Portage County, Wisconsin - The whole text, 1919 (part 1 of 15)

Jack Maxfield A Standard History

An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Educational, Civic and Social Development.

Chicago And New York

Harold John Week, secretary and treasurer of the John Week Lumber Company, represents the third generation of a family that has been among those most prominently engaged in the lumber industry of Wisconsin. The family activities have also been a contribution to the industrial welfare of Stevens Point which continues in undiminished value to the present time. It is more than half a century since the business was founded by John Week, whose name it still bears, and it was more than thirty-five years ago that the principal center of the industry was established at Stevens Point.

In the History of Wisconsin, edited by Ellis Baker Usher the late John Week was called "One of the most successful and prosperous of the early pioneer business men of the Wisconsin River Valley." The sketch of his career as it appears in that publication has a very appropriate place in the history of Portage County.

He was born in Hardangcr Parish, Norway, on December 6, 1818, one of a family of five sons and a daughter. His father was a descendant of Anders Anderson Kiber, who came from Denmark and was ordained as Bishop of I'lvik in 1654. Bishop Riber built one of the first Protestant churches in -Norway at Kid fjord, which still stands in a good state of preservation. The remains of that eminent churchman still rest beneath the floor of the church, they being the only ones thus signally honored.

Mr. Week had his own way to make in this world, and as a first step to that end he, together with his elder brother. Andrew Riber, set sail for America in 1839, arriving at Fall River, Massachusetts, on July toth of that year. Thence he proceeded by stage, canal and sailing vessel to Chicago, which at that time was a very small city. For a season or two he was engaged in sailing on the Great I-ikes. after which he went to the lead mining region of southern Wisconsin and engaged in the boot and shoe business at Wiota and Dodgeville.

The lumber business, of which he was the executive head for so many years, was established in 1849, at which time he somewhat reluctantly purchased a small up and down water power saw mill located on the Big Eau Pleine River in Marathon County <from his brother Andrew, who had conceived a great desire to migrate to California during the gold excitement. This saw mill was one of the first to be built in what is now known as Marathon County. The whole region thereabouts was a dense forest, without roads or means of transportation, and when Mr. Week moved his family to their new home he found it necessary to make the trip in an Indian dugout canoe from Du Beys Landing, a Hudson Bay Company trading post along the Wisconsin. Supplies he must needs bring from Stevens Point. 25 miles distant, making the trip by canoe in summer and by trail through the woods in winter. From 1851 to 1880 he continued to operate a saw mill at this point, with a generous measure of success, rafting his lumber down the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers to market from - Dubuque to St. Louis. During this period the saw mill was rebuilt and improved from time to time, so that in later years the mill had a capacity of several million feet per annum. One of the innovations introduced during this period was the installation of the first circular saw mill in that section of the country. During this period he also supervised the construction of some of the finest turnpike roads to be found in Marathon County.

In August, 1880, a great misfortune apparently overtook him in the destruction of his sawmill by fire, which precluded the possibility of sawing more than 6,000,000 feet of choice white pine logs lying in the mill pond that season. Unfortunately he carried no insurance, but what seemed to be a calamity proved to be a blessing in disguise, for had these logs been converted into lumber during that year and marketed on the Mississippi River in the usual way he would not have realized over $7 per thousand feet at the mill. Owing to the decision not to rebuild, the logs were driven to Stevens Point for manufacture and the lumber shipped by rail, and by reason of the increase in the market value of lumber in the following year he was able to realize over $17 per thousand feet at the mill, thus netting a clear gain of over $60,000. From the time of the fire the business was transferred to Stevens Point, whither the family followed two years later, in the fall of 1882.

Of Mr. Week it is not too much to say he was one of the most prominent and highly esteemed men in the community in which he lived. During his earlier residence in Marathon County he served as one of the three commissioners of that county for over ten years, and later served continuously as a member of the County Board until his removal to Portage County. He was also active in securing good schools and whatever would promote the intelligence, prosperity and happiness of the community. During this time he was also one of the prime movers in the organization of the Wisconsin River Improvement Company and one of its directors for many years.

He was a man of great energy, integrity and strength of character, undaunted by obstacles and fruitful of resources, tempered also in those mild and genial characters which make friends and bind them to one another in the strongest bonds.

John Week died on the fourth day of June. 1891, survived by a widow and seven children. On February 29. 1848. he married Gunild Nelson Luraas. She died August 25, T916. To them were born ten children, two of whom died in infancy, and one. Eva C. in young womanhood in 1880. During the last five years of his life John Week relinquished the management of his business to his sons and to that end incorporated the John Week Lumber Company, with Nelson A. Week as president, Edmund R. Week as vice president, and the late Andrew R. Week as secretary and treasurer. Besides these three sons the other surviving children were: Sarah A., who married Theophilus Gribi ; Cora A., a resident of New York City and a devotee of the Fine Arts ; Martha G.. a resident of Stevens Point and a graduate of the Wisconsin State University ; and John Arthur, who formed his principal business connections on the Pacific Coast and resides at Los Angeles. California.

1853. He finished his education at Ripon College and Lawrence College, Appleton, Wisconsin, and soon after attaining manhood went with his father in the lumber industry. Among other connections he is a director of the Citizens National Bank of Stevens Point. In April, 1881. he married Miss Ida Youmans, who was born at Springville, Wisconsin, May 14. 1858, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Youmans, who came from New York by way of the Great Lakes in 1855 and settled in Portage County. Jotham Youmans was a direct descendant of Barnabas Horton, an Englishman, who w:.s one of the first Long Island settlers. Nelson A. Week and wife had three sons: John Elmer, who graduated from Armour Institute at Chicago and died in Mexico; Harold J. ; and Albert N., also deceased.

Harold John Week was born on February 29, 1884, at Stevens Point, and was given all the early advantages that a family of wealth and substantial position could procure. He attended the Chicago Manual Training School in 1899- 1900, the Stevens Point Normal in 1901, the St. John's Military Academy from 1902 to 1903 at Delafield. Wisconsin, and from 1903 to 1907 was a student of the University of Wisconsin.

Me early took a part in the lumber business of the family, but m 1912 removed to San Benito in the Rio Grande district of Southern Texas and for five years operated a ranch. For three years of that time he also worked in the San Benito Bank and Trust Company. In the summer of 191 7 Mr. Week returned to Stevens Point and resumed an active official connection with the John Week Lumber Company as secretary and treasurer and director. He is also a stockholder and director in the First National Bank of Stevens Point. Mr. Week in 191 1 was secretary of the Police and Fire Commission of Stevens Point.

Fraternally he is affiliated with Stevens Point Lodge No. <*4i, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a member of the Delta Tau Delta college fraternity at Madison, and is a York Rite Mason but still retains his membership in the Masonic bodies of Texas, including San Benito Lodge No. 1064, Free and Accepted Masons. San Benito Chapter No. 366, Royal Arch Masons, Brownsville Commandery. Knights Templars, at Brownsville, and Alzafar Temple of the Mystic Shrine at San Antonio. Mr. Week is a member and vestryman of the Episcopal Church. He is a member and director of the Civics and Commerce Association of Stevens Point : a member of the Rotary Club of Stevens Point, a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, elected a member of the Assembly November 5, 1918, and was active in the organization of Company M, Ninth Regiment, Wisconsin State Guards.

October 29, 1910. at Wilmette. Illinois, Mr. Week married Miss Josephine Allen, who was born at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, April 9, 1883, daughter of Dwight S. and Delia (Sherman) Allen. Her father died in 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Week had three children: Jeanne Josephine Week, born September 9, 1912. and died July 7, 1913; Lolita Week, born January 15. 1916. and John Nelson Week, born July 14, 1918.

Andrew Rirer Week, through whose death in Los Angeles, California, on August 2, 1 91 7, Portage County sustained a heavy loss to its citizenship, was a man whose life and work had contributed in a very wide way to the development of Central Wisconsin. As pioneer, lumberman, manufacturer, banker, citizen and friend, he was esteemed for his practical resourcefulness and broad civic interests, no less than for his wide intelligence and integrity.

Mr. Andrew R. Week was born in Koshkonong, Dane County, Wisconsin, April 5, 1857, the son of John and Gunhild (Nelson Luraas) Week. His early education was received in the rural schools in his home locality, and he afterward attended the Whitewater Normal School, 1873-1874, and the University of Wisconsin, 1874-1876, during the presidency of John Bascom. His father, Mr. John Week, whose story is told elsewhere in this issue, bought a sawmill on the Big Eau Pleine River in Marathon County in 1849, and, through early association with his father in this enterprise Mr. Week grew up in the lumber and logging business.

The Week Mill on the Eau Pleine, which was one of the first to operate in this section of the state, burned in 1880, and the Week interests were removed to Stevens Point, in which city Mr. Wee'k made his home. In 1884 the John Week Lumber Company was incorporated, and Mr. Andrew Week elected secretary, treasurer and manager, in which capacity he served until his death.

It had been freely predicted that the lumbering industry in Central Wisconsin must come to an end many years ago. It is a unique commentary upon the resourcefulness of Mr. Andrew R. Week that the John Week Lumber Company has been able, down to the present, to run. year after year, at full capacity, a strong, progressive institution. Although his business interests were large, every detail of their conduct was within the grasp of Mr. Week who was a tireless worker and a man of uncommon business sagacity and foresight.

Through his early connection with the lumber industry and the position he held in the Week Company he was instrumental in organizing the Northwestern Hemlock Manufacturers Association, and the first meeting for formulating rules for the uniform grading of Hemlock was held in the offices of the John Week Lumber Company in Stevens Point. Lumbermen from all over the country came to know Mr. Week, and to place strict confidence in his honor and judgment, so that he was called to serve the association for two years as its president and for seven years as treasurer. Mr. Week was also secretary of the Stevens Point Boom Company, which during the years of its existence handled billions of feet of lumber.

Mr. Week's interests in the business world were not confined to the lumbering industry. In 1893 he was chosen president of the First National Bank of Stevens Point, which office he held continuously for twenty years, until his death. He was one of the organizers of the Cove Furniture Company, serving for many years on the board of directors of that concern. Outside of his home community Mr. Week also had extensive business interests in Spokane, Washington, and in Chicago, being president of the General Briqueting Company of Chicago.

The affairs of the business world were by no means the sole scope of Mr. Week's energies. lie read much and traveled widely, both in his own country and abroad. His keen intelligence and his democratic spirit made him welcomed and respected by all who met him. His interest in education and civic betterment is demonstrated by his long service as president on the city school board of Stevens Point, and by his service on the library board of that city, especially during the period when the Carnegie Library was erected. The sum of $5,000 was bequeathed by him to the library for books and $2,000 for bronze lamps to complete the library entrance, this being the first large public bequest to be received by the city. He was also a member of the board of trustees of Carroll College. Waukesha. Wisconsin, and gave a substantial sum to the college at his death.

Mr. Week attended, and was a generous contributor to the Presbyterian Church. Me was prominent in Masonic circles, being a thirtysecond degree Mason, he had served as eminent commander of Crusade Commandery No. 17, Knights Templars, at Stevens Point, and was a member of the Mystic Shrine. In Chicago he had membership in the Illinois Athletic Club. Politically Mr. Week was a republican, and, although he never sought political preferment, he was twice elected a member of the board of supervisors of Portage County.

For some time before his death Mr. YVeek had suffered failing health. He went to California in the spring of 1916, hoping to recuperate. It was there he died, at the home of his sister. Mrs. Theophilus Gribi, in Hollywood, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Mr. Week's varied, useful and distinguished career has left its ineffaceable mark on the institutions and progress of Central Wisconsin, "graven not upon stone, but upon the hearts of men." He was sincerely mourned by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, but nowhere will his loss be so irreparable as within his own family, the members of which have experienced so much of benefit from his unfailing good will, his sagacity and his untiring effort.

Hon. Gilbert L. Park. Portage County probably never had a citizen once better loved and more highly esteemed for his varied accomplishments and services than the late Gilbert L. Park, pioneer member of the bar, gallant soldier and officer in a Wisconsin regiment during the war, and at one time judge of the Circuit Court, including Portage County.

Judge Park was born August 31. 1825, at Scipio, Cayuga County, Xew York, and died June 5, 1884. before he was sixty years of age. His life was comparatively brief, but was crowded with experience and achievement. He was of English ancestry, his grandfather, Joel Park, having served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution and being present at the surrender of General Burgoyne's army. Judge Park was a son of Elisha and Sarah (McDowell) Park. His father was a N'ew York State farmer. The son had rather liberal educational advantages for the time in which his boyhood was spent. He had an ardent temperament, was fond of adventure and experience, and at the age of fifteen he ran away from home to enlist in a service which at that time promised probably a greater range of adventure and thrilling experience than was possible in any other direction. He joined a party of employes of the Hudson's Bay Company and with them went up the Ottawa River in Canada toward Hudson Bay. He went as far north in the wilderness as Port Churchill on the River Severn and became thoroughly acquainted with that motley army of Indians, half breeds, French Canadians and recruits from all the nations who found a source of livelihood and satisfaction of their venturesome spirit in the task of gathering furs and carrying on the other complicated business of the Hudson's Bay Company. At the «nd of a year he returned south by way of Georgian Bay, where he left the company's employ and was carried on a steamboat to Detroit and thence to Port Dover in County of Norfolk, Upper Canada, now Ontario, where his father's family had in the meantime settled. Content to remain at home for a time, he spent three years in an academy at Millville, Orleans County, New York. Returning to Canada, he found employment as a lumberman and for two years kept up the business with a promising degree of success. In 1848 he had the misfortune to lose a large raft of logs, representing practically all his capital and the savings of previous years. This raft was broken up on Lake Erie, and nearly every stick of timber floated down over the falls of Niagara. While he was not the type of man to become discouraged, this disaster made it disadvantageous for him to continue in the lumber business for a time, and he then applied himself in another direction. Taking up the study of law at Kalamazoo, Michigan, he was in the office of Hon. N. A. Balch of that place, and in September, 1851, was admitted to the Michigan bar in Kalamazoo County.

Judge Park came to Wisconsin in November, 1851. Having no money, so that he was unable to wait for practice to accumulate, he earned his living by a trade with which he was thoroughly familiar, cutting saw logs. Ry the summer of 1852 he was able to take up law practice and formed a partnership with James S. Albin at Plover, which was then the county seat of Portage County. This partnership continued until 1855. As one of the pioneer lawyers of Northern Wisconsin, he rapidly accumulated a large business and was in line for public honors. In 1854 he was elected district attorney of Portage County, and filled that office four years. In 1855 he had removed to Stevens Point and established an office in that city. After leaving the office of district attorney he was elected mayor of Stevens Point, and at the outbreak of the war, being a "war democrat," he resigned this civil office to take up the sword in defense of the integrity of the Union. He went out as adjutant of the Eighteenth Wisconsin Infantry and subsequently became captain of Company G in that regiment. He was with the regiment in all its various marches, campaigns and battles through a period of nearly 3J4 years, and the record of the regiment is largely that of his own participation in the war. He was in the siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Corinth, at Lookout Mountain, the Atlanta campaign, and while never wounded experienced many narrow escapes. At one time his horse was shot from under him.' At another time a bullet struck his scabbard and broke a portion of the sword blade.

In the spring of 1865 Judge Park returned to Stevens Point and resumed his interrupted practice of law. Though so thoroughly a practical man, fond of out of doors and the play of physical forces, he was at the same time a close and diligent student, and perfected himself in a knowledge of law such as few of his contemporaries possess. lie was successful both as an advocate and as counsel, though probably excelling somewhat as a counsellor.

On March 1, 1875. Governor Taylor appointed him judge of the Seventh Tudicial Circuit of Wisconsin to fill a two year vacancy, and in the following April he was elected by the people, and in 1878 was re-elected for the full term. Owing to ill health he was obliged to resign the office in 1883. He had been in ill health for some time, sought restoration by travel in California, but in January, 1884, still suffering from an acute stage of Bright's disease, he became a patient in the sanitarium at Waukesha, where he passed away in the following June. But he had already distinguished himself in the legal profession in Northern Wisconsin, and his record can never be lightly esteemed in the annals of the Portage County bar. He was a man of fine mind, of unusual resources of speech and pen, and had that personal integrity which caused people to trust him and confide in him any position of responsibility and trust. As a judge he has been described as "cool, clear headed, candid and logical: he presided with ease and dignity, and with the utmost fairness and impartiality. As an evidence of his popularity it may be mentioned that while serving in the army he was nominated, without his knowledge or consent, and run by his party for state senator on two or three occasions, lie was also urged to bring himself forward as candidate for the lieutenant governorship of Wisconsin and also for member of Congress." Judge Park was an active member of the Masonic order, both a Knight Templar and thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason.

Judge Park married February 26, 1856. Miss Mary D. Beach, daughter of John and Anna (Waterhouse) Beach. Three children were born to them: Byron B., present judge of the same circuit over which his father presided: Gilbert L., a Stevens Point lawyer; and Anna, of Stevens Point. The mother of these children died November 0, 1893, and she and her husband rest side by side. Mrs. Park was a Methodist.

From a previously published appreciation the following is quoted: "He was an ardent student and lover of nature and nature's God, and. as described by one who knew him well, was a man who saw something beautiful in every phase and form of life; one who was the delight of every social group - young or old ; one whose smile would lighten a household, one whose frown would cause a pang; the quiet ease, the social converse, the varied learning - all were his, and no one ever sat in his company without feeling disquieted at his departure; he was never boisterous, never rude, and always mindful of the feeling of others. In domestic life he was a lovable character, a kind husband and loving father, and true friend to his children."

Byron B. Park. Sixty years ago the little group of lawyers who comprised the bar of Portage County welcomed an important addition to their number in the person of the late Judge Gilbert L. Park. His distinguished record as a member of the bar for the next thirty years has been recited on other pages. Practically continuous since 1852 t*hc name Park has been identified with the local bar, the entry of Byron B. Park into the profession being about the time his father was called to the Great Tribunal by the summons of death.

In respect of official positions the career of Byron B. Park is a modern duplicate of that of his father. Byron B. Park was born in Stevens Point October 6, 1858. He was educated in the famous "Old White School" and in the fall of 1876 entered the University of Wisconsin, where he continued his studies until graduating from the law department in 1881. He did not begin his practice immediately at Stevens Point, and in fact was formally enrolled as a lawyer of that bar only after his father's death in 1885. He soon had a successful practice, and from 1 time to time his fellow citizens called upon him to serve in public offices. He was city attorney of Stevens Point, mayor of the city, district attorney of Portage County, and August 23, 191 1, was called from the ranks of lawyers to the bench of the Seventh Judicial Circuit by appointment. Since then he has been elected twice, and appointed to finish the term of Judge Webb, deceased. He is rendering a splendid service in his judicial office. For several years Judge Park served as a member of the Hoard of Regents of Normal Schools. Since 1897 he has been president of the Stevens Point Library Board.

Judge Park resides at 904 Clark Street. The old homestead, where for so many years his honored father lived, is at 830 Clark Street, and is now occupied by Gilbert L. Park, Jr. Judge Park married September 29, 1886, Bertha X. Wyatt, of Stevens Point. They have four children. Gladys, the oldest, is the wife of Ross E. Joy. Lawrence YY\, formerly a practicing dentist at Stevens Point, has recently been appointed first lieutenant in the Dental Reserve Corps and assigned to the Three Hundred Twenty-Fifth Machine Gun Battalion ; Lyman B., who also inherits the martial enthusiasm of his grandfather, is serving with the rank of second lieutenant in Battery E of the One Hundred Twentieth Field Artillery, National Army. Both are now in active service in France. The youngest child, Allan L., is a senior in the Stevens Point High School.

Gkoru: Edward Ml Dill. For many years the late George Edward McDill was one of Portage County's most prominent citizens, interested alike in large business enterprises and a leader in political life. He belonged to one of the pioneer families of the state and was born April 16. 1856, at Plover in Portage County, Wisconsin. His parents were Thomas Haseltine and Mary Ruth ( Harris ) McDill.

Thomas Haseltine McDill was a maker of history in YY'isconsin. He was born in July, 1815, in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and from there came to Wisconsin in 1840, settling in the hamlet of Mill Creek, Portage County, when there were not more than 300 white inhabitants north of Portage City to the frontier. This was eight years before Wisconsin became a member of the Union. For two years Mr. McDill followed lumbering, the forests at that time covering a large part of the entire country, and built the first sawmill on Eau Claire River, near Wausau. By 1844 many other lumber workers came to this section and Mr. McDill sold his sawmill in order to engage in a hotel business for their accommodation, largely, at that time and erected an inn at Plover. His business capacity and reliability received recognition in 1847 when Gnvemor Dodge appointed him sheriff of Portage County and in 1848, when political organization was effected, he was elected to the office and served until lS$6. when he became countv treasurer. From then on until 1867, when he was first elected to the General Assembly, he served in responsible positions, was chairman of the town board of Plover, for eight years was chairman of the county board of supervisors and for several years was county judge. As a member of the State Legislature his statesmanship was appreciated, as was evidenced by his re-election in 1871-1870 and 1880.

brother, who represented that district in Congress in 1873. In 1864 the brothers purchased a sawmill and water power on the Plover River, at the present site of the Village of McDill, and added lumbering to their other business ventures. In 1870 the brothers sold their store at Plover and Thomas H. McDill moved to the village that had been named in his honor and there continued to be interested in lumbering until his death, which occurred in 1889. During the Civil war he had been very useful to the government as an official with the rank of captain, attached to the quartermaster's department. He married Mary Ruth Harris, who was a daughter of Jonathan Harris and a grand-daughter of Col. John Harris, of Revolutionary fame. She was born near Mansfield, Ohio, February 29, 1826, and died at McDill, Wisconsin, in 1881.

George Edward McDill was a student in the public schools at Plover until 1871, in which year he received an appointment as messenger on the floor of the House at Madison, of which at that time his father was a member and when the late Governor Smith was speaker. In the fall of 1872 he entered Lawrence University, at Appleton, Wisconsin, and while there was a schoolmate of Hon. W. S. Stroud, formerly mayor of Portage City, and of Attorney General Mylrea. In a competitive examination for appointment as a cadet to the West Point Military Academy, made at Stevens Point in 1873, Mr. McDill came off with flying colors and received the government appointment and in June, 1873. entered the academy. He remained there until 1876 and then resigned in order to enter business life, for which he felt himself better fitted than the military.

After a short course in a business college Mr. McDill in 1877 was appointed steward and purchasing agent of the State Hospital for the Insane at Madison, Wisconsin, which position he filled exceptionally well and remained until 1880. In that year he became associated with his father in the sawmill and lumber business at McDill. In 1885 he erected a flouring mill there, which was operated continuously until it was destroyed by fire some years later. In 1893, with other capitalists, he organized the Citizens National Hank at Stevens Point, with a paid up capital of $100,000, and he continued cashier of that bank continuously until his death on February 19. 1905. He was also president of the State Bank of Wild Rose, Wisconsin, and one of its directors, and additionally was manager of the Racine Knitting Mills, of Stevens Point.

In the environment in which he was reared it could not be otherwise than that Mr. McDill should become early interested in politics and from early manhood until his decease he was a loyal and zealous republican. He served successively as chairman of the town board of Plover and of the county board of supervisors, and the confidence reposed in him bv his party was illustrated by his appointment as chairman of the Republican County Committee and subsequently of the Republican State Central Committee. Many public offices were tendered him and on April 20, 1897, he was appointed resident regent of the Normal School Board by Governor Schofield. and this appointment was considered of so much importance that the Senate, then in session at Madison, suspended rules to confirm him and he took his seat on the same day. He was one of the most useful members of the library board at Stevens Point and was ever interested in forward movements in city, county and state, freely contributing time, influ- ence and capital to worthy enterprises. He was a member of the vestry of the Episcopal Church at Stevens Point. All his life, he took pride in the fact that he could claim membership in the Patriotic Order of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Mr. McDill was married in October, 1879, to Miss Alice Babcock, who survives and is one of the best known and most highly esteemed residents of Stevens Point, a leader in social activities and club movements, and one of the organizers of the State Federation of Women's Clubs, and was vice president of the same in her congressional district for two years. Mrs. McDill was born at Faribault, Minnesota, and was graduated from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, in the class of 1877.

There are few residents of Wisconsin who can claim a more distinguished ancestry than Mrs. McDill. On the paternal side the line reaches to and includes names familiar to every student of English history: John Dryden, poet, dramatist and translator; Sir John Cope, whose military exploits in 1745 as a British officer have been the basis for song and story, and still farther back, even to Anne Hutchinson, the famous woman religious enthusiast, who was a leader and teacher at Roston, Massachusetts, in 1634 and in 1643 suffered death from savage Indians in Northern New York.

On the maternal side her ancestry includes such names as the Howlands. the Kirbys and the Aliens, of New Bedford, Massachusetts. She is a lineal descendant of William White and his wife, Susannah Fuller, who came to the Plymouth colony on the Mayflower. Susannah Fuller was a sister of Dr. Samuel Fuller, who was the first physician in Plymouth harbor, and she was the first widow, the first bride and the first mother of a native born governor of Massachusetts. To her first marriage one son, Peregrine White, was born in Plymouth harbor. William White died in the "first sickness." and shortly afterward she became the bride of Governor Edward Winslow, and their son, Josiah Winslow. also became governor. Mrs. McDill therefore has very just claims to membership in the organizations of a patriotic character that preserve the invaluable old records, with much of the spirit of the noble men and women who were the real founders of America. She is a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants, of the Massachusetts Society of Colonial Dames of America, and of the Daughters of the American Revolution. On February 20, 1897, she was appointed regent at large of this organization, and later was regent of the Stevens Point chapter of the order, which she mainly organized. She was one of the founders of the Woman's Club at Stevens Point and has always been active in its work as a local organization and as a factor in the State Federation. She represented her congressional district on a corresjxmdence bureau which was formed to create sentiment for the state federation of women, and when the State Federation of Women's Clubs liecame a fact she was elected vice president of her district and served faithfully for two years. In numerous other ways Mrs. McDill has labored for the general good and for the emancipation of her sex. She was one of a committee of six from her club who collected approximately the sum of $5,000, which was expended in purchasing the site on' which the beautiful public library of Stevens Point now stands. During the fourteen months of its existence she has been president of the Portage County Traveling Library Board. With all these numerous outside duties Mrs. McDill has been active in everything pertaining to the Episcopal Church, of which she is a member, and has dispensed charity and offered hospitality for years as her position in society may demand. Above all she has been the careful, loving and sympathetic mother of children.

To Mr. and Mrs. McDill three children were born: Genevieve Stilson, Caryl Emma and Allan Conover. The second daughter, Caryl Emma, was born at .McDill in 1883 and died there in 1885.

Genevieve Stilson McDill was born at Madison, Wisconsin, in 1880. She was first graduated from the Oakland Grammar School, Chicago, and afterward from the high school of Stevens Point. A full course in the State Normal School here followed, when she entered the University of Wisconsin and subsequently Columbia University, New York City, from which she was graduated with the M. A. degree, and she retains membership in the Delta Gamma Sorority. A period of European travel still further broadened her mind and added to her accomplishments. Miss McDill has been a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for some years, devoting her self to work in the educational field and is teacher of English and room principal in the East High School in that city.

Allan Conover McDill was born at McDill, Wisconsin, in 1888, and after the family removal to Stevens Point, entered the kindergarten department of the State Normal School here, of which institution his father was made regent on the day of opening. He continued in that school until he completed the entire course and also finished the Latin-German courses, then for two years afterward taught school, and during one summer was assistant to Rev. G. P. Nason, of New York City, who was a director of the American Travel Club, and he put in three months of travel in Europe for this enterprise. Mr. Mc- Dill spent one year at Chicago University in the School of Commerce, and then entered the wholesale hardware firm of Hibbard. Spencer, Partlett & Company, of Chicago. After a year he went to Columbia University graduating from there in 1916. He was a member of the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity, and of the Glee and Mandolin cluhs. Mr. McDill was an instructor for some time after graduation, and then became connected with the Chase National Bank of New York City. On May 20, 1918, Mr. McDill entered the services of the United States Army and later was recommended for the Central Officers' Training Camp, Atlanta. Georgia, where he now is. Of sound education and good understanding that enables him to view things with a clear and pro|>er perspective, Mr. McDill possesses many of the essential qualities which belonged to his long line of notable ancestors.

Vincent J. Shippy, M. D. One of the able professional men and patriotic citizens of Stevens Point is Dr. Vincent J. Shippy. a general medical practitioner, and also a commissioned lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps of the United States Army.

Of the great hotly of young men who find themselves faced at the end of their public school course with the desirability or the necessity of chosing a life career, comparatively few turn to the profession of medicine and surgery. Its adoption would mean continued years of study and the hardest kind of work afterward, with indefinite financial recompense, and with but little certain chance for fame, even thoueh heroic deeds might he demanded any day. To the average young man. therefore, this profession does not look inviting. To the minority, however, no other career seems possible or worth while, and with high heart and noble impulse the would-be healer of his fellow men starts on a path wherein, if his spirit does not quail, his own strength or resources do not give way and his enthusiasm lasts, he finally gains his right to safeguard with his knowledge and skill those who call upon him, even though some may forget that there must, of necessity, be also a material and practical business basis to assure his continued usefulness. As a profession that of medicine is one of arduous labor and of amazing self-sacrifice, of humanitarian intent and kindly purpose, and the stupendous work it does, both in peace and war, must arouse a feeling of admiration in every one. The physicians in a community will ever be found in the vanguard of progress.

Vincent J. Shippy was born in Hull Township, Portage County, Wisconsin, January 30, 1889. His parents were John and Josephine (Krygrier) bhippy, both of whom were born in Poland. The mother of Doctor Shippy accompanied her parents to the United States in 1855. They settled first at Dunkirk, New York, from which place they came to Portage County, Wisconsin, where they spent the rest of their lives, the maternal grandmother of Doctor Shippy surviving until 1914 and passing away when aged ninety-one years. The paternal grandparents were very early settlers also in Portage County and died here. The parents of Doctor Shippy were married in Hull Township and the father was engaged for a number of years in farm pursuits and then became somewhat prominent in politics, served efficiently in numerous local offices and then was elected county register of deeds, after which he resided at Stevens Point, where he was interested in a grocery business. His death occurred here in 1904, at the age of fifty-two years. The mother of Doctor Shippy resides with her son Casimir. who is a Catholic priest at Flintville, Wisconsin. There were eleven children in the family and the following survive: Vincent J., Casimir, Mary, Frank and Catherine. All were reared in the Polish Catholic Church.

Vincent J. Shippy attended both the parochial and public schools at Stevens Point and in 1908 was graduated from the city high school and then entered Marquette Medical College, Milwaukee, from which institution he was graduated in 1912. He spent the next two years gaining valuable experience as an interne in St. Mary's Hospital at Green Hay, Wisconsin, and thus prepared returned to Stevens Point and in 1914 opened his office at No. 117;^ North Second Street. Aside from a substantial private practice which he has already built up Doctor Shippy is engaged as examining physician for the Catholic Order of Foresters, and is one of the active and earnest members of the county and state medical societies. He belongs to St. Peter's Church Society and to the Polish Alliance. He was one of the first to respond to the call for physicians in the World War, has a commission as a first lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps, and skillfully and willingly did his part l>oth in the United States and beyond the sea.

Georc.e W. Fleming. Among the representatives of pioneer families of Portage County, whose members have assisted in subduing the wilderness and developing this section into a land of plenty and prosperity, one who has been an active factor in agriculture as well as in financial circles is George W. IHeming. He has lived in Amherst sixty-one years, where he is president of the International

Bank. He has been active in the civic life of the community, and is thoroughly representative of his pioneer father, a man of sterling character and sturdy nature who was among the first to settle in this part of the county.

George W. Fleming was born in Eau Pleine Township, Portage County, Wisconsin, March i8, 1855, a son of William V. and Carolina (Wylie) Fleming, and comes of good Scotch ancestry. His paternal grandparents were Thomas and Rachel (Van Hart) Fleming, who in their later years came to Wisconsin to join their children, who had located at Amherst about the year 1855. These children were: Hannah, who became Mrs. William J. Rice; William V.; Maria, who became Mrs. Thompson; Amelia, who became Mrs. Rierson; Harriet, who married Robert Wilson ; Phoebe, who married William Wilson ; and Benjamin. The maternal grandparents of George W. Fleming were Daniel and Elizabeth (Jarvis) Wylie, the former of whom died in the East, following which his widow married her first husband's brother, Melancton Wylie, and subsequently they became early settlers of Portage County, where for many years they conducted the old Wylie Hotel, a well known stopping-place for the travelers of pioneer days.

William V. Fleming was born at Trenton, New Jersey, August 22, 1819, and as a young man went to Great Bend, Susquehanna County, New York, where he was married to Carolina Wylie, who had been born there. Together they made the journey to Illinois, but Mr. Fleming, who was a shingle weaver by trade, did not find conditions satisfying to him in the Prairie State and decided to seek another and newer field in which to gain his fortune. Accordingly, in 1845, he left his wife and child in Illinois and started out on foot for Portage County. His capital when he started was very small, and by the time he reached Plover it had dwindled down to the sum of fifty cents, but he perseveringly pushed on and eventually reached Stevens Point, where the only structure at that time was the log cabin ocucpied by Mr. Stevens. There he made a brief stop, and while resting saw several discouraged parties returning from the North, but subsequently saw several parties going in that direction, which made him undecided whether or not to continue his journey. Mr. Fleming lay down underneath a tree on the river bank to ihink things over. While he was not what is termed a well-educated man, having never gone to school, he was intelligent and practical and not inclined to be superstitious. However, he decided to leave matters to chance. Picking up a stick and letting it fall he went in the direction the stick pointed and accordingly continued his journey and located in the woods in what was Eau Pleine Township and now is the Town of Dewey. There he lived and made shingles for two years, and in the following fall was joined by his wife and one child. When she settled with her husband in the woods Mrs. Fleming was the only white woman between Wausau and Stevens Point.

As Mr. Fleming's finances became better he put up a sawmill on the Little Eau Claire River in the same township, and it was at this location that George W. Fleming was born. The mill was later known as the Peter Le Mieux Mill, and was conducted by William V. Fleming until 1855, at which time he removed with his family to Amherst Township, near the Village of Amherst. He squatted on this land, as it had never been surveyed, but subsequently entered it, this being the first entry of land made in the township. There William V. Fleming passed the remaining years of his life in agricultural pursuits, developing a good property and becoming one of the substantia] men of his community. His death occurred in 1887. He had been denied advantages in his youth, but possessed inherent abilities and the power of leadership, so that he was an influential man in his community. While he was still living north of Stevens Point, 'in the woods, he became a member of the first board of county commissioners, which at that time consisted of but three members, there being but three townships in the county. Later he was many times chairman of Amherst Township, and his fellow citizens showed their confidence in him by electing him to a number of other offices. He was always an active republican. He was active also in the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Amherst, the first church in the village, and for years was one of its mainstays. Mrs. Fleming, a devout Christian woman of many virtues, survived her husband until 1906, and died in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she had been a life member. She and her husband were the parents of five children: Mellicent, who died as the wife of W. W. Sherwin ; W'ilhelmina, who died as Mrs. D. A. Barton : Rachel, who became Mrs. A. Howes; George W. ; and Carrie, who was born on the farm in Amherst Township, and who died as the' wife of F. E. Purple.

The educational advantages secured by George W. Fleming were those afforded by the district schools of Amherst Township during the short winter terms, his summers being passed in assisting his father in clearing and developing the home farm. Later, with the elder man, he lumbered on the Wolf River for seven or eight years, and they were associated together in business at the time of W'illiam V. Fleming's death. George W. Fleming continued to follow the lumber business in connection with agriculture until about 1897, when he gave up the former to give all his attention to farming, in which he has made a signal success as a dairyman and potato grower. His 330 acres are finely cultivated, and have been improved by large and substantial buildings, attractive and well placed, while the latest machinery and equipment arc used, and modern methods arc the order of procedure. The present farm home was built in 1887. and Mr. Fleming resided therein until 191 7, when he built his present handsome home in the Village of Amherst, into which he moved in the. fall of that year. Mr. Fleming assisted in the organization of the International Bank at Amherst, the first and only bank of the village, and has been a member of the board of directors since its inception. He was the third man to become president, and has held that office for a considerable number of years. It has become known as one of the sound and reliable institutions of the county, and its patronage is large, particularly among the farming class.

Mr. Fleming was married December 21. 1882. to Miss Annie Carter, who was born at Berlin, Wisconsin, daughter of Enoch Chellis and Sarah Jane (Boss) Carter, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of New York State. Her parents were early settlers of Wisconsin. Mr. Carter first being a merchant at Berlin and later becoming the first telegraph operator at Fort Howard, where he was employed by the Northwestern Railway. He died at that point when his daughter was only three years of age. Mr. Carter was one of the prime movers in securing a telegraph line between Ripon and

Berlin, and the newspapers of that period were complimentary in their statements regarding his achievements in this direction. His wife survived him only hve years. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Fleming were William E. and Caroline (Carpenter) Boss, the latter a native of England who came to the United States at the age of eleven years and met and married Mr. Boss in the East. During the '60s they came to Portage County, Wisconsin, and here died in the vicinity of Amherst, where they had l>een engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Fleming after the death of her parents lived with E. P. Royce of Escanaba, Michigan, until her marriage in 1882. To Mr. and Mrs. Fleming there was born one daughter: Eva-Ray, born January 14, 1887, married Garth W. Cate, son of A. G. Cate. and died at Phoenix. Arizona. August 13. 1910. She was born on the old homestead farm, where she was reared, and received good educational advantages.

Mr. Fleming has always taken a good citizen's interest in public matters and has been a supporter of movements which have promised to be of benefit to his community. He has never been an office seeker, but as a man of intelligence, ability and substantiality has earned the confidence of his fellow-citizens, who have elected him to various local offices, and on several occasions he has acted in the capacity of township chairman. His record in office is an excellent one. Mr. Fleming's interest in fratcrnalism is evidenced by his thirty-five years of membership in the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Amherst, and his like period of membership in the Masonic Lodge at Waupaca. During a long and uniformly successful career it has been his fortune to have made the most of the opportunities that have presented themselves and to utilize them in such a way as to bring credit upon himself, his community and the honorable name that he bears.

John D. Swan. Some of the oldest families of Portage County were members of the sturdy Scotch colony that went into what is now I^anark Township in pioneer times and made for themselves homes, developed the wilderness, and practiced the institutions and customs and religion of their forefathers.

A representative of this family is John D. Swan, now a retired resident of Stevens Point. He was born in Lanark Township October 8, 1858, a son of Thomas and Martha (Mcjcnnet) Swan. Thomas Swan was born at Lanark. Scotland, in 181 1 and his wife in February, 1824. Thomas was a son of James and Janet Swan. The latter brought their family to America and settled at Lanark in Lower Canada in 1821. Thomas Swan grew up there, was married, and in 1847 came to Winnebago County. Wisconsin, and after a short time moved to what is now Lanark Township of Portage County, being one of the Scotch colonists who gave the name of their ancestral home to that locality. James Swan and wife also came to Portage County, and died in Lanark Township, the former at the age of ninety-one and the latter at ninetv-three. Thomas Swan acquired 200 acres of Government land in the township, and his years were prospered and he always bore a fine name in the community. He died here in 1805 and his wife passed away December 25. 1888. He was a republican in politics, and like the other early Scotch colonists was an active member of the Presbyterian Church. In the family of Thomas and Martha Swan were the following children : James, deceased : Jane ; Jennie ;

John D. Swan grew up on the old homestead farm and had' the advantages of the local schools during his youth. On reaching manhood he turned to farming as a vocation, and finally bought the old homestead from the other heirs and gained from its acres the prosperity which enabled him to retire in 1907 and move to Stevens Point. He finally sold the old homestead in 1913. At Stevens Point he owns a comfortable and roomy residence and also a good barn at 350 Water Street. He is a republican in politics and a Presbyterian.

April 17, 1884, John D. Swan married Miss Marian Ovens. She was born in Lanark Township, Portage County, in 1863, daughter of James and Helen (Swan) Ovens. Her parents came to Lanark Township from Lower Canada in 1856 and were substantial farmers in that locality the rest of their days. Her father died in 1907 and her mother in October, 1909. Mrs. Swan's father was a republican in politics, but finally gave his active allegiance to the prohibition cause. He was a Presbyterian. In the Ovens family were four children, all living, named David, Marian, Thomas and Jennie.

Mr. and Mrs. John D. Swan have had two children; Dr. William Ray and Helen Elizabeth. The daughter was born October 22, 1890, was educated in the public schools of Lanark Township, attended the State Normal School at Stevens Point and also the Stevens Point Business College. Her death occurred on the 7th of May, 1918.

Dr. William Ray Swan was born e« his father's farm in Lanark Township April 14, 1885. He had a farm training and in early life showed unusual disposition for the care and management of domestic animals. He had a public school education, graduating from Waupaca High School, and then entering the Chicago Veterinary College, from which he was graduated with the degree M. D. C. in 1908. He at once returned to Stevens Point and has made his services valuable to all the farmers and stock raisers in the surrounding territory and has a very successful practice. He married Miss Fannie Blaisdel. They have one daughter, Janet Dona, born September 22, 191 5.

John G. Rosholt. Located in the extreme eastern part of Portage County, practically on the Waupaca County line, is the thriving little community which bears the name of Rosholt, and which is now about fourteen years old. This village is the product of the brain and labor of the man whose name it bears, John G. Rosholt. who came to this locality thirty-two years ago. and who did not rest until he had achieved his goal, that of securing a railroad for this section and the establishment of a point of communication and a center of population. He has made a success of his operations and is now accounted one of the substantial men of the county, being connected with a number of important interests.

John G. Rosholt was born June 6. 1850. at Pine Lake, Wisconsin, and is a son of Jacob and Johanna Rosholt. He was but one year old when he accompanied his parents to \Vau]>aca County, where they resided during the remainder of their lives, and the youth's education was secured in the public schools there. While being reared to manhood on the home farm he received his training in the arts of agriculture, but desired to see something more of the world than that part included in the home acres and accordingly left home and took up lumbering. Gradually he drifted into the real estate business, and for some years resided at Scandinavia and in the northern part of Iola Township. In 1885 Mr. Rosholt moved over into Portage County and located in the community which now bears his name. There was plenty of timber in this region then and he began buying this up and converting it into lumber in a small sawmill which he had erected; but it was not long ere he had realized the opportunities and advantages of the region and set about formulating his plans for the establishment of a community. He early realized that a railroad was an absolutely necessary asset, and began to importune the roads to continue their tracks so as to include this point, but it was a number of years, in 1903, before he was able to accomplish his object. Thus his hard work and sacrifices brought about results, and what he had dreamed about became a reality. He sold all his timber with the conditions that the railroad would be put in at once, and in the year 1903 the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad built its line to this point, and Rosholt station was named in honor of the founder of the village in the year following.

In 1904 Mr. Rosholt, with his sons, was the organizer of the Rosholt State Bank, a sound financial institution, of which he has been president ever since its inception, and he is also president of the Wittenberg Citizens State Bank. Naturally he is proud of the village which bears his name, and is constantly working for anything that will result in its advantage or promote the welfare of its citizens.

Frank Pierce Guyant. One of the best known names in the citizenship of Portage County is that of Guyant. For at least half a century the name has been identified with the farm life of the county. Within recent years two members of the family have held the office of sheriff, Frank Pierce Guyant and his son both having been thus officially honored. Frank P. Guyant owns one of the large and well ordered farms of Belmont Township, and aside from his early work as a woodsman and his service in official positions fanning has been his steady vocation for a long period of years.

Mr. Guyant was born in Oswego County, New York, August 13, 1852. His paternal grandfather served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His parents were Elbert and Loranna (Bordon) Guyant. His father was born in New York State in 1803 and his mother in Canada in 1813. Elbert Guyant by his first wife, a Miss Warner, had four children, named Gus, Octave, Hobart and James. Elbert and Loranna Guyant were married in Oswego County, New York, and in 1856 came west to Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. His wife died there in i86r and he passed away in 1870. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, but also had a farm in Fond du Lac County. He was a democrat in politics and a member of the Universalist Church. He and his second wife had four children, named Henry, Frank P., Bert and Edward.

Frank Pierce Guyant acquired his early education in the public schools of Fond du Lac County. When he was thirteen years old he left home and after that depended upon his own resources and industry to get ahead in the world. He came to Stevens Point in 1867 and for twelve years made his home with Jack and Moses Finch, well known citizens of that time. During those years he was engaged in the lumber woods and on the river as a lumber jack and raftsman. In 1883 Mr. Guyant bought a farm of 240 acres where John Peterson now lives, and sold it ten years later. He then bought his present fine place in Belmont Township in sections 1, 2, 11 and 12. He has 200 acres, and a quarter a century of his ownership and management has sufficed to bring it into a splendid state of cultivation and improvement. He keeps a herd of high grade Holstein and Guernsey cattle and is still active in the harness as a farmer.

His political affiliation has always been with the democratic party, and his duties as sheriff occupied him at the county seat during 1907-08 and again during 1911-12. Since retiring from office he has devoted all his time and attention to his farm. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.

October 31, 1878, Mr. Guyant married Miss Mary E. Bucknell. She was born in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, June 20, 1856, daughter of John and" Jane ( Housum) Bucknell. Her parents were born and married in England and came to the United States as their wedding trip. They lived in Winnebago County about three years and in 1856, shortly after the birth of their daughter Mary, moved to Waupaca County. Her father owned a good farm in that county and died there in 1914, at the age of eighty-four. John Bucknell was of long lived and very sturdy stock. His father died in England at the age of ninety. John Bucknell when eighty-three years of age husked 1,200 bushels of corn and thus his usefulness ended only with life itself. His wife died in 1909, at the age of seventy-nine. John Bucknell and wife had the following children: Joseph, of a brother of Frank P. ; George, who is unmarried and lives on the old home farm in Waupaca County ; Ann, who married William Kent, of Portage County and lives at Morrill, Nebraska ; Alice, who is unmarried and lives with her brother George on the old farm ; William, who also occupies part of the homestead.

Mr. and Mrs. Guyant are the parents of three children: Elma A., who was born August 13, 1879, was educated in the public schools and the Stevens Point State Normal, was a teacher for several years, and is now living with her parents, widow of Guy Lyons. She is the mother of three children. Hazel, Bclma and Robert. Merrill Guyant, who was born April 29, 1882, had a public school education, and for ten years was under sheriff of Portage County, part of the time under his father and also tinder Sheriff Kubisak. Later he was elected and served as sheriff of the county during 1915-16, and is still living at Stevens Point. He married Alice Miller, formerly a trained nurse. Cole Franklin Guyant. the youngest of the family, was born July 27. 1889. was educated in the public schools of Belmont Township and married Bessie Sawyer, daughter of Mr. Don W. Sawyer. They have one child, Verna.

Warren S. Taylor. For at least sixty years the fortunes of a number of the Taylor family have been identified with Portage County, and the name is not only one of the oldest but commands universal respect because of the honest work and splendid influence which have always been associated with the people of this name.

He was born at Omro in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. February 4, 1856, and a few weeks later his parents, Albert and Maria (Day) Taylor, came to Belmont Township, Portage County, and erected their humble home of logs. This log house with some .additional comforts was the family residence until the death of Mr. Taylor's mother in 1867. The old farm where the family settled is now owned by Walter Watson. Albert Taylor was born in Allegany County, New York, December 18, 1832, and his wife was born in the same state in 183 1. They married there and in 1855 settled in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Albert Taylor was a son of Riley and Rachel (Witherow) Taylor, who came to Belmont Township of Portage County about the same time as their son and spent the rest of their days here. Albert Taylor had brothers Charles, Luman, Truman and Ezra, and sisters Jane, Adeline and Helen, all of whom are residents of Belmont Township.

Albert Taylor rendered his country patriotic service as a Union soldier. In 1861 he enlisted in the Eighteenth Wisconsin Infantry. At the battle of Shiloh he was wounded and granted an honorable discharge. Later on recovering he re-enlisted in the Fourteenth Wisconsin Infantry and was with that command in its various engagements until the close of the war. He was an honored member of the Grand Army Post, and was one of the early members of a lodge of Odd Fellows at Waupaca and later helped organize the lodge at Almond in this county. He was a loyal republican and for some years filled the office of township treasurer. He died October 21, 1891. By his first wife he had three children: Warren S.; Melvin, who died in 1883, at the age of twenty-four; and Myron, who died in 1862, aged one year one month and six days. For his second wife Albert Taylor married Hannah Sutherland, daughter of James Sutherland, and a pioneer of Portage County. By the second marriage there were six children: Rhoda, Myra and Myrtie twins, Ralph, Martha and Rachel.

Warren S. Taylor grew up on the old home farm and had a public school education. Farming has been his regular business in life for forty years. He acquired his first land, forty acres, in 1878. As his means and abilities increased he bought another eighty acres and now has a very complete and model farm, with a full equipment of buildings and good livestock, including some high grade Holstein cattle. He has been too busy with other matters to become a candidate for office, though he is a regular voter of the republican party. He is affiliated with Almond Lodge of Masons.

February 26, 1880, he married Miss Anna Eliza Hawes. She was born in Belmont Township December 29, i860, a daughter of Lester L. and Mary (Robertson) Hawes. Her father was born in Vermont January 10, 1828. Her mother was born at Dunbartonshire. Scotland, November 13, 1835. They married in 1856 and on May 6, i860, arrived as early settlers in Belmont Township. Her father not long afterward enlisted in the Civil war. in Company D of the Fifth Wisconsin Infantry. He went into the army in 1864 and was stricken with smallpox and died at St. Louis May 19, 1865. Mrs. Taylor's mother died December 8, 1906. She had three children, George, Anna Eliza and Alma, the latter the wife of John Casey of Belmont.

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor became the parents of four children, and they lived to see them grow up and three of them are still living, both sons being very able and prosperous farmers. Blanche, the oldest, was born June 21, 1881, was married in 1904 to Earl Curtis, and she died without children January 7, 1906. The second child, Lottie, born June 19, 1883, is still at home with her parents. Martin, bom April 2, 1886, is one of the young American farmers who have succeeded well in Western Canada. He now has 480 acres of farm land at Cereal in the Province of Alberta. Robert, the youngest child, born October 10, 1888, has a good farm in this county of ninety acres, and married Alice Smith of Belmont Township.

Henry Vetter. One of the largest industrial concerns of Stevens Point is the Vetter Manufacturing Company, a planing mill and sash and door factory which furnishes labor to a large number of skilled operatives and for years has supplied large quantities of milled products, especially sash and doors, to the general trade. Some of the products are shipped far beyond the boundaries of Wisconsin.

The active men in this organization are members of the Vetter family. Henry Vetter is president, his son Herman A. is secretary and treasurer, and the son Carl Henry is vice president and superintendent.

Mr. Henry Vetter has been a resident of Portage County nearly half a century and is now almost retired from active business, having attained the age of four score. He was born in Germany April 20, 1838, son of John Gottlob and Marie Elizabeth (Schwartz) Vetter. Hi's parents spent all their lives in the old country. His father was born September 16, 1801, and died in February, 1888, and the mother was bom in 1802 and died in 1876. From this record it is seen that the Vetter family is naturally long lived and all of them have been people of great physical and mental vigor. The children of John G. Vetter and wife were: August, who died in Germany at the age of eighty-two ; Ernest Gottlob, who died in Germany ; a daughter who died when about five years of age; and Henry.

Henry Vetter was well educated in the old country, attending the German schools for alx>ut nine years. He also learned the mason's trade there. On April 16, 1869, he arrived at Castle Garden, New York, proceeding westward to Chicago and thence to Milwaukee, where he found his first regular employment at his trade during the summer. In the fall of 1869 Mr. Vetter arrived in Portage County. Here he bought forty acres of land in Sharon Township, but never got possession, since the land had been previously sold. In 1870 he established his home at Stevens Point, and for over a quarter of a century was one of the most reliable masons in the county. He finally retired from active work at his trade in 1897. In 1899 he and his wife enjoyed a trip back to the scenes of their early youth, and spent three months in Germany. Since then Mr. Henry Vetter has continued to live in Stevens Point and is nominally interested in business as president of the Vetter Manufacturing Company. Mrs. Henry Vetter died Tuly 17, 1909. In politics Henry Vetter is a republican and a member of the Lutheran Church.

He married in Germany in 1861 Amalia Matilda Wigand. She was born in the old country March 5, 1836. To their marriage were born six children: Amalia Elizabeth, bom November 20, 1862, and died February 9, 1863 ; Ernest August, born December 3, 1863, and died at Stevens Point February 24, 1871 ; Johanna Sophia, who was born September 28, 1865, and died at Stevens Point August 19, 1910, the wife of Michael Noller; Herman August; Carl Henry; and Emma Matilda, who was born May 19, 1875, was educated in the grammar and high schools of StcvensPoint and bv her marriage to John Battin has two daughters, Elizabeth and Helen. Mr. Henry Vetter, the father of these children, owns fifteen acres of land within the corporation limits of Stevens Point, and on that land on Prentiss Street he built a good home in 1914.

Herman August Vetter was born April 4, 1868, in Germany, and was a small infant when his parents came to America. He attended the public schools of Stevens Point, and when a boy went to work in a local factory. He was also employed by his father at the mason's trade. He early acquired practical experience in a sash and door factoiy, and sought better opportunities in this line in the far West. For a time he was at Spokane Falls, Washington, Seattle and Tacoma, and worked in sash and door factories in all these cities. In 1893 he returned to Stevens Point and soon afterward he and his brother Henry built a small plant for the manufacture of sash and doors on the site of their present business. They had limited capital, were both competent workmen, possessed courage and good business judgment, and their work was soon growing and prospering. In 1909 the firm erected a large plant 72 by 250 feet, and in 191 5 they built additional equipment in the form of a warehouse 72 by 160 feet, five stories high, built of reinforced concrete. At the present time the Vetter Manufacturing Company employs about sixty hands.

In 1900 Herman A. Vetter married Miss Clara Bicgler, of Stevens Point. They have four children: Frederick, May, Herman and Edwin. Mr. and Mrs. Vetter reside at 730 South Division Street.

Carl Henry Vetter, vice president and superintendent of the Vetter Manufacturing Company, was born in Stevens Point January 6, 1873. After leaving school he learned the mason's trade, and in 1894 joined his brother in the business of manufacturing sash and doors. He and his family reside at 702 Church Street. He married in 1899 Miss Anna Lee, of Stevens Point. Their three children are Carl Henry, Dorothy and Donald.

Edward McGlachlin. Both the publishers and the patrons of this work have many years to be grateful to Edward McGlachlin for the service he has rendered and the interest he has shown in the compilation of the "History of Portage County" in his capacity as one of the supervising editors. For the benefit of the present generation it is probably superfluous to tell who Mr. McGlachlin is, and yet in expressing this appreciation for his helpfulness it is appropriate that some brief outline of his career should be set down as a permanent record.

Mr. McGlachlin is a Wisconsin man of sixty years residence, and his experience as a printer, newspaper editor and publisher has been almost continuous through this period. He was born at Watson in Lewis County, New York, December 19, 1840. His grandfather was a native of Scotland, but left that country and settled in America in time to participate as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He was drowned in the St. Lawrence River. Ephraim McGlachlin, father of the Stevens Point editor, was a native of Montgomery County, New York, and married Eunice Fenton, a native of Lewis County. Her ancestors came from Massachusetts, and she was a distant relative of Reuben Fenton, one of the Civil war governors of New York.

The memories of Mr. McGlachlin's boyhood center around a typical rural community in Western New York. He could attend the district schools only during the winter sessions and his formal education was completed at the age of sixteen. In June, 1857, he came to Wisconsin and his first experience here was working by the month on the farm of Hiram Smith in the town of Sheboygan Falls. Later, in order to acquire a better education, he worked for his board, taking care of a span of horses and some cows, and walked 2 l /i miles night and morning to the nearest school.

In the spring of 1859 he entered the office of the Fond du Lac Commonwealth to learn the printer's trade. He learned how to set type and all the other complexities of the printing art as found in a country print shop, and was adjudged a faithful and capable worker. Then, in September, 1861, he dropped his printing stick to enlist in Company K, First Wisconsin Infantry. With that regiment he saw service during the Kentucky campaign of 1862. the campaign in Tennessee and Northern Alabama, and was with the first troops to throw a shell across the Tennessee River at Chattanooga. He was with his regiment up to and including the battle of Chickamauga, September 19-20, 1863. Between sundown and dark of the second day of the battle of Chickamauga he was taken prisoner, and was successively confined on Belle Isle and in Smith's Building at Richmond, at Danville, Virginia, at Andersonville, Georgia, and at Charleston and Florence. South Carolina. He endured all the hardships of prison life for nearly fifteen months. During his active service he held the noncommissioned offices of corporal and sergeant. I lis exchange was effected in January, 1865, and his term having expired in the meantime he was at once mustered out. Mr. MoGlachlin became a charter member of the local Grand Army Post, has filled all its important offices, and in 1896-97 was quartermaster general of the Department of Wisconsin. Grand Army of the Republic.

Having resumed the printing business immediately after his return from the army, Mr. McGlachlin in 1868 became associated with J. A. Watrous and T. B. Reid in the publication of the Fond du I-ac Commonwealth. After a year he sold his interest in that paper and for a time was foreman of the Daily Herald at Clinton, Iowa, and subsequently was foreman of the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern.

The majority of Portage County people hardly remember a time when Mr. McGlachlin was not connected with the Stevens Point Journal. He bought this paper in 1873. forty-five years ago. Two years later he sold a haif interest to T. J. Simons, and their partnership continued nearly eighteen years, until terminated by the death of Mr. Simons in January. 1893. Then for twenty-four years, until March 1. 1917, Mr. McGlachlin was sole owner and editor. In 1917 the Stevens Point Journal Company was organized, with Mr. Mc- Glachlin as president. In 1897 he established the first daily paper in Stevens Point.

His political experience is an interesting one and now almost unique among living Wisconsin citizens. The first political meeting he attended was one in support of Fremont for president, back in 1856, when republicans first had their national organization. The first ballot he cast and every succeeding one in presidential elections has borne the name of the republican nominees. Mr. McGlachlin was elected a member of the Legislature in 1888, as a republican, serving one term. In March, 1889, he was appointed postmaster of Stevens Point by President Harrison, and held that office four years. During that term, and largely due to his influence, the free delivery system was established in Stevens Point. He has also been a member and treasurer of the board of education of the city, was a member of the first board of jury commissioners organized in Portage County, and has held a number of other honorary positions.

In 1904 he was chosen a presidential elector and cast one of Wisconsin's thirteen votes for Theodore Roosevelt. It may properly be said that these positions have been mere incidents in a career of undeviating service rendered as editor and publisher of the Stevens Point Journal.

Mr. McGlachlin has lived long, usefully and well, and his own character has been transmitted to children in whom his pride is now centered. Mr. McGlachlin married at Fond du Lac August 21, 1867, Mary E. Lawrence. Their three children are Edward Fenton, Lucy K. and Thomas Lawrence. The highest star in Portage County's honorary roll represents the older son, Major General Edward Fenton McGlachlin, to whom a special sketch is devoted. The other son, Thomas L., is vice president and treasurer of the Stevens Point Journal Company. The daughter, Mrs. B. D. Berry, is a resident of Springfield, Ohio.

General Edward Fenton McGlachlin, now with the American Expeditionary Forces in France with the rank of major general, is a son of the veteran editor and publisher of the Stevens Point Journal, and spent his boyhood in Portage County.

He was born at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, June 9, 1868, and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1889. Besides the practical experience of thirty years of army life, he received special training by a course in submarine mining at the Engineers School of Application in 1893; Artillery School in 1896; School of Fire for Field Artillery, 1912; Field Officers' Course Army Service Schools in 1916; and was a graduate of the Army War College in 1917.

His record of promotion and service is briefly stated as follows: additional second lieutenant, Third Artillery, June 12, 1889; second lieutenant. Fifth Artillery, October 4, 1889; first lieutenant, First Artillery, June 1, 1897, transferred to Fifth Artillery, July 9, 1897; captain. Artillery Corps, February 2, 1901 ; assigned to Fourth Field Artillery June 6. 1907; major, August 12, 1907; transferred to Second Field Artillery September 16. 1911: lieutenant colonel, December 27, 1912; transferred to Third Field Artillery March 1, 1914; to Fifth Field Artillery September 8, 1914; commissioned colonel July 1, 1916. of the Eighth and Tenth Field Artillery; and was made brigadier general of the National Army August 5, 1917, and in 1918 was one of the brigadier generals gazetted for promotion to major general.

General McGlachlin received special mention in orders for services in the battle of Bud Daiolo in the Philippine Islands in 1906 He commanded the Recruit Depot at Fort McDowell in California from 1909 to 191 1. He was commandant of the School of Fire for Field

Artillery from 1914 to 1916, and during August to December, 1917, was commander of the One Hundred and Sixty-Fifth Field Artillery Brigade. He was appointed commander of the Sixty- Seventh Field Artillery Brigade December 14, 1917.

General McGlachlin is a member of the Field Artillery Association, the Military Service Institution, the Army and Navy Club of Washington, and has long been a recognized technical expert in the artillery branch of service. He is a member of the Episcopal Church. General McGlachlin married. November 26. 1892, Louisa Harrison Chew, of Washington.

Jacob Borchardt. Many useful activities arc connected with the name of Jacob Borchardt, for over forty years a resident of Portage County. In early days he worked for the Wisconsin Central Railroad, was employed in sawmills and other lines of business, but more substantially has been identified with farming and apple growing. He. has reared a splendid family of children and two of his sons are now in the army.

Mr. Borchardt was born in Poland April 30. 1848. His parents spent all their lives in Poland, and in that country Jacob grew up and had his early training both in school and in the duties and responsibilities of life. On June 18, 1873, he landed in New York City, and in the same year came to Stevens Point. For about five months he was employed with the construction forces that were building the Wisconsin Central Railway. The next four years he spent as a worker in the saw mills of McMillan Brothers. For a time he was engaged in the saloon business at Stevens Point where the Kuchnowski grocery store now is. He was in that location eleven years, and then bought forty acres of land in Hull Township, working it but keeping his residence in Stevens Point. He also owns eight lots of ground which have been highly developed as an apple orchard, and it is said that Mr. Borchardt raises more apples than are grown in all the rest of Stevens Point put together and is probably the chief apple grower in the county. Out of the proceeds of his long and active career he has provided liberally for his family and given his children ample educational advantages. Mr. Borchardt is a democrat and a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church.

February 10, 1879, he and Miss Annie Donda were married in St. Peter's Church by Father Walon. Mrs. Borchardt was born in Poland in November. 1854, daughter of John and Rose Donda who came to Princeton, Wisconsin, about 1876 and the following year located at Stevens Point, where her father died in October, i.So/>, and her mother on April 27, 1907.

Mr. and Mrs. Borchardt became the parents of ten children : Frank B., the eldest, born October 2. 1879, was educated in the parochial and public schools, also the normal school, and then entered the railway service as an operator, his first assignment being at Witte, Wisconsin, from which point he was transferred to Abbottsford. He was with the Wisconsin Central for twelve years at different locations, spent two years at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and is now employed by the Northern Railway Company at Limon, Costa Rica. Central America. He is unmarried. The second child. Mary, bom December 5. 1880. was educated in the parochial and public schools, is a skilled dressmaker by trade, and is the wife of Albert Sowke. They have two children, Irene and Albur. Jacob, who was born September 8, 1882, was educated in the parochial and the high school of Stevens Point, and is now a photographer at Chicago. He married May Potter and has four children, Paul, Harold. Kenneth and Dorothy. Joseph, who was born March 10, 1884, was educated in the parochial and public schools, and is still at home working for his father. Alexander, born February 13, 1886, was educated in the public and parochial schools and normal school, and is now a resident of Chicago. For some time he was employed by the Wisconsin Central or Soo line but is now with the Western Electric Company. He married Marie Johansen, and has two children, Melvin and Raymond. Leo A., the sixth of the family, was born March 21, 1889, and had his education in the public and parochial schools. On April 20, 1917, he enlisted at .Stevens Point and is now with the Expeditionary Forces in Prance employed as a cook at one of the general staff headquarters. Wanda, born June 20, 1891, was educated in the parochial schools and the high school and by her marriage to Christ Korup has one child, Christ. Emil, born March 18, 1893, was educated in the parochial and public schools and was employed by the Western Electric Company in Chicago until his number was called in the army draft. Lily, born May 24. 1895, is still at home and has been well educated in the local schools. Edward, the youngest of the family, was born January 3, 1897, has finished his education, and is now employed in the Express Company at Stevens Point.

George M. Houlehan, D. D. S. It is scarcely believable that in the present enlightened days, in any remote community may yet be found one of the old fashioned dentists, those mighty wielders of the forceps whose reputations were largely founded on their strength in their professional work rather than their skill. In the days of our fathers, "going to the dentist" was a matter of fearful resolve, and only undertaken after the failure of every domestic remedy. Along no line of surgical science have more vital discoveries been made than in dentistry. They have revealed the fact that in the preservation of the teeth largely rests the conservation of health, and that it is to the dentist instead of the doctor that nine-tenths of the mysteriously ailing should apply for cure. The modern dentist, with his sensitive fingers, his mathematical talent for exactness, his proverbial patience and his scientifically acquired knowledge, which includes a course in medicine, works in his sanitary office with scientifically perfect tools and preparations, and practically without pain, does wonders for his patients. At present, in the United States, he is not only engaged, outside his private practice, in giving advice and professional services in the school-children's clinic, but belongs to hundreds of units that have answered the call, even from beyond the sea, for his invaluable help in making whole his country's brave fighting men.

Among the professional men well and widely known at Stevens Point, Wisconsin, not one stands higher either professionally or personally, than Dr. George M. Houlehan, dental surgeon, who has spent the larger part of his mature life in practice here. He was born in Taycheedah Township, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, April 16, 1867. His parents were James and Margaret ( O'Connor) Houlehan. They were natives of Ireland and were among the early settlers in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, where the father followed farming until 1887, when he removed his family to Stevens Point. Here both father and mother died, the former on November 2, 1893, when aged eighty years, and the latter on December 10, 1903, being in her seventy-sixth year. Seven of their family of eight children are living, Dr. George M. being the youngest. They were highly respected residents of this city and were faithful members of the Roman Catholic Church.

George M. Houlehan obtained his early education in Fond du Lac County and after completing the public school course, entered the Northwestern College of Dental Surgery, Chicago, and practiced to some degree at Stevens Point even before he was creditably graduated, receiving at that time the Lake Forest University gold medal. Since 1892 Doctor Houlehan has been in active practice here, maintaining his well equipped office at No. 448^ Main Street. He has the distinction of being the oldest dentist here, in length of practice. He has always kept abreast of the times in his profession, taking a post graduate course in Lane College, attending clinics when opportunity has offered and reading the best of professional literature.

Doctor Houlehan was married May 6, 1891, to Miss Matilda Khusmcyer. of Lombard, Illinois, who died at Stevens Point. November 23, 1914. Two sons were born to them, Forest George and Alfred R. Forest George was graduated from high school and the Commercial Course at Rourbonnais, near Kankakee. Illinois, where he carried off the honors of the commercial course class, receiving the gold medal for proficiency. He is a member of the National Army, being sergeant of Battery F., One Hundred and Twentieth Field Artillery, now stationed at Waco, Texas. His younger brother. Alfred R.. is equally patriotic and is a member of the same battery. Alfred R. spent one year at St. Thomas' Military School, and both he and brother were graduated from St. Viator College, Bourbonais, Illinois. They are young men of sterling character and have the warm esteem of their comrades, the high regard of their superiors and the admiration and good wishes of all the worthy people of Stevens Point.

Doctor Houlehan is identified quite prominently with several of the representative fraternal organizations of the country. He belongs to the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, to the Catholic Order of Foresters, to the Knights of Columbus and to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In the last named order he is past exalted ruler of Lodge No. 641, and was the delegate sent from Wisconsin to the National convention of Elks that met at Atlantic City.

Alexander Ringxess. The manufacture and handling of footwear has become one of the leading lines of business in the United States, largely so because of the enterprise of the kecn-visioned men who have been able to see in this common necessity the continuous and growing demand that insures a market. Since early days many changes have come about in the manufacture of this indispensable article of civilized life. Although varied in form and in material according to the conditions of climate, the human foot has often, for the sake of fashion, been forced to accommodate itself to coverings of straw, paper, fur, silk, satin and velvet, there has never yet been found a satisfactory substitute for dressed leather, from which the old-fashioned shoemaker, master of his craft, so deftly fashioned the comfortable footwear, according to exact measurement, in past days. Time came, however, when his trade was no longer profitable because of the introduction of machinery and the invention of trade tools, and it is doubtful whether any general dealers in modern days have any fine hand-work to offer. Otherwise their stocks may be complete in every particular as is that of Alexander Ringness, an experienced shoe and leather man, who has conducted his large shoe store at Xo. 112 South Third Street, Stevens Point, for the past sixteen years.

Alexander Ringness was born in Norway, January 23, 1867, and was brought to the United States in his second year. His parents were Herman and Pauline (Hoved) Ringness. In 1868 they came to the United States and to Wisconsin, stopping first at Amherst in Portage County, then coming to Stevens Point. The father was an expert shoemaker and found ready employment here and conducted his own business along this line until his death, which occurred July 11, 1886. The mother survived him for a number of years, her death taking place on May 8, 1899. They were most worthy people, quiet, industrious and moral and were faithful members of the Episcopal Church. They had a family of five children, namely: Emma, Alexander, Ole, Henry and John. The father became a citizen of the United States and took some interest in public affairs and identified himself politically with the democratic party.

Alexander Ringness secured his education in the public schools at Stevens Point, attending regularly until he was fourteen years old when he became a workman in his father's shop and under his instruction learned the practical part of the shoe business. He continued in the manufacturing line until 1902 when he established his shoe store, which he has conducted ever since. With his practical knowledge of the business Mr. Ringness knows how to buy as well as sell, knows the factories which have special and made to order shops and those that have but one standard of goods - the very best, and his customers profit accordingly. Mr. Ringness not only is one of the representative business men of Stevens Point, but enjoys the reputation of being a thoroughly reliable one, honest and upright in

Mr. Ringness was married at Stevens Point, in 1913, to Mrs. Clora Means, of this city, and they have two sons, Thomas and William. Mr. and Mrs. Ringness are members of the Presbyterian Church. In his political views he is a democrat and is a loyal supporter of the administration, and in every way is a patriotic citizen. He has never accepted any political office but frequently has served on local committees when benevolent movements were under contemplation, and has never united with any fraternal organization with the exception of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a very active and valued member.

Daniki. CoRt.ETT. Many of the most prosperous and substantial citizens of Wisconsin come from the further side of the broad Atlantic, and to the country of their adoption have brought those habits of industry, economy and thrift that have won for themselves positions of prominence in the business world. Noteworthy among this number is Daniel Corlett, of Steven's Point, who has accumulated much wealth through legitimate channels of endeavor and now occupies a place in the front rank of the many successful business men of Portage County. He was born June 20, 1845, on the Isle of Man, that little strip of land lying in the Irish Sea. There his parents, Daniel and Margaret (Quail) Corlett, spent their entire lives, the father, a farmer by occupation, dying in 1867 and the mother in 1848.