Clark County, Wisconsin - Biographical sketches, 1918 (part 1 of 18)

Biography

The intimate life of the community is best told in the personal stories of its citizens. Biographical facts not only provide permanent genealogical material for the families of which they treat, and valuable information for the historical investigator, but also furnish inspiration for worthy emulation. In so new a county as Trempealeau there are few men who have not started as poor boys and attaned their success by their own efforts. The story of their equipment for the struggle by birth, training, environment and experience is of vital significance. So, too, is the story of the men of the younger generation, who with better preparation and under more favorable circumstances, have taken up the work which their fathers have laid down.

Therefore in supplementing the general county history, the publishers of this volume and their staff have gathered biographical data from some eight hundred leading families of the county. The list is comprehensive and thoroughly representative. The research involved in collecting the material has extended over a period of two years, and during that time the opportunity has been opened to all of those who desired their family story thus recorded and preserved,

It is manifestly impossible to include every family of the past and present; such a task would be beyond human ability. The criticism that in such a work many worthy families are omitted is of little force; the scope of the book might be trebled, yet still omit many a family whom some one would like to see thus honored. And while the story of many of those here included is no more worthy of preservation than the story of many who are omitted, those here printed are thoroughly typical and represent every phase of the county's citizenship.

These biographical and genealogical sketches have been gathered from personal interviews, from records and from newspapers. They have all been submitted to some member of the family most concerned. While it is believed that a high degree of accuracy has been maintained, the responsibility rests with the families themselves and not with the publishers. In a few cases sketches submitted for correction have not been returned. In such instances the duplicate has been printed, containing the facts as originally gathered.

The difficulties of gathering such a vast amount of material are many. Even brothers and sisters often give widely varying accounts, not only of the facts and dates concerning their parents, but even of the rendering of their parents' names. In a few instances, where an agreement was impossible, both versions are here given.

All personal estimates of life, character, accomplishments, worth, influence and ability have been added by the board of editors, constrained

Richard Dewhurst, one of the notable pioneers of Clark County, founder of the Neillsville Bank, and a lawyer, judge and business man of high repute, now passed away, was born near the city of Manchester, England, May 12, 1826, son of Miles and Mary Dewhurst. His residence in his native land was short, as in the year following his birth his parents - he being then their only child - emigrated to the United States, settling in Bristol, Mass. From that place they subsequently removed to Lorraine County, Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives, and where three more sons were born to them - George, Joseph and Edmund, Richard Dewhurst spent a part of his boyhood and youth on his parents' farm, but his ambition lay in the direction of the law, which he studied at Oberlin, Ohio, under the direction of P. Bliss. He was admitted to the bar of Ohio, but in 1850 went to Jo Daviess County, Ill., where for awhile he worked in the lead mines. Then for a year or two he taught private school in Scales Mound, Ill., from which place, about 1852, he removed to Potosi, Grant County, Wis. In 1854 he was teaching school in Platteville, Wis., and in 1856 was admitted to the bar of Wisconsin at White Oak Springs, locating at Weston Rapids, Clark County, on May first of that year. He had now found the place which was to be the scene of his future activities, and so short a time did it take him to make his personality felt that in 1858 he was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly on the Democratic ticket. In the following year he became registrar of deeds of Clark County. It was in this year, on March 29, that he married Maria S. Curtis, who was born in Ohio, April 9, 1840, daughter of Caleb and Mary Ann (Hurd) Curtis. Her parents, both natives of Connecticut, were married in Ohio and settled at Cottage Grove, near Madison, Dane County, Wis., where Mr. Curtis spent the rest of his life, following the occupation of contractor and builder. During the Civil War he served in a Wisconsin regiment. The children in the Curtis family were: Maria 8.; Wheeler, who also served in the Civil War; Francis, Catherine, and Robert, who went to the war as a member of a Wisconsin cavalry regiment and died in a hospital at the front. After his marriage Richard Dewhurst came to Neillsville, settling on the bank of the creek below the mill. The nearest markets were then at Sparta and La Crosse, and the roads were merely trails through the wilderness. Mr. Dewhurst erected a frame dwelling, which stood on the present site of the Emery Bruley home and here he and his wife began domestic life. There were plenty of Indians in the vicinity who often came to the house begging and they were always given something. Mr. Dewhurst engaged somewhat extensively in logging, which was a wide-spread occupation in those days. He had already, in 1856, held the position of county judge, of Clark County, and in 1864 he was elected to the legislature again, serving during the session of 1865, and being again a member in 1875, in which year he was also county superintendent of schools. On the death of William Hutchinson he filled the latter's unexpired term as county treasurer and in the year 1877 was again county judge, serving on the latter occasion until 1879. Mr. Dewhurst built the fine colonial residence on Hewett - street, in which his widow now resides, and also the block on Main street bearing his name. He was a member of the Masonic order, which he joined at Sparta, while his religious affiliations were with the Universalist Church. Judge Dewhurst and his wife were the parents of three children: Frank, who died at the age of two years; Mary, wife of W. L. Hemphill, and Lillian, who died young. In 1874 Mr. Dewhurst, in company with Daniel Gates, visited Oregon, Washington and California, and in 1876, with John Reed, visited England, Scotland, Ireland and the French Exposition at Paris. His death, which took place Oct. 13, 1895, removed from life's seenes one of Clark County's most useful and distinguished citizens, and was an event deeply regretted in the community in which he lived. Mrs. Dewhurst, who for so many years has been one of the foremost ladies of Neillsville, is interested in philanthropic and patriotic work, and is now deeply interested in the work of the American Red Cross.

Wallace L. Hemphill, for many years one of Neillsville's most active citizens, and a man of wide popularity, was born in Clearfield, Pa., Feb. 9, 1857, that town being then known as Old Town. His parents were William J. and Jane (Smith) Hemphill, and he was the seventh born of their large family of eleven children. The subject of this sketch had but little schooling in his boyhood, much of the knowledge he now possesses having been gained in the larger school of life. At the age of 12 years he went to work by the day and was thus occupied for some six or seven years. He was about 19 when, in 1876, he came west to Houston County, Minn., to visit his sister, a resident of that place, and there he spent the winter. He then came to La Crosse and entered the employ of the John Paul Lumber Company, for whom he worked during the summers for five years, and was a member of their camp, south of the 26th Road, in the winter of 1877-78. Mr. Paul then placed him in the office of the company at Neillsville, where he remained three or four years, after which he had charge of their logging outfits as manager until 1898, when the logging industry came to an end. Mr. Hemphill now made a change of base, going to New Orleans, where he took charge of the New Orleans cypress saw-mill for one year and four months, subsequently returning to Neillsville. Here he bought the Neillsville mills, and the next nine years of his life were spent in their operation, after which he retired from active work. Aside from the industries mentioned above Mr. Hemphill was more or less actively concerned with other business interests. He became identified with the Neillsville Bank as a stockholder twenty-five years ago, and also served as its vice president, and later, on the death of Chas. F. Grow, as president, He was also vice president of the bank at Cadott, Chippewa County, and a stockholder in the American National Bank of Marshfield. At the present time he is interested as stockholder in the Neillsville Canning Co. In all the enterprises in which he took an active part, as in the logging industry, Mr. Hemphill showed fine executive ability, being exceptionally able in the handling of men, having in a high degree that requisite tact which enabled him to get from them the maximum amount of work without exciting discontent on their part. In fact, he was always very popular with them and they willingly gave him the best they had in the way of service. During his long residence in Neillsville he has at times assisted in the affairs of local government, serving two years as alderman and one term as mayor. In the Masonic order he has advanced as far as the Commandery, and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen. Mr. Hemphill was united in marriage, June 10, 1889, to Mary Dewhurst, daughter of Richard and Maria S. (Curtis) Dewhurst. They have one child, Frances. She was graduated from the Neillsville high school in the class of 1910; from the National Park Seminary of Maryland, with class of 1912, and from the Wisconsin State University at Madison, in the class of 1916, and is now the wife of M. C. Rodolf, who is in the United States service.

James O'Neill, Sr., founder of Neillsville, and pioneer of Clark County, was born in Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, New York, May 4, 1810, son of Andrew and Jane (Armstrong) O'Neill. With his brothers, Alexander and Henry he came to Wisconsin in 1836 and located at Prairie du Chien, coming from there to Black River Falls in 1839, and to the present site of Neillsville in 1844. Here he started a mill and established a town. The story of his life is a part of the history of the county. He was first chairman of the town of Pine Valley which preceded the organization of the county; he was first superintendent of schools of Pine Valley when the township took in the whole county, he was chairman of the first county board and served as such for several years, he was county judge and county treasurer. In 1849 and again in 1868 he did distinguished service in the legislature. All in all his life was a useful one, and his influence is one which will never be forgotten. He died March 28, 1882. Mr. O'Neill was married March 7, 1847, at Melrose, in Jackson County, Wis., to Jane Douglas, daughter of Robert Douglas, a Jackson County pioneer. This union was blessed with three children: Isabella, the first white child born in the county, is the wife of Wilson §. Covill, and lives at Tacoma, Washington. Maria, now deceased, married Frank Darling, of Washington. Thomas died March 2, 1872, at the age of 21 years and 20 days. Mrs. Jane O'Neill was a woman of kindly gracious culture, and her influence had much to do with making early Neillsville a desirable place of residence. She made her home the county center of religious, educational, social and philanthropic work, just as her husband made it the center of public affairs. After a long and useful life, she died June 9, 1873, at the age of 59 years, 7 months and 22 days. For his second wife, Mr. O'Neill married Mrs. Caroline Teller, who bore him one son, James, now of Tacoma, Wash.

James O'Neill, judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, of Wisconsin, was born in Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1847, son of Andrew and Mary (Holiston) O'Neill, and grandson of Andrew and Jane (Armstrong) O'Neill. His preliminary education was received in the district schools and his career as an educator started when at the age of 15 he started teaching district school, at $15 a month. In 1863 he entered St. Lawrence University, at Canton, New York, and there remained for three years. Then he taught school again for a while unti] 1868, when, upon being awarded the district scholarship in a competitive examination, he entered Cornell University as a sophomore at its original opening. During his entire career there he was master of the chimes. Both as a debater and a scholar he distinguished himself, and indeed such excellent work did he do, that having to leave school in the spring of 1870 by reason of an attack of typhoid fever, he became principal of the Ogdensburg High School in the fall of 1870, and closed the school in the spring to graduate two weeks later with his original class of 1871. He was a charter member at Cornell of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. Andrew D. White, the first president of Cornell, is still his close friend. Among the many distinguished men under whom he took lectures may be mentioned James Russell Lowell, Goldwin Smith, George William Curtiss, Bayard Taylor and Louis Agassiz. Among his classmates, four men attained the Supreme Bench of New York state, George A. Benton, of Rochester, P. C. J. De- Angelis, of Utica, Albert H. Sewell, of Walton, and John M. Kellogg, of Ogdensburg. Judge O'Neill has been active in Alumni matters, and has served-as president of the Northwestern Alumni Association of his Alma Mater. Upon receiving his B. A. from Cornell, he entered the law office of Joseph McNaughton, at Ogdensburg, a distinguished lawyer, who has recently left that place $100,000 for a hospital, With this preparation, Judge O'Neill entered the Albany Law School and graduated in 1873, with the degree of LL. B. Soon after graduation, he came to Neillsville to visit his unele, arriving here Sept. 18, 1873. Being persuaded to stay, he cast his lot here, and has since become one of the county's leading men. During his years as a lawyer, he handled some of the county's most important litigation, For a time he practiced alone. Then H. W. Sheldon was a partner for a while. After Mr. Sheldon's death, in 1878, he was alone for a while, and then for a short time had Joseph Morley as a partner. Mr. Morley retired to enter the banking business and then after another period alone, Judge O'Neill formed a partnership with Spencer M. Marsh, now a judge of the Supreme Court of California and living at San Diego. In July, 1887, he was appointed district attorney, of Clark County, and re-elected in the fall of 1888 by the largest vote on the ticket. In 1890 and 1892 he was nominated by the Republican party as a candidate for attorney general, but this was the time of the Bennett Law agitation, and the whole ticket was defeated each time. Jan. 1, 1898, he went on the bench of the Seventeenth Circuit, and five years ago assumed in addition to the work of this circuit, the duties of holding court at Baraboo. In local affairs, Judge O'Neill has been a member of the county board and of the schoolboard. Prominent at all times in the Republican party, he was an especially active figure, before his elevation to the bench, in county, district and state conventions. In 1885 he served in the legislature, and in 1888 was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. Of recent years, he has been an ardent worker in the cause of abstinence, and it is a matter of pride with him that all four of the county seats in his judicial circuit are now dry. One of the pleasant memories of Judge O'Neill is his trip to Europe in 1901, when in addition to touring various points of interest he visited Shane's castle, on the O'Neill Estate, County Antrim, Ireland, the family seat of his ancestors, and the birthplace of a long line of his forebears. He has been a life-long member of the Episcopal Church, Judge O'Neill was married June 6, 1876, to Marian Robinson, daughter of

David H. and Emma F. (Brown) Robinson, pioneers of Wisconsin. This union has been blessed with two children, Ernest A. and Marian. Ernest A. was born March 10, 1877, graduated from the Neillsville High School in 1895, from the academic department of the University of Wisconsin with the degree of B. A., in 1899, and from the law department of the same university with the degree of LL. B. in 1902. At college he was a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He died Oct. 5, 1905. This young man was the embodiment of manly character, a deep student, and possessed of an engaging personality. The world is the better for his having lived in it, even for so short a time. Marian was born Jan. 22, 1883, received her higher education in Grafton Hall, Fond du Lac; Downer College, Milwaukee; and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and spent several years studying music in Milwaukee. She was married June 6, 1912, to Forest D. Calway, who is court reporter of the Circuit Court, residing at Neillsville, Wis. Judge O'Neill is a gentleman of the old school, a typical judge of the old type. A student of men, and events and books, he is a close observer, and is of an idea] judicial temperament. Desiring ever the best for his fellow men, he is striving in every way to do his share toward the cause of righteousness and justice, and few men in this region are held in such high regard and universal veneration. His influence in Clark County life will continue to be felt for many generations to come.

Andrew O'Neill, the founder of the O'Neill family in America, was born in Shane's Castle, on the ancient O'Neill estate, County Antrim, Ireland, Sept. 23, 1766, and there became a schoolmaster. In that capacity he came to the Province of Ontario, Canada, and located at Edwardsburg, where he married one of his pupils, Jane Armstrong, born in Edwardsburg, of English descent. The young people, in 1798, moved across the river to a point not far from Ogdensburg, N. Y., and became the first settlers in Lisbon Township. There they reared their family and spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. O'Neill died in Lisbon, Dec. 31, 1840, and Mrs. O'Neill passed away May 9, 1846. They left eight children, one of whom James, was the first settler of Clark County, Wis. A grandson James O'Neill, is now Judge of the Circuit Court at Neillsville, Wis. It is interesting to note that the pioneer farm is still in the family, being occupied by two grandchildren, William H. and Mary J., now Mrs. George W. Sparrowhawk, and owned by them and another grandson, Judge James O'Neill.

Homer M. Root, president of the Commercial State Bank of Neillsville, financier, public official and man of affairs, has been active in Clark County life for nearly half a century, and as lawyer, farmer, officer and banker, has taken his full share in its development and progress. He was born June 22, 1846, on a farm in Guilford Township, Chenango County, N. Y., son of George and Mary (Bush) Root. As a youth he attended the district school of his neighborhood, Harpersville Seminary in Broome County, N. Y.; Oxford Academy in Chenango County, N. Y., and Wadsworth South School at Hartford, Conn., and with this preparation became a teacher, a profession which he followed for five years. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he strongly desired to enlist in the federal army, but was prevented by his youth and the objections of his parents. He later, however, received military training for five years as a member of the New York National Guard. In 1869, he came west, with the idea of securing a position as principal of a school while taking up land. But upon reaching the Black River district, he decided to engage in logging. With headquarters at Greenwood, he secured his experience in various camps, driving team, cooking and working as a woodman. In 1874, he formed a partnership with B. F. Thompson, and in eleven years this firm logged some 55,- 000,000 feet of pine. In all Mr. Root was connected with the lumber and logging industry for nineteen years. In the meantime, he had developed a farm at Greenwood and served the town of Eaton ten years as town clerk. In 1888, he was elected county clerk, and the following year moved to Neillsville. So efficiently did he serve that he was three times re-elected, serving in all four terms of two years each. With this experience in county business, he became deputy registrar of deeds, Later he was elected to his present office as member of the county board from the Second Ward of Neillsville, in which he has served for eleven consecutive years, Since his first arrival in the county he has taken a prominent part in Republican politics, and was especially active in the old convention days, serving at county, district and state conventions. In 1886 he was chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, and in addition to this has occupied various committeeships at different times. In 1898, Mr. Root entered the banking business, in a private bank, which on July 1, of that year was incorporated as the Commercial State Bank of Neillsville, with Mr. Root as its first cashier, a position he held until 1916, when he assumed the duties of his present position as president. Mr. Root is an estimable citizen in every way, a real force for good in the community, ever standing for the better and higher things of every aspect of life. A man of broad mind and liberal thought, he is exceptionally well versed in philosophy, science and literature, with a keen and appreciative eye for the beautiful in nature. His home is one of the prettiest and most hospitable in the city. To gratify his esthetic tastes, he cultivates a fine garden, being especially fond of flowers of which he has some beautiful specimens, His library is well stocked with books to which he devotes much of his time, and he takes a keen interest in every practical enterprise for the betterment of the community in which he has spent so many happy years of his life. Mr. Root was married in 1891, to Mary J. Huntzicker, widow of Jacob Huntzicker, by whom she had five children: Frederick, Victor E., Olive T., Francis J. (deceased), and Jacob (deceased).

Emery W. Crosby, attorney, orator, and business man, who ranks well in the lead in Clark County affairs, was born in Sheboygan County, this state, Dec. 29, 1874, son of William and Adelle (Little) Crosby, grandson of Stephen and Demana (Wales) Crosby, and descended from a long line of distinguished ancestry on both sides of his house. Members of the Scotch-Irish family of Crosby, and of the English family of Wales fought in the Revolutionary War, and members of the English family of Little have also taken a prominent part in the history of this country. The Crosbys and the Littles are both well known in Sheboygan County. Wil- liam Crosby was born in Madison County, N. Y., served with distinction in the Civil War, and spent the greater part of the years of his manhood in Sheboygan County, where he and his good wife lived to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary, his wife being the daughter of James Little, who was likewise born in New York State and settled at an early day in Sheboygan County, attaining a commanding position among his fellow men, and serving with honor in the Wisconsin Assembly of 1859, With such blood in his veins, Emery W. Crosby was early designed for a career of influence and usefulness. He attended the high school at Glenbeulah, Wis., and the State Normal School at Oshkosh, Wis., and for five years was a teacher in the country schools of his native county. Having then decided to devote his life to the profession of the law, he matriculated at the Northwestern University, at Evanston, Ill., and was graduated in 1902 with the degree of LL.B. With this preparation he began his career in this county, moving to Abbotsford, and on January 1, 1903, opening his office. His personal qualities, his ability and his fairness, soon attracted attention, and he was marked as a future factor in public life. As a member of the county board he had the opportunity of demonstrating his efficiency, and to enlarge his circle of friends, this laying the foundation for his later success. In the fall of 1906 he was elected county attorney, and served in that office ably and conscientiously. In 1914 he was elected to the Assembly, and in this capacity made for himself an enviable record, being one of the leading members of that body. In 1915 he ran for judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and in a three cornered fight carried the county by a good majority, though defeated in the district. He is now successfully engaged in the practice of his profession in Neillsville. The entrance of the United States in the World War has given him an opportunity for much public effort, and his services as an orator and on various committees have been much in demand. Mr. Crosby's financial affiliation is with the First National Bank, of Neillsville, which he helped to organize, and of which he is now a director. His fraternal affiliations are with the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery of the Masons, the Canton and the Encampment of the Odd Fellows, and the Beavers, Woodmen and Moose. Mr. Crosby was married, in June, 1901, to Rosa M. Beck, born in Sheboygan County, Wis., daughter of Fred and Bertha (Krams) Beck, the former of whom was born in Germany, came to Wisconsin in pioneer days, and served in the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Crosby have one child, Frederick, born Oct. 13, 1906. Of Mr. Crosby it has been said: "He is a young man of excellent ability, and good legal training, a strong speaker, and possessed of a pleasant personality, with the happy faculty of making staunch life-long friends. During his experience at the bar, by energetic hard work, constant attention to business, loyalty to the interests of his clients, and honesty in dealing with them, always taking the position to avoid needless and expensive litigation, he has gained a good reputation for the thoroughness with which he prepares his cases, and has » won the title of the poor man's lawyer, so great is the confidence in which the people hold him. The popularity and success that he has gained in this region of the state has been due to his fidelity and to his effort to use all men fairly and squarely. He is a tireless student, and with his wide experience and strong mental and physical force and temperament, is ideal timber for any position to which the people may call him. Young in years and of excellent health and good training, he is now in the full flush of virile and energetic manhood. His fairness before the courts wins the admiration even of his adversaries, and he is well qualified and endowed with all those characteristics which make for good citizenshp and a useful life."

George Ure, a pioneer of Lynn Township, who, for many years, was one of the best known citizens in his part of the county, was born in Scotland, March 3, 1826. Left with the support of his family by the death of his father, he early learned the trades of machinist and foundryman, which he followed for some years in the old country. In 1855, with his wife, Ellen Ray, and three children, James, Jennie and John, he set out for the United States, an uncle of his, David Anderson, having emigrated to Chicago the year before. The family took passage on a sailing vessel which, however, made an unlucky start, being blown by a storm to the coast of Ireland, where it was wrecked. The Ure family escaping, returned to Scotland, but Mr. Ure, not having money enough to start again immediately with his family, sent his mother before them to Chicago, which place she reached after a three months' trip, making her home with the unele. As soon as he was able Mr. Ure followed with the rest of the family, reaching America after a long voyage in a sailing vessel, and joining the mother in Chicago. There he found work at his trade and in 1856 smelted the first iron ever smelted in Chicago. While in that city he purchased 330 acres of land in Chicago, and eighty acres in Clark County. The Chicago land lay on the South Side, not far from the Stock Yards. This land, which would now be worth millions of dollars, he sold for $400. The Clark County land lay in Section 6, Lynn Township. It was purchased for $300 and is now worth many thousands. In the fal] of 1856, Mr. Ure visited Clark County, and in the fall of 1857 he again came here and made a small clearing and built a shanty on his place. In 1861, after preparations for moving, the family set out for their new home. Of the three children who had come with the parents from Scotland, James and Jennie had died in Chicago, but a fourth child, Nettie, had been born in that city; so the parents had now two children, John, born in Scotland, and Nettie. The family of four reached Sparta by rail and then drove from that place through the woods - a distance of seventy-two miles - to Lynn Township, having to hire a team. Mr. Ure had changed his gold money into paper currency, which, owing to the war, had now depreciated to about forty cents on the dollar, and as flour was $12 a barrel, his financial outlook was not promising. He had brought with him a wagon-load of goods, but had no team - nothing practically but his hands and an axe with which to begin the arduous labor of developing a farm. Like other pioneer settlers he had to carry supplies on his back through the woods, his market being Neillsville. The first year he bought two cows, from which he raised his first yoke of steers. His first crops he grubbed in by hand. For a number of years his progress was necessarily slow, but was gradually accelerated.

Though in early days many privations were suffered by him and his family, their lives were not all shadow but were enlivened now and then by moments of relaxation or brightened by some enjoyable event. Mr. Ure was one of the four principal actors in the first Fourth of July celebration held in Lynn Township. To do justice to this occasion he manufactured a fiddle, which he was able to play to some extent, and he and William Sternitzky constituted the band, Mr. Sternitzky making a drum, which had to stand considerable hard usage that day. The flag of the Nation was represented by a large red handkerchief tied to a stick, John Geary being the color bearer; but, perhaps the most important of all in its effect upon the jollity and excitement of the occasion, was the jug of whisky of which Archibald Yorkston was made the happy bearer. With this complete paraphernalia the patriotic four went down to Lynn Creek where the village now stands, and went through the appropriate ceremonies, the pride and envy of all beholders. In those days total abstinence societies, now called temperance societies, were little heard of, or not at all, and Mr. Ure used to say that a trip to Neillsville from his locality took three days of any man's time - one day to go, one day to return and a day to sober up in. Mr. Ure set up the first steam engine in Neillsville for grinding purposes, and with Archibald Yorkston set up at Windfall, the first sawmill in this immediate region. On the farm on which he settled he spent the rest of his life, and for many years was one of the leading men in his township. He had received no education but from his popularity was frequently elected to township office, his son John doing for him any clerical work connected with it. He also took the leading part in securing the establishment of the Lynn Insurance Company. He and his wife belonged to the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Ure died Oct. 28, 1886, at the age of 68. With the passing of himself and his good wife the township was deprived of two of its earliest settlers, who had done their full part in taming the wilderness and introducing civilized conditions, and whose work is well worthy of mention in a volume devoted to the history of Clark County. It is interesting to note that the family has in its possession a violin made by George Ure in Scotland, in 1852, and also an old clock brought by him from that country. With this violin Mr. Ure played at the first Fourth of July celebration ever held in Lynn Township.

George A. Ure is one of the leading citizens of Clark County; few men indeed in this entire region are better or more favorably known, and few have done so much for its financial, industrial and agricultural development. In public life he has been clerk and chairman of his township, efficient chairman of the county board, and capable clerk of the district court, in which latter position he is still serving. In insurance circles he has been honored with the position of state treasurer of the Wisconsin Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, and has won wide recognition for his work as secretary of the Lynn Mutual Fire Ins. Co. and the Lynn Mutual Tornado, Cyclone and Hurricane Ins. Co. In banking circles he is an official in several of the leading financial institutions in the county. In business he is connected with various canning, elevator, trading and creamery associations. Fraternally he has occupied a high position in a number of leading lodges. He was born in Lynn Township, this county, Nov. 27, 1865, son of George and Ellen (Ray) Ure, the pioneers, He acquired his elementary education in the log schoolhouse of his district, and afterward attended the Neillsville High School, still later taking a commercial course in the Northwestern Business College at Madison, having in the meantime worked to help pay his own way, part of the time on farms, and part of the time in a Neillsville store. His experience as a young man subsequent to receiving his education embraced farm work and logging. In 1894 he became a fireman on the Burlington Railroad, and four years later, in 1898, he joined a party of eight and went to the Copper River region in Alaska in search of gold. Upon his return in 1900, he settled on eighty acres, in Section 7, Lynn Township, a part of the old homestead. This place he still owns. In 1901-02 he erected a new home, and from time to time he has made other improvements until he now has as good a place as is to be found in the county. For a while, in connection with his farming, he engaged in the building-moving business, Ripe with the experience which his various ventures had given him, Mr. Ure, as soon as he settled down to farm life, entered the arena of public affairs, and his popularity has since constantly grown. In 1901 he became clerk of the township of Lynn. In 1902 he became chairman of the township and thus took his place on the county board, and in 1907 he became the chairman of that body, serving until his resignation, Jan. 1, 1911. On that date he took office as clerk of court. His suitability for that office is shown by the election returns. He has led the ticket at each re-election, he was once elected without an opponent, and several times the opposition has been merely nominal. Mr. Ure's name throughout the state is inseparably connected with the insurance business. Upon the organization 6f the Lynn Mutual Tornado, Cyclone & Hurricane Insurance Co., June 1, 1895, he was one of the directors, and has served continuously as its secretary, his work in that capacity being a feature in the success of the company. His work in this company attracted attention, and in 1903 he became a director in the Lynn Mutual Fire Insurance Co., organized in 1878. In 1904 and 1905 he served as president, and in 1906 was elected secretary, his services having been such that he has since been continuously re-elected. As a representative of these organizations, he has made many friends among the officers of similar organizations throughout the state and in 1912 he was elected to his present position as treasurer of the Wisconsin Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. When the successful Neillsville Canning Co. was organized in 1913, he became a director, and has been its only treasurer. At various times he has been an official of several elevator companies and creameries, several of which he has assisted in organizing. As a patriot since the entry of the United States into the war, Mr. Ure has done some excellent work, some of the heaviest labor having fallen upon his shoulders. He is chairman of the Clark County Chapter, American Red Cross, a member of the executive committee of the Clark County Council of Defense, and is working on the food conservation problem in association with County Food Administrator Emil Ketel. All this has involved much correspondence and expenditure of energy, tact, and influence. For some time Mr. Ure has been prominently connected with the financial interests of the county, He is vice president of the First National Bank of Neillsville and of the Chili State Bank, he is a director in the Farmers State Bank of Granton, the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Greenwood and the Farmers Exchange Bank of Thorp, and has stock in the Citizens State Bank of Loyal. Fraternally, Mr. Ure is a leading Odd Fellow, having gone through the chairs of the local lodge, and joined the Encampment at Merillan. He is also a member of the Beavers, the Moose and other orders. Busy as he is with his many duties, he has found time to develop the social side of his nature, and he is a loyal friend, a congenial companion and a royal entertainer, making his office the headquarters of any citizen of the county who happens to be in town, and placing its resources at the disposal of any who are seeking for any information which his files contain. Mr, Ure was married, in 1887, to Mamie Brothers, who left one child, Vera, who is a teacher in the Training School, at Menominee, having been reared by her grandparents, Rev. and Mrs. Joseph D. Brothers, the former a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal faith. Sept. 14, 1890, Mr. Ure married Madge Darling, a native of Clark County, daughter of Solon and Lydia Darling. Of this union there have been born three children: Vivian, James and Melvin. Vivian was born Oct. 3, 1891. James was born May 21, 1893, and died Oct. 14, 1915. Melvin was born July 7, 1903.

John Ure, proprietor of a flourishing farm in Section 6, Lynn Township, was born in Cairnshore, Scotland, Jan. 29, 1852, son of George and Ellen (Ray )Ure. His parents settled in Lynn Township in 1861, coming here from Chicago, where they had resided for a few years previously, He was reared on the home farm and acquired the elements of knowledge in the log schoolhouse of the vicinity, chopping wood to earn money to pay for his school books. As he had to pay $3.00 for a book which could now be procured for 40 cents, he probably took more care of them than the average schoolboy does today. At the age of 14 he was already at work in the lumber camps, alternating that kind of labor with work on the farm. June 30, 1887, he was married to Mary Mahn, who was born March 12, 1869, in Wisconsin, her father, a native of Germany, being at the time of her marriage a resident of Lynn Township. Mr. Ure, with the aid of his wife, developed the farm on which he now resides, and upon which he has spent his life being active in its management from the age of 18, In early days he kept sheep, his wife and daughters carding and spinning the wool, but he gave up sheep raising years ago. He now raises fullblooded Holstein cattle and Norman horses. He also grows some fruit for his own use. Aside from his farming interests he is a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank at Granton and in the First National Bank of Neillsville. His wife died May 13, 1906. She left four sons and three daughters, the youngest being only six days old at the time of her death. These children are: Roy, now a farmer in Fremont Township; Edward, also a farmer in that township; Robert, on the home farm, and connected with sawmill and threshing work; and John, Mamie, Gladys and Mary, who reside at home. Mr. Ure is now one of the well to do farmers of Lynn Township, having 280 acres in one piece. His barn is 40 by 98 feet in size, with an ell, 40 by 56 feet, his silo being 12 by 30 feet. The main part of the barn was originally 40 by 56 feet, but upon its being damaged by a fire, he rebuilt it, enlarging it to its present dimensions. In glancing over his family history it is interesting to note that he was born in the same house in Scotland as his father, grandfather and great grandfather, all of whom were machinists. All of them but him were also violinists.

Soren Andersen, a prominent and respected citizen of Hixon Township, where he has developed a good farm, and has taken a leading part in the affairs of local government, was born in Denmark in 1844. He was brought up as a farmer and was there married to Caroline Nielsen. In 1871, leaving his wife behind, he came to the United States, locating at Racine, Wis., where he engaged as a laborer in railroad construction work, later becoming a contractor for sewers, wells, cellars and other similar constructions. A year after his settlement in Racine he was joined by his wife and their son Andrew B. On July 2, 1886, Mrs. Andersen died at the comparatively early age of 38 years, leaving, besides the son Andrew, now of Omaha, Neb., six other children, namely: Ole C. B., Carl B., Carrie B., Lettie C., Soren B., and Martin F. After his wife's death Mr. Andersen remained in Racine until 1893, when, learning that there was a Danish settlement at Withee, in the township of Hixon, Clark County, he, accompanied by his son Ole C. B., removed to that place, buying eighty acres of wild land. in Section 26. In the same year he was joined by his daughter Lettie C., Carl B., coming in November, 1894, and Soren B., in 1899. Mr. Andersen's first act when he took possession of his land, was to build a frame house, 12 by 16 feet in size. It was a small dwelling, but it served as the family residence for some years. When he began farming he had nothing but his hands and a few small tools, and it was a year before he got a team. In 1894, however, the year after his settlement, he built a barn, 16 by 30 feet, which, two years later, he increased in size by an addition 30 by 36 feet. Through persistent industry he increased in prosperity, and by the year 1900 was able to build a brick veneer house of eight rooms, where he now makes his home. His farm is now well provided with buildings, including a good silo, and its size has been enlarged to 110 acres. He was one of the organizers of the local creamery and has taken an active part in promoting whatever was for the good of the community of which he is a resident. In the Danish Lutheran Church, which he helped to organize, he has served as deacon and treasurer, and he has also been supervisor on the town board, Of his children, already mentioned, Ole C. B. is now county clerk, and resides in Neillsville; Carl B. is a resident of Hixon Township; Carrie B. died in February, 1900, at Denver, Colo.; Lettie C. was married to Fred Miller, in February, 1902, and resides in Hixon Township; Soren B. removed to Butternut, Wis., in 1905, and Martin F., born in 1883, died at the age of 6 months, in 1884,

Ole Christian Bramer Andersen, county clerk of Clark County, to which office he was elected after making an excellent record as county treasurer, was born in the city of Racine, Wis., July 20, 1873, son of Soren and Caroline (Nielsen) Andersen, and is of Danish ancestry. His education was ob- tained in the city schools of Racine, which he left at the age of 13, on the death of his mother. There he began industrial life, and in 1893 accompanied his father to Withee, in Hixon Township, Clark County, where they were joined later by a sister and two brothers. The father had settled on an 80-acre tract of wild land, which Ole C. B. helped to clear. In 1898 he became engaged in road construction, he and his brother Charles building a half-mile of turnpike road two miles north of Withee. In the following year they built half a mile of the main road from Withee to Thorp, and in 1900-1901 they constructed two and a half miles of road north and west of Withee. Residing on his father's farm until after his marriage, in 1905, Ole C. B. Andersen moved to a twenty-acre tract in the village of Withee, it forming the south half of the southeast of the southwest quarter of Section 34. While living there he followed the painter's trade. In February, 1911, the Withee Co-operative Creamery Company was organized, Mr. Andersen assisting, and becoming its first president. He also served as its secretary until February, 1913. A Republican in politics, Mr. Andersen may be said to have begun political life in January, 1903, when he was appointed clerk of the town of Hixon to fill the unexpired term. In 1904 he was elected chairman of the township, and thus became a member of the county board, serving for three years. For some years after that he took little part in public affairs, but in 1910 was census enumerator for Hixon Township. He was, however, by this time well known in the county, and had gained a reputation as a man of good business ability and a thoroughly reliable citizen. It was, therefore, no surprise to his friends when, in November, 1912, he was elected on the Republican ticket to the office of treasurer of Clark County, the duties of which he assumed in January, 1913, selling his property in Withee and moving to Neillsville, where he has since resided. As county treasurer he made a good record, holding the position until January, 1917, when, having been elected county clerk in the previous November, he then assumed his new duties. On June 28, 1917, he was appointed by President Wilson as clerk of the Exemption Board of Clark County, which office, under the new rules, is now known as that of secretary, Since June, 1917, Mr. Andersen has owned his residence in Neillsville. He belongs to the local Odd Fellows Lodge, and also to the Masonic Lodge, which he joined June 28, 1905. Myr. Andersen's rise in public life has been gradual, but has been built on a sure foundation - that of character. He is known as a man who has ''made good" in every position of responsibility in which he has been placed, and his steady habits and unassuming manners have made him personally popular. On June 28, 1905, Mr. Andersen began domestic life, being united in marriage with Thyra Lorentzen, who was born in June, 1876, daughter of Rasmus C. and Hanne (Thompson) Lorentzen. Her father, who died April 1, 1917, was a farmer in Hixon Township, where the family has resided since 1902, Mrs. Andersen is a graduate nurse, having studied her profession and received her diploma at the Augustana Hospital in Chicago, She and her husband are the parents of four children - Eleanora, Agnes, Frederik and Emily.

successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years. He was born at Pensaukee, Oconto County, Wis., Sept. 3, 1867, son of John and Mary (Van Laen) Ver Kuilen, natives of Holland. The father came to America when young, with his father, and settled in Hollandtown, Brown County, Wis., where, with the exception of a short time in Pensaukee, Oconto County, he farmed until his death in 1904 at the age of 65 years. He and his good wife were the parents of John, Frank, Anna, Martin, Nettie Barbara, Albert, Mary and Francis. John Ver Kuilen, after finishing his schooling, began his career as a worker in the shipyards at Sheboygan. In 1894 he came to Clark County with his wife and child, bringing an old horse and wagon, and the success that he has here achieved has been entirely due to his hard work and native ability. His first farm, two miles west of where he now lives, he developed and highly improved. In 1901 he bought his present farm in Section 2. He here has likewise made many improvements. In 1910 he erected the sightly house. In 1912 he built the barn which measures 38 by 72 feet in size and has stone basement with concrete floor, with room for thirty head of cattle and six horses. In 1916 he built a silo of 100 tons capacity, constructed of glazed hollow tile and cement. For anumber of years Mr. Ver Kuilen has taken a more or less prominent part in public affairs. In 1896 he was elected as a member of the township board and served three years; in 1900 he was elected assessor of the township, in which office he served six years; in 1909 he was elected clerk of the school board, and is now serving as its treasurer, and in 1909 he was elected chairman of the township board, and is still serving. In 1911 he became chairman of the county board. In these various offices he has shown good business ability and a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the community at large, his county chairmanship being marked with sound business judgment, and a belief in progress and development. He is a member of the Catholic Church and of the Catholic Order of Foresters at Thorp. Mr. Ver Kuilen was married June 12, 1893, to Hattie Driessen, who was born in Outagamie County, Wis., June 12, 1867, daughter of John and Mary (Tilliman) Driessen, a prosperous farmer in Outagamie County. Their family consisted of eleven children, of whom the following is a brief record: Minnie, who married William Gruhl, resides in Milwaukee; Annie, who resides at home; Mary, now deceased; Hattie, wife of Mr. Ver Kuilen; Bardeen, now Mrs. Andrew Van Ells, of Port Washington; Helen, now deceased; Fred, of Thorp, Wis.; Edward and Henry, of Worden Township; Michael, living on the home farm, and Tressia, wife of John Becker, of Appleton, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Ver Kuilen have eight children, whose names, with dates of birth, respectively, are as follows: Mamie, April 5, 1894; Josephine, Feb. 25, 1897; Florence, Aug. 7, 1898; John, Nov. 8, 1900; Walter, Nov. 18, 1902; Susan, Sept. 30, 1904; Elsie, Oct. 4, 1905; Michael, Dec. 2, 1906, and Leona, Oct. 22, 1909. Mamie and Florence are teachers, and all the others reside at home with their parents.

William L. Smith, state assemblyman and general manager of the Badger Sug stepione & Telegraph Co., with headquarters at Neillsville, was born if Sunbury County, N. B., Feb. 12, 1878. He is the son of Eben D, and Charlotte R. (Smith) Smith, the former of whom, a lumberman, came to Eau Claire, this state, in 1878, and there spent the remainder of his life, having at different times charge of a number of lumber camps on various Wisconsin rivers. Of the eight children four are living - Otis, Tyler, William L. and Katherine. William L. Smith was edueated in the graded and high schools of Eau Claire, and at the Steven's Point Normal School, after which he became an educator. In 1899 he came to Neilisville, and for four years was a prominent instructor here, teaching first in the North Side School and then in the high school. At the close of this period he assumed his present duties as manager, secretary and treasurer of the Badger State Telephone & Telegraph Co. In this capacity he has had his share in the general development of the county, and has brought the telephone service in this region to a high degree of good service and efficiency. From the first, he has been actively identified with the business and social life of Neillsville, and has been untiring in his efforts to build up the city. The Citizens Club, of which he is the president, has accomplished much along these lines, and is planning much for the future. In connection with taking his part in the commercial and industrial progress of the city he has become a stockholder in the Commercial State Bank at Neillsville, in which he is a director, and in the Neillsville Canning Co. As alderman of Neillsville, he served his constituents faithfully and well, and as a member of the legislature, his work has been characterized by unswerving loyalty, devotion to principle and keen business insight into the needs of the whole state, both at present and in the future, his influence having been a most valuable factor in passing several highly beneficial measures. Being a man of social nature, Mr. Smith has allied himself with several fraternal orders, belonging to the Blue Lodge and Chapter of the Masons, to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and to the Loyal Order of Moose. Mr. Smith was married June 26, 1901, to Olive T. Huntzicker, born in Eaton Township, this county, daughter of Jacob and Mary (McMahon) Huntzicker, and they have two children - Herbert M. and William Lyman, Jr.

John P. Kintzele, register of deeds, is one of the best known men in Clark County. Coming here over thirty-five years ago, he identified himself with the development of the southeastern part of the county from the very first, and his election to his present office came as the natural result of a long career of usefulness to his fellow men. He was born in Milwaukee, Wis., Jan. 21, 1860, and there attended the parochial schools, graduating from Mayers' Commercial Business College, in his native city, in 1880. For a time he was stenographer for Ludwig & Somers, prominent Milwaukee attorneys, with whom he received considerable legal training. Subsequently, he became accountant for the Northern Manufacturing Co., at Seymour, Wis., and under the reorganization of that concern as the Romadka Manufacturing Co,, came to York Township in 1883, as accountant and manager. In Section 24, York Township, a large sawmill and factory was established, one of the largest in the county at that time. With the hamlet of Romadka, Mr. Kintzele's name has since been connected. After _ leaving the employ of this compauy, Mr. Kintzele established relations with various concerns as manager of large logging industries and in the sale of large quantities of wild land. Gradually, he went into business for himself, and became widely known as a real estate agent, timber and fuel dealer, and business man of more than usual ability. For the past few years he has been extensively engaged in shipping fuel from various sidings along the Lynn Branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, handling sometimes as high as 6,000 or 7,000 cords annually. For many years Mr, Kintzele has taken an especial pride in his farm at Romadka. Having previously purchased the place, he moved on to it after his marriage in 1887, and started its development. At that time it was a tract of forty acres, with a cleared acre and a small house as its only improvements. It is now a splendid place of 160 well cultivated acres, excellently equipped with implements, tools and machinery. The various farm buildings are of the best, and the commodious residence, surrounded by a well-kept lawn, and ornamented with flowers and shrubbery, is a credit to the township. It is equipped with modern conveniences, including acetylene plant, heating plant, air pressure water works, telephone and other comforts. Throughout the county Mr. Kintzele's activities have been many. As a leader in agriculture he is treasurer of the Clark County Agricultural Association. Thoroughly interested in the development of his neighborhood, he has been treasurer of the Lynn Mutual Fire Insurance Co. for the past ten years, and a stockholder in the Lynn Telephone Co., as well as a stockholder in the Neillsville Canning Co. In the financial world he has been yice president of the State Bank of Granton since its organization in 1903, a director in the First National Bank of Neillsville, and a stockholder in five other county banks. With these many interests, Mr. Kintzele has nevertheless found time to serve in many public offices. For many years he was town clerk of the town of York, and clerk of his school district. For eight years preceding his election as register of deeds, he was chairman of the town of York, and as such was a member of the county board, serving that body as chairman of the county auditing committee. As a natural result of this distinguished service he was persuaded to run for register of deeds in the fall of 1916, and being elected took office Jan. 1, 1917, now serving with efficiency and popularity. Mr. Kintzele was married July 27, 1887, in York Township, to Effie E. Allen, born in Dodge County, Wis., Dec. 19, 1863, daughter of Harmon and Harriett Ann (Hallock) Allen. She died Sept. 24, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Kintzele were blessed with four children - Frances Magdalene, deceased; John Vernon, Mildred Eunice and Harland Allen.

Matthew Kintzele was born in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, May 17, 1829, son of Bernhard Kintzele, and descended from a long line of substantial people. He was reared in his native land, and in 1849 came to the United States with the intention of settling in Wisconsin. After arriving in this country he went from Detroit to St. Paul, and then to Milwaukee, where he made his permanent home. A carpenter by trade, he was employed in that capacity in the passenger department of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad for forty-five years and a half, first as a workman and later as a foreman. After a long and useful life, he died Nov. 21, 1916. He was married Jan. 21, 1860, to Madgalen Gredler, who was born in Bavaria, April 11, 1840, was brought to Milwaukee by her parents, John G. and Birner Gredler, and died Aug. 6, 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Kintzele were the parents of thirteen children - John Peter, Barbara, Lizzie, Johanna and Catherine (twins), Lorenzo, Margerth, Anne, Joseph, Bernard, George, Marie (first), Marie (second), and Lillie. The family faith was that of the Catholic Church.

John G. Gredler was born in Bavaria, May 17, 1812, and died Feb. 27, 1898; his wife, Birner, was born April 15, 1815, and died Dec. 14, 1886, They came to America with their family in 1842, and coming overland, reached a place in Brookfield Township, Waukesha County, some fifteen miles west of Milwaukee, then a small hamlet. They started as true pioneers, clearing their land, developing their farm, and often walking to Milwaukee with butter and eggs from their home, and returning with necessary supplies. They, in time, became substantial and representative citizens, and lived their long life secure in the respect and esteem of their fellow men. The family faith was that of the German Lutheran Church.

Harmon Allen, a pioneer, was born in Ohio, Oct. 22, 1825, and as a young man came to Wisconsin, settling in Dodge County. In 1865 he came to this county and secured the northeast quarter of Section .35, York Township, near Windfall Corners. This land he cleared, developed and improved. After a successful career here, during which he became a substantial citizen and public officeholder, he moved to North Dakota, dying in Dickinson, that state, Nov. 5, 1896. His wife, Harriett Ann Hallock, daughter of William and Anna (Stevenson) Hallock, died Jan. 10, 1886. Their children were: Louisa, Ida Ann, Martha Jane, Effie Eunice, Rebecca Maric, Almeda, Elmira, William and Watson.

William Stephens Irvine, an early settler in Clark County, and in former years one of its leading public men, holding various offices, and representing his district in the State Assembly, who is now living retired in the village of Loyal, was born in Lona Cona, Md., March 18, 1851, youngest son of John and Katherine (Johnson) Irvine, natives of Scotland, who were there married, and upon coming to America, located first in Nova Scotia, and then in Lona Cona, Md., coming to Trempealeau County in 1852. There were twelve children in the family - Isabella, John, Walter, Margaret, Ellen, Anna, Francis, William 8S. and four who died in infancy. At the age of 14 William 8. started work on the Mississippi River, running rafts down to Muscatine, Iowa. In the winters he continued to go to school. When 16 he crossed the plains and went through the Rocky Mountains to Salt Lake City looking for gold. The Indians were so bad that the party turned back, and returned home. Then, after a year in Iowa, and a short time in school, he again resumed his river rafting. In 1870, being then a strong, healthy young man of 19, he came to Clark County when the lumber industry was in full swing, in the employ of W. W. Crosby & Co., as logger and lumberman. After his marriage, in 1873, he settled on his wife's homestead in Beaver Township, their first dwelling on the place being a log cabin. From that time on Mr. Irvine worked on the farm in summer and in the woods during the winter, following the latter occupation as long as the lumber industry was flourishing, and afterwards giving his whole attention to the farm, which he cleared, erecting on it good, substantial buildings. His career as a farmer was successful and lasted until 1914, in which year he retired, taking up his residence in Loyal, where he and his wife are now living in the enjoyment of an ample competency. Mr. Irvine's force of character and reliable qualities as a man and citizen brought him into public notice at an early date, and he naturally became identified with the affairs of local government. He was a member of the school board of his district for twenty years, and chairman of the town board for sixteen or eighteen years. In 1901 he was appointed by Judge James O'Neill to a position on the board of reassessment of taxes of Eau Claire County. In these various offices he made an excellent record. In 1902, being known and respected all over the county, he was elected on the Republican ticket to the State Assembly, and was re-elected in 1904. In 1907, 1909 and 1911, 1913 and 1915, he was sergeant-at-arms in the same body. Mr. Irvine was married Aug. 17, 1873, to Eliza Roscoe, widow of Morris Loomis. Mr. and Mrs. Irvine have had four children - Bertram, David, John J. and Caspar. Bertram and Caspar'are dead. David lives in Milwaukee and John J. is county treasurer of Clark County. Eliza Roscoe, later Mrs. William S. Irvine, was born in West Bend Township, Washington County, this state, Dec. 4, 1848, daughter of James and Eliza (Finch) Roscoe. James Roscoe was born in Oswego County, N. Y., of Mohawk Valley-Holland ancestry, and was married in Ohio to Eliza Finch, of Irish descent. In 1848 they came to this state and located on a piece of wild land in West Bend Township, Washington County, moving from there to Farmington, Fond du Lae County, where they died. Their children were James, Celia, Johanna, Fletcher, Martha, Rhoda, Eliza and Rosa.

Of his experience as a youthful Wisconsin pioneer, Mr. Irvine has said: "We traveled by rail to Chicago, and from there by team to Galena, Ill., where we took a boat down Fever River and up the Mississippi River to La Crosse, and from there by fast freight overland to Trempealeau County, locating on Decorah Prairie. Father bought a farm and ox team and started breaking. In the fall of 1870 I went into the woods for W. W. Crosby & Co., on the East Fork of the Black River. In 1871 I came to Unity to clear land for the same company. I started from La Crosse April, 1871, with a team and gang of men. We got stuck in the swamp in the town of Loyal, but with ropes the men pulled the team out, and we came through the woods and stayed all night with John Graves, who had a small sawmill, Next morning we shouldered our tent and tools, traveled all day and at night reached a point six miles northeast of Loyal and stayed all nignt with Ed. Romaine. We had to ford Rock Creek, which was over its banks. Next morning, Romaine, with a four-ox team, started with us for camp. At noon we had traveled just two miles and took dinner at Mr, Loomis. After dinner we went one mile into the town of Unity, pitched our tent and commenced clearing. We cleared sixty acres that summer. In the fall we built a log house and during the winter followed logging. In the spring of 1873 I left the Crosby company and started clearing a farm for myself in Beaver Township. I followed logging till 1890, farming in the summer, I used to walk seventeen miles from camp after supper, Saturday night, to get home, All supplies were freighted in by wagon from Black River Falls, until the railroad reached Unity in 1873." Mrs. Irvine was the first white woman to arrive at Unity by railroad. She says: "In 1870 George Barker lived six miles northeast of Loyal in the town of Beaver. He had a log house with a lean-to, where we used to gather by the fifties and dance to music furnished by Frank Cummins and Frank Romaine; and in those days, while there were many hardships, we had good times. On July 4, 1870, we went to George Peterson's homestead in the town of Colby to celebrate the Fourth. We danced at night, and our fiddler walked all the way from Neillsville. Ed. Romaine took us up with his ox team, and his, as well as Frank Romaine's cow, followed the oxen to the picnic. We milked the cows in the morning, had breakfast and started back home." Mrs. Irvine adds that although in those early days she had to endure many hardships, she never suffered from lack of food.

John James Irvine, county treasurer of Clark County, and one of the leading citizens of Neillsville, who has made a good record as farmer, business man and public official, was born on a farm in Beaver Township, Clark County, Aug. 9, 1879, son of William S. and Eliza (Roscoe) Irvine. His elementary education was obtained in the common schools, and he afterwards graduated from the high school at Loyal. He then became a teacher, following that vocation for four years at Curtiss, this county. He then took up farming on his father's place in Beaver Township, and was thus occupied at that location until 1914, when his father sold the farm and retired. After that he carried on agricultural operations on a farm of his own, containing eighty acres, in Beaver Township. He continued to improve this place, and by practical knowledge and enterprise, not only became a prosperous farmer, but also won the esteem and confidence of his fellow men. For four years he was town treasurer, and for nine years treasurer of his school district. He helped to organize the Woodside Cheese Factory, of which he served as treasurer, and was active in the Beaver Telephone Co., which he served as treasurer for four years. In the fall of 1916, his efficiency and popularity won for him the election as county treasurer, in which position he has done most excellent work. Immediately upon coming to Neillsville, he identified himself with the life of the city. With the outbreak of the war there came additional opportunity for service, As treasurer of the Council of Defense his patriotism has found notable expression, and his interest in everything that stands for the best in the county is shown by his position as treasurer of the County Y. M. C, A. In the position of First Lieutenant of Co. I, 10th Wisconsin Infantry, the Neillsville Home Guard, he has won the affection of his men and the esteem of his higher officers. Mr. Irvine is a man of genial temperament, a good citizen and a good officer, and his conduct of the treasurer's office has won wide approval and approbation. His selection as treasurer was a wise one, and as he is yet a young man, his friends predict for him a still more brilliant future in Clark County public life. Fraternally, Mr. Irvine is a Mason and an Odd Fellow. He was married Noy. 24, 1898, to Olive E. Brasier, of Loyal, daughter of John F. and Mary A. (Shaver) Brasier, early settlers of Loyal Township, just outside the village limits. He and his wife have three children - Eula, born Feb. 4, 1900; W. Donald, born March 23, 1902, and Evelyn, born Feb. 14, 1904. Mrs. Irvine is a member of the Order of Royal Neighbors and of the Eastern Star. Both she and her husband occupy a high social standing in the community, throughout which they have many warm friends, besides a large number of agreeable acquaintances.

George Wilding, an early settler, was born in England, the son of George Wilding, Sr. In 1844 the family, then consisting of the father and mother, and William, Martha and George, set out for the United States, and after a long and tedious voyage aboard a sailing vessel, landed and found their way to this state, where they purchased a partially improved piece of land near Waukesha. About 1867, or 1868, they moved to Clark County, and located in Section 17, Grant Township, where the father and mother spent the remainder of their days. George Wilding, Sr., became a prominent citizen, and served for some years as a justice of the peace. He helped to start the school in his district, and aided in the development of the community in various other ways. He and his good wife helped to organize the Methodist Episcopal Church, located in the same section as their farm, though in England, the family had for generations been connected with the Episcopal Church. Upon arriving in this country George Wilding took up farming with the other members of the family. In 1861 he enlisted in the First Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, and served in the Civil War three years and six months. Wounded and captured at the Battle of Chickamaugua, he lay in a Confederate prison for six weeks before being exchanged. At the close of the conflict he returned to the home farm. He came to Clark County with the rest of the family, and secured a farm adjoining his parents' place. He and his father each put up a log cabin, and started working their farms with the assistance of oxen, earning money in the interim by working in the woods. The nearest market was at Neillsville, and sometimes provisions had to be brought from an even greater distance. George Wilding devoted the remainder of his life to agriculture and died at the age of 48. He was a man highly respected in the community, and was especially popular in G. A. R. affairs. By his marriage to Mary Rehorst, George Wilding had three children - William, deceased; Myron E. and George, Jr. By his marriage to Mariah Hitchcock he had two children - Jesse and Arthur. By his marriage to Minnie West, who still lives in Grant Township, he has one child - Martha.

Myron E. Wilding, prominent citizen and former county official, was born in a log cabin in Section 17, Grant Township, this county, April 17, 1870, son of George and Mary Rehorst. At the age of 11 years he was bound out to Thomas Reed, of Grant Township, and he was later employed on the A. A. Graves farm, near Loyal. Asa young man he purchased a farm of forty acres in Section 12, Loyal Township, and after his marriage, lived thereon for a while. Later, he moved to the village of Loyal, and secured employment in the Graves sawmill, subsequently becoming a stock buyer and shipper there. His ability and genial nature won him many friends, and he was soon picked for many public honors, For three years he was treasurer of Loyal Village, and for two years a trustee. In 1908 he was elected county treasurer, and on the strength of the splendid record he made in that office for two terms, he was elected county clerk, in which position he likewise served for two terms. At the expiration of his service he was presented with a token of esteem by the county board, and characterized in a speech before that body as one of the county's most efficient clerks, and the most economical purchasing agent that the county had had. Since retiring from office he has devoted his attention to the fire insurance business. His work as secretary of the Clark County Agricultural Society also takes a part of his time. He is financially interested in the First National Bank of Neillsville, and in the Citizens State Bank of Loyal. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic Order, the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen, in the former of which he belongs both to the Canton and the Encampment, his wife being a member of the Rebeckahs. Mr. Wilding married Elizabeth Randall, a native of Fond du Lae County, this state, and they have one child, Florence M., now the wife of Herbert L. Brown, of Neillsville. As a loyal citizen, Mr. Wilding is interested in everything calculated to promote moral or material benefit of the community in which he resides, as well as the county at large, and is always ready to lend a helping hand to a worthy cause.

Conrad Cornelius, an early settler, was born in Germany, the son of Isaac and Appolonia Cornelius, who brought him to this country with their two other children when he was seventeen, taking up their home at Grandville, Ozaukee County, Wis. Milwaukee, eleven miles distant, was still a small village, and the family experienced all the privations and crudeness of pioneer life, living in a log cabin in the woods, clearing the land gradually, and in time building up a good farm. Conrad Cornelius spent a number of years with his parents and as a young man married Amelia Hentschel. In 1860 he moved the family to Sheboygan County, where they lived the balance of their days. Four children, two sons and two daughters, survived them. L. G. Cornelius, the younger son, still lives in Sheboygan County, which he has served six years as registrar of deeds.

Charles Cornelius, president of the First National Bank of Neillsville, and interested in several of the leading financial institutions in St. Paul and Minneapolis, has been an influential figure in Clark County life for over four decades, and has won a commanding position of respect and importance. His efforts at beautifying Neillsville will be held in grateful remembrance for generations to come. Born on an isolated farm among the woods of Grandville Township, Ozaukee County, this state, Jan. 4, 1854, son of Conrad and Amelia (Hentschel) Cornelius, he was taken to Sheboygan County as a young boy, and was reared to manhood in a picturesque home on the banks of the Sheboygan River. There, attending school and working on a farm, he received much of that love of beauty which was to characterize his later life. As a youth he received the groundwork of his mereantile and salesmanship experience as clerk in a store at Glenbeulah, and as a sewing machine, piano and organ agent. It was in 1876 that he came to Clark County, making his way on foot from Marshfield to Mapleworks, near the present site of Granton. With keen business acumen he foresaw the future possibilities of the county, and accordingly purchased the little Grange store there and started to build up the hamlet by bringing in several skilled artisans. In time he added to his growing business the sale of agricultural machinery and implements, and established a branch of this department at Neillsville, renting a barn on the site of his present bank. This branch became of such importance, that in 1887 he decided to devote his entire attention to it, and accordingly sold out his Mapleworks business and moved to Neillsville. His acquaintance throughout the county rapidly increased, his fair dealing and companionable disposition won him many friends, and in the fall of 1896 he was elected by a good majority to the office of county registrar of deeds, a position he filled so acceptably that he was three times re-elected. In the meantime he acquired extensive timberland interests in Oregon, and in 1904 he resigned his office to give these holdings more of his attention. In 1907 he removed to Boston, Mass., with his family in order that his daughter might have the advantage of the excellent educational opportunities in music of that city. While there, he himself took advanced courses in commerce and finance at the Boston Commercial Business College, in order to thoroughly perfect himself in the banking business, in which he had determined to embark. With this preparation he returned to Neillsville and laid his plans. Purchasing the site of his former place of business from P. J. Walk, he started the erection of his present sightly bank building in 1909, and two years later added a duplicate building at the south, so that it is now a commodious structure, housing the bank and a store on its first floor, and a series of modern offices on the second floor. In front of this building he placed an ornamental clock, which furnishes the municipal time of the city, and chimes every quarter hour. At the same time that he started his bank building he purchased a commanding site on a rise of land in the southern limits of the city, and started the erection of his beautiful home. The First National Bank, the first and only national bank in the county, opened its doors Jan. 17, 1910, with Mr. Cornelius as its president, founder and active manager. For four years previous to this, he had been vice president of the Commercial State Bank of Neillsville. He helped to organize, and was president of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Greenwood, and aided in the organization of the Farmers Exchange Bank of Thorp. He is now vice president of the Continental State Bank of Minneapolis, on the board of directors of the Exchange State Bank of South St. Paul, and a stockholder in the Mercantile State Bank of Minneapolis and in the Peoples Bank of St. Paul, all in Minnesota. He is president of the Wisconsin-Louisiana Land Company, which has extensive holdings in timber lands in Richland Parish, Louisiana. In Neillsville he helped to organize the Farmers Co-operative Elevator & Lumber Co. and the Neillsville Canning Factory, and was influential in advancing the local interests of the Oatman Condensery which was established in Neillsville in 1916. For several years, Mr. Cornelius served on the city council. Fraternally he is a member of the Neillsville Lodge, No. 163, A. F. & A. M., Neillsville Chapter, No. 66, R. A. M., Neillsville Commandery No. 36, K. T., and Marshfield Lodge, No. 665, B. P. O. E., as well as an honorary member of the Beavers at Neillsville His activities in these various directions have made him a strong factor in the commercial, business and social development of the community and his reputation stands high as a capable man of affairs. Mr. Cornelius was married at Mapleworks, this county, Sept. 9, 1886, to Theresa A. Nitzche, born in Fillmore Township, Washington County, this state, daughter of Carl and Amalia Nitzche. Carl Nitzche was successfully engaged in the milling and bakery business in Germany before bringing his family to this eountry, and consequently had a good start here. Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius have one daughter, Lydia, now the wife of Raymond A. Clements. Mrs. Cornelius has been an able and sympathetic helpmate in all of Mr. Cornelius' various undertakings. Both are members of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, and are active in Christian Science Circles in Neillsville. Both are also active in the affairs of the Eastern Star at Neillsville. Their greatest delight is in their home. This beautiful structure is the handsomest residence in Clark County. It is finished in Colonial style, and furnished with every comfort and convenience that good taste can devise. From its windows, a beautiful view of the surrounding country may be seen, while its spreading lawns, with shrubbery, flowers and hedges make one of the beauty spots of the city. In connection with the home, Mr. Cornelius has established a park, with an artistic fountain, pretty walks, and growing trees, a tribute to his public spirit and love of nature. He has also planted an orchard, and in other ways beautified the entire section in which his home is located.

Anton C. Martin, veteran of the Spanish-American war, and of the Mexican border mobilization, now major, Headquarters 107th Ammunition Train, with the American Expeditionary Force in France, was born in Norway, March 17, 1867, only child of Christopher and Dorethea Martin. The father, a miner, died in 1868, and in 1873, the mother brought Anton C. to the United States, settling first at La Crosse, this state, and moving shortly afterward to Stevens Point, where two years later the mother married J. E. Vaughn, a railroad contractor. With her husband and son she moved to Auburndale, Wood County, where the latter passed some years of his boyhood, and attended school. At the age of 16 he left home and returned to Stevens Point, where he found work in the mills, thus beginning his long connection with the lumber business. In 1904 he became manager of the retail lumber yard of the R. Connor Company, at Granton, and was thus engaged for nine months, He then moved to Neillsville to take over the management of the R. Connor lumber yard in this city, which was sold to the Farmers Co-operative Elevator Company in June, 1915, Mr. Martin continuing as manager. Major Martin first became interested in military matters Sept. 25, 1889, when he joined the National Guard, located at Marshfield. He was soon promoted to the rank of sergeant, then to second lieutenant and later to captain. In 1897 he left the service, but re-enlisted in April, 1898, on the breaking out of the Spanish-American war and went out as first sergeant of Company A, Second Wisconsin Volunteers, serving through the campaign in Porto Rico. On the subsequent reorganization of the regiment in the National Guard, he took command at Marshfield as captain of the company, but resigned that position on moving to Neillsville.

Mr. And Mrs. Samuel H. Pickett Franc Pickett And Family

In 1905 he became second lieutenant of Company A, Third Infantry, W. N. G,, and in February, 1907, was promoted to the rank of captain, which he held until promoted to his present position. He served with his regiment during the Mexican mobilization, and went into service with the entrance of the United States into the World War in the summer of 1917. Major Martin is affiliated fraternally with the Canton and Encampment of the Odd Fellows, as well as with the Beavers. He was married May 25, 1891, to Kate O'Hare, who was born in Kilbourn City, Wis., daughter of Patrick and Mary (Sanderson) O'Hare. Major and Mrs. Martin have one daughter, Dorethea, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin with the class of 1917, and is now a teacher. Mrs. Martin is a member of the Royal Neighbors and Lady Maccabees. The family faith is that of the Presbyterian Church.

Thomas Shanks, early settler of Unity Township, and for many years one of its leading men, came to Wisconsin from Ohio, with his wife, Louisa Larabee, and settled in Fond du Lac County, where she died in 1864, and where, in 1866, he married Elizabeth Thompson. In 1871 he brought his wife and children - Henry, Thomas, Nelson, Jane and Sarah H. - to Clark County, arriving after a journey of seventeen days with an ox team and wagon. At first, Mr. Shanks took a pre-emption claim in Beaver Township, which then included more territory than the present township of that name, but after a short time they left that place and located on a homestead in Section 9, in what is now Unity Township. Besides the children named, who came with them, they had left three others in Fond du Lac County - Celia, Amelia and Barbara, but late in the year Barbara came to Clark County. The family resided in Unity Township until 1882, when Mr. Shanks retired and, with his wife, took up his residence in Fairchild. He had been chairman of the township one term and was elected for a second term, but was forced to resign on account of failing sight. For a number of years, however, he had served as assessor. In the Civil War he had seen service in Texas as a member of the 35th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in which he enlisted in 1864, his service lasting two years. In his later years he was a member of the G. A. R. Post at Fairchild.

Frank Pickett, one of the leading citizens of Unity Township, now serving as chairman of the township board, and having a fine farm in Section 25, containing 360 acres of land, besides being part owner of other real estate, was born in Hartford, Washington County, June 25, 1857, son of Samuel H. and Eliza (Multer) Pickett, pioneers of Unity Township. Frank Pickett was 14 years old when the family came to Clark County. He had already obtained his schooling in Washington County, which was fortunate, as there were no schools here at that time. He naturally took up farming as his life occupation, and in early youth and manhood helped to clear his father's farm, and also worked at logging in the woods. In 1877 he was united in marriage with Sarah M. Shanks, a native of Fond du Lac County, Wis., and daughter of Thomas and Louisa (Larabee) Shanks. A year after their marriage Mr. Pickett and wife settled on their present farm in Section 85, Unity Township. It was then a tract of 120 acres, covered with timber and without buildings, and there was no road in the immediate vicinity. The land, moreover, was marshy. Here he started with an ox team and one cow, building a log house, 18 by 28 feet and a log stable. For a number of years he continued to work in the woods, improving his farm during the summers, He now owns 360 acres in this tract and is also part owner with his sons in a half section of Section 21. He has a magnificent brick residence, and two barns, one 42 by 60 feet in size, the other 41 by 87, and a silo 16 by 36 feet. He has also a fine herd of Holstein cattle, which he started breeding ten years ago, and is carrying on dairying with profitable results, being also a stockholder in the Farmers Cheese Factory, and having served on its official board. His horses are of good grade, and he raises Poland-China hogs. For the past nine years Mr. Pickett has served as chairman of the Unity Township board; he was also township clerk for seven years, and assessor one year, and has often held office on the school board of his district. His fraternal society affiliations are with the Odd Fellows Lodge at Unity. He and his wife have had six children - Arthur, Jesse, Earl, Frank, Winnefred and Blanche. Arthur died at the age of 2 years. Jesse is in the United States service with the Sixth Cavalry. Earl married Theresa Beeckler, and they have one daughter, Ruth Ione, Frank married Jennie Mulvaney and they have two children, James F. and Isabelle E. Blanche married Louis Seefeld and they have one child, Donna I. Blanche is a student at the Warsaw Business College.

Samuel H. Pickett, veteran of the Civil War, and pioneer of Unity Township, is one of the most highly estimable citizens in the county, and is setting a splendid example of loyalty and patriotism to the younger generation. He was born in the parental log cabin on a farm in Catteraugus County, N. Y., son of Eli K. and Elinda (Griswold) Pickett, grandson of Ansel Pickett, and descended from Revolutionary and 1812 ancestry. Ansel Picket was of Irish descent, and his wife of Holland Dutch blood. Eli K. Pickett fought in the War of 1812, he and his wife both being natives of Connecticut. Samuel H. Pickett grew to manhood in his native state, and was married in 1854, coming a year later to Wisconsin, living the first summer in Waukesha County, and in the fall renting a farm in Washington County. In September, 1861, he enlisted in the Seventh Battery, Wisconsin Light Artillery, was mustered in at Milwaukee, and served in the South, being taken prisoner on Dec. 20, 1862, during Forrest's raid, at Humboldt, Tenn., paroled at Columbus, sent to St. Louis, and discharged from service March 3, 1863. In January, 1864, he enlisted in Co. M., First Wisconsin Cavalry, and later became the regimental horseshoer, serving in the Army of the Cumberland, and under General William T. Sherman took part in the battles of Wauseca, Kenesaw Mountain and Atlanta. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged at Edgeville, Tenn., and returned home to his farm in Washington County. In 1871, he set out with an ox team for Clark County, first reaching Neillsville, and then cutting his way through the roadless forests to Section 26, in what is now Unity Township, where he secured a tract of 120 acres of wild land. In the spring he located his family on this tract. For his first dwelling Mr. Pickett built a log house, 18 by 26 feet in size, His flour and other necessaries were obtained at Black River Falls, and for several years, before a road was constructed, had to be carried through the woods. Mr. Pickett, like most of the other pioneers, worked at logging in the winters. In time he cleared his homestead and built a brick veneer house and a frame barn. He was one of the men who organized Unity Township out of a part of Beaver, and was chairman of the township board for a number of years. He also helped to organize nearly all the school districts in his township, and held office as assessor and treasurer. For the last forty years he has served as justice of the peace. He is a member of the Grand Army Post at Spencer, and in politics has always been a Democrat. He and his wife are still enjoying good health in spite of the hardships of their early years in the county, and are now comfortably situated, having a large circle of friends and acquaintances, including all of the early settlers in this part of the county who still survive. Mr. Pickett was married Aug. 13, 1854, to Eliza Multer, who was born in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., Sept. 24, 1834, and this union was blessed with seven children - Helen, Frank, Eli, Kate, Samuel H., Mabel and Howard L.

William Huntley, a well known citizen of Neillsville, who has been active in the development of Clark County along various lines of endeavor, was born in Washington County, Wis., March 25, 1849. His parents were William and Mary (Burk) Huntley, the father being a native of Scotland, and the mother of England, Sheffield, England, being the place where they were married. Emigrating to the United States about 1845, they first spent a year in Buffalo, N. Y., and then removed to Milwaukee, Wis., where the father followed his trade of shoemaker in the employ of Bradley & Metcalf, and where he subsequently died about 1854. The mother died in Neillsville, Jan. 15, 1897. They had five children - Anna, now Mrs. John Sufficoll, residing in California; Richard, now deceased; William, of Neillsville; John, deceased, and Thomas, a railroad man, living in La Crosse, Richard served three years in the Civil War as a member of the First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, enlisting as a private at West Bend, Wis.