Waseca County, Minnesota - Biographical Sketches - Reminiscbnses Op Early Days, 1905 (part 1 of 6)

New Richland, By Hon. Anthony Sampson

Mr. Sampson was born in Norway, August 21, 1827; and Mrs. Sanapson was born in the same counti:y, October 12, 1825. They left their native land May 15, 1853, and settled in Rock county, Wisconsin, July 10, of that year, where they remained three years. Mr. Sampson finally concluded to remove to Minnesota. He went around among his neighbors and got up a company to go with him. The men's names are as follows: H. H. Sunde, K. O. Rotegard, H. T. Hangrud, O. K. Hagen, W. Anderson, Kresten Knudson, and B. O. Strenge. They were all from Norway originally, but had settled in Rock county, Wisconsin. They started from the latter place on the 3d day of May, 1856, and after encountering and overcoming the various obstacles and hindrances incident to an overland trip with ox teams and lumber wagons, reached New Richland on the 10th of June following.

Until the arrival of these people there was not a white settler in the township. There were some Winnebago Indians around almost every day, but they never did any harm. Mr. Sampson says:

"The whole company of us had only twelve yoke of oxen, thirty cows, fifty head of young cattle and about $600 in gold. The first thing we did was to rig out two breaking teams and break four acres of ground for each family. This we planted mostly to flint corn, but as soon as the corn came up the ulackbirds and gophers took it all. It was hard times for us the first two years. Plour was high in price costing us $11 a barrel, and we had to go seventy-five miles to get it. But we got along any way. We had plenty of milk and made butter and cheese; and we could catch all the fish we needed in the lake and the river at that time.

The first white child born in the township was a daughter of O. K. Hagen m July, 1856. The first death was that of Sam A. Samson, August 22, :861.

The first school district in the town was organized in 1860. John Larsen was elected clerk; Anthony Sampson, director; and T. Tidmanson, treasurer. The first school house was erected on a half acre lot given by Mr. Sampson from a portion of his farm in 1862.

The first church (Lutheran) was organized In 1861. H. Halvorsen, Anthony Sampson and H. Taraldson were elected trustees of the society; and the first church building was erected by this society in 1862. It was a log building, 20x26 feet, and 14 feet in height. We got a minister from Goodhue county who held services once every two months. There v/ere at that time about twenty families belonging to the society, but now it contains one hundred and thirty families. In 1872, we sent a call to Norway for a minister, and obtained Rev. O. A. Mellby. He is our minister yet, and is an honest, able worker in this society. Ihe society bought eighty acres of land and put up buildings for him and his family that cost about $1,800.

We now have two good churches that cost about $8,000. There is a good Congregational church in the village, and there are seven good schoolhouses in the township."

Mr. Sampson, besides holding numerous town ofllces, represented ^^iS county in the house of representatives in the session of 1877. He was of our most substantial citizens who, in a modest way, did his part toward developing the country and changing it from a wilderness to one of the most productive regions in the West. He died May 16, 1899, at his home, honored and respected by all.

Captain Earl Of Freedom

This gentleman was born August 10, 1832, in Jamestown, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. His mother died while he was quite young, and in 1838 he went to live in the family of Mr. Samuel Fitch, who resided three miles east of Youngstown, Ohio. He was a very worthy man and instilled into tne mind of young Earl, both by precept and example, the principles of honesty and uprightness of character. Captain Earl lived with this family eleven years.

In the spring of 1850, he started West, coming as far as Rock Island, Illinois. In February 1851, he went north into Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he worked until November 25, 1S55. He then married Miss Mary O. Hubbard, of Hebron, in that county. She was born in Troy, N. Y., and came West with her parents when she was four years of age.

they resided until July 4, 1859, when they started for Minnesota with two yoke of oxen, one wagon, a cow and a calf. They arrived at their uew home in the town of Yucatan, Houston county, on the 11th of July. When they had reached their destination they had about $20 in gold left, and were owing $250 on the one hundred and twenty acres they had bought.

Captain Earl says there had been considerable railroad excitement, and the Southern Minnesota had been graded as far as Houston; but the bubble had burst, and the hands were going out when he was moving in. He found a vacant shanty a mile from his land, and took possession of it. He immediately went to work cutting and hewing oak logs for a house, 16x20 feet, which he covered with oak shingles. His nearest neighbor was three miles away, and help to raise the house had to come from three to four miles. He worked out through harvest at $1.50 per day, and did not get his house raised until September, but completed it in November and moved into it. For a year and a half he had to work out for enough to support his family. His land w^s what is known as grub and openings. He grubbed and broke and fenced and thus opened his farm to cultivation.

In March, 1865, he sold his farm for $1,200 and in April following, in company with J. L. Graham and Arthur Graham, started for Redwood Falls. He furnished the team and they the provisions, and they camped out. Nine miles west of Wilton they came across Darling Welch, who was living upon the Winnebago reservation. He described the beauties of the land ana the natural advantages of the situation in his enchanting style, but they had made up their minds to visit Redwood Falls, which they did, spending two weeks looking over that section of country. They found timber rather scarce and the land not yet in market. 'i hey were pleased with Waseca county, and returned to Mr. Welch's place. J. L. Graham and Earl each bought '160 acres of land. Captain Earl's farm cost him $960.

The improvements consisted of six acres broken and in crop, forty acres fenced with a two-rail fence, and a log house 12x18 feet. After going back to Houston county, he returned in June and broke up twenty acres - keeping "bach" during the time. He then went to Fillmore county and worked through harvest with his team.

On the 1st of September he started from Houston county with his family and arrived at the new home on the 7th. He had one span of good mules - which he sold that fall for $400 - three good cows and six young cattle. Mrs. Earl drove the team on the road while he drove the cattle. He had his hay to cut and stack after his arrival. He hired a man and mower one and a half days, and the rest he cut with a scythe.

In speaking of that fall he says: "The weather, till late in the fall, was very fine, but the first snow storm was a terrible one. It was my first experience with a blizzard, and it came in all its glory. That was the night Billy Adams, the stage driver, was so badly frozen. It was about two miles west of my place where he brought up at a vacant shanty and stayed that fearful night. It was one never to he forgotten by the early settlers of Freedom. "The next summer," says he, "was very wet, and it was almost impossible to get around. It cost one dollar per hundred to get flour from Mankato to our settlement, a distance of twenty miles. We had very good crops, however, that season, and in the fall "we were as happy as could have been expected. We had a splendid neighborhood, very little sickness, and no reason to complain of our prosperity."

The first office held by him was that of assessor in the town of Forest, Richland county, Wisconsin, in 1859. In Houston county, he was elected chairman of the board of supervisors in 1861 and re-elected in '62, '63 and '64. In that time he paid out over $8,000 for volunteers, and kept the town clear from draft. He served as chairman of the board in Freedom in 1866, and was the first commissioner elected from the fifth district in Waseca county. He was assessor in Freedom for the years '73-4 and '75 and in the fall of 1875 was elected one of the representatives from this county to the legislature of 1876.

Mr. Edwin B. Verplank, New Richland

MR. EDWIN B. VERPLANK, NEW RICHLAND. Mr. Edwin E. Verplank was born in 1S34, two and a half miles from Auburn, N. Y. His wife, Anna Sophia, was born near Konlgsberg, Norway, and is forty-two years of age. Mr. Verplank came to Minnesota by way of Iowa, in a "prairie schooner," and settled at Faribault, in November, 1855. Settlements were then few and far between, but the country was delightful and fruitful. Larger vegetables grew here that year than were ever seen before or heard of since. The weather was delightful that fall - Indian summer extending into December. Mr. Verplank writes:

"A young man named Tyler and myself went to Wilton in the spring of 1857, and took claims a little southwest of that village. We bought lumber, and with saw, hammer and hatchet we made music, while the gophers stood around on their hind feet whistling a chorus of welcome until we completed our structure."

"Well, if we were not as virtuous as the virgins of the Bible, we were at least as foolish, for we had neither oil, lamps nor provisions, and none were to be obtained. We concluded that for two young, unmarried men, with well developed appetites and no visible means of supply, the prospects of growing up with the country were not very flattering. We finally abandoned our claims and returned to Faribault where we could get plenty of work and enough to eat. I remained in Faribault until 1861, when I enlisted in Co. G, First Minnesota volunteers."

Ole H. Sunde

OLE H. SUNDE. Ole H. Sunde and others of New Richland, had some rough experience in the early days. They had to go to Iowa for food and supplies, taking the round-a-bout way over which they came from Wisconsin. They started on bare ground in the fall, the weather being fine, but were caught in a snow storm while out, and were detained three weeks while their families had only a small quantity of corn meal, ground cob and all, which they sifted and ate with milk. The anxiety of each of the separated parties as to the fate and welfare of the others was intense. None but those who have been placed in similar circumstances can realize the feelings of husband, wife or relatives thus separated.

W. H. H. Jackson

Mr. W. H. H. Jackson, of Blooming Grove, being interviewed, said: -T call to mind most of the early settlers. Michael Johnson, who still lives on the claim he pre-empted, Mr. Hatch, father of Mrs. H. P. Chamberlain of Iosco, who moved away years ago; the Messrs. Remund, most of whom are still with us; Mr. Gray and family, J. M. Blivens, Mr. Simeon Smith and his son, A. C; Jonathan Howell, deceased, and I presume others settled in 1S55. Among those who came in 1856, were B. R. Connor, now of Dakota, George Dean, John Walker, James Walker, Boss Sharp, Wm. Donaldson, Patrick Healy, the lamented Capt. Lewis McKune who was killed in the battle of Bull Run, Hon. J. L. Saufferer, James Hand, Hon. J. N. Powers and his father; Hon. Philo Woodruff, John Gibson and Mr. Winthrow.

"Thomas Jackson, his three sons, and one daughter came there in May, 1858, from Indiana. He bought a farm of Mr. Walker, which he afterward sold, and then moved to Morristown where he died years ago.

"Caleb B. Jackson enlisted in Captain McKune's company of the First Minnesota regiment, served three years, and then enlisted as a veteran in the Second Minnesota cavalry, serving until the close of the war.

"Thos. B. Jackson enlisted and served three years in the Fourth Minnesota, then re-enlisted as a veteran, was wounded in the battle of Altoona, and died from the effect of his injuries soon after.

"W. H. H. Jackson enlisted in the Third Minnesota and served two years and four months. He was born In Indiana, 1840, and came to Blooming Grove with his father in 1858. The same year. In the fall, he married Miss Mary Eckert, daughter of Peter Eckert, who came to the same township in 1857. Mr. Eckert sold his farm and went to Illinois In 1870, returning to Minnesota In 1877. He died some years ago.

James Cummins

Mr. James Cummins, of Janesville, first inhabited the earth at a place known as the town of Bristol, Kenosha county, Wisconsin, his birthday being March 5, 1840. His wife's name was Hester J. Coddington; she was born In Livingston county, New York, on the 18th of February, 1841.

"Jim," as he is familiarly called, moved to LeRay, Blue Earth county, in 1857, and to "Old Janesville" in 1862. At this time, he avers, he had neither lands, houses nor cattle. He writes:

"The first fall after our arrival, having put up our hay, my father, John Cummins, sent me, with Charles and Ed. Bennett, to New Auburn, Iowa, for flour. We went with three wagons and six yoke of oxen, and brought back 7,500 pounds of flour, so we did not go hungry that winter. Our family of eleven had 2,500 pounds, while the Bennetts had fifty work hands and nearly "all Lord's Creation" to eat from their two loads. Ed. Bennett's father was putting in a mill dam at Tivoli, that winter.

"The next season, 1858, my father had a job of breaking one hundred acres of prairie for the Winnebago Indians. Two brothers and myself took turn-about, each going there for a week. We had four yoke of oxen and a self-holding breaking plow. The breaking was done in patches, not over three acres in a place, and we were all the time moving about and camping in different places.

"By the way C. A. DeGraff, while excavating for his cellar, dug up the ashes and coals where I camped about four weeks - so you see I was there first. During the summer I camped a portion of the time with John Barden, of Wilton, a brother of Thomas Barden. . John Barden also had a contract for breaking one hundred acres for the Winnebagoes. He was a gentleman in every respect and I heard of his death in the war with much sorrow. By the way, I saw a man two years ago by the name of James Dobson, who was in John's company and stood by his side when he was shot. Dobson gave John the same good name he enjoyed while here.

"I am 01 the opinion that Sam Crump was a little rattled, at the old settlers' meeting at Seaman's, when he blushlngly accused me of camping with an Indian all summer.

"In the fall we started to build a log schoolhouse. The body was raised and bark peeled and packed for the roof, but that was as far as we ever got. The bark was afterwards used to cover a shop, and the logs rotted down.

"That winter my parents hired Miss Hattie Xorthrup, then of Wilton, now of Morristown, to teach tnelr nine children at home. We had a good school. Our house was built of logs 16x24 feet, and covered with bark.

"During the winter I took a job of cutting five cords of white ash wood. I didn't then know enough about the business to know which way to run when the tree commenced to fall. In fact the trees wouldn't fall if they could help it. I chopped all around the tree until it would commence to fall; and then it would be sure to lodge. I woi'ked very hard, broke three axes and gave up the job after cutting three and a half cords.

"The next spring my brother Horace and I took a job of clearing a road. We were very thirsty, at least I was. I tapped a maple, and he a butternut tree. My tree didn't seem to furnish much sap; at any rate I kept the trough dry. Horace said his tree had plenty of sap and that it was sweeter than maple. I tried it and found he was about right; and so kept the trough empty till night. During the night I was taken with a fever - had three relapses, each time being worse than the first - and when I finally got around the summer was gone; and I felt all " gone" too.

"I worked here and there and finally commenced work at "Old Janesville," Jan. 1, 1862. In June of the same year I was married and have been in sight ever since.

"The first religious services held in our neighborhood, in Blue Earth county, were at the house of my uncle, Moses Bennett, father of Ed. Bennett, of Waseca, in 1857. In "Old Janesville," religious services were held in private houses until the schoolhouse was built. The first church organized in "East Janesville," the present Janesville, was the Free Baptist.

"The first child born, that I remember about, was a daugbter of J. W. LaPaul. The deaths were a child in the family of James Savage and two daughters of David Jenkins.

"Among the oldest, settlers of LeRay township, I call to mind Thos. Davis, who died in 1860; my father, John Cummins; A. P. Johnson who went to Wisconsin in 1863; Ed. Clocksun; Adna Carpenter, late of Janesville; A. Lamer, of "Old Janesville;" Henry Lane, who died in 1879; and Captain Dane, who used to preach to us. Moses Bennett and HoUis Whitney both died some years ago. These were among the men who at the time of the Indian outbreak in 1862, moved to the old town site of Iosco. Mr. Bennett took a large drove of cattle with him, and a wagon loaded with cheese of his own make with two yoke of oxen attached. They camped in military array for a few days and then returned to their homes.

"When I came to old Janesville there were many old settlers, but they were mostly Indians. Among the first white settlers were J. W. Hosmer, N. E. Strong, John Cunningham, John Davis, John Wind, John Bradish, Richard Dreever, John Put, Wm. Cahill, Thos. McHugo, Thos. Bichel, John McCue, James McCue, and Patrick McCue.

"Oh! by the way, I came near forgetting Geo. Dreever, and only for the fact that he was here today, telling some of his early doings, I should have forgotten him. George says he once broke into lake Elysian through the ice. He stood with one toe on a pond lily root and pawed ice until he wore his finger nails off to the first joint - was in the water about two hours and twenty minutes by the watch. Pat Cahill was standing on a piece of rotten ice not more than a rod away and dared not come to help him for fear both would be drowned. Richard Dreever and another man, as soon as they could cut a boat loose out of the ice, came to George's relief by sliding the boat along on the ice, After getting to George, the man with Richard, instead of at once helping him out, had to stop and ask, 'What in h - 1 brought you here?' George ."uid Cahill finally got out of it all right.

"George is a live corpse yet, and looks as though he would be here until the Winnebagoes come again. He has a good farm and house, and can 'sling' the Indian dialect 'right smart' yet. He was here when the Winnebagoes came, I suppose, but he could not talk fast enough to keep them from tying to his horse bridle one of the big toes severed from the body of one of the Sioux Indians murdered by the Winnebagoes, in 1862, to appease the anger of the whites on account of the Sioux massacre on the frontier.

"I am giving too much attention to George, so I return to David Coddington, my wife's father. He died here in 1878. A. H. Coddington moved to Kansas in 18S4. Jerry Hogan was found dead in his house several years ago. James Hogan lives on the same farm, and Thomas Hogan now lives in Alton. John Hogan, I think, came first in 1855, returned to Kentucky for a time, but now lives on his old farm."

Among the early settlers of Waseca county there are few more unassuming or more worthy tnan the subject of this sketch. Ivir. Parrington was born August 27, 1827, in the county of Kennebec, state of Maine. In 1850 he left his native state to seek a home in the West, first stepping in Peoria, Illinois, and afterward in Green Lake county, Wisconsin. In 1855 he was married to Miss Mary A. Poster, who was born in Cayuga county. New York.

May 10, 1857, a company from Green Lake county started for Minnesota in "prairie schooners." The company consisted of S. A. Parrington and wife, Mr. Parrington's father and mother, his sister, Sarah, a brother. Pranldm and his wife, widow Lincoln, afterwards wife of Hon. B. A. Lowell, of Waseca, with her four boys and a girl, Volney Dewitt and wife, and a young blacksmith named Michael Quiggle.

The company had five wagons and nine yoke of oxen, with some cows and other cattle. Near LaCrosse they fell in with other emigrants, among them Daniel Styles and wife, and son Elijah and wife, who joined the company and settled in the same neighborhood.

In many places they were obliged to hitch all the teams to one wagon at a time in order to haul the vehicles through the mudholes or sloughs,.

with axles dragging on the ground, sometimes pulling out wagon tongues and breaking log-chains. One day they made only one mile, camping in sight of the camp-fire of the night before.

After many days of weary toil they arrived at their place of settlement, in what is now Otisco, June 14. They soon selected claims and went to work Duilding places to live in. Mr. S. A. Farrington built a log house, 14x20, one story high. At first they had only an earth floor. The cover, or roof, was made of poles, hay and prairie sod. Later he obtained a few narrow, poplar boards, at the Clinton mill, by waiting to have them sawed. The other houses were all about the same.

S. A. Farrington took a claim on section 25 - his father, brother, Dewitt and M. Quiggle on section 26. Daniel and Elijah Styles and Mrs.. Lincoln took claims near by. As soon as possible after their arrival, they commenced running the breaking plow, using from five to seven. pair of oxen to the plow, and breaking some on each claim.

The first child born in the settlement was Minnie Farrington, daughter of the subject of this sketch. She died at the age of eighteen years.

The seasons of 185S-9 were very wet and the settlers raised but very little grain. In the fall of 1858, Phillip Quiggle and family, joined the settlement from Wisconsin. As he was a blacksmith, he went to work in his son's shop on the day of his arrival; that night the- shop was burned to^ the ground with all its contents. His means being limited, he went to- Owatonna to work at his trade. On the 1st of January, 1859, hestarted for home with an ox team in the morning. About midnight of that day some one found him and his team in a snow bank near Owatonna. He had traveled all day and at midnight he was found near the place from which he started in the morning, almost irozen.

Times were hard then - not such hard times as we have now with granaries full of grain - but genuine hard times, when it was difficult,, at times, to get enough to eat; some of the settlers got discouraged and left, and others would have done the same if they had had the means to go with.

On account of the wet summer of 1858 there was not much raised, as not much wheat was sowed and the corn did not ripen that year. Those who had money - and they were few - went to Mankato and other points for their supplies.

Of Mr. Farrington's company there are none now living in this county. His brother, Franklin, resides in Mineapolis, and his sister Sarah, in Dakota. Mrs. Dewitt died some years ago, and Mr. Dewitt is living in Iowa with his second wife. Uncle Daniel Styles and wife lie buried in the Otisco cemetery, and Elijah Styles sleeps in a soldier's grave in the South. His widow is living with friends in the East.

Mr. S. A. Farrington lived on his Otisco farm for twelve years, then sold it and bought another two miles south of Waseca, where he lived fourteen years. He then traded that for a farm on sections fifteen and sixteen, town of Wilton, containing 240 acres, where he resided for a num- wcto corn in Sweden, in the year 1829, and came to America in 1854. He nrst lived in Moline, Illinois, where he remained about a year. The tidal wave of emigration was then pushing toward Minnesota, and young Nelson was among the number who came to the state in 1855. He stopped in Red Wing where he found employment. After remaining there a little over a year, he came to Blooming Grove and selected a claim where he resided until the time of his death, which occurred April 11, 1901. He first built a log house, and, being a single man, worked out much of the time until he was married in 1861. His first wite's maiden name was Christina Evanson.

In 1865, he returned to visit friends in his native land. Shortly after his return from Sweden, his first wife died. He married again some ume afterwards.

At the time of his death he was well-to-do, having three hundred and torty acres of land, eighty acres of which was timber. He came to this county empty handed and worked by the day to get his start. He cradled grain many a day in the harvest field for a dollar a day. Like many another old settler, he hauled wheat to Hastings, camping by the wayside, and sold it for fifty cents a bushel - often spending five or six days in making the trip with one load.

The Honorable William Brisbane

"I received a card from you requesting me to give what information I uidy possess in regard to the early settlement of the county. I may state that the county was partially settled when I came, and no doubt there are old settlers still living better qualified to give you the information j'ou desire than I am; however, if I can contribute anything interesting to your historical department, you are welcome to it. I see you ask replies to twelve different questions. First, my full name, age, birth place, and that of my wife. My name is William Brisbane. I was born in Che city of Glasgow, Scotland, December 11, 1811, and have just passed tne seventy-fifth milestone in the journey of life. My wife's name is Janet Scott. She was born in the Parish of Minto, Roxburghshire, Scotland, and is now seventy-six years old. I may state that my father was a soldier in the British army, and that my mother and I were sent home a little before the battle of Waterloo. My mother being a native of the town of Hawick, I lived there until I emigrated to America; hence 1 have always called myself a Hawick man. I came to America in the iL.prmg of 1839; lived ten years in the state of New York. I then lived ten years in Pon du Lac county, Wisconsin, when I came to Minnesota ana settled in the town of Wilton in the spring of 1859. The season before had been very wet, and the county was literally a quagmire. I recollect that we would some times camp two nights in sight of the same house and have to unload two or three times a day and carry our goods to dry ground. It was called a new country. I thought it so new that it hadnt had time to -dry since tlie spirit moved upon the face of the waters; but upon examination, I found that the soil was very rich, and hy proper cultivation might become well adapted to the raising of either grain or stock, for to keep land in heart, grain and stock must go together. I am happy to say that my expectations have been fully realized; in fact, I have found that even our wire grass sloughs, by being properly drained, may become the most profitable land we have. I bought one hundred and sixty acres of prairie and nine acres of timber from a Mr. Wattles, who was paying Interest at the rate of ten per cent, a month to Thomas E. Bennett of Winona. I brought with me forty-two head of horned cattle, young and old, with a span of yearling colts. The original farm, on the prairie, now consists of two hundred forty-eight acres, with about one hundred fifty acres under cultivation, the remainder in hay and pasture, with twenty acres of timber. There are on tne place thirty-eight head of horned cattle and thirteen horses, young and old. There is a barn 30x40 feet, with an ell 16x40 feet, with underground stables; two granaries, one 22x30 feet, the other 16x22 feet; a frame house 20x28 feet, with two wings, one 16x20 feet, the other 12x16 feet. My wife and I occupy the old frame building. The whole is now in possession of our son, W. R., with whom we are living and quietly waiting the time when we shall bid farewell to all earthly possessions. I may say that my wife and I who have shared the joys and sorrows of life together, have just completed our fifty-fifth year of married life.

You then want to . know if I held any offices. Yes ; lots of 'em. X nave held so many that if I hadn't been a Scotchman, I should have died from softening of the bram long ago, for I have been school district director, town supervisor, assessor, and I believe the first member Waseca county sent to the state legislature as an independent representative district. I am now town clerk, justice of the peace, and president of the anti-horse thief society. It is said the words, "Man, know thyself," were posted up in a heathen temple, but it is of no use for a man to study his own character nowadays. The editors will do that for him. I had no idea that I possessed such a many-sided character until I became a candidate for legislative honors. My friends gave me credit for virtues that I am certain I never possessed, and my enemies ascribed vices to me I never had even dreamed of.

Then you want to know all about my lucky hits. I have been in regard to lucky hits what Artemus Ward was to railroad accidents. Artemus says he never had a railroad accident; he was always a little too early or a little too late; that is my case exactly. I have always been before or behind the lucky hits. My wife, looking over my shoulder, whispered softly in my ear, -i know of one lucky hit you made." When was that? I said. "When you married me," said she, with an air of triumph gleaming in her eyes. I

C42 Child'S History Of Waseca County

Then you want to get all the facts within my knowledge regarding the early settlement of my neighborhood. That would take a volume, and I have neither time nor ability to write a book; you must be content with a few facts jumbled hastily and incoherently together. I have often wondered why our magazine writers have not seized upon the experiences and hardships undergone by early settlers. They might be woven into more thrilling and instructive narratives than the sickly, sentimental novels so destructive to the morals of our youth. I find from town records that the first town meeting was held at the house of Joseph Doty (now if'. Hollanders) on the 11th day of May, 1858, pursuant to an act to provide tor township organization. The meeting was called to order, and Philo C. Bailey was appointed chairman; whereupon, the object of the meeting being stated, Buel Welsh was duly elected moderator and Thomas L. Paige, clerk. On motion of Mr. Woodbury, the name of the township was called Wilton. Polls were opened, and the following named persons were elected: For supervisors, W. W. Robinson (chairman), John Brand, A. J. Woodbury; town clerk, Tarrant Putnam; assessor, L. Curtiss; collector, Tarrant Putnam; justices of the peace, J. B. Jacksen, Philo C. Bailey; overseer of poor, A. Miller; constables, P. VanDyke, - Stevens.

The day that I arrived in Wilton, April 5, 1859, I found that the town meeting had just been adjourned from the Globe hotel to B. A. Lowell's hall. There were some unconverted sinners in the whisky business then. Even Pat himself could then, occasionally, turn up his little finger for medica.1 purposes. I merely mention these things to show the advance in civilization. Uncle Bris. was then, as now, a conservative, as most Scotchmen are.

I will give two or three extracts from reports made by committees in those early times. They are what Squire Green would have called "characteristic." A committee (No. 1) was appointed (1859) to take into consideration the amount of tax necessary to defray township expenses. It reported that "for the repair and construction of roads and bridges nO' money is needed above road tax and land road tax, and that a tax not exceeding one hundred fifty dollars is all that would be necessary to defray the expenses of said town the ensuing year; all of which was respectfully submitted by A. T. Peck, Thomas Barden, and Peter VanDyke, committee." A. G. Sutlief then made a motion that no breachy, horned cattle shall be allowed to run at large. I thought this was a chance for the muleys. Committee No. 2 reported "that, first, for the current and incidental expenses of the town, we recommend the raising of one hundred twenty-five dollars; second, that twenty-five dollars be raised for the immediate erection of a pound in the town of Wilton: third, that for the assistance and support of the poor we recommend the raising of twenty-five dollars, making a total sum of one hundred seventy-five dollars. All of which was respectfully submitted by M. S, Gove, P. C. Bailey.

and George W. Watkins, committee." They were so economical that I was surpj-issd that a motion wasn't made to set the poor to herding the cattle and thus save the pound money. Another report was made "that the poundmaster shall receive as fees for impounding hogs twelve and one-half cents; letting the same out, twelve and one-half cents, and twelve and one-half cents per day for every day said hog is kept in the pound. For sheep, the same fees be allowed as for impounding hogs, cattle and oxen. The pound master shall receive as fees fifty cents for letting a stallion into the pound, and fifty cents for letting said stallion out, and fifty cents per day for keeping said stallion. - S. P. Child, chairman; attest, Tarrant Putnam, clerk." I may state that the first ballot box used was made by D. L. Whipple, and cost one dollar. It might have passed for an antediluvian rat trap, and as it is stili in existence, it may be eagerly sought after as a curiosity for our county museum, when we get one.

Everything in and around Wilton, although it was then the county seat, seemed dull and stagna.nt. Hastings was the nearest market, and there was nothing to stimulate enterprise. The only things that broke the monotony of life were law suits, in which .1. T. Eldridge figured conspicuously, for in almost every suit J. T. appeared either as a witness or ono horse counsel' and in many cases he appeared as both witness and counsel; that is, he gave outside counsel, and inside evidence. So notorious as a witness did he become that I recollect in one case a lawyer in court said "Mr. Eldridge will be sworn." "Of course," said Judge Donaldson, "Mr. Eldridge will have to be sworn." His evidence was impeached, but instead of blushing at the exposure, he seemed rather proud of the notoriety the impeachment gave him. He was my nearest neighbor, and I often talked to him about the value of a good reputation. I really began to believe that he had turned a corner and like Balaam prayed that he might die the death of the righteous; but, as we say in Scotland, what is bred in the bone is hard to eradicate from the flesh.

I had cimost forgotten to state that the first bridge built in road district No. 2, was built by S. P. Child and his brother Pat. It cost five dollars, a sum m perfect harmony with the economy of the times. It .was the narrowest bridge I ever saw; so very narrow that a religious enthusiast might have mistaken it for the road to paradise. Next year, being overseer of highways, I tore it out, as I considered it dangerous for a Scotchman coming home from Wilton after dark. I have an idea that a broad bridge isn't so apt to lead to destruction as a narrow one; so, actuated by a feeling of self preservation, I built a broader one, and the feeling of safety I enjoyed was ample compensation for my trouble.

Indian War

But Wilton was soon to be aroused from her Rip "Van Winkle slumber, with this difference, that instead of waking up after the war, she awoke to find the nation engaged in a hand to hand struggle for existence.

One day the citizens had met to hid good hye to a number of the boys who were starting for the front, some of whom never came back, hut offered up their lives a willing sacrifice upon the altar of their country. The last wagon was barely out of sight when the stage from the west brought us the terrible news of the Indian massacre. The people were so confounded that they couldn't be brought to realize the fact that such a bloody tragedy had been enacted. About mid-afternoon, when the excitement had somewhat cooled, it was suddenly kindled again into fever heat, by the appearance of two men in a covered buggy, one a white man, the other an Indian grasping a rifle. The white man said they were from the agency and that the Winnebagoes were making very warlike demonstrations, and that they had come to solicit immediate help. Here then, we thought, was war at our very doors, and most all of our young men gone South. A meeting was soon held and volunteers called for. All seemed chock-full of patriotism, and spoiling for fight. It was agreed that the volunteers should secure what arms they could and meet at the Globe hotel, at 8 o'clock that night. On my way to Wilton, I called upon Peter Van Dyke who, in the afternoon, seemed to have no other thought but just to kill two at a blow; but a change had come over his dream of military glory, for I found Peter in bed groaning with neuralgia. His wife, the better man of the two, shamed him and called him a coward. Very few came at the time appointed, and I began to think neuralgia had become epidemical. If memory serves me right, three wagons started about 11 o'clock. The night was pitch dark, with a heavy, drizzling rain falling, and the roads 'almost impassable. We had taken with us all the ammunition Wilton could furnish, not forgetting a little drop of the "craithur," but on such a night the supply was not equal to the demand, and the men began to doze. They were suddenly startled into life again by the second wagon running into the one ahead, which had stopped. Upon enquiring what the matter was, the teamster said that he had heard an Indian war whoop and refused to go on. While deliberating upon the situation, the loud crowing of roosters broke the stillness of the night air.

So, after a not very hearty laugh, we started ahead again, and arrived at the Agency as the day began to break, wearied and jaded enough. Balcombe, the agent, received us with apparent gratitude, and thanked us for responding so promptly to the call for aid. A lew bales of Indian blankets were ripped open and spread down as couches for us to lie upon and rest, but our nerves were too much excited by the novelty of our surroundings to get the rest we so much needed; so, getting up and performing *our ablutions, we thought we would take a stroll and reconnoitre a little; but here we were met by a difficulty we were hardly prepared lor. Col. Ide and Balcombe objected to our taking our guns with us, as it might excite the Indians, they said. I remarked that If the Indians had any hostile Intentions they would be more apt to attack unarmed men than if they had arms in their hands. The Colonel didn't think that there was any danger. Then if there is no danger, I said, why are we here? I saw I had no influence, and finally gave in, leaving my gun in a room of the government store house. While sauntering along, a few Indians passed us. One of them complimented us by calling us G-d d - n whites. He could swear in English, anyway. We concluded that things presented rather a warlike aspect, and that we had better go and secure our guns; but to our surprise we found the door of the room in which we had left our guns locked, and nobody could tell who had the key. I said I would find a key, grasping a stick of cordwood. Just then a man by the name of Byer came running with the key. He said that he had gone out on the prairie for a load of hay and taken the key with him. At night we were doomed to another surprise. The storekeeper, Jim Hubbell, Col. Ide, and agent Balcombe proposed dividing the men and stationing one party at Hubbell's store and the other part at the government store house. This I strenuously opposed, as there were so few of us; however, I told Balcombe if he would assume the responsibility of command, I would willingly serve under him until troops arrived. He said be would assume no responsibility, though he distributed a few flasks of powder among us Here then we found no one to act as leader, and with no plan of action, so that in case of an attack it would be every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost. It looked to me as though we were running with eyes open Into a trap, and I began to wish myself well out of it. The next day was distribution day, but few Indians were around; they were down in the woods holding a pow-wow. The squaws came for the provisions and they cut a very ludicrous figure as they waddled away with a bag of flour and a chunk of pork strapped on their backs. In the afternoon the Indians came from the woods, dressed in all their toggery and war paint. A sort of council was held; the Indians formed In a circle with the chiefs and interpreter In the center. The chiefs, according to the interpreter, complained of unfair dealing by the agent. The scene, with its surroundings, was extremely picturesque. While walking around In the evening along with a man by the name of Burgess, w;e saw two squaws leave a store carrying something between them. They kneeled down on the prairie, applying their hands in quick, successive movements to their mouths. I felt a curiosity to see what they were doing. I found them engaged In the delectable employment of eating sugar. They motioned me to kneel and partake with them. I did so, but I believe I forgot to ask a blessing, my mind being too much engrossed by the novelty of the scene. Then the idea flashed across my mind like greased lightning, wouldn't this be a precious item for Pat Child to hear that Uncle Brls. was found out on the prairie after dark eating sugar with a couple of squaws? I began to realize that I might be committing an act of impropriety, and, like St. Paul, I mentally exclaimed oh, wretched man that 1 am; and, being a virtuous man, I trembled for my reputation. So, girding up my loins, I bowed a graceful acknowledgement to my entertainers, rejoined my companion, and I never saw my dusky doxies any more.

The Indian scare over, and the country becoming more settled, considerable business was transacted, and Wilton began to show signs of awakening to new life and activity. But this dream of future greatness was soon dispelled. Time, that great wonder-worker, had been hard at work. Waseca was built, and the railroad had arrived. It was the old story of the boys and frogs; what was fun for Waseca was death to Wilton. She died rather hard, but has gradually melted away and is not now even the shadow of her former self. The old settler when he has crossed "Wilton bridge always finds a sort of melancholy feeling creeping over him. He can hardly realize that this lonely spot was once the scene of active life, and will ask himself, "Is this the place where judges once held court, where juries sat, where criminals were confined, and the business of the county transacted?" and concludes that the past must be all a dream, a mere phantasy of the brain; but a wild, unearthly yell recalls him to consciousness - it is the scream of a locomotive a mile east of Wilton, the demon that murdered her. But, upon mature reflection, he concludes that the change is for the better, after all, when he thinks of the long and weary journeys he used to make to Hastings, with wheat aL fifty cents a bushel, and Waseca within a few hours drive from home, with the pleasure of sleeping in his own comfortable bed at night, instead of lying down by a camp fire on the open prairie, with the thermometer ten degrees below zero. He thinks it is best to be philosophical, accept the inevitable, and be thankful for the change. And surely every citizen ot the county ought to feel proud of the little gem Waseca, our present county seat. There is such an air of calm and dignified superiority about her that captivates every stranger who has the good fortune to visit her. Lying as she does between two crysta'l lakes, she appears like a beautiful bride locked in the arnis of her husband. I may likewise say of the ladies of Waseca what the Irish beggar said to a Scotch lady who was as remarkable for charity as she was for beauty: "Thank you, ma'am, 1 see, your honor, that your manners and charity are equal to your beauty."

First White Settlers In Iosco

FIRST WHITE SETTLERS IN IOSCO. (By M. S. Green.) It may not be generally known, even by the present people of Iosco, that the first, permanent settlement in that township was made by Luke B. Osgood, Daniel McDaniels, and John Wheeler. Mr. Osgood erected the first shanty, in .luly, 18.55, made of logs and covered with shakes, lu had a (Uiorway, Imt no door, and possessed neither window nor floor.

The family lived in this cabin till fall when a better house was constructed. Having camped in the wagon and by the roadside for about three months, the family was glad of even such accommodations.

In the early part of winter, Mr. Osgood cut two saw logs, put them on his sled and started for Morristown to get them sawed into lumber for a house floor. Although he had three pair of oxen attached to his sled, he made slow progress. There was considerable snow and it was piled into huge drifts here and there. There was no traveled road and he had not proceeded more than a mile when he rolled off one log. He then shoveled and traveled until evening, having made a distance of about five miles. Here he camped for the night - camped all night with three yoke of oxen in the open air. There was a heavy snow storm during the night and the wind blew a gale. The next morning, he concluded to throw off the other log and get along with a ground floor, as they had been doing, and go on to Faribault with his team and bring back some flour After fi^'e days spent in shoveling snow, prying up 'the sled, unloading and reloading he arrived at home with a very small load of flour.

The winter of '55-6 was one of the most severe ever known in the state. The snow was deep, the thermometer away down to the bulb, and very few ventured from home except when compelled to go to obtain the necessaries of life. At one time there was prospect of a famine, and Mr. Osgood furnished money while David Smith furnished the pluck, energy and endurance to go to Iowa for a supply of provisions. As he was detained a much longer time on the road than was anticipated by the settlers, some of them had to boil their seed wheat and corn. Thinking it poor economy to use their seed grain in that way, they concluded to send Jake Conrad, for flour. He started for Faribault with an ox team and Eied. About five miles from home, one of the oxen fell dead. Here he camped for the night, and the next morning drove the live ox toward Faribault until he came to a house where he left the ox and proceeded to Faribault on foot. He bought one hundred pounds of flour and started with it on his back to return to the settlement. After toiling through the snow drifts for a mile or a little more, he concluded that it was too much of a load for even German pluck, so he sold the flour to a settler, returning home tQ report progress and "ask leave to sit awhile."

In the mean time Mr. Smith had returned with his load from Iowa, to the relief and joy of the "Plum Valley" settlement. The settlers in this township not only suffered much hardship, but they lost nearly half their cattle during the winter of '55-6, owing to the poorly built, open stables, the intensely cold weather, and, more than all else, the poor hay. Owing to the lateness of the season when the settlement was made, much of the hay was not cut till after the first frost.

The Fire Fiend

In the fall of 1855 Mr. Osgood went to the Winnebago Agency to move JotJi Davis to a claim near where the village of Janesville is now situat- ed. While Mr. Osgood was absent, one of his neighbors, very imprudently, undertook to burn around a stack of hay. The fire got away from him and all the hay in the country was in danger of being burned. Mrs. Osgood, ever watchful of her husband's interests, went out to look after his hay. Mr. McDaniels had succeeded in arresting the progress of the fire, in part, and went to another part of the farm, telling Mrs. Osgood to keep watch of the fire and, if it should get over the trail which they had made for protection, to let him know. She had been on the ground but a short time when, to her utter dismay, she discovered that she was entirely surrounded by fire. She first endeavored to escape to the woods near by, but soon became entangled in the vines that had clambered over the thick underbrush. She turned despairingly in the direction ol the fire - it roared and crackled and screamed equal to sheol itself - the flames at one moment rising mountain high, then, driven by the force of the wind, along the ground at railroad speed, it would devour everything in its path, and then rise again in its fury as though to scorch the very heavens. Mrs. Osgood with rare presence of mind stepped behind a large tree, gathered her clothing closely about her, and awaited the result with Christian heroism and resignation. On came the fiery monster, and almost in a moment the flames enveloped her. She fell upon her face and lay there until the fire passed over. When she arose she found her clothing on fire. Blinded with smoke and smarting from the burns she had received, still she had presence of mind enough to go to a marsh near by, where there was some water, and extinguish the fire in her clothing. It was a narrow escape from a most painful death. She was so badly burned that it was nearly eight months before she could use one of her hands, and her face was so blistered that the skin all came off. She finally recovered, however, without showing many scars.

The Honorable John S. Abell, Op Otisco

Of the hardy pioneers of this county, Mr. Abell ranks as one of the first. He was born in Constantia, Oswego county, N. Y., in 1S34. His father, who was one of the early settlers in that portion of New York, and who was one of the owners of a saw mill, a grist-mill, and some manufacturing establishments, during the financial crash of 1837, lost all his property, and died in 1841, when John was only seven years of age. The lad then went to live with his grandfather, where he remained until he was ten years of age, when his grandfather died. From that time forward John earned his living by working out summers and attending school winters until he was thirteen. He worked at whatever came to hand until he was sixteen years old, when he commenced work on the Erie canal which he followed summers until the fall of 1856.

In the fall of '56 he came West, more to visit the country than with any expectation of remaining here. He visited his uncle in Winona county.

Hon. And Mrs. J. S. Abbll

arriving there in October, 1856. Austin Abell, his cousin, had already made a claim in Otisco, the September before, in company with H. G. Mosher, who afterwards was superintendent of schools in this county for several years, and is now in California.

About the first of January, 1857, H. G. Mosher, John S., and Austin Abell, left "Winona county bound for Otisco. On the first day out, just west of St. Charles, they met a blizzard which forced them to stop with a pioneer settler until the storm abated. They reached Judge Canfield's place in Otisco, January 8, 1857. After remaining a short time, they returned to Winona county. During the summer of 1857, John worked for R. D. Fellows of that county, to earn money to pay for eighty acres of land which he bought from his cousin, Austin. In the spring of 1858, he came out with Austin, and the two did breaking for themselves and others. After the breaking season was over, they returned to Winona county and ran a threshing machine during the fall. The next spring they came out and put in crops, made sonie other improvements, and returned to Winona county, where John S. was married in August, to Miss Hannah Harshman, who was born in the state of Pennsylvania in 1840.

Their wedding tour was something out of the ordinary and a little amusing. Mr. Abell bought a yoke of large, four-year-old steers that had never been used. He also bought an ox-cart, strong and trusty. He put on bows and a cover, making what is known in western phrase, as "a prairie schooner." With the assistance of three or four men he got the steers yoked and hitched to the cart, with Mrs. Abell on board, and away they went over the prairie. The exciting scenes of the trip would fill a small volume. Whenever they met a team the steers would give the whole road and more too, generally making a large circuit before coming back to the road. It took them a week to come to Otisco, camping by the way. They remained a week at their farm, and ihen returned as they came, only in a more moderate and orderly way.

That fall, Mr. Abell made a trip to Stillwater to visit a brother. He planned to work en the Mississippi steam boats a while but concluded, after the first half day trial, that he was not put up for a roustabout to be cursed by a half drunken boss, and abruptly cut his acquaintance with that noble functionary, and returned to Wilton on foot.

He remembers that on the 5th day of June, 1859, there was a heavy frost which killed the leaves on the trees and cut the corn to the ground. iNevertheless the corn came on and there was a good crop.

During the winter of '62-3, H. G. Mosher and the two Abells "bached it" in a dug out 10x14 feet, with a fire place to cook by. It was originally a lime kiln. He says it was so cold that winter that the water froze in one side of the bucket while the staves next to the fire were being scorched brown.

Mr. Abell, though differing from a large majority of his townsmen politically, held some town office continually until his last year. He served as town clerk of Otisco for twenty years, justice of the peacs two terms, a member of the legislature in 1879, and county superintendent of schools from 1890 to 1894. In every station to which he was called he performed his duties with ability and fidelity.

Death Of Mr. Abell

Since the foregoing was prepared for this history, Mr. Abell has passed away. About Nov. 1, 1904, he suffered a slight stroke of paralysis, which deprived him of the use of one of his arms. On the 27th of January he received another severe stroke, after which he remained in an almost helpless condition. On the evening of June 30, 1905, he appeared to be as well as usual, but about two o'clock the next morning, Mrs. Abell was awakened by a noise at her husband's couch and upon going to him found that he had fallen to the floor. Irving Abell hastened to his mother's assistance and placed him back upon his couch, and a few moments afterwards he breathed his last.

Mr. Abell was a man of much more than ordinary ability. He was a leader, a thinker, and a close reasoner. He was not only honest in nls business dealings but he was honest in his politics. He believed in the doctrine of equal rights and privileges for all men - not only as a theory, but as a principle that should be maintained at all hazards and by all means. He was a good neighbor and a kind husband and father, and a citizen, of whose record, private and official, Waseca county may well feel proud.

James B. Hill, Vivian

The first permanent settlement in the town of Vivian was made in the summer of 1856, by two bachelors, B. F. Hanes and E. AVoodrutt'. The latter died in 1865. Mr. Hanes was an educated man and somewhat of a recluse in his habits of life. He was honorable and upright and a good citizen. He died at his farm in Vivian in 1872. The memory of Mr. Hanes is still held in great respect by all the old settlers.

The next settlers were Mr. J. B. Hill, wife and children, Mrs. Hill being the hrst white woman to settle in the township. Mr. Hill took a claim and dated his settlement July 2, 1857. He selected a beautiful tarm on the Cobb river, section 31.

learned the blacksmith's trade and followed the business for several years. He married Myanda E. Stevens, who was a native of Rldgebury, Pa., in 1846. She was born in 1826.

They moved to Wisconsin in 1850, and lived in what is now Green Lake county, where they carried on a farm. They were not entirely pleased with that location, and sold their farm, making their way by team to Minnesota, and opened a farm in Vivian as before stated.

Mr. Hill came better prepared than the average immigrant of those days to open a farm in a new country. He brought a span of horses, a yoke of oxen, eight or nine cows and some young stock.

The year 1858 brought little return to the husbandman for his toil, in Minnesota, and Mr. Hill opened a blacksmith shop in the then thriving village of St. Mary, in 1859, where he carried on the business for a year, and then returned to his farm.

Mr. Hill narrowly escaped death in the spring of 1858. As he was going from St. Mary to his home, with an ox team, he stopped to chat a moment with Mr. McLin, who then lived at Silver Lake. Mr. McLin said that they had discovered large quantities of artichokes, and brought out some and gave them to Mr. Hill, saying that they were good food tor hogs. He advised Mr. Hill to plant some, if there were none growing wild on the Cobb. Mr. Hill put them into his pocket and soon after commenced eating them. He ate quite a quantity and soon became very sick. He must have had spasms, for when he recovered, he found that he had bitten his tongue severely. He left his team and lay on the prairie for several hours unconscious.

He was found by Nick Kremer and another man who took him up and carried him home. Kremer, at first, supposed that he was intoxicated, but Mr. Hill, by showing the roots and making signs, for he could not talk, made him understand that he was poisoned. Dr. Gove, of Wilton, was called, under whose treatment he soon recovered. It was soon discovered that the so-cafled artichokes were what are called wild parsnips.

This narrow escape of Mr. Hill explained the death of Michael McLin, which occurred a few days before, while he was plowing in the field. It was at first supposed that McLin died of heart disease or in a fit, but after Mr. Hill's experience, no one doubted that he was poisonea in the same way. It was Dr. Gove's opinion, that Mr. Hill owed his escape to the fact that he ate a quantity sufllcient to cause vomiting and thus threw off the poison.

Several Irish-American families settled in the eastern part of Vivian, in 1857, and the first death in the township occurred among these settiers. An unexpected and very severe storm occurred early in that fall. Mr. Sweeney was at St. Mary. He was thinly clad - not expecting such severe weather - and, in returning home, got bewildered and lost on the

The first children born were a boy (George) to Mr. and Mrs. Montreville Sias, and a child of Mr. and Mrs. Henry T. Daggett. George Sias is now a successful merchant in Kansas.

At an early day, a post-route was established through Vivian, and Mr. Hill was appointed postmaster under Buchanan's administration, a position which he held for the accommodation of the neighbors for a good many years. He was elected chairman of the board of supervisors, and served as a member of the county board during the supervisor system.

The pioneer school house was built in 1859, and a new one was built in 186G. Elder Smith, a pioneer clergyman of Wilton, used to hold services frequently in the school house.

The settlement in Vivian, as well as many other towns, experienced some demoralization during the Indian outbreak of 1862. They took the women and children to Wilton, the men returning the next day to look after stock and crops. There were some losses both of cattle and crops, but nothing serious. In a few days the women and children all returned.

In February, 1864, Mr. Hill enlisted in the Tenth Minnesota infantry and went to the front. He was at the battle of Nashville, the siege of Spanish Port, and was with his regiment in Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, and other states. He was honorably discharged at the close of the war.

In 1872, he leased his farm and moved to Minnesota Lake, where he opened a blacksmith shop which he carried on for a time but finally disposed of. He served as justice of the peace for several years at the Lake, but of late has devoted his time to the sale of marble work.

He has two children : Myron V. Hill, of Minnesota Lake, who is doing a successful merchandise business there; and A'iola S., now Mrs. R. N. Gale, of Minneapolis.

We are glad to know that he and Mrs. Hill have a comfortable home, with enough to insure comfort in their declining years. Their hospitality was proverbial among the early settlers, and they were liberal minded as well as liberal hearted. They belong to that class of citizens who give stability to our form of government, and who make it possible that free institutions may exist without running into anarchy and lawlessness.

Mr. Hill's health no doubt became impaired by his constant attention to Mrs. Hill, and he passed to the great beyond at Minnesota Lake, Jan. 11, 1902, honored and respected by all who knew him.

Spencer J. Willis

Among the young men who came to Minnesota early in 1857, was Mr. S. J. Willis, who afterwards became quite prominent in the politics of the covmty. We can best give an idea of the times and of the conditions of the country at that date by quoting his own words:

In the spring of 1857, I started for Hancock, our nearest depot, on the N. Y. & E. R'y. At this place I flipped a cent to see whether I should go to California or Minnesota - heads Minnesota, tails California - and heads won. West I went and stopped awhile in Chicago where I met S. f. Kellogg with whom, on the 30th day of April 1857, I left for Minnesota. Our nearest route was via Galena, 111., where we took passage on the "Old War Eagle," and I assure you it was one of the most stormy passages in some respects I ever saw. Gambling Vas far above zero, and racing with other steamers was all the go. We arrived at Reed's landing about 10 or 11 o'clock in the evening.

After great effort we secured lodgings for the night at the American house, I think they called it. And in some respects it was American - at any rate it seemed to be the asylum of every nationality on earth. Such pandemonium! Such beds! Such rooms! I had never seen the like before.

The 'school section' in which I tried to sleep, was filled with men, women and children of many nationalities and ways. Most of the beds were made of blankets laid on the bare floor. Our grips were our pillows. And those sheets! I don't believe they had been washed since they were made, and they bore evidence of having been made long before, and used often.

They would almost rise up like a beard when one took hold of the end to get into bed. The breakfast was substantial but coarse, and for such lodging- and breakfast we paid $2.50 each.

May 4, 1857, we left Reed's landing and started with teams for Red Wing, passing over snow and snowdrifts from one to ten feet deep. We were all day in making the trip to Red Wing. There were many sleighs and numerous people in our van. We remained over night in Red Wing, and in the meantime hired a conveyance to take us to Faribault for which I paid $48.

We went by way of Cannon Palls where we had to stop over night. We found that the further we got from the Mississippi river the less was the Indian excitement, and the less frightened people were. Of course the scare at Red Wing was the cause of the enormous charge of $48 for taking us out into the dangerous (?) vicinity of Faribault.

This was the time of the town site speculations. I was shown lots in Cannon Palls that were only from three to five hundred dollars apiece, and I was assured over and over that by investing I would soon become rich. There was one log hotel on the town site, and that was all.

It was long after dark the second day out from Red Wing before we arrived at Paribault, and here, for the first time since leaving Chicago, we found some of the comforts of civilized life. Mr. Kellogg was a fine carpenter and joiner and soon got work enough. My health had been poor, but soon the invigorating climate and roughing it made me tired of loafing, and I told Kellogg that I thought I would go to work at my trade. Having known me all my life, he nevertheless wanted to know what my trade was, and I had to confess that I did not know myself. But as 1 sauntered down the street a day or two afterwards, it struck me, upon seeing a saw and hammer exposed in a store window, that I might as well start in as a carpenter; so I purchased a saw and hammer and secured a job as a journeyman carpenter at the same place that Kellogg was at work, for which I received $2.50 per day in gold coin. And that was how 1 became a carpenter.

After that week's work, Kellogg and I took the job of building the Tripp hotel, at Empire, later Iosco. It was in May that, with packs on our backs and hatchets in our belts, - the latter to fight hostile Indians with - we struck out, via Jewett's Valley, for our new Eldorado, near the shores of Lake Elysian. After some miles of journeying on foot we became tired and hungry and seeing a cal)in in the distance made for it, hoping to get something to eat. The woman said no; but that four miles further on we would find a hotel at the village of Swavesey. We finally got there, and such a village! Such a hotel! It was here that we first saw H. W. Peck and John H. Wheeler on their homeward way to Empire.

It was about 5 o'clock p. m., when we struck Hotel Swavesey, and midnight when we arrived at Wheeler's place in Iosco. The dogs gave us an uproarious and glorious welcome; the kind hostess and her daughters gave us a good lunch and blanketed us down as well as they could for the remainder of the night.

In the early morning we took our frontier breakfast. I shall never forget it. The table top was of rough boards laid upon a couple of rough carpenter's saw-horses. Half barrels, boxes, tubs, etc., served as chairs, and everything was of the primitive order. After breakfast, Mr. Kellogg and myself went over to the embryo city, consisting of some three hundred and twenty acres of town lots and romantic streets, with only one small, log shanty and the saw-mill, as yet only sun-covered, in the whole city. The shanty was used by Hosmer & Gifford as a store. I think these gentlemen put up the first frame and board building in the place.

Our next business was to make a fortune by securing a claim. Of course there were claims on all sides, but for all that, it was the fashion, in those days, to go claim hunting for a time. So I started out, securing an Indian canoe, and crossed Lake Elysian from Long's point, armed and equipped for almost any emergency, and bound to find the best claim on the shores of that beautiful lake. Already there were several settlers in the timber west of the lake, but I thought there still might be some choice claims; hence my Journey into the tl^en wilderness.

"I traveled for a long time, that day, and looked the country over pretty thoroughly, but found nothing that really suited me for a claim. I returned to Mr. S. W. Long's place, where I was kindly treated, and from there I got as far back as to N. E. Strong's ranch, when I was thoroughly tired out. There I called for a drink of water and was waited upon by Mr. Strong's young wife. It was so neat in the little house, and the beds looked so comfortable that I pleaded hard for a night's lodging and finally succeeded. I stayed for many a day at the home of these people where «verything was so pleasant and agreeable. My search for land continued and I finally located on eighty acres one mile south of the west line of our young city.

I built a log cabin 12x14 feet, and seven feet high in the center. It had an open door and window - most claim shanties had. A day and a night, shortly before proving up, I spent with Mr. Moses Emerson, brother of Mrs. Strong, on his claim. Emerson had an extra board and gave it to me to hang as a door to my house. In the morning I started with the board on my back. I took the trail for my shanty, but, in some way, the trail divided and I got on the wrong side of the divide. I traveled and traveled, yes, traveled, and should have been traveling yet, perhaps, had my strength held out. I became tired, awfully tired, and very hungry; hut I hung to my board, for it was my board - the only one in southern Minnesota for me, and yet I was bored. I was in the woods, I knew not where, and tired out; so I took the board I could not eat and laid me down upon it to rest. I soon slept, and when I awoke it was near night. I was confused, yes, lost in the woods. I sat down to think what to do, and, remembering that moss grew heavier on the north side of trees than on any other, and knowing that, by going east, I would strike the Indian trail running from Krassin's to Lake Elysian, I directed my course as nearly due east as possible and struck the trail about seven miles east from my base of operations. Following this trail, I came to Jim Chadwick's place where, without over-much persuasion, I was induced to partake of a good, square meal, such as his good wife knew how to get.

The next night we had to stay on my farm. Emerson and I were to be witnesses, each for the other. On that memorable night we spread our hlankets in my own home to be. This was one of my sick headache nights, and, as I was groaning, praying, scolding, on my pallet of dried grass, almost wishing I was dead, Emerson, in his dry way said: 'Willis, you have one thing to be thankful for.' Said I, 'For God's sake what is it? 'Why,' said he, 'you ought to be thankful that you are at your own home while sick?' The thought was so ridiculous, under the circumstances, that I could but laugh most heartily, and it really drove away my headache. The next day we did, as all others did, went to Faribault and proved up.

I can remember only a few of the early settlers of Empire proper. Those i remember are as follows: Mr. McArthur, a brother-in-law of N. E. Strong, with hj,s wife and child, Hosmer, Gifford, Jack Walton and wife from Ohio, Esquire M. S. Green and wife from the same state, Mr. Hagadorn and wife, and L. P. Kellogg. John H. Wheeler and family opened a hotel about this time. Mr. Ulysses Kellogg came out from the state of New York to help build the Tripp house. Soon after, a Mr. and Mrs. Francisco came to town, and 'Pap' Tripp and wife came soon after. Next came Mr. A. A. Cotton, who was made one of the original proprietors of the town site and agent for all. Wm. Rockwell, from Smithport, Pa., also became a resident of our prospective city.

In the winter of 1857-S was established our first school which was taught by Mr. L. Kellogg, a brother of Mr. L. P. Kellogg. Mr. L. Kellogg is now employed in the custom house in New York city. In the summer of 1857, Iosco, Okaman, and Elysian were rival towns; so we, of Iosco, concluded to get up a glorious Fourth of July celebration. We had our bills printed at Faribault, wherein we advertised martial music. The people of our city thought they could get a arum and fife at Faribault, and appointed a committee to visit the town and report. The committee, after making strenuous efforts, were compelled to report that such instruments could not be obtained there. What was to be done?

I finally told Mr. Strong that if he could saw me some thin boards for a drum barrel I would make a drum. He sawed the boards, and I put them in 'sweat' all day. I then succeeded, after considerable work, in turning one over a nail keg. Some one furnished a calf skin which I tanned with ashes and water, and succeeded in having the drum ready for the 'glorious' aay. Father Ira Willis beat the drum, and a man from across the lake, whose name I have forgotten, played the fife. It was a great day for iosco, I assure you. Okaman had also advertised a celebration and, not to be outdone by Iosco, had advertised martial music. But ours was the only drum in the county, and negotiations were in order. So it was determined that Okaman should join with Iosco and we would reciprocate by assisting them. And thus we had a double celebration of the Fourth, and all had a grand, enjoyable time.

In the winter of 1S58-9, I taught the Okaman school, and, for pay. took corn, potatoes, oats, or any other commodity the parents saw fit to bringin as pay. Notwithstanding the almost universal poverty of all the pio- neers, resulting from the financial crash and panic of 1857, the early settlers of Iosco and Okaman were a social, intelligent, and cultured people, and managed to get a great deal of enjoyment out of misery duringthe early days of the settlement of the county. They were brave, courteous, open-hearted, and hospitable."

Mr. Willis served as first town clerk of the town of Iosco, in 1858. In. the s-pring of 1859, he went to St. Paul and was employed as clerk in a store for a time. He then returned to this county and was elected that fall as county auditor - the first auditor in the history of the county - and his salary was fixed at the magnificent sum of $360 per annum. He afterwards served as clerk of the court in this county. He was appointed a clerk in the postoffioe department at Washington in 1872; afterwards to a clerkship in the military department, which he held until his death which occurred January 3, 1900.

One scarcely knows how far some little specialty in a local paper may reach and interest many readers. Myself and others in this extreme north have lived in the bounteous county of Waseca in the earlier days. Among the others are three daughters of a Mr. Bgan, who lived, I think, at Wilton. Tney are now Mrs. W. T. Spillane, Mrs. J. A. Duffy, and Mrs. J. J. Doe. Mr. Daniel Linnihan, section foreman for the N. P. Ry., also lives nere. We have been much interested in your historical sketches of Waseca county, and it has brought many remembrances of old friends and happy days.

In your issue of December 11, I find in the account of the celebration of the Pourth of July, 1856, at Iosco, that Pather Ira Willis played the drum and a "man from over the lake," (Elysian) played the fife. I think this was "Uncle" Ben Gifford, whom I find mentioned in the same article, in the election of 1858, as overseer of the poor. In 1863, when I came into the country, he lived at Elysian. He was one of the oddest geniuses 1 ever Imew, and with your permission I would like to pay a slight tribute to "Uncie Ben." There was not a man, woman, or child, horse, dog or cat, in Elysian, but knew and loved "Uncle Ben." And it must have been for himself alone, for he was poor, unkempt, and unknown. His life, till he came among us, was a blank to all. As a musician, he was the impressario of the whole country. Well do I remember those celebrations oi Independence Day. Uncle Ben, who resembled the revolutionary heroes in build, countenance, and military bearing, was always fifer and chief musician, and, from morning till night, "Yankee Doodle, Hail Columbia, Haste to the Wedding, and the Girl I Left Behind Me," (the last of which was a favorite of his) filled the people with patriotic fire. And, on the side, let me say that the allowance for real good boys on that day, was one bunch of fire-crackers, at twenty-five cents per bunch. They were hauled by team over a hundred miles.

Uncle Ben "led the singin' " in all the religious services without regard to sect or belief. There was a melodeon ai Okaman, which was the only instrument in the country, but he had no such assistance. We took up the hymn-books containing words only, and Uncle Ben, snapping his tuning fork, said "la" with a strong nasal intonation; so we had the pitch and the words, and all knew the tune, and you may be assured that it was not long till the air was full of music, not lacking in spirit or erratic rendition. The only meeting when Uncle Ben was "not in it" was a Methodist camp meeting at which the horse thieves got after the preachers' horses, probably a visitation of judgment upon the parsons.

He was a patriot too, and when the dreadful draft, in the spring of 1865, took several of our respected citizens to the front, he was a great comforter with his homely philosophy, telling us "he knew as how the war weren't going to last long, noways. " etc. He lived alone in his shanty, caught fish, trapped muskrats, and did various odd jobs, for subsistence. IN or would he leave his own home to die. He was taken with fever which developed into pneumonia, and it was two days before he was discovered, having been all that time without food or fire or care, suffering alone. He calmly disposed of his insignificant estate, and died peacefully as a child. God bless Uncle Ben. There may be greater and wiser men from whom 1 have learned lessons of life, but his simple, honest, sunshiny nature has left its rays with me forever.

was one of the 1856 settlers of Janesville. He was born in County Galway, Ireland, in 1825, and came to America in 1845, first arriving in New York. Prom there he went to Vermont where he was employed as a farm hand for seven years. In 1852 he came to Wisconsin, where he spent four years. In 1856 he moved to Minnesota and located at Janesville, this county, where, by good judgment, economy, and foresight, he succeeded in acquiring a goodly share of this world's goods.

He was married in 1866 to Miss Hannah Kelly, a daughter of Michael Kelly, of Faribault. He was often known as a benefactor; always willing to assist those who merited assistance. He was the architect of his own fortune and the builder of his own home. In the storms of life he was always oak and rock, but in sunshine his warm heart opened up with genuine sunshine and showed a frank, open-hearted man. He died as he lived, fortified with the sacraments of the holy Catholic church. He left a wife, four sons, and four daughters to mourn his loss. He died of paralysis Nov. 21, 1896, at the age of seventy-one.

Mr. And Mrs. Thomas Harden

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Harden are among those who came to this county at an early day; not to speculate in town lots, nor to loan money at six per cent a month, nor to seek to live upon the misfortunes of others, but to get a home for themselves and for those that might in the future constitute their family; and from the virgin soil of the then territory, by industry and frugality, obtain a living and accumulate a competency for old age. Would to God that every citizen of this great republic were as industrious, as moral, as honest, and as upright; then indeed should we be very near that great day when that ancient rule - "Whatsoever ye would not that others should do unto you, do ye even not so vmto them" - would become almost universal, and the cost of government be thereby reduced to the minimum.

"My full name is Thomas Harden. I was born in the county of Meath, Ireland. Mrs. Barden's name was Honora Roark, and she was bom in the county of Roscommon, Ireland. I am now (1891) fifty-eight years of age and my wife fifty-four. I landed in New York Aug. 12, 1846, and she landed at the same place Nov. 3, 1852. We were married in Pittsfield, Mass., Jan. 30, 1855, and came to Minnesota in 1857, arriving at the then village of St. Mary, in this county. May 27.

We were then blessed with one child, Henry, sixteen months old, one yoke of oxen, one cow, six chickens, a dog, an old wagon, a breaking plow, twenty-five cents cash capital, and a small stock of provisions. But we enjoyed good health, and possessed a fair share of pluck, with a determination to build up a home of our own on some of Uncle Sam's lands.

We had come from Hastings by wagon, and, although the weather was cool and raw, we had to sleep under our wagon at night in order to save money to buy feed for the oxen; and, as I said before, our money was all gone when we reached St. Mary, except twenty-five cents. Of course we had to stop there. We made inquiry for vacant land, and found a vacant eighty on section five, in Wilton township. We immediately filed on it, and went to work to break up the sod, to plant corn, potatoes and beans. This work had to be done before we could think of a house, and during that time we lived out of doors ; often the rain poured down upon us during the night while in bed, and then everything had to be spread out and dried in the sunshine. I tell you it was a sad change for the young wife to move from the heart of Yankeedom, where everything was comfortable to such an out door place as that was - and the half will never be told. It was bad enough to live thus exposed to the elements, but that was not the worst of it. We were living on the border of the then Winnebago Indian reservation, and one day, lo and behold! we received a visit Irom eight or ten Indians, the first Mrs. Barden had ever seen. They were dressed in breechclouts and feathers, and carried guns and knives. She thought her time had come, but it hadn't. They looked about awhile and then left. There was only one thing that saved me from destruction and that was that Mrs. Barden belonged to the Catholic church, and you linow there is no divorce allowed by that. She certainly had causes enough for divorce for taking her to such a place, but she 'broke in' all right and soon became a heroic pioneer, having many face to face encounters with the Indians before they were removed in 1863, often staying at the place nights and days alone except for our little boy.

But I was speaking of the house. We had no money, no lumber, no nails, but there was plenty of good timber on the Indian lands, and we did not steal it, of course, but then we took it in broad day without asking their leave. We could not very well do otherwise, you know, as we could not talk their language. Nearly all the other settlers went along to keep us company, but they would not steal any Indian timber; O, no! However, I got a good set of logs, and the kind neighbors helped me raise my house, as was the fashion, you remember; and the last money went for a little something to drink, for in those days we thought it not lucky to raise a house without something to moisten the throat.

Well, the next thing was, what were we to do for a roof? We had neither lumber, shingles, nor nails. A good old yankee neighbor told us to cut and peel the bark off from elm trees and lay the bark on some poles for a roof; we were Irish enough ourselves to cut some sods and cover the bark to keep it from warping and also to make the house warm for winter. Well, we don't live there now, but I tell you it did us good service for a long time in our days of need.

Finally the Indians complained of us for taking timber. I think Major Mix was the agent at that time. So one day he sent a posse of white men and halt-breeds to arrest us and scare us off. I saw them coming as I was going home with a fine load of logs, and they steered straight for me and the oxen, the men being well supplied with firearms. Thought I to myselt, I am 'gone up.' When they got close to me, one of them shouted 'Whoa!' and my oxen stopped. Then one of them asked, 'Where did you get them logs? A thought struck me that I would answer him in the Irish language, as I was pretty good at it. So I gave him back correct answers to everything he asked. Finally he got mad and swore a big oath saying: 'You damned Norwegian, I will soon take you where you will talk English,' and then passed on.

That fall, 1857, there was a financial crash, and we really did have hard times, and no mistake. Money was scarce. Property depreciated. In fact there was no money in circulation here. We used to swap one thing for another. We didn't have money enough to pay letter postage, ll was no uncommon thing for us about St. Mary to ask Warren Smith, then our postmaster, .at St. Mary, to charge up our letter postage to us. Warren was a father to us all in those days. He kept a store in St. Mary and proved a good friend to everyone in n(x-(l during what we called '.Johnnycake times.' No/ie of us had anything to make bread of except corn meal. We had no grist mill nearer than Faribault or Okaman and only oxen to make the journey with. So, in the fall, we made a mill of our own by taking a tin pan and punching it full of holes in the bottom with a hammer

My first experience with wheat raising was not very flattering. I sowed six bushels of club wheat in the spring. The next fall we cleaned a spot near the stack, and when the ground was frozen we went at it with a flail. After two or three days we got it threshed. We had no fanning mills then, so we waited until the wind blew and then cleaned our immense crop. I had just six bushels of very smutty wheat. I took it to mill and had it ground. When I got home the good wife was overjoyed with the prospects of some good biscuits; but disappointment is the lot of man and, in this case, of woman; for when the biscuits were baked they were as black as the ace of spades, with smut, and we had to fall back on corn cakes and mush.

Well the next year the wheat was a great deal better and more to the acre. Besides, Christie Hefferon and I hit upon a new way of threshing - we trod out the wheat with oxen.

Some people complain that wheat is cheap now, but in 1859-60, we used to haul wheat thirty miles, to Faribault, and sell it for forty cents a bushel ; it we hauled it to Hastings - sixty -five miles - we used to get from fifty-five to sixty cents a bushel. It took us from five to six days to make the Hastings trip with oxen. We were compelled to sleep under our wagons nights, and sometimes it rained or snowed on us. Times may be hard now for the 'tender-footed,' but they are not what they 'used to was' by several dollars to us in hand paid.."