Jefferson County, Wisconsin - The whole text, 1879 (part 15 of 28)

July. - Meeting and organization of a Home League. Ofiicers elected : Samuel Brown, President; A. M. Thompson and C. C. Cotton, Secretaries ; C. Cleaveland, Treasurer.

September. - W. G. Wedemeyer received a Lieutenant's commission to raise a company of infantry. Edwin D. Coe, James A. Morris, De Witte Moak, Herbert Lord, Eugene Bond, R. J. Forsyth and Harrison and Clifford McMellen joined Col. Daniel's cavalry regiment at Ripon.

October. - 0. D. Pease received a Lieutenant's commission from Gov. Randall, authorizing him to raise a company of volunteers for three years. Thomas McMahon appointed Major of the Seventeenth Wisconsin. James McHugh received a Lieutenant's commission to raise a company of volunteers. Webster A. Bingham, of Watertown, joined the cavalry regiment then forming at Ripon. Capt. D. D. Scott and Lieut. James Bergin opened a recruiting office in Fischer's Block. Ernest Off commissioned Captain, with authority to raise a company of

November. - Charles H. Lord appointed Assistant Surgeon First Wisconsin Cavalry. Capt. Off finished recruiting his cavalry company, known as the Barstow Guards, and went into camp at Janesville.

February. - Irwin W. Potter, of Watertown, confirmed by the United States Senate as First Lieutenant in the Fifteenth U. S. Regiment for gallant conduct at the battle of Manassas. Corp. Henry C. Hadley, Company E, Sixteenth W^isconsin, appointed Assistant Quartermaster of the regiment, with the rank of Lieutenant. L. M. Rose, formerly one of the editors of the Watertown Chronicle, wounded in both hips and in the left shoulder and hand at Fort Donelson.

March. - Curtis B. Stone, foreman of the Wntertoy^n Republican office, joined the Watertown Guards. Capt. D. T>. Scott presented with a sword by the citizens of Watertown. John Haines appointed blacksmith of Gov. Barstow's regiment. Sebra Howard, of the Third Regiment, died in the hospital at Elyria, Ohio, en route for the South.

April. - Battle of Pittsburg Landing, where the rebels drank whisky and gunpowder and fought like demons, and in which Capt. Pease was killed.

May. - Arrival and burial of the remains of Capt. Pease. Private N. R. Towsley, Company D, Sixteenth Wisconsin, returned with a finger shot off, at the battle of Shiloh. Private Harrison Fuller, same company, returned with serious wounds received at Shiloh. He died soon after his arrival.

June. - Lieut. Royce, Company D, Sixteenth Wisconsin, promoted to Captain in place of Capt. Pease, killed. Private John Cawley, Company D, Seventeenth Wisconsin, died from disease contracted in the South. Dr. Charles Lord appointed Post Surgeon at Cape Girardeau, Hlinois.

August. - Enos Salsich, Hiram Barber, ex-Senator Gill, Frederick Kusel and Edward Johnson received authority to raise volunteer companies. Gill returned his commission and enlisted as a private. Meeting of taxpayers at which resolutions were adopted authorizing the levy of a tax for the support of the families of volunteers, and commanding the City Treasurer to pay §2.5 to the family of each volunteer who enlisted under the calls of June 2 and August 4. Henry C. Hadley, of Company D, Sixteenth Wisconsin Volunteers, returned honorably discharged, on account of an affliction of the eyes incurred by foi'ced marches in the '' Sunny South." Sheriff Smith, of Jefferson County, in accordance with instructions, made arrangements for making an enrollment of those subject to draft. Following enrolling officers appointed : First Ward, Calvin Cheeney ; Second, Eugene Winggenhorn ; Third, John A. Chadwick; Fourth, D. Kusel, Jr.; Fifth and Sixth, Charles Walthers; Seventh, A. P. Wood, town of Watertown, J. Q. Hull. L. A. Cole appointed Commissioner, and Dr. W. W. Reed, Surgeon, for the draft in Jefferson County. Joseph Giles and Calvin Cheeney appointed recruiting ofiicers to fill the depleted ranks of old regiments. Charles R. Gill appointed by Gov. Solomon Colonel of the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin. Samuel Baird appointed Quartermaster ; William C. Spalding, Surgeon; William Tompkins, Sergeant Major, and William Summerfield, Hospital Steward, same regiment.

September. - Festival given in honor of the American Volunteers. Capt. Mott presented with a sword from the Gorman citizens. Col. Gill presented with a horse by the Watertown Volunteers.

December. - De Witte C. Moak discharged on account of ill health. Lieut. Col. Henry Bertram appointed Colonel of the Twentieth Wisconsin. Maj. Thomas McMahon appointed

Lieutenant Colonel of the Seventeenth. Bernard O'iiyrne received a seventy-pound bell from some Watertown bovs then fighting in Mis^^issippi, accompanied by the following inscription : " This bell was achieved by the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Uef;iment on a deserted plantation in the State of Mississippi. Its former owner is in rebellion against his Government - founded on the virtue and intelligence of the people. It was wont to arouse slaves to unrequited toil ; let it now call freemen to duty." Noble sentiments I Private James Karr, Company E. Twentyninth Regiment, died in the hospital at Halena, Ark.

1863, January. - Private Wm. E. Dervin received four balls in his right leg at the battle of Murfreesboro. Cass Green, Sixteenth Wisconsin, returned home, discharged on account of sickne:-s.

February. - Meeting Ladies' Aid Society. Officers elected: Mrs. Theodore Prentiss, President; Mrs. Samuel Baird, Vice President; Mrs. J. T. Moak, Secretary and Treasurer. Directors - Mrs. C. A. Sprague, Mrs. S. P. Day, Mrs. McMahon, Mrs. Daniel Hall, Mrs. J. J. Enos, Mrs. Ernest Oft', Mrs. 0. B. Sanford. Mrs. Otis Hall. A resolution was passed that the members of the society turn their attention toward the preparation of pickles, preserves, etc., to be sent to the brave boys in the South then engaged in crushing the rebellion.

March. - William H. Blanchard left AVatertown with over ten tons of delicacies to be distributed among the members of the Twenty- ninth, then encamped at Helena, Ark. Daniel Griffith, of Company B, Twenty-ninth Regiment, died in the hospital at Helena.

April. - Lieut. R. P. Bronson, Company B, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, returned, having resigned on account of ill health. Lieut. Col. Jussen, of the Twenty-third Wisconsin, resigneil ; ill health. Adjt. Sweeney, of the Twenty-ninth, returned to Watertown on a sick furlough and died a few days after his arrival. Ernest Schnasse, Company E, Twentieth Wisconsin, died in Missouri from the effect of wounds received at the battle of Prairie Grove. Bradley Richards,- Company B, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, died in the hospital at Helena.

May. - Corp. William Dervin, Sixteenth United States Infantry, returned discharged in consequence of a dangerous wound received in the battle of Stone River. AVhen the news was received that Gen. Grant had fought five successive battles and gained as many decisive victories over the rebels in the vicinity of Vicksburg, there was great rejoicing in Watertown. The brass band came out and paraded the streets, salutes were fired, and a general feeling of delight could be read in almost every face.

June. - August Hintz, Company B, Seventeenth Wisconsin, shot through the head by a rebel sharpshooter, while working in the trenches before Vicksburg. Lieut. Charles Wood, Company B, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, resigned his commission. Sergt. Norman Humphrey appointed to fill the place of Corp. Darius Gibbs, promoted to Second Lieutenant. Second Lieut. Calvin B. Scott, Company B, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, resigned on account of injuries received at Champion Hill, Miss.

July. - Col. Gill resigned on account of sickness. The surrender of Vicksburg announced ; one hundred guns fired. A Ladies' Union League organized in Watertown, with Mrs. P. Nichols as President, and Mrs. A. Peterson as Secretary. William Phelps. Company B, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, died of typhoid fever in the hospital at Vicksburg. Dr. W. C. Spalding, Surgeon in the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, resigned his commission on account of ill health. Dr. D. Dubois was appointed in his stead, and William T. Summerfeldt appointed Assistant Surgeon in place of Dubois, promoted.

October. - Darius Gibbs appointed First Lieutenant Company B, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, in place of Norman Humphreys, resigned. Corp. Julius H. Keyes, wounded at Champion Hill, returned home on a furlough.

November. - John Little appointed First Lieutenant Company D, Seventeenth Wisconsin. Lieut. Col. McMahon, Seventeenth Wisconsin, assigned to the command of the Second Brigade,

First Division, of the Seventeentli Corps, under Brig. Gen. Dennis, of the Army of the Cumberland. Lieut. A. F. Baehr promoted Captain Company E, Twentieth Wisconsin, in place of Capt. F. Kusel, resigned, and Second Lieut. G. Bauman appointed First Lieutenant, in place of Baehr, promoted.

December. - Sergt. H. D. Carlin, Company D, Seventeenth Wisconsin, opened a recruiting office in the Watertown House, to fill the depleted ranks of the " Irish Brigade."

February. - Col. Henry Bertram opened a recruiting office, offering a bounty of $402 for veterans and $-302 for fresh men, together with the $100 to be voted by the ta.xpayers of Watertown. Henry C. Hadley, formerly of the Sixteenth Wisconsin, re-enlisted in the Twenty-ninth. Watertown authorized by the Legislature to levy a tax to pay $100 bounty to volunteers. Capt. Off's company, of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry, re-enlisted. Lieut. Col. W. A. Greene appointed Colonel of the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, in place of Col. Gill, resigned. Sergt. Maj. Thompson appointed Second Lieutenant Company C. Seventeenth Wisconsin Volunteers re-enlisted. Henry C. Hadley appointed Adjutant of the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin.

March. - Capt. Mott, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, resigned on account of sickness; succeeded by Lieut. Gibbs ; Gibbs by Sergt. F. B. Northup. Dr. J. S. Potter appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Twenty-ninth.

June. - H. S. Ransom, formerly of Watertown, who went as Captain of a volunteer company from Whitehall, N. Y., had his arm shattered by a shell, and a minie ball passed through his right lung, in a fight between Gens. Butler and Beauregard. Sergt. David L. Cole, Company H, Thirty-seventh Wisconsin, killed in Virginia. He went from Watertown as a substitute.

July. - John C. Dervin returned, having served three years. Watertown filled her quota under the call for 500,000 volunteers. Lieut. McMahon returned: resigned after having marched with Sherman "to the sea." Sergt. James A. Norris, First Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, returned, having served three years. He was at the battle of Chickamauga, and helped to capture Atlanta.

November. - Sergt. W. A. Bingham, of the First Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, returned, after three years of faithful service. Thanksgiving dinner given by the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society.

December. - Citizens of the First Ward raise a special fund to pay substitutes to serve in place of those to be drawn in the call and draft for -' 300,000 more."

1865, January. - Adj. Crane, of the Seventeenth Wisconsin, returned from Savannah, having been with Sherman during his famous march through Georgia.

February. - The Legislature passed an act authorizing the wards of Watertown to raise a separate tax to pay for volunteers. Col. Bertram, of the Twentieth Wisconsin, returned from Mobile to follow his wife to the grave. Capt. E. Oft' and Lieut. J. P. McDonald, of the Third Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, returned ; time expired. Col. W. A. Greene, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, returned from Kennersville, La. ; time expired.

April. - The fall of Richmond ! Great enthusiasm and the wildest excitement in Watertown. Private residences illuminated, and the streets ablaze with bonfires ; and the excitement did not subside when the joyous news was received that Lee had surrendered. The prospects for peace and an undivided Union were true sources of exultation. Main street presented a bewildering scene, on the 10th of April, when a grand procession paraded from one end to the other, and back again, with banners flying, music playing and the multitude shouting itself hoarse, the whole demonstration being a spontaneous and overflowing outburst of the patriotic emotions of the popular heart.

But all this joy was turned into the deepest sorrow a few days later, when the news was flashed ovpr the wires that President Lincoln had been assassinated. The -26th of April, the date of the obsequies of the martyred President, was appropriately observed. All places of business were closed, most of them being heavily draped in mourning, and services were held in all the churches.

May. - The killing of Booth, the assassin, and the capture of that arch-traitor, Jefferson Davis, in woman's clothes, seemed to partially relieve the people of their sorrowful looks and feelings.

June. - A minie ball taken from the right nasal cavity of Julius H. Keyes, where it had been imbedded for two years, received at the battle of Champion Hills, May 16, 1863.

Every day began to bring the familiar face of some battle-worn veteran, returning from the war. " The late rebellion " soon became a favorite term applied to the bloody conflict which had raged for over four years. Peace and quiet and prosperity had returned to the land, let us hope to remain forever.

Political History

The Democratic party early gained the ascendency in the county, and has generally maintained it, although, in the early conflicts, the Whig party, and later the Republican party, have won some victories over it, and obtained some temporary advantages.

The causes for such early and steady adhesion to the fortunes of that party, if sought for, will be found in the fact that the pioneers of the county - those who acted leading and important parts in organizing the county, opening its roads, bridging its streams, locating and founding its cities and numerous villages, and building its mills and bringing in settlers, and helping and encouraging them under the work and di.scouragements attending the settlement of a new county - were Democrats, and were men of good, strong sense and of resolute nature, and such results were among the most natural things ; for brains and force together seldom fail to impress themselves upon milder and more gentle material, and hence the settlers of a new country are always found following, in a certairv sense, the most forcible character which they find in their communities. In this way, we can easily account for the establishment of any peculiar social or political ideas in a community.

The men elected from the county to the Constitutional Convention, which framed our present Constitution, were all Democrats, and were influential in that body of able men. Of those delegates, there remain Milo Jones, of the city of Fort Atkinson, and Theodore Prentiss, of the city of Watertown. Mr. Jones is a man of sturdy nature, and whether in business or politics, does nothing haltingly. Possessing great energy of character, and in the early times, in shaping the social and political situation, he justly exercised a wide and permanent iniluence. Mr Prentiss carried into that coiivention one of its most sagacious heads, a thoughtful and trained mind and pleasant and courteous manners. Mr. Vanderpoel was an apt and adroit man, and could acquit himself well in all places. Mr. Folts (now dead), of the town of Hebron, was wise, conservative, safe in counsel and useful in suggestion. To this list of Democratic names should be added those of many cotemporaries, in all the towns of the county, such as E. G. Darling, William Sanborn, Alonzo Wing, Capt. Robert Masters, Capt. E. D. Masters, of Jefferson, the Rogan brothers, Hon. William M. Dennis, Peter V. Brown, and many others, of Watertown; Hon. Austin Kellogg, and others, of Concord, and the Hon. W. W. Woodman, of Farraington - the very Achilles of the Jefferson County Democracy ; active, alert, persevering ; coming always fearlessly to the front, and having a voice in all things affecting the honor or interests of the county, whether it be to watch the taxation, fill a quota or rout the Republicans at the polls. These, with hundreds of others in all parts of the county, of whom we have not space to make personal mention, constituted the leadership of the Democratic party, and to those who know them, their success in the respects mentioned is no subject of wonder or surprise ; it

Another cause operating to make Jefferson County Democratic, proper to be mentioned here, was a tendency on the part of persons identified with the Whig party to sympatliy with the objects and aims of the Know Nothings. Not that any organization of the kind existed in the county, but the foreigners, who were rapidly filling up the country, strongly suspected the Whig party of illiberal tendencies, and that, whether well or ill founded, served to settle the question as to where our foreign-born citizens would ally themselves, and so, with rare exceptions, they are attached to the Democratic party.

The history of the early contests in the county between the Whig and Democratic parties shows that, at an early time, the former had able and sagacious leaders ; indeed, many of the early pioneers of the county were Whigs, and were men of great worth as citizens, notably the Cole brothers, in Watertown ; many of the settlers in the towns of Oakland and Lake Mills, and also in the towns of Koshkonong and Palmyra. The last battle under those names was fought in 1854, the Democrats carrying the county. In 1856, the young Republican party came into the field and made a good fight, but gained no permanent advantage, except that it found its leaders and learned that it could strike heavy blows. In 1858, the Democrats again carried the county. In 1860, the long struggle over the Nebraska Bill and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise gave great energy and vigor to the new party, and it carried the county by a fair majority, for the first time. In 1862, the Democrats recovered their lost ground, and again, in 1864, asserted their supremacy at the polls. In 1866, the Republican party made a vigorous campaign, worked with great energy and determination ; but failed, excepting that their candidate for County Treasurer, Mr. Edmund Sweeney, of Watertown, was elected. The majorities of most of the Democratic candidates were run down very low. Mr. Sweeney was a very liberal and popular man, and outrun both his opponents and his friends, being justly held in high esteem by men of all parties.

Since 1866, the Republicans have not made a strong effort to carry the county, but have mainly confined their efforts to breaking the Democratic ranks, here or there, where they have thought they discovered a weakness, but not with any success until 1878. The trouble so sure to attend great majorities has now fallen upon the great and once invincible Jefferson County Democracy. Bad faith among leaders, selfishness among candidates - of which a dominant party is always possessed of a surplus, and with whom the interests of the party are secondary in importance - have done their work, and the party lately so proud and strong presents a most humiliating spectacle of disorganization and helplessness. In 1878, the county elected a Republican Senator, by a larger majority than was ever given to a Democrat ; elected Republicans in two of the Assembly districts which had been Democratic ; gave the Republican condidate for Congress a large majority; defeated the Democratic candidate for District Attorney, and reduced the majorities of all the candidates. So far as it went, the rout was complete. This is not the time or place to in((uire into the causes for such a defeat, but it is safe to say it suggests a necessity for reform in the methods oi' party management.

The Republican party in the county is in the hands and control of an exceedingly able and sagacious body of men, and they promptly seize upon the mistakes of the majority and turn them to account ; and, however overwhelming a defeat may overtake them at the polls, they close up the ranks, scan closely the causes, and challenge the old enemy anew. The officials of the General Government, in the county, are fit and competent men, next to the consideration of which the most common purpose of their appointment is utility and willingness to work for the party. The effectiveness of such work is most clearly pointed out in the results of the late election (1879). While the Democratic candidate for Governor carries the county by a reduced majority, the candidate on the ticket with him for County Superintendent of Schools is defeated, and the candidate for Clerk of the Circuit Court barely escapes defeat. These are the only county candidates running at this election. A Republican is elected by a large majority in the First Assembly District, which is usually Democratic by 600 majority ; and a Republican is

It has been said by eminent political philosophers that it is impossible for a political party to correct abuses and reform itself while it holds power in its hands. It remains to be seen whether the Democratic party in the county, as well as in the State and nation, can perfect and accomplish internal reforms in itself while out of power and smarting under most inglorious defeat.

Fortunately for posterity, Timothy Johnson, the first white settler in what is now the city of Watertown, has left us a sketch which will shine in these pages as a jeweled monument to his memory until age and the fingers of unborn generations shall have faded and worn them beyond man's power of transcription. Already the documents handed down to us by this earliest of early pioneers begin to show signs of decay and emit the musty odor of age. Who, could they behold them, would say that the advent of the compiler is untimely, or that the preservation of these historical fragments is not a commendable deed for a worthy object? Let us hope that some future historian will perpetuate the memory of Timothy Johnson and his companions of 18.36 - 37, by collating this record with the spirit of duty and pride which should animate the breast of every student of research.

Luther A. Cole, one of the very few early settlers of Watertown now living, came from Milwaukee to what was then Johnson's Rapids (now Watertown), in 1836, arriving in cumpany with Reeve Griswold (who now lives a short distance .south of Watertown), Philander Baldwin and Amasa Hyland. Mr. Cole was born in West Charleston, Orleans Co., Vt., November 1, 1812. He says that previous to 1836, very little or nothing was reliably known of the spot where the city of Watertown now stands. It is reported that a Frenchman had established a trading-post on the west side of Rock River, in what is now the Third Ward, on a rise of ground where Timothy Johnson built the first dwelling-house ever erected by an American within the present limits of the city. Near the Frenchman's deserted and decaying cabin, was an Indian burying-ground, containing several graves. At the head of one of them stood a rude wooden cross, which tradition says was the last resting-place of the solitary trader, who had been murdered by the Indians in a fierce impulse of passion, to avenge some real or fancied injury, or to get an opportunity to plunder his stock. It is well known that Indians sometimes pav their debts in that way, and at the same time supply their wants. Who the trader was, where he came from, how long he had been here, what acts aroused the fatal resentment of his savage neighbors, are inquiries so deeply involved in mystery that they can never be answered.

When Mr. Cole came to Johnson's Rapids, he found the west side of the river occupied by Winnebago Indians, and the east side in the possession of Pottawatomies. Scattered about here and there, were several acres of cleared land which had been cultivated as cornfields by the Indians, and the old hills, where the corn had been planted, he says, were plainly visible. They were strongly attached to this region ; it had long been tlieir home, and here were the graves of their ancestors. They surrendered it with regret and left it unwillingly.

It is related that in the summer of 1833, a detachment of soldiers, commanded by Gen. Henry Dodge, crossed the river a few rods north of Main street bridge, in pursuit of that celebrated war chief. Black Hawk. Evidence of this was found in the form of an old, broken-down Government wagon which had been abandoned by the troops, half a mile east of the river. The red men of the forest, who dwelt in this beautiful valley before the advent of civilization, have, many of them, gone to " the happy hunting-grounds." A few of them still linger about the scenes of their youth and gaze, seemingly, with regretful eyes upon grand structures standing upon the ground once warmed by the ashes of their campfires.

Timothy Johnson

A few of the incidents connected with the experience of Timothy Johnson, before he settled on the site of Watertown, are identical with the subject of this chapter. Mr. Johnson, not long before his death, wrote a narrative of his experience here, from which the subjoined facts are taken. He was a native of Middletown, Conn., born June 28, 1792. After traveling over and living in many parts of the South and East, he found himself, in the fall of 1835, in the village of Racine, at that'time composed of but a few shanties. In January, 1836, undeterred by the severity of winter storms, he continued his march westward, striking the Rock River Valley in the vicinity of Wisconsin City, a "paper village" with one inhabitant, the site of which is now embraced within the limits of Janesville. Going to Rockford, 111., for a supply of provisions, he returned to Wisconsin City, and, in February, renewed his journey, following the course of the river northward. Stopping about two miles below the present site of Jefferson, Johnson erected a small log shanty. He occupied his time by clearing a small spot of ground, and in making short excursions about the country. During one of these exploring expeditions, he discovered what was soon afterward known as Johnson's Rapids (now Watertown). The banks of the river at this point were fringed with a beautiful growth of red cedars, the background being thickly wooded, on the west side with stately oaks and on the east with a forest of maples, elms and ash. The eastern half of the stream was covered with a sheet of glistening ice, and, felling a tree across the unfrozen current, the solitary adventurer crossed over the rippling waters and returned to his shanty. While on this expedition, Johnson was robbed of the provisions he carried with him by a band of red-skins, and was without food forty-eight hours.

Johnson visited " the Rapids " again within a few weeks, and staked out a '' claim " of about one thousand acres, whereon the principal portion of W^atertown now stands. In June, 1836, he made a trip to Milwaukee, where he purchased a fresh supply of pi'ovisions, a yoke of oxen and a wagon. He returned to his shanty on Rock River by way of Fort Atkinson, bringing with him Philander Baldwin, Reeve Griswold and Charles Seaton. During the summer, thev cut a road from Johnson's shanty up the east side of the river to " the Rapids," and soon afterward built a log cabin on the west side of the river, below the railroad junction, on the site now occupied by Mr. Carlin's residence. Seaton, Griswold and Baldwin were permitted by Mr. Johnson to make claims within his thousand-acre plat, and temporary cabins were erected thereon. In the f:vll, Johnson sent word to his family in Ohio to meet him in Milwaukee, and, about the time he calculated they would reach that point, he took his departure from "the Rapids," on horseback, for the purpose of joining them, following the Indian trails through Ixonia, Oconomowoc and Summit to Prairieville (now Waukesha). WHiile crossing the river, Mr. Johnson was thrown from his horse, receiving a thorough wetting and rendering useless his fire-matches. Being without a supply of " fire-water," he passed a cold and disagreeable night beside a fallen tree near the junction of the Twin Lakes.

A Difficult Voyage

On reaching Milwaukee, he found his family awaiting him. Procuring their conveyance to the upper lake on the Oconomowoc, Mr. Johnson, on his Indian pony, returned to that point by a less circuitous route than the one to be traveled by his family. Arriving there on "schedule time," he met, as per previous arrangement. Reeve Griswold and Richard Miller, the hitter having in the mean time joined the settlers at "the Rapids." Here the trio, armed with the necessary edged tools, dug three poplar canoes, each being thirty-one feet in length. A cedar raft was then constructed capable of carrying several tons, and the primitive fleet was launched and then lashed together. With this catamaran Mr. Johnson anticipated but little trouble ut floating his household goods down the Oconomowoc and Rock Rivers to "the Rapids." But the voyiige proved to be anything but a pleasant one. Passing out of the lake, they found the water quite shallow, and some days they did not travel to exceed eighty rods. After five days of tribulation, the party reached what is now the village of Oconomowoc, at the head of the lower lake. The next morning the lake was covered with ice, and further progress was impossible. Abandoning the project of reaching their destination by water, Johnson and Miller set out to procure a team with which to complete the journey. Retaining to the spot where his family was temporarily encamped, Mr. Johnson filled his wagon with the most necessary articles comprising the cargo of his peculiar craft, including his wife and children, and started for "the Rapids." At the crossing of a stream, afterward known as Battletown Creek, about three miles from the lake, it was found necessary to build a bridge in order to get the wagon and team over. The weather was intensely cold, and a temporary cabin was constructed to shelter the party while the work of bridging was going on. During his stay at this point, Johnson had "a slight unpleasantness" with a man in his employ named Gardner, which ended in an old-fashioned fisticuff", in which Gardner was defeated. The next morning. Reeve Griswold wrote with a piece of red chalk, across the face of a fresh-cut stump, the word '- Battletown." From this incident Battletown Creek took its name.

The bridge finished and the stream crossed, it was found necessary to cut a road through the woods the remaining thirteen miles to "the Rapids," and on the 10th of December, 1836, three weeks and three days from the time the poplar canoes and cedar raft were launched, the party reached their final destination.

These are but a few of the incidents attending the first settlement of Watertown, about all of which there is any record from the pen of Timothy Johnson. Thus they are born again to live, let us hope, for all time to come.

Luther A. Cole

A few years ago, Luther A. Cole wrote a sketch upon the subject of his experience in Wisconsin. He premised his remarks by saying he left his home in Vermont at the age of twentytwo, and landed at Detroit in 1834. From there he went to Grand Haven, where, in company with Philander Baldwin and Elisha M. Osborn, he went to Chicago. From that village the trio started on foot for Milwaukee, following the Indian trails most of the way, and arriving there May 10, 1836.

"I worked," says Mr. Cole, "at the carpenter and joiner business until December, with the exception of about two months, which I devoted exclusively to the ague. Taking my blanket and provisions upon my shoulder, I started for Johnson's Rapids, passing over the road which bad been cut out by Mr. Johnson a few weeks previous. Amasa flyland accompanied me. A few months before, I had, through the agency of a friend, made two claims at the Rapids, one covering the farm now owned by John W. Cole, and the other the farm now owned by heirs of Benjamin J. Morey. In January following, I purchased, at Milwaukee, three barrels of flour and three of pork. I paid $20 a barrel for the flour and §40 a barrel for the pork. Building a cabin in company with Mr. Hyland and my brother, John W., we commenced keeping what we called 'bachelors' distress.' The peculiar luxury of this method of living can only be appreciated by those who have enjoyed it. We made it a point not to wash our dishes until we could count the mice tracks upon them.

" The season of 1837, I worked on the saw-mill and dam of Charles F. H. Goodhue & Son. From that time until the fall of 1839, I was occupied mainly at lumbering and farming. In November of that year, Mr. Hyland, J. A. Chadwick, David Griffith, William P. Owen, William Stanton, Jr., Brice Hall, John Dimmick and myself went to Arkansas for the purpose of spendinc the wintei- in chopping steamboat wood. We floated down Rock River in a skifl", and were eight days reaching the Mississippi. We remained in Arkansiis until the following spring, each of us making a clever-sized 'pile,' when we returned to Watertown.

"In 1841, my brother John W. and myself erected the building on the corner of Main and Second streets, and opened the first store in Watertown. The next year, Mr. Bailey and myself purchased of Selvay Kidder (he having previously purchased of the Goodhues) 750 acres of land )n the east side of the river, included in the present site of the city, with the mill and wateraower. We were to pay 1,000,000 feet of lumber, to be delivered at Beloit within seven years. We associated with us, the next year, Linus R. Cady and my brother, Ebenezer W., and in ;hree years and a half from the date of the purchase we made the last payment.

* * * * u jjj ^}jg gpj-ing of 1838, provisions and money were scarce. We had but ittle pork in the settlement, and subsisted mainly upon fresh fish, with which Rock River ibounded. Our flour having failed us, at one time we were nearly a week without bread.

" The Winnebago Indians committed many petty thefts for some time after Watertown was irst settled. One of them having stolen a watch from Mr. Griswold, a pair of mittens of Peter V. Brown, and a quantity of tobacco from me, we thought it best to make an example of him. Forming a ring and stripping him of his blanket, Griswold and I took turns in applying the ash to his back. But we tempered justice with mercy; no blood was drawn. The expedient BTorked like a charm. After that, Indian thefts were hardly known in the settlement."

A Mild Revenge

Timothy Johnson has also left some sketches regarding the unpleasant features of having^ [ndian neighbors. "In January, 1837," he says, "I bought a load of provisions at Milwaukee. 3ne barrel of flour I could not get into my shanty, and I left it, for the night, outside the door. [n the morning, it was gone, as was also a bed-cord I had used to bind the load. I could easily letermine, from the tracks in the snow, that the thieves were Indians. I followed them nearly 0 the present village of Lowell, but, not overtaking them, gave up the chase. About two years ifterward, I ascertained the name of the mover in the theft. He said that he and his company ashed two poles together with the bed-cord, and, fastening them to the pack-saddles of two jonies, placed the flour upon them. The reason he assigned for the theft was that, while I was n Milwaukee after my provisions, he had sold a pony to my son for five gallons of whisky, vhich, he said, he found to have been watered. He maintained that the flour would no more ;han make good the supposed cheat.

An Unequal Struggle

" In the spring of 1837, six drunken Indians and their squaws came to my log house and isked for whisky, saying, in their native language, that they were 'whisky hungry.' I refused o let them have any. This exasperated them, and one of their number, catching up an ax, limed a blow at my head ; but I warded it off, and, jerking the ax from him, threw it at some -ods distant. I then seized a pitchfork, and, striking him over the head, felled him to the jround. Drawing to strike again, the instrument was caught by the remaining five Indians, md neither party was able to wrench it from the other. Letting go with my right hand, I used ny fist upon the red-skins, and, knocking them all down, rushed into the house and bolted the loor. One of them got the ax, and, approaching the door, gave it a blow, the mark of which s visible to this day. I told him I would assuredly shoot him if he broke in the door. A conlultation took place between them, and, picking up the Indian whom I had first struck, they leparted, encamping for the night near the present residence of William M. Dennis. Early he next morning, the father of the wounded Indian visited me, and said he wanted some whisky vith which to wash his papoose's head, as he was ' much hurt.' I told him he could not have he whisky, but that I would go up and see the fellow. I did so, and found the camp thirty itrong. I examined his skull, but found it was not broken, although it had been laid bare by he blow from the pitchfork. I assisted in dressing the wound, and then left. Had not the 'ather of the young man voluntarily proclaimed that he was 'a bad papoose,' the affair might lave been attended with serious consequences ; as it was, I heard no more of it."

An Ancient Mariner

Capt. James Rogan is one of the few who still live to relate the circumstances of Watertown's first settlement. The Captain is now seventy-eight years of age. He converses upon the subject of pioneer days in Wisconsin in the manner of one in the possession of a good memory, and is gifted with the faculty of depicting the early events with wonderful detail, and coloring them with that happy Munchausen hue so faithfully employed by writers of the modern daily press. He acquired the title of Captain through being the commander of a schooner which plowed the treacherous waters of Lake Michigan, and belongs to that army of ''old salts" whose weather-eye is ever on the alert for Fortune Harbor. In 1835-36, the Captain made several trips in his vessel from Cleveland, to Milwaukee, and in the latter year he abandoned the mission of a mariner when in port at the latter village, establishing himself there in the general merchandise business. In the summer of 1836, Charles Seaton, who, as already related, came to the present site of Watertown with Timothy Johnson and Reeve Griswold, and located a claim, returned to Milwaukee, where he met Capt. Rogan. The .beauties of Rock River Valley were narrated by Seaton with such eloquent effect that the Captain concluded to cast his lot in that direction. Exchanging his schooner, which rode at anchor in the lake, for Seaton's land claim, he made preparations to remove, with his family, to the spot predestined to be their home for many years. In January, 1837, the Captain came to the Rapids, made a claim on the west side of the river, built a house thereon, and returned to Milwaukee for his family and friends. The party consisted of Capt. Regan, his wife and two daughters (the eldest of whom afterward became the wife of Dr. Cody), Peter Rogan and Ezra Dolliver. They arrived at Johnson's Rapids on the 2d of March, 1837, and camped on the west side of the river. Their first work was the construction of a double log house on the site now occcupied by Woodard & Stone's bakery. The Captain's shanty at once became the headquarters of all new arrivals, and was for some time regarded as "the leading hotel at Johnson's Rapids." Gov. Ludington and his uncle, Harvey Burchard, and John Hustis. are among those who have roasted Irish potatoes (the Captain's native fruit) in the hospitable fireplace of the Hotel de Rogan .

" Potatoes cost me twenty shillings a bushel in Chicago," says the Captain, "and four shillings a bushel to bring them here from Milwaukee ; but I consider them cheap even at that price, when I think of the good solid comfort we had baking them in the ashes and eating them with tlie jackets on. When I came here," continued the Captain, after a solemn pause, " there were over four hundred Winnebago Indians camped within half a mile of the place whereon I built my shanty. But they were the best neighbors I ever had. I brought with me from Milwaukee a large supply of that indispensable concomitant which figures so largely in the complete commissariat of every frontiersman. It was of a good quality, too, and when I sold or traded it to the Indians I refrained from the reprehensible practice of diluting it with water - a practice which, I am sorry to say, is a prevailing one among dealers of the present day. The Indians all liked me and my whisky ; and even now the remnants of their race still living in this vicinity, when they visit Watertown, come to my house, and they never go away thirsty. * * * *

This was the prettiest valley I ever saw - standing boldly out in its native grandeur ; grand groves of oaks and elms and maples and basswood; the banks of the river on either side fringed with red cedars, resembling hedge fences. Within the forest abounded herds of deer. I have seen at one time over one hundred of these animals gamboling over the very spot where St. Bernard's Church now stands."

The Captain also relates the following "fish story:" "The waters of Rock River were alive with fish. When the first dam was built the stream below it was left very shallow, and it was a favorite place for teamsters to cross from one side of the river to the other. If you'll believe me, the fish were so thick that hundreds of them were killed by the feet of the teams, while others would be thrown into the air by the spokes of the revolving wheels."

The First Death And The First Birth

It is to be regretted that the first death of a white person in Watertown was the result of intemperance. Far better had it been a tragedy - if tragedy it must be - of a bloodier nature. The victim was Thomas Bas3. He was burned to death in January, 1837, in a cabin which stood near the old site of Virgil D. Green's wagon-shop. Bass and two or three others had passed the afternoon and evening by drinking and carousing. Their debauch was prolon;;ed far into the night, and the next morning Bass was found near the fire a corpse, one arm being nearly burned ofl', and other parts of his body badly charred. A coffin from hewn pieces of basswood was prepared, and the remains were interred not far from the site of the old schoolhouse. William Brayton, of Aztalan, recited a prayer on the occasion of the funeral. Rumors having been circulated that violence was the prime cause of the horrible affair, the Coroner of Milwaukee was sent for, the remains disinterred and an inquest held. As a result of the inquest, two men, who were with Bass on that tragic night, were arrested and taken to Milwaukee for trial, but they were acquitted.

There is a diversity of opinion as to who was the first white child born in Watertown. Capt. James Rogan states, with characteristic positiveness, that to Alzenia Johnson, daughter of Timothy Johnson, and who is now believed to be residing in Florida, belongs the honor. The Captain says his wife was present when the infant Alzenia came into the world, and he gives as the date of the event, June, 1837.

By others it is asserted that a daughter of Isaac Hammerson, now believed to be living in Eau Claire, was the first white child who saw the light of day in this portion of Rock River Valley. Mr. Luther Cole states that Alzenia Johnson was two years old when the family came from Milwaukee, and that her father carried her over the mud-holes upon his back.

The First Deed

Capt. James Rogan claims to hold the first deed to any land within the present limits of the city of Watertown ever conveyed to any person. He says it was given to him by John Hall, of Michigan, who accompanied a Government Surveyor named Brink on a surveying exjiedition operating in the Rock River Valley in 1885. The Captain says it is dated July 9, 1833. The land covered by the deed was the northwest quarter of Section 32, Town 9, Range 15. The second deed to the property was received for I'ecord August 26, 1836, at 11 A. M., by Cyrus Hawley, Deputy Register of Milwaukee County, and was made between Charles Seaton, of Milwaukee, of the first part, and James Rogan, of the same place, of the second part. The consideration was $1, and "this indenture assigns forever, all one equal undivided sixth part of six claims on Rock River, made by Messrs. Johnson, Griswold, Orr, Tucker, T. Holmes and Seaton."

Growth Of Watertown

In 1868, at the request of the editor of the Democrat, Luther A. Cole furnished a sketch for publication in that journal, which contained some valuable information relative to the progress of Watertown. "In the latter part of 1836," says Mr. Cole, "Charles F. H. Goodhue and George J. Goodhue came up Rock River from Beloit and purchased the claims of Timothy Johnson and others, on the east side of the river. During that fall and winter, and the spring of 1837, ten or twelve log houses, or cabins, as they were called, were hastily put up and roofed with shakes, there being no lumber or shingles here then. In the spring of 1837, the soil was broken and the first seed put into the earth. Small quantities of corn, potatoes and beans were raised and harvested, but most of our breadstufis had to be brought from Milwaukee, through a dense and unbroken wilderness, at a great cost of time, trouble and labor, to say nothing of the iiigh price that was originally paid for theni, flour being worth $25 per barrel. In the spring of 1837, James Rogan and two or three other families came here, in addition to Mr. Johnson's family.

In May of that year, George J. Goodhue came here with his millwrights, built a double sawmill and put a dam across Rock River - the first ever built on that stream, either in Wisconsin or Illinois. The mill was ready for sawing and began to turn out lumber in December following. At that time, the inhabitants here numbered about seventy persons."

First Settlers

Mr. Cole's sketch concludes as follows : " The roads were very bad and frequently impassable. In the month of July, 1837, a company of fifteen men went out east toward Milwaukee, and spent two weeks in the woods in constructing bridges and causeways, so that teams could pass with wagons. At this day, some people think they sufier in coming here over the railroads now running in every direction; a slight touch of pioneer experience would show them the difference between traveling then and now. Our city did not improve very rapidly for some years; most of the lumber manufactured here being taken in rafts down the river to Janesville, Beloit and Rockford. In 1841, James Rogan erected another saw-mill on the west side of the river. In the fall of 1842, the property on the east side of the river was purchased by Cole, Bailey k Co., who. during the following year, erected what was long known as the old yellow grist-mill. A part of the city was then laid out in blocks and lots, Milo Jones, of Fort Atkinson, being the surveyor. After that the village took a fresh start, and the surrounding country began to settle up with farmers. Brick blocks began to appear, and we have gone steadily forward until now [1868] our city numbers about 10,000 people, the German element predominating."

In the spring of 1853, the date of Watertown's incorporation as a city, the place contained 4,000 inhabitants. There were six dry-goods, eleven grocery, two drug and three hardware stores ; fifteen taverns (and saloons), two bakeries, three meat markets, two livery stables, one tobacconist's factory, seven blacksmith, six wagon, two joiner, two jewelry, four tin, six cabinet, one chair, one machine and five shoe shops ; one fork and hoe, one plow, one door and sash and one saleratus factory ; three flouring and four saw mills ; one fanning-mill and two harnessmaker's shops, two bookstores, two barber-shops, one gunsmith, one tannery, one furnace, one pottery, one oil-mill, one carding machine, one rake and cradle factory, one woolen and yarn factory, two printing offices, six schoolhouses, two select schools and one bank.

The census of 1855 shows the population of Watertown to have been 8,512, an increase of 7,000 in ten years. In point of population it was the second city in the State.

In 1856, the city of Watertown, among other institutions, contained twelve schools, nine churches, twentv-eieht dry-goods, twenty-four grocery, nine hardware, four drug, six clothing, six boot and shoe and three fancy stores ; ten hotels and two banks, five livery stables, five meat markets, four millinery establishments, four bookstores, four printing offices, one foundry, nine saw-mills, three flouring-mills, one woolen factory, ten carriage-shops, twenty-nine blacksmithshops, nine cooper-shops, three bakers, seven lumber-yards, seven brickyards and fifteen warehouses.

The growth of the city since that time has been of the most permanent character. Schools and churches have increased in number and importance. Manufacturing establishments have been enlarged to meet the demands of the populous territory which invariably and necessarily surrounds a prosperous city. Three railway lines form a junction within the limits of Watertown, affording a convenient outlet for the abundance of breadstuffs and other necessaries of life, the fruits of fertile fields and industrious hands. But it is impossible to do justice to the institutions of Watertown by referring to them in a general way. Each interest must be treated individually and specifically in order to show its importance.

To that greatest of the great companions of civilization, the public school, Watertown is chiefly indebted for its prosperity. To the same agency it owes its present importance, and upon the development or hampering of that agency must surely depend its future advancement or decay. Thirty-five years ago, the settlers of Watertown saw the necessity for adopting measures afl^ording educational opportunities to their children. Their own experience had taught them the value of even the most meager knowledge of books obtainable in the common school, and they were not slow to determine that their posterity should have at least the same advantages. To this end we find in the first " Records of School District No. 1, of Watertown," the following :

At the annual meeting of the legal voters of School District No. 1, held at A. Hoffman's shop, in Watertown, on the first Monday of October, A. D. 1844, Timothy Johnson was appointed Moderator. The District Clerk being absent. Jacob J. Enos was appointed C\erk pro tern. The following named persons were then chosen officers for the ensuing year: John C. Oilman, Michael Murphy and Haven M. Morrison, Trustees; John Gibb, Collector; Jacob J. Enos. Clerk. On motion of P. Rogan, it was resolved that the year be divided into two terms, called the winter and summer terms, and that two-thirds of the public moneys be applied to the winter term and one-third to the summer term. On motion, the meeting adjourned sine die. Jacob J. Enos, CUrk.

At a similar meeting held April 28, 1845, it was resolved that " the trustees hire a male teacher for five months, and, if they deem it expedient, that they employ an assistant female teacher."

In October, of the same year, it was decided " to move the schoolhouse on to Lot No. 4, in Block No. 32, provided it be moved by Cole, Bailey & Co., at their own expense, and provided further, that the said Cole, Bailey & Co. give the district as good title to said No. 4 as it has to the one on which the schoolhouse now stands." It was also resolved at this meeting "that $80 be raised by tax for the purpose of hiring a schoolroom the coming winter."

At the annual meeting held in October, 1846, it was " resolved that the Trustees be empowered to sell stove and pipe, the proceeds to go into the contingent fund."

The struggles of these early pioneers to establish educational facilities for their children were not without avail. As the population of Watertown increased, in the same measure did a substantial school system become necessary. The log schoolhouse, with its puncheon floor, was ibandoned for the more commodious and genteel frame or brick, with seats of surfaced lumber md soft pine backs, on which the " a-b, ab " student might test the edge of his first jack-knife. Instead of Trustee, the more exalted title of " Director " was written, and finally Superintendent jf Schools became a necessary office, as the following will show :

Watebtown, December 19, 1849. To Heber Smith : The office of District Treasurer, in School District No 1, in the town of Watertown, having jecome vacant, and the District Board [Directors] of said district having failed to fill the same within ten days, you ire hereby appointed to fill said vacancy until the next annual meeting in said district.

'- To Rev. Melancthon Moyt, Superintendent, etc.: I hereby certify that the number of children between the ages of four and twenty years residing in School District No. 1 is as follows : Male, 138 ; female, 166 ; total, 304. I also certify that school has been kept in said district by a qualified teacher for three months during the vear ending with the 31st of March, 1850."

September 4, 1850, the Clerk of the Board reported that " school had been taught during that year by qualified teachers, eight and three-quarters months, as follows : By C. A. Abel, three months, at §28 per month ; by Mrs. Newcorab, three weeks, at §3.33 per week ; by H. P. Chamberlain, three months, at $28 per month, and by Miss Jane Burnham, two months, at $8 per month. Amount of money received from the Town Superintendent within the year, $174.46 ; amount raised by the district, §89.09. Applied to the payment of teachers' wages, §193 ; repairing schoolhouse and for fuel, §7.84 ; collecting school-tax, §4.45. Books used in schools : the Eclectic series of Readers, Ray's Arithmetic, Smith k Pruner's Grammar, Comstock's Natural Philosophy, McGuffey's Spelling-Book."

In July, 1850, School District No. 5, in the town of Emmett, Dodge County, was formed. Thus, a large portion of District No. 1 was cut off, causing a noticeable diminution in the number of scholars in the latter district, while the expense remained quite as large, as is shown by the following report of Heber Smith, Board Clerk, dated September 26, 1853 :

" Number of children in said district (No. 1) on August 31, 1853, under twenty years and over four years, 263 [against 304 in 1850]. Number of months a school has been taught, eight and a half, as follows : By A. Brooks and associate, six months, at an expense of $235 ; by E. Tompkinson, two and a half months, §78. Amount of moneys received from district tax, $199.35 ; amount delinquent, §48.13."

Other districts were formed within the limits of No. 1, still further reducing its territory. This was made necessary by the rapid increase in population ; but, instead of a decrease in the number of pupils belonging to No. 1, the report of A. F. Cady, the Board Clerk, made September 1, 1855, shows 426 in attendance during that year. The expense account of the district for the same period was §460.48.

In March, 1856, the Legislature passed an act authorizing the organization of the schools of Watertown under the system known as the Union School System, and on the 12th of April, same year, the provisions of the law were carried out. Under this act, the schools of the city are controlled by a Board of Education, consisting of seven Commissioners, one from each ward, to which the Superintendent belongs as ex officio member, though not qualified to vote. The Commissioners are elected at the spring elections, for the term of two years, while the Superintendent is elected by the Board, whose meetings arc held on the first Wednesday of each month. The fir.st Board of Education elected under the new system was as follows: First Ward, L. R. Cady and Myron B. Williams ; Second Ward, Lawrence FribeVt and Heber Smith ; Third Ward, Samuel Ford and Peter Rogan ; Fourth Ward, James Cody and Patrick Rogan ; Fifth Ward, Jacob Baumann and William ISI. Dennis; Sixth Ward, John Ford and Fred Hermann. William M. Dennis was chosen President of the Board at its first meeting, held April 12, 1856, and C. B. Skinner was appointed Superintendent of Schools.

One frame and three large brick buildings are now in use for the accommodation of those attending school under the Union system. Union School No. 1 contains all the grades, from the first High School to the lowest Primary grade. No. 2 commences with the first Grammar grade, and No. 3 (in Dodge County) with the first Intermediate grade. The First Ward School contains two primary grades. The edifice of Union School No. 1 is in the Second Ward, and was erected in 1863 ; No. 2 is in the Fourth Ward, and was built in 1867 ; No. 3, Sixth Ward, Was completed in 1871, and that in the First known as the First Ward School, in 1878. The cash value of the school property of Watertown is placed at §31,000. The number of children in the city August 31, 1878, over four and under twenty years of age, was 3,672 ; number in atte.'idance at the public schools, same date, 1,247 ; percentage of attendance on the enrollment, 83 ; number of teachers employed at that date, 20 ; average salaries paid male teachers, $866.6(j| per annum ; female teachers, $350 per annum.

The present Board of Education consists of one Commissioner from each ward, as follows : First Ward, Eugene Wiggenhorn ; Second Ward, E. C. Gnebler; Third Ward, A. SoUiday ; Fourth Ward, E. Sweeney ; Fifth Ward, H. Wilber ; Sixth Ward, C. Reubhausen ; Seventh Ward, J. M. McGolrick. E. Sweeney is President of the Board, and Charles F. Ninman, City Superintendent of Schools and Clerk of the Board. At the last meeting of the Board, the following teachers were appointed :

Union School, No. 2 - Principal and Teacher of Grammar, J. M. Turner ; Miss Minnie Voss, Assistant ; Intermediate, Miss Cora Bradbury, Miss Emma McMahon, Miss Emma Schochert, Miss Lizzie Davis and Miss Sarah McMahon.

Union School, No. 3 - Principal and Teacher of Intermediate Department, W. D. Parker ; Primary, Miss Attila Stallraann and Miss Celia Bouton.

The Northivestern University. - This institution was organized in 1864, by the Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin. A large brick structure was erected on the east side of the river, within the limits of the city of Watertown, at a cost of |!24,000, and was opened for the admission of students on the 1st of September, 1865, with Dr. Moldehnke as Principal, and Prof. Adam Martin as Assistant. There were but seven students who availed themselves of the advantages of the institution at the date of opening, but the number increased to forty before the end of the year. In 1867, a building was erected to afford boarding facilities for students. This was destroyed by fire on the 28th of December, 1874 ; loss, about $3,000. In the spring of 1875, a similar addition to the University was erected, at a cost of $16,000, being more commodious and better calculated to answer the purposes for which the original was intended. Prof. Martin was the first President of the University. He was chosen in 1866, and held the position for three years, being succeeded by the Rev. L. 0. Thompson. The latter retired in 1870, when the present incumbent, the Rev. August F. Ernst, was elected. The expense of an education at this institution is very slight when compared with the results which must accrue. The candidate for admission as a student is required to pay $30 for tuition and $2.25 for incidentals. He can also obtain board in the University for $100 per annum. Those studying theology and intending to engage in the ministry are not required to pay for tuition. There are now in attendance about two hundred students. Of this number, about two-thirds are from diff'erent parts of Wisconsin, the others belonging, principally, to Minnesota. The expense of carrying on the institution, not covered by the moneys received for tuition, etc., is defrayed by the Synod. Tiiere are seven professors now employed, namely : Prof Ernst, teacher of Moral and Mental Philosophy; Prof. William A. Notz, Greek; Prof Andrew W. Easterday, Mathematics; Prof. Andrew Peller, Assistant in various departments, and, at present, occupying the Latin Chair; Prof Oscar W. Easterday, Assistant in Natural Sciences ; Prof Thomas Snyder, Teacher of English. The school term begins the first Wednesday in September, and ends the last Tuesday in June.

College of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. - This institution is situated in the western limits of the city, and is one of the first objects to attract the attention of the traveler as he alights from the coaches of the Chicago & Northwestern road. Its history as given in the Milwaukee Catholic Citizen is as follows : In acquiescence to the formal invitation of his Grace, the Right Rev. Archbishop of Milwaukee, the Fathers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross took charge of St. Bernard's Parish. Rev. P. P. Cooney, C. S. C, was appointed Pastor by the Very Rev. A. Granger, Provincial at Notre Dame, Indiana. But the zeal of the Rev.

Fathers did not limit itself to the spiritual wants of the parish, and consequently they conceived the grand idea of establishing a college adapted to tlie wants of all. For tliis purpose they solicited and obtained from the Right Rev. Archbishop a beautiful tract of land to the west of the city, and erected thereon a splendid mansion surrounded by delightful and picturesque ground. In the beginning of September, 1872, it was opened for the reception of students under the administration of the Rev. W. Corby, C. S. C, who had held the position of Provincial and Superior at Notre Dame, Indiana, and President of that University. The young institution could not fail in being a success. So great was the number of students who flocked thither, the capacity of the building was inadequate to their accommodation. Hence, in the spring of 1873, President Corby set about erecting a commodious college, in order to have it ready for the first session, commencing the following September. This undertaking was carried on with such energy, that the institution was completed, chartered by an act of the Legislature, granted university privileges, and prepared for the reception of pupils in September, 1873. Some of the ablest men in the Congregation of the Holy Cross were appointed as officers and professors in it. Rev. P. J. Colovin, C. S. C, was Director of Studies, and Professor of Moral and Mental Philosophy and Classics. The Rev. Mr. Colovin being called to the Presidency of Notre Dame, he was succeeded in turn by the Rev. Fathers Brown, Franciscus, O'Connell and Carroll, the latter of whom had acquitted liimself in a most able manner as Professor of Classics and Higher Mathematics in 1876-77. Bro. Marcellinus, C. S. C, the present efficient Superior of the Academy at La Salle, 111., creditably acquitted himself as Professor of Book-keeping and Commercial Law, from 1872 to 1878. Bro. Gabriel, C. S. C, who now directs the Cathedral School at Milwaukee, managed the financial affairs of the college. In 1876, Rev. P. W. Condon, C. S. C, for several years Provincial and Superior of the South, was appointed President of the College. More recently the Rev. Mr. Colovin became President of the institution, and still holds that position. The Sisters of tlie Holy Cross have charge of the domestic department. The institution is in a flourishing condition.

Connected with the Evangelical Lutheran Church are two parochial schools - one being situated in the country, but the principal one is in Watertown, located directly opposite the church building on Jones street. In the latter, there are three classes, comprising about two hundred scholars. Both German and English are taught. The schoolhouse was built in 1864, and is of brick, two stories high. The children of parents belonging to the congregation are admitted at the rate of " two shillings " per month each. If there are more than two of the same family, the third and fourth are admitted free. Double rates are charged for children not of the Church.

The German Lutheran (St. John's) Society also supports two schools, one being in the country and the other situated in the Sixth Ward in Watertown. The latter was established twenty-four years ago, and now has over one hundred and ninety scholars. The teachers are F. W. Fuerslenan, First Class, and F. H. Meyer, Second Class.

Soon after the organization of the Moravian Church Society, a school was established by them, but under the influence of the public-school system, the institution suspended.

Each of the Catholic congregations in Watertown supports a parochial school. The old frame building, wherein St. Henry's (German) Society first worshiped, is now occupied as a schoolhouse by four Sister teachers who have presided over classes of Catholic children for the past twenty years in Watertown. During the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Norris, of St. Bernard's, a parochial school was established, which now consists of about two hundred pupils.

In 1861, A. S. Dantz opened a commercial college in Watertown Bank Block. It survived but a short time. July 28, of the present year, Wilraot, Deming & Marsh, of the Northwestern Business College in Madison, opened a branch of their institution at the corner of West avenue and Water street.

The Watertown Press

To the local newspapers - those engines of civilization, liberty and progress - the people of Watertown owe an everlasting debt of gratitude - a debt that can only be repaid by the most liberal patronage and the profoundest respect. While the power of the press cannot be denied, the effects of its correlative influence are so gradual and imperceptible as to be rarely appreciated. Philosophers have frequently acknowledged themselves unable to decide in their own minds which of these institutions - the school or the printing press - is the most essential to the well-being of mankind. It is quite certain that either would make slow progress without the aid of the other. True, the editor must have had the benefits of schooling to be able to set himself up as a public instructor througii the columns of his journal ; but the strength of this argument in favor of the superiority of the school is sadly weakened when we consider that the books from which he acquired sufficient knowledge to enable him to write even an intelligent account of the veriest dog-fight, were the fruit of the printing press. Horace Greeley, in a lecture before a Piiiladelphia audience, a few years before his death, said this was a question which resolved itself into an endless number of unanswerable arguments. So convinced was he that the school and the press were of parallel usefulness, he would not advocate the suspension of either in order to test the merits of the other. He believed they were identical, both the handiwork of the Great Designer.

To A. Hadley belongs the honor of being the pioneer printer of Watertown. D. W. Ballou, Jr., founder of the Watertown Democrat, gives the following interesting account of his first nieeting with Mr. Hadley :

" While setting type at the case in the office of the Niagara Democrat, in Lockport, N. Y., in the early part of April, 1846, my attention was arrested by the appearance of a tall, seriouslooking gentleman, who approached me, and in a very deliberate tone of voice inquired if the proprietor was present. I replied by pointing out to him Mr. Orasmus Turner, the editor of the paper, who was sitting at a table on the opposite side of the room, and engaged in writing. After exchanging the courtesies usual at the meeting of persons wholly unacquainted with each other, the stranger, in a manner at once brief and direct, made known his business by remarking that he had seen an advertisement in the Democrat o^evmg two fonts of type for sale, and, if convenient, he would like to see them. His request was immediately complied with, and, after a few moments' examination, a bargain was closed, and the two lots of half-worn long primer and bourgeois were his. Taking off his coat, and calling for a composing-stick, he went at the work of putting his newly bought type in a condition to be safely packed and sent away ; nor did he stop, leave the office or allow anything to interrupt him for a moment until near sunset, when every letter had been taken care of, the last nail driven, and the boxes plainly and neatly marked, 'J. A. Hadley, Watertown, Wisconsin.'"

Watcrtozvn Clironicle. - The history of this, the first newspaper ever published in Watertown, is better told in Mr. Hadley's own language :

" My first visit to Wisconsin was in the summer of 1846. My object was threefold - first, to break away, for a brief season, from the drudgery attendant upon the foremanship of a daily morning paper; second, to visit some friends in this (then) Territory, and, third, to find a location for a paper. I returned without accomplishing the latter object. Early in October following, a copy of the Milwaukee Sentinel and Gazette fell into my hands, and, among the advertisements, I discovered the list of letters remaining in the post office at Watertown on the first day of that month. It was a list of goodly proportions, and directed my attention at once to this point. I immediately wrote to a friend here (Henry Shears), and expressed a willingness to add to the institutions of Watertown a weekly newspaper, provided the enterprise would, in his opinion, pay. He replied, and suggested to me that I open a correspondence with certain citizens here on the subject. I did so, and the result was, in April, 1847, I left Rochester, N. Y., with my family, and materials for a paper. I arrived here early in May. At that time, the village contained a population of perhaps 800 souls. It was certainly a rough-looking place, surrounded by dense forests, its plat newly cleared, its streets studded with stumps and, just then, knee-deep with mud, with not a rod of sidewalk in the town. * * * * I ^gll remember my wife's look of blank astonishment when I. commenced unboxing our household goods. She thought I was ' perfectly crazy ' to think I could obtain a living at the printing business in such a place.

* * * * "My press was an old Ramage, a style well enough known to the earlier disciples of Faust ; an uncouth wooden structure, requiring two pulls where one suffices on a common hand-press ; a slow, muscle-trying machine, that long since gave place to more modern inventions ; a relic of the past, and a curiosity to the craft of the present generation. I paid for this press $35.

" When Sam Ryan called upon roe, a few weeks after my first number was issued, he could hardly restrain himself from laughing outright at my old traps, and was compelled to whistle, when not talking, to prevent himself from doing so. I felt mortified, and cast my eyes occasionally at my new cases, as much as to say, ' Brother Ryan, perhaps you havn't noticed these.' And when Charlie Robinson dropped in some months afterward, I elbowed him out of the office as soon as good manners would ])urmit.

"The first number of the Chronicle was issued June 2-3, 1847. For the first six motiths, it was a five-column sheet, the printed matter on each page occupying a space of eleven and onehalf by eighteen and three-fourths inches. * * * * jj became necessary for me to labor hard myself, and I did thus labor, always performing a regular day's work, either at the case or at press, and making my selections, writing my editorials and keeping my books when other people were asleep. * * * * Jn December, 1847, I purchased of Cramer k Curtis, of the Milwaukee Wineonsin, a fifty-dollar font of second-hand minion, spliced the bed and platten of my press and enlarged my paper to a six-column sheet. * * * * On the 5th of November, 1851, having purchased one of Hoe's excellent presses, and added about $100 worth of material to the news and jobbing departments, I enlarged to a seven-column sheet ; and, if that was not a proud day for me, I have never seen one.

* * * * " My business proved a paying one. By hard work and close economy. I was able, in the course of about four years, to li(juidate all demands against me. But my health began to fail in the spring of 1852, and, with the exception of a few months the following fill and winter, continued poor, until I disposed of the Chronicle establishment in September, 1853. Minor & Skinner were my successors, they paying me $1,500 for the establishment and its good will. After that, the paper was subjected to frequent changes of proprietorship. Mr. Minor was connected with it about two years. The subsequent proprietors were Culiaton k Rose. Rose & Stevens, McBride ifc Stevens, Stevens k Brother and E. B. Quiner. The publication of the paper was finally suspended in the fall of 1857, and upon the same materials the Beaver Dam Democrat is now printed."

Mr. Hadley has forgotten to mention the fact that while the Chronicle was in the hands oi Messrs. Culiaton k Rose the publication of a daily issue was begun. It made its appearance September 2, 1855, and was the first and only ilaily paper ever issued in Watertown.

Mr. Hadley died September 24, ISCS. 'He was born a- Goifstown, N. H.. May 9. 1800, and had been identified with the press for forty years. Under his management, the Chronicle became prominent as one of the leading journals in the State. Mr. Hadley wrote for its columns the first article that ever appeared in favor of the construction of the Chicago & North-Western Railway. In 1850, he Wiis elected Clerk of the Court of Jefferson County. In 1853, he was the Whig candidate for Secretary of State ; twice nominated for State Senator ; for several years held the office of Police Justice in Watertown ; at one time Sergeantat-arms of the Senate ; afterward Printing Clerk in the Secretary of State's office, and finally Assessor of the First Revenue District. He was a man of untiring industry, and possessed a character above reproach,

Rock River Pilot. - Established in 1847, by George Hyer. Judge William T. Butler soon became the proprietor of the Pilot, but it did not long survive.

Democratic State Register. - A seven-column weekly paper, whose name indicated its politics ; established by E. B. Quiner in 1850. " The Register," says Mr. Quiner, "enjoyed a liberal support in both Dodge and Jefferson Counties, and I continued its publication as a Democratic sheet until that party passed under the control of ' Barstow and the balance,' when I deemed it my duty, as the conductor of a public press, to refuse to support a portion of its candidates for State offices, * * * * j^j,j declared my independence of party control. Henceforth the Register stood upon independent political ground, and so remained until I sold out my establishment, the materials passing into the hands of Chubbuck & Sanborn, who used it in the publication of the Central Wisconsin at Warsaw." The Register suspended publication in October, 1854.

The German Press - The Anzeiger. - In the summer of 1853, D. Blumenfeld and John Kopp - the one foreman, and the other pressman in the office of the Milwaukee Banner, a German daily and weekly paper - encouraged by prominent German citizens of the then young and rising city of Watertown, removed thither, and brought the necessary material with them for the publication of a German paper, the Anzeiger, the first number of which was issued September '21 of that year. It was Democratic in politics. Emil Rotlie, a young lawyer of Watertown, with some journalistic experience in the Fatherland, and at that time a contributor for some of the leading papers in Berlin, Breslau, etc., was its chief editor. He wrote in a style that soon made him favorably known among German publishers all over the United States. The initial number of i\\e Anzeiger contained the advertisements and cards of *Joseph Schubert, druggist ; J. S. Foote, attorney ; *Thoodore Bernhard, Notary Public ; H. Bertram & Co., shoe-dealers ; G. S. Schempf k, Brother, dry goods ; Peterson & Maldaner, dry goods and general merchandise ; *L. J. Fribert, dry goods ; *C. M. Ducusse, tavern keeper (Schweitzer House) ; *Ad. Beurhaus, saloon ; L. Stallman, grocery ; John Luber, grocer ; *John Becker, grocer ; John Keck, cabinet-maker ; William Buchheit, saloon and insurance ; *Joseph Fischer, dentist and land agent ; William T. Butler, County Judge and land agent ; M. B. Williams, Postmaster ; William Roeber, boots and shoes ; J. H. Koch, tailor ; Joseph Salick, watchmaker; Ambrosius Pernis, watchmaker ; *Martin Hopf, tanner; Chr. Schroeder, carpenter ; H. Boegel, Boegel's Hall ; *Jacob Baumann, ball alley ; G. Werlich, Secretary German School Association.

In 1857, Mr. Rothe's editorial contributions becoming irregular, the proprietors accepted the offer of Carl Schuiz (now Secretary of the Interior), then a resident of Watertown, to take editorial charge of the paper, provided he would conduct it as an independent journal. When the first number of the Anzeiger appeared under the new management, its previous politics had undergone a wonderful change. It was, in fact, what would now be termed a "Stalwart" organ. Mr. Schurz was forthwith deposed, a former theologian, named Engelmann, succeeding him.

Der Weltburger und Anzeiger. - In February, 1858, the Anzeiger was consolidated with Dcr Weltburger, a new Democratic German paper established by Erail Rothe in October of the previous year. The new journal bore the title of Der Weltburger und Anzeiger, Mr. Rothe becoming the responsible editor. In the fall of 1858, the paper suspended, and the old material was sold.

Der Volkszeitung. - In September, 1857, Carl Schurz, Herman Von Lindermann and C. J. Palme established Der Volkszeitung. Mr. Lindermann, who was a literary gentleman, and a refugee after the German revolution of 1848, was the chief editor, and Mr. Palme his assistant. The Viilkszeitung was radically Republican. It suspended soon after the Presidential election in 1860. Messrs. Lindermann and Palme, when the war broke out, were appointed to positions in the State Quartermaster's department, at Madison. From there they went to St. Louis, where Mr. Lindermann was connected with the Westliche Post, which was afterward under the editorial management of Carl Schurz. From there he went to St. Charles, Mo., and a German Republican paper until his death, in 1872.

Mr. Palme was in the United States Revenue Department in St. Louis ; was afterward chief editor of the Milwaukee Herold from 1869 to the summer of 1879, when he received the appointment, through his old friend, Carl Schurz, of Superintendent of the Government Paper Factory, at East Pepperell, Mass., where he died in September, at the age of si.\tj'-two years.

Der Weltburger. - On the 1st day of January. 1859, new material having been purchased by Mr. Blumenfeld, the first number of Der Watertoicn Weltburger (new series) was issued, with Mr. Emil Rothe as chief editor. Mr. Rothe having retired in 1862. Mr. Blumenfeld assumed entire charge of Der Weltburger, which he has maintained to the present time, making it one of the best German weeklies in the Northwest.

In 1864, Mr. Blumenfeld published a monthly literary magazine called the Westliche Monats-Schrift. A full volume of it appeared. 2.200 copies of it being printed, of which 1.100 copies were sold in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, 100 in San Francisco, and 1,000 in St. Louis. The Gemeindeblatt, published by the German Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin and other States (first issued monthly, and afterward semi-monthly), was also printed, from the time of its beginning until it was removed to Milwaukee (over five years), in the ofiice of Der Weltburger.

In 1869, Mr. Rothe accepted the position of editor of the Cincinnati Volksfreund. Der Weltburger is an eight-column paper, published every Saturday, accompanied regularly by a supplement.

The Watertoivn Democrat. - The first number of this paper was issued on the 18th of October, 1854, by D. W. Ballou, Jr., and it has been regularly published ever since, "'without the failure of a week or any apology for a half-sheet." Mr. Ballou's first editorial experience was in 1846. on the Niagara Democrat, a weekly journal published in the village of Lockport. N. Y. He came to Wisconsin in 1852, and. in the autumn of the following year, became associate editor of the Green Bay Advocate, which position he held for about one year, when he came to Watertown and established the Democrat. Mr. Ballou was a powerful and fearless writer, a scholar and a gentleman, and, perhaps, did more than any one who lived in his time to promote the interests of Watertown and imbue its citizens with the spirit of enterprise which has resulted in the building-up of one of the prettiest cities in the great Northwest. His journal was Democratic both in politics and principles. June 28, 1860, the Democrat hoisted its colors as follows : " For President, Stephen A. Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson." and, at the solicitation of Mr. Ballou and others, Mr. Doughis. on the 12th of Otober, 1860, made a political speech in Watertown. We have the authority of the Democrat, also, to the effect that Matt Carpenter made a ringing Bourbon speech in Watertown about the same time. This is of interest as showing that great men sometimes change their political opinions.

But the most remarkable feature of the Democrat was its true Jacksonian utterances. A firm supporter of James Buchanan, it did not hesitate to censure in the strongest terms the unfortunate course pureued by him toward the close of his administration. In its issue of February 14, 1861. we find the following outspoken article:

'-It is strange talk for Democrats, but there are a few of those who voted for James Buchanan wlio count with eager delight the days that lessen the term of his ofiice. The present administration will be recorded in the pages of history as the weakest and worst that has ever been placed at the head of national affairs."

When the nation was upon the eve of being plunged into a cruel war, the editor of the Democrat paid his compliments to the fire-eaters of both North and South. In noticing President Lincoln's memorable journey to Washington to take his seat, he said:

-' To the last degree it is humiliating to believe that a President-elect is compelled to go to the capital of the nation in disguise. * * * Mr. Lincoln cannot and will not fall unavenged. * * * Wo to the hand, the party, the section that strikes the blow."

Publisher Wateftown Weltburger

Later, when the brave Anderson was defending the flag of the Union against rebel hosts, and the news of his imminent peril was flashed over the wires, we find the following patriotic sentiments in the Democrat :

* * * * " This state of things cannot last long, but that will be a day of humiliation when the Stars and Stripes give place to so insulting and ignoble an emblem as the serpenttwined palmetto."

The Democrat mourned the fate of the martyred Lincoln with turned column-rules, and an eulogy as touching and sympathetic, as the following concerning his assassin is earnest and bitter :

" The rotten carcass of the brutal murderer. Booth, has been hid away from the knowledge and sight of mankind. Now let him be forgotten. He was only a common, vulgar villain, and it is only the eminence of his victim that will give his fiendish act a place in history."

Mr. Ballou was severely punished for his strong Union sentiments, by a marked decrease in patronage, but he lived long enough to convince most of his opponents that he was right in the bold stand he had taken in defense of free institutions. He died in July, 1876, in the fiftysecond year of his age, leaving a wife, who still resides in Watertown. He was a thorough journalist, and for a long time a prominent member of the Wisconsin Editorial Association. Mr. Ballou was a native of Richmond, Vt.

The Democrat was purchased July 24, 1876, by Thomas E. Jones and James McHugh, both of whom had for some time been connected with the oflSce, the former in the capacity of associate editor, and the latter as foreman of the mechanical department. In March, 1877, Mr. Jones bought Mr. McHugh's interest, and thenceforward became the sole proprietor and editor of the Democrat. He is a young man of ability and his articles have the true journalistic ring, while the local news and general management of the paper indicate the presence of a veteran publisher. The Democrat is in politics everything its name indicates.

Watertown City Times. - This was the title of a weekly paper which laid claim to public patronage in 1855, its first issue bearing date of March 22, of that year. George Hyer was the editor, and William T. Butler & Co., the proprietors. The Times' had a precarious and checkered career, and it ceased to exist in September of the same year that witnessed its birth.

The Representative was the name of a Republican journal issued by M. Cullaton, in the fall of 1857. It was a sort of campaign sheet, and did not live to serve any other purpose. February, 1858, was the date of its death.

The Independent. - Published semi-occasionally in the spring of 1858. It was noticed by its cotemporaries as being " a sprightly little sheet." It was very personal in character, and a perpetual source of annoyance to vulnerable individuals. It died unhonored, but not unknown.

Watertown Transcript - Another journalistic venture, under the authorship of M. Cullaton. Issued January 5, 1859 ; suspended March 16, same year. It was an able and interesting journal. The Democrat commenting upon its suspension, said : " The Watertown Transcript is no more. Cullaton lost money. He has gone to Waukesha to publish the Freeman. Since we begun the publication of this journal, we have witnessed the extinction of the Chronicle, the State Register, the Home Circle (a small temperance sheet), the City Times, the Representative and the Transcript, four of the six being Republican in politics."

Watertown Republican. - Established June 15, 1860, by J. W. Lawton, who published it, with JustusT. Moak as editor, until February, 1862, when it passed to the hands of D. T. Lindley. J. E. Atwater had editorial charge during the proprietorship of Mr. Lindley. In April, 1864, Messrs. Tompkins & Howland purchased the concern, Mr. Tompkins being the editor, and two years later Mr. Howland disposed of his interest to Mr. Tompkins, who a few months later sold to William Innis Martin. In February, 1867, Col. Gill, having returned from fighting the battles of his country, relinquished his sword for that other mightier instrument, the pen. He bought the Republican, but was not generally known as its manager, although furnishing the editorial pabulum. In August, 1868, the Colonel stepped down from the tripod. Julius H. Keyes became the proprietor. Almost simultaneous with this transfer, E. D. Coe purchased a partnership with Mr. Keyes, which lasted fourteen months, at the end of which time Mr. Coe retired, leaving Mr. Keyes in full possession, which he has continued to hold to the present time. Mr. William L. Norris has for several years been associate editor of the Republican. During the proprietorship of Keyes & Coe, the Republican was enlarged from a six to a seven column paper. May 26, 186U, the size was increased by the addition of an eighth column, and on May 21, 1873, the form was changed to that of a six-column quarto (eight pages), its present size. On the morning of July 27, 1879, the ofBce of the Republican was badly damaged by fire and water, the body-type on which the paper was printed being entirely destroyed. Not an issue of the paper was missed, however, on this account. The Republican is the largest paper in Jefferson County. Aside from being a first-class newspaper, its editorial columns reflect the genius of a master-hand. In politics, it is a stanch supporter of the Administration, and has ever been a reliable and trusted friend of the Union, one and inseparable. It is frequently referred to by its political opponents as a " Radical " or " Stalwart" organ.

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

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

The Churches

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

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

1873, the present brick structure was commenced. The corner-stone is from the rock of Cashell, Ireland. Tiie building is 160^x76 feet, while the spire reaches 197 feet from the ground. In 1875, the Rev. Patrick Colovin was assigned to the parish as assistant to Father Corby, and, in 1877, when the latter was sent to other parts, Mr. Colovin became the Pastor, and has remained in charge to the present time. The congregation shows a wonderful increase, there being now over one thousand five hundred communicants, large and small. The church building cost $100,000, on which there is still a debt of $20,000.

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

Resolved, That the s<aid Trustees shall commence the erection of a meeting-house, the size of which shall be 40x^30, ami 17 feet high ; that said bouse be built with a belfry ami singers' gallery; that the said site shill be on the east side of Kock River (descriptive in the town plat, Lot 3, Block 7).