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GENEALOGY
COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 00828 6210
HISTORY
OF
DANE COUNTY
^C^3^CL^<
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL
MADISON
Western Historical Association 1906
History of Dane County.
BIOGRAPHICAL. 12481
Elling B. Aaker is one of the prominent farmers of Dunkirk township, where he owns a well improved landed estate of two hundred acres. Like many others of the leading agriculturists of Dane county, Mr. Aaker is a native of Norway, where he was born May 12, 1837, and he is a son of Botton and Martha (Elling- son) Aaker. who immigrated to America in 1857 and became pioneers of Dane county, settling in Pleasant Springs township, and later removing to Dunkirk township, where they passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of seven chil- dren, of whom only thrc attained to years of maturity: Julia, who became the wife of Lewis Iverson, is now deceased; Elling B. is the subject of this sketch, and Susan is the wife of Nels Jenson. Elling B. Aaker preceded his parents in immigrating to America, having come in 1856, and having been twenty years of age at the time. He proceeded directly from New York city to Dane county, Wisconsin, and purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres of wild land, in Pleasant Springs township, reclaiming the major por- tion of the same and there continuing to reside until the spring of 1885, when he sold the property and purchased his present fine homestead, of two hundred acres, in Dunkirk township, being the owner of twenty acres in Pleasant Springs township also. His farm is equipped with good improvements in the matter of build- ings and is maintained under effective cultivation. In politics Mr. Aaker is affiliated with the Republican party, and he and his family hold membership in Christ church. Norwegian Lutheran, in the citv of Stoughton. June 13, 18G8, Mr. Aaker was united in
18 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
marriage to Miss Anne Quale, daughter of Andrew and Christy ( Nelson) Quale, who were natives of Norway and who settled in Pleasant Springs township, this county, in 1858, here passing the residue of their lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Aaker have been born ten children : Andrew and Martha are twins, the latter being now the wife of John Bakke, of Iowa; Ben :s deceased; the next two in order of birth are Carl and Christian; Marie is deceased; Henry is a resident of Stoughton ; Emma is the wife of Ferdinand Rasmus- sen ; and the two youngest children are Lydia and Caroline.
Herman Aaroen is one of the worthy citizens contributed to Dane county by Scandinavia, a source from which Wisconsin has drawn much of its best citizenship and gained much of its material and civic prosperity. He has for a number of years been num- bered among the successful farmers of Blooming Grove township, and has won success and independence through his own efforts,, having come to the new world as a young man without financial means and having worked his way upward through earnest and honest endeavor. Mir. Aaroen was born in Sogendahl, Norway, in August, 1857, and is a son of Johan Ingebret Aaroen and Mar- garet (Olson) Aaroen, who passed their entire lives in Norway. He received limited educational advantages in his youth, and con- tinued resident of his native land until he had attained the age of twenty-one years, when he immigrated to America, being com- pelled to borrow, from a friend, sufficient money to pay his pas- sage across the Atlantic. From that time forward he has never received any assistance from extraneous sources, and he is deserv- ing of credit for the determination and worthy effort which have brought to him so marked prosperity within the intervening years. He has been a resident of Blooming Grove township since 1894, and of his original homestead farm he now retains twenty-five acres, to which he devotes his attention as a general farmer. On the place he has made good improvements, and he is also the owner of a nice residence property in the neighboring village of McFarland. where he expects to take up his abode eventually. For some time he did contracting on a small scale, but his princi- pal vocation lias been that of farming. Mr. Aaroen is held in high esteem in his community and is an unassuming and worthy citizen. He gives his support to the Republican party and he and lii— family hold membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church. December 33, 1886, Mr. Aaroen was married to Miss Anna Sko- gen, daughter of Serum and Maggie (Kleven) Skogen, of Pleasant Spr'ngs township, and following is a record of the names and re-
BIOGRAPHICAL. 19
spective dates of birth of the ten children of this union, only one of the number being deceased. Samuel Johan, May 3,' 1887; Mar- tin Olous, January 11, 1889, died January 13, 1898; Maria Jose- phine, November 15, 1890; Gerhard Martin, October 10, 1892; Albert Herman, August 22, 1894; Andrew Oliver, July 28, 1896; Martin Olous (2d), December 31, 1898; Bordina Luella. February 6, 1901 ; Serina Rebecca, December 14, 1902, and Idella Helena, October 29, 1904.
Hon. Henry Cullen Adams, congressman from the second dis- trict, was a typical example of the kind of man to whom Americans are fond of referring as a natural result of peculiarly American in- stitutions. He was a native of Verona, Oneida county, N. Y., and was born November 28, 1850. His parents, B. F. and Caroline M. (Shepherd) Adams were also natives of the same place. He was- one of the line from which President John Adams sprung. His father, Benjamin Franklin Adams, was a graduate of Hamilton College, New York. While in Hamilton College the elder Adams was a charter member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and, as principal of an academy at Oneida, N. Y.. was instructor of the late P>. J. Stevens of Madison. His mother was Eunice Webster a first cousin of Noah Webster of dictionary fame and Mr. Webster was a frequent caller at the Adams home. The family came west in the early fifties settling at Beaver Dam, then coming to Liberty Prairie, near Madison. The father died in 1902. the mother some years before. They were carried to Wisconsin by the tide of im- migration which swept westward about the time of his birth, and he became a resident of Jefferson county at the age of six months. In that county and in Dane he spent his boyhood years, supple- menting his instruction at the district schools with the more prac- tical knowledge of farm life in all its details, which knowledge be- came in later years the instrument which led to his political pre- ferment. His later achievements, if they formed a part of his plan of life, were to have been reached by other means, and his early efforts were all directed toward advancement through the usual methods of scholarly attainments. His first academic work was done at Albion Academy, Dane county, in 1868 ; the following year he entered the University of Wisconsin, but after two years of study he was compelled on account of failing health to give up his work ; and a second attempt to complete his collegiate course, even after a three years' rest, resulted in a second physical breakdown. In spite of these discouragements he subsequently read law in the offices of Nathaniel W. Dean and Gregory & Pinney. In
20 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
realizing the necessity of an active out-door life he purchased a farm near the city of Madison, set it out to small fruits, and ap- plying to its management the business methods for which his studies had laid the foundation, he soon began to realize a good return for his investments. He also stocked his farm with a herd of thorough-bred Jerseys and added a dairy to his establishment. He not only personally superintended his fruit and dairy business but actually performed many of the laborious duties connected with it. He varied the work of this period by occasionally teach- ing; in the winter of 1877 he taught a country school in the town of Burke in which his immediate predecessor was F. W. Hall and the one before that was Senator R. M. La Follette. Mr. Adams was always actively interested in political affairs and in 1880 en- tered the arena as a stump speaker, a part which he filled in every subsequent campaign up to the present time. In 1883 he was elected to represent the southeast assembly district in the state legislature, by a majority of over seven hundred votes and was re- elected the next term, increasing his majority to over a thousand. During the later term he served as chairman of the house commit- tee on claims. For three years following this legislative ex- perience he spent the winters in company with Mr. Morrison, in conducting farmers' institutes throughout the state, and while giving in this work the results of his own experience and observa- tion, he incidentally formed a wide acquaintance throughout the agricultural communities, and made many friends who rallied to his support when he became, later, a candidate for congressional honors. Three years as president of the state dairymen's associa- tion, and two years as secretary of the state horticultural society, supplemented this acquaintance and made his name a household word among the farmers. About this time, (1887), he entered the editorial field, for which he was somewhat prepared through act- ing as correspondent for a number of agricultural periodicals, and became, for a short time, manager and editor of the Western Farmer, published in Madison. In 1888 he was a delegate-at-large to the convention which nominated Benjamin Harrison for presi- dent, and the same year was appointed superintendent of public property by Governor Hoard, serving for two years. At the ex- piration of this time he became associated with C. M. Dow & Co., and later with Mr. Vernon, and divided his attention between his farming interests and a real estate business. Governor Upham ap- pointed Mr. Adams as dairy and food commissioner, in 1894, and the wisdom of his selection for this important position was en-
BIOGRAPHICAL. 21
dorsed by two of his successors in office, Governors Scofield and La Follette. It was during his incumbency of this office that he rendered such efficient service to the farmers of this state by his efforts in the passage of the law which prohibited the manufacture of filled cheese and colored olemargerine. At the time of Mr. Adams' appointment, Wisconsin dairy products had fallen from the high grade which had established for them an international reputation to a very low place, on account, especially, of the pro- duction of filled cheese, and it has taken years to restore to them the confidence of the public, and for this restoration the dairymen are largely indebted to Mr. Adams. Following the agitation in Wisconsin most of the other dairying states have passed stringent laws along the same line, and these were supplimented, after a three years' struggle, by the enactment of a national law putting an almost prohibative tax upon the production of oleomargine. In this agitation Mr. Adams took a very active part, and his many visits to the national capital in the interests of pure food enact- ments, made him familiar with life in Washington, and gave him the wider outlook upon affairs which that familiarity brings, and when in" 1902, his name came before the voters of the second con- gressional district as a national representative, he had fully demon- strated his ability to fill it, and the confidence of his constituency in him has been shown by two re-elections to the same office. Mr. Adams came before the public eye during the most recent session of congress more than at any time in his political career, through his work for the meat inspection law now in effect. During the latter part of the session, after President Roosevelt exposed the packers, Senator Beveridge formulated an amendment to the agri- cultural bill, providing for inspection of packing houses. This amendment caused a bitter fight, especially the clause providing that the packers pay the expense, and one providing for both day and night inspections. When the fight was at its bitterest point, Mr. Adams saw the president and they agreed upon the measure which is now a law. His reputation for honesty and fair dealing was such that in the very storm center of politics he was always trusted and sometimes feared by both factions of his party. His taste and judgment in literature was excellent and he was. possessed of a dry humor, slightly tinged with good-humored1, sarcasm, which made him an exceedingly entertaining companion and his self-poise under the trying conditions in which an aspirant for political honors is sometimes placed was remarkable. During a recent campaign an uncompromising friend demanded of him. "Are
22 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
you a Stalwart or a Hal f-B reed ?" With a twinkle of his eye he gravely responded, "I'm running for congress." Mr. Adams was married October 15, 1878, to Miss Annie B. Norton, who was born in Lowell, Mass., and reared in Madison. Their four children, Benjamin Cullen, Frank Shepherd, Mabel and Carrie were all born in Madison. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Adams had not been in robust health for many years the announcement of his death. July 9, 1906, came as a shock to his many friends. He died at the Auditorium, Chicago, on his way home from Washington. Speaker Cannon appointed as members of the hofise funeral com- mittee the following congressmen: John J Esch, Wiscons'n; J. W. Babcock, Wisconsin; W. E. Brown, Wisconsin; C. H. Weisse, Wisconsin ; J. II. Jenkins, Wisconsin; James H. Davidson, Wiscon- sin; H. A. Cooper, Wisconsin; E. S. Miner. Wisconsin; W. H. Staf- ford. Wisconsin ; Theo Otjen, Wisconsin ; James S. Sherman, New York; J. Adam Bede. Minnesota; James A. Tawney, Minnesota; A. L. Brick, Indiana; Martin H. Madden, Chicago; John Lamb, Vir- ginia; H. S. Boutell, Illinois; J. V. Graff, Illinois; William Wil- son. Illinois; A. F. Dawson, Iowa; H. P. Goebel, Ohio; Thomas Marshall, North Dakota; A. J. Barchfeld, Pennsylvania; Jesse Overstreet. Indiana ; Harry C. Woodyard, West Virginia ; E. L. Hamilton. Michigan. Mr. Adams' death called out many expres- sions of appreciation from prominent men, not only in his own state, but from those who had become acquainted with him in the wider circles into which his position in congress brought him. The limits of this brief memoir prevent their reproduction here, but the spirit which animated them is well represented, especially in regard to his later work, in two or three excerpts. Governor Davidson said: "I have known Honorable Henry C. Adams for many years. On my first acquaintance he impressed me as a man of unusual talent and wide attainments. Mr. Adams was a most genial gentleman and readily made friends. As a member of con- gress he took a commanding position, and his battle for the agri- cultural interests of the country will cause him to be long and gratefully remembered. The death of Mr. Adams at this time is a distinct loss to the state and to the country." Colonel Casson : "As a public speaker Congressman Adams attracted more atten- tion in the house than any other man in twenty years. On sev- eral occasions, notably when he spoke on the Philippine tariff bill. was this shown. On the conclusion of that speech the house took an informal recess and the entire house crowded around to con- gratulate him. Ik- was intensely popular and I considered him
BIOGRAPHICAL. 33
the best talker in the house. He was emphatically a growing man. He had much yet to develop. He had made a very successful member of congress. He had a way of doing things, of getting there. He had a tact and talent which eminently fitted him for successful work in a legislative body. It can truly be said of him that he was an orator, that in debate he was always ready for the occasion."
Michael Adler, of Waunakee, born in Germany July 13, 1853, is the son of Germans, Nicholas and Alary (Michaels) Adler. The father died in Germany in 1860, and some years after the widow and her two sons, John Adler. now of Cross Plains, and Michael, the subject of this sketch, came to America. Michael came to Berry township, Dane, in 1868, and went to work on a farm; two years later he went to Springfield and in 1882, joined his mother and brother in Cross Plains, where they had located in 1873. At the latter place he bought forty acres of land, to which he has added from time to time, and is now, through his own diligence and good jnanagement, the possessor of a farm of two hundred acres. He is actively interested in the welfare of the Democratic party, and has held many offices of political trust, having served five years as justice of the peace, two years as trustee of the village of Waunakee, five years as supervisor of Cross Plains township, and three years on the county board, which last position he holds at present. He married January 11, 1876, Miss Annie Mer- gen, who was born in Dane, March 3, 1855. She is the daughter of Jacob and Mary (Schauffhausen) Mergen, both born in Ger- many ; he came to Dane in 1853 and she in 1854, and on April 24, of that year they were married. Mr. Mergen's first wife, (who was a Miss Biddinger) died in Xew York City in 1853. Of the six- children of the first marriage, three are living, and of the nine children of the second marriage, of whom Mrs. Adler is one, seven are living. To the subject of this sketch and his wife, twelve chil- dren have been born of whom five died in infancy; those living are, Michael P., who lives on the old homestead; John J., of Vienna township; Henry, of Madison; Math. F., Joseph, Mary and Anna. Mr. Adler has retired from active life and resides in a beautiful home in the village of Waunakee.
William Albers, farmer and teamster of the town of Madison, was born in Hanover, Germany, May 28, 1841. his parents. William and Catherine (Rinkhoft) Albers. both being natives of that province. The father died before the subject of this sketch was born and the mother afterward married William Mollenbard, a
34 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
carpenter by trade. In 1858 the family came to America and set- tled in Dane county. There the stepfather bought a large farm and followed farming and carpentering the rest of his life. Wil- liam Albers is the only child of his parents, though his mother had four children by her second marriage. As a boy he had but little opportunity to acquire an education, being compelled by circum- stances to work on the farm. At the age of eighteen years he left home and went to work in a brick-yard at St. Louis. In 1861 he returned to Dane county, bought a team and has been engaged in teaming more or less ever since. Some time later he bought the farm where he now lives, and upon which there is a sand and gravel pit, from which he derives considerable revenue. Mr. Al- bers is a fine example of that industry and thrift which is a dis- tinguishing characteristic of the German people. Beginning life with small capital and limited opportunities he has achieved suc- cess through his own efforts. In political matters he is classed as a Democrat, though in local elections he votes for the man rather than for the candidate of any party. He is a member of the Turner society of Madison, and of the old fire company No. 2. He has been twice married, first in 1861 to Augusta, daughter of Fritz Smith, a native of Saxony, and his second wife was Sophia Smith, daughter of Philip Smith. She died July 2, 1902, aged fifty-one. By this second marriage he has five children living and one deceased, viz : Charles, Susie, George, William, Kate, all living at home, and Margaret, the last named dying in early child- hood.
Fritz Albrecht, Sr., a retired farmer, whose home is in Middle- ton, was born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin and came to America with his father, Carl Albrecht. when he was three years old. The latter was bom at Bresegardt, Mecklenburg, was married at Middleton to Mi^s Maria llinrechs of Bresegardt, and was a foreman on the German roads. In 1855 he set sail with his family for America and was seven weeks en voyage. They located at Middleton and obtained a farm of forty acres in section 14, having nine acres un- der cultivation, and a log dwelling. This farm Mr. Albrecht pro- ceeded to clear dnring the hours when he was not active in his duties as an employee of the C, M. & St. P. R. R. He was a stanch Democrat and with his family supported the German Lutheran church. Mr. Albrecht died in 1878 aged sixty-five, his wife in 181 !. aged fifty-six. ( )f their seven children but two (John and Fritz) are living, both at Middleton. Fritz Albrecht was born November 3, 1852, and grew to manhood on his father's farm, re-
BIOGRAPHICAL. 25
ceiving" such education as the country schools of that time af- forded. He worked the farm for many years and was also em- ployed in threshing for seventeen years. At the present time he is the owner of a splendid farm of two hundred and seventy-two acres just south of Middleton and a pleasant home in Middleton, which he has occupied since 1905. He is a Democrat and has al- ways been much interested in politics, but more in school affairs, in which he has been active as clerk of the school board of Middle- ton for twelve years and clerk of the district school board for nine years and treasurer for twelve years of high school. For three years he was chairman of the town board also town treas- urer 1883-4 and served on county board 1886-7 and 1892. October 5, 1873, he married Miss Mary Hinrichs, daughter of Jacob and Marie (Rieland) Hinrichs of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Nine chil- dren were born to them, of whom four sons are now living; Will- iam, who is a carpenter of Madison, Wis. ; Fritz. Jr., who farms the old home farm ; Emill, who is a painter by trade and lives at home ; and Frank, the youngest, also at home. All of the sons have the best education afforded by the Middleton schools, for whose welfare their father has always labored.
Orin Alderman, a farmer in the town of Pleasant Springs, was born in the neighborhood where he now lives, February 1-1, 1858, and is of German and Norwegian descent. His father, Walter Al- derman, was born in Baden, Germany, February 14, 1822, his par- ents being John and Frances Alderman. The father died while Walter was still a small boy, and in 1830 the widow and her son came to America. After living two years in Buffalo, N. Y., they went to Detroit, where they remained for six years, Walter find- ing employment in a hotel. Then they removed to Milwaukeer where he worked in a hotel until 1845, when they came to Dane county. About this time Walter Alderman married Caroline Wit- tleson, who was born in Norway but came to Wisconsin in 1840. He obtained forty acres of land in the town of Dunkirk, upon which he built a shanty and began farming. Later he bought some land in the town of Pleasant Springs, and added to his first purchase until he owned over two hundred acres. He was a Re- publican in political matters and a member of the Lutheran church. The children of Walter and Caroline Alderman are as follows : John, who now runs a hotel and hardware store at Crookston. Minn. ; Catherine, wife of Iver Johnson, of Avon. Wash. : Adeline,. now deceased, was the wife of Iver Anderson, of Pleasant Springs : Mary Ann, wife of Ole Lothe. of Pleasant Springs: Frances, living
26 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
at Crookston. Minn. ; Orin, the subject of this sketch; Julia and Frederick, now both deceased; Turena, living- at Crookston; and Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Martin Mickelson. Orin Alderman at- tended the schools in Pleasant Springs in his early boyhood, but the death of his father restricted his opportunities to acquire an ed- ucation, as he had to begin work at an early age. In 1889 he bought one hundred and twenty acres of the old home place, and here he carries on a general farming business. He raises a con- siderable quantity of tobacco, and also pays some attention to stock raising and dairying. In politics and religion he has fol- lowed the affiliations of his father, being a Republican and a mem- ber of the Lutheran church at Stoughton. He has never married.
Edwin K. Allandslee, proprietor of the "Central Restaurant" in Stoughton. was born in Telemarken, Norway, September 6, 1853. He is a son of Knud and Rannae Allandslee. His widowed mother, with her nine children, immigrated to the United States in 1866, coming direct to Wisconsin, where she purchased eighty acres of land in the town of Dunn, Dane county. Subsequently she made her home in the town of Rutland with the subject of this sketch and died there. Her children were Osman, George. Stener, Edwin K.. John, Dagna, Gunhild, Asloug and Rannae. Edwin K. was brought up in Dane county from the time he was thirteen years of age. receiving such educational advantages as the schools afforded. One year of his life was spent in Pleasant Springs and twenty-five years on the old homestead in the town of Dunn. In 1862 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in the town of Rutland, where he lived until 1900. In the latter year he removed to Dunkirk, purchasing fifteen acres, of land just out- side of the corporation limits of Stoughton. This he now uses as a market garden to supply the restaurant which he has conducted since August, 1905. His place of business has now become one of the principal centers of a growing city. In 1881 Mr. Allandslee was united in marriage to Gunhild Berge, a native of Norway, and to this union have been born eight children, Rannae. Oliver, Julia, Anna. Signa, Clarence. Alfred and -Arthur. The family are all communicants of the Lutheran church. In his political connec- tions Mr. Allandslee is a Republican.
Hans J. Allberg, foreman of the Amerika Publishing Company, was born near Trondhejm, Xorway, August 12, 1866. His par- entS were Anders Peterson and Hannah (Peterson) Allberg, both natives of Norway, where the father was a mechanic. They never came to America, the father dying in the old country at the age of
BIOGRAPHICAL. 27
•sixty-four years and the mother when she was fifty-three years of age. Of their five children Hans J. was the youngest. The others are Peter A., a mechanic, now living in Madison ; Paul, a farmer living near Walcott, N. D. ; Martin, now and for several years county surveyor of Ottertail county, Minn., living in Henning; and Helmar B., living in Norway. Hans J. Allberg received his educa- tion in the public schools of Norway, and after coming to this country in 1884 attended the schools here. His trade of printer lie learned in Minneapolis, Minn., where he worked three years. In the fall of 1887 he came to Madison and was employed on dif- ferent papers until 1896 when the "Amerika" a Norwegian paper •of which Prof. R. B. Anderson is the editor-in-chief, was moved to this city, since which time he has been with that paper. For some six years he edited and managed a Norwegian paper in Stotfghton, -called "The Normannen." which he later sold. The paper was removed to Madison and consolidated with "Amerika." On October 15, 1892, Mr. Allberg married Betsey, a daughter of Erick E. and Martha Hovland of Pleasant Springs and to this union three children have been born, Arthur Herman, Elmer Mar- tin and Hazel Lenora. Mr. and Mrs. Allberg are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church. For some years Mr. Allberg was secretary of the church board. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Professor William Francis Allen, one of the distinguished scholars and educators of the state and nation, was born in Xorth- boro, Mass., September 5, 1830. His father was Joseph Allen, a minister of the old church of that town. His preparatory school- ing was obtained partly at home and partly at Leicester Academy and Roxbury Latin school. In 1851 he was graduated from Har- vard and spent the next three years as a private instructor in New York city. The years 1854-56 were spent in European study and travel, chiefly at Berlin, Goettingen and Rome. In Rome he de- voted his attention for several months to a study of the topo- graphy of the ancient city ; he also visited Naples and Greece be- fore returning to the United States in 1856. These were the years of his specialized effort wherein he laid the foundations for h's life work in Latin, history and Roman antiquities. Prof. Allen next taught for seven years in the English and classical school in West Newton, Mass. He was married July 2, 1862, to Mary T. Lam- bert of the latter town, who died in 1865, leaving one child. Kath- arine. During the last two years of the Civil War he served in the south as an agent of the treedmen's and sanitary commissions,
28 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
ministering to the cause of education among the blacks. While in this employment he gathered materials for a collection of negro songs, published in 1867, under the title of "Slave Songs." After the close of the war he was for one year professor of ancient lan- guages at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, and one year at Eagleswood Military Academy, Perth Amboy, New Jersey, While here he accepted a call to the chair of ancient languages and history in the University of Wisconsin, with which institution he was associated during the remainder of his life; in 1870 his chair was changed to that of Latin and history, and in 1886 to that of history alone. June 30. 1868, he married Margaret L. Andrews of Newburyport, Mass.. and three children were born of this union,. Andrews. William W. (deceased) and Philip. Professor Allen died in Madison, Wis., December 8, 1889, after a brief illness, from pneumonia. He gained an international reputation in the literary- world for his labors and publications in the field of Roman history and antiquities. He is also the author of numerous Latin text- books of standard merit ; numerous review articles in The Nation, North American Review, and other leading critical journals; has published a large number of well known monographs of marked excellence. Among his best known works are his "Annals of Taci- tus." and "History of the Roman People" (Ginn. 1890). In the midst of his busy life as educator and writer, he found time for numerous outside activities, and was a director of the Madison free library, aad a trustee of the Unitarian church. He was be- loved by students, associates and all who knew him, and has left the impress of his scholarly personality on many generations of students. No one man has added more to the splendid reputation of the great university with which he was so long and intimately associated.
Francis M. Ames is a native-born son of Dane county, and dur- ing all of his long and active career he has resided within her con- fines. He was born in the town of Oregon, March 23, 1847, and is the son of John N. and Mary Ann (Ball) Ames, pioneer settlers of the county, who are deserving of more than a passing mention in a volume devoted to the history of worthy citizens, past and present. John X. Ames was born July 7, 1822, in Steuben, Oneida count}'. X. Y., and is descended from noble Revolutionary ances- try. Mis grandfather, Nathaniel Ames (born April 25, 1761, in New Hampshire) was a farmer and a Protestant Methodist preacher, who served under Washington and experienced the mis- eries of that winter camp at Valley Forge. In 1800 he settled in
BIOGRAPHICAL. 29
the wilderness near the headwaters of the Mohawk river, and there built him a home in which he resided for a number of years. He was married to Miss Sarah Hall, a native of Albany county, N. Y., who became the mother of eleven children, one of whom, David H., was the grandfather of the subject of this review. Al- though eighty-four years of age, in the summer of 1845, Nathaniel Ames, the old Revolutionary veteran, with his wife and five of his Children, (Frances, Jonathan, Naomi, Perymus and Ira), migrated to the wilds of the then territory of Wisconsin and settled on sec- tion 22 of what is now the town of Oregon, in Dane county. There his wife died, in July, 1851, at the age of eighty-four, and nine years later the old gentleman moved to the village of Oregon, where he died in August, 1863, aged one hundred and two years, doubtless the oldest white man wdio ever lived and died in Dane county. He was a Mason and was buried under the auspices of that order. David H. Ames, son of the venerable patriot, was born near Albany, N. Y., served through the war of 1812, and died but comparatively a few years ago, near Trenton Falls, N. Y.. aged one hundred and one years, nine months and twenty-seven davs. He married Miss Betsy Norton, who was a native of Herkimer county, N. Y., and a granddaughter of General Norton of the Rev- olutionary War. She also lived to be very old. John N. Ames, father of our subject, and son of David H. and Betsy (Norton) Ames, came with his grandfather to Wisconsin, in 1845, and was the only one of the eleven children born to his parents who made his home in this state. He lived on the original half-section en- tered by his grandfather until 1870, and then purchased two hun- dred and forty-four acres, lying on both sides of the track of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, two miles south of Oregon vil- lage, and in the heart of the best farming land in that section of Wisconsin. On this farm he built a large two-story farm house, a substantial basement barn and other buildings, and although he began his independent career with $100 which he had earned as monthly wages, few men made greater or more constant progress. Mr. Ames married, in his and her native town, Miss Mary A. Ball, daughter of Eusevius and Keturah (Weld) Ball, her father being a native of Massachusetts and of Revolutionary ancestry, as was also her mother, who was born in Orange county. N. J. Mr. Ames still lives at the old homestead, enjoying the fruits of his early endeavors. Mrs. Ames died February 4, 1893. Five chil- dren were born to them, all on the old Oregon farm: Francis M., John F., Sarah A., William L. and Florence A. Francis M. Ames
30 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
is the eldest of these children and is the one to whom this sketch is especially dedicated. He received his primary education in the district schools of Oregon, and supplemented the knowledge thus gained by taking a course at the University of Wisconsin at Madi- son. He resided at the home of his parents until 1876, when he- was married and located on the farm where he still resides, in sec- tion 32 of the town of Rutland, the place being known as the old Axtell farm. It comprises two hundred and fifty acres, and since taking possession of it Mr. Ames has made many needed improve- ments, including a beautiful residence which he built in 1893. In addition to this homestead he owns two hundred and eighty acres- in Brooklyn, Green county, which tract is known as the Willis Hazeltine place. Mr. Ames has always followed farming of a general nature, raising oats, corn, hay and wheat, and in live stock, and breeds hogs, horses and cattle quite extensively. In politics he gives an unwavering allegiance to the principles of the Prohibition party, but has never aspired to official position. In 1904 the Far- mers' Mutual Banking & Trust Company of Brooklyn was organ- ized, and Mr. Ames was elected as the first president of the organi- zation, serving in that capacity for two years, and he is now secre- tary of the same. Our subject was married on August 15, 1876,. to Miss Alice C. Main, daughter of R. P. and Cordelia A. (Dakin) Main, who are given extended mention on another page of this volume, in the sketch of their son, Edwin D. Main. Mrs. Ames was a school teacher in her early life, and is a lady of culture and refinement. She is the mother of seven children, the names and other facts concerning whom are here incorporated : F. Marion attended school at Evansville, graduated in the commercial college at Madison, and is now the book keeper at the chair factory at Brooklyn. J. Quincey is at present attending Yale college, being a member of the class of 1907. and is assistant secretary of the college Y. M. C. A. He has also been a student at the University of Wisconsin and he was in St. Louis two years and in Manila for the same length of time, being in the civil service of the govern- ment. He has also made a trip around the world, visiting- Shanghai, London, Rome, Paris, and other notable places. He is now preparing himself for the practice of law. Hallie, the third child, is assistant cashier and book keeper in the bank of Evans- ville. She is a graduate of the Evansville Seminary and the com- mercial college al Madison and taught several years. Tressa at- tended the Whitewater Normal school for two years, and has been teaching for the past three years, being the teacher in the primary
BIOGRAPHICAL. 31
department of the high school at Brooklyn. Robert P. took a com- mercial course in the Madison Business College, then went to Mon- tana for a while and was book keeper for a time at'Canastota. S. I ). He is now at home engaged in the management of his father's farm. Paul Main and Sadie Minnie (twins) are graduates of the high school at Evansville, of the class of 1906. In 1893 all of these children attended the World's Fair at Chicago, and in 1904 they visited the St. Louis exposition.
A. O. Amondson is a retired farmer of Cambridge, of Norwegian birth and ancestry. With his parents, Ole and Ingobar (Larson) Amondson, he came to the United States when he was twelve years old and located at Christiana, Dane county, Wis., after one winter spent at Jefferson Prairie. Eleven children were born to Ole Amondson and his wife, of whom A. O. is the oldest living son. Rhoda, the oldest daughter, is married and lives in Iowa ; Betsy is Mrs. O. D. Olson of Grand Forks, N. D. ; Martha is the wife of I. Isaacson of Rock county, Wis.; Christie married Nicholi Anderson of Rockdale. Ole Amondson was a blacksmith and a skilled worker in metals but when he came to Wisconsin he en- gaged in farming. The voyage was made in a sailing vessel and the family was twelve weeks upon the ocean. They landed at New York, in July, 1844, and came to Wisconsin by way of the Great Lakes, the common route at that time. The farm upon which they lived comprised one hundred and sixty acres and upon it a dug-out was soon constructed to be followed later by a sub- stantial home. Besides the work of the farm Mr. Amondson was the blacksmith for the young community, made plows, tinkered guns, etc. He died at the old homestead in January, 1861, and his wife in May, 1881. Mr. Amondson was a member of the Luth- eran church and in political sympathy a Democrat, though he was never active in politics. A. O. Amondson, better known as Ed., was born in Voss, Norway, September 26, 1832, attended the home schools and assisted his parents with the work of the farm. In 1850 he crossed the plains to California and after a difficult and dangerous journey of four months arrived at Placeville, Cal., where he worked in mines and in a store. Returning to Dane county after several years in California he bought one hundred and twenty acres of the old home farm and there he carried on a prosperous general farming business for thirty years. In 1898 he retired and since then has made his home in the village of Cambridge. A 'member of the Republican party Mr. Amondson has always been an active worker for the advancement of the community and has
32 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
served as a supervisor and as a member of the town board of Chris- tiania.
Ed. Amundson, a prominent farmer of Rutland, was born in Nor- way and came to America with his brother and sister, in 1871. Of a family of eight children but three left their native land, Ole, who lives with his brother, Anna, whose home is in Pierce county, Wis., and Ed. The other members of the family remained with the parents, Amund and Martha (Olson) Larson, in Christiania. Ed Amundson was born Feb. 15, 1845, at Christiania, attended the common schools and worked on the farm until he was twenty-six years old. when he sailed for America and located at Pleasant Springs. Here he remained for a number of years and in 1896 purchased one hundred and forty-two acres of farm land in the town of Rutland, which is his present home. Many improvements have been made by him upon the farm, until it is now very com- pletely equipped. Mr. Amundson is a Republican in his political affiliations but has never taken an active part in politics. He is a member of the Stoughton Lutheran church. October 9, 1873, he married Miss Inga Erickson, daughter of Eric Erickson and Lena (Olson) Erickson, natives of Norway. Mrs. Amundson has a sister, Rebecca, and a brother, Edward, living in Dane county, but the remainder of the family never came to America. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Amundson, all of whom have attended the schools of Rutland and Stoughton. They live in Rutland; Alfred and Oscar are farmers; Sophia is a dressmaker; Hannah. Edwin, Josephine, Idella and Alf. Theodore remain at home.
Christian Anderson, a merchant of Deerfield, was born in the town of Christiana, Dane county, March 26, 1853. His parents were Andrew and Cary (Nelson) Anderson, both natives of Nor- way. They came to Wisconsin about 1847. bought forty acres of school land in the town of Christiana, but later traded that farm for another in the same neighborhood and there lived the remainder of their lives. The mother died in October. 1860, and the father in the following January. W^hen the war broke out the two older brothers rented out the farm and entered the army. At that time Christian was only eight years old. He was taken by a neighbor, with whom lie remained for a year. He then worked for different persons until he was fifteen years of age. when he went to work in a wagon factory at Cambridge. He was there but a short time when his arm was seriously injured by a circular saw, disabling him for a year. This accident still affects the use of his arm. He next worked in hotels at different places for about five years, at the end
BIOGRAPHICAL. 33
of which time he went to Chicago and found employment in an organ and furniture factory . Mr. Anderson has now an organ and several ornamental pieces of furniture of his own construction, having become an expert cabinet maker in spite of his injured arm. While in Chicago he attended the evening schools, adding to the elementary education he had obtained in the public schools in the town of Christiana. On New Year's day, 1880, he married Anna Hendrickson, who was born in Norway, Dec. 10, 1849. Her par- ents, Hendrie and Sarah (Arandt) Hendrickson, were both natives of Trondhjem, Norway, but came to the United States in 1865, settling first in Michigan, but a year later they located at Oxford- ville, Rock county, Wis., where they bought a farm and there passed the remainder of their lives. They had three children, Mrs. Anderson being the only one now living. In 1885 they removed to Deerfield, where Mr. Anderson erected the building in which his store is established, and where he has ever since been engaged in the mercantile business. Mrs. Anderson is an accomplished mil- liner, having had several years experience in some of the leading milliner stores of Chicago, and she is engaged in that business in connection with her husband's store. They have a large patronage and conduct a store that would be a credit to a much larger town. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have had two children, but both died in infancy. In political matters Mr. Anderson is a Republican and takes an interest in public matters, both general and local, and has served two terms on the village board. He and his wife belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church and take considerable interest in church work.
Iver Anderson, a farmer in the town of Pleasant Springs, was born at Bergen, Norway, February 22. 1836. He is a son of An- drew and Christine (Ouam) Ellingson, both natives of the stift in which Bergen is located. They were married in their native land and in 1848 embarked in a sailing vessel for America. After a voyage of seven weeks and two days they landed in the city of New York, from which point they came directly fo Wisconsin and settled in the town of Dunkirk, in Dane county. He bought one hundred and eighty acres of unimproved land, opened it to culti- vation and lived on that farm until his death. He was a Democrat in his political views, and both he and his wife belonged to the Lutheran church. Their children were as follows : Elling, now living in Dodge county, Minn. ; Iver. the subject of this sketch ; Andrew, deceased; Nels, a farmer in Dodge county, Minn.; Susan, living in the town of Dunkirk; Annie, also living in Dunkirk; 3— iii
34 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
Martha; Jacob, and Christ ne. deceased. Iver Anderson re- ceived a primary education in Norway, but after coming to America the requirements of the new country made it neces- sary for him to assist his father in the clearing and cultivation of the farm. He lived with parents until he was twenty-eight years of age, when he bought one hundred acres of land where he now lives. This farm, which he bought from his father, had a log cabin on it and about thirty acres were cleared. He now owns two hundred and sixty acres and has one of the best improved farms in the neighborhood. He does a general farming business, raises a good deal of tobacco, and devotes some attention to raising stock. Politically he is independent, though he takes a worthy interest in town affairs and has held the office of school clerk and treasurer for thirty years. He is a deacon in the Christ church, Lutheran, of Stoughton, and is somewhat active in church work. He* has. been twice married. His first wife was Miss Adeline Alderman, by whom he had three children, viz : Kate, now the wife of An- drew Beck, of the town of Pleasant Springs ; Caroline, wife of Samuel Brickson, a farmer of Pleasant Springs; and Mileda, now deceased. The mother of these children died in 1874, and Mr. Anderson married Inger Erickson, a native of Norway. By the second wife he has the following chlidren. Arthur, Edward, Bes- sie, Clarence. Mary, Ida, Christine and Andrew, all living but Ar- thur. Mr. Anderson has been an industrious man all his life, and whatever degree of success he has attained has been entirely due to his own energy and good judgment. He is well known and generally respected in the community where he lives.
John N. Anderson, a well-known carpenter of Stoughton, was born at Endresogn, Norway, Feb. 12, 1858. He is a son of Nels and Ela (Oldstatter) Anderson and until he was sixteen years of age his training was obtained in the Norwegian schools. At that age he immigrated to the LTnited States and located in Dane county, and the city of Stoughton has since been his home. For several years he "hired out" to the farmers of the vicinity but in 1880 started in to do carpentering work. Since that time he has been continuously at it and is known today as one of the best men in his line in the city. He has also done some contracting, but has generally preferred to do the mechanical part of the work. ( >n February 27, 1888, Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Carrie (or Kara), daughter of Halvor Burthe and Olive (Quale) T >rgeson, natives of Norway who were pioneers of both Jefferson and Dane counties. The issue of this union is two daughters.
BIOGRAPHICAL. 35
Ella A. and Geneva M. All of the family are members of the Nor- wegian Lutheran synod and communicants of Christ church. Stoughton. In his political relations Mr. Anderson is a stanch Republican.
John W. Anderson, retired, of Mazomanie village, was born in Union county, Ohio, Sept. 26, 1836. He was a son of William and Mary (Argo) Anderson. William Anderson was born in Rich- mond, Va.. and his wife first saw the light of day near Pittsburg, Pa. The subject's paternal grandfather, John Anderson, was a wealthy planter and slave owner of Virginia. William Anderson remained in Virginia until he was about twenty-one years of age and then removed with his wife to Union county, Ohio, about 1833. In 1846 they moved again, this time to Platteville, Wis., where they remained one year. Iowa county was their next place of lo- cation and there Mrs. Anderson died. Shortly after Mr. Ander- son went to Iowa to live with a daughter, at whose home he passed away. Both he and his wife were members of the Advent- ist church. Seven children were born to them. The father and two sons enlisted in the Union army ; the father was in Company K, Fiftieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and saw a year's serv- ice. Benjamin, a son, was in Company H, Eighth Wisconsin Infan- try, and was killed in the battle of the Wilderness. John W. Anderson, the subject of this sketch, enlisted in Company G, Elev- enth Wisconsin Infantry, in October, 1861. His regiment was in the battle of Bayou Cache, in General Steele's division. Ill health kept him in the hospital at Mound City, 111., for a time, and on his release he was discharged from the army. Up to the time of his enlistment, from the age of seventeen, he had worked out, and after h"s discharge from the army he went to Cottage Grove, in this county, where he farmed for four years. For the following thirty- five years he farmed in the town of Arena, Iowa county ; the next few years he spent in the village of Arena and in October, 1904, he retired and located in the village of Mazomanie. Mr. Anderson is a Republican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has been twice married. His first wife was Annie, daughter of John and Martha (Johnson) Gallagher, to whom he was married in March, 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher were both natives of Ire- land. Four of the ten children who blessed this first union are still living. They are Addie, the wife of James Gorst of Arena r Winnie, the wife of James Ray. a farmer near Arena: Ralph J., a merchant at Arena, married to Addie Dodge ; and Nettie, the wife of Torrence Hughes, a merchant of Astoria, Oregon. Mrs. An-
36 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
derson died October 1, 1899. On July 14, 1901, Mr. Anderson was married to Mrs. Lizzie Good; widow of Thomas Good, a farmer of the town of Cottage Grove, who was murdered August 27, 1899. She was a daughter of Jesse and Ann (Wilcox) Augh, natives of England, who came to this country in 1840 and settled in Long Island, N. Y. From Long Island Mr. Augh moved to Sun Prairie, this county, and later to Richland county, where he died. Mr. Anderson is a member of A. R. McDonald post, No. 52, of Mazo- manie. Grand Army of the Republic.
Ole O. Anderson (deceased) was a successful and well-known farmer of Albion, son of Ole O. Quale and Susan (Gornan) Quale of Norway. With his brothers, Nels and Andrew, Ole O. Ander- son came to Wisconsin and settled at Albion. Nels obtained a farm in section 4 and made it his home until his death in 1856. Andrew sold his farm in section 5 and went to Winnebago county, Iowa. Ole O. was born June 19, 1825, in Sogendahl, Norway, learned tailoring in Norway and worked at that trade until he came to the United States, after which he has always engaged in farm- ing. His land was located in different parts of Albion and he lived in section 4. His property consisted altogether of three hun- dred and sixty acres. During the first years of his residence in Dane county, Mr. Anderson was employed in various different tasks but soon found it all he could do to manage his rapidly im- proving property, which has become very valuable. He was a member of the Republican party but took no active part in county affairs. He was however very prominent in the work of the Nor- wegian Lutheran church, for whose welfare he was always ready to labor. In October, 1851, he married Miss Gurie Peterson, who was born in Sogen, Norway, March 28, 1832, daughter of Peder and Caroline (Beck). Another daughter, Caroline, married Tosten Thronson of Sogn, Norway, and came to Albion in 1844. Four children were born to them ; Thomas, who lives at Albion ; Andrew, of Cambridge; Christopher (deceased) and Christiana, (deceased) who married A. Larson of Clear Lake, Iowa. Twelve sons and daughters blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. Susan, the oldest daughter, is the widow of Ole Barsness of Minnesota. Caroline is Mrs. Martin Mason of Albion. Nicholas, who lives on the old homestead, was for a time engaged in tobacco dealing in Stoughton and also owned a store. He takes an active inter- est in politics and was elected to the assembly in 1898 by the Re- publican party. He has also served in local offices, as chairman, supervisor, etc. For twelve years he has been a member of the
BIOGRAPHICAL. 37
board of directors of the Albion Fire Insurance Co. and its presi- dent since 1898. He is a trustee and devoted member of the East Koshkonong Congregational church. Andrew is a farmer of Al- bion. Peter B. resides in Stoughton. Maria is Mrs. Allen Alme of Pleasant Springs, Wis. Henry C. owns one hundred and sixty acres of the old farm, where he carries on a prosperous general farming business. His especial interest is live-stock, which he raises for pleasure as well as profit. Durham cattle and French coach horses are bred upon his farm. Martin O. is a farmer at the old home. Joseph is a farmer and real estate dealer of Stoughton. Dena Elizabeth is Mrs. Gulich Osgarn of Pleasant Springs. Ed- ward J. is a photographer of Minneapolis. Olive J. married Otto N. Nelson of Albion. Mr. Anderson lived on the farm he bought when he first came to Wisconsin until Jan. 31, 1888, when he died surrounded by his children.
Osvald C. Andersen, a leading merchant tailor of Madison, whose place of business is at 27 North Pinckney street, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 14, 1874. He is a son of Ole and Johanna (Nelson) Andersen. The father is still a resident of Co- penhagen, where he is foreman in a sugar factory. Although six- ty-four years of age he is still in vigorous health. He has never even visited the New World. The mother died in 1885 at the age of forty-two. Both she and her husband were members of the Lutheran church. Another son, Charles W.. and the only other child, is a jeweler in Madison. The subject of this sketch was edu- cated and learned his trade in Copenhagen. In 1892 he sought new fields and came to the United States, locating in Buffalo. N. Y., where for a short time he worked as a coat maker. For a short time Mr. Andersen was employed in Chicago, and in July, 1893, arrived in Madison. He found employment with L. W. Gay and worked for him until 1899 when he became a partner, the firm name being Gay & Andersen. In 1902 Mr. Gay left the firm to enter the real estate business and since that time Mr. Andersen has con- ducted the business alone. That he is an excellent and thor- ough workman both as a ladies' and gentlemen's tailor is proven by the prosperity which has been his. On Dec. 5, 189G. Mr. Ander- sen married Sofie. daughter of L. and M. Jensen of Aarhus, Den- mark. This union has been blessed with four children. Victor S.. Olga F.. Waldemar C. and Osvald N. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ander- son are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church. Mr. Ander- son is a member and treasurer of the Madison society of the Danish Brotherhood of America. Modest, retiring and courteous he is a
38 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
model c'tizen who has won for himself a large place in the com- munity.
Hon. Rasmus B. Anderson is without doubt the most distin- guished and widely known of American-Scandinavians. The basic facts of his birth and birthplace are as follows: he is native-born, but of Scandinavian parentage; his native village being Albion, Dane county, and the date January 12, 1846. About his parentage there is a flavor of romance, as, contrary to all the unwritten but inexorable caste laws of European countries, there was consum- mated, in 1830, a marriage between the son of a Norse Quaker peas- ant, Bjorn Anderson, and Catherine Von Krogh, the daughter of Lieutenant Von Krough, of a long line of aristocratic, military an- cestors. Following the bitter disapproval of Mrs. Anderson's family, Bjorn Anderson organized a movement for the planting of a Norse colony in America, a movement which was consummated in 1836 by the arrival in this country of the first large company of Nor- wegian emigrants. After a stay of two years in Rochester, N. Y., Mr. and Mrs. Anderson moved west, first to a Norse settlement in LaSalle county, 111., and later to the town of Albion, Dane county, then an unbroken forest wilderness. There some ten years later, their son, Rasmus, was born, his father's death following four years after, in 1850. The son received his first instruction in the district schools, and in his early teens was already preparing, under the tutorage of a Lutheran pastor, for his collegiate work ; this he be- gan at a college founded by Norse Lutherans, at Decorah, Iowa, known at that time as Luther College. Even at that time he evinced an independence of spirit which brought him into collision with the college authorities, and which has always since character- ized his public utterances. Notwithstanding this, however, his acquirements as a linguist were such that in 1866, when he was only twenty years of age. he received the appointment as professor of Greek and the modern languages at Albion Academy, in this county. His work in that department soon attracted the atten- tion of the officials of the University of Wisconsin, and after a few months of post-graduate work, he was appointed instructor in lan- guages in that institution. In 187.-), the chair of Scandinavian lan- guages and literature was created for him, and this position he filled until 1883, when he resigned to devote himself to other lines of work. During his work in the university, Mr. Anderson had made the acquaintance of his distinguished countryman, Ole Bull, and in company with him visited Norway in 1872. This compan- ionship was the means of his introduction to the most noted schol-
BIOGRAPHICAL. 39
ars and literary people of the Scandinavian countries, Bjorn Bjorn- son being among the latter. Ole Bull heartily seconded Professor Anderson's project of founding a Scandinavian department in the university library, and gave him valuable assistance toward the attainment 6f that purpose. This acquaintance abroad, his early writings and translations, and his lectures on Norse mythology and literature delivered between the years 1874 and 1877, in Bos- ton, Baltimore and other places, prepared him for the position of United States minister to Denmark which was tendered him in 1885. by President Cleveland. This position he held for four years, and filled so well that upon the election of President Harrison, a petition, signed by many prominent men of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, was presented, asking for his retention in that office, his strong personality and varied accomplishments rendering him an acceptable addition to social and literary as well as to diplomatic circles. Professor Anderson is at the present time occupying an editorial chair in the sanctum of "Amerika," one of the largest Nor- wegian papers in the United States and one which by reason of his vigorous political writings exerts a wide influence among the num- erous Norse people of the country and especially of the large com- munities of the middle west. Ever since his early controversies with the clergy of the Norse Lutheran church on the subject of their attitude toward the public schools. Professor Anderson has stood for, not alone a loyal interest in the mother country, but for the adaptation of foreign elements to the use and advancement of the home of their adoption, and has thus rendered a positive serv- ice not only to his own countrymen, but to this country, as well, in its difficult task of transmutating into a homogeneous whole the conflicting elements of which this nation is composed. Of Profes- sor Anderson's voluminous work as a writer, space will not permit a detailed account. His first book, "Julegave." was written in Nor- wegian in 1871. This is a collection of Norse folklore stories, and was followed in 1874 by "Den Norske Maalsag." also in Nor- wegian. His first book in English was "America not Discovered by Columbus," which has passed through a number of editions and was translated into Norwegian. His "Norse Mythology," pub- lished in 1875. is the book which established his literary reputation. It has been translated into four or five languages and is generally accepted, even by the most critical authorities, as the only adequate and authorative treatment of this subject in t lie- English language. "The Viking Tales from the North." "The Younger Edda," "History of the Literature of the Scandinavian
40 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
North, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time," "The Elder Edda." are some of his principal translations. He also wrote an introduction of fifty pages to Auber Eorestier's translation of "The. Spellbound Fiddler," a "Guide into Teutondom," etc. Beside his numerous books Professor Anderson has been a wide contributor id the best current magazine literature, appearing in the Atlantic Monthly, the Epitome of Literature, the Journal of Comparative Literature, the American Antiquarian, the London Academy, etc. He has published a number of pamphlets in both the English and Xorse languages on various subjects, and has been a contributor to five or six of the leading enclyclopedias, including the American supplement to the Brittanica, Chamber's and Johnson's. A glance over a complete bibliography of Professor Anderson's literary work, — which includes many books, pamphlets and articles beside those enumerated, but largely along the same line of the Scandinavian language, literature and early religion, — show that his work is largely of a critical rather than of a creative nature. What a man of his linguistic ability, excellent diction and industry might have accomplished in the line of more original work, if he had not been so strongly attracted to the poetical and fascinating lore of the northern myths, can be only surmised, but he could probably have achieved success in almost any line of literature to which he ad- dressed himself. In the work actually accomplished he has suc- ceeded in opening, to a large class of readers, the gates to fresh and fascinating fields of literature. Professor Anderson has been selected as editor-in-chief of what will be, when completed, the most sumptuous edition of works in Scandinavian subjects ever is- sued. This is a fifteen volume library representative of Scandi- navian mythology, romance, folk-lore and history, and known as the Xorroena Library. The mechanical work on these volumes represents the highest art in bookmaking. Professor Anderson married, July 21, 1868, Miss Bertha K. Oleson, of Cambridge, Wis., a native of Christiania, Norway, who came to this country with her parents, when she was a child. They have had five children : Hannah I',.. born April 18, 1869; died April 18. 1870; Carletta C, born December 4, 1870; George K., born November 7, 1872; Hjal- mar O., born June 7. 1876; and Rolf Bull, born December 17, 1883. The family resides at 316 North Carroll street, Madison.
Sern Edward Anderson has always lived in Albion and is the son of one of its pioneers,. Amund Anderson. Amund was born in Norway in March, 1806. and in 1840 settled in Dane county, Wis. His wife. Ingeborg, was first married to Erick Johnson, with
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BIOGRAPHICAL. 41
whom she left Norway in 1836 and came to the United States, landing in New York city after a stormy voyage of thirteen weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson lived in La Salle. 111., where Mr. Johnson died in 1838, leaving two children and his young wife. John, the oldest son, served in the First Kansas Volunteers for five years and went to Wyoming where he engaged in mining and ranching. Betsey Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Erick Johnson married John J. Naset of Bloomer. Mrs. Johnson married Amund Ander- son and came with him to Albion. Wis., where in 1840 he pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 2. Settlers were few in the vicinity at that day but two other families came from Illinois with the Anderson's and located near by. They were devoted members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and belonged to the East Koshkonong church from its organization. Six chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson : Martha is the widow of Thore Smithback of Christiania ; Andrew A., who farms part of the old homestead, married Sarah Hendrickson and after her death, married Agnes Johnson ; Sern E. lives at the old home. Marie Ingeborg is the widow of N. E. Smithback of Christiania; Martin is a prosperous farmer of Oakland, Wis. ; Sena is the wife of C. O. Tellefson of Rockdale. Sern E. was born on the farm at Albion. April 26. 1848, attended such schools as the district afforded at that time and early interested himself in the work of his father's farm. In March, 1874, he married M"ss Helen Matteson. who came from Norway in 1868 with her parents and lived at Rockdale. Two children blessed the marriage ; Adolph, who married Betsey Johnson, is a farmer and resides at the old homestead; Nordahl is also at home. Mrs. Anderson died in 1890. She and her husband always attended the East Koshkonong church. Mr. Anderson has never held political office but is a Republican in his political affilia- tions. He is secretary of the Hillside Creamery Co.
William H. Angell is one of the sterling pioneers and most hon- ored and influential citizens of the village of Sun Prairie, where he has maintained his home for more than sixty years, having been prominently identified with the developed of the village and sur- rounding country. Colonel Angell was born in West Haven. Addi- son county. Vermont, on June 20, 1813, and he has ever exempli- fied the sturdy attributes so characteristic of the true New England type, while he is a representative of families founded in that sec- tion in the colonial era of our national history. He is a son of Newell and Charity (Blackman) Angell. the former of whom was born in Washington countv. New York, on December 20, 1879,
42 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
while the latter was bom in the same state, on April 17, 1789, while her death occurred in West Haven, Vermont, on June 23, 1822. Newell Angell was a millwright by trade, and he came to Sun Prairie. Wisconsin, in 1*4(>, to take charge of the erection of a mill for his s<ui. William H., the subject of this sketch, passing the re- mainder of his life in the Badger state. He died in Vernon county, on March 9, 1863, and his remains rest in the cemetery at Sun Prairie. After the death of his first wife he married Mary Hollis Ransome, whd was born in Connecticut, in 1801, and who died in Vernon county. Wisconsin, on November 5, 1872. Newell Angell was always a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and was prominent in public affairs in Vermont for many years, having been a man of much intellectual power and mature judgment. He was a son of Augustus Angell, who served in the Continental line in the War of the Revolution, having en- listed when but fourteen years of age ; the latter's father likewise rendered valiant service as a patriot soldier in the great struggle for independence. Augustus Angell and also his son, Newell, were soldiers in the war of 1812. Colonel William H. Angell, who secured his title from able service as lieutenant colonel in the Vermont militia, was reared on the homestead farm of his paternal grandfather, in the old Green Mountain state, being identified with the work and management of the same until he had attained the age of eighteen years, while he was accorded the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period. Thereafter he was engaged in farm work and employed more or less at the carpen- ter's trade until 1844, when he determined to immigrate to Wis- consin and cast in his lot with the pioneers of that territory which was not admitted to the Union until about four years later, in 1848. lie made his way to Dane county, whose manifold attractions proved adequate to cause him to make permanent location here. He took up his residence in Sun Prairie,, being practically one of the founders of the village, and he forthwith identified himself with the interests of the locality and showed the progressive spirit and indomitable enterprise which have made the men of New England such valuable pioneers in opening up the various western state-. \\v erected a grist and saw mill in the embryonic village, '" 1847, and he has ever since been identified with the lumber business here, bavin- formerly conducted extensive operations in the manufacturing of lumber, while it may consistently be noted in this connection that he furnished the oak lumber for the con- struction of the vault in the office of the state treasurer in the old
BIOGRAPHICAL. 43
capitol in the city of Madison. In 1868, associated with two other representative citizens. Colonel Angell formulated the charter un- der which Sun Prairie was incorporated as a village, and he had the distinction of being chosen first president of said village, while since that time he has been called upon to serve in this capacity for many years, having been elected at varying intervals and hav- ing ever shown a lively and insistent interest in all that has con- cerned the welfare and material progress of the town and its peo- ple. Colonel Angell has an attractive residence in Sun Prairie, where he also owns considerable other real estate, while in the vicinity he has a finely improved farm of one hundred acres. He has been most successful in his business career, and for a number of years past has given considerable attention to the extending of financial loans on real estate security. He is liberal, generous and public-spirited, fair and honorable in all the relations of life and expecting the same attitude on the part of others, and he has the unqualified esteem of the entire community in which he has so long lived and labored and which owes so much to his interposition. He gave nine acres of land in the village to the fire department, the same to constitute a public park, the dedication of the park occur- ring on his birthday anniversary, June 20, 1903, and being a notable public event in the locality. In politics Colonel Angell has always been firm in his allegiance to the Democratic party, having cast his first presidential vote for that stanch patriot and statesman. General Andrew Jackson. He served as supervisor of Sun Prairie township for the long period of twenty-one years, and was twice chosen chairman of the county board of supervisors. For a num- ber of years he was president of the Token Creek and Sun Prairie Anti-Horsethief association. He was the originator of the Sun Prairie Cemetery association, with which he was identified for fifty- two years. He has been for many years a consistent and valued member of the local Baptist church, which he has served in the capacity of trustee, his wife also having been a devoted member of the same church. On January 16. 1844, Colonel Angell was united in marriage to Miss Electa L. Abernethy, who was born in Addison county. Vermont, in 1818, and who remained his faithful and cherished companion on the journey of life for more than half a century, the gracious association being terminated with her death, April 8, 1895. Of the six children of this union all died young except two sons. William Edwin, who was reared and edu- cated in Sun Prairie, was a soldier in a Wisconsin regiment in the Civil War. and is now associated with his father in the lumber
44 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
business ; Darwin C, who was likewise reared in Sun Prairie, passed fifteen years in the west, having been engaged in the coal business in Kansas, but he is now associated with his father, under the firm name of William H. Angell & Son.
Andrew E. Arneson is one of the most highly respected citizens of the village of Mt. Horeb, and while he has not been a lifelong resident of Dane county his residence has been so near the dividing l'ne that his interests have been identical with those of her citizens. He was born in Norway on February 25, 1840, and is the son of Allen and Sarah Arneson, who came to America in 1850 and lo- cated in the town of Blue Mounds. The father was a farmer in the old country and after his migration to the United States he followed the same occupation until his death, which event oc- curred in 1852. and the mother still resides on the old home place at the advanced age of ninety-six years. The subject of this re- view is one of eleven children born to these parents, seven of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. Mr. Arneson was permitted to attend school only about two or three months, but by close ap- plication of his talents and the exercise of his perceptive faculties he has overcome this handicap to a considerable degree and is a well-informed man. He commenced his independent career as a farmer when but nineteen years old at Ridgeway, Iowa county, Wis., where he purchased land and followed the occupation of a tiller of the soil until 1897. On account of ill health in the latter year he retired, and since that time has been a resident of Mt. Horeb. He was married in 18G1 to Miss Mary Anderson of Perry, Dane county, daughter of Halfer Anderson and wife, who settled in Dane county in 1854 and are both now deceased. To the sub- ject of this review and wife 1here have been born eleven children, six of whom are living: Julia married C. M. Grimstad and resides in Brigham township, Iowa county; Andeline married G. G. Mandt and resides at Stoughton, Dane county; Emma married A. F. Gramm and resides in Mt. Horeb; Henry remains on the home farm ; Sarah married T. J. Dahle and is now deceased; Ida married Peter Nace and resides near Mt. Horeb; and Clarence remains at home with his parents. While living in Iowa county Mr. Arneson served as town assessor one year, and as chairman of the town board twelve years; and since his removal to Mt. Horeb he has served as president of the village five years and as supervisor three years. He is a member of the Lutheran church, is one of the trustees .if the local church organization, and fraternally he is one of the worthy and honored members of Ren. Dickison post,
BIOGRAPHICAL. 45
G. A. R. The latter distinction is of course accorded him by reason of his service in the military service of the United States during the Civil War. He enlisted on February 14, 1865, in Com- pany A, Forty-ninth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and served with that command until November 8, 1865, when he was mustered out with his regiment, by general orders from the war department. The regiment left the state on March 8, 1865, and after reaching St. Louis was sent to Rolla, Mo., where it was engaged in guard duty during the greater part of the term of service. Mr. Arneson also had two brothers in the service, Christ Arneson. enlisted on October 19, 1861, in Company C, Fifteenth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and d ed on February 10, following, of disease contracted in the service. Allen Arneson entered the service on September 19, 1861, as a private in Company G, Sixteenth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and served until June 5, 1865, when he was mustered out on ac- count of the cessation of hostilities, having participated with Sher- man in the March to the sea and the campaign of the Carolinas.
Christ Asbjornson, a prominent retired farmer of Stoughton, was born near Flekkefjord, Norway, January 7, 1840, and is a son of Asbjorn and Isabel (Thompson) Hanson, who immigrated to America in 1852, making Dane county their destination. They passed the first winter in Dunkirk township and in the following spring the father purchased eighty acres of wild land in Pleasant Springs township. He reclaimed a portion of the tract to cultiva- tion and made good improvements on the property. He there con- tinued to reside until 1885, when he returned to Dunkirk township, where he passed the remainder of his life, having attained to the venerable age of ninety-four years. He reared a family of four sons, Hans C, Tom, Peter C, and Christ. Tom is now deceased. The subject of this review received his early educational training in the schools of his native land, having been twelve years of age at the time of the family immigration to America. He was reared to manhood on the old homestead farm, in Pleasant Springs town- ship, where he remained until 1885, when he purchased two hun- dred acres of land in Dunkirk township and removed to the same. In 1893 he bought another farm of two hundred acres, one hun- dred and sixty acres of the tract being in Dunkirk township and the remaining forty in Albion township. He still owns both farms. with the exception of eighty acres of the latter, which he sold. He continued to reside on the place first mentioned until 1901, when he retired and took up his residence in Stoughton, where he owns
46 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
an attractive home, on East Main street. He has been most suc- cessful as a farmer, having- accumulated a handsome property and being one of the substantial and popular citizens of the county in which he has so long lived and so effectively labored. He has been one of the extensive tobacco-growers of the county, and his farms are largely devoted to this product at the present time. In politics Mr. Asbjornson is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and he has been accorded distinctive marks of popular confidence and esteem. He served as supervisor of Dunkirk township for three years, was clerk of the school board two terms and in 1904 he was elected alderman of Stoughton, from the second ward, serving one term. Both he and his wife are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church in Stoughton. In 1878, Mr. Asbjornson was married to Miss Helen Severson, daughter of Sever Michaelson, one of the well known pioneers of Dane county, whither he came from Norway. The children of this union are three in number: Emma is the wife of Abram Severson, Thea is the wife of Trace Christehson, a prominent jeweler of Stoughton, and Andrew, the eldest of the three, is one of the successful farmers of the county.
General David Atwood, journalist and politician, was born in Bedford, N. H.. December 15, 1815, the scion of a vigorous and long-lived family. The stock was good English Puritan, and the pioneer of the family was John Atwood, who settled at Plymouth in 1643. The boy David had a strain of Scotch-Irish in his blood. Such scant education as he was able to secure was obtained in winter attendance on the district school of Bedford ; summers, he worked on the farm. Among his boyhood friends were Horace Greeley and Zachariah Chandler, later United States senator from Michigan. When only sixteen years of age he left home and was apprenticed to Tredway & Atwood, printers and law-book publish- ers, at Hamilton, N. Y. His brother. John, was the junior mem- ber of the firm. During the five years of his apprenticeship he be- came master of the printer's craft in all its departments. In the years 1838 and 1839 he travelled about 10,000 miles with a horse and wagon through New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and several of the western states as a law-book agent. The experiences of those years were a source of much pleasure to Gen- eral Atwood in other life, and his word-pictures of those pioneer days were always of remarkable interest. In 1839. when twenty- four years old. he joined with his brother. John, in the publication of the 1 familton Palladium, a weekly Whig newspaper. In the cam- paign of L840 lie was a vigorous supporter of General Harrison,.
BIOGRAPHICAL. 47
and in that of 1844, of Henry Clay. His strenuous labors through these years undermined his health and compelled him to with- draw from the Palladium. He purchased a farm near Freeport, 111., where he met with nothing but misfortune, financially, and lost his savings. However, the two years spent on the farm had recruited his health, and he was enabled to return to his profes- sion. It had long been his ambition to establish a daily paper at some state capital, and the new territory of Wisconsin, then in the full tide of western immigration, strongly appealed to him. The village of Madison was then but a name to Colonel Atwood, but he resolved to go there in the full assurance that it would develop with the territory, soon to become a state. He reached Madison, October 15, 1847, and at once became connected with the Madison "Express" at a small salary. His duties were manifold and arduous, and in his own words he was "editor, reporter, com- positor, foreman, and all hands." He reported the last two ses- sions of the territorial legislature, and was in constant attendance as a reporter during the protracted session of the constitutional convention which drafted the organic law under which Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. In October, 1848, Colonel Atwood purchased the "Express," which appeared in November as the "Wisconsin Express" with many improvements. Only the in-i domitable will, courage, judgment and industry of young Atwood sustained the Wrhig "Express," as there were two opposition Democratic papers published at the capital, both of which were supported by ample capital as well as state patronage. In June, 1852, a consolidation was effected with a new Whig paper called the "Statesman," which had appeared in the spring of 1850, but the new enterprise failed, and out of the wreck. General Atwood by his own efforts founded the "Wisconsin State Journal," daily and weekly, whose first number appeared September 28, 1852. The "State Journal" was the only Whig paper at the capital until the organization of the Republican party in 1854, when it espoused the principles of that party, and has ever since been its champion. In 1853 he associated with himself Horace Rublee. afterwards min- ister to Switzerland under President Grant, and long and favor- ably known as the brilliant editor-in-chief of the "Milwaukee Sen- tinel." Mr. Rublee was succeeded by Major J. O. Culver, whose association with the "Journal" continued until January. 1877, after which General Atwood was the sole proprietor until his death. During his residence in New York. Mr. Atwood had been succes- sively adjutant, major and colonel of Xew York militia, and in
48 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
L851, in Wisconsin, was appointed quartermaster-general of the state; in I80S he became major-general of the fifth division of state militia. In 1861 he was chosen to represent the capital district in the state legislature, and rendered active and efficient service in the work of raising and fitting troops for the front. Lincoln ap- pointed him internal revenue assessor on the creation of that office in 1862, but he was removed from office by President Johnson in lsiiii for "offensive partisanship," the first Wisconsin officer thus sentenced. He was mayor of Madison 1868-9, and in the latter year received a flattering vote in the Republican convention for the nomination of governor. Hon. B. F. Hopkins, who represented the capital district in congress, died in January, 1870, and General Atwood was elected as his successor in the 40th congress, tak- ing his seat February 23. He was an industrious and eminently useful representative, serving on the important Pacific railroad committee, and being instrumental in the passage of some of the important bills of the session. He declined re-election. From 1872 until the close of the Centennial in 1876, he served as com- missioner from Wisconsin to the great international exposition, and was for a time president of the full body which embraced names of national reputation. In addition to the offices above mentioned. General Atwood served in various other capacities. He was a justice of the peace in 1849; a village trustee in 1854; for thirteen years treasurer of the State Agricultural Society, and twenty-four years a director; for sixteen years a member of and president of the board of trustees of the State Hospital for the in- sane ; for many years a member of the Madison school board, and for a time its president ; long a trustee and member of the executive committee, for five years the secretary, and for a long series of years the president of the Madison Mutual Insurance Company ; for a long time the president of the Madison Gas Light and Coke Company ; a director in several railroad enterprises; after 1849, one of the most active and useful members of the State Historical Society, and for eight years prior to 1876, a member of the Republican national committee. In 1849 he married at Potosi, Wis., Mary Sweeney, formerly of Canton, Ohio. There were born to them two sons and two daughters, the eldest of them Charles David, who was vice-consul at Liverpool from 1872-76, and later an able as- sociate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal; in 1874 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. A. J. Ward, one of the leading phy- sicians of Madison; he died in 1878 at the beginning of a brilliant career; his son David is the fourth generation of David Atwoods.
BIOGRAPHICAL. - ~M Q « ^A 49
Harry F. and Alary L. still reside in Madison at the old homestead on Monona avenue ; Elizabeth G. resides in Milwaukee, having married Edward P. Vilas, a distinguished lawyer, the brother of ex-Senator Wm. F. Vilas. In person General Atwood was of me- dium size, with dark blue, expressive eyes, and a large shapely head, set off in after years by a flowing white beard and hair. His features wrere fine and regular, and his face beamed with a kindly expression. He had a remarkably clear, analytical mind, a very retentive memory, was a charming conversationalist, and a politi- cal journal'st of rare power. He was a politician of the best type, and never permitted partisan rancor to interfere with his kindly intercourse with men of every political creed. He was a repre- sentative of the highest type of western pioneers, and under his hospitable roof, for more than forty years, were entertained a long line of politicians, journalists, statesmen, and scholars, representing many sections and countries. In his latter years, with his snow-white hair and long, flowing beard, he bore a strik- ing resemblance to the portraits of the poet Bryant. His death created a void hard to fill. His editorial associates felt the loss of an inspiriting presence, the community at large that of a public spirited citizen, and his family lost a beloved and devoted father and husband. His death occurred December 11, 1889, after an ill- ness of brief duration, and the end came calmly and peacefully.
Aslak B. Auby, of Norwegian origin,, is one of the successful young farmers of Pleasant Springs. Bjorn and Margaret (Olson) Auby, his parents, came to America from Telemarken, Norway, where they spent their youth and early married life. In 1860, they came over in a sailing vessel and landed at Quebec after a voyage of ten weeks. Thence they proceeded to Milwaukee and after a short stay decided to locate near Stoughton, where they rented a farm in section 3-4. After working this land for six years they were able to purchase eighty acres of farm land, which they im- proved and made their permanent home. Mrs. Bjorn Auby died in 1876 and her husband survived her until 1901. The family, con- sisting of six children, of whom four are living, has always been prominent in the Western Lutheran church, of which the parents were members. The children were educated in the district schools. Betsey, the oldest daughter, and Henry, the youngest son, died ; Annie, the second daughter, is the wife of L. L. Brote, a farmer of Pleasant Springs ; Ole operates a farm in Dunkirk and Lars is also a farmer. Aslak B. was born at Pleasant Springs February 28, 1869, and worked on the home farm until he was twenty-one years 4 — :ii
50 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
of age. He then settled on the farm where he now lives and worked it three years, lie farmed O. K. Roe's farm for three years and finally purchased the first tract of eighty acres, com- monly called the Jacobson place. Under his management the farm has been greatly improved and increased in value. Mr. Auby is a Republican in his political affiliations and was a member of the town hoard for two years and school treasurer for three years. September 24, 1890. he married Miss Mary Jacobson, daughter of Jacob and Mary Jacobson, also natives of Norway, who came to America in 1850. Mr. and Mrs. Auby have had four children;; John. Ruby, and Ren living, and Mildred, who died in infancy.
John H. Auby, a farmer ,in the town of Deerfield, was born No- vember 12. 1857, in the neighborhood where he now lives. His grandparents. Lars and Catherine (Larson) Auby, were both born in Norway, the former in 1778 and the latter in 1780. They were among the pioneers of Illinois, but later came to Dane county and there passed the rest of their lives. Hans Auby, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Norway, July 4, 1824, and the mother, whose maiden name was Helga Halverson, was born there on August 12, 1826. They were married December 13, 1847,. and to them were born the following children: Helen Catherine, born August 20, 1848, married Halvor A. Nestestu and is now living a widow at Deerfield; Louis, born December 9, 1850, married Cornetia Tarson, and lives in South Dakota ; Carl Henry, born March 11. 1853, married Catherine Fairweather, and lives at Galena. 111. ; Benjamin O., born August 2, 1855, married Henrietta Melang and resides in the village of Deerfield; John H., the subject <>t this sketch; Lizzie B., born April 26, 1860, now the wife of John Ollis. an attorney of Madison; Henrietta Christiana, born Inly 18. 1862. married Andrew Husebo, and now lives at Sioux Falls. S. D. ; Marion Christene, born April 4, 1866, and died Feb- ruary in. 1892. The father of these children came to America July 4, 1843, and made his way directly to Wisconsin. He worked as a farm hand for a year near Milwaukee, and then went to Illinois, where Ik- was employed in the lead mines for two years. About three years later he came to Dane county with his parents,. who boughl one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which the sub- ject of this sketch now lives. Here Hans Auby died on December 9, L895, and his widow now lives with her daughter in Deerfield. John II. Auby received a common school education in the town of Deerfield and at the age of twenty-five years went to Clark county. S. I )., where hi' entered three hundred and twenty acres of land
BIOGRAPHICAL. 51
under the homestead law, and farmed there for two years. He then sold his land and returned to Dane county. For three years he worked his father's farm on the shares, and after his death bought out the other heirs and continues to reside on the old home- stead. He is a Democrat in his political affiliations and has been elected a member of the town board three times, now serving his second term as chairman of the board. On March 20, 1889, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie, daughter of James and Mary (Nellen) Copland,, of the town of Medina. Her father came to Wisconsin at an early date and settled in the town of Medina, where he died in May, 1905, the mother still lives on the old home- stead. Mr. and Mrs. Auby have four children : Arthur H., born June 21, 1891 ; Leonard James, born June 18, 1893 ; Gladys Evelyn, born August 20, 1897; and Lawrence C, born December 20, 1901. Stephen C. Baas has long been a well-known citizen of Madison. For many years he owned a boat livery on Lake Monona and is an authority among fisherman and lovers of water sports. From boy- hood he learned to handle boats and to understand the vagaries of inland seas, for his father and uncles were fishermen and exporters of fish in Milwaukee. Henry Baas, father of Stephen, came to Milwaukee from Pomerania, with his parents when he was a young lad. With his brothers, Henry, Chris, and Will, he ran fishing smacks near Milwaukee and cured fish for Milwaukee and Chicago markets. Henry married Miss Sophia Siggelko, a native of Meck- lenburg-Schwerin. In 1863 they came to Madsion and opened a grocery store on Williamson street. Mr. Baas enhsted in the Ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and was sent to Little Rock,. Ark., where he suffered from illness produced by the climate. In 1865 he returned to the store which he managed until his death in 1869. His widow still resides in Madison, eighty-six years of age. Of the six children, three are living. The oldest son, William, died in 1896. He was born in Milwaukee in 1853, married M'ss Carrie Showers and left one son, Arthur, who is a book-keeper with the Marshall Field Co. in Chicago. For many years William Baas was proprietor of the Madison Hotel. Stephen C. is the sec- ond son ; Amelia, the oldest daughter lives with her mother in Madison ; Lucy is also at home ; Minnie and Emma died in in- fancy. Stephen C. was born in Milwaukee, Jan. 3, 1855, attended both German and English schools and also the Northwestern Busi- ness College at Madison. He engaged in the shoe business for some years but his tastes led him to seek an out-of-door life and until 1905, when he sold his business, his boat-landing was a Mecca
52 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
for fisherman. May 14, 1879, he married Miss Emily F. Mayer.. daughter of Casper .Mayer and Elizabeth (Steinle) Mayer. Mrs. Mayer was a native of Baden and Mr. Mayer was also born in Ger- many. They came to Madison in 1853 and Mr. Mayer re- sided in the city until his death in 1884. Mr. Mayer's oldest son. Caspar A., lives in Madison. Anna is the wife of Will- iam Vallender. Theresa M. is Mrs. Peter Hoven of New Haven, Conn. Emily F. is Mrs. Bass. Bertha M. is the wife of George Breitenbach of Madison. Helen L. is Mrs. Harry Hunt of Madi- son. Mrs. Baas has marked musical ability which has been inher- ited by her one son, Alexius H., who is one of the most popular singers of Madison. Alexius was born May 18, 1885, was gradu- ated from the Madison high school, and from the University of Wisconsin with the class of 1906. When he was a little lad he began to sing in the choir of St. Raphael's church and has been a member of that choir ever since. He also plays the pipe-organ and piano but is best known as a singer. Madison people always regard it a great treat to hear his wonderful voice and he is well- known in many other cities. He expects to start for Berlin soon where he will take an advanced course in music and will remain abroad in these pursuits for perhaps a couple of years.
Ulysses S. Baer, first assistant dairy and food commissioner and dairy expert of the state of Wisconsin, secretary of the state cheese makers' association (the largest organization of its kind in the world), vice president of the Wisconsin cheese and butter educa- tional scor'ng contest association, and associate editor of the Cheese and Dairy Journal and Creamery Reporter, was born at Ithaca, Richland county, Wis., Aug. 21, 1873. His parents are 1). \Y. and Malinda (Daniels) Baer, the former a native of Ohio, the latter of New York state. Both came to Wisconsin when children, the Baer family settling in Sank county and the Daniels fam'ly in Marquette county. For several years Mr. and Mrs. I). \\ . I'.aer have made their home at Hartford, Washington county. Wis., where D. YY. Baer is a hardware merchant, machinist and contractor. U. S. Baer is the oldest of their five children, the others being Melvin (deceased) ; Lillie, now Mrs. J. K. Powell of (Jtica, X. Y. ; Daisy, proprietor of a dress-mak'hg establishment in Milwaukee, and Edna, a student in the University of Wisconsin. I'. S. I'.aer. the subject of this sketch, embarked in the dairy busi- ness in Richland county in the year 1887, entering the dairy de- partment of the University of Wisconsin in the winter of 1891. In 1892 he received a graduating certificate from that institution
BIOGRAPHICAL. 53
and the same year was appointed to the position of assistant in- structor in dairying at the Wisconsin dairy school, serving the school in that capacity during the winter months only. During the summer months of those years he was personally engaged in the manufacture of both butter and cheese in Richland and Juneau counties. In the spring of 1893 he had charge of the instructional work in dairying, given in the "short courses" at the Minnesota experiment station, St. Anthony Park, Minn. In the spring of 1895 he was called to the Pacific coast to take charge of work of the same nature at the Washington state agricultural college and school of science, located at Pullman, Wash. Early in the season of 1895 he was employed by the Wisconsin state dairymen's asso- ciation as its expert traveling cheese-instructor, which position he held until October, 1899, when he resigned to accept the appoint- ment as chef instructor in cheese-making at the Wisconsin experi- ment station, which position he gave up to accept an appointment by Gov. Robert M. La Follette, as first assistant dairy and food commissioner and dairy expert in 1903. Mr. Baer's special fitness for the position was long recognized, and since h's incumbency of the office he has filled every requirement. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Woodmen of the World. Mr. Baer is unmarried and makes his home at 450-452 West Gil- man street, Madison, Wis. The dairy press of the entire country unanimously said of Mr. Baer at the time of his appointment: "By ability, technical training, wide and varied experience, Mr. Baer is pre-eminently qualified to perform in a highly efficient a"nd satisfactory manner the duties of the position. He is widely known among the alumni of the dairy and agricultural college of the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, among the membership of the Wisconsin dairymen's, cheese makers' and butter makers' associations, and by dairymen generally throughout the state and country at large, among whom there was a strong sentiment favor'ng his last ap- pointment to a public office of trust."
William R. Bagley, lawyer, was born at Charles City, Iowa, on April 2, 1860. After completing his literary education he studied law and was admitted to the bar in his native state, in 1883, re- moving to Madison, Wis., in the same year, and he has practiced his profession in the capital city ever since. His fam'ly consists of himself, wife, and four children.
Nelson R. Bailey, retired farmer of Madison, Avas born in Essex county, N. Y., August 2. 1835. His parents, Samuel and Almira (B'sby) Bailey, were both born in the same county, there grew to
54 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
maturity, and after their marriage came to Wisconsin, settling in what is known as the "Bailey neighborhood." near Sun Prairie, in 1846. Here Samuel Bailey bought three hundred and forty acres of unimproved land, which he opened to cultivation and passed the remainder of his life on the farm. He was one of the pioneers of the Republican party and held a number of offices during his life- time. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Four of their children are still living. John is a physi- cian at Sioux City, la.; Nelson R. is the subject of this sketch; Eugene R. is a retired farmer at Selma, Kan. ; and Martha is the wife of Edgar Cobb, residing at Colby, Wis. Nelson R. Bailey lived at home with his parents until his marriage to Miss Amanda R., daughter of Richard F. and Jane (Young) Cameron, in November, 1863. She was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., her parents being nat'ves of the "Empire State." the father of Morgan and the mother of Saratoga county. They came to Wis- consin in 1846. Their children were Amanda R., now Mrs. Bailey; J. W., a physician and dentist at Salina, Kan. ; Helen F., wife of W. E. Bailey, and F. Y., who died in July, 1904. In August, 1864, Mr. Bailey enlisted as a private in Company M, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, and served until June, 1865, his regiment during that time being stationed at Washington, D. C, on guard duty- While in the service he filled the position of clerk to the captain of his company. He was educated in the public schools and taught two terms. Until April, 1902, he continued to live on the old home- stead. He then sold all the farm except fifty acres, retired from active pursuits and took up his residence in Madison. Politically he is a Republican, and in religious matters is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has held several local offices and takes a deep interest in all questions relating to the public weal. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have had four children. Thurman C. died at the age of nine months, and Randolph A. died at the age of five years. Wallace is a dentist at Cadott, Wis. He married Antonia Rosenberg and has one son, Thurman. Ada B. is the wife of Clar- ence L. Kocher of Madison, and has one son, Russell B.
Edward T. Baillie is one or the representative exponents of the re- tail mercantile interests of the city of Madison, being junior mem- ber of the firm of Schmedeman & Baillie, merchant tailors and deal- ers in clothing and men's furnishing goods. Mr. Baillie has the dis- tinction of being a native of the famed old city of Edinburgh, Scot- land, where he was born April 19. 1866, being a son of Peter and Catherine (Tapp) Baillie, both of whom were likewise born in the
BIOGRAPHICAL. 55
land of hills and heather. In his native land Peter Baillie fol- lowed the carpenter's trade for many years, becoming a successful contractor, and there he continued to reside until his death, his widow still maintaining her home in Scotland. The subject of this sketch and one of his sisters are the only representatives of the fam- ily in America, his two sisters and one brother being still resident of Scotland. Mr. Baillie was reared to maturity in his native land, receiving the advantages of the excellent schools of Edinburgh. On his twenty-second birthday he severed the home ties and set forth to establish a home in America. He landed in Philadelphia, whence he came direct to Madison. Here he secured a position as clerk in the grocery establishment of Alexander Findlay, at the cor- ner of King and Doty streets, remaining thus engaged for a period of four years, at the expiration of which he became night mailing clerk in the postoffice, retaining this incumbency about two years, then becoming bookkeeper in the dry-goods establishment of R. B. Ogilvie, who was then one of the leading merchants of the capital city. His next position was that of clerk in the clothing and mer- chant-ta'loring establishment of the firm of Grinde & Schmedeman, and he continued thus engaged until the dissolution of the firm, when he entered into partnership with Mr. Schmedeman. February 18, 1904, since which time they have continued the enterprise under the firm name of Schmedeman & Baillie, the senior member being Albert G. Schmedeman. Their finely appointed establishment is located at 25 East Main street and they control a representative pat- ronage, catering to the discriminating trade of the city, the univer- sity and the territory normally tributary to the cap tal city. Mr. Baillie gives his support to the Republican party and both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Modern Woodmen and the Independ- ent Order of Foresters, and he enjoys marked popularity in both business and social circles. July 7, 1892, Mr. Baillie was united in marriage to Miss Julia O. O'Dea, who was born and reared in Mad- ison, being a son of Patrick and Ellen O'Dea, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom still resides in Madison. Mr. and Mrs. Baillie have three children. — Joseph, Helen and Edward. Lewis Baker, of Waunakee, is a native of Prince Edward's Island, born February 25, 1827. His father, Robert Baker, was born in Bait' more, Md., in 1778 and his mother in Dover, Kent county. Eng., in 1785. Mr. Baker's paternal grandparents were Quakers, and on account of religious persecution, left Baltimore during the Revolu- tionary 'War. They found a refuge in Prince Edward's Island,
56 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
where they reared their family ; there his father married, spent most of his life and d:.ed in 1864; his wife, Ann (Moice) Baker died in 1864. In 1812, Robert Baker went to Baltimore, and under an injunction was detained three years. During this time he found employment with his uncle in a shoe factory. He and his wife had eight children, of whom four are living. Mr. Baker's maternal grandparents were Episcopalians. The subject of this sketch re- ceived his education in the common schools of Prince Edward's Island. In 1852 he went to Maine and engaged in the lumber busi- ness. 'Three years later he came to Madison and located at Pheas- ant Branch, where he remained one year and then went to Wood county, where he again engaged in the lumber business. In 1860 he came to what is now Waunakee and settled on eighty acres of land. The village of Waunakee, named by Simeon Mills of Madi- son, was in 1871 platted by Mr. Baker and Mr. George F'sh and that part north of Main street was located on Mr. Baker's land. He has increased his acreage to four hundred and has made all the im- provements upon his farm. For the past ten years his son, Theodore Wr, has been associated with him in farming and the breeding of Aberdeen Angus cattle ; he has also for twenty-five years been a breeder of road and carriage horses. While Mr. Baker in an active Republican, he is not an aspirant to office, but has served on both the school and village boards. He is liberal in his religious views. He was married February 14, 1854. to Mrs. Sophia Taylor, born in I'rince Edward's Island n 1825, of parents who were resident there. Their children are Emeline, wife or R. B. Parker, of Cleveland, Ohio; Lilly, wife of W. R. Rudd, of St Paul, (deceased, 1899); I lattie,. died at age of five years; Theodore W., farmer and in part- nership with his father; Lewis R., a veterinary surgeon and em- ployed by the government; resides at Kansas city, Kansas. Mrs. Baker, wife of the subject of this sketch, died June 13, 1900.
Loren Baker is a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of the town of Medina and came to Dane county with his parents, Gaylord and Adeline (Sperry) P>aker, when he was ten years of age. Gaylord Baker was born in Watertown, Jefferson county, N. Y. in 1821. the son of Stephen and Margaret (Lemon) Baker; and his wife was born in ( >hio, < >ctober 18, 1825. Mr. Gaylord Baker was educated in Jefferson county, X. Y. and came to Jefferson county, Wis., in 1845 and to Medina in 1864. He obtained a farm of one hundred and three acres in Medina township and there his wife still lives. Mr. Baker died in 1902. Six children were born to them, of whom but four are living. Mr. and Mrs. Baker attended the Universalist
BIOGRAPHICAL. 57
church. Loren Baker was born in Watertown, Jefferson county. "Wis., December 13, 1854, attended the common schools in Dane county and the Marshall Academy and assisted his father in the work of the farm, which is now his home. He has a fine farm of one hundred and fifty acres with well-kept buildings and modern improvements. He makes a specialty of fine coach-horses and Dur- ham cattle and carries on a general farming business. Mr. Baker is a Republican, as was his father, but is not active in politics al- though interested in the welfare of the community. In 1888, he married Miss Alice Wood, who was born in the town of York, Dane county. Wis., the daughter of G. D. WTood and Lovina (Van Dass- beck) WTood, who came to Dane county from New York state. Mrs. Wood died in 1881 and Mr. W'ood now res'des in Portage. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have four children ; Truman, Lewis, Melvina and Hattie. The family received their education in the home schools and attend the Baptist church. Mr. Baker is a member of the local branc'i of the Modern Woodmen.
Lloyd M. Baldwin, of Belleville, is the son of Julius and Clara (McLaughlin) Baldwin ; the former came to Wisconsin with his pa- rents about fifty years ago ; they came from Canada, settled in Dane county and engaged in farming. Mr. Julius Baldwin still owns the old homestead in Oregon township where his father settled, although he gave up the active management of it a few years since and made his home in the village of Brooklyn. Mrs. Clara (McLaughlin) Baldwin is a native of Ohio, daughter of W. W. McLaughlin, who came from Ohio to Wisconsin nearly seventy years ago, when his daughter was a baby. He settled in the town of Brooklyn. Green county, and there spent his life. He was one of the very earliest of the pioneers who faced the hardships inci- 1 dent to life in an unbroken forest wilderness, far from a base of supplies, and with only the most rudimentary means of communi- cation and transportation. The difficulties of the situation were increased for him by the death of his wife which occurred before he left Oho for what was then the new northwest. He was a man who was actively interested in public affairs and was frequently called upon to fill local offices. Mr. L. M. Baldwin is one of a family of seven children, all living except one ; they are Charles, of Madison ; Clinton, of Brooklyn ; Lloyd M.. the subject of this sketch ; Mimmie married P. A. Haynes, of Brooklyn ; Myra, (deceased) ; Boyd, on the old homestead in Oregon; Daisy, at home in Brooklyn. Mr. L. M. Baldwin passed his boyhood on the farm and amid the usual surroundings., advantages and disadvantages of rural life : when he
58 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
was twenty-one he began life for himself as a clerk in Gray's gen- eral store of Brooklyn. After four years of commercial life he engaged in farming for two years and then returned to his former employment and position, where he remained three years longer; he again took up farming as an occupation, this time go'ng west and setting in Spink county, S. D. which was his home for eight years, at the end of which he returned to Brooklyn and stayed one year before engaging in his present business as a meat dealer and butcher in Belleville. There he has a finely equipped market, and since beginning his enterprise in 1902 has built up a flourishing trade, not only in the village, but, by means of his wagon, he sup- plies a large demand among the rural population. He was married, first, to Miss May L. Gray, of Oregon, who was born in the town of Brooklyn, Green county. She died in October, 1891. After her death, Mr. Baldwin married Mrs. Rosa Upton, a native of Dane county. They have one child, Harold Lloyd, aged two years. Mr. Baldwin is a member of the M. W. A. and Loyal Americans.
George Baltes, of Dane, is a man whose varied interests have made him a prominent factor in the life of his community from his majority to the present time. He comes of German ancestry. His parental grandfather, George Baltes. and his wife were both natives of Germany ; the former, born in 1804, came to Roxbury township, Dane county, in 1847. There he became the owner of a large farm of two hundred acres, where he resided unt'l his death in 1882, and where his wife continued to make her home up to the time of her death. The maternal grandparents came to Springfield township in 184G. where both died of the cholera in 1853. Peter Baltes, father of George Baltes, the subject of this sketch, was born in Germany in 1840, and came to this country with his parents in 1847. He was educated in the common school of Roxbury, and followed the occupation of both the farmer and the blacksmith. He died in 1896, and his wife, Theresa Dahnn, born in Pennsylvania in 1845, (now Mrs. Taylor of Waunakee), and six of his nine child- ren survive him. George Baltes was born May 17, 1867, in the town <>f Springfield, Dane county, and was educated in the public school at Springfield Corners. He began his independent life as a farmer, and st'll, although his active interests are directed into other lines, owns a farm of two hunded and twenty acres in Columbia county. He followed at different times the occupation of cream-gatherer, — a pursuit developed by the exigencies peculiar to a dairy country, — and that of a saloon-keeper, and for twenty years operated a thresh- ing-mach'ne. At the present time he divides his attention between
BIOGRAPHICAL. 59
the duties of a hotel-keeper and those of a manufacturer of lumber. Mr. Baltes political affiliations are with the Democratic party, and he has served the public in the capacity of treasurer of Spr'ngfield township. He and his family are members of St. Martin's Catholic church. His marriage occurred October 4, 1886, in Springfield, Dane county, to Miss Ationie Raemisch, daughter of Frank and Louise (Ruhl.) Raemisch both natives of Germany and among the pioneers of Mazomanie township, Dane county. Mrs. Baltes mother died in Sauk county, in 1905, but her father is still living and resides in Baraboo. Mr. and Mrs. Baltes have two children, Peter and Henry.
Hon. Charles Valdo Bardeen (deceased), a res' dent of Madison from his appointment to the supreme bench, February, 1898, until his death, March 20. 1903, was born in Brookfield, Madison county, N. Y., September 23, 1850. Five years later his parents, Rasselas and Maria (Palmer) Bardeen removed to Wisconsin, locating in Dane county, where his boyhood was spent on a farm near the vil- lage of Albion, and his early education was obtained at the district schools. The vicinity of Albion Academy offered the opportunity for the beginning of his higher education and he was graduated from that institution in 1870. Following this he entered the Uni- versity of Wisconsin but was obliged to discontinue his studies on account of failing eyesight, and he went to Colorado where he re- mained for two years, being associated while there with Alva Adams, afterward governor of Colorado. Upon his return to Mad- ison he entered the law department of the university from which he was graduated in 1875 ; he was admitted to practice in the courts of Wisconsin and the United States in June of the same year. His first partner was Roger C. Spooner, youngest brother of Senator John C. Spooner, and they opened their office at Wausau. Carl H. Mueller afterward joined the firm and after the retirement of Mr. Spooner, the partnership was continued until 1877 as Mueller & Bardeen. Following this a partnership was formed with Gen. John A. Kellogg, which lasted until the death of Gen. Kellogg in 1882. In 1883 Judge Bardeen became associated with W. H. Myl- rea, afterward attorney general, and in 1885 Judge Louis Marchetti was added -to the firm and this partnership was maintained until April, 1891, when Mr. Bardeen was elected to the posit'on of judge of the sixteenth judicial circuit; in 1897 he was reelected without opposition, having the support of the entire bar of the circuit for the office. In February, 1898, Governor Scofield appointed Judge Bardeen to a vacancy in the supreme court, occasioned by the death
GU HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
of Hon. A. W. Newman, and in April following he was, without opposition, elected to fill the remainder of the term. He was a mem- ber of the society of Elks, and of the Masonic order, belonging in the latter organization to the Forest lodge, No. 130; Wausau chap- ter, R. A. M. No. 51 ; St. Omar commandery, K. T. No. 19, and was elected in 1892 grand high priest, R. A. M., of Wisconsin. He was married June 17, 1876, at Albion, Wis., to Miss Frances H. Mdler, a classmate of Albion Academy. His wife and three children, Eleanor (Mrs. Maurice Johnson), Charles V., Jr., and Florence, survive him. The first-born, Bessie, died in infancy. Two broth- ers. Alden R. and Henry L., reside in Wausau, one, Claire B., in Milwaukee, and one brother, Frank, and a sister, Mrs. Arthur Yale, in Colorado Springs, where she is a practicing physician. These are the few fundimental facts in connection with the life of a man whose untimely death, in his very prime and in the midst of a most successful career, called forth from the bench, the bar and the press of the state such expressions of sorrow and appreciation as are ac- corded to few men n public life. From the superabundance of ma- terial thus supplied it seems difficult to select the fitting expres- sion in which the essence of a man's life and influence may be con- densed, and yet from these many sources, — from public associates and pr'vate friends, from official documents and political oppo- nents, from fraternal and society records, from the relations of the intimate family life, — the inferences drawn have a singular unanimi- ty. They agree upon his native ability, — the inheritance of a sturdy New England ancestry, — which built the successful achievements of his later life upon the strong foundation of that personal endeavor which lim'ted circumstances necessitated. By sheer force of char- acter, he made his way to the front. They agree in their estimate of him as a student; while disclaiming genius, as that term is too frequently applied, he is credited with the genius which is the pow- er of concentrated application. A "hard worker," a "close student," a "painstaking student," are terms constantly applied to him. As an attorney the emphasis of his associates is placed upon his thor- ough equipment, his accuracy, his clear-headed, fair-minded hon- esty, his candor and his fearlessness, — some of which qualities any successful attorney must possess, but which are seldom found in such measure and completeness were exhibited in the character of Judge Bardeen. In his official capacity both in the e'reuit and su- preme court, his judicial temperament was fully recognized and h's opinions were characterized by a clarity, logical sequence, and con- scientiousness that well merited the opinion that a "few more years
BIOGRAPHICAL. 61
on the supreme bench would have raised him to an equality with the greatest jurists that Wisconsin ever produced, as even at fifty- two he was little below that mark". His work as a lawyer was not marked by orator'cal flights and yet he was a most convincing speaker, and as a judge his instructions to a jury were models of legal diction, clearness and simplicity. And yet it is, perhaps as a man, as a fr'end, as a citizen, that his life appeals most strongly for an enduring recognition. The qualifies which distinguished him in his professional 1 fe were even more in evidence in his association with his personal friends ; and while of a somewhat retiring dispo- sition, his genial temper, kindliness of heart and loyalty, united to a distinguished presence and pleasing personality, gave him a place peculiarly his own in the esteem of h's wide circle of intimate friends, as well as in the still wider circle of acquaintances. Per- haps out of all the tributes to his memory which the death of Judge Bardeen called forth there is no more just or appreciative one than that expressed by Rev. F. A. Gilmore, from which a few phrases may be culled ; "His life was normal. There are no gaps in it. . . All that he became was already foreshadowed in his youth. . . He was an honest, laborious, k'nd-hearted man; simple, direct, affable ; an able lawyer and an upright, conscientious judge. His life is an open book wherein the youth may read how the highest posi- tions are open to any man who adds to talent, — industry and hon- esty. He ornamented a profession which offers few prizes to mere genius unaccompanied by application. . . He united a broad grasp of legal principles, gained by labor and research, with ac- curacy and fidelity in investigation. . . With all his gifts and strength of character he had a charming and direct simplicity of manner and speech. He was enamored of truth, right and good- ness ; he loved these deeply. Truth and right were for him the attributes of God. He trusted in God with a large and beautiful faith. . . I know of no severer test of a man's life than the way he faces death. He stood this last supreme test so well and bravely that in this he was perfect."
One of Judge Bardeen's strong characteristics was the great inter- est he took in young attorneys just starting out on their careers — the counsel he gave them, the aid and encouragement he extended them — was a part of the man, and many are the now well-estab- lished attorneys who look back upon his kindness to them.
Samuel J. Barry, (deceased), was a prominent farmer of Verona ; he was born at Wa'ddington, St. Lawrence county, X. Y., March 16, 1834, a son of Samuel Barry, of Tipperary, Ireland. H's father
62 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
died when he was two years old and his mother ten years later. There were five children in the family, three boys and two girls. Mr. Barry was reared and educated in his native place, and in 1852, at the age of eighteen, he came to Madison; he followed various, occupations for a while and in 1856, began farming for himself. He married Mary Jane Welch, by whom he had two children, Mrs.. Patrick Burns, of Fitchburg, and Mary, who married Thos. Lucas,, of Madison. After the death orf his wife, he married, April 30, 1872, Hannah, daughter of James Sullivan, — mentioned elsewhere, — by whom he had three children, Lillie Bertha, died, aged seven ;. Charles J. ; George F. Mr. Barry came to Verona in 1871, and en- gaged in farming there until his death, February 12, 1905. His wife and two sons survive him and operate the farm of two hundred and forty acres for general farming and stock raising. In 1862 Mr. Barry enlisted in Company B, Eleventh Wisconsin Infantry; after serving three years he re-enlisted as a veteran volunteer ; he was in the army of the west, escaped injury during his four years of ser- vice, and returned after receiving his honorable discharge. He- was a member of the G. A. R., an active Democrat, and a number of times the holder of local and town offices. He and his family are members of the Catholic church of Madison. George F., sec- ond son of Samuel J. Barry, and grandson of James Sullivan, of whom mention is made elsewhere, married Miss Frances Stack of Verona, and resides on the old homestead with his mother and brother.
John H. Barsness, retired, of the village of Black Earth, was born at Barsness, Saagen, Norway, on April 4, 1836. His parents were Herman Johnson and Christina (Peters) Barsness, natives of Nor- way, where the father was born in 1807 and the mother in 1800. The father was a brewer by trade. In 1856 he started for America with his family. The trip was made in a sailing vessel and it was. more than five weeks before he arrived in Quebec, Canada. From 'Quebec he traveled to Milwaukee, thence to Black Earth where he purchased eighty acres of wild land. After some years spent in improving and clearing the place the father pulled up stakes and" went to Polk county, Minn. The mother died November 30, 1881,. and the father followed on April 14, 1887. There were five chil- dren in the family, of whom John H., the subject of this sketch,, was the oldest; Peter, (died in 1866); Inger, Martha and' Inga. The family were all members of the Lutheran church. John H. Barsness attended the public schools of Norway and the district schools of this county. In L858 he started out on life's journey..
BIOGRAPHICAL. 63
He hired out to the farmers of the vicinity for a few years and in September, 1864, enlisted in Company G, Sixteenth Wisconsin Infan- try. The regiment saw service with the Army of the West and later was with Sherman on his march to the sea. Mr. Barsness was taken sick and was invalided for some time. He received an honorable discharge from the army at Washington, D. C. in 1865, and returned to Wisconsin. Two miles south of Black Earth vil- lage in the town of Vermont was a place of one hundred and ten acres with a small clearing and a log house, which Mr. Barsness purchased and upon which he settled. This farm furnished him a means of livelihood until 18,98, when he retired and went to Black Earth village to live. Politically he is a Republican. He has held the office of school director and been honored with other minor offices. He is a member of and an active worker in the Norwegian Lutheran church of Black Earth. On June 15, 1866, Mr. Barsness married Sarah, daughter of Ingabrecht and Sarah (Severson) Nel- son of Norway, and on June 15, 1906, they celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson lived and died in the old country, where the father was a farmer. Four of the children came to this country when Mrs. Barsness was twelve years old, fet- tling in Black Earth. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Barsness. — Christina, March 23, 1867; Nels, August 31, 1869, died February 11, 1884; Hannah Sophie, born September 27, 1871, died November 18, 1902 ; Peter, a practicing dentist at Middle- ton, born December 8, 1873 ; Hermand, working the homestead farm, born April 9, 1876 ; Edwin Samuel, June 20, 1878 ; Selina, September 7. 1887; Joseph, September 27, 1882; Nelsina, August 21, 1884; Ida Amelia in 1887; Melvin, July 29, 1889; and Nels Gerhard, July 27, 1892. Upon moving to Black Earth Mr. Barsness built himself a fine residence, which is today one of the most beau- tiful homes in the community.
Seth Bartlett, one of the well known citizens of the town of Madison, was born at Strafford, Orange county, Vt., Jan, 1, 1823. his parents being Jesse and Nancy (Strong) Bartlett, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New Hampshire. The Bartlett family is one of the old and honored families of the "Green Mount- ain State," the greatgrandfather of the subject of this sketch having been the first governor of Vermont. Jesse Bartlett was a carpen- ter by trade and was called the "great hewer," because of his pro- ficiency with the broad-ax. He was a fine singer, was a man of jolly disposition, and was noted for his great physical strength. In the earlv days of Minnesota he went to Minneapolis and all trace
G4 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
of him was lost. His wife died on July 17, 1878. Their children were Lucinda, < Irmal K.. Seth, Cynthia, Hannah and Jackson. Seth, the subject of this sketch, is the only one of the family now living. At the- age of fourteen years he ran away from home and went to Boston, where he learned the trade of carpenter and cabi- net-maker. In 1846 he came to Madison, and there worked at his trade until the discovery of gold in California. He then drove his own team and made the trip overland to the new gold fields, living for a time at Hangtown, after which he went to Sacramento, wdiere he helped to build a large hotel. After a few years in California he returned to Madison by water, forty days being required for the voyage. He then engaged in the livery and horse buying business, and during the war bought more horses for the government than any other man in the county. After the war he bought the place in the town of Madison where he now lives, and where he owns two hundred and seventy-six acres of fine land, upon which he has made all the improvements. In addition to his farming interests, and the raising of fine horses and cattle, he has speculated exten- sively in real estate, in which he has been very successful. Mr. Bartlett, while claiming affiliation with the Republican party, is one of those men who always places the general welfare above mere party considerations and votes for the best man, especially in local affairs. He has never aspired to public office, though he takes a commendable interest in all matters of public policy, and keeps h' in- self well informed on political topics. Beginning life for himself at an early age his opportunities to attend school were cut off, and all the educat'on he has was acquired by self-study. He has been a great traveler, has spent several winters in Florida, and few men have a better general working education. Mr. Bartlett is one of the charter members of Madison Lodge, No. 5, Free and and Accepted Masons, and he is also a member of the Independent ( )rder of Odd Fellows. He married Miss Hannah Ogden, daughter of Abram and Mary Ogden. of Michigan, and to this union was born one daughter, Jessie, now the wife of Walter C. Xoe. of Madi- son, and the mother of four children, viz: "Walter, Mary, Roberta and Edgar. Mrs. P.artlett was a member of the Congregational church and her husband was one of the liberal contributors toward the erection of the church. Mr. Bartlett also as an adopted daugh- ter. Miss Mary Linde. an accomplished young lady and a native of Germany. For a man of his years Mr. Bartlett is well preserved, due in a large degree to his cheerful disposition and his correct habits of living. He is well known and universally respected for
BIOGRAPHICAL. 65
his good sense, his public spirit, and his broad charity for the opinions of others.
Albert O. Barton, managing editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, a daily evening paper published in Madison, was born on a farm in the town of Primrose, Dane county, Dec. 11, 1869. He is a son of Ole and Mary Ann (Twedten) Barton, both natives of Norway, who came to this country at the ages of seven (1818) and three (1852) respectively. The father was educated in the schools in the town of Blue Mounds, where his father had located. In 1862 Ole Barton enlisted in Company D, Twenty-Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. This regiment participated in the disastrous Red river expedition under General Banks, in the reduction of the forts at Mobile, the fight at Spanish Fort and the other engagements of the brigade. While home on a furlough in 1863 he was married. Mr. Barton was mustered out at Mob'le in 1865 and on his return from the war began farming on one of the La Follette farms in the town of Primrose. Since that time he has purchased several farms of his own, and today conducts a two hundred and twenty-four acre place in the same town. During the winter months he taught school. He was one of the first farmers to arouse an interest in the dairy business, and was very influential in the erection of the cheese factory in Primrose, Feb. 6, 1878. He is an enthusiastic and loyal member of the Grand Army of the Republic and attends all en- campments of the order. Mrs. Barton died August 16, 1878, at the age of thirty-eight years and her husband was married a second t'.me in 1881 to Miss Ingeborg Oakland of Primrose. By his first wife he is the father of five children, and by his second wife of eight. He has held all the offices that it is within the power of the town elect- ors to fill. Pie has been justice of the peace, town clerk, chairman of the town and school district clerk. Probably no other man is more widely or favorably known over the county than Mr. Barton. Several years ago he purchased a farm in Taylor county, and has overseen the operation of it in connection with the management of the home place.
Albert O. Barton was educated in the district schools of the town of Primrose and completed his preparatory educat'on in the Dodge- ville high school. He then entered the University of Wisconsin and was graduated from that institution with the degree of B. L. in the class of 1806. Immediately after completing his scholastic la- bors he entered the newspaper field, in the employ of the Madison Democrat. He continued thus until 1903, in the meantime rising to the managing editorship. In the spring of that year he 5 — iii
6Q HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
assumed the same position with the Wisconsin State Journal and has remained with that publication ever since. During his colle- giate course he was active in journalism, being one of the editors of the Daily Cardinal, a student publication. He has frequently contributed to and corresponded regularly for St. Paul, Minneapolis, New York and Boston papers and different magazines. For some years after graduation he was editor of the Alumni Magazine, a periodical issued by the graduates of the state university. In 1895 he published a book entitled "The Story of Primrose from 1831 to 1895", being a history of the township. In 1899 Mr. Barton spent the summer abroad, visiting the British Isles, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. He has also traveled extensively through the south and Canada, contributing letters on the same to the magazines and periodicals interested. When the Ygdrasil society of Madison, composed of the Scandinavian college men of the town, was formed, he was one of the charter members. He has done considerable research work along the line of Scandinavian his- tory and literature, in which he is much interested. Politically Mr. Barton is a Republican, belonging to the dominant wing of the party. He has never aspired to public office and despite the fact that he has labored hard and earnestly in behalf of the principles he upholds he has never sought appointment to office as a reward for his work. He has the distinction of having been the last secre- tary of the Republican city committee before the operation of the new primary election law. On June 2i. 1901, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Ada Winterbotham, a native of Madison, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Winterbotham of Madison. Both Mr. and Mrs, Winterbotham are graduates of the University, of Wisconsin. Mrs. Winterbotham finishing her course with the class of 1865, the first class which contained "co-eds" to graduate from the state institution. Mr. and Mrs. Barton have one son, Harold Edward Sharp, and a daughter. Mr. Barton is a member of the Sons of Veterans and an alumnus of the Athenaean literary society of the University of Wisconsin. His friends pred'ct a bril- liant future for him in the literary world.
Thomas Barton is one of the progressive farmers of the town of Blue Mounds, and as his entire life has been spent in that vicinity the esteem in which he is held by his neighbors is a flattering tribute to his integrity and probity of character. He was born on the place where he now resides on August 1, 1866, and is a son of Ole and May (Thompson) Barton, both of whom were natives of Norway. The father came to America in 1848. and in the same vear settled
BIOGRAPHICAL. 67
on the place where the son now resides and where the father spent all of his life after coming to Wisconsin. He was one of the early- settlers of Dane county and lived nearly a half century within her confines, dying in August, 1895, at the advanced age of seventy- nine years. Thomas Barton, whose name introduces this review,, is one of a family of six children that were born to the pioneer pa- rents above mentioned, and he was reared in the town of Blue Mounds, receiving his education in the public schools, and his occu- pation has always been that of a farmer. His well improved farm comprises one hundred and ninety acres of extremely fertile land. Mr. Barton was married on November 13, 1895 to Miss Emma Kably, daughter of Philip Kably, a long-time resident of the town of Blue Mounds but now residing in the village of Mt. Horeb. Mr. and Mrs. Barton have become the parents of four child- ren ; Adele, Oscar, Myrtle and Earl. Our subject has always been a strenuous worker in the ranks of the Republican party and con- sistently believes that continued application of the principles of that political organization will solve any problems of government that may present themselves. In addition to general farming, which he carries on quite extensively, he also devotes considerable atten- tion to the co-ordinate industries of stock-raising and dairying. Of the brothers and sisters of the subject of this review, Anna mar- ried Andrew Jacobson and resides in Richland county, Iowa ; Carrie married John Hogred and resides in Mt. Horeb ; Bennett resides at Blue Mounds ; Edward at Blue Mounds and Julia at Mt. Horeb. where the mother of these children also resides. Bennett Barton, a. brother of the subject of this review, was born in the town of Blue Mounds on April 1, 1870, and was reared there, receiving his educa- tion in the public schools. He supplemented the knowledge thus gained by attending school' at different times in Dodgeville and Black Earth, and the years of his early manhood were devoted to the occupation of teaching. He commenced farming for himself in 1894 on the place where he now resides, comprising one hundred and ninety-two acres, and there he has since met with flattering success- in the business of general farming and dairying. He was married Feb. 12, 1894, to Miss Julia Haakenes. daughter of Hanse Haakenes. a prominent farmer of the town of Blue Mounds, and to this union there have been born five children : Orvin, Eleanor. Harland, Benja- min and Margaret. Mr. Barton is a Republican in his political affiliations and his personal worth and ability have been recognized by election to the office of justice of the peace, which position he
68 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
at present fills. H's religious faith is expressed by membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church.
Robert McKee Bashford, a leading member of the Madison bar, was born in La Fayette county, Wisconsin, December 31, 1845. His father was Samuel Morris Bashford, a native of New York city who was reared by a relative, Dr. Morris, and educated as a physician. After his removal to Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1835, he discarded the practice of medicine for the more congenial pursuit of agricul- ture. His first wife died soon after his coming west and on June 27, 1843, he married Mrs. Mary Ann (McKee) Parkinson, the widow of W. C. Parkinson, the daughter of Robert McKee. of Edwards- ville. 111., and a native of Kentucky. Robert M. Bashford is a son of this second marriage. Mr. Bashford is one of the best known of Madison's c'tizens, having been before that community since he entered the state university in 1863, as a student of general literature and law, as the editor of a leading paper, as city attorney, as mayor, as state senator, as well as in the capacity of a practic'ng attorney in a private firm for much of the time. His university studies were taken leisurely, as he was not graduated from the college of liberal arts until 1870 and from the law school in 1871. This deliberate- ness was partly the result of financial necessities, as he varied his school life by teaching and had even before graduation served as the principal of schools in Linden, Poynette and Darlington. He had, however, -the advantage of entering upon his later work with more maturity of character than the young man has usually attained whose road to professional proficiency is strewn with metaphorical flowers. While pursuing his law studies at the university, he attained practical knowledge of his profession in the office of Smith & Lamb, a leading law firm of Madison. After his graduation he did not enter upon an active practice for some years, as he formed a partnership with John B. and A. C. Parkinson and George Raymer for the purchase of the Madison daily and weekly Democrat, wh'ch occupation engaged his attention for five years. During his asso- ciation with this paper it was enlarged, changed from an evening to a morning paper and supplied with new presses and material. In its editorial management, he pursued a liberal policy and carried out his views with characterstic independence, and frequently directly against the violent opposition of certain factions of his own party. It was during his editorial connection with this paper that there was formed the coalit'on of the liberal Republicans and the Democrats which nominated Horace Greeley for the presidency, and also, in the state politics, that union of the Grangers and the Democratic
BIOGRAPHICAL. 69
party which resulted in the election of William R. Taylor as gover- nor. The subsequent legislation and the testing of its validity by the courts, has had wide-reaching results, as it established the rights of the state in the control of railway corporations. During this same time Mr. Bashford compiled the legislative manual for the years 1875, 1876, 1877 and 1878, and was engaged in the publication of the revised statutes of Wisconsin for 1878. This work resulted in a familiar knowledge of legislative enactments and methods, and with affairs of the state. In 1876. Mr. Bashford gave up his work in connection with the paper and entered upon the practice of h's pro- fession as a member of the firm of Gill, Bashford & Spilde, which partnership he held until 1880. In 1881 he became a member of the law firm of Tenney, Bashford and Tenney, of Madison, which held his office there until 1885, when an office under that firm name was opened in Chicago, and continued until 1885, when Mr. Bashford returned to Madison and formed a partnership with Hon. James L. O'Connor, later attorney general, which continued for a number of years. Mr. Bashford is at present the senior member of the firm of Bashford, Aylward & Spenseley. Mr. Bashford's service in municipal affairs have been noteworthy. He was the city attorney from 1881 to 1886 and in that capacity defeated the propo- s'tion to give to a private corporation a franchise for the construc- tion of the city waterworks. Moreover, he secured the legislation by which the city was empowered to construct, own and operate its own waterworks, and, the year following, that work was begun. Throughout all the business of contracting and supervising the con- struction of the waterworks and sewers, he rendered efficient service to the city. In 1890 Mr. Bashford was elected mayor of the city of Madison, coming into office at a time when the conditions ren- dered that office a particularly trying one. The financial condition of the city treasury would not admit of needful improvements, or even defray the necessary expenses connected with municipal life, and at the very opening of his administration, charges were pre- ferred against two members of the council and the chief of the fire department, for corrupt practices in conection with the city finances. This investigation, resulting in the removal of all the parties ac- cused, was an unpleasant beginning for the official head of city affairs, but Mr. Bashford conducted the investigation with such thoroughness coupled with fairness, as commended him to all law- abiding citizens ; and he was supported in this action by the common council, the press and the general public, as having performed a difficult and unpleasant duty in a spirit of judicial equity. The
70 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
financial condition of the city treasury was met, during Mr. Bash- ford's incumbency, by the sale of certain city property, and thus he was enabled to inaugurate necessary work upon the streets. A quarry and a steam road roller were purchased, and by the aid of special assessments the work of a thorough street improvement was begun, which has been continued up to the present time, and which contributed so largely to the beauty and comfort of Madison as a residence city. Mr. Bashford's services in the larger field of state politics are considerable, and while he has labored for the suc- cess of the party with which he is politically allied, he has always reserved for himself the liberty of his private judgment, and has, on many occasions, beginning with his early editorial work, been able to influence the attitude and action of his political confreres. He has frequently been selected to serve on central committees and to act as delegate for the city, the county and the state, and in 1884 .was a delegate to the national Democratic convention at Chicago, was also served as state senator from 1891 to 1895. Previous to the last judicial election, Mr. Bashford received a very flattering endorse- ment from the Madison bar, as a nominee for the position as judge of the supreme court, but which after consideration, he declined to accept, notwithstanding a very generally expressed opinion as to his fitness for that position. Mr. Bashford's legal career has been one which has developed a well-rounded character, and he is considered as one of the able members of the^ Wisconsin bar. He has been associated with many cases involving large interests, and perhaps -obtained his greatest distinction as an attorney from his prosecu- tion of the suits against the ex-treasurers of Wisconsin for the recov- ery of interest upon the public funds ; he was engaged in these cases as special council by Governor Peck, and was associated with Attor- ney General O'Connor and Senator Vilas. Mr. Bashford was em- ployed as special counsel for Secretary of State Houser in the suit brought in the summer of 1904 by S. A. Cook and others to deter- mine the regularity of the state ticket nominated by the Republican convention of that year and with his associates succeeded in obtain- ing in the supreme court, a decision in favor of the ticket headed by Governor La Follette ; in 1906 he was employed as special couns-:: for the state in the suit brought in the supreme court to test the val- idity of the inheritance tax and made the brief and argument on the reargument ordered by the court, the final decision sustaining the law upon the grounds for which he contended. Mr. Bashford has for many years been a professor of the college of law of the Univer- sity of Wisconsin, and his work has covered a broad field and has
BIOGRAPHICAL 71
been singularly acceptable to the hundreds of students who have had the benefit of lis instruction. Mr. Bashford was married No- vember 27, 1873, to Miss Florence E. Taylor, who was born at Cottage Grove, Dane county, June 16, 1854 a graduate of the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, and a daughter of ex-Governor Taylor. She died August 16, 1886. leaving one daughter. Florence M., who was born September 4, 1875. and who was married to C. F. Spensley in 1891. February 7, 1889, Mr. Bashford married Miss Sarah A. Fuller, daughter of M. E. Fuller, one of the leading business men of Madison. Two of Mr. Bashford's brothers, John Wesley and James Whitford, and a half-brother, Samuel Whitney Trousdale, are also graduates of the University of Wisconsin. John W. Bash- ford, who died at Hudson in March, 1905, was a lawyer of promi- nence, who had served his city as attorney and mayor and also as a member of the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin. The other brothers are ministers in the Methodist Episcopal church. At the last general conference. James W. Bashford, who had occu- p'ed prominent positions in the church, was elected to the position of bishop.
George Adam Batz, the president of the Farmers' & Merchants' bank of Sun Prairie, is well-known in the community as a successful farmer and has won international recognition by some of the pro- ducts of his farm.. He is the son of Dane county pioneers, Peter and Johanna (Terronf) Batz, who were natives of Germany. Peter Batz was born in Bavaria. April 25, 1822, and came to Milwaukee in 1848. In the same year he was married in Milwaukee and came to the town of Bristol, where he obtained a farm of eighty acres. For three years he worked out, at $10.00 per month, while his wife managed the home property. Mr. Batz traded in lands, at one time owning eight hundred and forty acres in Bristol. In 1891 he went, to Sun Prairie and organized the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank. For ten years the bank was a private institution in which Mr. Batz was assisted by his sons, George P. and Erhard, and in 1901 it was incorporated as the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Sun Prairie, with George A. Batz as president, his father, Peter Batz, retiring from active business. George A. was one of a fam- ily of ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of whom are living. Two brothers. John and Valentine, I've in Minnesota, where Valentine has a seat in the state senate. The family are prominent in the Roman Catholic church, whose first log chapel and whose present edifice in East Bristol, Peter Batz a'ded in erect- ing. The experiences of Peter Batz in the early days of the com-
72 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
munity are typical of the hardy pioneer; he was forty-eight days crossing the Atlantic and after reaching- Milwaukee, walked the rest of the distance to Dane county. George Adam, son of Peter Batz, was born in Bristol, January 22, 1865, attended the Bristol district school and the Roman Catholic school of East Bristol. He has always devoted most of his attention to farming and resides upon farm of two hundred and sixty acres in Bristol, where he raises Holstein cattle and carries on an extensive sheep-raising business. Cheviot sheep are his specialty and Mr. Batz was the second man in Wisconsin to breed this particular strain. Fine Clydesdale horses are also raised by Mr. Batz. He is a careful student of farm- ing methods and keeps well abreast of the times, employing modern, up-to-date methods. The premium on Dutch clover was awarded to Mr. Batz at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893, both for quality and for the largest yield (ten bushels to the acre), and at the World's Fair at St. Louis, he won the gold medal for his exhibit of red kidney beans and also a premium for his oats. Like his father, Mr. Batz is always active in promoting the inter- ests of the town and has served as supervisor and secretary and di- rector of the school board. He is identified with the Democratic party. January 22, 1894, occurred the marriage of George A. Batz and Miss Catherine Germinder, daughter of Alois Germinder. Four children have blessed the marriage; Peter Clements, Cita Barbara, Mary Regina and Prisca Barbara. The family attend the Sun Pra'rie Catholic church. At the golden wedding celebration of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Batz. forty-eight grandchildren were present. In the bank at Sun Prairie owned by the Batz family, George A. is president, George P., vice-president, Erhard, cashier and Misses Johanna and Anna, assistant cash'ers.
Hubert J. Bauhs has been a resident of Dane county from the time of his birth, is the owner of a well improved farm in Cross Plains township. He was born in this township, September 14, 1863, and is a son of Adam and Anna Mary (Jorden) Bauhs, both ol whom were born and reared in Germany. Adam Bauhs came to America about the year 1851, and his future wife accompanied her parents on their immigration to the United States, about the same time. Adam Bauhs located in Perry township. Dane county, soon after his arrival in Wisconsin, and two years later removed to Cross Plains township, where he purchased a tract of wild land, in sec- tion 31, reclaming a good farm and continuing to reside on the homestead for forty years. He passed the closing days of his life in the home of the subject of this sketch, his death occurring
BIOGRAPHICAL. 73
November 25, 190-1. He was a Democrat in his political procliv- ities, and both he and his wife, who passed away March 9, 1880, were communicants of St. Mary's Catholic church, at Pine Bluff. Of the thirteen children seven are living, namely: Mary who is the wife of Lawrence Michaels, of Barron county, this state ; William, who is a farmer of Middleton township; Hubert, who figures as the immediate subject of this sketch; Joseph, who is a carpenter and contractor of Appleton, Wisconsin; John, who is employed as teamster at the University of Wisconsin ; Elizabeth who is the wife of John Haack, of Madison ; and Frances, who is the wife of Henry Miller, of Middleton, Wis.; Hubert Bauhs was afforded the advan- tages of the public school in Pine Bluff, and he continued to be associated in the work of the home farm until his marriage, when he became concerned in the same line of enterprise on his own responsibility. He purchased one hundred and twenty acres In sec- tion 10, Cross Plains township, the tract being to a large extent in its wild state, with no improvements of more than nomenal order. He has reclaimed the land to cultivation, has erected good buildings, and he has been very successful in his operations as a general farmer and dairyman. In July, 1905, he engaged in the saloon business in Cross Plains, but he also continues to give his personal super- vision to his farm. Mr. Bauhs is a staunch supporter of the causes of the Democratic party, and he served twelve years as townsh'p treasurer, was a member of the town board four years, and has held other minor offices. His preferment in this way indicates the high esteem in which he is held in the community. He :s a communicant of the Catholic church and is a liberal supporter and active worker in the same. He was treasurer of the St. Francis church, Berry township, for six years. November 25, 1885, Mr. Bauhs was united in marriage to Miss Theresa Mary Birrenkott, daughter of Michael Birrenkott, who was one of the honored pioneers of this county, more specific mention of the family being made in the sketch of Adolf Birrenkott, on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Bauhs have seven children, namely: Adam J., John M., William H., Michael A., El"zabeth Clara, Peter J., and Victor M.
Edward Baus, a cigar manufacturer of Madison, was born in Prussia, Germany, February 13, 1846. His parents were Richard and Sophia (Hess) Baus, who came to this country from Germany in 1851. They lived first in Cleveland, Ohio, then in Watertown, Wis., and on February 18, 1853, arrived in Madison. The trip from Watertown was made with ox-teams and horses. The snow was deep and in some places the roads were almost impassable,
74 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
but the hardy pioneers persisted and finally reached Madison after untold hardships. The father continued his business as cigar maker after his arrival continuing in it actively until his death on May 8, 1880. His wife passed away some eight years later, at the age of sixty-seven. The two children were Edward and Johanna, widow of Capt. August Bartsch of Oakland, Cal., who has one son, Edward E. Bartsch. Edward Baus received his education in the common schools of Madison, and upon the completion of his school work learned his trade from Bernhardt Nienaber, a pioneer cigar- maker of the city, and in 1863 started a business for himself. Later his father assumed active control of the business, continuing it until his death, when Edward again took charge. The trade has grown rapidly and Mr. Baus and his partner, Mr. Walters, now employ seven or eight operatives the year round. On April 21, 1877, Mr. Baus married Anna, daughter of Andrew and Sophia Hippenmeyer, the latter of whom is now deceased. Mrs. Baus is the fifth of the six Hippenmeyer children. The others are Andrew, Jr., a machinist employed by the Fuller & Johnson company; Charles, a barber at Stoughton ; Alexander, a moulder of Madison; Clara, widow of John Ambrecht, of Madison ; and Alma, wife of Henry W. Lamp, a machinist. Mr. and Mrs. Baus have two chil- dren,— Richard Edward, a graduate from the University of Wis- consin in the mechanical engineering course, now in the employ of the Western Electric company in Chicago ; and Irma J., a stenog- rapher employed by the American Thresherman company. Mrs. Baus and her daughter are members of the Congregational church. Mr. Baus is a member of the Turnverein. He is an excellent marksman, and has in his possession two gold medals won in tournaments, one in the state of Wisconsin and the other at Phila- delphia during the centennial celebration of 1876.
Daniel Bechtel, one of the extensive farmers and progressive citi- zens of Blooming Grove township, is a native of the old Keystone state of the Union, having been born in Larry's Creek, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, August 31, 1845, and being a son of John and Catherine (Eyer) Bechtel, the former of whom was born near Reading. Burks county, that state, while the latter was born in Dry Valley, Union county, Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather, Peter Bechtel. was likewise born in Burks county, of stanch Ger- man ancestry, the fam'lv having been one of the first to settle in Pennsylvania. John Bechtel was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, but when a young man he turned his attention to freight- ing on the canal, later engaging in the lumber business; for some
BIOGRAPHICAL. ! 75
time he operated two saw mills and a grist mill in Pennsylvania. In 1850 he traded his grist mill for a tract of land in Pleasant .Springs township, Dane county. Wisconsin, and in the autumn of the same year he came with his family to this county, making the journey via the canal and great lakes to Milwaukee, whence they completed their journey to Madison with team and wagon, this be- ing before the advent of railroads in this section. On his arrival JVlr. Bechtel found that he had been egregiously swindled, in that the land which he had secured in exchange for his mill was a marsh, and, under the conditions which then existed, entirely unavailable for development into farming land. He therefore purchased forty acres of land, and in a log house which had been previously erected on the place he and his family spent the first winter. In the fol- lowing spring he purchased the farm — now owned and operated by his son Daniel, subject of this review, — and moved on the place in 1853. Here he made the best of improvements, including the erec- tion of a substantial and commodious brick residence, becoming one of the prominent and influential citizens of the township and continuing to reside on the homestead until his death, which oc- curred on February 5, 1876. His wife long survived him, continu- ing to remain on the home farm until she too was summoned into the life eternal, her death occurring in 1900, at the venerable age of eighty-one years. Daniel Bechtel was a child of five years at the time of his parents' removal to Dane county, and he has resided on the old homestead farm for more than half a century, while he has identified himself with the best interests of the community and is a successful farmer and popular citizen. After attending the dis- trict schools he supplemented the discipline by a course of study in a business college in Madison, — the institution now known as the Northwestern Business College. He remained with his parents, with utmost filial devotion, until both were called to the world be- yond, and since the death of his father he has had the supervision of the farm, of which he is now the owner, having greatly improved the place, making it one of the best in the township, while he has added to the area of the original homestead until he is now the owner of two hundred and eighty-five acres. Mr. Bechtel is one of the prominent representatives of the Democratic party in the county, and has been called upon to serve in various offices of public trust and responsibility. He served three terms as township clerk, and for a period of twenty years he represented his township on the board of supervisors of the county. In November, 1882, he was elected sheriff of the county, serving one term, of two years,
76 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
while in 1896 he was elected a member of the assembly of the state legislature, retaining the office one term. For six years Mr. Bech- tel was president of the Cottage Grove Fire Insurance Company, of which he has been secretary since 1900. He is a member of the lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks in Madison. He has two brothers and one sister, one of the brothers residing in Howard county. Iowa, and the other in Clark county, Wisconsin, while the sister, Mary A., is the wife of Fred Lohff, of Madison. Mr. Bechtel has never married.
Frank Joseph Beck, deceased, was for years a trusted employe of the Chi. & N. W. Ry Company in the city of Madison, and during his residence in that city won the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends. He was a native of the kingdom of Austria and was born on March 19, 1844. His parents were Frank and Anna Beck, who were also natives of Austria, and the father during life was a man of considerable prominence, holding the position of mayor of the city in which he lived. In the Beck family there were five children, three of whom are now living: Joseph, who is a very wealthy man, resides in Italy ; Ferdinand is a resident of Virginia City, Nevada; and a sister still remains in Austria. The subject of this review received his education in his native country and in Italy, and in his youth prepared himself for the occupation of a machine- est. He migrated to America in 1874, and coming directly to Wis- consin first worked at his trade in the Chi. & N. W. Railway shops in Baraboo and also at Kendalls, where he was foreman of the round house, remaining thus employed for about nine years. He was then promoted to foreman of the Chi. & N. W. Railway round house at Madison, and he then established his home in the capital city, where he resided until the occurance of the unfortu- nate accident which resulted in his deatn, in January, 1898, he being killed by the explosion of an engine. He had purchased a home at 1130 Jenifer street, in Madison, which his widow still owns. Mr. Beck was married on August 10, 1874, to Miss Louisa Ann Magerl, who is also a native of Austria, born May 1, 1855, the daughter of Wenzel and Ann (Ploner) Magerl. Mr. and Mrs. Beck became the parents of two children, a son and a daughter, the former of whom. Joseph F., married Elizabeth Purcell and resides in Madi- son, and the daughter, Frances C, resides at home with her mother. Mrs. Beck received an excellent education in Switzerland and is a woman of high intellectuality and an energetic disposition. She is an experienced masseur, of exceptionable ability in that line; is highly respected, and takes a great interest in her children. Her
BIOGRAPHICAL. 77
religious faith is that of the Methodist church, her husband hav- ing also been a member of that denomination, and the latter also had membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a Republican in his political affiliations.
Joseph D. Beck, commissioner of labor and industrial statistics, was born in Vernon county, near the village of Avalanche, March 14, 1866. His father, Mitchell Beck, was born in Pennsylvania, March 3, 1838, saw service for three months in the Civil War in Company A, Twenty-fifth Wisconsin infantry with Gen. Jeremiah Rusk, and was with Sherman on his march to the sea, receiving an injury to his right arm while driving an artilery wagon, which crippled him for life. He died May 19, 1897, at the age of sixty- nine. Mitchell Beck's father, Josiah Beck, was a farmer of Penn- sylvania and Ohio, who in 1818 removed to that part of Crawford county, Wis., which later became Bad Ax county, and still later Vernon county, where he died at the age of sixty-two. His wife was Mary Mitchell, who lived to be eighty-six years of age. Of the'r eight children but two are living, — Eva, Mrs. W. C. Snod- grass of Pacific Grove, Cal., and Armilda, Mrs. J. P. Melvin, who lives on the Beck homestead in Vernon county. Josiah Beck's father, John Beck, in the early part of the nineteenth century, owned the only mill in what is now the city of Johnstown, Pa., and which was carried away by the great flood. Mitchell Beck mar- ried Susanna A., daughter of Joseph and Mary (Showen) Snod- grass, natives of Virginia, who removed to Indiana and later, in 1853, to what is now Vernon county, Wis., where they died. The daugh- ter mentioned was born October 27, 1846, and died July 6, 1890. She was one of twelve children, of whom three are living. Mitch- ell and Susanna A. Beck were the parents of fourteen children, — Joseph D.. of Madison, being the oldest. He received his education in the common schools of Vernon and Richland counties, and had one term in the Richland Center high school. From 1886 to 1889 he taught in the country schools of Vernon county, and for the fol- lowing five years was principal of and taught in the graded schools of Cashton, Wis., and held the office of village clerk of Cashton in 1895. He then entered the Stevens Point Normal School, receiv- ing his diploma from that institution in 1897. The school year of 1897 — 1898 he was principal of the Wesfby school and the next three years was at the head of the Cashton high school.. In the fall of 1901 he entered the University of Wisconsin as a junior and received his degree in 1903. On Jan. 1, 1903, he was made deputy commis- sioner of labor and industrial statistics by Commissioner Halford
78 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
Erickson. Upon the appointment of Mr. Erickson to the railway- rate commission by Governor La Follette in 1905, Mr. Beck was pro- moted to the head of the labor bureau, and still occupies that posi- tion. On November 24, 1888, he married S. Jane, daughter of I. W. and Sally Peavy, of Vernon county. Mrs. Peavy died while Mrs. Beck was still a chid; Mr. Peavy died in 1905 at the age of eighty- six. Mr. and Mrs. Beck have had two children, — A. Lori, born April 11, 1890, died April 17, 1893 ; and Maud Ethel, born in August,. 1891, and died three months later. Politically Mr. Beck is a Repub- lican, a strong and influential member of the La Follette wing of the party. Fraternally he is a Mason, a member of the Modern Wood- men of America, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which order he has held all the offices in the subordinate lodge, and all the offices except grand master in the grand lodge, and is at present the incumbent of the office of deputy grand master.
Hon. George W. Becker, mayor of Stoughton and a prom- inent grocer of that city, was born in Frankfort, Germany,. April 13, 1851, a son of Valentine and Elizabeth Becker. The pa- rents immigrated to America in 1854, locating in Jefferson county, where the father purchased a tract of land at Fort Atkinson and lived the rest of his days. He was a mason-contractor by vocation. His three children are John, Catherine, (now the wife of Jacob West- erfield) and George W., the subject of this sketch. The latter was. but three years of age when the family settled in Fort Atkinson, where his scholastic training was acquired. When he had completed his studies he served his apprenticeship as a mason and bricklayer under his brother John, and at the age of twenty-two launched out as a contractor. In 1882 he removed to Stoughton to engage in the same business and followed it continually up to 1889. Many of the business blocks and fine residences of Stoughton are monuments to his sk'll and artistic ability. The last building which he erected before retiring from the business was the Erickson block, one of the principal business blocks of the city. In 1889 Mr. Becker em- barked in the grocery business and has been successfully engaged in it s'nce that time. In politics he is a staunch Republican and as- the representative of his party has several times been selected to offices of public trust. In 1885 — 1886 he was a member of the city- council and in 1893 served on the county board of supervisors. In April, 1906, he was chosen by a large majority to be the executive- head of the municipality for a term of two years. In 1873 Mr. Becker married Miss Libbie Keat, daughter of Philip and Mary Keat of Jefferson county, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Becker have no chil-
BIOGRAPHICAL. 79
dren. The mayor is a member of Kegonsa Lodge, No. 73, Free and Accepted Masons. He in a genial, courteous and hearty, — a man well equipped to fill any position of public trust.
Warner Becker, (deceased), was for over thirty years a well- known stone mason and contractor in the city of Mad' son, and many of the stately buildings of the capital city were erected under his supervision. Mr. Becker was born in Germany, February 14, 1840, and was one of six children born to Frank and Catherine Becker, the parents being also natives of the Fatherland. Our subject was the only one of his family that ever came to America. He received a fair education in the excellent common schools of his native land, and served for a time in the regular army of Germany, but in 1860, at the age of twenty years, he severed all relations with the institutions of that country and turned his face toward the land of freedom and better opportunities. Coming directly to Wisconsin he first "worked as a common laborer and mason-helper, being thus employed about seven years and in the meantime gaining a good knowledge of contracting and building. He then began an independ- ent career as a contractor and followed the same very successfully until his death, which occurred about ten or twelve years ago. He became a property owner in the city of Madison, and a few years prior to his death purchased two full building lots on East Main street, where he erected two houses, in one of which his widow still resides. He was an honest and industrious citizen, and his success was due entirely to his enterprise and intelligence, assisted by the wise counsel of his faithful wife. The subject of this re- view was married on April 11, 1874, to Miss Barbara Schneider, born in Germany, August 12, 1843, daughter of John and Barbara (Wonderly) Schneider, who migrated to America and were respected citizens of Sauk City, Wis. In the Schneider family there were seven children, and five of these are living: Clara married John Vaner and resides in Dubuque, Iowa ; Barbara is the widow of the subject of this memoir; Nicholas married Ave Veda, and his wife is now deceased ; Andrew married Anna Williams and resides in Dane county; John married Anna Williams (not a relative of his brother's wife) and resides at Baraboo, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Becker became the parents of four children, the names and other facts con- cerning whom are here given : Bernard is a practicing physician in St. Louis ; John married Carrie Hauk and resides in the city of Madison ; Katie resides at home with her mother; and Clara married Matthew Schmitz and is deceased. Warner Becker, whose name
80 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
introduces th's review, was a Democrat in his political affiliations, and his religious faith was that of the Roman Catholic church.
J. S. Bell, of Brooklyn, a veteran of the Civil War, comes of a soldierly line. He was born in Sussex county, N. J., February 9, 1842. His parents. Almond and Mary (Sutton) Bell, were na- tives of the same state, the former born in 1800 and the latter in 1821. Mr. Bell's paternal grandfather, Josiah Bell, was in the Revolution- ary War, and took part in that famous crossing of the Delaware, leaving his blood-stained tracks upon the ice and snow. That he was no weakling is shown by the fact that he not only survived the incredible hardships of the war but lived to the extreme old age of ninety-eight years. Mr. Bell's parents were married in New Jersey and resided there a number of years before coming west in 1848. They came to Dane county, staying for a few weeks in Cookville. and then setled in Rutland township, buying one hundred and twenty acres of land of Rogers & Cummings ; this Mr. B-ell im- proved, and made his home continuously until the time of his death, April 28, 1900, except one year that he spent in California. His widow is still living upon the old homestead. Mr. J. S. Bell was a child of six years when he came with his parents to Wisconsin. He rece'ved his education in the public school of district number five, and was a young man of nineteen at the breaking out of the Civil War. He promptly enlisted as a private soldier in Company D, Second Wisconsin Infantry, and served four years, two months and nine days. He enlisted May 19, 1861, was sworn into the U. S. service June 19, and mustered out July 1865, following the close of the war. He took part in a number of battles and was appointed captain in the battle of the Wilderness, by General Grant. In one engagement he was wounded in the head and left for dead on the field where he was captured by the Confederates. His wound was neglected, for the first ten days not even washed, and he suffered the privations of three rebel prisons, Libby first, for four months, then Tuscaloosa, where he first saw the black flag raised, and then four months in Salisbury prison. Mr. Bell belongs to the Repub- lican party, has been treasurer of the town of Rutland for four years, and postmaster in the village of Brooklyn for eight years. He was was a charter member of the Masonic and Modern Woodmen's lodges in Brooklyn, and Master for first five years after organiza- tion ; was a charter member of the Evansville chapter of I. Q. O. F., to which he belongs ; he is also a member of G. A. R. Post, No. 41, of Evansville. He was married, November 4, to Miss Elnora V. Colburn, daughter of Hobart and Katherine
BIOGRAPHICAL. 81
( Prouty) Colburn, who came from Vermont and settled in Rutland, where the father died two years ago, and where the mother is still living-. They have five children, Bertha M., (Mrs. Albert Wink- ler), of Iowa; Dr. Hugh R. Bell, of Ft. Atkinson; Harvey H. ,who is in the west; Leslie H., of Iowa; LeGrand L., at home. All were born in Rutland and educated in Brooklyn and Madison. Mr. Bell has lived in Brooklyn for twenty-five years ; he has an interest in one hundred acres of land now in the probate court, and owns property in the village. He still has many interests although he has retired from some or his more active labors.
Charles W. Bennett, a respected merchant of Black Earth village, was born at Hemyock, Devonshire county, England, August 3, 1854. His father, Frederick Bennett, was born in Comstock. England, in 1816. The maiden name of the subject's mother was Betty Lutley, born in Hemyock, England in 1816. In 1867 Frederick Bennett brought his family to America, settling in the town of Black Earth on one hundred seven and a half acres of section 23. For several years the family home was on this farm, and then Mr. Bennett re- tired and removed to Black Earth village ; he acted as local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years. He died in 1899, and his wfe died in the same year; both at the ripe old age of eighty-three. They had six children, Frederick M., a farmer and miller of Black Earth ; Agnes M., wife of Jas. Holway of London. Ohio; John, who died in infancy; Samuel, a retired farmer living in Black Earth ; Charles W., and Edward, who died October 16. 190-4. Charles W. Bennett was educated in the common schools of England and those of Black Earth. At the age of twenty he left home and went with his brother Frederick, into the meat business in Black Earth village. In 1902 he and his brother bought an interest in the Black Earth Roller Mills, the firm name being Bennett Bros. & Ward. Beside their milling busi- ness the Bennett brothers own six hundred acres of the best farm- ing land in the township. Politically Mr. Bennett is a Prohibition- ist, and has twice, in 1902 and 1904, been elected as the member of the town board of supervisors. Mr. Bennett is not a member of any church, but attends the Methodist Episcopal church, of wh'ch his wife is a member. He has been married twice. In October, 1884, he was wedded to Nora Haseltine, who died in 1892. His second wife was Mertie B. Hewitt of Mt. Sterling, Ohio. He has no living children by his first wife ; by his second marriage he had three sons, Hewitt F. and Donald and an infant son. Mr. Bennett 6 — iii
82 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
is an active member of the Black Earth Camp of the Modern Wood- men of America.
Egbert Bennett, one of the pioneers of Dane county, now living retired in the town of Dunn, was born in Albany, N. Y., June 4, 1819. His father. William C. Bennett was born in Stephenson, Rensselaer county, N. Y., and his grandfather, whose name was also William C. Bennett, was a native of Connecticut from whence he came to Stephenson, N. Y., purchased land, engaged in farming, and there spent the remainder of his days. The father of the sub- ject of this sketch enlisted as a volunteer for the War of 1812, but was never called into the service. He learned the trade of a tanner and currier, and went to Albany, N. Y., as a young man, where he conducted the business until 1821. In the latter year he removed to Coblesk'll. Schoharie county, and continued the same business there until 1837, when he moved to Chenango county, purchased a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He resided in Chen- ango county until 1848, and then came to Wisconsin and spent the remainder of his days in Dane county, dying in 1854. He chose as his helpmate in life Miss Laura Mygatt, who was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., the daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Smith) Mygatt. After her husband's death Mrs. Bennett returned to New York for the purpose of visiting friends and she died in Albany county of that state. Two children were reared by this couple Egbert and Isaac M. Egbert Bennett was reared to manhood in his native state and educated in the public schools, which, though limited, were better than the average existing in that day. He resided with his parents until 1848, and during the last few years of that time was in charge of their farm. In 1846 he made his first visit to the territory of Wisconsin and purchased a tract of land at where is now situated the village of Oregon in Dane county. After a short stay there he returned to his Eastern home and remained until 1848, when he again came to Wisconsin, this time for the purpose of mak- ing a permanent settlement in Dane county. His first employment in the embryo Badger state was cradling wheat for a neighbor, and he continued to work as a farm hand for a short time. Dane county' was then but sparsely settled, Stoughton was a village of about 300 inhabitants, Madison had about 2,000, with two hotels and a bank, and much of the land on all sides of the new state capital was still owned by the government. Deer and other wild animals roamed at will over the unpreempted soil with a freedom born of a common and undisputed possession. Home-made wagons were in general use, oxen were used almost exclusively as beasts
BIOGRAPHICAL. 83
of burden, and in the absence of railroads the farmers' grain was hauled to Milwaukee. Mr. Bennett says that in those days families who lived two miles west of his residence would come to a spring on his farm every day and get their water supply. A short time subsequent to the date of his permanent settlement in Dane county, Mr. Bennett purchased ten acres of land, upon which now stands the principal part of the village of Oregon, erected a home, and while residing there improved the first tract of land which he had purchased. The bank building in Oregon occupies the site of the residence then erected by Mr. Bennett, and it was the first frame building to appear in the village. In 1857 Mr. Bennett disposed of the ten acres mentioned and purchased a tract of eighty acres in section 31 of the town of Dunn, having at the time a frame house and forty acres broken. ' He began at once to make further im- provements on the place and was soon the owner of two hundred and ten acres, with good buildings, which has been his homestead for years. Aside from this he accumulated one hundred and twenty acres more, part of which he sold and the remainder he gave away. Mr. Bennett was married, February 9, 1840, to Miss Margaret Mir- anda Holmes, who was born in Albany, N. Y., the daughter of John and Alma (Robbins) Holmes. Mrs. Bennett died October 16, 1884, having become the mother of two children, the names of whom and other facts concerning them are as follows : Huldah Celestia, the eldest, was born December 1, 1840, and is the wife of Mason M. Green, of Estilene, S. D., and the mother of two children, George and Hattie. William C, the second child, was born on March 4, 1843, married Louisa Griffin, a native of Albany county, N. Y., and died October 5, 1877, having become the father of five children, two of whom are now living — William C. and Lewis J., both of whom are practicing physicians in the village of Oregon. Mr. Bennett was formerly a Whig and cast his first presidential vote for William Henry Harrison, but he has been a Republican since the formation of that party. He was the first postmaster of Oregon, receiving his appointment from President Pierce, and was chair- man of the town of Dunn in 1864 and has served on the side board four terms. He joined the Masonic lodge at Evansville, Wis., in 1854. Although eighty-seven years of age, he is in full possession of his faculties, congenial, generous, exceedingly sociable and hos- pitable, and is ever endeavoring to please others.
Michael Berg is a retired pioneer farmer of the town of Perry and a veteran of the Civil War. His parents, Iver and Carrie Berg, were natives of Norway, where Mr. Berg served for a time in the
84 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
army. Michael was born in Norway, October 13, 1830, and came to Wisconsin in 1853 with several brothers and sisters. For a few years he worked out by the day and then purchased eighty acres in the town of Perry, where he lived ten years. He then sold this property at a considerable profit and purchased one hundred and forty acres also in the town of Perry, to which was later added one hundred and sixty acres. Mr. Berg has now a fine property, well- equipped, and a large proportion of it under cultivation. His suc- cess has been earned by untiring energy and patience. Iver Berg had six children, of whom five came to America. Ever and Austin reside in Iowa; Ole in Trempeleau county. Wis.; Anna in Prim- rose and Ingebor in Norway. Michael served the Union cause during the Civil War as a private in the Twenty-second Regiment of Wiscons'n Volunteer Infantry. His detachment was engaged in guard duty and Mr. Berg served from October, 1864 to May, 1865, when he was discharged at Madison. In October, 1856, he married Miss Barbara Haaverud, born July 26, 1833, daughter of Knudt and Christina Haaverud, the former of whom never come to America. Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Berg; Carrie (deceased) ; Ever married Emma Johnson and lives in Perry ; Knudt (de- ceased) ; Christine married Oliver Iverson and resides in Kossuth county, Iowa ; Carrie lives with her parents ; Anna Olena is the w'fe of George Matson of Moscow, Iowa county; Evan married Annie Stenseth and lives in Sioux county, Iowa ; Carena is the wife of John Jensvold of Kossuth county, Iowa ; Anna Berthine is Mrs. Edward Benson of Mount Horeb ; Ingebor married Theodore Johnson and lives in Clark county. Wis. ; Henry lives with his par- ents. Mr. Berg is allied with the Republican party and is a mem- ber of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
John B. Berge, a retired farmer, living in the village of Deerfield, was born at Voss, Norway, January 7, 1832. both his parents, Bun- gel and Mary (Golickson) Johnson, being natives of that country. Mr. Berge received a moderate education in the schools of Norway, and in 1850 came alone to America, making his way directly to Dane county. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land from his brother, who had purchased it from the government a short time before, and began farming. In 1890 he bought some lots in the village of Deerfield and built the house in which he now lives. However, he still owns the farm, which is now conducted by his son. In politics he belongs to the Republican party ; has served five terms as town treasurer ; four terms as assessor ; and has several times been elected as a member of the board of supervisors. He is
BIOGRAPHICAL. 85
a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, and is a man of high moral principles, noted for his generosity. In the fall of 1855 he married Angeline Michelson Erdall, daughter of Michael Erdall, and they have the following children : Bungel and Michael on the home farm in Dane county ; Nickoli in Vernon county ; Tena, mar- ried Peter B. Winde of Deerfield ; Ellen, married Andrew Hollman, St. Croix county.
Ole O. Berge, who carries on a general farming business in the town of Dunn, is an experienced farmer and has lived in the vicinity of Dunn for nearly thirty years. Born in Tellemarken, Norway, June 14, 1862, he came to America when a boy of fifteen, with a cous- in, and located in the town of Dunn. Two of his brothers and a sis- ter came to America later but the remainder of the family, which in all numbered nine children, remained in Norway, where three have died. Mr. Berge's father, also Ole O., married Julia Osman and lived in Tellemarken, Norway, of which place both were natives. In 1866 she was left a widow and later married Ole Evenson of Tellemarken. They were members of the Lutheran church, in which they brought up their family. Ole O., the subject of this sketch, received such education as the common schools of Telle-' marken afforded and embarked for the west in 1877. For a time he worked out upon farms near Dunn and then rented a farm. In 1896 he purchased twenty-two acres of farm land to which he soon added another tract of thirty-seven and one-half acres, which is his present home. All of the improvements have been made by Mr. Berge, who has spared no pains to make his property valuable. He bu'lt the comfortable home and has made many other additions to the farm upon which he raises much fine stock, also grain, tobacco, etc. Mr. Berge started in with no capital but by his ambition and energy and his own unaided efforts has made himself one of the substantial members of the community. He is a Republican but has never been an active politician and is a member of the Stough- ton Lutheran church. In 1889, he married Miss Gunil Knutson, a native of Norway. Seven children have been born to them ; Oscar, Carl, Gilmer, Alma, — who died in infancy, — Alma, the second, Clara and Olin. All attended the home schools and the Lutheran church.
Peter B. Bergum, owner of one of the large farms of Dane county, located at DeForest, Wis., was born on the old homestead at Bristol, October 4, 1856. His parents were Botolf and Betsy (Farness) Bergum, both of whom were born in Norway. Botolf Bergum left the old country and arrived at Bristol about 1846 where he passed
86 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
the remainder of his life. His wife immigrated to America in 1844. They were married in Dane county, and had five sons and one daughter, all of whom are living. They settled on a farm and by thrift and diligence greatly prospered, finally becoming the owners of six hundred acres of land. Botolf died in Bristol, March 23, 1904, and his wife died April 8, 1903. Peter Bergum was thus one of a family of several children. He received such an education as the common schools afforded. His father had been a strong Repub- lican and a member of the Lutheran church and the son followed in the foot-steps of his parent in politics and in religion, as well as in occupation. Farm-bred and farm-reared, he became an unusually successful agriculturist. He now owns two hundred and seventy acres of land, which he devotes to his extensive tobacco interests. He also makes a specialty of Poland China hogs, short-horned cat- tle, and thorough-bred Shropshire sheep, his interest in dairying having led him to serve as president of the creamery of North Bristol. He is honored and respected by the community and is one of the trustees of the Lutheran church. He married on October 30, 1879, Susan Amundson, who was born in Chicago, March 14, 1862, the daughter of Arne and Inger Amundson, both of whom were born in Norway. Mr. Amundson came to this country when a young man, living first in Chicago and then in California. He re- turned to Norway, but came back to Chicago where he was married. After his marriage he settled in Hamden, Columbia county, Wis., in 1865, where he died in 1889, his wife surviving him until Septem- ber 2, 1905. Beside the father and mother, the family consisted of five children, three sons and one daughter of whom are now living. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bergum as follows : Bennie, educated at Stoughton academy and the Dixon normal school, engaged in farming; Albert and Andrew, educated at Albion academy and both farmers ; Emma, a student of Albion academy ; Arthur, Mabel and Lena, the last three being at present at home.
Charles Bernard, Sr. In retirement after a busy life covering a period of more than four score years, Charles Bernard, Sr., is en- joying his declining years at his home, 624 East Gorham street, liv- ing with his son, William P. Bernard, and family. His life of eighty-two years has been one of industry, frugality and thrift, and unt'l six years ago, when he fell and injured his spine, there were few days that he was not actively engaged in some useful form of work. Extremely fond of water and being connected with the boat building trade from his youth, Mr. Bernard finds a keen degree of pleasure, even at his advanced age, in gazing upon the broad ex-
BIOGRAPHICAL. 87
panse of Lake Mendota, a fine view of which his room at the family residence commands. In the summer months a favorite spot of the aged boat-builder was in an easy chair in the boat-house adjoining the pier where, with observation glasses, he would note the move- ments of the lake craft and watch the steamer Columbia, which was largely his own creation. Mr. Bernard was born in Baden, Germany, May 23, 1823, coming to this country when a lad of but eight years. He learned tailoring in New York city during a resi- dence there of thirteen years and at the same time became quite expert in cabinet making, which was accounted a desirable trade in those days, everything being done by hand. Just as Mr. Bern- ard was arriving at man's estate the Mexican War broke out and he was among the first to enroll, enlisting in the Second artillery of New York, with which regiment he saw five years of active service. He part'cipated in many battles and was with General Winfield Scott at the bombardment of Vera Cruz. The storming of the fortress of Chapultepec and the capitulation of the city of Mexico, he remembers well, and the fight at Cherabusco, where he was wounded, is vivid in his memory. Mr. Bernard was shot in the right shoulder by one of Colonel Reilly's deserters, the ball pene- trating the joint. After he felt the sting of the missile, he fired nineteen of the twenty cartridges in his belt, then fainted from loss of blood. After a hospital residence of several months, Mr. Bernard was appointed standing orderly under Colonel Monroe, a position he held until mustered out of the service.
At the hosp'tal the ball was extracted from the wound and given to the young man who treasured it as a keep-sake until more re- cent days, when it disappeared. At the beginning of the Civil War Mr. Bernard joined the Sixth Wisconsin Battery, but was not long in the serv'ce. The desire to better his position in life induced the young man to look to the west for opportunity and he came to Madison in 1851. He had accumulated some money and this he en- trusted to a friend who promised to purchase with it a nice tract of land for him west of Madison, but he proved false to his agree- ment, took the money and skipped for parts unknown. This cir- cumstance changed his plans and there was no alternative but to begin tailoring again until he could accumulate enough to begin building row-boats. His shop was located on the lot owned by George Stoner. where now stands the Bethel Lutheran church. Mr. Bernard acquired his knowledge of the proper construction of boats, while working in the Brooklyn navy-yard where he was em- ployed as finisher on large vessels. The pointers thus gained stood
88 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
him in good stead, for, with money gone, there was no prospect of getting a farm as he had planned and the boat business promised a livelihood. In 1890 he built his first steamboat, which he named Ann in honor of his daughter, who now lives in Cincinnati. After two years on Lake Mendota, the Anne was sold and was taken to Green Lake. In 18!).'$ the year of the world's fair in Chicago, Mr. Bernard built the Columbia, the work on both vessels being done by hand. Last spring the Columbia was dismantled and superseded by the new steamer, Wisconsin, built by the Madison Boat Com- pany and owned by William P. Bernard. In 1849 at New York c'ty. Miss Margaret Cartes became the wife of Mr. Bernard, com- ing to Madison with her husband in 1851. Nine children were born to them, five sons and four daughters. Those now living are Charles Bernard, Jr., chief of the city fire department of Madison ; Henry Bernard, captain of the fire department; William P. Bernard, boat and ice-yacht builder of Madison ; and George Bernard of Sioux City. Iowa, superintendent of a telephone company. Only two daughters are living, — Mrs. H. J. VanKeulen of Madison and Mrs. F. G. Pfafr of Cincinnati. Catherine died at an early age and a few months ago Mrs. Frank Baker passed away. A son, George, died in Chicago, and Mrs. Bernard was called seventeen years ago. Mr. Bernard's parents died at a comparatively early age, his father be- ing killed in battle and his mother died from grief soon after, at the age of forty-eight. He has but one brother living. This is Constan- tine, whose home is in New York city. Mr. Bernard is a member of the Mozart lodge, I. O. O. F., and has been connected with the old No. 2 fire company since 1859. Although seriously hampered physically by reason of the injury to his spine six years ago. this veteran of two wars finds enjoyment in reading and recalling events of earlier days. He is possessed of strength of memory quite re- markable. Mr. Bernard's career is one of that varied character common only to the generation now almost gone.
Charles Bernard, Jr., chief of the Madison fire department, and a son of Charles Bernard, Sr., whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, was born in New York city on February 22, 1849. His early educational advantages were such as were afforded by the Mad'son schools and during the time he was not occupied in the pursuit of knowledge he assisted his father in his boating and fish- ing business. At the age of twenty-two he served his apprentice- ship as a painter and followed that vocation continuously up to 1899. Six years of that time he was senior member of -the firm of Bernard, Dresen & Rhodes. Mr. Bernard's connection with the
BIOGRAPHICAL. 89
Madison fire department dates from 1871. In that year, just one week before the great Chicago fire, he became a member of the old E. W. Keyes steam engine company. Upon the disbandment of that company he joined the S. U. Pinney hose company, and for some time was its captain and treasurer. It was while he was a member of the hose company that the city council in 1882 elected him to the position of assistant chief of the department. He served in that capacity for seven years, and then was placed in charge of the department, which position he has most capably filled since that time. When the exigencies of the city required a larger depart- ment Mr. Bernard gave up his other business interests so as to de- vote his entire time to the needs of the department. In 1900 the de- partment was placed under civil service and he was chosen perma- nent chief by the board of fire and police commissioners. In politics the chief shows a preference for the Democratic party, but has never aspired to political office. His religious affiliations are with the Presbyterian church. In 1873 Chief Bernard married Miss Mary McConnell, a daughter of Richard McConnell of Madison. Two children have been born to this union. — Bertha, the wife of Charles Warlike of Madison, and Henry, a stenographer for the Portland safe company of Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Joseph H. Bertrand s a leading physician and business man of De Forest, Wis., and. the descendant of a Canadian family. His father's father came from France to Canada and his mother's par- ents were early French settlers of Canada. Peter Bertrand, father of Joseph H., was born in Canada, educated there and there mar- ried to Miss Seraphine Courtmanche, also a native" of Canada. In 1855 they came to Chicago and made that city the'r permanent home. Mr. Bertrand died in 1883 and his wife in 1905. They were members of the Church of Xotre Dame (Roman Catholic) in Chi- cago. Two sons and one daughter were born to them, all of whom are living. Joseph H. was born in Chicago, September 27, 1862, attended the public schools in that city and was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the University of 111., in 1886. For a short time he practiced medicine in Chicago but, seeing a fav- orable opportunity in De Forest, has been ever since successfully engaged in practice there. Since 1891 he has been engaged in the drug business and also aided in the organization of the De Forest State Bank in 1902, of which he has always been president. A' Republican in political sympathy. Dr. Bertrand is first and foremost an active and public-spirited man, to whom De Forest can look for interest in her welfare. He is particularly accive in the promotion
90 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
•of the best interests of the De Forest schools. In the Hansann Lumber Co., he is president and principal stock-holder. With the following' medical societies he is identified: the Central Wisconsin Medical Society, the Dane County Medical Society, the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, and the American Medical Associa- tion. He is also a member of the Wisconsin State Pharmaceutical Association and was instrumental in the organization of the De For- est Mutual Fire Insurance Co., of which he was President for a num- ber of years, November 26, 1891, he married Miss Tina Dahl, daugh- ter of N. L. Dahl, an account of whose life appears elsewhere. Three children have blessed the marriage ; Pearl, born February 13, 1896 ; Norman and Joseph Bernard. The family are identified with the Lutheran church.
George Bevitt, an inventor of Madison, was born at Stanley Hill, near the city of Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, October 2, 1819. He is a son of George and Elizabeth (Smith) Bevitt, both natives of Yorkshire. The father was a carpenter and mill-wright, and also built boats. The paternal grandfather, William Bevitt, lived near Thorn and was also a carpenter. He had a large family, owned considerable real estate, was the poor pay-master for two villages and kept a hotel. He also built and was the owner of several boats and two of his sons were sailors. George Bevitt, the subject of the sketch, is one of a family of ten children, and the only one to come to this country. He received a fair education in the schools of his native county, and after leaving school learned the trade of cabinet maker. At the age of twenty years he left home and for about two years worked at his trade as a journeyman in different localities. He then went to Bolton, where he found employment in an organ factory and later started in business for himself. In 1849 he came with his family to America, and on September 20, of that year, arrived at Madison. Here he worked for Darwin Clark and others as a cabinet maker, until he was employed by the Chicago, Milwau- kee & St. Paul Railroad Company to look after the pumping sta- tions, etc., in Illinois and Wisconsin. While thus employed he invented a tank-spout and valve which is now used by the leading- railroad companies of the United States. He also invented a car- coupler and various other appliances, having taken out altogether twenty-two patents. Mr. Bevitt was a member of the old fire com- pany No. 1, and was for six years a constable of Dane county. In 1841, at Leeds, England, he married Miss Mary, daughter of Rob- ert and Mary Critoph, and to this marriage were born twelve chil- dren, only three of whom are now living. Mary E. is the wife of
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Rev. Justin Thompson, of Poynette, Wis. ; Henrietta J. lives with her father; and Hannah is the wife of William L. Steele, a whole- sale jeweler of Chicago, with offices in the Masonic Temple. The mother of these children died in March. 1902.
Ole Bilstad, a well-known Cambridge druggist, has been engaged in mercantile business for a number of years. He is of Norwegian descent, both of his parents having been natives of Telemarken, Norway. His father. Even, was a farmer in Norway and was there wedded to Miss Dagna Midgard. In 1813. they came to the United States in a sa'ling vessel, which was twenty-one weeks in crossing the ocean. After a very short stay in New York, where the vessel arrived at length, the young couple came to Wisconsin and settled on a farm in Oakland, Jefferson county. Their property consisted of one hundred and sixty acres obtained from the government and on it they bu'lt a rude dug-out and proceeded to improve the farm. The first wheat they raised was carried ten miles to Lake Mills on the back of the pioneer farmer. Their efforts were crowned with success and later the dug-out was replaced by a snug cabin. In 1866 the farm was sold and the family moved to Dane county and purchased eighty acres of improved farm property. Five children were born, but two of the older ones, Stena and Tollaf, died. Tona, the second child, now lives at Seattle, Wash. Gunel lives at Neils- ville, Wis. and Ole. the subject of this sketch, is the youngest son. The family attended the Lutheran church. Ole Bilstad was born at Oakland, Jefferson county, March 28, 1848, attended in the win- ter time such schools as the district afforded in those days and helped his parents on the farm in his spare time. October 24, 1872, he married Miss Ingobar Mandt and soon after came to Cambridge, where he was employed as clerk by T. C. Stagg, who owned a drug and general store. He became Mr. Stagg's partner and a dry goods department was added to the store. In 18"79, Mr. Bilstad bought the drug business and since that time has carried on a drug, sta- tionery, paint and wall-paper business. Mr. Bilstad is a Republ'can in political sympathy and has served as trustee and school clerk in the village for a long period. With his family he attends the Pres- byterian church of Cambridge. Mrs. Bilstad is the daughter of Gunder T. Mandt, a prominent citizen of Stoughton, Wis., whose sketch appears elsewhere. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bilstad: the oldest son. Gunerius E., attended the Cambridge schools, the Stoughton Academy and the University of Wisconsin ; was also graduated from the Northwestern Medical College and is a practicing physician of Cambridge. His wife was Miss Clara W ar-
92 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
ren, daughter of Dr. George B. Warren, of Chicago, and they have a family of three children. George, Esther and May. The oldest daughter of Ole Bilstad is Sena D., wife of John Richardson of San Francisco, Cal. Clara, the next in age, is the wife of Will F. Krip- pen of Barron, Wis., and they have one child, Paul B. Florence O. Bilstad, the youngest daughter, resides with her parents at Cam- bridge. Mr. Bilstad is a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge No. 135 of Cambridge and Dr. Bilstad belongs to the State Medical Society of Wisconsin.
Wenzl Binstock, a farmer in the town of Cottage Grove, was born at Waterloo, Jefferson county, Wis., June 11, 1863. His father, whose name was also Wenzl, was a native of Austria. He grew to manhood in his native land, married there Hannah Freidel, and June, 1859, located in Jefferson county. After nine years on this farm they sold it and bought s'xty-eight acres in another locality. Here they added to their possessions until they owned a fine farm of one hundred and seventy acres, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Of their ten children six are still living. They are August, living retired at Waterloo ; Peter, a farmer at Sun Prairie ; Wenzl, the subject of this sketch ; Hannah, now Mrs. Frank Veithr of the town of Medina ; Rose, the wife of Ferdinand Vieth, of Wat- erloo, and Anna, the wife of Anton Thomas, of Sun Prairie. At the age of twenty-five years Wenzl Binstock, the son, began farm- ing for himself on a farm belonging to his father. This tract of land he afterward bought, and it has been his home ever since he commenced life on his own account. On April 17, 1888, he married Mary, daughter of Vincent and Victoria Semon, of the town of Medina, and Mrs. Binstock has been a real helpmate to her husband in all his undertakings. This, coupled with the fact that he is a man of super 'or judgment and untiring energy, accounts for his success. He and his wife have had the following children. Hattie, born March 2, 1889 ; Anna, born on March 28, 1891. and died on October 5. 1891 ; twins, born March 25, 1893, one of them died in infancy and the other. John, died on September 8, 1893 ; Cary M , born March 26, L896. Vincent and Victoria Semon, had four children, viz: Mary, now Mrs. Wenzl Binstock ; Joseph, living in Illinois; John, at Ocon- omowoc, Wis.; and Vincent, living in the town of Medina. Mr. Binstock is a member of the Catholic church and in his political amTations is classed as an independent voter. He belongs to the Lodge of Woodmen at Cottage Grove, and to the Catholic Order of Foresters.
William H. Birkinbine, one of the successful farmers and stock-
BIOGRAPHICAL. 93
growers of Sun Prairie township, was born :n Delafield, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, October 1, 1854, and is a son of Henry R. and May (Austin) Birkinbine, the former of whom was born in Penn- sylvania, in 1807, and the latter in the state of New York, Decem- ber 15, 1833. The father came to Madison, Wisconsin, in an early day and there erected the first saw mill for the late Andrew Proud- fit. He later settled near the city of Milwaukee, where he owned and operated a saw mill for a number of years. * He passed the clos- ing' years of his life in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was for some time employed as a machinist. He was both an engineer and mill- wright, and finally was placed on the retired 1st of pensioned en- gineers of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. His twin brother, William, was awarded a prize as an engineer at the World's Columbian Exposition, in Chicago, in 1893. Henry Birk'nbine was a Democrat in politics, in earlier life, but supported the Republican cause from the time of Lincoln until his death, which occurred in 1888. His w'dow now resides in Scotland, South Dakota, and of their four children two are living. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch was a native of Germany, whence he em- migrated to America, locating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his life, having been in independent cir- cumstances financially. The maternal grandfather, Hezekiah Aus- tin, was born in the state of New York, and came to Wisconsin about 1845, settling in Waukesha, where he engaged in the work of his trade, that of blacksmith. Both he and his wife, whose maiden name was Lucinda Stowell, cont'nued their residence in Wisconsin until their death. William H. Birkinbine completed his educational trailing in the public schools of Sun Prairie, and he has made farming his vocation in life, while he has won his way to success and independence through earnest and well directed per- sonal effort. He now owns a well improved and valuable farm of one hundred and ninety acres, one hundred acres of which are in the corporat'on of Sun Prairie and the remainder in Sun Prairie township, the tract being all in one body, however. In 1903 he erected his present large and well equipped barn, and in 1904 com- pleted his fine modern residence. He gives his attention to general farming ard stock raising and is alert and progressive in his methods and ideas, while he commands the esteem of all with whom he comes in contact. Mr. Birkinbine is a stanch Republican, but has never sought official preferment. He is identified with Sun Prairie Lodge, No. 143, Free and Accepted Masons, and attends and gives support to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Birkin-
94 HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.
bine is a member; he assisted in the erection of the present church and parsonage of the denominat'on in Sun Prairie. On March 5, 1884, Mr. Birkinbine was married to Miss Emma Haner, who was born in Bristol township, this county, November 19, 1854, being a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Stroup) Haner, now residents of Sun Prairie. Mr. and Mrs. Birkinbine have five children, whose names, with respective dates of birth, are here entered : Eva, January 27, 1885; Minnie, September 13, 1886; William Frank, October 4, 1888; Sarah, December 3. 1890 ; and Robert, November 10, 1893.
Adolph Birrenkott is one of the leading stock-growers and far- mers of Cross Plains township, which has been h's home from the time of his birth, and no citizen of this locality is held in more dis- tinctive confidence, while his progressive ideas and marked business acumen need no farther voucher than that afforded in the success which stands to his credit and the attractive appearance of h's fine farm. He was born on the home farm of his parents, in section 28, this township, June 7, 1855, and is a son of Michael and Clara M. (Kalshauer) Birrenkott, both of whom were born in Rhenish Prus- sia ; they came to America as young folk and their marriage was solemnized after their arrival here, both having left the fatherland about the year 1852. Michael Birrenkott was born in Kerpen, Ger- many. September 7, 1830, a son of Adolph and Margaret Birrenkott, with whom he came to America when about twenty-two years of age. The family made Dane county their destination, and Michael and his father first purchased one hundred and twenty acres of wild land, in section 28, Cross Plains township, erecting a primative log house on the place and later making an addition to the same, while they grappled with the forest and improved a good farm. The par- ents of Michael here passed the remainder of their lives. Clara M. (Kalshauer) Birrenkott was born July 13, 1830, having been a daughter of John and Theresa Kalshauer, who came to Dane county about the same time as did the Birrenkott family. Michael Birren- kott became a man of prominence and influence in the community, having served as supervisor and assessor of his township and hav- ing been a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, while both he and his wife were communicants of the Catholic church. His death occurred January 12, 1874, and his widow entered into eternal rest February 26. 1884. Of the nine children the subject of this sketch was the first-born and eight of the number are living, one having died in infancy. The names of the others are here entered in order of their birth : Theresa, Gertrude, John, Jacob, Peter, Michael J. and Joseph. All are still resident of Dane county. Adolph Birren-
BIOGRAPHICAL. 95
kott was afforded the advantages of the schools of his native town- ship and after the death of his father he remained on the old home- stead with his mother until the time of his marriage. He still con- tinued on the old homestead, however, and eventually purchased the interests of the seven other heirs, and he now owns two hun- dred and eighty-six acres of well improved land. He has individu- ally made many improvements, in the way of erecting and remodel- ing buildings and the farm is one of the model places of the town- ship. He now gives his attention more especially to the raising of h'gh-grade live stock, having short-horn cattle, which he buys and feeds and then places on the market each year, while he also raises horses and swine and has a considerable dairy business. He is a great fancier of fine horses and has several standard-bred horses of distinctive beauty and value. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Democratic party and he has been chairman of the township board twelve years, while he has held other local offices and is recognized as one of the political leaders of his township. He and lis wife are communicants of St. Mary's Catholic church, at Pine Bluff, and he was treasurer of the parish seven years. November 24, 1885, Mr. Birrenkott was united in marriage to Miss Anna J. Conrad, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, March 21, 1866, being a daughter of John J. and Katherine (Herchenroder) Conrad, who were born in Germany. They settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where they remained until 1868, when they came to Dane county, Wisconsin, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Birrenkott have seven children, whose names and dates of birth are