Green County, Wisconsin - Biographical sketches (1 of 6 so headed), 1884 (part 1 of 2)

Biographical sketches

James R. Vineyard was born in Kentucky in 1804, from whence lie moved at an early date to the Lead Region of Wisconsin, and adopted the occupation of a miner. Plis after public career was in many respects unhappy, even if brilliant and useful. In 1833 he was elected a member of the Territorial council, in which he served until 1842. Most unfortunately, on the 11th of February of that year, in an altercation with Charles C. P. Arndt, of Brown county, which occurred in the hall of the House, he shot and killed his opponent. The melancholy event created wide-spread sensation and horror in most portions of the west, but on trial he was acquitted by a jury. In 1846 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention from Platteville, Grant county. Not reaching the capital until some days after the session had commenced, he was not appointed upon any of the standing committees, and took no important part in any of the proceedings. In 1849 he was elected a member of the assembly, but the event that clouded his life was a bar to special prominence. In 1850 he moved to California, and was elected to its State Senate for several terms, and also acted as Indian agent for several years. He died about 1872.

Mr. Vineyard possessed great energy and force of character, was distinguished for his abilities, and ever enjoyed great personal popularity at his home. An act done in a moment of passion not only horrified the people of the Territory, but was ever after a source of keenest remorse to himself. Under different and more favorable circumstances, he might have become one of the most prominent men in Wisconsin. His good qualities as a friend and citizen were generally and widely appreciated; but nothing could efface the memory of his gi-eat offense. It still lingers in the minds of all pioneer settlers,

Ebenezer JBrigham. Ebenezer Brigham was born at Shrewsbury, Worcester Co,, Mass., April 28, 1789. In 1818 he came to Olean Point, in the State of New York. The Allegheny river was then the only channel known through western New Y'ork, and that was only navigated by canoes, rafts, or skiffs. He came through in a canoe, and at Pittsburg took a flat boat down the Ohio river. The villages on the river were all small. During the journey down he saw but one steamboat. On arriving at Shawneetown he landed and walked through to St. Louis. There was nothing at that place but a small French settlement, not more than three or four brick houses in the town. In 1822 he followed up the Mississippi, on horseback, to Galena, where he found James Johnson, a brother of Richard M. Johnson, who was just opening the mines. Galena then consisted of one log cabin completed, and another under way, which he assisted in finishing. He subsequently returned to Springfield, 111. In

1827 he started for Wisconsin with an ox team, seeking the Lead Region again. At that time there was a large emigration to the southwestern part of the Territory, as lead ore was abundant and the price remunerative. He remained awhile with a small party on what is now the Block House branch of the Platte river, about four miles south of the present village oF Platteville, in Grant county, for the purpose of prospecting for mineral. From this point the party retreated in haste to Galena, owing to the commencement of hostilities by the Winnebago Indians. In the spring of

1828 he removed to Blue Mounds, Dane county, where, at some abandoned diggings on section 7, he soon discovered a valuable body of mineral, as lead ore was then and still is called by the minei's in the Lead Regions. The lode discovered by him had previously been worked by the Indians and white men. The only source of food supply was from Galena. On his arrival he erected a cabin, the first house in M'hat is now Dane county, built by a permanent American settler. Its location was on the south- westquarter of the southwest quarter of section 5, as afterward (in 1833) surveyed by the United States surveyors. It was east of south of the East Blue Mound, and distant from it nearly half a mile. Soon after he had raised his cabin, he took a trip, with two companions, to Fort Winnebago, to ascertain whether food could not be more easily obtained at that point. The route taken was north of Lake Mendota, on the line of the military road afterward laid out. He obtained a supply of salt pork, hard bread, powder and some other things of a settler, not loading heavily, and on the return struck south, striking the old trail that formerly ran between Lake Monona and Lake Mendota, following it up the hill where the State House in Madison now stands, where he encamped over night. Intercourse with the Indians had made known to him the distance of the lake region before he started. From the enclianting view of the spot, he predicted that a village would be built there, probably be the future capital of the Territory. The isolated condition of Mr. Brigham, where he settled, will be apparent from the statement of a few facts: The nearest settler was at what is now Dodgevilli'. Mineral point, and other mining places where villages have since grown up, had not lieen discovered. On the southeast the nearest house was on the Des Plaines river, twelve miles west of Chicago. On the east Solomon Juneau was his nearest neighbor, at the mouth of the Milwaukee river, and on the northeast Green Bay was the nearest settlement.

Shortly after locating at the Mounds, Mr. Brigham, in company with William S. Hamilton, Mr. Gratiot and some others, visited Green Bay, in order to settle on certain boundaries between the whites and the Indians. The line was fixed u])on and the Indians blazed the trees along this line, notifying the whites not to 2)ttss it - a prohibition not at all effectual, as any one would readily conclude.

large Indian village stood near the mouth of Token creek; another stood on the ridge between Lake Waubesa and Lake Monona and their wigwams were seen at different points along the streams.

Soon after his settlement he was honored with the appointment of magistrate from Lewis Cass, governor of the Territory of Michigan, of which Territory Wisconsin was then a part. He held this commission for four years, and all the duty he performed during that time was to marry one couple. He often related an anecdote of being called upon to go some thirty miles to marry a couple, but, on arriving within a short distance of the place, word had been left there that the fair lady had changed her mind, and he must not come any farther. Mr. .Brigham, however, went on and introduced another friend, who succeeded in making a contract, and the next spring he was called upon to ratify it; this was the only official act of a four year's term of justice of the peace.

The principal object of his location at the Blue Mounds, as before stated, was mining for lead. His first diggings were on the section line between sections 7 and 18, but his furnace was immediately west of his house. The location of his diggings was a mile and a quarter from his house, in a southwesterly direction. The military road ran east and west, between the house and his mine.

Brigham, however, cultivated the soil in a small way, having his fields near his house. One of the "leads" on his laiul was "proved" before his death to the depth of over seventy feet, when the workmen were prevented by water, from going deeper.

Upward of 4,000,000 pounds were taken from this mine with no other machinery than the common Avindlass, rope and tub. His lead was hauled to Green Bay, Chicago and Galena. On his first trip to Chicago, there was not a house or wagon-track between that place and Blue Mounds. He was fifteen daj^s in reaching his destination fording with his oxen and load of lead the Rock and Fox rivers, and the smaller streams on tlie route. On this expedition, he was accompanied by a favorite dog, for which he was offered in Chicago, a village lot, which was situated where now is the most valuable property in that city. In those days, the whole site of the town could have been purchased for a few hundred dollars.

Brigham,at the organization of the Territorial government, was elected a member of the council, and was re-elected, serving nine terms, from 1836 to 1841. When the State government was organized, in 1848, he was elected a member of the assenibly. He died at the residence of his niece, Mrs. H. G. Bliss, at Madison, Sept. 14, 1861, aged seventy-two years. He was never married.

It must not be supposed that Brigham was the first white man - the first American at the Mounds; but, although this was not the fact, yet he was the first permanent settler. Before him, as already explained, the diggings had been worked. William Deveise went there in the spring, just before Brigham's arrival, where he found two men named Moore, who were trading a little, in whisky at least, and one John Duncan, a very large and powerful man. But on the 12th day of August, Deveise moved to Sugar River Diggings, leaving James Hawthorn to continue the work there. So it seems certain that Brigham, upon his arrival, found miners at work at the Mounds, but none of them made a permanent stay.

John B. Skinner had had at one time a furnace there. However, it is certainly known that, at the date of the survey of the lands at the Mounds, which was in 1833, there was left but one resident in the vicinity, and that one was Ebenezer Brigham.

It may be mentioned in this connection, that Brigham, at an early day, kept many articles for sale to the miners and pioneer farmers. The prices current in those times were different from now. An examination of an old daybook shows that," on the 28th day of June, 1828,

On the ]7th day of July, of the same year, Duncan & Proctor were sold a half bushel of salt, for which they were charged 11.25. Labor was cheap in those days. Thomas Jones was credited on the 28th day of June, of the same year, with four days work at seventy-seven cents a day. On the 6th of February, 1830, Wallace Rowan is charged for one pair of moccasins, fifty cents; for one pint of whisky, twenty-five cents; for one bushel of corn, fifty cents.

Mr. Brigham, on the 23d of October, 1830, agreed with W. J. Medcalf, to winter eight head of beef cattle, from the 1st of December, until the 1st of April, 1831, for $48, and also to deliver 100 bushels of corn at the portage, (Fort Winnebago) for $70. Indeed, from the start, it is evident that "Brigham's Place" was one of business; for, during the year 1828, he had accounts with John Murphy, Thomas Jones, Downing Lot, Samuel Carman, John White, Mr. Kellogg, Kirkpatrick & Brigham, Mr. Wentworth, James Cloyd, Duncan & Proctor, Noah M.King, Mr. Dinwiddy, Terwan & Elington, Fish & Kellogg, Mr. Rader, Alexander Wilson, Soward Blackmore, Thomas H. Price, Andrew Orr, William Fulton, George Spangle, Elijah Slater, Slater & Brigham and Mr. Fish. It will be seen therefore, that, although Mr. Brigliam had located at the extreme eastern diggings of the Lead Region, he did not lack for laborers, or for customers. It was not long after his location at the East Blue Mound, before the road from Prairie du Chien to Fort Winnebago, (this fort being erected in the fall of 1828, the very year of Brigham's arrival) was laid out, and already along the old Indian trail, between these points, was considerable ti^avei. . Tiu-n followed the road from Milwaukee to the Mississippi by his place, so that by the time emigration began to set in pretty briskly in this region, the Blue Mounds presented the air of a lively place. In 1836, Mr. Brigham was appointed postmaster,

The following anecdote, related by Ebenezer Childs, illustrates the "cuteness" of Mr. Brigham. I left Carrollton, 111., about the middle of May, [1827], passed through Jacksonville, where there were a few houses; the next place was Springfield, which had a population of about 200. Thence I went to Sangamon, where I met Ebenezer Brigham, from Worcester Co., Mass. He was the first live Yankee that I had seen from my native county, since I had left there, in 1816, and I was the first he had seen from that county. I had a yoke of blind oxen, that gave my men a great deal of trouble to drive. As Brigham had a tread-mill, I thought my blind oxen would do as well for that purpose as though they could see, so I proposed to the gentleman from Worcester county to exchange my oxen for a horse. He said that, as we were both from Worcestei- county, he would try and accomodate me, I told him my oxen were a little blind, but I thought they could do him good service. After it became a little dark, I took him to see my oxen. He liked them very well. He then took me to see his horse. It was by this time quite dark. I did not examine him much, but he appeared to be a fine-looking animal. We had exchanged honorably, as we were both from the same native region; in a word, wefelt and acted like brothers. But the next morning, when I joined the drove, I found that my new horse was as blind as a bat, and I do believe he had not seen for ten years; and he appeared older than the ancient hills around us. But it was all right, as friend Brigham and I were both from Worcester county. We have many a time, since, laughed heartily over our early trade.

From "a Geneological Register of the decendants of several Ancient Puritans by the name of Grout, Goulding and Brigham," published iu Boston, in 1859, is found the following concerning the first settler of Dane county.

He [Ebenezer Brigham] is the proprietor of a large tract o!" land, rich in agricultural and mineral resources, and one of the original proprietors of the city of Madison, the capitol of Wisconsin, now hardly twenty years old, yet containing in 1859, a population of 12,000 souls. Mr. Brigham depends not on his wealth, nor on this humble record to i)reserve his history. He is extensively and advantageously known, and, when the whole of his character shall come to be written, the reader must feel that a good name is emphatically better than riches, and constitutes the value of a posthumous memory." Mr. Brigham is buried in the beautiful cemetery of Forest Hill, near the city of Madison, where a fine monument is erected to his memory.

John Catlin was born Oct, 13, 1803, at Orwell, Vt. His genealogy has been successfully traced back through six generations to Thomas Catlin, who resided at Hartford, Conn., more than two and a quarter centuries ago. Plis father was John B. Catlin, and his mother's maiden name Rosa Ormsbee, daughter of John Ormsbee, of Shoi'eham, Vt. John Catlin came of excellent American stock, as both his paternal and maternal grandfathers were Revolutionary soldiers, and conspicuous for their patriotic zeal in the war which resulted in the consummation of American independence.

In his paternal grandfather's family there were seven brothers, all of whom shouldered the Revolutionary musket and joined the ranks of the patriotic army. They were all of them fine specimens of stalwart manhood, standing full six feet high, heavy, muscular and well proportioned. His mother's father held a lieutenant's commission in the Continental army, and continued in the service until the close of the war, when he received an honorable discharge, together with the sum of $1,400, the amount of his pay. The currency of the country was somewhat inflated at that time, as on his return to his home in Massachusetts, Lieut. Ormsbee paid IGO of hi-i money for a single bushel of corn.

John Catlin's father was engaged in the mercantile business until 1812. At the beginning of the war which broke out that 3'ear, lie abandoned his mercantile vocation and took up his residence in the town of Bridport, Addison Co., Vt. Having purchased a farm bordering on Lake Chaniplain, he became a tiller of of tlie soil. Tlie subject of our sketch was then about nine years of age; and in tliat place and vicinity he began and ended the scholastic training which was to prepare him for the business of life. His educational advantages were quite limited, being only such as the common district school afforded, with the exception of one year which he spent in Newton Academy, located at Shoreham. At the age of eighteen he quit school and resorted to the vocation of teaching as a temporary means of livelihood. He followed this occupation for nine successive winters, devoting his summers to self-culture and to the study of law in the office of Augustus C. Hand, of Elizabethtowu, N. Y. In 1833 he was admitted to the bar at the age of thirty.

In 1836 he joined the comparatively small band of early pioneers who were following the "course of empire" westward. At that time emigrating as far west as Wisconsin was no holiday excursion as now. The pioneer of 1836 had no palace car furnished with luxurious accommodations, in which he could repose at his ease, reading the latest paper or magazine, or. sleep away the swift hours, rolling him over the iron track at the rate of 400 miles a day. The emigrant of forty years ago was compelled to travel by the slow stage coach, dragging its weary way over muddy roads, at the rate of thirty to fifty miles a day, or by the tedious canal-boat with its scanty accommodations, or the ill-provided lake steamer, laboring against opposing weaves to make six miles an hour, and, even when the wished-for destination was reached, the traveler found himself encompassed witli difficulties, dangers and privations.

Strong in the business of his chosen profession. He, however, remained there but two years; for, the capital of the Territory having been located at Madison, and he h;^ving received the appointment of postmaster at that place, in the spring of 1 838, he removed there with a view of making it his permanent residence. He held the position of postmaster until the election of Gen. Harrison as President, when he was removed to make way for a political antagonist; but, upon the accession of John Tyler to the Presidency, he was re-instated and continued to hold the office until 1844, when he was elected a member of the Territorial council representing the counties of Dane, Dodge, Green, Jefferson and Sauk, and tlie two offices being incompatible under the law, he resigned his postoffice appointment.

In the fall of 1836, Mr Catlin was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court. He was also chosen clerk of the Territorial House of Representative in 1838, and was I'e-elected to that position for eight successive years. He was the first district attorney of Dane county, and on the removal of George C. Floyd from the office of secretary of the Territory, in 1846, he was aj)- pointed his successor, and continued to hold ml that position until Wisconsin was admitted iiito the Union, in 1848. A bill was introduced into Congress by Morgan L. Martin, the delegate of Wisconsin, to organize a Territorial government for Minnesota, including the district left out on the admission of Wisconsin as a State. The citizens of what is now Minnesota, were very anxious to obtain a Territorial government; and two public meetings were held - one at St. Paul, and the other at Stillwater - advising and soliciting Mr. Catlin, who was secretary of Wisconsin, to issue a proclamation, as the acting governor, for the election of a delegate. After some consideration Mr. Catlin repaired to Stillwater, and issued the proclamation. H. H. Sibley was elected; and he did much toward hastening the passage of a bill for organizing a Territorial government for Minnesota. Mr.

Catlin was afterward elected county judge of Dane county, an office whicli he resigned in order to accept a position of President of the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company, His appointment to this position necessitated his removal to Milwaukee.

In the discharge of the duties of the important position of President of the primitive railroad of Wisconsin, Mr. Catlin displayed great energy and skill.

He procured the passage of a law which made the first mortgage bonds of this railroad, to the amount of lifty per cent., a foundation for banking. This feature appreciated the obligations of the company to such an extent that he was enabled to effect a loan of $600,000, which give to the road the first great impulse, and the work of construction was vigorously begun and as vigorously prosecuted. He was president of this road for five years, or until 1856, when he declined a re-election. His retirement was made the occasion of a highly complimentary resolution, adopted by the board of directors, thanking liim for liis eminent services in behalf of the road.

In 1857 the company failed, and Mr. Catlin was once more induced to accept the position of president, and lie proceeded to re-organize tlie association. He continued his official connection witli that corporation until it was subsequently consolidated with the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company.

Mr. Catlin was married on the 19th day of September, 1843, at Rochester, N. Y.,to Clarissa Bristol, daugliter of Charles Bristol, once a prominent wholesale merchant of New York city. The fruit of this marriage was one child, a daughter.

Among the pioneers of Wisconsin, John Catlin held a conspicuous place. The various important official positions which, as we have seen, he was called upon to fill, furnish sufficient proof in confirmation of this statement. He was chosen secretary of the Territory; was the first postmaster of Madison; first clerk of the

Supreme Court, and of the Territorial House of Representatives; first district attorney of Dane county; its first county judge; was president of the first railroad company; and a member of the Territorial legislature.

His energetic character and practical ability peculiarly fitted him for the work of aiding in the building up the fabric of a new State, All enterprises that promised to promote the growth and prosperity of Wisconsin found in him a zealous supporter and a determined advocate. In its infancy he became a life member of the State Historical Society, and to the time of his death he was one of its most active and inflexible friends. His efforts and influence contributed in no very slight degree toward the collection of literary treasures which now fill one wing of the capitol, forming a library of which the State is justly proud. Mr. Catlin's friendship for the Historical Society was not impulsive or spasmodic, but a continuing regard which lasted throughout his active life. It is perhaps but just in this connection to allude to the liberal bequest which he made of a section of land in the State of Texas, for the benefit of the society.

John Catlin was pre-eminently a self-made man. He owed but little of the success which he achieved to the gifts of fortune, or to extraordinary natural endowments. His intellectual parts were more solid than strong; more useful than ornamental. His aim was success, and he sought it in the slow, but sure and solid, pathways of industry and perseverance.

He knew the race was not always to the the swift, nor the battle to the strong. He saw the prize of victory in the far distance, waiting for all who would labor to achieve it; and he entered upon the pursuit, not with the impulsive flights of genius, but with the steady gait of practical common sense.

It may be said that Mr. Catlin's intellectual character was neither illustrated nor marred by any of the faculties or the faults of genius. He laid no claim to the natural gifts which are essen- tial attributes in the character of the successful advocate; and yet, liad he devoted his life exclusively to the duties of his chosen profession, lie would doubtless have gained distinction at the bar. He was a kind and faithful husband, and indulgent parent and a most exemplary citizen. He died Aug. 4,1874, in Elizabeth, N. J.

Representatives Of Wisconsin Territory Who

First Session, Third Legislative Assembly : Lucius I. Barber and James Sutherland ; 1840-1. III. - Dane, Dodge. Green, tTefferson and tSauk Counties.

Daniel 8. Sutherland. D. S. Sutherland is a son of Arich and Rebecca (Stanley) Sutherland, natives of Vermont. They are now dead and buried in Edgar Co., 111., where they removed in 182-2. He (D. S. Sutherland), was born in Onondago Co., N. Y., June 13, 1802. In 1885 he first came to Green county, on a prospecting tour, and being delighted with the country, resolved to make it his permanent abode, and the following year took up his residence on section 25, of the town of Monroe. He had all the hardships and disadvantages of pioneer life, to contend with. At that time there was not a house between his place and Monroe, and on the east, Janesville was the nearest place of human abode. Their nearest market was at Galena, 111., and the nearest mill at a place in Lafayette county called Wolf Creek. He came here from Edgar county, with six yoke of oxen and two wagons, being on the road from Ai)ril 30, to May 21. He erected a log cabin, 16x20 feet, with a puncheon floor, in which they lived during the summer and fall, then moved into a new cabin one and a half stories high, the shingles for which they hewed out. The first season he broke ten acres and sowed it to oats, in June. The family lived in the second cabin ten years, when their present house, the first frame house in Monroe, was erected. Mr. Sutherland owned at one time, 560 acres ; 240 acres on section 25, and 160 acres on section 36, in the town of Monroe, and eighty acres on section 30, and eiglity acres on section 31, in the town of Sylvester. He has sold, and given land to his sons, until he now owns 147 acres. He was, from the first, until he was disqualified for business, always a useful citizen, taking an active interest in every enterprise for the public good. He was the first chairman of both town and county boards ; has also been chairman of the county board several terms since. He served two years in the State legislature, and was influential in having this county set ofl; from Iowa county, drawing up the petition for that purpose. Mr. Sutherland was married March 27, 1826, to Louisa Nobles, a native of Connecticut, but at the time of her marriage, a resident of Edgar Co., 111. They had seven children - Emery G., living in Monroe ; Fanny E., wife of John Stearns, of Monroe ; Mary A., deceased ; Isabella, widow of David Hodge ; Daniel W., who was drowned in Sugar river, June 6, 1874, in endeavoring to rescue one of his companions, on a fishing excursion ; Richard B., living in Kansas and a soldier during the late war ; and Germane, deceased.

Jam es Suth erla )id, an old settler of Green county, was born at Rutland, Vt. in 1795. He went toSalina, N. Y. with his parents, after which he removed to Genesee county when it was a wilderness. It being at the time of the War of 1812, when eighteen years of age he joined the American arn^y and participated in a skirmish at Bufiialo.

He was married in Genesee county to Lois Sutherland. She died in 1833. I>y this union there were seven children, five sons and two daughters - Andrew J., Martin C, John T., Solomon, Catherine, Esther J. and James.

Vt. in 1806. Mr. Sutherland, in his younger days worked at farming, and received a common school education - the greater part at home before the fire place. He moved to Dariati on the "Holland Purchase," where he engaged in the harness trade for a short time. About this time he was elected magistrate, which office he held about ten years. He took an active part in politics and was one of the electors that placed Gen. Jackson in the Presidential chair. In politics he was a staunch democrat and an admirer of Thomas Benton, after whom he named one of his sons. He was also identified with the military history of the State; having held the positions of captain, major and colonel; he went by the latter name until his death.

In November, 1838, he arrived in Green county. He made this trip by way of Buffalo and to Toledo; from there by wagon to Chicago, on to Belvidere, III. After remaining near Monroe about four years, he moved on section 15, northeast quarter, town of Sylvester, where he lived until his death.

After coming to the county he took an active part in politics. He was elected and served as representative in the Territorial legislature in the sessions of 1840-41 and 1841-42. He took an interest in educational affairs and and was anxious that his children should be educated. He had two children by his last marriage - Francis C. and Thomas B. He died in 1843. His second wife died in November, 1860. This family is of Scotch extraction and they trace their ancestors back to sometime in 1600, to the Duke of Sutherland, when three brothers by that name crossed the ocean and settled on the Atlantic coast.

Alexander Botkin was born in Kentucky in 1801. At an early age he removed to Ohio and thence to Alton, 111., in 1832. He was a justice of the peace at the time of the Lovejoy riots, and took an active part in preserving law and order. He came to Madison, Wis., in 1841, as assistant secretary of the Territory, and was.

for awhile a law partner of Alexander P. Field. He was a member of the Territorial House of Representatives in 1847-8, representing, along with E. T. Gardner and John W. Stewart the counties, as we have seen, of Dane, Green and Sauk, during the special session of the fifth legislative assembly, in October, 184'7, and the second session of the same assembly, in February and March, 1848. Mr. Botkiii was a State senator in 1849-50 and a member of the assembly in 1852. He was a candidate for the first constitutional convention (which convened in 1846), but was defeated by John Y. Smith. He was voted for by the Whigs in 1849 for United States senator, against Isaac P. Walker, the successful candidate. He died suddenly at Sun Prairie, in Dane county, March 5, 1857, aged fifty-six years.

Members Who Represented Green Counts In The Constitutional Conventions

The first constitutional convention assembled at Madison on the 5th day of October, 1846, and adjourned on the 16th day of December, 1846, having framed a constitution, which was submitted to a vote of the people on the first Tuesday in April, 1847, and the same was rejected. The members of this convention from Green county were: Davis Bowen, Noah Phelps, William C. Green and Hiram Brown.

The second convention assembled at Madison on the 15th day of December, 1847, and adjourned on the 1st of February, 1848, having framed a constitution, wliich was submitted to a vote of the people on the second Monday in March following, and the same was adopted. Green county's representatives in this (the second) constitutional convention were: James Biggs and William McDowell.

JVoah Phelps. Noah Phelps is a descendant of Obadiah Phelps and Lucy, his wife, who was a daughter of Nathan Pelton, of E;ist Windsor, Hartford, Co., Conn. He was born in the town of Turin, Lewis Co., N. Y., May 21, 1808, and after receiving a common school education, became by profession a surveyor, in which occupation he was employed in surveying government lands in the present counties of Dane, Green and Rock, in the then Territory of Michigan, in the years 1833 and 1834. Jan, 5, 1835, he married Adelia Antoinette Hoyt, and in 1838 settled permanently in this county. In 1841 he was elected county surveyor; in 1842 collector of taxes, and re-elected in 1843. In 1844 he was elected a member of the Territorial house of representatives, and re-elected in 1845, the district then embracing Dane, Dodge, Jefferson, Sauk and Green counties.

In 1846 he was elected to the constitutional convention from this county, and served in that body on the committee on banks and banking, and took a somewhat active part in the general proceedings. In 1848 and 1850 he was elected and re-elected clerk of the circuit court, and has since held many local offices of usefulness and importance. He is a gentleman of great natural abilities, genial as the sunshine, affable, courteous and greatly esteemed by all who know him. He is a man of sterling worth, strict integrity, and large and varied educational attainments.

Davis Doioen was the seventh and youngest son of his parents, Samuel and Sarah (Davies) Bowen. He was born on the 25th of May, 1795, in Fayette Co., Penn. His father was one of the early settlers of that locality, then supposed to be a part of Virginia; but which on running "Mason and Dixon's line," fell to Pennsylvania. He emigrated from Delaware, his native State, in 1770. He claimed to be of Welsh descent, and was widely known as "Capt. Bowen." He took an active and conspicious part in the long and bloody Indian wars in the valley of the Mononghahela river. He never seemed to care about accumulating a large fortune, yet he left a good and comfortab'e house for his family who survived him. Like most of the frontier settlers he was noted for his hospitality; and it was said - "No one ever left his door hungry." He was highly respected, and lived and died on the old Bowen farm, lying in the locality known as *-The Forks of Cheat." After the death of their father, John and Davis, the two younger sons, owned and occupied the old homestead until the fall of 1836, when they sold out, and in the spring of 1837, started west. Davis settled in Wisconsin where he soon became a leading - man in his locality, and helped organize the State of his choice. He was an old-time democrat, and was a firm believer in Thomas Jefferson and Gen. Jackson. He was a member of the Baptist church, believed in immersion, true repentance, cleanly and good works. He was respected by all who knew him. He was elected to fill the following offices: Member of the convention in 1846; county commissioner, collector, and justice of the peace. At the age of twenty-six years he was married to Rachel Lane Brown, of Kingwood, W.Va. This union was blessed with several children, but only two survive their parents - James E. and Anna M., wife of Reuben Fleek, of Brodhead. Mr. Bowen died May 6, 1867; his wife died Sept. 7, 1877, aged eighty-seven years. They are resting side by side in the cemetery at Juda. Mr. Bowen came to Green county in April, 1837, and on the 2d of May, entered 160 acres of land on section 27, in what is now the town of Sylvester. He erected a cabin and had ten acres of land broke up that summer. In the fall he returned to West Virginia for his family, they having remained there with relatives until he found a home for them. He remained in West Virginia until in March, 1838, when he started for his western home, arriving there on the 22d of April. He settled on the farm he had opened up the year before, and lived there until his death. Davis Bowen was chairman of the first town meeting, which organized and elected ofiicers for the town. J. I. Bowen and E. T. Fleek, of Decatur are nephews of Davis Bowen, and are old settlers and respected citizens of the county.

Hiram Brown was born in Connecticut in 1803, and by profession is a farmer. He was elected from Exeter, this county, to the first constitutional convention, in 1846, and served in that body on the committee on revision and adjustment of the articles of the constitution adopted by the convention. He was noted among his associates for sterling qualities of manhood, careful attention, and an intelligent appreciation of the work in hand. In the chapter on Pioneer Reminiscences has already been given what may be termed an autobiography of of Mr. Brown. He is now (1884) a resident of Orleans, Neb., and is over eighty years of age, William McDowell.

William McDowell, a prominent citizen of this county, was born in Newton, Virginia, March 27, 1805, His father was a native of Ireland, who emigrated to America soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, landing at Charleston, S. C, where he had a brother in the mercantile business. Shortly after his arrival, under the impression to do so was a duty, he engaged in preaching the Gospel as an itinerant minister of the M. E. Church, which vocation he followed for a period of seven years, during which time he became acquainted with Rachel McClintick, a member of the Methodist Church, and the acquaintance growing into affection, they w-ere married in the year 1793, at her father's home in Carlisle, Penn., the place of her birth. Soon after their marriage they left for Savannah, Ga., and engaged in the mercantile business; remaining there about three years. From Savannah, they removed to Petersburg, Va., where he was postmaster and did business as a merchant. The next move was to Newtown, Virginia, where merchandising and farming occupied his time and attention until his removal in 1807 to Chillicothe, Ross Co., Ohio, where he continued business as a merchant; but, personally disliking a mercantile life, he left the store in the bands of his eldest son and brother-in-law,

James McClintick, and removed to a farm (eleven miles distant) with the other members of the family. The winter of 1SJ2 he spent at Philadelphia, Penn., in studying medicine and attending the lectures of Benjamin Rusli, and Physic, both of whom were eminent in tlie blood-letting jiractice of those days. Returning home, he engaged in the physicians calling and in a short time had considerable business and was quite successful; but desirous of educating his children and the facilities of doing so wanting in the country, induced him to leave the farm and return to Chillicothe in 1815, where he remained with but little interruption, until he passed away from earth in November, 1841, at the mature age of eighty years; surviving his wife about eleven years, she being sixty years old at the time of her decease. The bodies of both were buried in one of the cemeteries of Chillicothe, leaving behind them a family of six adult children and many friends to cherish their memory, and follow their good examples. The subject of this sketch attended the schools as were then taught and acquired a rudimentary knowledge of the branches, both of the English and Latin languages; but it cannot be said that he was not a "breeching scholar, in the schools;" and now laments lost opportunities and negligence in his studies when young. In the eighteenth year of his age he was sent to Portsmouth, Ohio, where his eldest brother lived and was in the mercantile business, to prosecute the study of medicine, for whicli \nirpose, he became a student of N. W. Andrews, a popular physician of Portsmoulh; but as often happens, "man may propose, but, God disposes" and again "There's a divinity that' shapes our ends; rough hew them as we will;" so, in this case, the services of our subject were frequently required by his brother in the store; tluis so interfering with his medical studies, that, after a lapse of a few months, they were given up and exchanged to the duties of a counter-hopper and shi|)per of merchandise. Becoming a i)artner of his brother, he expected to make that the business of his future life, but here again he had reckoned without his host ; for, meeting with a maiden fair, wlio resided in the country near Portsmouth, and being susce])tible to the charms of a lovely female, the old, old story was whispered in her ear and found a 'ready welcome there, which, consummated in a mariiage, Jan. 5, 1830, changing her maiden name, Ann E. Clingman, to that of A. E. McDowell. This act of his, although no fault could be laid lothegirl of his choice, who was of a good family and of an unblemished character, gave offense and found opposition in a quarter which would make the business relation existing between the brothers very unpleasant. The partnership was, therefore, immediately dissolved. This new turn of the wheel of fortune so sudden and unexpected, brought him to face the question, "what now?" Having muscle and brains he rolled up his sleeves and went to work on a farm and earned the bread for himself and wife, by' the sweat of his brow; and although the resolve involved much hard labor, it was carried into successful practice by the subject of this article, who in the spring of 1830, engaged in the calling of a tiller of the soil, on a farm owned by his father, eleven miles distant from Chillicothe after residing on which for three years, it was sold, and its occupant with his little family of wife and one child, removed to Portsmouth, where he went into the lumber trade, which was given up a few months later for what appeared a more lucrative business, the manufacture of soap and candles, at Chillicothe, which was commenced in 1833, under the firm name of .Mc- Dowell & Aston. The last named gentleman losing his wife, by death shortly after, the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent, leaving to Mr. McDowell the burden of meeting and canceling the debts against the firm; which by pluck and enei'gy of self and wife, was fully accomplisheil, and the term "mud-sill and greasymechanic" invented and facetiously, or otherwise, applied, by southern politicians to the free laborers of the northern States, could now be regarded as appropriate, when applied to him, for he had been both, a farmer, soap and candle maker. Here again new trials arose and cast dark shadows on the green and bright spots, which at length had began to appear scattered here and there on the pathway of our friend's life-journey, as if to try his virtue and let patience perform her perfect work. His father, wlio had reached the age of seventy-three years, had become a victim to the seductive influence of morphine, which, at first, was taken in small doses to alleviate suffering from pain of body. These doses had so increased in size and frequency as to cause a state of the mind equal to, if not worse at times, than delirium tremens; such being the case, the soap factory was disposed of, and '"or six or seven years, thereafter, the time was mostly devoted to the care of an invalid parent, which ended only when that father ceased to live on earth. In May, 1842, -with his wife and four children, he undertook the arduous task of reaching his present location with a two-horse team and wagon. He had only traveled about fifteen miles from the starting point, when he came to a bridge which spanned a brook; near the edge of this bridge there was a hog-wallow, into which, the off-wheel of the wagon plunged, throwing the horse on that side over the embankment; there he lay on his side, feet and legs upwards, back and head downwards, unable to rise or extricate himself. Fortunately the horse on the near side of the wagon kept on his feet and was quiet until both of the animals were detached from the wagon. Had it been otherwise, ]>robably the whole family would have been instantly killed or terribly wounded. Soon after this frightful occurrence a gentleman with whom our adventurer was acquainted, and who lived not far off, came riding up and a trade of horses was made, also a part of the load was loft, which enabled our emigrants to resume their hazardous journey, which was yet to be attended with many obstacles ere they reached its end - obstacles of such a painful and trying nature that if they could have been foreseen, it is certain our travelers, instead of attempting to go forward, would have turned their faces about and adopted some other means of coming west.

But they persevered in their efforts, until they reached a point near Richmond, Ind., and then learning that the roads were still worse further west, they concluded to return to Cincinnati, take a steamer and come as far as practicable by water, which was done. Before arriving at Cincinnati, however, all or most of the children broke out with the measles. Their situation was now bad in the extreme, yet would have been much worse were it not that kind and Christian friends were at hand and ready and willing as far as they could, to sweeten the cup of sorrow. The mother of those sick children had a lady cousin, the wife of David K. Cady, living in the city, who, upon learning of the condition of things, immediately went to work and prepared an upper room of his store, where they might remain until means of getting away could be had ; their dwelling house would have been thrown open if it were not that their own cliildren would have been exposed to the contagion. As soon as possible a passage to St. Louis on a steamer was secured. At first two staterooms were allowed to be occupied, but when the boat reached Louisville it became so crowded with passengers that one of the rooms had to be given up, which made the trip very unpleasant. On arriving at St. Louis, our pioneer family with their household goods and teams were transferred to another boat which was ready to leave for Peru, one of the towns situated on the Illinois river. On reaching this point the horses were again harnessed and attached to the wagon, and soon moving northward. Tlie parents full of sorrow and anxiety on account of the condition of their youngest child, whose appearance plainly indicated that death would very soon take from them all that was mortal of their loved one. They were not mistaken, nor were tl eir fears groundless, for on the last day of their long and weary journey, about twenty miles from the home of the child's grandparents, it was conveyed to a brighter home than earth can ever furjiish, and its little bod}^ was sorrowfully buried out of sight the next day after their arrival at the residence of George W. Clingman, near Cedarville, Stephenson Co., 111. After spending some days among kind and sympathing friends and relatives they were again on the road and a half day's travel brought them to their future home and farm located in the town of Clarno, Green county, where the subject of this sketch, now in the eightieth year of his age, still lives, with his youngest daugliter, Mrs. A. E. Anderson, and family. At one time lie owned nearly a half section of land which has been disposed of in various ways, with the exception of forty acres which is nicely situated, of excellent quality of soil, well timbered, and free from any incumbrance. He owes not a dime that he is aware of, never was sued, and never sued any one, and says that were it in his power he would abolish all law for the collection of debts. Politically, he is a greenbacker and anti-monopolist, and is happy to know that the late decision of the Supreme Court .of the United States sustains him in his views of the money question. He has held different offices of trust and honor in the county and township where he lives; was a member of the convention which framed the ratified constitution of the State. For a period of several years he has taken no active part in politics further than to cast his ballot, which he holds to be a duty. It can scarcely be said of him that he is a member of any religious denomination, true that more thiiii forty years ago he joined a small society of the New Church, or better known by the name of Swedenborgians, in Chillicotlie, Ohio; but since coming to this State he has met but few of the same faith. In his isolation and seclusion, he claims that the theological and philosophical teachings of the Swedish scribe have done much to reconcile him to his lot and strengthen him to bear the misfortunes and ills of life. He still retains to a remarkable degree, his eyesight, and reads and writes without the aid of glasses ; his hearing is quite defective, otherwise he is very sound and vigorous for one of his age, and bids fair to live many more years. He and his wife have four children living - Washington C, living at Washington, Iowa ; Charles, who resides in Monroe, of this county ; Mary Gorham, living at Winnebago, III., and Annie E. Anderson, of Clarno.

James Biggs was born in 1799, in what was then the Northwest Territory, now the State of Ohio. Me was married in what was at that time Delaware Co., Ohio, to Mary McDonald. Of this marriage there were three children born. - He was married the second time, after the death of his first wife, to Angeline Robinson. This event took place Dec. 8, 1833, in Milford, Union Co., Ohio. The next spring they moved to Iowa Co., Wis., settling first al^ Wiota and in June, 1834, moving to what is now the town of Adams, in Green county, where Mr. Biggs died, June 27, 1870. He had five children by the second marriage, all of whom, together with Mrs. Biggs, ai-e now (1884) living. Mr. Biggs was postmaster twenty-three years at Walnut Springs, .in the town of Adams. He finally resigned and the office was discontinued.

Mr. Biggs during all his residence in Green county was a farmer. He Avas a member of the second constitutional convention, but took no important part in the proceedings of that body, but nevertheless ranked among its most worthy and intelligent members. He was a'gentleman of fine culture and first class abilities, well read, of large and varied frontier experience, a sound adviser, and steadfast friend. Ill health alone [)revented his taking a conspicuous position.

, Thomas. S. Bowen, a well to do farmer, died at his residence in the town of Clarno Oct. 20, 1883, after a lingering sickness, which confined him to his bed for two years and six monihs. He was gradually passing away during this long length of time. He was bora in Vermont, Bennington county. May 1, 1808. He came to this State in 1836, four years after the close of the Black Hawk War. He selected a 'farm in Clarno, on the line which divides this State from Illinois. There were but six houses in the township. They were built of logs, the chimneys of sticks and mud. There were no roads except Indian trails. God gave him sufficient length of days to see railroads take the place of those trails, and his adopted State of Wisconsin emerge from an Indian hunting ground to take high rank as an agricultural State. When the things of this world were fading before him, lie had the pleasure of knowing he had done his share of this work of improvement. For integrity arad probity be stood without a rival, and was as fixed in his principals as the everlastin<r hills. He was noted for his

"Corn was everywhere so scarce that winter [1842-43] that men came to Green county from a hundred miles away to buy, and many cattle died of starvation. After a time, only three men in the county had corn to sell. They sold for twenty-five cents a bushel; but one of them, a very sanctimonious man, said, 'Let us charge fifty cents.' 'No,' said one of the others, lengthening his sentence with strong Anglo- Saxon expletives, 'that may do for you, but as for me, I have a soul to save, and sliall charge only twenty-five cents.' Speculators wanted to buy all this farmer's corn, but, as the grateful customers of Thomas Bowen still remember, he refused to sell to any one more than one load at a time."

Mr. Bowen was conscientiously an honest and honorable man, and held many offices of trust. He was elected State senator for 1852-53. The second year of his term he was called home on account of his wife's illness. She died in April of that year. He was left with a family of eight children Seven years later he married his second wife, who now survives, and by whom he had two children. He was an indomitable worker. In 1866, finding his health was failing, he left his farm to his sons to manage, and removed to Monroe, where he resided twelve years, then went back to his farm. He is now buried beneath its sods. He leaves a wife and nine children to mourn his loss, besides many acquaintances, who extend their sympathy to his family.

Walter S. Wescott came to Green county in 1843. He was born in Wetherfield, Wyoming Co., N. Y. His parents, John and Eunice (Reed) Wescott, were natives of the same State, and are both now deceased, and buried in .Monroe. Walter S. Wescott first settled in the town of York, where he owned a farm. He afterwards removed to the town of Adams, and in 1864, to the farm he now occupies on section 26, of Monroe. It contains 480 acres. He also owns other land in this county, and an extensive cattle ranch in Nebraska, where he spends the greater part of the time in looking after his interests there. His family resides upon the farm in this county. Mrs. Wescott was formerly Thankful B. Cleveland, daughter of James Y. and Edith C. Cleveland, well known citizens of (Treen county. James Y. Cleveland is deceased, but his widow is living in Monroe with her son, H. G. Cleveland. Mr. and Mrs. Wescott have three children - Ida M., who is now living at home; Eva M., wife of Charles D. Bragg; and John J., who resides at home. Mr. Wescott is, politically, a republican, and has held various offices of honor and trust. He was elected to the assembly in 1859 and again in 1862. In 18G3 he was elected to the office of State senator. He has taken an active interest in public affairs in the county, and is a useful and highly respected citizen.

Henry Adams. Henry Adams, a pioneer of Green county, was born in Bedford Co., Penn., April 30, 1811, He was married to Sarah Mills, a native of the same county, born Dec, 13, 1813, After marriage they remained in Bedford county a few years, then removed to Ohio and settled in Coshocton county, where they lived until 1845, In that year they came to Wisconsin, He entered a farm of 1 60 acres in what is now the town of Mount Pleasant. He was a man of good education and ability and soon became prominent in public affairs. He was a member of the Territorial legislattire. After the organization of the town, he filled offices of trust in the town. In 1 866 he was elected to represent his district in the State Senate, and re-elected in 186'?, He improved a good farm in Mount Pleasant and lived there until 1 868, then sold and went to Hardin Co., Iowa. He afterwards returned to Green county and settled in Monroe, where he resided until the time of his death, July 13, 1871. Mrs. Adams now lives in

Orrin Bacon, proprietor of the Monticello Mills, is a native of the Bay State, born at Barnstable, Oct. 4, 1822. When he was twelve years old his parents removed to New York and settled in Monroe county, where his father purchased a farm. Here he spent his youth, obtaining his education in the district schools. He remained with his parents until 1843. In that year he came to the Territory of Wisconsin and settled in Roc^ county, where he purchased a half section of land near Janesville. He engaged largely in raising grain and stock. His health failing, he returned east and remained there until 1854. He then came back and bought the mill property at Monticello of Mathias Marty, and immediately commenced building the present mill. Since that time he has continued to reside in Monttcello, where he has a fine residence on the south side of the river. Mr. Bjicon has been twice married. His first wife was Mary A. Flegler, who was born in Pleasant Valley, Duchess Co., N. Y., and died Dec. 17, 1871, leaving two children - Emily and Edgar O. He was again married May 20, 1873, to Alda M., daughter of T. Z. and Lncia W. Buck. They have one child - Sturgis C. Mr. Bacon represente.l the first assembly district of Green county in tlie legislature in 1871. He was elected to the State Senate in 1872 and 1873.

Joseph B. Treat. J. B. Treat was born in Penobscot Co., Maine, Dec. 30, 1836. He is a son of Nathaniel and Mary (Parker) Treat. He received an academic education in his native State, and in 1860, removed to this county and engaged in the mercantile business. He was elected to the State Senate from 1875 to 1879. In January 1850, he was married to Priseilla Gould, daughter of N, Gould, a nalive of Lisbon, Maine. The result of this union was two sons - Charles,

John W. Blackstone, of Shiillsbiirg, Lafayette Co., Wis., was born at White Oak Springs, Dec. 22, 183o. He was count}^ judge from 1862 to 1868, and was district attorney from 1873 to 1875. He was elected to the assembly in 1878, and State senator in 1879. He represented the 12th senatorial district, composed ^ of Lafayette and Green counties, for the years 1880 and 1881. He is a graduate of Platteville Academy. He entered Beloit College in 1855, and at the middle of the sophomore year went to Brown University, Providence, R. I., where he remained one year taking special studies. Returning home in 1857, he began the study of law in the office of John K. Williams, of Shullsburg, AVis., and entered into partnership with liim after two years of study. The partnership continued two years, at tiie end of which time, he was elected county judge of Lafayette county, seiving for four years. He was re-elected, serving frcim 1862 to 18GS. Mr. Jilackstone was married June 20, JSiil, to Ellen E. Hardy, of Platteville, Wis., by whom he has four children, two boys and two girls. After leaving the Senate in 1881, he entered the United States pension office, at Washington, and was soon detailed as a special examiner, in which service he lemained two and one-lialf years. Resigning his clei'kship in the pension office, lie began the practice of law in Shullsburg, Wis., October 1883. He now resides there, engaged in farming, mining, and the practice of law.

Members Of Assembly Who Have Represented

Martin Mitchell, 1860; James Campbell and Obadiah J. White, 1861 ; Calvin D. W. Leonard and Harvey T. Moore, 1862; Walter S. Wescott and Ezra Wescott, 1863 ; Willia'm W. McLaughlin and Frederick B. Rolf, 1864 ; William W. McLaughlin and David Dunwiddie, 1865; Daniel Smiley and Egbert E. Carr, 1866 ; Lucius W. Wright and David Dunwiddie, 1867 ; Albert H. Pierce and Jacob Mason, 1868; J. F. Wescott and Thomas A. Jackson, 1869; C. D. W. Leonard and Thomas A Jackson, 1870 ; Orrin Bacon and Marshall H. Pengra, 1871 ; Marshall H. Pengra, 1872 ; John Luchsinger, 1873 ; C. R. Deniston, 1874; C. R. Deniston, 1875; John Luchsinger 1876 ; Franklin Mitchell and John Luchsinger, 1877 ; John Luchsinger and Franklin Mitchell, 1878 ; Fordyce R. Melvin and Franklin Mitchell, 1879; Cyrus Troy and Burr Sprague, 1880; Cyrus Troy and Burr Sprague, 1881 ; Hiram Gabriel and John Bolender, 1882; Hiram Gabriel and John Bolender, 1883. 0. J. White. O. J. White has been a resident of Green county since 1835. He was born in Connecticut, March 26, 1814, and is a son of Obadiah and Electa (Phelps) White. The former is buried in Vincennes, Ind., the latter in Richland Co., Wis. O. J. White left his native State wlien five years old, and went to Franklin, Delaware Co., N. Y., where he remained four years, then went to Crawford Co., 111. and from thence to Danville, Vermilion county, in Che same State, after which he came to Green Co., AVis. and settled on section 30, Clarno township, where he resided till 1844. He then moved to his present home, on section 31, of which he owns the east half of the northwest quarter, and the west half of the northeast quarter. He has altogether, 392 acres, and one of the finest farms in the county with substantial and elegant im[)rovements. Mr. White was married in 1844 to Sarah A. Fisher of Stephenson Co., 111., daughter of John and Mary (Wilt) Fisher, who died in 1878, and is buried at Rock Grove,

Stephenson Co., 111. They had three sons - Francis F., Eugene A. and Joseph W. Mr. White is a republican and has been prominent in political affairs of the town and county. lie was elected to the legislature in 1860, and served one terra; was a member of the town board several terms, in former years, and was chairman of the board in 1881. Mr. White's son, Joseph W., carries on his father's farm. He was married Nov. 28, 1879, to Villa C. Schrack, of Orangeville, Stephenson Co., 111. They have one child - Clarence J.

brothers, who settled early in Green count}^ several of whom still survive and are prominently known as representative citizens. The brothers of Mr. Dunwiddie are Isaac (deceased), Jude Brooks Dunwiddie, Hiram (deceased) and Daniel a resident of the town of Spring Grove. The subject of this sketch was born in Green Co., Ohio, in 1823, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. He came to this county in 1845 locating near Juda. He also took up land in the town of Decatur. He resided for many years on his farm and became prominently known as a successful farmer and stock raiser. In 1873 he removed to Monroe and engaged in merchandising, which he continued two years. In 1875 he came to Brodhead, and engaged in the live stock business. He is now doing an extensive business in the firm name of Dunwiddie & Son. He has held a number of official positions. He was a member of the legislature of Wisconsin during the sessions of 1865 and 1867. His wife was formerly Cynthia Mitchell, who has also resided in the county since 1845, her parents coming two years later. Mr. and Mrs. Dunwiddie have five children - Benjamin F., of Janesville; Alice, wife of Joseph Humphrey; Isaac Foster, who is associated with his father in business; Flora, and Laura, wife.of T. W. Golden, clerk of the court of Green county. Marshal U. Pengru. Marshal H. Pengra was born in Daricn, Genesee Co., N. Y., Jan. 18, 1819. Jle is a son of Moses B. and Sarah (Johns) Pengra. The father is a native of Bennington, Vt., born March 25, 1797. The mother is a native of Wales, born Jan. 11, 1799. Her parents emigrated to the United States in 1801, and located in Genesee Co., N. Y., where she was reared to womanhood. She was married March 27, 1818, rearing a family of five children - Marshal H., being the eldest. The father died Oct. 1, 1835, and the mother in 1848. On the death of his father. Marshal H. took charge of the family and removed to Erie Co., Penn., where he was married April 16, 1840, to Elvira Lyon, born in Franklin Co., Mass., Oct. 23, 1819. Mr. Pengra lived in Pennsylvania, until the spring of 1844, when he removed to Rockford, 111. In 1845 he .removed to this county, and settled on the west half of tliQ west half of section 23, where he has since resided. Coming to the county in limited circumstances he had to put up with all the trials and hardships of pioneer life; but by hard labor and industry he has accumulated a nice property. His farm contains 276 acres. He has been largely identified with the political history of the county. Until he came to Green county he had been acting with the democrats-, but since the organization of the republican party he has acted with that party. He was elected a member of the General Assembly in 1871, and re-elected in 1872. He was also elected a member of the board of county commissioners, serving one term. Fie has always taken an active part in town affairs, serving as clerk twelve years, chairman of the board eight terms; assessor and justice of the peace. Mr, and Mrs. Pengra have raised a family of six children - Marshal P., Delia E., Winfield S., Mary R., Moses B. and Charles F. Jo?m Luchsinger. John Luchsinger, county treasurer, was born in Canton Glarus, Switzerland, June 29, 1839. In March, 1845, his parents emigrated to America, settling for a short time at Syracuse, N. Y. The fall of the same year they removed to Philadelphia, where John received his early education in Jefferson Grammar School. He witli his parents came to Wisconsin and locatedat New Glarus, this county, in 1856. In 1872 he was elected to the State legislature, and was re-elected in 1875, 1876 and 1877, serving with honor to himself and satisfaction to his constituency. He has been a member of the county board for a number of years and was chairman of that body in 1879. Was admitted to the bar in 1884. He is at present treasurer of Green county. In 1868 he was married at New Glarus to Elsbeth Kundert, by whom he has five sons and two daughters - John, Henry E., Samuel C, Thomas W., B. Frank, Elsbeth and Barbara. Mr. Luchsinger has always taken an interest in educational matters and is at present a member of the board of education. He is a man of more tlian ordinary ability, and is the author of some excellent articles on the dairy business and of the history of the Swiss colony of New Glarus. He is ;i member of the Swiss Reformed Church.

Charles JL Dejustoii. Charles R.Deniston, now aresident of Clarno, was born in that town July 31, 1835, being the first white male child born in Green county. His father, John W. Deniston, settled in Clarno with his family in the fall of 1833. John Deniston was a native of Ohio, born in 1800. His parents died when he was a child and he went to Missouri where, when a young man, he was married to Ann M. VanZant, a native of that State. He came to Green county in company with his father-in-law, Abner VauZant. They settled on the same piece of land and were in partnership until the death of Mr. VanZant in February, 1847. They built a grist mill in Clarno in 1835, the first mill built in that town. The two families settled in Cadiz in 1846, where John W. Deniston died March 23, 1848. His widow lives in Nebraska with her youngest son, William R. John Deniston had seven children, five of whom are living. Charles R. Deniston was a resident of the town of Cadiz, from 1846 to 1884, when he returned to Clarno, He lias been twice married. His first wife was Susan Coryell, who died in March, 1873. His present wife was Hattie M. Bramhall, a native of New York. There were three children by the first union, and by the latter, two. Mr. Deniston has been town clerk, assessor, postmaster, chairman of the town board and member of the assembly, serving in the latter capacity in 1874

John Bolander, president of the Citizens Bank of Monroe, Wis., was born in Union, now Snyder Co., Penn., March 5, 1837. He was a son of John and Catharine (Stees) Bolander, natives of the same county. In 1840 his father with the family emigrated to Stephenson Co., 111. His father was a life long member of the German Reformed Chui'ch, and his niother of the Lutheran. He was one of a family of twelve children, ten of whom lived to an adult a^e. His father was a man of more than ordin try ability, and had a large circle of friends. Jttiiii, the subject of this sketch, was three years ol I when his parents settled in Stephenson county, where he was brought up and educated. Wiien nineteen years old he was employed as clerk by David Witmer at Rock Grove. Two years later he came to Juda where the stock had been removed. In 1863 he engaged in the grocery business in Monroe. In 1865 the firm was changed to Bolander & Ball, and continued until 1867; from that time up to 1873, J. Bolander, when the firm was changed to J. Bolander & Co., and also changed the business to dry goods. Mr. Bolander is among the oldest business men in the city. In 1861, he was married to Sarah E. Hosier a native of Ohio. By this union there were four children - Kittie, Frederick, Charles and Edna. Mr. Bolander is a staunch republican and was a member of the county board for ten years, and four years chairman. He wasin 1882 elected to the general assembly, re-elected in 18o3.

who came here in 1847, accompanied by his wife and five children, of whom Franklin was the eldest. Five other children had preceded them in coming to Green connty. James Mitchell, the father of Abner and grandfather of Franklin Mitchell, was a commissioned officer in the American array during the Revolutionary War. After the Revolution he served as a volunteer, without pay, in a caraj^aign against the 'Logan" Indians, of whom, in one engagement, as a sharp shooter, he was credited with having sent six to their "happy hunting ground." The five sons and daughters of Abner Mitchell who preceded him in this county were - Joseph, Cynthia, Jesse, Benjamin and Washington. Joseph was a tailor, and came in 1846 to Monroe. He afterwards lived in Juda, where he died in 1875. Cynthia came with Joseph, and is now the wife of David Dunwiddie, of Brodhead. Jesse, one of the pioneers of Sylvester, came in 1836. Benjamin settled in Sylvester in 1837, and Washington, in Decatur, in 1845. The five children who came here with their parents were - Franklin, Louisa, Naomi, Ralph and Judson. Franklin remained with his parents; Louisa was married to J. C. Chadwick, of Juda; Naomi was married to George Lyman, and died in Sylvester in 1881. Ralph settled in Juda: Judson enlisted in the 22d Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and joined Sherman's army. He was captured at Bentonville and confined at Libby prison a short time, then exchanged, rejoined his regiment and was in line at the grand review at Washington in June, 1865. His regiment was the first to enter Atlanta and raise the "flag of the Union." Hon. Abner Mitchell was one of the prominent men of Green county. He was for many years justice of the peace, and was always a peace maker in law, and in the neighborhood. Acting in the capacity of magistrate, he would state both sides of the case, and labor for a settlement whenever possible, throwing in his costs to facilitate it. He represented Green county in the State legislature iii 4854. He died Oct. 8, 1874, that day being his eightyfourth birthday. His wife died in August, 1863. Franklin Mitchell, in 1.858, removed to section 31, of the town of Decatur, where he had purchased government land in 1848. He was mairied Oct. 6, 1857, to Jane McVean, a native of Fulton Co, N. Y., and daughter of one of the early settlers of Newark, Rock Co., Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have four children - Edward, born in September, 1858; Abner, born in November, 1860; Elizabeth, born in February, 1863, and Louisa, born in February, 1868, all of whom are living with their parents. Mr. Mitchell resides upon the homestead farm formerly owned by his father, where he has a fine residence. He still owns and works all but forty acres of his Decatur farm. He represented his county in the State legislature of 1877-8-9, and has served as president and vicepresident of the Green County Agricultural Society.

F. R. Melvin was born in the State of Ohio, July 23, 1832. He came to Green county with his parents in 1851, and has since been a resident of this county. May 20, 1861, he enlisted in company D, 2d Wisconsin regiment, Volunteer Infantry, and remained in the service until the following August, when he was discharged on account of physical disability. Filled with a love of country, having in a measure regained his health, he enlisted a second time in company K, 24th regiment. New York Volunteers. At the Second Battle of Bull Run he had both arms pierced with bullets, and on account of consequent disability, was again discharged in November, 1862. In 1770 he was elected treasurer of Green county, which office he held six years. In 1879 he represented his district in the assembly. He is a Royal Arch Mason, a good citizen, a trusty friend, and an efficient officer whenever called upon to perform any public duty. Politically he belongs to the republican i)arty.

Ephraini Sowen. Ephraim Bowen, a prominent and representative man of Green county, is a native of Evans, Erie Co., N. Y., and was born Jan. 14,1824. His parents were Pardon and Maria (Marvin) Bowen. His father was a native of Rhode Island, and cleared a farm on the "Holland Purchase," in western New York, where he reared a large family. Ephraim Bowen lost his mother when he was eiglit years old, and was bereft of his father at the age of fifteen. He managed the farm for one year after his father's death, and then engaged as a farm hand for three years; working the two first years for 110.50, and the third year for 111 per month. At the expiration of this time he spent one year traveling, as a dealer in patent rights, receiving for his services $18 per month. Having a desire for mercantile life, at the age of twenty years, with a capital of $300, he came to Wisconsin and located in the town of Exeter, in this county, where he engaged as clerk in a store at $15 per month. Subsequently he became a partner in the business, and after six years of successful trade, found himself in the possession of $3,000. With this sum he removed to Albany in 1853, erected a building and established himself in the mercantile and produce business, and also engaged to a considerable extent in real estate operations. At tliat point he conducted his business successfully until 1867, when he purchased at Green Bay 2,000 acres of pine land in connection with a mill, and conducted a successful lumber trade for a number of years, and added largely to his already ample fortune. Subsequently he was largely instrumental in establishiiig the First National Bank of Brodhead, a full history of which appears elsewhere in this volume. Of this institution he was president and largest stock-holder. He also erected a fine residence, surrounded it with comforts and luxuries, and now lives in the enjoyment of the fruits of a successful and honorable business life. As a business man Mr. Bowen possessed remarkable financial ability, and he is widely known for his shrewdness, cautiousness, and for his decided, vigorous and confident action. In political affairs he holds decided views, and though an earnest worker, has no desire for ofticial honors. He was formerly a whig, but is now a republican. Mr. Bowen was married June 8, 1853, to Mary Ann Pearsons, of Sheldon, Wyoming Co., N. Y. Mrs. Bowen has contributed largely to her husband's success in business, and is a lady of culture and superior intelligence. They have had three children, two daughters and one son. The eldest, Ella Amanda, died in September, 1864, at the age of ten years. The two living are Jennie M. and Myron P.

The act of Congress approved April 20,1836, organizing the Territory of Wisconsin, conferred upon the people the right to be represented in the National Congress by one delegate, to be chosen by the votes of the qualified electors of the Territory. Under this authority tliere were elected the following

George W. Jones was born in Vincennes, Ind., and graduated at Transylvania University, Kentucky, in 1825. He was bred to the law but ill-health prevented him from practicing. He was clerk of the United States district court, in Missouri, in

1826 and served as an aid-de-camp to Henry Dodge in tlie Black Hawk War, He was cliosen colonel of militia the same year (1832), and subsequently major-general. He was at one time judge of the county court of Grant county. In 1835, as we have seen, he was elected a delegate to Congress from the Territory of Michigan, and served two years. In 1839, he was appointed by President Van Buren surveyorgeneral of the northwest. He was removed for political considerations in 1841, but was reappointed by President Polk and remained in that office until 1849. In 1848, he was elected a United States senator from the State of Iowa for six years, and re-elected in 1852 for the same length of time; - officiating as chairman of the committees on Pensions and on Enrolled Bills, and as a member of the committee on Territories. At the conclusion of his last term, he was appointed by President Buchanan minister to New Grenada. In 1861, he was charged with disloyalty and imprisoned in Fort Warren.

Henry Dodge. Foremost among the names enrolled in the pages of the early history of Wisconsin, is that of Henry Dodge. Born Oct. 12, lV82, at Vincennes, in the present State of Indiana, he removed to that portion of Louisiana Territory afterward set apart as Missouri, where, in 1808, he became sheriff of Cape Firardeau county. Early in 1812, he entered the military service as captain of a mounted rifle company; later the same year, he was commissioned a major of Louisiana militia, and subsequently a lieutenant colonel. During the war he was employed in many active duties on the western frontier, the most important of which was in 1814, when he commanded an expedition up the Missouri river, for the purpose oC holding in check the Indian tribes of that region, and ascertaining their condition and numbers. He took a prominent part in the affairs of Missouri until 1827, when he removed to the present limits of Wisconsin, and engaged in the business of lead raining near the present location of Dodgeville, where he is said to have erected the first smelting furnace north of the Illinois line.

When, in the summer of that year, the miners were obliged by the outbreak of the Winnebago Indians to collect in Galena for safety, Dodge was chosen commander of a corps of mounted men,, organized for the defense of the place. On the breaking out of the Black Hawk War in 1832,he was chosen commander of the several companies of mounted volunteers enrolled in the mining settlements, holding a commission as colonel from the governor of Michigan Territory. He displayed remarkable energy and efficiency in maintainig the defense of the exposed mining district until sufficient forces were gathered from the south and east to take the offensive, making two expeditions in the face of the enemy, to Rock river, to communicate with Gen. Atkinson, commander of the approaching forces, and one to the Four Lakes to quiet the Winnebagoes. On the 16th of June, with twenty-eight men, he pursued a party of seventeen of the hostile Sacs, from the vicinity of Fort Hamilton, now Wiota, Lafayette county, until they were compelled to come to stand, selecting for that purpose a strong position in a bend of the Pecatonica. Here posting a few scouts and leaving another detail with the horses. Col. Dodge, at the head of the main body, twenty-one strong, advanced to attack them, and received their tire from their hidingplace at pistol-shot range, at which three men fell. Instantly a charge was ordered, and executed in so impetuous a manner that not one of the savages escaped to tell the tale.

Col. Dodge with his mounted battalion soon afterward joined the array of Gen. Atkinson at Lake Koshkonong, and greatly distinguished himself in the pursuit and destruction of Black Hawk's forces, which followed leading the charges in the engagements at Wisconsin Heights and Bad Ax. In March, 1833, when the first United States Dragoons was organized, he was made its colonel, and, in 1835, led his command on an expedition to the Rocky mountains. He resigned his commission, upon the organization of Wisconsin Territory, to accept the office of governor thereof and superintendent of Indian affairs by appointment from President Jackson, dated April 30, 1836. He occupied that position until superseded by James D. Doty, in Sej^tember, 1841, on account of a political change in the administration. At the election of that year he was chosen delegate in Congress, and was re-elected in 1843, continuing in that office until re-appointed governor by President Polk, April 8, 1845, which position he held until the admission of Wisconsin as a State in 1848, being, therefore, its first and last Territorial executive. He was elected one of the two first senators in Congress from the new State, and, his term expiring in 1851, he Avas re-elected for six years. At the end of his senatorial cai'eer, in 1857, he retired from public life, and passed the remainder of his days partly at Mineral Point, and partly at the home of his son, Augustus C. Dodge, in Burlington, Iowa, where his death occurred June 19, 1867.

Morgan L. Martin was one of the most conspicuous and distinguished among that band of pioneer settlers who early gave a national reputation to Wisconsin. He was born in Martinsburg, Lewis Co., N. Y., March 31, 1805, and graduated at Union College, New York, in 1824, following the same by a thorough legal education. In 1826, he removed to Detroit, Mich., and the next year settled at Green Bay, where he has ever since resided.

In 1831, he was elected a member of the legislative council of Michigan, serving until 1835. In 1838, he was elected to the Territorial council of Wisconsin, and served continuously through all sessions to 1844, In 1845, he was elected as Territorial delegate to Congress for two years. On the failure of the first constitution to be ratified by popular vote in 1846, he was elected a member of the constitutional convention in 1847, and was chosen president of that body. As he, in this position, appointed all committees in connection with other duties, his record is less marked in some respects than that of some others; and yet the part he took in debate and upon the floor, was in the highest degree creditable, and materially guided the deliberations and conclusions of the convention. His remarks on exemption, internal improvements, banking, public lands, judiciary, boundaries and miscella neous provisions are especially noticeable for -vigor, directness, profound legal learning, personal knowledge of the subject matter of debate, and natural bearing upon the future of the new State. He was especially distinguished in presiding, for uniform dignity and courtesy, and merited, as he received, the highest testimonials of respect from all his associates.

In' 1855, he was elected a member of the assembly, and in 1858, to theSenate. In 1861, he was appointed paymaster United States Army, serving until the suppression of the rebellion in 1865. In 1873, he was again elected to the assembly.

Thi'oughout a public career of great and unusual length, covering much more than the whole period of Wisconsin's local annals, Mr Martin has borne an eminent and distinguished part, and it is but faint praise to say, as the united testimony of all, both associates and citizens, that it has been one of honor, uprightness and dignity, - reflecting the highest credit not only upon himself but upon those so ably represented. To great natural abilities, he added the matured results of profound research, and a wide range of intellectual culture, enriched by a personal experience which few indeed, even among pioneers, had opportunity to enjoy. Although representing a party, he was never a partisan, and it is a pride to record, was ever more of a patriot than politician. His military services, although less showy, were in no sense less important than his civil career, even if forgotten, as is the case with so many others who periled health and life in defense of national union. At home among personal acquaiutances, no citizen ever stood higher in public estimation, or had warmer friends. His whole career has been above suspicion as above reproach. Old age finds hira surrounded by universal respect and reverence for years and wisdom, - the benefactor of multitudes, the friend of all. That he may long survive to witness the maturing work in large part of his own genius and labors, is the earnest liope of all, and especially of those who have enjoyed his more intimate acquaintance.

John II. Tweedy. John H. Tweedy was born in Danbury, Conn., Nov. 0, 1814. After a preliminary education, he entered and graduated at Yale College, and adopted law as a profession, in the practice of which he speedily obtained high distinction. As a public man and prominent citizen he has been widely known from the beginning of Territorial government. He located in Milwaukee in October, 1836, and has ever since resided there. In 1841 and 1842, he was elected a member of the Territorial council. In 1846, he was elected to the constitutional convention from Milwaukee county, serving in that body on the committee on the Constitution and Organization of the Legislature, and also took a conspicuous part in the general proceedings. In 1847, he was elected Territorial delegate to Congress, being the last incumbent in that position. After State organization he was the first whig candidate for governor, but as the democratic party was then largely in the majority, he was defeated by Nelson Dewey. In 1853, he served as a member of the assembly. Since that time, Mr. Tweedy has retired from public life, and, unless locally, has taken no special part in political affairs.

During his whole career, Mr. Tweedy lias been noted for great and conspicuous abilities, profound learning, sterling integrity and unsel fish interest in all enterprises for the promotion of the general welfare. Naturally a student, of retiring disposition and modest merit, lie has usually preferred quiet and retirement to publicity, and only exercised his great powers of oratory and persuasion, on pressing and important occasions. Wisconsin has had no worthier or more upright citizen.

Congressional Districts Of Which Green County Has Been A Part

By the constitution adopted when the Territory became a State, in 1848, two representatives in Congress were provided for by dividing the State into two congressional districts. The first district was composed of tlie counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson, Racine, Walworth, Rock and Green. The second district was composed of Washington Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Calumet, Brown, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Sauk, Portage, Columbia, Dodge, Dane, Iowa, Lafayette, Grant, Richland, Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix and La Pointe. Under this authority, an election was held May 8, 1848, and William Pitt Lynde was elected member of Congress for the first district; Mason C. Darling, of Fond du Lac, for the second district. The people, therefore, then living in Green county, were represented in the 30tli Congress by William Pitt Lynde.

In 1849, the number of districts were increased to three. Rock, Green, Lalayette, Grant, Iowa, Dane, Sauk, Adams, Portage, Richland, Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix and La Pointe counties constituted the second congressional district of Wisconsin.

In 1861, the State was divided into six districts. Green, Lafayette, Iowa, Grant, Crawford, Richland and Sauk counties, were formed into the third congressional district.

By an act of the legislature of Wisconsin, of April 4, 18*72, the following counties were formed into the (new) third congressional district - Grant, Iowa. Lafayette, Green, Richland and Crawford,

From (and including) the first election for representatives in Congress from Wisconsin, there have been chosen in the several districts in which Green county has fallen, the following

William Pitt lynde was born in Sherburne, Chenango Co., N. Y,, Dec. 16, 1817; he graduated at Yale College in 1838, and emigrated to Wisconsin in 1841, settling in Milwaukee the same year. In 1844 he was appointed attorney-general of the Territory of Wisconsin. He also received the appointment in 1845 of United States district attorney of Wisconsin Territory, holding the position until the admission of the State into the Union. In 1848, Mr. Lynde was elected a representative to Congress in the first district of which Green was one of the counties as already noted in this chapter. In 1860 he was elected mayor of Milwaukee. He was a member of the State assembly in 1866 and elected a State senator in 1868. In 1874 he was elected a representative to the 44th Congress, from the fourth congressional district. He is now (1884) a practicing lawyer in Milwaukee,

Ben C. Eastman was born in the State of Maine in the year 1812. He settled in Wisconsin in 1840. He was clerk of the Territorial council of Wisconsin. He also prepared reports of the old Supreme Court of Wisconsin. He served in Congress as already indicated in this chapter from 1851 to 1855. He died at Platteville, Wis.,Feb. 2,1856.

Cadwallader C. Washburn.* The Washburn ancestry is traceable back, on both sides, to the early settlement of New England by the Puritans. John Washburn was secretary of the Plymouth colony in England. He came to this country in 1 631, and settled in wliat was then known as the "Eagle's Nest," in Dux-

*This sketch of Hon. Cndwallader C. Washburn, who. for three successive terms, represented the second congrressional district of Wisconsin, of which Green was one of the counties, was prepiircd by C. W. Huttertiekl, of Madison, for the yorthircst /?('i'iVi('( larjrelv from a number of nieniorial addresses on Washburn's lit'.- imd character (particularly one bv David Atwoud, of Madison, Wis.) delivered before the Historical Society of that State, July 2-5, 1882.

bury, Mass. He w;is a very prominent man in his day; an extensive farmer, and the proprietor of a large iron furnace in Raynliam, Mass. He was for many years a representative in the geneial court. Israel, a son of John Washburn, was a resident of Raynham, served in the Revolutionary War, was a member of the Massachusetts convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States, and was repeatedly chosen to represent his people in the general court - the New England name for legislature in early days, and sometimes used at the present time.

Israel's son and namesake was born in Raynham, Nov. 18, 1784. He moved to Maine in 1806, stopping a brief time in several places, teaching school and following his trade as shipbuilder. In 1809, he purchased a farm and store in Livermore, where he continued in trade till 1829, when he gave up his mercantile pursuits and spent the residue of his years on his farm - "The Norlands." He represented his town in the legislature in 1815, 1816, 1818 and 1819. At this time Maine was a province of Massachusetts. He died Sept. 1, 1876, at the advanced age of ninety-two years.

John Benjamin, who arrived in this country on the ship Lio)i, in 1632, was a proprietor of Cambridge; but at an early day settled at Watertown, where, in the fifth generation, Samuel Benjamin was born, Feb. 3, 1753. He became the fourth settler in Livermore, in 1783, where he continued to reside until his death, April 14, 1824. He married Tabitha Livermore, of Waltham, Mass., Jan. 16, 1782, and they raised a family of ten children of whom Martha, born Oct. 4, 1792, became the wife of Israel Washburn, second, on the 30th of March, 1812, and died May 6, 1861. Their issue is the celebrated "Washburn family," of seven sons,'four of whom have occupied seats in Congress from four different States, while two of these have been governors, and a like number have represented the Nation at foreign courts.

The brothers who have been members of Congress are Israel, from Maine; Elihu B., from Illinois; Cadwallader C, from Wisconsin, and William D., from Minnesota. The two governors were Israel, of Maine, and Cadwallader C, of Wisconsin. The two that have been ministers to foreign countries are Elihu B. and Charles A.

The subject of this sketch - Cadwallader Colden Washburn - was born in Livermore, Maine, April 22, 1818. He was, as a boy, noted for his quiet manners, never in trouble, and liked by every one who knew him. He was observing, studious and persistent. He lived mostly at home until 1835, working on his father's farm - "The Norlands" - and attending the town school. He was apt to learn, fond of reading, and possessed of a retentive memory. He left his parents during the year last mentioned, commencing an independent career of life at the early age of seventeen.