacons, and D. K. Jones, John Jones and Richard Jones, Trustees. The society has between twenty-five and thirty mem- bers, and is free of debt.

Evangelical Reform Church .- Society organized July 14, 1861, under the Synod of the Northwest. The first Trustees were William Herbst, G. Lohmann, John Kohmetz and Fred Eggert. The first Pastor was the Rev. P. Joeres ; the second, Rev. L. Prackshates ; third, Rev. J. Gruenegen ; fourth, Rev. Mr. Poerner ; fifth and present, Rev. H. H. Meyer. The Reform denomination belongs to the original Scotch Presbyterian creed. Its followers are very numerous in Pennsylvania, Maine, Ohio and Northern Wisconsin. The doctrine was first preached in America about one hundred and fifty years ago. The Northwestern Synod has a Theological College near Sheboygan, in this State, whence a large class of students graduate annually. The present Trustees of the Watertown society arc William Herbst, Hermann Harte, A. Dittes, HI. Holste, J. Kopfer and C. Dippel. A church edifice and a pastorate were erected in the Second Ward. in 1861, at a cost of $1,370. The society is composed of about forty families, and is out of debt.

Immanuel Lutheran Church. - Society organized and church edifice erected in 1876. The first Pastor was the Rev. R. Vogel ; the second, the Rev. C. Mchrtens ; the present Pastor is the Rev. H. Hoerig. The society belongs to the Iowa Synod, and is composed of about fifty families. The church building is located in the eastern portion of the city, and cost about $2,000; connected with it is a parochial school, attended in the summer by from twelve to fifteen scholars, and in the winter by about thirty.

As a matter of history, brief mention must be made of a church organization effected in Watertown about twelve years ago, by Griffith Evan, a Welshman, who was expelled from the Calvinistic fold in his native country, for conduct unbecoming a minister of the Gospel, viz., abandoning his children, the issue of two wives in Wales, whom he buried there. He came to Wisconsin and led a small flock in the towns of Emmet and Ixonia, where he saw the sod grow green over the grave of a third spouse. Coming to Watertown, he brought with him an inno- cent young girl as housekeeper, whom he afterward married under circumstances which resulted in his expulsion as Pastor of a small congregation, for the forgiveness of whose sins he prayed from the pulpit of the little church on South Second street. The Rev. Mr. Evan has not yet, it is believed, taken the lecture field.

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The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing biographical sketches, Part 62

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 714

Author: Western historical company, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 714